|
|
These are a few my recent iPod repair experiences.
«Previous Page 572 |
Next Page 574»
Page 600 |
Page 550 |
Page 500 |
Page 450 |
Page 400 |
Page 350 |
Page 300
Page 250 |
Page 200 |
Page 150 |
Page 100 |
Page 50
|
I got a call from a neighbor down the street, Tony Crane who lives in Santa Rosa (95403).
I actually helped him move into his house when they bought it at the trough of home pricing in 2008.
His wife Tania had dropped her iPhone 5 in the toilet a few days earlier. They did the things people do to try to bring it back to life, they read on-line about how rice might be a dissicant capable of "saving" her iPhone and since rice is fairly cheap decided to throw their $650 iPhone in a bag of rice and make a sign of the cross that it would all work out.
Here's the thing.... if rice were actually capable of saving things like this, then Apple would include its use in their owners manual and when it didn't work..... they would out of obligation replace the device.
Apple doesn't put rice as a solution to liquid problems in the iPhone owners manual because they know it doesn't work.... ever.
Perhaps in last part of the last century there may have been some hand held devices that benefitted from a rice immersion post-liquid immersion. Those days are long past.
Present day mobile device use cell network connectivity, Blue Tooth and WiFi. All of these wireless 'services' require transmit and receive capabilities on the logic board and that they be used concurrently without interference with each other.
To keep them from interfering with each other, manufacturers enclose the transmit/receive with a soldered over metal cap. The cap operates as Radio Frequency Interference Shielding, called "RFI shielding".
These soldered over caps have small holes in them. The holes allow atmospheric pressure changes without damaging the device.
But the holes are so small they allow water or moisture in under the metal caps however the holes are so small that water surface tension prohibits it from leaving the way it came in.
The other problem with this problem has to do with the liquid. With water in the device it's effectively "turned on". I know... you read the "WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS TURN IT ON" post liquid immersion. I'm here to tell you that is crap. once a liquid is in a device, if its battery has a charge, it's effectively "turned on". And it will stay turned on while the battery has a charge. The fact is the worst thing you can do is to charge the battery. When the battery is charged the way it discharges (looses its 'potential') is to do two things.
One thing that happens is with electrical energy, the water molecule splits into its hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The oxygen atom will re-bind with the lead in the lead/tin solder alloy that holds the parts down to the logic board. When the oxygen re-binds with the lead it forms lead oxide or "rust of lead" a white powdery substance. This lead oxide 'corrosion' tears the lead metal down and ultimately eradicates the contact point to the logic board and pops the parts off the logic board.
The other thing that occurs when you continue to charge the battery, is the battery has to loose its charge, known as 'dis-charging' the battery.
In every modern hand held, with moisture in it, the way the battery discharges is by creating problems at the LCD's backlight connections. At first the positive connection to the LCD's backlight operates as an anode and de-plates the the positive LCD backlight contact.
Then the battery's charge or continued charge disipates by electrical arcing between the positive and negative connection for the LCD's backlight. if you try to charge it too many times, the arcing will crisp or singe away the backlights positive and negative connections all together rendering a device that is incapable of driving a backlight at all... permanent un-repairable logic board damage. this is true of all modern hand held devices.
In the modern world, rice is ineffective as a means to save a water doused device.
The solution, the only solution is to get the device to someone like (or me) that can dismantle it, go through it and clean all of the parts and their contacts so the device works perfectly again.
I know you *wish* rice would solve it but it doesn't. In fact this whole rice thing (and if you call Apple, the goofs in Kentucky that answer the call actually profess rice as a solution) robs life saving time from saving the device from death.
I'm going to repeat that, since rice is not an effective dissicant, it doesn't work (let's hedge and say 'in most cases') and lead oxide corrosion or backlight connectivity starts to be destroyed immediately there really is no *good* reason to wait and see if it works. Again if it did Apple would include it in their owner's manual (which they don't ) and have to stand beside that judgement (which they don't even if their goofy staff tell people to try this).
The fact is... with an iPhone you have about 2 1/2 weeks to get it to an expert and with iPods and iPads (which deal with connectivity differently) you have about 3 1/2 weeks.
There are always exceptions to the rule and of course you could be an exception, but why chance it?
The record save for an iPhone was the suicide case here in Sonoma County, where I got the iPhone 7 months after a 28 year old drowned in a river after trying , instead to hang himself.
The record save for a hard drive based iPod was 18 months after it had been dunked in the Colorado River.
The thing that makes these records occur is not having made many attempts to charge them. In the case of the suicide the box of smashed parts, taken from his pants pocket were saved with no attempt to build or charge it. In the case of the Colorado River event, the device was put in a drawer immediately and left there undisturbed.
Tania's iPhone 5 was handed to me nearly a week after the event. When I popened itm, there was still water puddled inside, but I took it all apart, went through and processed it for water. By the time I was done, I had trhe iPhone 5 working again and perfectly. The one thing that couldn't be solved is the water trapped in the layers of the LCD screen. At the time of the i5's release Apple was unable to make enough of the phone because of retina display glass front shortages.
Because of that shortage I didn't have a new LCD to replace the one on the phone. *But* from experience I know that if its 'fresh water' trapped in the LCD layers it will evaporate away in a couple od weeks leaving a good screen again.
Total cost to get 3 week old iPhone back in perfect working order again.... $60
«Previous Page 572 |
Next Page 574»
Page 600 |
Page 550 |
Page 500 |
Page 450 |
Page 400 |
Page 350 |
Page 300
Page 250 |
Page 200 |
Page 150 |
Page 100 |
Page 50
I'm in Sonoma County... Northern California wine country.
If you live nearby, are traveling through or live in the San Francisco Bay Area bring your iPod to me and I can do the work while you wait or go wine tasting for a while. Send me an
email just to make sure I have on hand whatever parts your repair will require.
Call or email me
with questions or to set up a repair. You can also call, I am here most days from 8am to 8pm
Toll Free 1-877-IPOD-PRO (1 - 877 - 476-3776)
Send the device to:
Frank Walburg
2145 Service Court
Santa Rosa, Ca 95403-3139
Methods of payment
Back to Top
| |
|
|
