Well, well, it doesn’t take long for the game to change completely now does it. It wasn’t but a few precious days ago that we at the Smart Device Blog went through a quick but fairly thorough rundown on the ins and outs of handling the fallout one encounters after providing their handset with swimming lessons. Our goal was to dispel some of the myths surrounding revival of water-logged mobile electronics and to provide some realistic sense of the hope one may cling to if ever faced with such circumstances.
We stick to and stand by our story unwaveringly and we can and do raise devices from watery graves. In fact, we just brought two more back yesterday, and will probably get two more in before the end of the day. But again, the primary factor behind taking the chance and furthermore spending the money necessary to replace individual components was summed up as a main point in the first post:
“While we have heard reports of convincing the guys at the Genius Bar to send drowned handsets off for “repair” we don’t put too much stock in that considering apples policy expressly states that “service may not be available if your iPhone has been damaged due to accident or abuse” And we know of several people personally that have been shown the door.”
Seems though, if you haven’t already heard via one channel or another, that the “geniuses” have had a change of heart. As first reported by AppleInsider there is a new equation: water-logged iPhone + $200.00 = Refurb and 2 more years of your life. Albeit temporarily. The general consensus is that apple is trying to move the 1000s and 1000s of refurbished 3g handsets before the anticipated launch of the “new” iPhone. We have not independently verified this report, but AppleInsider is as solid a source as you can get a handle on.
So, what’s this mean for both you and for us? Well for you, it means this in our “educated” opinion:
1. If your iPhone has encountered either chlorine or sugar and after following the procedures documented here and elsewhere you cannot get your device to fire up, AND you either are fully backed up via iTunes or you had very little in terms of data in and on your iPhone THEN skip ANY water damage repair service. Including ours. Go straight to apple and spend the 200 bones and save yourself the time, anxiety, and potential heartbreak. In love and water damage there are no guarantees and the ability to get a working, warrantied handset $300.00+ dollars off of retail is too good a deal. It’s an odds game.
2. If your iPhone has fallen in the toilet, or the tub, or the sink, or was rained on, or likes pond water, or was a “workout victim” AND was removed from moisture quickly your chances are actually quite good for a full recovery. If it was fresh water and it was submerged for a time BUT you started a responsible drying regimen AND have not plugged the device in, then again your chances for recovery are fair as well. We would suggest that it is worth the bench fee to take a good crack at it.
3. If your iPhone has encountered any type of moisture and you have done nothing about it for 3 weeks and now you OR you have repeatedly plugged it in while wet and attempted to charge or power on the device AND you have decided that you would like it to miraculously start functioning properly, we got news for you: It aint looking good brother. We will try and we have seen it happen, but you acted irresponsibly and will probably be punished for it, but at least with this new policy you wont get whipped too bad.
If you would like any additional information or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line at support@chapelwireless.com or reach out to us via any other channel. Thanks again!
