Due to the extremely high humidity of the Hong Kong climate, some local iPhone users are facing problems with falsely-triggered moisture sensors. The South China Morning Post reports that while Apple’s guidelines call for a relative humidity of 5% to 95%, the humidity around Hong Kong regularly exceeds 95 percent, leading to false positive readings for users like Justin Hayward. “I’ve never used it in the bath, gone swimming or anything like that,” Hayward said, after being offered a replacement phone from his carrier Smartone-Vodafone for HK$1,700, or roughly $218. Hayward then made multiple calls to Apple Asia and its technical support line, receiving only on message in return.
“Let’s face it; many people do break the rules. But a significant number of people are making these kind of reports,” he said. “If the limitation is over 95 per cent humidity, they ought not to be selling the product here. I find it quite unbelievable – a real piece of corporate greed or a great oversight.”
According to the report, the humidity in and around Hong Kong varies, with some parts of the area reporting humidity higher than 95% one-quarter of the time between June 1 and August 16, while other parts see humidity over 95% for 73 days, or 95% of the time, during the same period.
Based on humidity resistance tests published by 3M, the company named in U.S. lawsuits as the manufacturer of the moisture indicator tape used in iPhones, the indicator strips will turn pink when exposed continuously to a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius, or 131 degrees Fahrenheit, and relative humidity of 95%. A class action suit was filed against Apple in the U.S. earlier this year over falsely-tripped moisture sensors.
