back to article Moist iPhone fanbois tempted with golden Apple shower offer

Apple has reportedly agreed to shake $53m (£35m) in change out of its pockets to settle a lawsuit accusing it of wriggling out of gadget warranties using a water-detecting tool. Fanbois who brought their busted iPhones and iPods into Apple Stores for repair watched employees check the status of a Liquid Contact Indicator - …

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  1. LPF

    Yet again..

    Only winners are the lawyers :S

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yet again..

      Happened to a friend of mine, but he did admit to Apple that his wife had washed it in the washing machine at 40C.

      Still they only charged a nominal fee to replace it.

    2. Nameless Faceless Computer User

      Re: Yet again..

      qft - why not just honor the repair warranty rather than finding ways to screw people over?

  2. jai

    But, this water detector wasn't unique to iPhone's, was it? I thought at least some Android mobes had it as well?

    1. Mostly_Harmless Silver badge
      Coat

      RE: unique to iPhones?

      Seeing as Apple haven't threatened to sue anyone over it, I think it's safe to assume it's iPhone only.

      1. Captain Scarlet
        Paris Hilton

        Re: RE: unique to iPhones?

        Not sure, the problem is Apple have their own stores where as for instants I have a HTC so I would have to send it back. I wouldn't be able to see if they were checking tape or not.

        1. Triggerfish

          Re: RE: unique to iPhones?

          Yes happened to friend recently, there's was a droid phone but can't remember what make. sent back because it was acting up, and report came back they had checked the strip and it had been water damaged. They live in a pretty damp house, but I believe them when they say they hadn't got it wet.

          Strikes me as a good way to get out of warranty repairs, open in some repair shop not in your presence their word against yours.

      2. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: RE: unique to iPhones?

        >Seeing as Apple haven't threatened to sue anyone over it, I think it's safe to assume it's iPhone only.

        I've seen advertisements in engineering journals for 3M's version of the tape years before the iPhone was released.

        1. VinceH

          Re: RE: unique to iPhones?

          " I've seen advertisements in engineering journals for 3M's version of the tape years before the iPhone was released."

          Yeah, but this is Apple, who exist in a world where prior art doesn't count.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Headmaster

      To ' or not to '. That is the question.

      "...But, this water detector wasn't unique to iPhone's, was it? I thought at least some Android mobes had it as well?..."

      Why is the plural of iPhone iPhone's, but the plural of mobe isn't mobe's?

      If you're going to be grammatically illiterate, at least have a bit of consistency.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. xyz Silver badge
        Headmaster

        Re: To ' or not to '. That is the question.

        >>Why is the plural of iPhone iPhone's, but the plural of mobe isn't mobe's?

        As I'm sure others will have pointed out but I can't be bothered to look, the plural of iPhone, is iPhones without an apostrophe. Why can anyone add an "s" to something without sticking an apostrophe in anymore?

        The correct usage for the apostrophe is as the foillowing examples.

        The iPhone's antenna is crap, means that the antenna of one iPhone is crap.

        The iPhones' antenna is crap, means that the antenna of all iphones is crap.

        1. C 18
          Headmaster

          Re: To ' or not to '. That is the question.

          If you're going to be a Grammar Pedant please don't embarrass us by littering your corrections with errors.

          Now go back and check your work...

          This sentence has a number of problems...

          >The iPhones' antenna is crap, means that the antenna of all iphones is crap.

          :)

        2. C 18
          Headmaster

          Re: To ' or not to '. That is the question.

          Oh, and this one has one (or perhaps more) also...

          >The correct usage for the apostrophe is as the foillowing examples.

        3. C 18
          FAIL

          Re: To ' or not to '. That is the question.

          Oh look! Another one!

          >Why can anyone add an "s" to something without sticking an apostrophe in anymore?

    3. Gene Cash Silver badge
      FAIL

      My ancient Samsung had two

      I live in humid Florida and my first cellphone was some matchbox size Samsung flip phone back in the mid '90s. It stopped working a month after I got it, and T-Mobile looked at the "water detector" and said "nope, it's been wet"

      Of course I'd treated it like gold because it was my first phone and very expensive for a starving student at the time. The sales droid pulled out a brand new phone and handed it to me. I pulled out the battery and bingo, the water detector sticker was just as red as my phone. I just looked at her. I didn't say a word.

      So I got a replacement free of charge.

      1. Andy Hards
        Thumb Down

        Re: My ancient Samsung had two

        A few years ago my wife's Nokia was having sound problems. The volume rocker stopped working. I sent it off to 3 who sent it back within a week saying it was fixed. Unfortunately it may have been fixed but it would not now turn on so I sent it back again. This time I got a call saying that as the water indicator showed it had got wet it was no longer covered. I pointed out that they had not thought so a week earlier and that they had had it not me but they were having none of it.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Who cares if the lawyers win, Apple loses. It might be pocket change, but loads of pocket change turns into folding dosh!

  4. mark l 2 Silver badge

    My friend in the UK has the same problem of acussed of getting the phone wet and Apple refusing to honour the warranty. Thankfully for him he complained to Orange who his contract was with an they agreed to replace his phone as he was a good customer spending over £100 a month on his and his wifes phones

    1. Martin 71 Silver badge

      In the UK the warranty would be moot anyway, sale of goods act makes their restrictions unenforcable :-)

  5. sisk
    Coat

    Apple has admitted no wrongdoing.

    Do they ever? Do they even know how?

    1. hodma727

      Indeed they do. When they find a fault with manufacturing they have been known to give a 7 year extended warranty. Happened to me with an old Apple powerbook - they replaced the screen on my by then 5 or so year old laptop and gave me a new trackpad at the same time because they'd discovered a flaw with the plastic surround on that model, and some users had had trackpads fail (mine was fine but I guess easier to replace at the same time, just in case).

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Flashbacks...

    "Apple has admitted no wrongdoing."

    I wouldn't of read the article if I thought they had, because I would of accredited it to acid flashbacks.

    Reality...check.

    1. ed2020
      Thumb Down

      Re: Flashbacks...

      "Have", not "of".

  7. PCPuss

    Motorola RAZR's had that tape circle about 10 years ago. It was under the battery...

  8. Alan Denman

    nope,not unique

    What is unique about Apple is that, probably because fanboys rave about the service, Apple get license to do what the hell they want.

    Which obviously means even more lucre for shareholders.

  9. JaitcH
    WTF?

    Wet iPhones? They should have bought waterproof Androids!

    The six-month long wet season is about to begin in Ho Chi Minh City and along with the rains come Baggies and big repair bills for iThingy users. (The Baggies are a poor iPhones owners answer to waterproofing)

    Only takes a couple of minutes to flatten an Apple product.

    Still, others are happy, they are the Motorola, Samsung B2710, Sony and Tuff Phones (UK) users who thumb their noses at the rain.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bought a LifeProof case for my wife's (then new*) iPhone - it's waterproof and works quite well. However there is a latch you need to open to get to the charging port. My wife gave the thing to my 4 year old to play with in the bath - this a 2 day old phone. When I went in he had just discovered the latch and opened it. My heart stopped, knowing that a phone borked by giving it to a kid in a bath wasn't going to win over Apple or the insurers - I grabbed it and immediately started wicking away the water from inside the charging port thingy with bits of tissue and toliet paper. A year later it's still working. But hell I was bricking it for a while. And yes, I had words with the wife after I'd dealt with the phone.....

    * It being a insurance replacement for the previous one who didn't survive abuse from my 2 year old, despite being in a (clearly less than advertised) protective case. Yeah yeah I know - don't give the bloody things to kids!!

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The members of the class action will probably get $1.43 each

    As above.

  12. MuddyBoots
    Happy

    Money

    "A billion here, a billion there... Before too long it starts to sound like real money."

    (The West Wing)

  13. Captain Underpants

    And here was me thinking that the solution to this issue was the long-standing "get a long thin rod, put a small blob of whiteout on it, and very gently pop it down the headphone jack to cover the offending pinkness"...

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