Apple’s always been a company that will take in your old goods and give price reductions and things of that nature, but at the same time it’s almost been more trouble than it’s worth because of how strict the rules are. Have you ever been on a government allowance only to find out you didn’t hand in a form properly and all of a sudden you’re being forced to pay it all back? Then you’ll understand what I mean when I say not worth it.
As of today the Cupertino company has publicly announced that they will be taking away one of the biggest restrictions of all, the water damage iPhone. Up until now this couldn’t be included in any kind of a package deal that resulted in funds going back to you with a gift card which would then be used to buy another on-contract iPhone. Now, however, they have decided that they will take in water damaged goods as part of the recycle program. This will be happening effective immediately from within the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. If you have a device that wasn’t previously accepted, take it into your local Apple store from within one of these countries. This offer will likely extend to the stores, everywhere else around the world very soon. It’s not yet known if that will eventually extend out to the iPad and the iPod touch, however.
We also don’t know if this is because of Apple having found a way to use these parts still even with the damage, or whether it’s just them doing their part for the environment so that the parts can be recycled. Hopefully it is bought from the worlds standpoint.
So how does Apple know if the handset does sustain damage of this variety? Buried inside the hardware is a liquid-trap, that if water gets in it will set off a discoloration to a particular module. The Apple employees can tell straight away if the iPhone in question has seen any moisture or not.
Via: 9to5Mac