Yea, I didn't see that addressed in the tearsown either. Kind of what brought me to ask here.
If no water indicator would you go the truthful route?
If it were me, then yes I'd admit what happened.
The alternative is making an @$$ out of oneself when you've already claimed it didn't happen, and they prove to you that it did.
As someone who's worked on a lot of electrical devices, I can tell when water is the culprit, even if no water remains and there aren't any sensors.
There is a distinct appearance that is visible if you know what you're looking for.
Whether they'll be able to determine it onsite, I don't know. Depends on whether they can get inside it. Or if perhaps they can see some indication through the charging connection. And of course, how experienced the tech is.
I've determined water to be the cause of damage to things that I personally know for a fact, never got water on them. Sometimes a bit of moisture in the air is enough. Forms condensation on the circuit board, shorts / bridges a couple contacts, and it's dead. And the trace of the cause is visible if you know what to look for. You can see where it happened.
My television recently died to this cause. An LCD television that never got a spill of any sort. Just poof one day. I opened it up, and inside it was clearly water damage. Might as well have spilled water in it. But it was bone dry when I opened it up (a day after it died).
I looked at the ceiling over it, no indication of moisture. But the television was near a widow that is cold with a heater under it. Just enough moisture it would appear. And yes the window does let cold air through, and sometimes there's moisture on the window (condensation).
So, I'd say you can either be honest. Or, figure out how to handle it when they prove you wrong.
Some techs are very smart. I even had a customer once that kept calling me out to service his computer accessory. I'd never had one of my designs fail before him. So I was curious.
After the 2nd replacement, I added a little trap for him. Not one that would hurt him. Just one that would prove what he was doing.
He complained (quite loudly) when he found my trap. He said I didn't have the right to add it. I told him that he wouldn't have found it if he wasn't inside the device, and that he didn't have the right to tinker inside my equipment if he wanted me to honor the warranty.
I never got another complaint about faulty equipment again after that. And I added that trap to all of my designs from that point forward.
Anyway, it's up to you. And how well you handle being humbled.
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If you used a credit card to purchase your AirPods, many include 90 days of accidental damage coverage and may reimburse you for the original cost.
That is a good idea. I'd still be honest. But it's a good option to explore.
