Why your cell phone warranty might be void right now

by Joe P on July 23, 2008

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D’oh! Your cell phone broke. Clearly, there’s only one thing to do, right? Yeah! Head on down to your local retailer and have them replace it. After all, it’s under warranty. So you hop in your jalopy and putter down to the nearest store. You engage the first sales rep you see, and explain your situation. “The phone is great, it’s just that the [directional pad, trackball, numerical key, whathaveyou] is broken. It’s still under warranty, though, so I was wondering if you could just replace it.” A totally reasonable request, right? So the employee takes a look at the phone, and you notice that he takes the battery cover off. Must be standard procedure.

Then he turns to you and says, “I’m sorry, but we can’t replace your phone under warranty.”

“Why?” you ask. Clearly, something must be wrong, you’re thinking to yourself. The warranty definitely covers a broken [directional pad, trackball, numerical key, whathaveyou]. So what’s the problem?

“Your cell phone has water damage.”

Dun dun dun.

This is the kiss of death for your warranty. For a further explanation, we turn to…this guy:

Clearly, this is problematic. It’s not your typical water damage case, like I had back in December. Guitar strapped over my shoulder, I was rocking out to some Deep Purple when my phone started to vibrate over on the night stand. But hey, it’s Deep Puple, so I decide that whoever is calling can wait until the end of “Maybe I’m A Leo.” I look over again, and I see the phone slowly edging its way towards the edge of the night stand. It gets closer, and closer…

Plop!

Right into a cup of water. Which just happened to be sitting directly below my cell phone. Of all the freak luck! After sitting in a bowl of rice for three days, it was operational again. Yet, when I removed the battery cover, I could see that bright red dot staring me in the face. Nope, I thought, this one isn’t getting replaced with the warranty. Then I realized that the warranty had expired a year ago, and I felt a little better. Still, it was my own fault. There was no way I could talk my way into a warranty replacement, even if the phone was still covered.

Humidity sets these things off

While you might not feel sympathy for a careless character like me, there are plenty of people, like our video friend above, who weren’t negligent in the care of their phone, yet suffer the same fate of a voided warranty. Why? Because manufacturers make these water sensors extra sensitive. Even humidity, which is currently acting like Krazy Glue between my skin and my undershirt, can flip that indicator from white to red. Basically, there could be a city full of cell phone carriers with voided warranties, all because of the weather.

Which, you know, we can’t control or anything.

This happened to my sister recently. After having to purchase a new phone back in January — incidentally, because of actual water damage — she realized an issue with her new phone a few weeks ago. Either the battery wasn’t holding a charge, or it wasn’t connecting properly, because she couldn’t get the damn thing to turn on past the initial Verizon screen. So she took it to the shop, where they delivered her the bad news. Her indicator was red. Since she had been extra careful this time around not to expose the thing to water, the clerk instantly knew that humidity was the culprit. Yet there was nothing he could do, beyond offering her a meager discount on a new phone.

You can plead to a sales rep or even a supervisor until you’re blue in the face. If that little indicator shows red, you’re out of luck. They can’t do anything, nor can anyone else, really. Maybe they can hook you up with a deal on a new phone. But you can kiss that free warranty replacement goodbye.

While it might seem hopeless, there is a step you can take to prevent humidity from costing you hundreds of dollars.

The ol’ tape on the sensor trick

This nifty video can explain things for you:

In case you don’t want to sit through all two minutes and forty seconds of it, I can sum it up in a few sentences. Basically, pop your battery out to reveal the little circle which lies under it. This will either be red (already damaged) or white (must protect!). If it’s white, just use a hole puncher to create a dot from a piece of paper. Then, place a piece of tape over the dot. Finally, use the tape to secure the hole-punched dot over the water indicator.

Please note that this, in all likelihood, will not protect you from actual water damage. There are other signs which can make this obvious. As noted by a few commenters on this particular video, there is often a second, albeit less sensitive, water damage indicator somewhere behind the LCD screen. Plus, any technician worth his weight will be able to pick up on the water-induced corrosion on the battery leads and other metal parts. So if you think this is going to protect you in the event that your friends toss you in the pool, you’re not going to be pleased with the outcome.

You should, however, keep your warranty in tact with this strategy. I’ve heard successes from many people, ranging from colleagues to distant acquaintances. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s certainly better than leaving the indicator exposed to the elements, which will almost certainly flip it from white to red if you live in a high humidity area.

If you tape over your indicator, remember to…

Please, oh please, if you choose to tape over your water damage indicator, remember to remove the tape before you take your phone in for a warranty replacement. I don’t think the reps or repairmen would take so kindly to that kind of shenanigan.

Filed under : Consumer Issues