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iPod Water-damaged iPod... covered by Applecare?

P

PaulMoore

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 3, 2007
224
6
Hi

I have a 5G iPod which drowned in a bag when water got spilled into it. It happened only an hour or so ago so I've left it on the dash of my car in the sun to dry out (it's not responding).

If it doesn't come back to life will Applecare cover it or like cellphones, can they tell if it's water damage? Any advice...?
 
The warranty is void. You need to wait at least 48 hours before even trying to switch it on, or it will be dead.
 
AppleCare is a warranty and not insurance, so no, it won't be covered if the water damage killed it. Like Eraserhead said, let it dry out for a couple of days before even attempting to power it on and maybe you'll luck out.
 
Thanks for the responses- out of curiosity- has anyone ever tried getting Applecare to replace a water-damaged iPod...? (and not told them it was water-damaged, obviously)
 
PaulMoore said:
Thanks for the responses- out of curiosity- has anyone ever tried getting Applecare to replace a water-damaged iPod...? (and not told them it was water-damaged, obviously)
Click to expand...

Yes, some people have, and Apple has said "no".

Like cellphones, IIRC iPods have water indicators inside that turn red if they become wet.
 
NightStorm said:
Wow.

And people wonder why electronics cost so much... :(
Click to expand...

I do understand I am on shaky ground ethically here- and I appreciate all the feedback!

Let me just say this though- I have $1000+ worth of iPods which failed for no apparent reason once their Applecare had expired. Apple have done pretty well out of me thanks to iPods going wrong of their own accord...

...not that it would make it *right* for me to get a replacement this way... just thought I'd add to the debate over the cost of electronics...
 
PaulMoore said:
I do understand I am on shaky ground ethically here- and I appreciate all the feedback!

Let me just say this though- I have $1000+ worth of iPods which failed for no apparent reason once their Applecare had expired. Apple have done pretty well out of me thanks to iPods going wrong of their own accord...

...not that it would make it *right* for me to get a replacement this way... just thought I'd add to the debate over the cost of electronics...
Click to expand...

now that it's been a couple of days, have you tried turning it on?
 
I've repeated this story a few times but I dropped my iPod nano down the toilet after I had used it.

Well I pulled it out - it died in my hands !!!! I was mortified as I'd only had it one week.

My boss told me to wash it through several times with distilled water - shake it out and dry it standing up in a warm oven (I was working in a laboratory so this was no problem).

Next day it was as good as new and is still going strong. It was a first generation nano.

Pure water was the answer.
 
Well two days on I have tried turning it on- and nothing happens. No whirring, nothing. Flicking the hold on and off does nothing either, nor does connecting it to the Mac with USB.

It was clean water which damaged it in the first place- so I don't know that I will have any more luck rinsing it out.

I guess I might chance it at the Genius bar unless anyone has a better idea...
 
When you say clean water - what you mean (I'm guessing) is drinking water which contains lots of different salts, only very small amounts but they're there. Have a look on any bottle of drinking water and you'll see things like sodium, chloride, potassium, nitrate etc etc etc listed.

Water doesn't conduct electricity but these salts do and thus cause the damage (shorting out the battery etc) and later when the water evaporates it leaves those salts on the sensitive circuits of you iPod which start to corrode them.

Stand it up right in a nice warm place - try and shake out any remaining water first and leave it.

good luck
 
Yep, two type filtered tap water ... with nothing added.

And then the highly processed spring and tap that are too clean and have some salts added back to add some taste/preservatives.

Neither should be too bad.

But sports waters have enough to possibly cause the problems mentioned above.
 
Both types of tap and bottled water contain minerals (they are not pure) and can cause problems in situations like this - hence my suggestion of flushing through with distilled water (or better).

What type of iPod is/was this?

A battery replacement may be enough but you need to get this baby checked out if it doesn't recover soon.

continued good luck.
 
The damage is already done. The most important thing is to not power the thing up before it's completely dry. If you do, various short-circuits inside will occur from the minerals and salts in the water - even distilled or bottled water. If you're iPod or cellphone get dunked, and you're really, really lucky, the mineral content will be low enough that there won't be shorts. Or, the circuit board will be fortuitously designed in such a way that the board won't short to the power circuit, but modern electronics use a lot of surface-mounted components, and for the most part such shorts are inevitable.

Some people advocate soaking/washing with absolute (anhydrous) alcohol - 100% ethanol immediately, before the board is re-powered. That will displace the water inside as well as get rid of the salts that will potentially cause the short circuits.

Nothing to lose by trying that now, but it's likely that the shorts that occured immediately while the thing was on and wet, or the shorts that occured when it was powered up subsequently, have fried some of the components for good.

Taking a water-damaged portable electronic device into the dealer and saying "it just quit working, dunno why - I want a new one" is a very, very common ploy with pocket-type portable electronics like iPods or cellphones. The manufacturers are wise to that. If you pull the battery out of your cellphone, you'll see a little white dot in the battery compartment somewhere. This little dot is a water-sensor and will turn red if it gets even a little wet. Virtually all portable electronic devices have those, including the iPod. You can actually buy replacement dots on the internet, but they aren't just in the battery compartment, they're also in various other places deeper inside. On the Ipod, there is one at the base of the headphone jack and the dealer can usually quickly see that with just a brief glance. The dealer will sooner-or-later (on disassembly) find that it's been dunked and deny any warranty service. Doesn't hurt to try, but if you take it in and innocently protest water-damage, they will usually immediately, but at least ultimately, know that you're lying.
 
Chappers said:
Both types of tap and bottled water contain minerals (they are not pure) and can cause problems in situations like this - hence my suggestion of flushing through with distilled water (or better).

What type of iPod is/was this?

A battery replacement may be enough but you need to get this baby checked out if it doesn't recover soon.

continued good luck.
Click to expand...

Hopefully it's a dried out as it can be (after four days, and it's been mostly sitting in a hot car in Florida). It's a 5G iPod- 80GB. I guess I might try an in-store Genius Bar visit and see what happens. Otherwise I suspect, from the above posts, that it could be a big job to have repaired independently- if the circuit board, screen etc are all damaged...
 
Well keep us informed - hopefully it will recover. Does your house insurance cover it.

even more continued good luck
 
Well... I did finally take it in and they did replace it. I do feel (a bit) guilty. They did a quick once-over looking for damage and, I guess, checking for corrosion around the dock connector. They didn't take it in the back and take the cover off or anything like that.

Like I say though, Apple have had their fair share of cash from me in the past for iPods which died for no apparent reason... maybe we're even.
 
PaulMoore said:
Well... I did finally take it in and they did replace it. I do feel (a bit) guilty. They did a quick once-over looking for damage and, I guess, checking for corrosion around the dock connector. They didn't take it in the back and take the cover off or anything like that.

Like I say though, Apple have had their fair share of cash from me in the past for iPods which died for no apparent reason... maybe we're even.
Click to expand...

Well if they do have your contact information so if they do choose to report you for fraud then =\

Though that's quite unlikely; I've done questionable things to get a new iPod from them.
 
Erwin-Br said:
If you know how much profit Apple makes on your iPod, your guilt will melt like snow. Probably. :D

--Erwin
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That does not justify doing anything fraudulent. It's like saying we can murder the starving children since they'll die anyways.
 
alphaod said:
That does not justify doing anything fraudulent. It's like saying we can murder the starving children since they'll die anyways.
Click to expand...

Getting an iPod replaced under warranty without disclosing what broke it is not like murder!
 
Hmac said:
No, it's more like theft....no matter how you try to rationalize it.
Click to expand...

I've admitted my mixed feelings over this- I was just trying to point out that likening it to murder is going a bit over the top.

As I say, does/should Apple have a guilty conscience over the iPods they've sold me which had a lifespan of less than three years; failed completely just outside of warranty and had to be disposed of because they're nearly impossible to repair...? Who's the real victim here! ME!*

*This is me being over the top now...
 
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