Why Doesn't My Phone Work?

[Myra]

A little backstory for those who haven't been so lucky as to get the privilege of working in the cell phone industry.

When a phone is exposed to moisture, there is not cut-and-dry way that it will behave. Some people are lucky - they dry the phone out, and it continues working with maybe a few minor gliches. Some phones will work for 6 months to a year or so before they poop out. Some work for ten minutes then die. Some never power on again after exposure. It just depends on the type of moisture, how exposed it was, and about a million other factors. But the bottom line is this: once the moisture indicators turn colors, your warranty is void. Even if you have the service and repair plan, there is nothing I can do, as moisture damage is one of the things NOT covered in the S&R plan.

Okay. On to the story. On Saturday I sold a phone outright to a guy whose phone he accidentally left on the bed of his truck. He thought he'd lost it on the highway. So I sold him a new phone and got the old one turned off in case it still worked and someone picked it up.

Today guy comes back. Turns out it had fallen out of his truck and landed in his dad's yard and he found it Sunday afternoon. It got chilly Saturday night, and there was plenty of dew and a little frost. So when I tried to activate his phone, it wouldn't connect to the network. Meaning, it wouldn't get a signal. Guy swears when he'd found it and powered it on, it had a signal. So I open it up, and sure enough, the moisture indicators are red. (They're supposed to be white.) There's no corrosion or dents in the sheilds on the inside, but it still won't work. I explain to guy how I cannot fix a phone that's been exposed to moisture.

"But I've never dropped in in anything..." I explain about dew and condensation and how that is equally bad to a phone and he understands.

"Uh, so, why is it not getting a signal now? It had one yesterday." I explain the unpredictability of moisture damage and cell phones. He still doesn't get it.

"Why doesn't it work?" he demands.

At this point, it takes just about every bit of willpower in me to not simply say "Uh, because it flew off the back of a vehicle, probably bounced a few times, then sat in wet grass for more than 12 hours. Gee, I don't know. What do YOU think?" But I am good, and explain the deal with moisture damage again.

"Well it worked yesterday," he tells me. I apologize, and say I can try to clean it out and see if that does anything. "Whatever," he slams the phone on the desk. Like that's gonna help.

So I open it back up and clean it out. I put it back together and still nothing. I apologize again, but politely tell him I've done all I can do. The phone is dead.

"I just don't understand this. It worked yesterday, then I brought it here," he says, staring at me accusingly. Oh PLEASE.

"Sir, you've seen all I've done to this phone. I activated it, and I cleaned dust out of it. I've not done anything to make it stop working. The moisture did all that for us."

"Well, I can't believe that it just stopped working because of that."

"I'm sorry sir. Electronics aren't made to withstand exposure to moisture."

He sighs. "So you're telling me that you can't fix it?" The way he says it, it's evident that he believes there's something that I can do, I'm just not doing it because I'm a big nasty meanie pants. I apolgize, and say I've done all I can do. He gets up and stomps out.

"Wow. Someone's an ass," my next customer says laughing.

If I had a candy bar, that customer would've gotten one.

[Sofar]

A lot of people don't understand that electronics these days are much more sensitive than they used to be, my family had an old Zenith television set constructed in 1983, (the kind with a keypad and a small digital display on the control panel,) and stuff was constantly getting poured down the back of it. Every time we'd just shut it off and let it sit for a while, and it'd by fine by morning. However, the thing weighed ninety pounds, had to sit on the floor, and took sixty seconds to warm up. Then we had an R.C.A. L.C.D. set, it had the same size screen but weighed in at eighteen pounds and fit neatly on the bookshelf. It was killed by some rain blowing in an open window. They don't make 'em like they used to, but at least everything's cheaper and weighs less. Buy a new one, sell the old one for parts.

[Gawdzillers]

A lot of people don't understand that electronics these days are much more sensitive than they used to be, my family had an old Zenith television set constructed in 1983, (the kind with a keypad and a small digital display on the control panel,) and stuff was constantly getting poured down the back of it. Every time we'd just shut it off and let it sit for a while, and it'd by fine by morning. However, the thing weighed ninety pounds, had to sit on the floor, and took sixty seconds to warm up. Then we had an R.C.A. L.C.D. set, it had the same size screen but weighed in at eighteen pounds and fit neatly on the bookshelf. It was killed by some rain blowing in an open window. They don't make 'em like they used to, but at least everything's cheaper and weighs less. Buy a new one, sell the old one for parts.

"That ol' grey mare, she ain't what she used to be.."

I had a television probably built in the 80's in my room for a while, up until a month ago. It works great, the problem is that the color's a bit ruined, and the left side of the screen is darker than the rest.

But at least I stuck to the roots and bought a tube-style flat-screen.

[batmoody]

I still have an old magnazox tv from the 80's. It has that lovely brown paneling on it. The thing still works though. We have gone through 3 newer TV's in the time I have had that Magnavox. And I got it used.

A story about cell phone "moisture" ..... A friend of mine and myself went to a party at this guys house that I worked with. About halfway through the night, she realizes she lost her cell phone. At this point we are all a bit blitzed, but we look for the phone and can't find it anywhere. We call it. Nothing. So....we say screw it,hang out and drink some more. Good times.....
Fast forward a couple days later. I am at work, and co-worker who had the party tells me a very interesting story.....Seems they were having plumbing problems in the bathroom. The toilet was all plugged up. He calls the plumber out and lo and behold there is a cell phone flushed down that toilet.
So gross.
Apparently, while my friend took a blitzed potty break, the phone fell out of her pocket and into the john. She never realized it. And she flushed it.
Eeeew.
Yeah, it didn't work after that....so I heard....

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Ewwww! I wouldn't even want to see if that phone worked after it had flushed!

[Rahmota]

This reminded me of a couple thigns from my days as a tech at SPCS. Neither of the customers had an attitude and actually understood why their phones didnt work.

One was a guy who came in from the nearby lake where he had been fishing. With his phone in his pocket. Well he fell out of his boat for one reason or another (I forget what he said) and landed in the water with the phone still in his pocket. The phone had water come out of the case when I opened it up.

The other guy worked at a warehouse and somehow had his phone come off his belt as he was guiding a semitruck into its space. Said truck ran over the phone. Customer came in with a baggie of phone confetti. I recall him joking about having a problem that he didnt think was covered under warrenty before he produced the bag. Leastwise he was cool about it and didnt try and wheedle anything free out of us.

[1756GR2]

Myra, we get the same people. I've found it helps them understand if you tell them that corrosion takes its toll slowly, so that what worked yesterday or last week or last month doesn't work today. (You get the ones who scratch off the indicator thinking you won't know it got wet because there's no red indicator to see? Sheeeeeesh!)

And as I've said before, if you've flushed your phone (and an amazing number of people do), PLEASE tell me BEFORE I handle it.

[Seanette]

The other guy worked at a warehouse and somehow had his phone come off his belt as he was guiding a semitruck into its space. Said truck ran over the phone. Customer came in with a baggie of phone confetti. I recall him joking about having a problem that he didnt think was covered under warrenty before he produced the bag. Leastwise he was cool about it and didnt try and wheedle anything free out of us.

"baggie of phone confetti" - Love the phrase.

There are some things in life you just have to laugh at.