Water damage or not?

[chaconey]

Hi, my 8700 shut down suddenly today when I was in the middle of a call and wouldn't come back on, no matter what I tried. It just flashed a red light every once in awhile. (I have had the phone randomly shut off a few times over the last few months - I would see the hourglass thing and it would take awhile for me to be able to get it back on and working, so I thought it was already having some issues before this that might lead me to having to get another phone).

Anyway, so I took it to a T-Mobile store, and the manager opened it up and the stickers on the inside and on the battery were both red - she told me that it was water damage, and because my phone wouldn't even turn on, there was really nothing I could do (something about the motherboard being fried).

So, because I use the phone for my business, I HAD to buy a new one. The odd part is that when she put the new phones battery into my old "dead" 8700, the phone turned on and seemed to work fine. So, now I'm wondering if I just needed to buy a new battery and the store manager just was trying to make a sale (not to be cynical or anything!)? Or, if I was on my last leg anyway with it, and should just be happy with Curve upgrade (that I didn't necessarily need, but it is kind of cool).

What do you guys think?

Janet

[monkeypaw]

You might be able to wipe the old phone a reinstall the OS. Some people having the same problem as you were able to get the OS back on there.

I thought the sticker on the battery was confirmed in another thread not to be a water indicator but ignorant CS folks think it is or pretend that it is.

[John Clark]

If the small square inside the battery compartment (moisture indicator) is red then you are SOL. They will not warranty a device with a red sticker. It's a common misconception that the battery sticker is also a moisture indicator. It is not.

You can reload the OS to the device with the following instructions:

How do I wipe the BlackBerry using Jl Cmder? - BlackBerryFAQ (http://blackberryfaq.com/index.php/How_do_I_wipe_the_BlackBerry_using_Jl_Cmder%3F)

or

What to do next if Jl Cmder will not connect and wipe - BlackBerryFAQ (http://blackberryfaq.com/index.php/What_to_do_next_if_Jl_Cmder_will_not_connect_and_wipe)