“The company uses these sensors to determine the eligibility of devices for repair under warranty,” Claburn reports. “Devices brought in for service that have been damaged by water or some other liquid are not covered by Apple’s one-year limited warranty or the company’s AppleCare Protection Plan.”
Claburn reports, “The lawsuit filed last week alleges that Apple ‘uses [the LCIs’] false-positive readings to avoid its [warranty] obligations…'”
“The plaintiff in the case, San Francisco resident Charlene Gallion, had two iPhones cease functioning in the space of six months, neither of which, her complaint claims, had been damaged by any liquid… The complaint says that Gallion brought an iPhone in to an Apple store for repair and was denied warranty coverage because the Apple representative determined the device had been damaged by liquid,” Claburn reports. “Gallion insisted that her iPhone had not been damaged by exposure to liquid, but had no way to challenge the determination of water damage made by Apple’s representative.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Wonderful!!!! It’s about time. Hopefully Apple will be forced to use a more accurate method.
That shit doesn’t turn red unless they’re exposed to liquid. I’ve tested them. Apple cannot cover stupidity.
Maybe she thought it was a Zune, and tried to flush it.
Does Charlene sweat a lot? Was Ms.Gallion tripped out in her galleon.
Unless she can prove that the LCI is activated falsely, she has no case.
Apple warranty is not obliged to cover accidents.
Apple will allow users to buy a new phone that was accidentally damaged beyond warranty for the subsidized telco price.
I’ve seen humidity in the Air result in False Positives…
Same thing happened to me with a different phone. Nearest I could figure was that I kept it in my pants pocket which got humid due to some sweat ( it was summer) or due to some rain. But it was never exposed to water directly.
It happened to me with an iPhone.
The iPhone has two humidity sensors. It’s like their looking for an excuse.
In any case (no pun intended) the case should be redesigned to be more water, (or moisture) resistant.
Humidity in the air isn’t necessarily a ‘false positive’. It is a legitimate positive. Electronics specs will limit the allowable humidity a device can operate in. Ms. Gallion may have taken her iPod into a steamroom or showerstall to listen to a podcast.
@Truth, not to the internal indicators. Apple, from what I hear from a close Genius friend of mine, requires that both of the external indicators tripped, or one external and one or both of the internals to be tripped before counting it out of warranty now.
Frankly, I don’t blame them. LCI may not be 100%, but the chance of those internal indicators being tripped by the air is zero.
@Spark,
I would NOT be shocked if that happened. Many people at the gym will take the ipod anywhere. I seen someone take their tiny ipod into the steam room once.. I was like..”is he an idiot?”
I have to believe that Apple’s engineers understand that cell phones are carried and used in the rain, snow, sweat and condensation. I due not try to use them in the rain but I am sure that all 4 in my house have gotten wet. If it is not sealed, that Apple has a design problem, not the customer’s problem.
I know a guy who dropped his iPhone in water and then took it to the Apple Store and swore up and down he didn’t. They denied his claim because of the indicator. In my opinion, he attempted criminal fraud, but he feels there was no harm in trying. Murky moral world we live in.
He went back bought another iPhone.
She is probably guilty of sweating profusely.
It’s OK Charlene, women are allowed to sweat in the new millennium.
Pee’d in her pants
I was screwed by the LCI on my 3GS. I have an ifant daughter who despite my best efforts managed to suck on my phone a few times and set off the liquid indicator near the dock. Then I took a trip to the beach and pulled out my phone to take a few pix when the ambient light sensor blew out (direct sunlight, plus light reflecting off sand and water = bad). No light sensor, no backlighting.
The Apple geniuses on looked at the one dock LCI, which is opposite the light sensor, and told me I had to buy a new phone.
I’m typing this from my second 3GS.
Unfortunately, other phones use a similar method. My wife’s blackberry has a moisture sensor under the battery. She took her Blackberry in for repair and they denied service because the sensor was red (indicating moisture). What’s interesting is that she, like most women, keep their phone in a convenient, hands free location (chest area), and the condensation from perspiration caused the trigger. Even with such an explanation, she was forced to purchase a new blackberry.
Lawyers gone mad, news at 6!
I left my iPhone on my patio.
Dew is not a water! I should get the replacement.
I can’t remember where I read it, but someone ran some extensive tests on those sensors in an iPhone and found them to be very unreliable. If ever I were to need warranty service on my iPhone, I’d hunt down the test and print it out to bring along with me just in case.
On those old phones from the early 2000’s all you had to do was lift the battery cover upon purchase, and put a piece of scotch tape over the water sensor.
I’ve heard, but not had to try it out, that a little bit of bleach will whiten the indicator right back up.
Again, have not confirmed that little tip, it’s just what I’ve heard.
“I’ve heard, but not had to try it out, that a little bit of bleach will whiten the indicator right back up.”
If you can manage to effectively bleach your LCIs somehow, the bleach will corrode your phone beyond repair. Also, bleach has a strong smell; Apple techs will likely smell it. Bleach is a (corrosive, base) liquid.
Even with no indicators tripped, if a tech sees corrosion and smells bleach in a mobile device, the tech will be obligated to not replace it.
Fun experiment for you: go home and bleach something metal. It will oxidize (rust) pretty quickly.
Anybody cared to look at Iphone specs:
Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
It seems you can’t use it or will most likely void the waranty by exceeding the specs in half of the states! Consumers get always screwed.