Mobile Phone water damaged - i am not so sure

[venice]

In the last few months I know of 2 people whose mobile phone stopped working. As it was under warranty they brought it back to the shop who sent it away for repair. When returned they were told that there was water damage so it was not covered under the warranty. These people insist that it this was not the case but to no avail.

A couple of weeks ago my N97mini stopped working as I was using it in the house, it was never much good as a phone however now it would not even turn on. I sent it back to Vodafone who sent it off to a 3rd party for repair. Guess what? It came back with a note saying “Un repairable – moisture damage”??? I know this is not the case, it was nowhere near water or damp but of course I cannot prove this.

I am very suspicious about what is going on here.

I was just wondering have many people come across this where they were told the phone was water damaged however they are fairly sure or as sure as can be that is not the case.


Thanks

V

 

[Latrade]

Some phones have a "sensor" that indicate moisture has gotten into the phone. If this has occurred then they will usually put the damage down to moisture irrespective of what happened.

It can be fairly contentious as the iPhone sensor is actually in the headphone port, the most exposed part. A good dose of sweat (if used while running etc) and even a light rain show can be enough to trigger the sensor.

 

[venice]

Yes but how do I know that the sensor has been triggered and just to maybe sound paranoid how do I know that they have not triggered it to save them the cost of repair or replacement….

That’s 3 people that I know including myself that are of the opinion that no water (or sweat) was near the phone……

 

[AlbacoreA]

Ask them for a photo of it. Then open your phone and check if its the same. Warranty blown anyway. Just an idea.

 

[JP1234]

A couple of years ago my sons phone (from vodafone) stopped working. The girl in the shop insisted it was water damage but I insisted they send it off under warranty ( he had it less than 3 months) It was repaired with a note saying it was now moisture damage. I had heard of other people using the same shop being given the same excuse and a look around various forums confirmed that it seems to be a stock answer given particularly by vodafone.

I have read some comments that people had been told it was because their hands were too sweaty or they had used it in the rain but I can't see how either of those would cause a phone to fail.

 

[Sue Ellen]

I would always class Nokia to be one of the better brands of phone so I would write to Nokia and ask for their comments as you have heard this phone is getting bad publicity because of this complaint.

 

[burmo]

I had this problem before... with Meteor.

The phone was perfect except for a problem with the joystick. I opened it with the proper tools and all was fine inside... they said water damage. I am an electronic engineer.

I queried them on it and they sent me a picture of the sony ericcson connector showing some corrosion! This connector piece goes into a right angle connector on the main board... and this was absolutely perfect - I confirmed this again when I got the phone back.

The next step would be to pay someone on their team 150 to re-evaluate it... so I didn't as I got the phone for free....

 

[venice]

Thanks for replies

The next step would be to pay someone on their team 150 to re-evaluate it...

The problem with that is won’t prove that they didn’t put a drop of water on the sensors while assessing it to save the expense of maybe replacing the motherboard or something. Looking at other forums there has been a lot of problems with the n97mini motherboard.

Like AlbacoreA says the only way would be to take a picture of it before you send it away but then your warranty is gone anyway for opening it up and of course they know that...