Apple to replace water-damaged iPhones via out-of-warranty service

May 5 2009, 3:00pm

Filed under: Hardware, Apple, iPhoneifoAppleStore is reporting that Apple has instituted a new policy that will let iPhone owners swap their liquid-damaged iPhones for replacements. For $199US, customers can swap their defunct phones for a refurb unit, provided that it succumbed to an out-of-warranty encounter with liquid. Here's the catch: Said swap renews your 2-year contract with AT&T -- so it's pretty much like buying a new phone, except if you were to do that out of contract it would cost you $499 for a 16GB unit.Of course, this could also be another way to clear current iPhone inventory in preparation for a new model.We couldn't determine if sweat-induced failures are covered by this program, but we'll let you know if we find out.Update: Apple has told us that a replacement under out-of-warranty service would not renew a customer's contract. We apologize for the error.TUAWApple to replace water-damaged iPhones via out-of-warranty service originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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