My iPod Touch died a few days ago, too. All of a sudden, it just shut off and was completely unresponsive. However, I got it working again fairly easily, thanks to some great tech support.

But the tech support wasn’t from Apple. It was from Google.

Any time I have a problem with anything, I go to Google first. Chances are other people may have had a similar problem and may know how to fix it without having to go through a phone menu and a questionnaire from a tech rep in India.

In this case, Google led me straight to a simple blog post that described exactly my “symptoms” and instructed me how to do a “hard reset” of my iPod Touch. Thankfully, it worked.

I lost everything on the iPod and had to restore from a backup (of course, we should always keep a backup of everything). But a quick search on Google saved me a lot of frustration and I didn’t even have to go near to Apple tech support.

It’s worth noting that, remarkably often, a company’s tech support people will know a lot less about an issue than the collective internet community. I’m not sure that a “hard reset” would have cured your iPod Touch, but if you didn’t already try it, and if the Apple guy didn’t tell you about it – there’s a good chance he either didn’t know about it or deliberately didn’t tell you.

Oh, and there’s NO WAY that any kind of “scanner thingy” – even in an Apple store – can accurately determine “water damage” as a cause of any problem. That kind of scanner thingy only exists in the Star Trek universe.

Twitter: bloggingbistro
Malcolm,

Now I know who to call if and when we have future iPod challenges: You!

Going to Google first is good advice. The collective minds out there can solve most any problem.

By the way, I ran your blog through my scanner thingy and it has water damage. I’ll give you a brand new blog for only $10,500. Deal?

Hi Laura,

No problem. Just as soon as Captain Kirk delivers that $10,500 I’ll get it right to you!

Customer service is a huge issue for me. I researched watches extensively (yea, call me focused). I wanted one with an alarm. I passed over the Seiko and Citizen watches and settled for a Casio from Kohl’s department store. Well the analog hands did not keep up with the digital time. I took it back and exchanged it for another watch of the same type but a different band. The sales clerk told me that although their return policy is nonmally 90 days, as long as I had the UPC number and receipt, I could exchange it ANYTIME. I’ll go back there because the service is great, honest and helpful.

So if I read your article correctly…

Your 17 year old son kills his iPod by soaking it somehow, yet you make it sound like the thing spontaneously died. Here’s a tip: water+electrical gadgets is a bad thing. You take it to Apple and they find obvious, visible, unmistakable evidence of water damage, so you buzz back to your blog to bash this “scam” and Apple’s crappy warranty.

Here’s the problem: you aren’t looking for a warranty that covers your iPod – you want one that covers your son. Logically, Apple isn’t interested in offering warranties that cover the actions of the world’s teenagers. If every company offered the kind of warranty you prefer, I could return my new car to the Chevy dealership because my 16 year-old daughter rear-ended another car two months after purchasing it.

It’s unfortunate that Costco allows items to be returned in such an irresponsible fashion because it creates an insipid sense of entitlement that creates this kind of warped logic.

And, if you want to know what Apple’s warranty covers… read the warranty. Don’t like it? Don’t buy – or buy it at Costco.

Twitter: bloggingbistro
Dear Seriously,

Wow, you must have missed the following sentences in my post: “He takes exceptionally good care of it and stores it in a safe place at night.

Yesterday, the unthinkable happened. His iPod died. Just like that. After only two months of use.”

Saying that my son guards his iPod with his life would not be an understatement. It was nowhere near water at any time.

And yes, we did read the warranty carefully before purchasing the thing.

I stand by my original statement: The iPod warranty stinks, and the customer service at the Apple store where my husband attempted to exchange it was lousy. My guess is that you’re probably an employee at that store.

Laura,

No, I didn’t miss any sentences in your post. It’s just that your kid – as good as he may be – is a 17 year old, and stuff happens to 17 year olds that parents never hear about. Water damage is not a subjective blanket excuse for voiding warranties – it is easy to identify, and the results are irreversible.

The iPod touch and iPhone do indeed have water sensors that disable the device if water gets in, and judging by this forum (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=368474) and the myriad others out there, it’s not an uncommon occurrence no matter how careful a person is.

If I’m in your shoes, I ask to see the evidence of water damage before ponying up for repairs or a new iPod, and if the “genius” I’m dealing with isn’t helpful, I ask for someone else who can show me what the problem is.

No, I don’t work for Apple. I’m an elementary school teacher who stumbled across your page while trying to find a way to back up my iPod’s playlists. My wife and I have owned five Macs and three iPods, and we’ve always been more than satisfied with the service provided by Apple.

Laura,

hi i m a 17yr old from ND

i agree with u i m the same way with my ipod it is my baby. i recently had a problem with my headphone jack so i sent my ipod in to have it replaced. n i got it back in the mail today n i was so excited n then wen i went to listen to it i learned that apple didnt fix it cuz i had a dent in the back of it which was 3 1/2″ away from my headphone jack. this dent was put in my ipod a week after i bought it n i dont know how it got there cuz i had it on my pocket tht whole day so i assume i bumped into something jus hard enough to do that. i dont know wat it was but it has been 8 1/2 months since the dent was put in it n jus now a week ago my headfone jack went to crap n apple says that the dent is the cause of the headfone jack failure which is a bunch of crap n now if i want a new ipod i hav to do like ur son n pay for it. i have never been so mad in my entire life.
but now i have to agree with seriously on the fact tht u shud of asked for proof of water damage cus my parents think i wudnt lie bout that kind of thing or wat ever idk how to word it but i can guarantee u that he might of lied bout the water damage part or mabe he didnt lie i cant say cuz i dont know him. n he is also rite bout the fact tht things happen to 17 yr olds tht parents dont know about cuz things happen to me that my parents dont know about

n then with malcoms comment i dont entirely agree with him bout the scanner cuz there cud be water marks/scum/residue left over on the inside of the case where it wud be completely visible n easy to see

sorry bout some of the words n the way that they r spelled but i m so used to texting that i dont even realize wat i typed wrong unless i stop n look at it.

the same exact thing happened to me with my ipod touch. Of course, i'm only 13, you see. and all of MY friends have one (haha that's saying something), my grandmother gives me money for my grades and i collected enough money to get my parents to buy me an ipod touch and pay them back, about a month ago. What happened was, i have “water damage” too. haha figures. F*CK apple and F*CK my life. THE SCREEN stopped working. just. stopped. after a month. i can see, but i can't touch. it's called an “ipod touch” not an “ipod i can not touch” because i can't touch it. i can't slide the screen to unlock, slide the screen to power off, etc. maybe i'll buy a new one. oh who am i kidding it's been a month i FREGGEN HATE APPLE. i guess it sucks to know there are other out there. one day, it was this beautiful joy that i spent all my time on, now it is my enemy that i wasted a good 300 dollars on, and am only a child on top. that's like my life saving to this little device that gave out.