Apple changes stance on liquid damage to iPods
updated 12:45 pm EST, Tue November 9, 2010
Techs asked to produce more evidence
Apple has adopted a slightly more lenient stance towards people claiming warranty service for iPods, according to internal documents. Like some other Apple products, iPods contain small sensors meant to show whether or not liquids have seeped in. In general, Apple has been likely to reject warranty claims out of hand if any "liquid contact indicators" (LCIs) have been tripped.
Under the new guidelines, technicians at Apple Stores and AppleCare Repair Centers must check for secondary evidence of liquid damage once the LCI in the headphone jack has been tripped. The change could lead to a greater number of successful warranty claims. It's speculated that Apple may be worried about the reliability of LCIs, which could be going positive because of ordinarily tolerable amounts of moisture.
Junior Member
Joined: May 2001
A shame...
It's a shame that Apple and other companies have been forced to do this by dishonest, unscrupulous users. I'm betting that fraudulent warranty claims are rampant in the electronic device industry. It is no different from the shoplifting sensors we see every day at retail stores. Unfortunately honest people get tangled up in this sordid cat and mouse game between the sellers and the thieves. I have personally listened to conversations between people discussing how they are going to get the device they dropped in the toilet replaced free of charge. They have no problem with their dishonesty and rationalize the fraud as some kind of revenge against the retailer or manufacturer.