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It'slillian

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 19, 2013
4
0
My son found an iphone 4 (I can't tell if it's 4 or 4s) while swimming in the ocean a week ago. It's completely busted...screen is smashed, showing rust on edges, sand in every place possible, won't even thing about powering on....it looks like it's been in there awhile. My question is what are my options of what to do with it? Appreciate your help!
 
It's beyond rice. The power & home buttons won't even let me press them down & there's so much sand in it I can't even get the plug in to try to connect to itunes or charging.
Thanks for trying to help! I appreciate any ideas!
 
My son found an iphone 4 (I can't tell if it's 4 or 4s) while swimming in the ocean a week ago. It's completely busted...screen is smashed, showing rust on edges, sand in every place possible, won't even thing about powering on....it looks like it's been in there awhile. My question is what are my options of what to do with it? Appreciate your help!

Put it in a bag of rice maybe that will start it up

OP mentioned it looks as if it was in the water a while, rusted on the edges, and you think rice is the answer ? Salt water, rust, in a while, smashed screen, and sand, not to mention its a possible an older 4 or 4S... I say toss it
 
You're not going to get a useable iPhone out of it. Give up and put it in the bin. Or try to find somewhere which will take it for a small value purely for recycle purposes.
 
Are there places to sell a phone this busted? (sorry for my ignorance, I'm just a mom trying to help her kid do something with his treasure)
 
Throw it on Ebay. Explain in the auction the exact condition. But make it clear you are selling as is, no returns. Maybe get lucky and get a couple of dollars for your child.
 
The correct answer would be to return it to an Apple store. It will be the best option for a possible return to the owner.

If it was my property I'd like it returned so I can make the decision what to do with it. Pretty sad that others are advocating to sell it.
 
Can Apple identify the owner if it won't power on or allow a plug? I mean this phone does NOTHING!
Again, I really do appreciate all the responses to my post :)
 
The correct answer would be to return it to an Apple store. It will be the best option for a possible return to the owner.

If it was my property I'd like it returned so I can make the decision what to do with it. Pretty sad that others are advocating to sell it.

Apple is not going to waste their time looking for the owner. It is not worth it to them to logically do so. Yes it would be nice of Apple, but not going to happen. Besides the owner is not going to be able to put it in for warranty or probably ever repair it. Are they? Little beyond that at this point in time. Hence the advocating to sell it. Not a sad thing, but reality. If it were my phone, it would have been already replaced and I would tell them to sell it as a reward to their child for finding it. Would have been my stupidity for losing it, or even taking it near such a place.
 
Take it to an Apple Store and pay $150 for the out of warranty replacement and then sell the replacement phone for $250 if its a 4. $350 if its a 4S.
 
Yeah it would work. My friend bought an iPhone 5 a few weeks ago off a guy that looked like it had been run over by a car. Took it to Apple and paid the $200 for an out of warranty replacement and they gave him a new one. Not a bad deal.
 
Yeah it would work. My friend bought an iPhone 5 a few weeks ago off a guy that looked like it had been run over by a car. Took it to Apple and paid the $200 for an out of warranty replacement and they gave him a new one. Not a bad deal.

That seems really odd for several reasons

1.) All iphone 5's are still technically under warranty, as they haven't even been out for a year yet.

2.) A phone thats been run over by a car is not a manufacturers defect, so it would never fall under warranty replacement in the first place.

Seems like a strange business practice for apple to have. Do you have a link to this program on their site?
 
That seems really odd for several reasons

1.) All iphone 5's are still technically under warranty, as they haven't even been out for a year yet.

2.) A phone thats been run over by a car is not a manufacturers defect, so it would never fall under warranty replacement in the first place.

Seems like a strange business practice for apple to have. Do you have a link to this program on their site?

It's an "Out Of" Warranty program (a phone that's been run over by a car is not a warranty repair).

$149 for an iPhone 4.

http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_States&product=iphone

When setting up out-of-warranty service, Apple will request credit card pre-authorization for the maximum service fee listed above. This amount will be deducted from your credit limit. The final service fee we charge will be determined during testing and may be less than the service fee listed above.

Certain damage is ineligible for out-of-warranty service, including catastrophic damage, such as the device separating into multiple pieces, and inoperability caused by unauthorized modifications. However, an iPhone that has failed due to contact with liquid may be eligible for out-of-warranty service.

Apple reserves the right to determine whether or not your iPhone is eligible for Out-of-Warranty service. iPhones that are repaired or replaced have a 90-day limited hardware warranty or assume the remainder of your standard warranty or AppleCare service contract coverage, whichever is longer. Please see Apple's Repair Terms And Conditions for further details.
 
it'slillian said:
My son found an iphone 4 (I can't tell if it's 4 or 4s) while swimming in the ocean a week ago. It's completely busted...screen is smashed, showing rust on edges, sand in every place possible, won't even thing about powering on....it looks like it's been in there awhile. My question is what are my options of what to do with it? Appreciate your help!

Put it in a bag of rice maybe that will start it up

mj-laughing.gif
 
Sell it on eBay as is or spend the $149 for replacement.

I'm sure someone will buy the busted up iPhone for parts or something
 
I would grab some thermite and pour it over the phone... then record it for youtube material
 
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