Develop Bugs

Water Damage?

How can I tell if my warranty is going to be turned down for water damage? I have never had it in the water before, but the sticker on the back has the red crosses it.

I'm pretty sure that circle goes all dark red if you get water on it
Sent from my AMOLED Incredible

jimbub said:
I'm pretty sure that circle goes all dark red if you get water on it
Sent from my AMOLED Incredible
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You are right. the sticker will go all red or all pink depending on who made it. its suppose to have the X's in it.

sorry, didn't notice I posted that in the Dev forum...thanks for moving.

Wouldn't you know if you get your phone wet? I think you already know the answer to your question here I mean tray now.
Sent from my HTC Droid Incredible using XDA Premium app

In the retail stores we typically don't go by the liquid indicators because frequently they're inaccurate. We usually look for signs of corrosion, condensation or just plain liquid in the device.

A good way to dry your device out is to put it in a sealed ziplock bag with some rice...it works! Revived my girlfriend's iPhone and camera after both became submerged when a water bottle broke in her purse.

The "sticker" is the same litmus paper you use in chemistry- it changes colors with the presence of moisture. When I worked for a regional wireless carrier in my area and someone came in for a warranty replacement, that was the first thing we checked. There are usually 2; one in/around the battery compartment and one on the battery itself. I've also noticed lately some manufacturers put them under the phones housing. I've seen them change just from having your phone in the bathroom when you take a shower. Also, if it gets wet but all seems well, you're not in the clear yet. Sometimes it'll be ok at first but will eventually creep through the phone and corrode terminals/connections. Hope this helps. Its against my religion to use paragraphs.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App

Aren't most insurance things covering everything except lost or stolen phones?
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.

keith.mcintyre26 said:
The "sticker" is the same litmus paper you use in chemistry- it changes colors with the presence of moisture. When I worked for a regional wireless carrier in my area and someone came in for a warranty replacement, that was the first thing we checked. There are usually 2; one in/around the battery compartment and one on the battery itself. I've also noticed lately some manufacturers put them under the phones housing. I've seen them change just from having your phone in the bathroom when you take a shower. Also, if it gets wet but all seems well, you're not in the clear yet. Sometimes it'll be ok at first but will eventually creep through the phone and corrode terminals/connections. Hope this helps. Its against my religion to use paragraphs.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
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The iPhone 3 is notorious for being overly sensitive to humidity; simply having your phone on you while you're sweating can get the sensor wet, as can having it in a humid environment such as a steamy bathroom. I haven't heard of anything quite this bad with other manufacturers, but the locations of the moisture indicators was also suboptimal; of the 4(?) in the phone, one is inside the headphone jack, while the other is next to the charging port.
I Am Marino said:
Aren't most insurance things covering everything except lost or stolen phones?
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.
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Well...the thing about insurance is they want to pay out as little as possible. I've heard of some mobile insurance companies not covering moisture damage. Make sure you read the terms of coverage carefully before you start paying for something that may not help you at all.

Green stickers inside Galaxy Nexus

Hey all. I dismantled my Galaxy Nexus in hopes to fix my vibration squeal, and when I opened it up, I found tiny green stickers that are planted inside the housing. I attempted to remove one but they are stuck there pretty dang good. Check it out.
Plus, it's not a bad idea to take it apart just to clean it. Mine was dusty so I'm glad I did it. Make sure that if you do do this that you do it in an area that's safe from ESD, which electro-static discharge. That last thing you or I would want it to have your Galaxy Nexus be fried.
Anyway, what do you think these green stickers do and why are they there? To me it makes the phone kind of cheap because of this. But no bother.
Thanks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's possible that they are water damage stickers.
Also, I do not recommend people start ripping apart their Galaxy Nexus phones. This voids warranty and it's possible that there are parts in the phone that get snapped or moved if user opens it that will be noticed by the tech support technician.
Dust is not a problem for mobile phones, since modern phones don't have ventilation systems that depend on flow of cool air. Your phone would have to be in use in bad conditions for a very long time to need any internal 'dusting'.

kristovaher said:
It's possible that they are water damage stickers.
Also, I do not recommend people start ripping apart their Galaxy Nexus phones. This voids warranty and it's possible that there are parts in the phone that get snapped or moved if user opens it that will be noticed by the tech support technician.
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They're not liquid sensors. Take out your battery and you'll see a white sticker with 16 purple x's. That's the liquid contact indicator. The green stickers serve another purpose which I have yet to muster up a reason for. Taking apart your device for exploration is not a big deal if you know what you're doing. Obviously don't literally rip the phone apart, come on. Be smart about it. Also, there are no internal warranty void stickers inside, so you have nothing to lose if your hands are skilled.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Possibly a refurb by some slight chance...maybe your particular phone didn't pass one of the tests and had to be fixed...NFC maybe...or IDK?
Also, lol you're posting from an iPhone.

Smokeey said:
Possibly a refurb by some slight chance...maybe your particular phone didn't pass one of the tests and had to be fixed...NFC maybe...or IDK?
Also, lol you're posting from an iPhone.
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No way no how is this refurbished.i would be very sad if that were the case. I bought it back in November. Had the Samsung seal of greatness on it still intact. So I doubt it's refurbished. I took it apart to just check it out for myself, and it was toooooo easy to do.
Yeah ha, sending from an iPhone indeed. I have both units. Both I love equally. Haha.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

maybe since you got it open you can check to see what the rattle is behind the camera? or maybe it is the camera sensor itself? dunno, but I noticed it the first day I bought it and seem just slightly annoyed by it. If you hold the phone in your hand and tap your finger near the camera lens you'll see what I'm talking about. Would be nice to know what it is.

automaddux said:
maybe since you got it open you can check to see what the rattle is behind the camera? or maybe it is the camera sensor itself? dunno, but I noticed it the first day I bought it and seem just slightly annoyed by it. If you hold the phone in your hand and tap your finger near the camera lens you'll see what I'm talking about. Would be nice to know what it is.
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It's the autofocus mechanism.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It would be better if you would upload a better quality pic with both the plastic cover with the green stickers and the part on which is mounted.

maybe this is NFC transmit like on Blackberry Bold 4....

ztm.000 said:
They're not liquid sensors. Take out your battery and you'll see a white sticker with 16 purple x's. That's the liquid contact indicator. The green stickers serve another purpose which I have yet to muster up a reason for. Taking apart your device for exploration is not a big deal if you know what you're doing. Obviously don't literally rip the phone apart, come on. Be smart about it. Also, there are no internal warranty void stickers inside, so you have nothing to lose if your hands are skilled.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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The GSM Nexus has no warranty void stickers or water indicators. The stickers may be tiny antennas
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

No clue what they're for, but yours isn't the only device with them (so I doubt it was a refurb, as previously suggested).
(via http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung-Galaxy-Nexus-Teardown/7182/1 )

It looks like they are possible being used as a buffer to protect the way the case rubs on some of the components. Possibly like an antistatic protectant
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Nexus - Verizon 4G LTE.

It's probably electrical insulation.

lol as if they would be slipping refurbs back into the market as new phones! Not having a great pic to base it on these are either shorting or wear protection

Pacifik said:
It's probably electrical insulation.
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This.
Look what's under the tape .. you can see metallic circuits under all of them.
-> http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/qqCnaRuXSHnMhDXJ.huge

Water Indicators for our phone

Okay, so last night I was fixing the hottub, and there was barely any water in there and I hit the jets on accident, and water went all over the phone and it was soaked. It is in an otterbox defender, so most of it was saved, but my speaker is kinda iffy.
My question is, I have a feeling the 'W1' and 'W2' circles under the back cover are the water indicatorS. If they are not can someone correct me?
And also, is there any more on the phone if I send it in for warranty?
This isn't a scam attempt, just want to be sure if I send my phone in it will not be charged for water damage, because if thats the case, I am just going to keep it and suffer lol..
thanks guys

Optimizer said:
Okay, so last night I was fixing the hottub, and there was barely any water in there and I hit the jets on accident, and water went all over the phone and it was soaked. It is in an otterbox defender, so most of it was saved, but my speaker is kinda iffy.
My question is, I have a feeling the 'W1' and 'W2' circles under the back cover are the water indicatorS. If they are not can someone correct me?
And also, is there any more on the phone if I send it in for warranty?
This isn't a scam attempt, just want to be sure if I send my phone in it will not be charged for water damage, because if thats the case, I am just going to keep it and suffer lol..
thanks guys
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Can't help with identifying the water telltales, but I bet you can replace the speaker in the phone if you are just a little handy with tools. I say this because I found a great YouTube video for working on an SII (I know it is different) and I was able to replace some key parts of a water damaged phone. I'll bet the SIII is just as easy to work on.

You can use bleach to turn the water indicators white again, but you will be wasting your time as there are several more water indicators inside the phone.
Ie; if you send it in for warranty and it is water damaged, they WILL know.
As for speaker replacement I'd follow the above suggestion.

I remember back in the day the old iPhones had the water stickers in the headphone jack. U just stick a small piece of white paper and you could fool the Apple employees and get away with it lol
Good luck with the phone regardless of what you do! Its far to easy to damage a phone. I've been through way too many.
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app

DIY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_70-W9JjVjg&feature=share&list=SPFF45001BDE8794B7

Yes there are more indicators in the phone. I am sorry but you will end up having to pay the deductible for a replacement if returned for service.
Let's make sure this thread does not drift to fraud suggestions
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator

how can it NOT be seen as an attempt at fraud ?
he is trying to cheat the system; and other users are giving him advice on how to circumvent the water damage identifiers that are in place.
its people like this that increase the price of insurance for everyone else.

No he's not, he said if there are other areas where the phone might of gotten wet he would keep it and deal with it, or fix it. Not fake it out to get a freebie. Now some of the suggestions have been iffy... But I think the op has a clear goal, and fraud is not it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

Hey man, I dropped my S3 in the toilet and it was in there for under a second. My speaker was sounding SUPER FUNKY, like someone put autotune on it or something. After a couple of hours the phone dried off and it works perfect. No problems at all.

remind me not to borrow your phone...

kennyglass123 said:
Yes there are more indicators in the phone. I am sorry but you will end up having to pay the deductible for a replacement if returned for service.
Let's make sure this thread does not drift to fraud suggestions
Thank you for your cooperation
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
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I hate to state the obvious, but if you go to the dev sections you will see all kinds of people telling people how to get around warranty claims by not tripping flash counters etc while breaking the warranty and flashing custom roms. I know it's not exactly the same, just sayin fraud is fraud.edit...which I'm guilty of. Crap.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

Agreed I just got this but the note had an entire forum dedicated to resetting the flash counter....fraud....but if you dayb out a sticker over the water indicator it's worse...??
Anyway can someone moist a picture of the water indicators that are visible...I literally have had the phone for two hours, rooted it and it BBC has not been near water...I have the red one...I can tell the one next to the battery next to the word cell that's printed on the battery and then the one on the top of the battery itself...but there is a few pinholes that are tinier than the one I see that are red that look like borderline indicators/I guess random holes in the phone...
So anyway are the two I see the only visible ones or are there more? Thanks ladies/gents
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

Kflan22 said:
Agreed I just got this but the note had an entire forum dedicated to resetting the flash counter....fraud....but if you dayb out a sticker over the water indicator it's worse...??
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yes, because a software issue is something that can be fixed w/o sending it to Samsung, or your insurance provider. a physical issue, obviously not.

I got a ton of inventory for galaxy s3 parts at the shop I get them cheap from my connect if you need parts please pm me I can try to see if I can get them

Water indicator locations on the s3?

Hey guys,
I dropped my s3 in the toilet yesterday... Anyways, I went to a tmobile store and the guy said to do a warranty exchange because the strip under the battery and on the battery were not triggered, they were still white. I went ahead and ordered one while knowing that if tmobile finds the damage I will be charged $130. My question is this: only the bottom quarter of my phone actually got wet. Are there any internal indicator strips in the bottom of the phone?
Thanks guys!

There are no more indicator strips, but if a Tech opens the phone it's possible to find mild discoloration.
B4 you send it back place the phone without battery and back cover in a zip lock bag with some rice. It will draw out any remaining moisture.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

VanillaTbone said:
There are no more indicator strips, but if a Tech opens the phone it's possible to find mild discoloration.
B4 you send it back place the phone without battery and back cover in a zip lock bag with some rice. It will draw out any remaining moisture.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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I dont think urine will change the strip color lol that sucks i know there is one in the headphone jack

evil1art said:
I dont think urine will change the strip color lol that sucks i know there is one in the headphone jack
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Click to collapse
LOL....Actually, concentrated urine will keep the strip white( as will bleach), the ammonia neutralizes the dye lol.

Checkmate Sir! Lol
Tmo Rep: Sir, may I ask why your phone smells like piss?
Reply: You ever seen The Hangover? Yeah, it was one if those nights.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Change it man
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

I can say with 110% assurance urine will change the color of the strip. My drunken friday night, my phone next to me/under my leg, and even worse a girl I'm currently talking to changed the strips and ruined my backlight. She was pretty red too when she found out I utinated on her and her bed. I'd say lol but it really wasn't that funny. Maybe in a few weeks.

[Q] Waterdamage indicators?

I dropped my phone in the sink and retrieved it very quickly. It had a case on it which kept almost all water out. Only problem I am having is very bad speaker distortion. I know there is the water marker on the battery by the contacts which is still all white. I don't see another one anywhere else on the phone? Is there a 2nd or third one?

pabhouse said:
I dropped my phone in the sink and retrieved it very quickly. It had a case on it which kept almost all water out. Only problem I am having is very bad speaker distortion. I know there is the water marker on the battery by the contacts which is still all white. I don't see another one anywhere else on the phone? Is there a 2nd or third one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's at least two more inside the phone.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

I Doubt if the one one or by batter changed the others did you should be good to do a warranty
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

If you have water damage, it's unreasonable to believe that you can fool Sprint by finding all the water tabs. Suck it up and replace the phone.
Sent from an evil, dark place...
~ ROM: JellyBomb v14.0
~ Radio: L900VPAMA7
~ Kernel: Perseus alpha32

If the tab didn't turn than there is no damage
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app

pabhouse said:
I dropped my phone in the sink and retrieved it very quickly. It had a case on it which kept almost all water out. Only problem I am having is very bad speaker distortion. I know there is the water marker on the battery by the contacts which is still all white. I don't see another one anywhere else on the phone? Is there a 2nd or third one?
Click to expand...
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First things first, do you have the Sprint repair on your phone? If you do, just take phone in and tell them your speaker is messed up. Just see what they do.
Sent from my Amazing Galaxy Note 2!

Battery
Check your battery for water damage

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My bad
Sorry Kenny I missed the Q&A forum in the haste to get the question up on my way out the door.
Turns out the speaker dried out okay. Bad news is phone wont charge. So I do have the sprint repair so I am heading in there today to see what they say. Thanks everyone for the input.

More than likely they will find the liquid damage. The damage looks like white powdery substance. No body likes a liar. I hate when customers lie to my face about LD. It shows that you have zero respect for me and just want to game the system.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

Found out that the charging section of the phone is a replaceable part. Did have one water tab tripped but rep at the store switched out the part and phone is working again. As a former phone rep I am aware of how it feels when people are dishonest I was really more curios about the tabs because they were not visible until the phone was disassemble. All is good now thanks again everyone for the help.