Man recovers working iPhone 4 from bottom of Pennsylvania lake
Thanks to an unusual set of circumstances, a Pennsylvania man is reportedly having a lost iPhone 4 returned to him in working condition, despite losing it at the bottom of a lake in March 2015.
Michael Guntrum dropped the iPhone into an ice fishing hole in Kyle Lake after it slipped off his lap, BuzzFeed News said. The lake was drained in Sept. 2015 because of structural issues with its dam -- this October, however, Daniel Kalgren discovered the phone with his metal detector as he was hunting for objects people might have dropped out of boats.
The phone was said to be buried under 6 inches of mud and clay, but protected by a rugged Otterbox case. Kalgren took the unit home, where he cleaned it off and put it in rice. To his surprise, it successfully turned on two days later.
Kalgren contacted Guntrum using a number on the phone, and is currently arranging to mail it to him. Guntrum said he plans to get the phone repaired so his mother can have a smartphone.
An Apple spokesperson claimed that the company often hears customer stories about iPhones surviving unusual conditions.
The revival of Guntrum's iPhone 4 is all the more unusual because the iPhone 7, released just this September, is only Apple's first model to be marketed as water-resistant. That suggests that the Otterbox case was entirely responsible for safeguarding Guntrum's device.
Michael Guntrum dropped the iPhone into an ice fishing hole in Kyle Lake after it slipped off his lap, BuzzFeed News said. The lake was drained in Sept. 2015 because of structural issues with its dam -- this October, however, Daniel Kalgren discovered the phone with his metal detector as he was hunting for objects people might have dropped out of boats.
The phone was said to be buried under 6 inches of mud and clay, but protected by a rugged Otterbox case. Kalgren took the unit home, where he cleaned it off and put it in rice. To his surprise, it successfully turned on two days later.
Kalgren contacted Guntrum using a number on the phone, and is currently arranging to mail it to him. Guntrum said he plans to get the phone repaired so his mother can have a smartphone.
An Apple spokesperson claimed that the company often hears customer stories about iPhones surviving unusual conditions.
The revival of Guntrum's iPhone 4 is all the more unusual because the iPhone 7, released just this September, is only Apple's first model to be marketed as water-resistant. That suggests that the Otterbox case was entirely responsible for safeguarding Guntrum's device.
Comments
"The phone was said to be buried under 6 inches of mud and clay, but protected by a rugged Otterbox case."
The revival of Guntrum's iPhone 4 is all the more unusual because the iPhone 7, released just this September, is only Apple's first model to be marketed as water-resistant. ***That suggests that the Otterbox case was entirely responsible for safeguarding Guntrum's device.***
------------
The 4 probably is a more rugged than the 5, but stick that 5 in the right case, and it too will probably survive the elements.
Not saying you're wrong (you're right about the 5 being a little more fragile), but just adding to your post.
The phone is working fine to this day. She says the battery life is shortened, however I think it's because of all the Instagramming and Snapchatting she does.
And that guy can afford it, he should do his mom a favor and avoid fixing that old classic, get mom an iPhone that is supported with the latest software. (iPhone 4 hasn't received updates for more than a year. Even 4s which are still pretty capable are ripe for retirement.)
i would suggest a 5s or newer with 64GB of storage. This way mom won't be dealing with an old, slow, unpatched device with little storage for photos.
Frame the old phone with a pic of the lake as a memento but it would be a good idea and safer for mom if he retires it.
Also, its the apps that deliver a lot of functionality and many (most?) 32-bit apps are not even supported anymore.
My mom got her first iPhone, a 4s, 6 years ago when she was 78yo (after having some non apple smart phone she never mastered for anything but calls). She took to the iPhone and uses it for everything (calendar, notes on doctor's visits, alarms, Siri, gps/maps, hearing aid control, Apple Pay, etc.). She found it so useful she traded up for a 6, to get NFC, two years ago.
It is hard to commit to using something that is essentially functionally broken from the start, such that many of the features don't work, not to mention that many of the really nice/useful features never existed on.
If the son is cash constrained, it would still be better not to spend that cash in fixing an old phone (which could have any number of things later go wrong with it). If it is still working, let her use it as is to see if she takes to it.
i also have an iphone 6. i'm by no means a power user so i didn't use it much. no scratches, chips or dents. but a year and half later, after the standard warranty expired of course, it died and simply didn't start up. pretty frustrating. other than the fact it didn't work, it looked new. the apple technician couldn't fix it and offered a replacement for $330 which i accepted. it didn't matter whether it looked brand new or if it looked like it went through a garbage disposer, it was $330 to replace it. i wish i had been more rough to get my money's worth out of it.