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.
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.
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