Droid 30 day Water Damage

[emoisdead]

I was at the beach today and my sister dropped my phone in the water, and now it wont turn on. The phone is still under the 30 day return policy from VZW. Will they accept it, or do I need to spend another ridiculous amount of money for the phone? I was going to take the phone back anyway for massive amounts of dropped calls and desktop wont rotate horizontally. You can't really tell it has been damaged, it just wont turn on. The water damage sticker is still red. Any suggestions?

 

[JoeKC]

I was at the beach today and my sister dropped my phone in the water, and now it wont turn on. The phone is still under the 30 day return policy from VZW. Will they accept it, or do I need to spend another ridiculous amount of money for the phone? I was going to take the phone back anyway for massive amounts of dropped calls and desktop wont rotate horizontally. You can't really tell it has been damaged, it just wont turn on. The water damage sticker is still red. Any suggestions?

Yeah, I suggest you take responsibility for your (or your sister's) carelessness.

 

[emoisdead]

How will they know it's been water damaged? The water sticker is still red. Isn't it suppose to turn white? If the insurance option work, I'll take the phone tomorrow to see if they will return it, if not I'll do the insurance option then take it back.

 

[dutchtrumpet]

Agreed. Take responsibility. Verizon also will know that it has been damaged and won't take the phone back. Since you are within the 30 day period call Verizon and add the insurance. The next day call and get a replacement. You'll have to pay $80 (i think) for another phone.

That's taking responsibility?

 

[Deleted User]

As a VZW rep, I'd say you're SOL if you tell a rep that it was dropped in the water. If they don't know, you could of course call, add total equipment protection, and then file a claim the next day. It's obviously not a moral decision, but nobody in their right mind is going to pay in the neighborhood of $600 for a new phone if they can get it for for the cost of the deductible.

Anybody telling you to take responsibility for this would do the same thing if they were faced with a $600 price tag for a new phone, so disregard their statements.

 

[emoisdead]

Here is the picture of the back, is the water sticker the same as yours? or did it activate it?

 

[Fabolous]

It's activated. It should be white with red "X" marks on it. Yours is entirely red.

The best case scenario here is to purchase the insurance, and then file the claim. Otherwise, you're looking at $559 for a replacement Droid.

Even if you weren't going to get the Droid again, even feature (dumb) phones will cost in the ~$300 range retail.

 

[indolent]

That's one nice thing about blackberries. At least the Pearl specifically in my experience. It can take be completely submerged for a decent amount of time and still be fully functional.

 

[Deleted User]

You can also try putting it in a bag of rice for a few days, or a week. I've seen that revive completely beer soaked phones.

 

[moneymaker]

when the phone is brand new that sticker is white when theres liquid damage it turns red like yours, well where i got my droid, there is NO detuctable and they send you a brand new phone, none of that referbished stuff, message me for the website.

 

[barry99705]

That's one nice thing about blackberries. At least the Pearl specifically in my experience. It can take be completely submerged for a decent amount of time and still be fully functional.

The battery is still in there. Most likely by now the phone is toast. Too many random shorts for way too long.

 

[rockstar323]

Agreed. Take responsibility. Verizon also will know that it has been damaged and won't take the phone back. Since you are within the 30 day period call Verizon and add the insurance. The next day call and get a replacement. You'll have to pay $80 (i think) for another phone.

You can only add insurance in the first 15 days not 30. you also have to have some usage after insurance is added to prove that the phone isn't broke before you add it.

If you return a phone it gets tested and everything replaced until its fixed. there are also water damage sticker inside the device that are only visible during a tear down. if you do return a damage phone in the first 30 days and try to pass it off as defective they will catch you and charge you full retail for the phone. this usually takes a few months.

 

[GrandMasterB]

Way too late for the rice trick now, never should have tried to boot it back up until it was %100 dry internally. Insurance is only $6 a month. I urge everybody to carry the insurance for the first 90 days minimum. That's only $18 for 3 months of not having to worry about it! And worth every cent just for the peace of mind. Then after 3 months the phone is older, replacements are cheaper, the "new factor" has died down somewhat and you can feel better about removing the insurance IF you feel comfortable doing so.

IMO, but its good advice and here's the proof ^

 

[brbruce0]

Just took a look inside mine, the sticker is supposed to be white with red x's on it. Like everyone else, I would get the insurance and then call and pay the deductable and they will generally send you one overnight.

 

[lifeafter2am]

That's one nice thing about blackberries. At least the Pearl specifically in my experience. It can take be completely submerged for a decent amount of time and still be fully functional.

It really depends on the person and how quickly they deal with the situation, and how much damage there is internally. I would bet that over at crackberry there are more than a few Pearl owners who would disagree with your conclusion about ALL Pearls.

 

[Theshape]

Take responsibility, I am on my third droid! The third being an insurance replacement after it fell 45ft from a 200ft tall boiler onto concrete then got a very hot water shower! Insurance had a new Droid to me by 4pm the next day! Worth every penny!

 

[mikel]

Just got my Droid and love it. Bought the insurance (thank god). Today I spilled my ice tea. By the time I noticed the Droid got wet I pulled the battery out and wiped it clean inside and out. In the water damage area, I have a red background with a white X. Have not had the courage to put the battery back in. Any thoughts on what I should do next?

 

[GrandMasterB]

You can try completely covering the phone in a bowl of rice overnight or maybe a full day if you don't want to make a claim yet.

+1 I usually put the phone in a ziplock bag full of dry rice and let sit for a minimum of 24 hours , usually somewhere hot like in my truck.

3 out of 4 times this has worked great for me.

 

[GrandMasterB]

You can only add insurance in the first 15 days not 30....

Incorrect...

How to Get It



For any of these programs, Verizon Wireless customers can only enroll within 30 days of the following:

New account activation with new equipment.

Upgrade with new equipment purchase.

To enroll in any of these programs, customers should contact Verizon Wireless Customer Service at (800) 922-0204 or visit any Verizon Wireless retail store location; or to enroll in the Asurion Wireless Phone Protection program only, customers should call Asurion at (888) 881-2622.

 

[mikel]

the rice overnight did the trick. Phone worked great all day yesterday. Now I am charging it and the battery symbol has a ? on it. It was being charged all night and now it does note see to hold the charge? Maybe I fried the battery?

 

[baddriver]

the rice overnight did the trick. Phone worked great all day yesterday. Now I am charging it and the battery symbol has a ? on it. It was being charged all night and now it does note see to hold the charge? Maybe I fried the battery?

? on the battery symbol occurs when the battery isn't installed and you are powering through usb connection. Take the battery out and try it, you'll see the same thing.

 

[Jeremy556]

the rice overnight did the trick. Phone worked great all day yesterday. Now I am charging it and the battery symbol has a ? on it. It was being charged all night and now it does note see to hold the charge? Maybe I fried the battery?

Almost certainly. Take that battery out now and don't use it any more. Buy a new battery.

 

[GrandMasterB]

the rice overnight did the trick. Phone worked great all day yesterday. Now I am charging it and the battery symbol has a ? on it. It was being charged all night and now it does note see to hold the charge? Maybe I fried the battery?

If it were my phone I would try cleaning the battery contacts with a qtip and rubbing alcohol then let it dry for a good 20 minutes or take canned air and dry it. The see if you still get the question mark. If so then you could try buying a new battery.

My experiences have been with bath water. My wife has dropped 4 different phones in the jetted bathtub playing solitaire 3 of those phones work fine to this day. The 4th one she immediately tried drying with a towel and then tried to boot it up to continue her game, then when it didn't work she left it sitting on the counter with the battery in it until I got home.

Bath water cleans out relatively easy as it is clean for the most part. I imagine iced tea would leave behind a terribly sticky residue.

 

[mikel]

You must really love your wife.

Thanks, I will give that a try.

 

[CRPercodani]

As much as I feel for you in the cost of a new phone that retails for $600, I really disagree with this whole insurance trick or trying to scam a rep by getting a replacement. These kinds of things are why our monthly charges get higher and higher, it's fraud no matter which way you slice it. Granted Asurion would be taking the hit it still gives them reason to raise the monthly fee another buck or two for everyone else. If your going to be at the beach then keep your phone away from the water and don't let anyone else touch it, if it still manages to get wet then have enough honesty to buy a new one instead of trying to find ways to scam it for free.