Apple's softened "water damage" policy gains notice

Well Done by apple. It was a matter of time. really well done. Water Damage

Well done by apple. In fact it was a matter of time cause you can't do this to your customers. It's just wrong.

Most phones have those sensors inside and usually on the removable battery itself. Due to the iPhone having a non-user accessible battery, Apple put sensors inside the headphone jack and dock connector, both which are open and exposed to anything anytime, thus are more likely to be triggered without even having the actual device plunged into water.

Did you read the article? The "unreliable" part comes because they can be triggered by things OTHER than being submerged in water (sweaty palms, using the ocarina app, etc.) The sensors can be triggered through normal use, which is not how Apple intended for them to work, thus making them an unreliable test for submersion.

I just returned from a vacation in Hawaii that was severely impacted when I was knocked down by a large wave and into the lava rock tide pools that I was photographing. My iPhone 4 was submerged in salt water along with my digital camera. Oh, and I got seven stitches in my elbow and broke 2 ribs. I put the iPhone in a bag of rice to help it to dry out but it never regained life.
As instructed by many blogs and websites, I made a Genius Bar appointment and took in the dead iPhone. I was completely up front with the technician about the water damage and after she made a detailed inspection of the water sensor and the overall condition of the device (externally excellent, having been carried inside it's Case-Mate Tough Case and screen protector), she replaced the my 4 month old phone for free. Thanks Apple!

I really do love that image.

It is ridiculous in the first place, that iPhones are not waterproof. Same goes for laptop keyboards, or even keyboards in general. It can't be that much of an effort to build some layers of foil into these devices to make them waterproof. After all, what are they built for except to take them outdoors? And what use is a mobile phone, if you risk the loss of your warranty when you call a cab in the pouring rain?

The apple water damage policy is a joke. A few weeks ago I dropped my phone in the toilet, after questioning my desire to recover it, I took it out and allowed it to dry for a day. On the way to my local apple store I stopped by a shop that mods phone and had them replace the water censors and reseal with warranty glue.

At my genius bar appointment I told them my phone wouldn't turn on. The "genius" tried to turn on the phone, looked at the external water sensors then turned around and pulled an iPhone out of the drawer behind him promptly handing it over. He didn't ask any further questions.

Entire appointment was

Currently, if you are under warranty Apple will repair your liquid damaged phone for no charge. You could jump in the swimming pool with it and they will replace it. There is no written support for this policy but I know this is being done by the genius teams.

I worked at ATT for a year and thats how they treat any phone. Why is apple getting singled out? If the Water sensor was even the slightest bit pink ATT management told us to try to sell the customer a new phone because there was nothing they could do, unless they had insurance. In that case ATT would charge a deductible and have the customer pay for next day shipping, unless they wanted to wait on standard delivery.