What is Digg?117 Comments
- FlyboyP, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The indicator can change when exposed to ANY high humidity environment, not just submerged. I have seen it happen when a phone is in its case but exposed to rain. This indication will void the warranty. You're better off buying insurance at $1.50/mo and having the phone "stolen."
- iammattchew, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4So you could use that CLR shower cleaner then... ;)
- kipin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My phone shows up with a pink dot which I imagine means it thinks its been water damaged, problem is it has never been dunked in water. The only thing I can think of that would cause it would be either getting a little rain on it, or perspiration.
Cheap trick by the cell phone companies if you get a bunch of false positives. - Antarctica, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I thought the red dot meant my phone was Hindu.
- iforget1919, on 03/11/2008, -0/+1You can bleach the dot amirite?
- soloflair, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Remove the red dot. Take a hole punch look around the house for something white old bumper sticker,etc
hole punch it.Place it where the red dot was removed fits like a glove.Good luck - RightCoast, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Yeah, i was told i had to to buy a new cell phone when my LG stopped working, because when i took it in, they said it had been underwater so it was "not longer under warranty", but i know it never had. they showed me the dot and it was "too pink" and should be more red with small white dots. the dot on my phone was actually on the battery pack, so i just bought a new battery and then took it to a different Verizon dealer.
- lorensingley, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1my lg just went through the washing machine but the dot is not pink or red at all, does this mean i might still be covered?
- animeorb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hmm couldent you just tape over it or something whenever you get it :p
Or put white paint :) - 8ight, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1anything for a few seconds in a microwave?
- 127.0.0.1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1lol 8ight, for a Mythbusters' experiment ?
- iammattchew, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I pulled the paper dot off... bad idea?
- grandeandy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They also look at the contacts for the charger to see if there is water damage there. Usually you can tell because it looks like Calcium, Lime, or Rust.
- pHr34kY, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I worked selling phones before. I found out about this once someone's phone came back unrepaired and the technician commented that the red sticker indicated moisture exposure.
..pretty cool. It would save a lot of time for the guys repairing the things because sublte water damage can FUBAR a phone, yet it's hard to tell just by looking at it sometimes. - natelv, on 10/16/2007, -0/+1I work for Verizon - its not JUST the red dot we look at. Thats just the dead give away. Ive seen water damage with the red dot intact (my phone for instance). I was out in the rain i keep it in my pocket and the inside of the screen you could see condensation yet my dots were fine. Different brands do different things for the dots, some with only dots on the battery, some with dots everywhere. If you get past the sales rep for warranty you still have to send it in and deal with the tech taking it apart and looking for corrosion and signs of physical damage and such. The red dot theories you guys are coming up with MAY get past the rep but not the tech who is going to take the phoen apart completely.
We get water damaged phones in nearly every day, some are obvious some take some detective work.
YOUR BEST BET FOR A WATER DAMAGED PHONE:
1. turn the phone OFF
2. leave off for at least a day
3. take it apart as much as you can, battery and such. (w/out voiding warrant)
4. use a blow drier to speed drying up
Water doesnt ALWAYS kill a phone but those things will help.
And yes, there are false positives - humidity will make them go red too, but there is no way for you to prove it wasnt dunked in water. - TerryS, on 10/16/2007, -0/+1he dots are overly sensitive. They can be discolored by bringing in a frozen phone from the cold and have condensation change the dot color. Splashing water on the exterior may not get water into the phone and probably won't change the dot color, but damage to the keys might occur. But a humid environment, even for a short time will change the color, but not be enough to actually damage the phone. Many people look at the dot after their phone is not working, when actually the dot changed color weeks before.
My daughters' phone had memory problems from the day she got it but waited just over a month( she complained before but brought the phone back in just after the 30 day free replacement warranty period). We figure the dots color change was due to cold weather/condensation just before she brought it in.
So she is using a crippled phone, can make and receive phone calls but can't save ring tones or more importantly use it as a camera.
I've been told the techs pay much more attention to sighs of corrosion than the dots, knowing that some moisture in shipping might change the dot color but not be excessive for the phone.
By the way "Bight's" comments on using a microwave to dry the phone - I just hope everybody knows he's kidding. - SnowBladerX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ahh the memories.. this article reminded me of last summer when I put my cell in my "dry bin" on my jetski and when I pulled the phone out to make a call and sure enough it wouldn't turn on..
I took the phone apart and found abit of water inside and noticed some nice little red dots.. I had a pretty good idea that those were for water damage since some of them were still pink-red. Needless to say I am glad the phone just needed to dry out, and I didn't have to send the phone in for repair as I am sure they would have charged me for any damage from the water.
I guess my suspicions about the red dots were correct. - ZapWizard, on 10/16/2007, -0/+1Good tip:
-Buy a device
-Outline the dot with a pencil.
-Remove the dot with an exacto-knife
-Keep in a plastic bag
If you ever drop the device in water, replace the dot and your good to go. - drilldown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I ripped off the dot under the battery cover/dot was under cover..not on the battery itself on my Nokia 21151. Removed the battery, and removed the X-sticky underneath with vinegar alcohol mix. Let dry, battery back in. They should improve their quality control dept, should anyone ask about its absence.
Tested dot under a mist, does not turn pink under light exposure to water. Only under dousing. If you douse a phone with water, pull the battery and turn on the hair dryer. It has worked.
I don't like it and was not told about it in any disclaimer. I read ALL disclaimers/terms. - jenjen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My Samsung A670 has never really held a charge well. I've brought it in twice and they have replace the battery for free. I'm fed up however, since the new batteries never work better. I want to go in and ask for a replacement phone, but when I took my battery off, I found a white circle with little purple x's. It wasn't on the battery, it's on the back of the phone. So, I'm guessing they will just tell me that I've dropped it in water...which I've never done...I did however take a shower with it in the room...and not replace my phone.
- zimm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1white out
- Devin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1As far as the RAZRs dot sensitivity I just took a look at mine (don't worry, I bought it unlocked in Hong Kong so I don't have a warranty anyways) and put my finger to my tongue briefly and then tapped the dot on the corner and after a couple seconds the corner went red. That said, the way the battery contours around it makes it seem like it could form a seal on it. I think the phone really has to be swimming for the dot to go red.
- matt19855, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Take the water indicators off, put in a safe place. Also, put a permanent marker dot where they were removed, so you know where to place them back. If an accident occurs, carefully glue them back on to the appropriate spots they were removed and marked.
- rmclaughlin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0My razr v3 has the one obvious dot and three of the white/red dots on different parts of the motherboard.
- tebs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0No where on the Motorola Warranty does it say that the red dot voids the guarantee, it states in the warranty "WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY - Defects or damage due to moist, liquid or spills of food." So in other words Motorola must still open up your phone and check out the damage and only if the damage is due to the moisture and the liquid spill can they refuse to repair it, but if the damage is not due to the moisture of liquid spill they cannot refuse you your guarantee. So Motorola must suck it up!!!!!
- onetimeuser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I managed to change the color of my little dot by going skiing from Texas. The temperature change and condensation is the only way I can think of there being enough water to change the dot color. If I peel it off does anyone know if I can check (as the phone company will check) if the phone has other obvious water damage. I want to send it back under warrenty and not have to pay as if it had water damage. On a side note, it's ridiculous that a temperature change can kill my warrenty...
- docbreen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Title= i think every digg user and most non-readers know. but interesting read non-the-less.
- bluetango, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0One thing I haven't read about here is that someone's phone fell into the toilet - I got pool, cat water bowl, even Johnny Walker - but no toilet. That's right folks, mine fell into the toilet. I got the red dot.
- jah988948, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I dropped my Razr in the pool a few days ago. I immediately took out the battery and waited a few days for it to dry out, still didnt work, so I opened it up and saw this red dot, and ripped it off. All of a sudden my phone keys illuminated and the screen turned back on. I have no idea how this worked, the red dot must have something to do with keeping the phone off once it turns red.
- clivehansen, on 01/16/2008, -0/+0You can prevent this by just removing the sticker and placing a circle cut from any other white sticker in the same place.
- VelvetoneFusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0yeah I'll just take it off. How could I possibly lose or get dirty a 1/2 centimeter sticker over the course of 2 years? :P
- Schmitty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Worked at Radio Shack, and for a phone dropped in water, we always tried a new battery first. 9 times out of 10 it worked! It certainly helped make the customer feel better paying for a $50-60 battery INSTEAD of a $200-250 phone, and the plus side, you get repeat business :-D Still, we had phones that showed absolutely NO signs of wear, they would go dead, and we would send them to repair. We sometimes get them back saying, "Water Damage, not under warranty", and then have to explain to the angry customer why we just wasted a weeks worth of time. No, best advice for countering this little water mark effect, would be, get the insurance. If you are particularly clumsy with things, DEFINITELY get the insurance.
- IndyRev, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Not just water folks, I've seen the dot turn pink when the phone is submerged in vodka as well.
- queenelizabeth2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0hey i have an lg too and it fell in the water. im hopin mine still works
- lixindi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0hey - I didn't know about this.
Contracts suck. Go prepaid. I heart Virgin Mobile.
And most Motorolas are crap. - linnaeus, on 10/30/2007, -0/+0if ***** happens into your cellphone because of water.....this is the solution
http://waterdamagecellphone.blogspot.com/
or at http://mobcellphone.blogspot.com/ - ipodfreek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I dropped my Verizon phone once and it hit the concrete HARD. The phone immediately stopped working. I didn't have insurance on it, so I called the dealer that I bought it from and asked what I could do, or how cheap I could get another phone. They told me to take it to the local service center and just tell them it wasn't working anymore. They told me not to offer too much info and see if they would replace it. So, I did. I took it in and they told me that it had water damage. Okay.. if you read this again you'll note that I dropped it on concrete... DRY CONCRETE!
But, I couldn't tell them that! The lady at the center was a bit grumpy, but decided to give me a phone as "a courtesy". What a sham! I mean, I'm glad I got a new phone, but they were going to stick me with the "soaked phone" scam, and it had never been near water. (sigh) - BeefandBeer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0If your phone got wet but it was off, don't turn it on immediately to check if it's OK. It will cause a short circuit. Let it dry for a few days (3-4 perhaps), then try to turn it on.
- bluefire0728, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Digg for the article, but *****, the submitter chose a HORRIBLE title...
- JaggedEdge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0So.... i heard the tape trick a ***** of times over, and the nail polish sounded good.... but i think drippin a lil white wax over it and scarppin the excess off would work the best...
Anyone got a phone theyre willing to give it a try on? - Omicron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this happened to me. i had a sony ericsson that my daughter sucked on (she was 1 at the time), and it ruined my phone, it would only work in headset mode. i took it in saying i didn't know what was wrong with it, and they checked that red dot and i was screwed =/
- edto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0my treo has no such dot.
- catoutfit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I reckon, just stick a little bit of duct tape over the dot as 'insurance' incase anything goes wrong...I'm getting a k750i tuesday, I wonder if that has a 'dot'? hmmm...
- kday, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I dropped my phone in a dog water bowl for well over an hour once. I couldnt find my phone anywhere. I looked down in my dogs water bowl, and there it was, completely submerged. I took it out, and the phone still appeared to be turned on, although LCD display was all screwed up. I immediately tested to see if it would make phone calls, and it did. A couple days later, after the phone dried out, the LCD came back to life.
A few days later, I was mad about something stupid, and I threw my cell while the face was open. It snapped in two. I had insurance, but I would still have to pay $35 for a new phone from sprint. Instead, I went to the Verizon store near by, and got a new phone for free.
Moral of the story: Don't pay for cell phone insurance. It's pointless, and it's a rip off! - andyd273, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I had a phone that was out of warranty fall into a cat water bowl, since it didnt work (and I was signing up to get a different company which ment a new phone anyway) I took the dead one apart, found the first red dot on the outside, (which I knew would be there) but was supprised to fine one on the inside on the motherboard as well... I had thought of just using clear nail polish or tape to protect the dot, but that wouldnt have protected the one inside the phone that I didnt know about.
not sure if all phones have this, but I thought it was quite interesting. - killerofkiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0just peeled mine off.. well actually half of it was stuck to the back of a battery.. was submerged battery and all over night... still works fine
- asplodzor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0That's why I have both Sprint's walk-in warranty and their $50 deductible will-replace-for-absolutely-any-reason-under-the-sun warranty on my Treo.
- lukas88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Fyi, the dot on motorolas (at least the V551) is where the battery connects to the phone. I had to send one in, and the guy had me look there without telling me why. Because I told him I saw no red mark, he OKed the phone to be replaced.
I have had 2 motorolas, the RAZR and the V551 (got both for free through amazon.com). I had to send the V551 back twice and the RAZR back once. They are great phones, when they aren't defective.
But hey, free is free :) - elroy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Panasonic X800. Fully iSync compatible Symbian series60 flip phone. Get one unlocked on eBay.
- denied, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0OK...so will anything turn the dot back to white? Bleach?
My RAZR still works fine but it's definitely red. Would be nice to just turn the dot back rather than make a new one. -
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