Water damaged Xperia Z

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tardtasticx

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#138407 2-Jan-2014 23:28

The other night at a friends new years party, my phone was wet a couple of times after it was placed on top of a sticky mess left by a rather drunk friend after she spilt an RTD on the counter. I thought nothing of it, because I was sober enough to make sure I closed all the flaps first.

Recently the phone was repaired after I broke the SIM slot, this was done by OmniTech, as they fixed rather than replaced the main board and were significantly cheaper than Sony, so keep that in mind.

When I woke the next morning, I tried to use the phones power button to wake the screen. No dice. Unplugged it from the charger and it worked fine, so I got ready for work. Just as I was leaving, I noticed there wasn't something right. There was water on the camera. It wouldn't move. Checked the back camera, water too. I looked under all the flaps for the ports and cards, all of the water indicators were bright red. Not good.

At lunch I called telecom faults and begged the person to somehow switch my SIM card as the normal department for it was closed due to public holiday. They done it for me with no complaints, so thanks to the kind person at the telecom faults team :)

I tried to switch the phone off to prevent damage, but whenever I tried, it would turn back on, regardless of how i turned it off (3rd party app or power button).

Fast forward to tonight, its now been in the hot water cupboard for 24hours, the water on the screen and cameras has all gone. But the power button is still stuffed and the screen occasionally glitches out. I can't turn it off still, so its on at the moment but will die overnight.

What I find super bizarre though, I can restart the phone normally by holding up volume and power and it works fine. No issues, but even in the CWM settings menu, the power button to select will not work. Im lost as to what could be causing this, even long holding just power doesn't do a thing.

Basically, I want peoples input as to whats causing the bizarre issue, and what should I do about getting it fixed because I can't go to sony due to aftermarket service, and I know the other company will blame me. Im stuffed.

-Sam

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#960484 3-Jan-2014 00:10

Mmmm doesnt look to promising does it.
Sorry Ive got no better suggestions to what you have done already

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tardtasticx

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#960488 3-Jan-2014 00:31

Damn haha. I was going to put it in rice, but we had absolutely none, and I was way too tired to go to the supermarket. Less water inside must be a good thing though.

jeffnz

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#960501 3-Jan-2014 07:35

I'm no expert but from previous threads on water damaged electronics I would think its an insurance job as once water is on circuit board it will do damage at some stage.

As an aside aren't these waterproof and if so you say you had flaps closed which I assume is the access points that need closed to ensure its waterproof, how would water get in??

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MikeB4

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#960505 3-Jan-2014 07:47

I would have it checked to see if the previous repairer sealed the phone correctly, similar to getting a waterproof watch sealed after battery replacement.

If this was not done correctly you may have a claim against the repairer.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

oxnsox

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#960537 3-Jan-2014 09:32

Problem isn't the water, its what was in the water.

RTDs (and every other drink) are full of sugar and other impurities. When you dry the moisture (water) out of the device these impurities are left behind. And they form connections within the device that are not resettable.
It is for this reason folk recommend rinsing devices in fresh water that have been damaged by other solutions (salt water, drinks etc), before drying them out.
But I am not advocating you do this now.

MikeB4

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#960540 3-Jan-2014 09:36

oxnsox: Problem isn't the water, its what was in the water.

RTDs (and every other drink) are full of sugar and other impurities. When you dry the moisture (water) out of the device these impurities are left behind. And they form connections within the device that are not resettable.
It is for this reason folk recommend rinsing devices in fresh water that have been damaged by other solutions (salt water, drinks etc), before drying them out.
But I am not advocating you do this now.

To put it bluntly your device is doomed, even if you got it going the main board will be toast in a few weeks, I would either pursue the previous repairer for sloppy sealing or claim on insurance. I wouldn't really try any self remedies as these may jeopardise any insurance claim.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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tardtasticx

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#962583 7-Jan-2014 17:04

Sorry for late reply, I've been super busy.

I contacted the repairer, they've blatantly told me: "We are sorry to hear about your Xperia Z. Because we only, replaced the sim card connector as per your request, we are not responsible or entitled to anything." So by that logic, I should have to say: "Yes can you repair the SIM slot, but can you also remember to connect the battery back up, and don't set it on fire before giving it to me thanks".

I told them that the phone is meant to be water proof, and their repairer obvisouly hasn't done a good enough job, they replied: "Any Water resistant phone (if opened for repair by ANYONE, it won’t be water resistant anymore)." Funny, I emailed Sony's repairer and got this: "Yes, phone will remain same as per manufacturer specs after repair." Well, if they can do it, they obviously their previous statement isn't true.

I told them this, they asked me to bring the phone in for an assessment. I told them I was not comfortable giving the phone to them. It probably makes me sound paranoid but if they have the phone, they can do anything, possibly even making it waterproof or damaged to appear as if it was my fault. I told them I want to send it to Sony to be assessed, and go from there. They told me if I did that, they will not accept any liability as the other repairer could have done anything.

I said as a compromise, I will bring it to them, and watch them assess it. They said no, as it goes against OSH rules of being in the work room which is staff only.

I'm stuck now, I can't do anything it seems. I'm in no rush, I've emailed the Citizens Advice Bureau, and am awaiting there response. What do you all think I should do from here?

-Sam

jeffnz

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#962635 7-Jan-2014 18:51

well they have to assess it don't they so you just need to trust them otherwise it will nowhere. What exactly can they do to it??? take photos of it but inside is out of your hands isn't it anmd they would need to prove you opened it yourself which they couldn't.

At least they have agreed to look at it

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timmmay

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#962653 7-Jan-2014 19:23

It's stuffed right now, might as well let them take a look.

oxnsox

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#962744 7-Jan-2014 20:56

They assess and repair it.....or not.
Either way you still send it to Sony for their expert assessment....
What's the worst that could happen?

tardtasticx

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#962761 7-Jan-2014 21:16

oxnsox:
They assess and repair it.....or not.
Either way you still send it to Sony for their expert assessment....
What's the worst that could happen?

Thats what I'm worried about, they could open it up to 'check it', and when they close it back up, they could seal it properly, and say it was like that to begin with. I'd have no way of knowing because I'm not there, and I won't have anything to go off other than their word against mine.
And yes, I'll be sending it to sony for assessment immediately after.

Worst that could happen, I'm stuck with this phone being broken, which will probably die soon. Being a gift, it means a lot more.

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oxnsox

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#962813 7-Jan-2014 22:17

As kiwiNZ said. If its been liquid damaged it's history. Even if the original guys effected a repair, unless they replace the board it will fail again..... 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 hours.... who knows.
So why not send it straight to Sony, then use their report to get cists back from original guys

tardtasticx

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#962817 7-Jan-2014 22:21

oxnsox: As kiwiNZ said. If its been liquid damaged it's history. Even if the original guys effected a repair, unless they replace the board it will fail again..... 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 hours.... who knows.
So why not send it straight to Sony, then use their report to get cists back from original guys

Well this was their response when I told them I wanted to go to sony for an assessment:
"Hi Sam,

Thanks for the email. Please be advised that if the phone will be or has been looked by someone else we will not take responsibility of it. We are not aware of the status of the phone, we have not inspected nor can we confirm if the phone has been liquid damaged etc. For us to resolve or investigate into this further, we need to inspect and confirm the current status of the phone. Based on just the information provided, we cannot do anything. I would again emphasize that we need to inspect the phone to be able to come to a conclusion"

Do I have any ground afterwards if they decided to do that, if I take it to Sony that is.

timmmay

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#962952 8-Jan-2014 08:07

I think you need to let them investigate, they're not going to make it worse. This would be very difficult or impossible to prove, since they can say you just forgot to close a flap. They can also say since it was sticky you didn't treat it with due care, which could be grounds for an insurance company to deny cover.

Not trying to be a pita here, just giving you some thoughts.

MikeB4

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#962990 8-Jan-2014 09:01

My advise, probably worthless, is either give it to them to assess and if need be repair or lodge and Insurance claim for the spillage and let the Insurance company decide. Procrastination isn't solving anything in fact its allowing the rot to worsen.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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