04-30-2009, 11:11 PM

Hey,

I have recently droped my iPhone and smashed both screen/digitalizer. Apple say its water damaged.

I know its not. It's never been near water. Not one day of its life. I have another appointment at the genius bar this week.

My view is, the screen's crystals from the LCD have leaked through? Can someone offer me some help/advice towards this?

They made me fork out $800 for a new phone and I'm not happy with their decision..

Has anything like this happened to anyone else and or anyone know any thing I can do?

04-30-2009, 11:38 PM

You dropped and smashed the screen of your iPhone, and you somehow think Apple is liable for this?

04-30-2009, 11:44 PM

Nope - thats not what my port says.

I went in to have the phone exchanged for non warranty replacment and they declined my phone due to having water damage.

They said they could see the red dots (Liquid Submersion Indicator's) where the doc is.

I know for a fact that it has not been near water.

I was asking if anyone had the same sort of problem I have had and if in fact the screen being on after the phone was droped and it looking like some amazing screen saver (as all LCD do when they have seen smashed) could have lead to the LCD crystals leaking and thus makeing the phone appearing to have 'water damage' when in face its the liquid from the LCD being on whilst it was and after it was smashed.

04-30-2009, 11:46 PM

*Nope - thats not what my post says*

05-01-2009, 05:16 AM

Originally Posted by bennjiboi

*Nope - thats not what my post says*

Perhaps it changed due to humidity?

05-01-2009, 07:46 AM

I dont know - should I challenge them on their decision? Could the liquid indicator be present for some other reason other then it being water damaged?

Only because I know it hasn't been.

05-01-2009, 09:11 AM

Well let's say that your speculation is right. You dropped and damaged the iPhone, breaking the LCD screen. The crystals leaked out and caused the liquid indicator to show water damage. It's still a direct result of you dropping it.

Or let's say no. It's completely bogus. What difference does it make? From what I just read up on, non-warranty replacement doesn't cover water damaged iPhones or those that have been dropped. You dropped and damaged your iPhone. Tough luck. Next time, keep it in a protective case and be more careful. I've dropped mine a few times and that leather case no doubt has helped keep it intact.

05-01-2009, 07:28 PM

Was or is ther any need to so rude about my question? I come to this forum for advice not attitude.

It does infact, make a huge difference.

Being that my now 'water damaged' iPhone is infact and has never been near water.

From what you have read up you are correct, Apple does not cover water damaged phones however, you are very much incorrect in the sence that out of replacment warranty being, cracked screen, LCD/Digitalizer broken housing etc.. Is covered by Apples 'out of warranty' service.

Which, is apple replacing the unit with a refurbished or repaired iPhone in exchange for yours.

Out-of-Warranty Service
If you own an iPhone and it requires service for any other hardware failure, Apple will service your iPhone for the Out-of-Warranty Repair Service fee listed below, plus $19.95 including GST shipping and handling. Your replacement iPhone may be new or refurbished. You can also contact your carrier for out of warranty service: Optus, Telstra, or Vodafone.

You can also book and have the unit swapped on the spot.

8GB is $249 and 16GB is $379.

Apple - Support - iPhone - Service FAQs

Feel free to have a read up on what the Apple rep emailed me and agreeed that I should go in and state my case.

All I came to ask was from a technical point of view, could this have happened and maybe, had this happened to anyone else on this forum.

If you have no other technical advice to offer other then 'tough luck' then please - just dont post any replies as nothing you have said has been either helpful nor useable in any sence.

05-01-2009, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by bennjiboi

From what you have read up you are correct, Apple does not cover water damaged phones however, you are very much incorrect in the sence that out of replacment warranty being, cracked screen, LCD/Digitalizer broken housing etc.. Is covered by Apples 'out of warranty' service


Feel free to have a read up on what the Apple rep emailed me and agreeed that I should go in and state my case.

You still have no case. Not to turn this into a bickering match, but I would suggest that you read the information in the link you posted a little closer

An iPhone is eligible for Out-of-Warranty Service if it is no longer eligible for warranty service and is determined by Apple to be repairable. If Apple determines that an iPhone is not repairable, for example, if it has failed due to liquid damage or catastrophic damage where the iPhone has been disassembled into multiple pieces then Out-of-Warranty Service is not available and the iPhone will be returned. Please refer to this article to check if the liquid submersion indicator on your product has been triggered.

By your own admission:

Originally Posted by bennjiboi

I have recently droped my iPhone and smashed both screen/digitalizer.

This would count as "catastrophic damage", thereby making your iPhone ineligible for Out-of-Warranty repair.

In order to be swapped out, your unit needs to be in a repairable condition... in other words, able to be resold as a refurbished unit.
This is simply not possible if the unit is smashed and the LCD is cracked to bits.

So, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that regardless of whether the damage to your iPhone was caused by liquid or by you dropping it and smashing it, either reason would disqualify your iPhone for repair.

05-01-2009, 08:33 PM

I do understand what you are saying, but I was advised on the phone by the Apple rep that the only thing that was considered to be catastrophic damage is water damage.

They will take back phones with cracked screens, broken housing or a smached digitalizer.

Everything else is considered repairable.

05-01-2009, 09:39 PM

I'm not trying to be rude or argumentative, but based on what you've said, your iPhone shouldn't be eligible for out-of-warranty replacement, and the forum doesn't exist for helping people to find ways to beat/cheat the system. Now if Apple indeed did say your iPhone would have been eligible for replacement if not for the "water damage" despite you having dropped it, then that's on their shoulders.

I did a bit of reading up on the Liquid Submersion Indicator and supposedly it is highly accurate, and not subject to being triggered by high humidity alone. I read of one concern about it potentially being set off merely by being in one's pockets while raining. I know I've had mine in my pocket a few times while raining, and once I was thoroughly drenched, so I checked my indicator and it is still white. I half expected it to be "activated" just from the one time I got drenched, so I'd say it's not so simple to get triggered.

Now it's important to recognize that this is a "Liquid" Submersion Indicator... not a "Water" Submersion Indicator. I've never encountered a broken LCD screen myself, but if indeed the liquid crystals leak out, then I would certainly think that would be very bad for any circuits it contaminated and certainly should set off that indicator.

If you noticed a thin film of fluid on the screen after it was broken that would have come from inside the LCD screen, then I would say there's no question the components are contaminated and damaged, leaving Apple in the right to deny coverage.

05-01-2009, 09:52 PM

Thankyou for your reply.

I totally understand what you are saying now - I was more annoyed that they rejected the swap due to being water damaged when i knew for a fact it hadnt been. I wasn't arguing that droping the phone wasn't my fault but I just felt like it was an easy exit for them to say that it was water damaged and to send me on my way.

I appreciate you looking into to it a little more and giving me some good feedback. I guess I will just ditch my old phone then and leave it as that.

Sorry for any hostility - wasnt my intention. I guess we just got off on the wrong foot!

05-02-2009, 12:32 AM

Well I jumped to conclusions that I shouldn't have. It seemed obvious Apple would have denied replacement on what happened alone... I was a bit befuddled over why the subject of water damage was even brought up by them. And I'm not known for being tactful.

05-02-2009, 02:15 AM

Have you bothered to look at said indicator to see if it actually what they claim it is?

05-02-2009, 02:34 AM

Originally Posted by baggss

Have you bothered to look at said indicator to see if it actually what they claim it is?

Very good idea. I once checked my iPhone 3g I bought off a friend used. They said to look down the headphone jack and there is a white label at the bottom and it turns pink if it's water damaged. Mine is white.

iPhone and iPod: Water damage is not covered by warranty