Database Users

Bricking hero to get it replaced

My sprint store won't replace my Hero with dust under the screen >_<
So if I brick it, they will, correct?
Would brick by pulling battery during radio update or something.

Yeah...this is against your contract and such...if they can prove you bricked it they can say no...

This is incredibly unethical and results in higher costs for all of us. I understand you're upset that you have dust under your screen, but intentionally bricking your phone to get a replacement, that cost only gets passed on to everyone else.
I guess that you could argue that the product was defective and they ought to replace it anyway, but a little dust under the screen isn't the end of the world is it? I've got chipped paint on my back button and the case has a small crack where the mini-usb plugs in, should I brick my phone just to fix those minor issues?

ASULutzy said:
This is incredibly unethical and results in higher costs for all of us. I understand you're upset that you have dust under your screen, but intentionally bricking your phone to get a replacement, that cost only gets passed on to everyone else.
I guess that you could argue that the product was defective and they ought to replace it anyway, but a little dust under the screen isn't the end of the world is it? I've got chipped paint on my back button and the case has a small crack where the mini-usb plugs in, should I brick my phone just to fix those minor issues?
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I'm completely OCD about these things. Once I notice an issue that I didn't cause, it bothers the complete hell out of me.

Just take it to a local repair shop and pay the cost to have it cleaned/screen replaced.

intx said:
I'm completely OCD about these things. Once I notice an issue that I didn't cause, it bothers the complete hell out of me.
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Asides from all of that, as already mentioned this is unethical, and also illegal, you would be committing fraud. This is something in the same vein as insurance fraud. I don't condone such things. There are guides on the internet on how to openup your phone and clean out the dust, probably guides on how to stop it from happening again, look them up and give that a shot if the dust bothers you so much.

rayborn said:
Just take it to a local repair shop and pay the cost to have it cleaned/screen replaced.
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I absolutely refuse to pay extra money to fix a defect in a phone I've only had for a few months.

So take it to a Sprint shop and they'll blow out the dust for free.

intx said:
I absolutely refuse to pay extra money to fix a defect in a phone I've only had for a few months.
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Then open ur phone and clean it urself, seriously why do ppl think their entitled to sh*t nowadays? if you can flash ur phone then open the shell and clean it out.

entropism said:
So take it to a Sprint shop and they'll blow out the dust for free.
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He said he did that and they wouldnt.
How do u guys get dust under the screen? Om. Truck driver and see tje worst conditions ever, from scorching heat to freezing cold with everything in between n my phone still looks bew after a few months and many drops andi cary it in my pocket.

I would have to agree that the best option, (being money free) is to follow a guide to open up your phone and cleaning it yourself unless of course you would be voiding your warranty. However that seems to be not the case here.

to brick it, flash a gsm radio or rom. BUT "if" they catch it you will be charged for a new phone.

Nate14 said:
I would have to agree that the best option, (being money free) is to follow a guide to open up your phone and cleaning it yourself unless of course you would be voiding your warranty. However that seems to be not the case here.
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no need to clean it, just call sprint and they will send you another phone. i did and i got a new one a week ago. sprint knows about the dust defect.

Uhmmm. The answer to your question is yes. The bricked hero is going to go into a bucket of hero's at the HTC repair center and probably be recycled. There is no forensics team waiting to check every phone because of HOW it got screwed. I would keep it all stock though so if they do read it they wont see something that hasnt been released yet.
I would say the radio update trick may brick it but it would be best if the phone didnt even power on.
Also, don't feel bad. I am ocd about this stuff too and if I had dust under the screen in one hand, and a company like sprint trying back out of responsibility in the other, I would do the same thing. I could go on and on but its up to you to decide what the "right thing" to do is. And I personally feel that they should cover this stuff, so I have no moral or ethical problems with forcing a company to own up and care about their customers. Just be sure to take it to a sprint store you have never been to before.

FYI- I am a Sprint employee.. and I can tell you that as long as you're going to a COMPANY OWNED Sprint store, they will clean the dust out for you at no charge since you're still in warranty. If they do not, ask for a manager and let them know you don't want to have to email [email protected] (yes this actually works, and his executive escalation office really does read these emails.) If it is a repeated issue, they will eventually replace the phone for you, but it will likely be a reconditioned model (which are just as good as new.) The Hero comes apart very very easily and is very simple to clean. Good luck!

a99tandem said:
FYI- I am a Sprint employee.. and I can tell you that as long as you're going to a COMPANY OWNED Sprint store, they will clean the dust out for you at no charge since you're still in warranty. If they do not, ask for a manager and let them know you don't want to have to email [email protected] (yes this actually works, and his executive escalation office really does read these emails.) If it is a repeated issue, they will eventually replace the phone for you, but it will likely be a reconditioned model (which are just as good as new.) The Hero comes apart very very easily and is very simple to clean. Good luck!
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sprint tried to clean my dust but refused to take apart the hero in fear of breaking it or getting fingerprints on the lcd. the blew out what they could and hooked me up with a new phone, no questions asked.

flexgrip said:
Uhmmm. The answer to your question is yes. The bricked hero is going to go into a bucket of hero's at the HTC repair center and probably be recycled. There is no forensics team waiting to check every phone because of HOW it got screwed. I would keep it all stock though so if they do read it they wont see something that hasnt been released yet.
I would say the radio update trick may brick it but it would be best if the phone didnt even power on.
Also, don't feel bad. I am ocd about this stuff too and if I had dust under the screen in one hand, and a company like sprint trying back out of responsibility in the other, I would do the same thing. I could go on and on but its up to you to decide what the "right thing" to do is. And I personally feel that they should cover this stuff, so I have no moral or ethical problems with forcing a company to own up and care about their customers. Just be sure to take it to a sprint store you have never been to before.
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In other words, your telling him its ok to commit fraud, which is a felony. Its because of people like you, that a cell phone costs $500, pc's cost $1000's, insurance rates are high, health care is so expensive, etc.......Fraud accounts for probably a good majority of the cost of products and services. Imagine what it would be like if everybody actually took responsibility for their actions...Ah well..that'll never happen in this society that thinks it's entitled to everything for free.......

intx said:
My sprint store won't replace my Hero with dust under the screen >_<
So if I brick it, they will, correct?
Would brick by pulling battery during radio update or something.
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Use the OPEN enrollment on sprint to get TEP. (they have special now till the end of the month).. then take it in have them 'diagnose' it, and the worse case you pay 50 deductible to get it replaced, keep TEP until your satisfied.
I can usually get out of the TEP deductible by just going to a repair center and waiting for them to fix it.
Maybe that will work.. I had gone through 8 sprint moguls on TEP and never once had to pay the deductible by doing things this way.

TEP on smartphones is $100 not $50 deductible.

OK, first off... The OP never said he tried to fix it, he said he tried to REPLACE it. For all we know, he didn't go to a corporate repair store, just a sales location.
Second, for Fixxxer: if you went to a repair store and they felt uncomfortable opening up your hero? Change stores IMMEDIATELY. They're trained and paid to open up phones, if they can't do that, they're worthless.
Finally, Kkruse: The deductible is $100, hasn't been $50 for smartphones in over a year. Besides, a deductible should only be used for the following: Water damage, physical damage (I'd rather pay $120 on the spot to get it fixed), theft/loss, fire damage, complete devastation (aka motherboard shattered into more than 2 pieces). If you use the deductible for dust, send me the $100 instead, it'll get more use. Half of your insurance goes to free in store repairs. Guess what dust is covered under?

the hero is defective, i have proof!

i know how the dust in getting in our phones, there is a defective seal between the body & the lcd. how do i have proof? i went to install a screen protector today and the solution leaked underneath the lcd and leaves staining and a fog. i had to put my hero in a bag of dry rice to preserve & dry it. no other phone i have had, had this issue when installing a screen protector, im only using a small amount of water spray too, not a ton.

nebenezer said:
I hope you got pictures, and then called your lawyer!!
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come on man, im serious here, this is an issue that htc should of fixed. they wouldn't sell those screen protectors to damage your phone. i only used a very small amount of the spray they provide, you have to use the credit card to squeeze the bubbles out.

fixxxer2008 said:
come on man, im serious here, this is an issue that htc should of fixed. they wouldn't sell those screen protectors to damage your phone.
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I actually agree, for some reason I am just unable to pass up an opportunity to give you $h1t
Fortunately I have been one of the lucky few who have no dust under my screen and my call/end button paint shows no wear at all. My hero looks as new today as it did on 3/12/2009 when I got it.
I was serious though about getting photographic documentation, not sure what you would do with it but if you ad an opportunity to tell someone who could do something about it you would be glad you took the pics (ie, emailing someone at htc or sprint, or even proving the defect to customer service in order to get a replacement)
*edit- You bought the screen protector from HTC? I put a full zagg shield on mine a couple months ago and was very paranoid about the solution getting down in the crack between the bottom of the screen and the button plate but I was lucky, no problems.

nebenezer said:
I actually agree, for some reason I am just unable to pass up an opportunity to give you $h1t
Fortunately I have been one of the lucky few who have no dust under my screen and my call/end button paint shows no wear at all. My hero looks as new today as it did on 3/12/2009 when I got it.
I was serious though about getting photographic documentation, not sure what you would do with it but if you ad an opportunity to tell someone who could do something about it you would be glad you took the pics (ie, emailing someone at htc or sprint, or even proving the defect to customer service in order to get a replacement)
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i may give sprint a call tonight, just upsets me is all. i love the phone but damn i didn't need this today. come to think of it, i may give htc a ring, im sure they must be aware of this, maybe i can get a new phone from them?

fixxxer2008 said:
i may give sprint a call tonight, just upsets me is all. i love the phone but damn i didn't need this today.
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dude, I think you need some perspective. You have insurance, right? Forget the deductible, if you go in and use the correct words in the correct order you can easily walk out with a brand new phone... just saying.

nebenezer said:
dude, I think you need some perspective. You have insurance, right? Forget the deductible, if you go in and use the correct words in the correct order you can easily walk out with a brand new phone... just saying.
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probably, yes.... i just checked the phone and the fog is gone but there is a highly noticeable water stain under the lcd at the top left corner of the phone. im trying to dry it out as we speak. too late to go to sprint today but i may call them and htc to see what they are willing to do. i assume the invisible shields do not void your warranty at all since some sprint stores & best buy carry them?

fixxxer2008 said:
probably, yes.... i just checked the phone and the fog is gone but there is a highly noticeable water stain under the lcd at the top left corner of the phone. im trying to dry it out as we speak. too late to go to sprint today but i may call them and htc to see what they are willing to do. i assume the invisible shields do not void your warranty at all since some sprint stores & best buy carry them?
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The experience you had today will in no way void your warranty unless you let it. You are the customer, be a customer who's business they want to keep and they will bend over backwards to help you, I have proven this theory many times

ebaDamagePlan said:
should have*
or
should've*
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ok, it should of been fixed the minute they knew about the dust getting under there. i think i have proof of a defective seal, when a small amount of spray causes staining & fog underneath. i just called htc and their warranty department is closed, figures!

fixxxer2008 said:
probably, yes.... i just checked the phone and the fog is gone but there is a highly noticeable water stain under the lcd at the top left corner of the phone. im trying to dry it out as we speak. too late to go to sprint today but i may call them and htc to see what they are willing to do. i assume the invisible shields do not void your warranty at all since some sprint stores & best buy carry them?
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Eh...good luck. You've got water underneath your screen via a third party screen protective solution.
The liquid wouldnt have entered your screen had you not administered it. Water can creep through even the smallest of openings.
I highly doubt things are going to work in your favor if you enter a Sprint store. I'm not aware of any corporate Sprint location that advocates a screen solution that requires even the smallest amount of liquid since liquid damage is something that must be handled by the insurance company, Asurion, that many wireless providers work through.
Its worth a shot. Just dont be completely disappointed if the Sprint store doesnt respond in your favor.

Quis89 said:
Eh...good luck. You've got water underneath your screen via a third party screen protective solution.
The liquid wouldnt have entered your screen had you not administered it. Water can creep through even the smallest of openings.
I highly doubt things are going to work in your favor if you enter a Sprint store. I'm not aware of any corporate Sprint location that advocates a screen solution that requires even the smallest amount of liquid since liquid damage is something that must be handled by the insurance company, Asurion, that many wireless providers work through.
Its worth a shot. Just dont be completely disappointed if the Sprint store doesnt respond in your favor.
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Sprint stores as well as Best Buy both install screen protectors, so I doubt that would be an issue.

Umm...not to be rude here, but that's been a known issue for a while. It's not new. Anyone who's had the dust issue (myself included) has known about the seal under the screen leaking.
Yes it's defective. If you put up enough of a fuss they'll replace it with a refurb which will likely have the same problem.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I bought mine at best buy, got it replaced, and haven't had the problem since. It appears HTC had a bad batch (well a lot of them, really) for about 6-8 months. They fixed the problem after that, but the good ones are mixed in with the old ones. It's a crapshoot as to whether you'll get one without a dust problem.

I always get screen protectors that have built in sticky solution. never had the dust problem either.
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

wcgbmd said:
I'll just put it like this, its not that I don't believe people are having these issues its just that they are exaggerating it completely out of proportion.
I have a Htc Hero(With Google) made in 2009, came with the 1.56 RUU Installed. I have 1 (READ 1) dead pixel on my entire screen, the case has no paint chips, no dust under the screen, buttons show no wear(its not paint...), my speakers work and sound great, I get a full signal in 90% of places, Calls never drop, hardware is fast if you know what your doing and tweak it, you can run 2.1 perfectly if you know what your doing, no battery issues whatsoever.
So yeah... a dead pixel... I'm completely returning my hero to Sprint for that. (not)
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I also have a dead pixel. And I'm not returning it for that reason, either.
But I feel I need to set you straight on a few issues.
#1. The dust issue is real. While I personally didn't wait until I had half my screen covered with it to replace it, I've seen pics (here I believe) where the phone is virtually unusable due to the dust. I had a small amount of dust. But why shouldn't I return it? Why should I spend a bunch of money on a defective piece of hardware? If it's not properly functioning when brand new I'm returning it. Which is what I did, and lucked out.
#2. Button wear. I've never had this problem (only had the phone a couple of months) but my wife has. Whether it's paint, or dye, or what have you, those things can and do flake. There are also images of it on these forums if you search for them.
#3. Never had a speaker problem.
#4. You seem to be extremely fortunate about where you live/drive/work then. Because signal issues happen if you do any travelling.
#5. I don't get people with battery problems either. I have the stock battery and can go all day (12-14 hours) and use 50% or less of the battery.
Anyhow, I doubt the people that are having the issues you mention are exaggerating, and at least in the case of the flaking buttons and dust I know from experience they're as bad as people make it out to be.

chfields said:
Sprint stores as well as Best Buy both install screen protectors, so I doubt that would be an issue.
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exactly, plus they sell them as well. it wouldn't void my warranty under water damage because the water indicator sticker is intact and there are no signs of water damage. i doubt a small amount of solution would seep under the screen unless it was defective. im about to call sprint and demand a brand new hero or a samsung moment as im on my 3rd phone now. besides the fact the 3rd phone they sent me was suppose to be new and it's a refurb with over 700 calls made from it. im really about to not buy htc or sprint anymore and maybe move to another carrier.

chfields said:
Sprint stores as well as Best Buy both install screen protectors, so I doubt that would be an issue.
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I'm not aware of any corporate Sprint Store that would install a screen protector that uses any form of a liquid. The screen protectors that Sprint stores sell are a stick film. Nothing that requires liquid to apply.
Best Buy stores do sell and install these...but you're not going to Best Buy for a replacement unit generally. I'm sure they'll turn you away.

well forget sprint, they said the most that will happen is to give me another refurbish, they need to all be on the same page. some say you get new phones and some say they give you used ones. after 3 phones im entitled to a new one or another comparable model. so i guess my last hope is to call htc on monday, after that im dropping my contract and going to t-mobile or verizon. maybe the issue is they give people used phones and not new ones, they need to start backing up their warranties because it seems to me they are just cheap as hell.

fixxxer2008 said:
yeah but it's a legit complaint, im not just ranting. the dust & seal issue are known issues on the net. to me sprint just doesn't care about their customers. every one of their workers give you different answers, no one is on the same page.
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Had the phone since day -2 and have yet to have one speck of dust under the screen yet. And mines the without google branding. You probably just need to stop whining or stop messing up YOUR phone =P

fixxxer2008 said:
exactly, plus they sell them as well. it wouldn't void my warranty under water damage because the water indicator sticker is intact and there are no signs of water damage. i doubt a small amount of solution would seep under the screen unless it was defective. im about to call sprint and demand a brand new hero or a samsung moment as im on my 3rd phone now. besides the fact the 3rd phone they sent me was suppose to be new and it's a refurb with over 700 calls made from it. im really about to not buy htc or sprint anymore and maybe move to another carrier.
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Who said you were entitled to a "New" Hero? Did you get it through insurance? If not, then you're not entitled to a "New" Hero.

VinceOB said:
Who said you were entitled to a "New" Hero? Did you get it through insurance? If not, then you're not entitled to a "New" Hero.
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all replacements were done through sprint and my 2nd one was a brand new phone. the tech told me last week that if my 3rd one acts up im entitled to a another compatible phone model such as the moment. now they are telling me something different. to me the $7 insurance i pay for every month is apparently worthless.

fixxxer2008 said:
all replacements were done through sprint and my 2nd one was a brand new phone. the tech told me last week that if my 3rd one acts up im entitled to a another compatible phone model such as the moment. now they are telling me something different. to me the $7 insurance i pay for every month is apparently worthless.
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Yep the 3 phones for virtually nothing compared to how much you would of had to pay.
Why do we even bother with the $7?

WTF...water damage????!!!!

I just took my phone into the sprint repair center for a blown speaker. Got a call back and was told phone has water damage.. I have been super careful with this thing, and have no idea how this could of happened. Both visible moisture indicators are fine. Its supposed to be the one on the board, but I don't have the correct driver to disassemble. End of rant....

Sweat possibly?
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Maybe BS from the Sprint store because they do not want to fix your EVO for free? I took my palm pro into the store a while back because it was no charging probably. Found out that the connector has somehow corroded with acid, they blamed it on water damage, however the moister strips were fine. I had a long talk with the manager and he made an exception.

I don't know about BS, then again some places are bound to possibly be bull****. But my sticker inside is marked, how I do not know. Happened first week of owning it. Nothing went wrong...took it in recently they took it apart said water damage wasn't evident, something else was afoot and that was cool. I personally wouldn't be surprised if they just turned me away at that. Ya never know though, different repair centers and different Sprint stores the help varies. But maybe there was some random and freak instance of a little water...somehow same happened on this end, at least enough to mark the indicator. Still have no idea how it could have happened.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

High humidity (ie, having the phone just in the bathroom after someone's taken a shower) or sweat (while talking on the phone) could cause this mysterious water damage. For me, if my strips are changed, it's from when I put my full-body covers on, and squeezed out the water; I know some of it dripped into the earpiece grille.

Best option is to go to a third party Sprint repair center. For the most part, they dont repair the phones, they just order replacements.

dslisfree said:
Maybe BS from the Sprint store because they do not want to fix your EVO for free? I took my palm pro into the store a while back because it was no charging probably. Found out that the connector has somehow corroded with acid, they blamed it on water damage, however the moister strips were fine. I had a long talk with the manager and he made an exception.
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I was thinking this could be the case, but then I just thought I was being paranoid......hmm...sprint repair center consiparcy......

actually I am a technician for a corporate sprint store and their wouldnt be any reason to not repair the speaker, the speaker is one little tiny piece, to replace that takes maybe 5 minutes, you unscrew the back pop off old speaker pop in new.
But any time we repair a phone usually also check for liquid damage on board etc...
as far as your phone wtih corrosion on the port, even if the liquid indicators dont go off and the phone has corrosion we cant repair it. Its not as if the liquid indicators are the end all, they just help find the liquid sometimes.
But corrosion is from liquid getting in the port. we see it daily.

the opposite of just about everything said here is true.
If they said its water damage it most likely is, lots of ways it can happen and im not going to get into it, be more careful.
the only reason it may not be is the opposite of stated, DO NOT take it to a third party store because they are friggin lazy and most of them are sales reps not technicians and dont care to waste time F'ing with your phone.
corporate stores have technicians where they only have the job of fixing phones, period, once your phone is apart there is not 1 single reason they wouldn't replace your speaker, its just to dang easy and with CSAT inthe mix they arent going to F with you, unless you were a **** to begin with and they never made a ticket and are blowing you off in fear of a bad CSAT.
there is no reason for them not to fix your phone at a corporate store unless it actually is water damage.

I am thinking about replacing the speaker myself. I found them herehttp://www.globaldirectparts.com/OEM-Sprint-HTC-Evo-4G-Speaker-p/htc736860.htm the only thing is minimum 5 quantity. Anyone know where else I can pick one up?

I am curious about Sprint policy when there is water damage. Does that mean that you simply have to go through the insurance (and pay the $100 deductible) and replace the phone? Or are you just SOL?

Arbanak said:
I am curious about Sprint policy when there is water damage. Does that mean that you simply have to go through the insurance (and pay the $100 deductible) and replace the phone? Or are you just SOL?
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Insurance with $100 deductable.

you can either pay the 100$ deductible through phoneclaim.com/sprint and pay. they ship you one or pay 120$ in store and get it replaced (if the store has it, and not all stores might do this)

Need some opinions on warranty replacement

So, here's my story.
The screen "died" on my Fascinate last Friday (4 days ago). When I took it off charge in the morning (I always charge it overnight), I noticed some discoloration in the center of the screen. Phone was still functional, but I really didn't look into much as I was leaving for work. After about 2 hours, I looked at the phone again and the screen was much worse. It now had an image burned on it and it was getting darker. Touch screen also stopped working about this time. Well, after another hour or two, I couldn't see anything on the screen except for a small bit at the very top of the screen.
I called the Verizon store over lunch and explained what happened, they patched to another tech support guy who had me pull the battery, which helped nothing. So, he put through to overnight me a replacement, which is arriving today. Well, I picked the broken phone this morning which has been powered off all weekend, and when I looked at it in the light I could see the screen underneath is cracked in an arch at the top. I have no idea how it could have happened. I'm very gentle with my phone and have no memory of when such damage could have occurred. This is the first time I noticed it, and you really have to look at it at the right angle to even see it. The glass on top is flawless and the phone shows no other signs of damage.
I'm really not sure what to do at this point. Is Verizon going to notice it and tack the $500 or so onto my bill? Should I call them and explain what happened? I'm pretty sure there's a good chance it will just slip through the cracks when they receive my broken phone, but I guess my conscience is getting the best of me. Anyone have any thoughts on my situation or experienced similar in the past with Verizon?

I'm guessing you have asurion insurance? I believe you can so 2 replacements a year. That being said... You're first replacement came in broken and I wouldn't accept it.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

daavy said:
I'm guessing you have asurion insurance? I believe you can so 2 replacements a year.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
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I do not, which is why I was happy when they told me it was a warranty replacement. My heart kind of sunk when I saw the crack

An arch from electrical current? If that's the case maybe call and tell them. Just be sure you don't have water damage.

boostedjti said:
An arch from electrical current? If that's the case maybe call and tell them. Just be sure you don't have water damage.
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Definitely no water damage.
Not an arch from electrical current. The crack is in a arch shape. No idea what the cause was. I'm just afraid once I send it back, they are going to see it and claim abuse and charge me for the replacement. If there's a good chance that could happen, I may want to just send the warranty replacement phone back and replace the screen in my broken phone for $100.

If the crack is under the main screen then i would say it will be covered easily. I had a BB Storm where the screen was fine but the digitizer shattered. Vzw store replaced it without a problem.

Sounds like a manufacturing defect to me . AFAIK your phone has a 1 year manufacturer's (Samsung) warranty so Verizon probably won't care to replace it since the replacement cost won't be coming out of their pocket.

"its cracked?" "it wasnt went i sent it. They must have dropped it in shipping" ive been told works with customer service, its not worth their time arguing with you.

One thing with verizon I have noticed it's they really don't have too much of a conscience when it comes to us customers, so why have one with them. Warranty replace it and claim it must have happened during shipment if they notice. doubt they will argue. I know some people misuse the warranty replacement thing, but apparently you aren't. I forgot to replace the official software bacl on one of my storm replacements (there were 11 total and they were all legit) they didnt even notice. Odds are the screen will get replaced and sent off to another customer and they will be none the wiser

Samsung Epic moisture indicator?

I was curious if anyone can tell me where the moisture indicators are on the Epic, and what they look like in regular state and tripped state. I only see a sticker on my battery (which I think is one) but it is completely white.
My phone isn't acting right, and it is quite a drive for me to the service center. I don't want to waste my time if they aren't going to warranty it. I didn't get it wet or anything, but I have heard of so many stories where due to the Florida humidity they falsely activate.

One on the battery and one inside the headset jack
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

I assume the headset one can only be seen if you take it apart???
I don't think that is a very good place for one. WAY too exposed to humidity. Not only that, but it sucks if my headset plug has moisture and I plug it in. INSTANT trip.
Can you tell me what it looks like tripped and not tripped?

I think the ones from samsung turn purple

ive fully torn down mine and i didnt see one in the headphone jack. i wonder if they are from different runs? launch day, you?
lafronz said:
One on the battery and one inside the headset jack
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I believe not tripped it'll have blue markings on it, and tripped is completely white, but...
At our store we don't go by the sticker, it's more of a flag than anything else. What we're really looking for are burns and corrosion.
If you want, it's really easy to take off the back of your epic. Just remove battery and cover, unscrew the small phillips screws in the back, and wedge something small and plastic around the seam between the back plate and the chrome trim. You just have to keep a lookout for the buttons falling so you don't lose them.
What you would be looking for is discoloration on any of the metal.
But if you don't feel that adventurous, here's a little piece of advice: you can start a service repair ticket online before you head to the store. They'll be a little a more lenient when you get there and if there's only a tiny amount of corrosion, they'll probably help you out; they don't want their customer satisfaction score to take a hit if they tell you to go pound sand and you already have a ticket created.
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ugh my battery sticker is completely white. The thing is that I have submerged two phones before, and didn't even go to the store. I knew the phone was fried and called asurian (sp?). This one is TOTALLY legit not a water problem and I am going to REALLY be upset if they give me a hard time over it.
I don't feel like taking the phone apart, and I checked the website, but couldn't find where to open a repair ticket. Are you simply just talking about clicking the "make an appointment" link at my local branch?

If you are talking about the make an appointment link, it isn't working for my local Sprint Repair center (I assume because they are not a corporate store).
SIGH. I am seriously going to be upset if they try playing the water gimmick with me.

Well, I've had plenty of phones that had some water damage come in but aren't completely inoperable, just little quirks that hard resets and reflashing don't solve. You'd be surprised what a tiny amount of water can do.
So are you saying your store is one of those 3rd party authorized retailers? I didn't know they did repairs...
There's always the possibility there isn't any water damage lol
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squshy 7 said:
Well, I've had plenty of phones that had some water damage come in but aren't completely inoperable, just little quirks that hard resets and reflashing don't solve. You'd be surprised what a tiny amount of water can do.
So are you saying your store is one of those 3rd party authorized retailers? I didn't know they did repairs...
There's always the possibility there isn't any water damage lol
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Yeah, this one does repairs. They are exclusively a Sprint store, just not corporate, but they do repairs. Have brought my wifes phone in there before.
You are right, it may not be water, but I use my phone every day at the gym + Florida moisture. I am concerned that these stupid sensors may be too sensitive and I may be dinged for something that I shouldn't.
I guess we will see tomorrow.

Milkman00 said:
Yeah, this one does repairs. They are exclusively a Sprint store, just not corporate, but they do repairs. Have brought my wifes phone in there before.
You are right, it may not be water, but I use my phone every day at the gym + Florida moisture. I am concerned that these stupid sensors may be too sensitive and I may be dinged for something that I shouldn't.
I guess we will see tomorrow.
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ASC's do repairs, which is probably what the store close to you is. They're graded based off of surveys generated on tickets too. What you need to do is call customer support (*2), they'll create a ticket on your device and direct you to the store where the ASC will pull up that ticket and probably get graded.
Also, there's no moisture stickers that I know of besides the mentioned, as was said before, they won't look at those anyway. It's corrosion that's the killer.

So just to follow-up, I pulled into the parking lot, and realized that I totally forgot to call customer service and create a ticket. I was pissed off at myself, but drove all the way out there so I figured I had to try it.
Got there and he tried updating my PRL/Profile, but as I got into the conversation with him, he realized that I did a great deal of troubleshooting, and didn't give it a second look. He created the ticket, and the phone will be in tomorrow.
So basically all of my angst was for nothing. I am thinking that since the phone was working, and turned on, that they probably figured that it wasn't any "abuse" of water damage. Thanks for all of the information.