iphone Corrosion

I would also be inclined to recommend people go to Apple as well. The availability is immediate and also, the folks at Apple are trained on iPhones and only iPhones. The folks at Verizon work with lots of different kinds of phones. iPhones are not their speciality.

I still would like to know what percentage of Iphones that are returned to Verizon or Apple under warranty are claimed to have moisture damage. Also, of those phones that are voided under warranty because of this damage, what happens to those phones? Are they repaired and then used as replacements for "damaged" phones, which means Verizon or Apple get to charge another $299? If these phones are being repaired and reused, why doesn't Apple just repair them for us customers in their Apple Stores? This whole corrosion issue seems to me to either be a major design flaw, or a scam to avoid warranty claims. I doubt that Verizon or Apple will release this information unless a class action law suit is initiated.

ChrisJ4203 - in hindsight, it may have been better to go to an Apple store, but if it truly was humidity damage, it probably wouldn't have helped. This having been only my second cell phone ever, I just went to Verizon to inquire. When they said no problem we'll send it off and you'll get a replacement in a couple days, I had no reason to think there would be an issue. Live n learn.

I agree, and I'm sorry it happened. The other thing to understand is that many times with Apple, if a single moisture sensor has tripped, they will check the rest of the device's sensors. If that is the only one, they tend to believe it is an anomoly and will still replace the device. Again, as you say, it is easy to say I should have, but I hope you get this straightened out with Verizon.

Hey Apple Users with Corrosion - waiting on Verizon to call Back!

I just received my monthly bill from Verizon where they have assessed $199 for equipment damage due to 'water damage or corrosion - wet" for an Iphone 4S I returned it at the end of September. My phone has never been near emersed in water. I live in (Miami); a subtropical area in the State of Florida. I asked for and received "pictures" of "my phone" and the docking connection shows minimal "corrosion". I did not notice it when I was having problems with the phone. However, the two trigger points (headjack - no picture given) or the docking connection shows those surfaces were not triggered. The powers that be are basing the fee on the what looks like minimal rust. I am waiting for "John" to call me back with a supervisor from Escalation to hear my story!

I have read multiple stories starting back in China where stories are told of the phones developing corrosion due to high humid countries/states. How can I prove this is even my phone? I want to trust Verizon. I am standing on principle; my phone never encountered a pool or toliet - I was eligible for an upgrade; why would I go through this hassle if I where a liar and a cheat, when I could have received a new phone, but settled for a "certified replacement"?

After reading several stories here, I am going to ask that my original phone be returned to me, and I will take it to an Apple store and let them tell me my phone is water damaged! I will not roll over and let any company assess me one cent for a situation that did not occur! I am so angry --- I found this message board and I just want you to know I'll share my picture with anyone who wants to "see it"! It's an unfair business practice that's being placed on the backs of the consumer. I have been a loyal and good paying customer to Verizon with enoromous bills, always paying in full and on time! They need to look at my track record. I could pay this "damage fee" in a heartbeat, but I WILL NOT pay for something that did not happen - period! I'll take my story as far as it can go. When we all play by the rules, we should expect the same from Verizon's employees!

My damage fee was adjusted after I plead my case - My phone resides in a high humidity state and the triggers for true water damage did not pass the litmus test. The Verizon rep called late last night and as I droned on with a pitch in my voice, I convinced her by citing the very written word from Verizon in reference to water damage triggers. Let them show you pics of corrosion, but unless and until the triggers designed by Apple are tripped, don't pay a damage fee if you are 100% certain your phone never encountered water! I stood my ground and I passed the test! Thanks Verizon for being on the side of this consumer. Ask Apple why the new design (re: dock connection?) Hmmm.. I wonder if they know the problem and instead of a massive recall, we get a new model. Something to ponder.

Hey Mike,

I am having the same issue as all of you! And to make matters worse is that I inspected my phone prior to shipping it back. The pictures in the photos were in no way representative of the condition I sent my old phone in. I would very much like to swap the pics they sent us for comparason reasons. I tried to find you on FB but cannot. I do not know if your privacy settings are as such, but it would be great to get in touch over this matter. What does your profile pic look like?

Cat

I received an email from you but I am not Mike (shf18049). Sorry. I did exactly as I wrote here on the forums and didn't pay Verizon the $199 - because the triggers were not compromised. They could not justify any other reason, especially when I quoted China articles and a high humidity state where my phone (hah ha) resides. I also said if take it to Apple and get a new phone so send it back to me. My phone was still under warranty, which I didn't know. (1yr).

Good luck. Susie

Did you have a picture sent to you of the corrosion problem? The iphone had a problem with the on/off button not working. The charging worked and the phone was never,ever in water. I had to send the iphone 4 in, purchased through verizon, for repair and they said i had corrosion problem and is charging me $299 for an unwarranty issue of corrosion on the chager port on the phone. By the amount of corrosion on the phone you would have thought that the verizon store tech and myself would have noticed it. The funny thing about all this is the reason why the phone was sent in was because the on/off button did not work. The charger worked fine. Did anyone have a picture of the corrosion sent to them ? I bet it is a generic picture that they send to everyone. We took pictures of the phone to make sure that they wouldn't charge us for a cracked screen or something. Evidently that didn't help. If anyone else got a picture of the corrosion, could you forward it to me at froemm5@gmail.com to see if it is the picture is the same.Really mad about this.

I'm going through the same issue. I've only had my iphone for for a few months, I never bring it in the shower, never have it out in the rain, never spilled anything on it...the other day it just died. took it to the apple store and the "genius" claims that although the water damage marker hasn't turned red, there is corrosion inside the phone?? He says it could be water damage from sweat, apparently it's completely common for iphones to get water damge from sweat seeping through arm bands?? How is that acceptable? That is a huge design flaw if you can't use a phone whose major secondary purpose is a media player, at the gym, where they market it's usage!

So I'm getting more and more angry as I read this. Just got back from Apple Store, where they said my wife's phone had corrosion inside the port and therefore the warranty is voided. It's never been submerged, but one day the screen went blank with vertical lines. They didn't even look inside it, just said I'd have to pay $199 for a new phone. I said **** no and went to the AT&T store, where I planned to get a different brand of phone. The AT&T guy looked at it and couldn't believe Apple wouldn't take it back. He suggested I try again. I took it back and saw a different tech and got the same answer. I'm a loyal, lifelong Apple user, but this experience makes me believe it's time for a divorce.

Nice Meg ;). We took the phone to an independent repair shop and they had it fixed in an hour for $99. Lady I talked to said IPhones are actually quite easy to work on. She also added that the people who work at Apple Stores aren't really techs. Does seem kinda fishy because the "tech" never opened up the phone. Just looked in the port and saw minimal corrosion and said the warranty was void (the indicator was still white, not red, proving it wasn't submerged.)

I would also be interested in seeing other people's supposed corrosion photo from Verizon. I, too, just got off the phone from an hour long battle with them after seeing a $299.00 charge for a damaged device... the phone never worked from day one when we got it. After spending over an hour and a half on the phone with tech support one day, it was determined it was a faulty phone and they were sending a replacement. Now they decide it was "water damaged" when the phone barely left the box. I refuse to believe that the picture they sent me is my phone. It looks like a years worth of corrosion. It was an iPhone 4.

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Ssaw these posts. Got same problem. Bought my daughter an iphone4s, within a couple of months the power button stuck on, then battery draining and this month after updating to iOS 7 the phone stopped completely. Took phone back to service provider store that advised us to contact apple. Tried to get appointments at several apple stores in the uk, but none available, so eventually sent it to apple repair centre. Been advised it has corrosion internally, although never been in contact with moisture. Had phone checked by service provider for water damage etc and none found. Asked for photo of water/liquid sensor to be forwarded but was advisedly apple that this was not an option ((reason obvious once I read this forum!). Won't sort out phone unless I pay repair bill. This is obviously a recognised problem, feel like I'm hitting my head a against a brick wall. I would never use/buy an apple phone again.

My iPhone 4 has finally died too, now it will not charge at all. Apple will not fix it, nor will local repair shops.

The only consolation is that I now have a $149 paperweight.

If you do get another Apple product, you may want to get a case that covers the dock and headphone connections which may help keep any environmental moisture out.

I understand your frustration and disdain for any Apple products.