iPhone: Made In, But Not For China?
August 23, 2010
The iPhone is, as you probably know, a delicate piece of technology. You need to handle it with care of course, but also, you can't take it anywhere you want as it will in fact void you warranty. Why? Well, if you operate your iPhone in extreme temperatures or humid areas, your iPhone's moisture indicator might turn red. This will signal to Apple that your iPhone was in contact with liquids and shall not be repaired free of charge.
The problem is, in some markets like China, where Apple sells the iPhone, it's almost impossible to avoid such a climate. According to a report by the South China Morning Post found by Gizmodo, a growing number of Chinese users are experiencing loss of warranty on their iPhone because as you can see in the graph above, the humidity level is often above what the iPhone can support.
These things are tricky. On one hand, they have to make sure that they will know if your iPhone suffered water damages. On the other, the current detection method is clearly not cutting it. People are seeing things like sweat, cold and so on void their warranty, which isn't normal. If I were you, I would avoid using my iPhone as a shower radio or traveling with it to humid places for now. At least until Apple makes the moisture detectors become more tolerant.
Did any of you experience similar problems? Tell us how it went.