Belgian Apple iPhone 3G fans were shocked when they learnt that their beloved, much vaunted 615 Euro/$960 gadget simply died when exposed to the classic, standardized “moisture, light drizzle, water” cell phone test from the National Belgian consumer organization “Test-Aankoop”. Check out their full iPhone moisture test lab results (in Dutch only – pdf water test with damaged iPhone (Dutch).
Human translation: “The new iPhone survived our lab scratch and ‘drop’ test. However, the iPhone 3G appeared extremely sensitive to water. The basic light rain test killed our first iPhone 3G LCD screen , while rapidly discharging the battery until the device became totally overheated. A second iPhone 3G suffered a dead speaker after being exposed to the standardized light moisture test, used to check all the cell phones we review. A third unit showed severely weakened speaker sound, along with a major malfunction of several touch buttons. One explanation for these kinds of serious issues appears to be the simple fact that the back of the iPhone 3G nowadays is no longer made of metal, but cheap plastic, with several wide gaps in the cover.”
Given that Apple does not honor warranty claims due to “moisture”, make sure to use your iPhone 3G only on sunny days. In Belgium? 
This blog is not affiliated with or endorsed by the city of Antwerp, Belgium.
HA! I find that funny. It would not survive the Cape humidity, either.
[Blog author: "I'm convinced the Cape's humidity would kill it too Claudia. Check the 'first million' iPhone 3G sales figures here: 7,000 sold in Belgium, 600,000 in the US. Related to pop, Belgians bought more Apple iPhones than Americans did. Kind of tragic, in a country where (apparently fatal for iPhones) rain is a 200 days/year reality."]
Comment by Claudia — August 10, 2008 @ 4:56 pm |
Hmm…..I guess that means they didn’t need to perform the “total immersion baptismal test.”
[Blog author: "We get those daily, when we step outside our front doors
"]
Comment by Mr. Nighttime — August 10, 2008 @ 5:38 pm |
I found this to be true – I use my iphone at the gym and I sweat allot – my phone got so hot it burned my finger and I was not aware it had been exposed to moisture. I took it in thinking it was a battery defect and they told me it had gotten wet. There was also a piece of lint in the head phone jack. The lint obviously picked up the moisture and pulled it into the phone causing the water mark display to turn pink. The phone works fine, accept now it can’t go to sleep due to the fact that it just keeps resetting itself. Even though the phone got so hot it actually burned me when I took it to the apple store, they refused to help me. When I questioned getting the phone repaired the man told me I would be better off just buying the new phone for full price. I have been a mac customer for 13 years and have NEVER received such bad customer service. They should manufacture this phone to survive all climates. I run and entire art department on macs and just bought a brand new imac for home, now I regret every decision I made that involved Macintosh computers.
[Blog author: "Thank you for posting this disturbing account from sunny Florida Brian. It appears that Apple has serious design issues concerning moisture and their iPhone 3G, as independently tested by the National Belgian consumer organization. Belgium's largest financial newspaper http://www.tijd.be ran the same story ("iPhone very sensitive to moisture"). It's an outrage that Apple is apparently refusing to honor such warranty claims. (Local Apple store: "Moisture issues are not covered. Keep the phone away from any humidity at all times."). Do keep on posting your issues (and positive warranty experiences) with the iPhone 3G"]
Comment by Brian Brigham — August 10, 2008 @ 9:43 pm |
Geesh who creates a phone that doesn’t work in humid conditions. Like two thirds of this planet is water. What will happen in the dolphines invade the lands and force all us humans to go live in the water, we won’t be able to call anyone anymore. (Believe me, it could happen, the doplhine thingy, coz I saww it in a documentary, it had like these yellow people representing humans, they only had four fingers though, and one said D’oh a lot, well just to tell you you shouldn’t trust dolphines, ever. Apple should have been aware of this problem and prepared the human race better for these new conditions. If I were Fox News, I’d so be giving it to them now: Apple ignores Code Blue with new iPhone, Dolphine Leaders hail Jobs.
[Blog author: "Manic, after all the iPhone 3G hype created by Apple and the IT press, I'm really surprised why the networks are not highlighting this most unpleasant "moisture=dead" iPhone feature more prominently. It's a very expensive 625 euro piece of equipment, not some throwaway use-once item."]
Comment by Manictastic — August 11, 2008 @ 8:27 pm |
I had the “older/antique” iPhone version.. same thing, when i go to the gym, even I use the Belkin sport-strap for iPhones, the touchscreen did not work well after and it was hot! I called the attention of both European Customer Sales office (ireland) & the US. They told me too ” just buy the newer version of the iPhone”. How pathetic! I never did and never will buy another iPhone, my first experience is just too horrible with the matching uncalled for “UNPROFESSIONAL ADVISE” from them. .I am a MAC user too .. but i just stick on what they are good for: computers. Thus, I just stick to that;-)
xxx
[Blog author: "I couldn't agree more Miguel. There are apparently serious "humidity" issues with the iPhone, but Apple apparently prefers to blame the customer. "]
Comment by miguel — August 11, 2008 @ 9:11 pm |
Miguel , Very nice customer support
[Blog author: "I doubt whether you're authentic Vic, with a Russian IP and an obscure template blog. But I'll forward your message to Miguel, who is as real as they come. "]
Comment by Vic — August 16, 2008 @ 4:49 pm |
It looks like we need to get out the LAWYERS again.
Its been a few years since Apple was sued and had to replace all the batteries in the first Ipods.
I do Ipod repair and I believe all of their portable products are defective. There is no attempt to make them water resistent.
I can run water right over my Timex watch everyday with no problems.
I’m sure they spent millions to invent their “moisture” detection system in the iphone.
They are so pathetic. And very greedy.
They must love to make little girls cry.
Perry Mason, where are you?
Comment by John — September 18, 2008 @ 1:42 am |
[...] en el impacto de un día de niebla el mismo día que se rompió… sobre todo mirando esto, que el iPhone se muere con el clima húmedo de Bélgica… Así que me sigo sintiendo un poco robado. He pasado a la última opción, abrirlo y ver [...]
Pingback by Xnoccio - » Servicio técnico Apple iPhone: indefensión para el cliente — October 30, 2008 @ 7:57 pm |
My IPhone died last weekend. Took it to the Apple store – they said the moisture meter was red, indicating that the phone had been exposed to water. However, I’ve had it only three months and water hasn’t touched it. I asked Apple Level 2 support if they had had any “moisture meters” go bad and indicate excessive water incorrectly and they said none had gone bad. Hard for me to believe that this is true – I’m sure my meter is defective. However, received the worst customer service ever experienced when I tried to get this problem fixed. The only alternative is to purchase a new IPhone, which I had to do if I wanted to keep the info I had on the phone. Unfortunately, I have to use it a lot in business, which works great for me. However, I truly think Apple has screwed me over on this situation. Have a lot of Apple products but won’t ever deal with the Apple store. They don’t know how to spell “customer service”.
[Blog author: "I'm afraid you're not the only one John. Friends of mine have suffered through the same "Apple iPhone moisture" issues and will refrain from buying Apple products altogether. I personally know someone who works at a (non-Apple) cell phone service center in Belgium. "If we can't easily fix it or it gets too expensive we blame it on moisture" he bluntly said. Incredible, but trust me, that's the way it often goes. "]
Comment by John B. Brams — December 13, 2008 @ 2:29 am |
I dropped my iphone 3g in the toilet yesturday, happened easily enough as I always have my phone on my belt. I pulled it out as fast as my hand could move, then of all things I rinsed it under the tap to make sure it was clean and towelled it dry. The only excuse I can give for this is I’ve generally owned Nokia’s which are very sturdy.
After drying I looked at the screen and it was black but i could see the icon’s if angled right so the backlight had gone but it appeared to still be functioning to some extent. I turned it off and then sucked on each orrifice to remove and water I could, walked downstairs and put it on a cushion over a radiator. After a few hours I turned it on and examined what wasn’t working, all seemed well except the battery was discharging fast and the backlight was black, so I turned it off and left it drying over a couple of nights.
I put it on charge as the battery was dead and powered it up to find the backlight is now working and everything else on it seems fine including speakers/mic. As long as there is no long term damage I consider myself very lucky after reading up on iphones and moisture!
One thing some people may not of considered is their house insurance might cover the cost of replacement, mine even covers items away from the house.
[Blog author: "You're really a lucky guy if your house insurance covers "dropping cell-phones into a toilet" Gregory
"]
Comment by Gregory — January 17, 2009 @ 3:36 pm |
Well, iPhone isn’t the only thing that they did a very poor job of design on. I have a 3 month old iPod Classic, which has never been exposed to any kind of water. I keep it in a leather pouch, which shows no sign of water damage whatsoever. I think it’s insane that they don’t design their hand-held products to be able to handle normal moisture conditions. All it would take to protect these things would be a thin layer of silicon to protect the electronics, wouldn’t cost them more than a few cents per unit.
[Blog author: "Indeed Eric, and these few cents per unit could have saved everyone from the current moisture issues. It's hard to believe but very true."]
Comment by Eric Bosch — February 5, 2009 @ 3:28 am |
I dropped mine in some water last week and it hasn’t worked since, I kinda went crazy though and kept trying to turn it on and off which I know was probably the stupidist thing to do but I wasn’t in my right mind. Anyhow I went to my Carrier here in US, ATT and they won’t do anything, and I went to the Apple Store and no luck there. I’ve only had the phone for 6 weeks and I feel like such an idiot for destroying it like so. I think they really should have water proofed these phones better, I took the Iphone apart and found nothing but a little sheets of metal covering the main board and chips, Silicon would definetly have been in order here! Heck this phone is a portable device, shouldn’t be made somewhat water resistant????
[Blog author: "Like you mentioned, the measures taken by Apple to provide even basic moisture protection for this very expensive phone are abysmal. Apple has been severely criticized for denying warranty claims, often regarding a phone that never touched water... " ]
Comment by Ron — March 27, 2009 @ 5:09 pm |
Bad news for me too.
The backlight one day got off , but the rest of the device working perfect. I send it to service and they told me that
moisture was the problem and that i have to pay 500euro.
I never droped water on my device, and wtf , the moisture only affected the Backlight ? not the rest of the device ?
And how did the moisture got into the device ? and why should i care if the device is a moisture magnet … damn i’m so angry
[Blog author: "I know this won't help you out, but local publications are stressing the "moisture" excuse is being widely used to deny warranty claims. As the customer has no way of checking anything, I'd stay clear of these devices. "]
Comment by Koympogi — April 4, 2009 @ 10:32 am |
I’m a producer at the NBC affiliate in Boston. I’m doing a story on people who have been told by Apple that the water sensor in their iPhone has been tripped, when they never submerged it in water.
Apple markets the phone to be taken everywhere (especially to work-out with) so shouldn’t it be designed to withstand that activity? And if it can’t should Apple do something to correct i?
If there is anyone from the New England area here who has had this issue, please be in touch. My contact info. is below.
Thank you!
Laura Stebbins
Special Projects Producer
WHDH.TV – CW.56
7 Bulfinch Place
Boston, MA 02114
617-725-0769 (p)
802-238-0833 (c)
Comment by Laura Stebbins — April 20, 2009 @ 7:07 pm |
A switch on the outside of my iPhone broke off and apple wouldn’t do a thing about it because of the water strip being red! It was never emerged in water! I went to the Burlington MA apple store and they could care less even though it was a hardware defect that they should have honoured under warranty.
[Blog author: "One wonders why people keep buying these phones Amanda. "]
Comment by Amanda A — April 29, 2009 @ 9:52 pm |
My IPhone camera lost all functioning ability after 7 months. The Apple phone store said the moisture sensor indicated that exposure to moister was the problem. My only recourse was to buy a new phone for $499.00 US . I purchased the phone for $399.00.( AT&T also charged $18.00 for “the upgrade” to a new phone ). I’m a 55 year old woman who has taken meticulous care of this phone. I purchased hard protective case and installed screen protective film at the time of purchase. While in the Apple store I heard a young man in uniform being given the same bad news. I approached his buddy and said he might suggest his buddy appeal this at a higher level when he cooled off. I said to make sure he was a serviceman on active duty.
“Yes ma’am , I will. We are shipping out in two weeks, that’s why he was anxious to get it fixed.” Corporate greed + political idiocy = A Citizens Abject Shame
–
I sent a follow up request that if you decided to post my comment, that you not include my last name. I have privacy issues and paranoia issues with large corporations and the government. My last name is very rare in the US. That post was returned as errored in the email address. Thank you for respecting my wishes. And thank you for your site, which I discovered today.
[Blog author: "Please don't comment repeatedly at this blog if you claim to be mentally confused or have paranoia issues. I'm sure there are excellent therapists in Saint Louis. I just get RSI from clicking "delete". "]
Regards,
Kathleen
Comment by Kathleen — April 26, 2009 @ 12:40 am |
I have had exact same issue with my iPod. I will never buy another Apple product as long as I live, as my unit was only 6 months old when it died. It would take very little engineering work to make these units water resistant, just a little silicon/gold plating on contacts to prevent this issue. Instead, Apple chose to spend likely hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue a way they could get out of performing warranty repairs.
Comment by Eric Boch — June 8, 2009 @ 11:20 pm |
[...] “Apple iPhone 3G dies when exposed to Belgian water test“ [...]
Pingback by Apple iPhone Abuse Detection Sensors: Who Is Abusing Whom? | Techgeist — September 18, 2009 @ 5:42 pm |
take some clear nail polish or even just some clear packing tape and cover your moisture indicators. No one will ever notice something over them, but they will be ‘immaculate’. I just ordered my 3GS and live in Vancouver, BC. Land of rainy days….
I’m also purchasing an otterbox case. Supposed to be near watertight when you have all the jack plugs in place.
[Blog author: "Thanks for your valuable advice from rainy Vancouver (probably just as wet as Antwerp, Belgium)."]
Comment by Lummox — September 19, 2009 @ 5:10 am |
Well its nice to hear all this, i have one to take to the apple store tomorrow to get checked out because the back light is gone, but i was no where near water, i hope they don’t say its water or moisture damage… Anyway i think this is how terrorism got started
[Blog author: "LOL, good luck with your Apple repair down in South Carolina Recce
"]
Comment by recce — September 26, 2009 @ 3:27 am |
Well I have had my 3GS for three weeks, yes, I said 3 weeks. My speaker was failing or so I thought, my moisture indicator has turned red, so I am being told my phone has been exposed to moisture. You think, I live in Seattle. Was it submerged, no! Was it accidentally dropped, splashed, washed, etc, NO! May it have gotten rained on, possibly it is Seattle. My recourse, buy a new one, RIDICULOUS! Bad design Apple, or was it smart… a moisture indicator less than 1/4 of an inch inside a wide opening… the charging slot. Hmmmm…. no warranty for moisture…. Not an Apple fan right now!
Comment by Wendy — November 3, 2009 @ 5:48 am |