How can I tell if the phone has water damage?
Where is the indicator?
gtmaster303 said:
How can I tell if the phone has water damage?
Where is the indicator?
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There's one behind the SIM Cover (open back with special tool or paperclip, the bit labeled "Lift to access Micro SIM").
I'd read that everything in the Droid4 is supposed to be coated with a water-resistant coating...but I'm guessing the water damage indicator isn't.
If the phone has red lines on the indicator, does that mean it's activated?
Or does it turn solid red when damaged?
gtmaster303 said:
If the phone has red lines on the indicator, does that mean it's activated?
Or does it turn solid red when damaged?
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red lines means it hasn't been wet, it bleeds out to one color when it's been wet.
bdbraaten said:
red lines means it hasn't been wet, it bleeds out to one color when it's been wet.
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Are you sure? I just sent my phone in for repair, and after more than 2 weeks they send it back to me saying that the phone has been water damaged
The indicator is white, but has red x's all over it
I told them the phone has never been near any water and they told me that the main board inside had corrosion from liquid. The damn plastic was still on the back of the phone covering the camera lens. How the hell could it possibly be wet???
gtmaster303 said:
Are you sure? I just sent my phone in for repair, and after more than 2 weeks they send it back to me saying that the phone has been water damaged
The indicator is white, but has red x's all over it
I told them the phone has never been near any water and they told me that the main board inside had corrosion from liquid. The damn plastic was still on the back of the phone covering the camera lens. How the hell could it possibly be wet???
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Yes I'm sure. Every phone I've had since they started putting those moisture indicators on them has been white with red x's through it. The ones that have gotten wet (wife spilled on hers and another one our kid stuck in his mouth) have bleed out into either a pink or light red solid color. The red ink they use bleeds very easily with minimal water contact, that's why they use it.
I don't have an explanation for what they're telling you about the board having water damage, I have no idea what other kind of indicators might be inside the phone. The weird thing is I thought these Droid4's were supposed to have a coating on them to repel water so it's odd that water would get inside it without setting off the moisture indicator.
bdbraaten said:
Yes I'm sure. Every phone I've had since they started putting those moisture indicators on them has been white with red x's through it. The ones that have gotten wet (wife spilled on hers and another one our kid stuck in his mouth) have bleed out into either a pink or light red solid color. The red ink they use bleeds very easily with minimal water contact, that's why they use it.
I don't have an explanation for what they're telling you about the board having water damage, I have no idea what other kind of indicators might be inside the phone. The weird thing is I thought these Droid4's were supposed to have a coating on them to repel water so it's odd that water would get inside it without setting off the moisture indicator.
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Apparently they have another indicator inside the phone. I agree with you, I don't know how water could've gotten in the phone without setting the visible indicator off. On top of all this, it took them 2 weeks to tell me my phone was liquid damaged. This is not what I'm used to expecting from Motorola. Honestly, I've never seen such a shady repair before. I'm very annoyed to say the least. Time for an insurance claim...
They're saying the board itself was damaged. Considering how long the Droid 4 has been out, have you tried going to Verizon? You should still be covered under their one-year, and VZW is generally pretty good about replacing phones and asking very few questions. (They've replaced my phones running Cyanogenmod before, for example, because it was obviously a hardware problem.)
omniuni said:
They're saying the board itself was damaged. Considering how long the Droid 4 has been out, have you tried going to Verizon? You should still be covered under their one-year, and VZW is generally pretty good about replacing phones and asking very few questions. (They've replaced my phones running Cyanogenmod before, for example, because it was obviously a hardware problem.)
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Thanks but sadly I'm not a verizon customer. Bought this phone hoping I could get the GSM working and have it run on AT&T. You think they would still replace it? I don't have the original purchase receipt or anything.
gtmaster303 said:
Thanks but sadly I'm not a verizon customer. Bought this phone hoping I could get the GSM working and have it run on AT&T. You think they would still replace it? I don't have the original purchase receipt or anything.
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Did you purchase the phone from Verizon or somewhere else?
bdbraaten said:
Did you purchase the phone from Verizon or somewhere else?
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Somewhere else.
got it on Ebay
gtmaster303 said:
Somewhere else.
got it on Ebay
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No offense but then why would you even take it back to Verizon?
You took a risk buying off eBay, own up to that risk and accept the consequences from it.
I'm sorry this has happened to you, but taking a product into a store you didn't purchase it from is fraud.
OP never said they were going to take it to VZW, somebody else suggested that
Pretty sure OP sent the phone back to Motorola, which is legit as far as I'm concerned.
gtmaster303 said:
Thanks but sadly I'm not a verizon customer. Bought this phone hoping I could get the GSM working and have it run on AT&T. You think they would still replace it? I don't have the original purchase receipt or anything.
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podspi said:
OP never said they were going to take it to VZW, somebody else suggested that
Pretty sure OP sent the phone back to Motorola, which is legit as far as I'm concerned.
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Based on this post and the comment I bolded he seemed to be considering it. I agree up until this point he seems to have handled it in a legit fashion but seemed to be considering a move that wasn't legit that's why I made the statement I did.
Related
Hello all, while drunk at the beach this weekend I accidentally went into the water with my Touch Diamond in my pocket... stupid... I know, did I mention I was drunk? Anyways, the current issue at hand is what to do with my screwed up cell phone.
I took the backing, battery and SIM card out of the phone and let it dry out as much as I could since the weekend. When I turned it on this morning, the "smart mobility" text appears for a few seconds, but the phone shuts off shortly after that. Do batteries usually break from water damage, as well?
If anyone has any advice for me I would greatly appreciate it. Does anyone know of a legit place that can repair this? Is there anything I can do to try and remedy this problem? Or would you recommend I just sell/ditch this one and get a new phone? Thanks a lot.
Have you tried charging the battery? that might explain it only booting for a second, the other explanation is that it's fried the ROM chips and only the bootloader works.
It's not looking good, is it under warranty?
Disassemble your Diamond completely (manual floating around somewhere in this forum), clean all pieces using one of these isopropanol-brush-thingies, reassemble, turn it on - and pray. Any year - a new battery might be a good idea. No promises on anything of that though. The diamond is a very integrated piece of technology and you might have short-circuited something on one of the PCBs really. No guarantee that everything will work as usual even if the device comes up as well.
Warranty seems to be out of the question - I guess virtually any repair center will notice residue of loads of salt water on the first look inside...
That's true, I meant to say insurance, heh.
Strip it down Salt water is very and I mean very corrosive ! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing this . Waranty repair will be expensive.
Clean with an alchol based cleaner as advised but you must ensure you get all the salt out. To see it boot means that the screen has survived ( Amazed by this ) .
Best of luck , oh and if it does not work are you insured for accidental damage on personal items on your household insurance. This could be the next route
I have the same problem with my Tytn 2. It got wet during the "Oranje" Party in Basel, when the firemen were "cooling" down the fans...
It boots..but as soon as it has booted, you here a lot of "bling..bling..bling.." and it shuts down.. the batterie doesn't charge..
You recommend to open and clean it with alcool? Actually I'm not sure if it was washed by the firemen or by my own alcool .ehhehe..
I have a Diamond now, but if I get it back to work, I would sell it on ebay.
Regards
dajudge01 said:
Warranty seems to be out of the question - I guess virtually any repair center will notice residue of loads of salt water on the first look inside...
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There is a watersensor inside the diamond. They'll notice that the device has been in the water.
wardy said:
Strip it down Salt water is very and I mean very corrosive ! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing this . Waranty repair will be expensive.
Clean with an alchol based cleaner as advised but you must ensure you get all the salt out. To see it boot means that the screen has survived ( Amazed by this ) .
Best of luck , oh and if it does not work are you insured for accidental damage on personal items on your household insurance. This could be the next route
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Luckily I was at lake Michigan in Chicago (fresh water), for whatever that's worth, so I'm not really worried about salt corroding anything away. I bought it off eBay unlocked, I did buy insurance but, naturally, I'm pretty sure that this water damage won't be covered.
Sounds like taking it apart and cleaning it might be my best bet. Do you guys think that any cell phone repair place would be able to help me out? Anyone know of a good cell phone repair shop (in the U.S.)? Thanks for the help thus far guys, I really appreciate it
Firstly remove the battery and SIM, please do not try to power up or charge again as you might have already damaged it beyond repair.
Isopropanol or IPA is what you need (100% Alcohol), you can get this from your local chemist for about £5 a bottle.
You need to strip your phone down completely and use an anti static PCB brush to clean the whole lot (Buy it from Maplin), submerge it in a plate of IPA (excluding the screen) while cleaning. As for the warranty sticker remove this by first heating with a hair drier, then uing a Stanley knife point to remove it.
Once it’s all been cleaned and dried in air, re-assemble and power up. If it fails to work take it back for a warranty replacement. As the warranty sticker is intact, and all the evidence of water damage will have been removed, they should replace it for you without a problem.
nairb011 said:
Luckily I was at lake Michigan in Chicago (fresh water), for whatever that's worth, so I'm not really worried about salt corroding anything away. I bought it off eBay unlocked, I did buy insurance but, naturally, I'm pretty sure that this water damage won't be covered.
Sounds like taking it apart and cleaning it might be my best bet. Do you guys think that any cell phone repair place would be able to help me out? Anyone know of a good cell phone repair shop (in the U.S.)? Thanks for the help thus far guys, I really appreciate it
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Pretty sure? I would check if I was you before doing anything else with it. If insurance doesnt cover water damage, what does it cover? Phone insurance is so expensive i thought they covered everything like theft and accidental damage, I thought the idea was a warranty wont cover you if you break the phone but insurance will.
I'm thinking it may be an idea to check before you do anything else so they dont say "Well we cover water damage, but now youve taken apart the phone we cant cover you"
Antimus said:
Have you tried charging the battery? that might explain it only booting for a second, the other explanation is that it's fried the ROM chips and only the bootloader works.
It's not looking good, is it under warranty?
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Seriously you are not hoping warranty will cover "swimming with the diamond"...
imranbashir_uk said:
all the evidence of water damage will have been removed, they should replace it for you without a problem.
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All the evidence, that is, apart from the water-sensitive tab which I am assuming you didn't know about...? (behind the tab for attaching a strap)
Mathew
webmice said:
Seriously you are not hoping warranty will cover "swimming with the diamond"...
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or doese he mean "Swimming Diamond" ... Is that a new feature we overlocked? I think it's time for another entry in the tweaklist... *rofl*
My warranty does not cover accidental water damage, that is for sure.
I charged the battery up over the weekend and tried turning it back on, and, to my utter amazement, the phone completely powered on. I got to all of my menus and was able to use all of the programs that I opened, even the WiFi worked.
However, the functionality of the touch screen is quite screwed up. I don't know if its shorting out or what but there are basically "ghost taps" and other unintentional actions happening all the time. For example, if I were to just leave it at the home screen it would eventually scroll to another menu, open the start pull-down menu, automatically open the calendar and start doing random ****, etc.
Does anyone know how to fix the touch screen or have any ideas on how to replace one? I have a faint hope that this thing might not be beyond saving.. thanks a lot people
nairb011 said:
Does anyone know how to fix the touch screen or have any ideas on how to replace one? I have a faint hope that this thing might not be beyond saving.. thanks a lot people
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Maybe try to re-calibrate the touch screen?
Don't give up hope, sometimes these things can take days, even weeks to fully dry and become functional. My mom had a sony ericsson somethingorother that she loved, dropped in the tub, didn't work for like a month or more... She'd check it every week or so to see, and slowly the features started coming back... Little by little, more and more buttons would respond (without activating 2 or 3 at a time). Well, long story short (too late?) works 100% now. I don't think water damage is a reparable occurrence, but DON'T sell your Diamond for parts or anything like that, keep it around and check back periodically. Best of luck.
there is a little white sticker onto the battery.
If it goes RED it shows HTC that the Phone/Battery went into the water.
This allows HTC to avoid repair "sunk" phones
deuillevent said:
there is a little white sticker onto the battery.
If it goes RED it shows HTC that the Phone/Battery went into the water.
This allows HTC to avoid repair "sunk" phones
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Should also be one on the phone... If not, there's your solution. New battery + deny any water damage = Free replacement.
Black93300ZX said:
Should also be one on the phone... If not, there's your solution. New battery + deny any water damage = Free replacement.
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See post #12
Haha you're all over it... Yeah, I had a feeling they'd have something in the phone, they'd never make it THAT easy.
Can anybody post a picture of a NON pink water damage indicator? I'm trying to find something to replicate it as my Tilt has gone ahead and died, though not due to water damage, and I want a new one. AT&T won't give me a refurb because the indicator's pink.. Thanks!!
I just want to see what it looks like before water hits it.
johnpdehart said:
Can anybody post a picture of a NON pink water damage indicator? I'm trying to find something to replicate it as my Tilt has gone ahead and died, though not due to water damage, and I want a new one. AT&T won't give me a refurb because the indicator's pink.. Thanks!!
I just want to see what it looks like before water hits it.
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Insurance fraud maybe?
No, I just don't understand how it was water damaged. I had never done anything with it, it's in pristine condition cosmetically, I handled it with care.. and now it doesn't work
the HOME button and the W R E 0 buttons have stopped working, is their a way i can fix this, because i cant reflash without the home button working and even if i get into the recovery screen, i cant wipe without the W button working.
It's a hardware problem.
alritewhadeva said:
It's a hardware problem.
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i figured, it just happened out of the blue, this sucks
You get it wet at all? Bring it into the bathroom while you took a shower? Been anywhere extremely humid?
GenericNode said:
You get it wet at all? Bring it into the bathroom while you took a shower? Been anywhere extremely humid?
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havent got it wet, but it is super humid here in dallas, tx
djkdawg said:
havent got it wet, but it is super humid here in dallas, tx
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Check your LDI under the battery (or wherever they put it). If it's still white call T-Mobile and get it replaced.
....but a word to the wise, there is another LDI inside the phone that can only be accessed by taking the phone apart. If the LDI has changed color on the inside, they will bill you with out of warranty regardless of the outside LDI.
like the guy before me said, check the water damage sticker to the right of the battery connector prongs on the wall. if it's white call t-mo. if it's pink/red PM me and i'll let you know how to try to fix it
tubaking182 said:
like the guy before me said, check the water damage sticker to the right of the battery connector prongs on the wall. if it's white call t-mo. if it's pink/red PM me and i'll let you know how to try to fix it
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the sticker is white, and i did sent it to tmobile, and since i have a scratch where i dropped the phone a long time ago, they wont fix it, the scratch had nothing to do with the buttons, now i did have it inside of that cover it came with in my pocket so i believe i may have broke it that way, but i was thinking i can buy a full case housing with the keypad from ebay and try to fix it, it will be worth the try, if not i will just have to pay tmobile for a replacement, i cannot live without my g1
So, this winter my hero fell out of my car when I was getting out and it dropped into some snow without the back on it. Of course this lead to the water sensor getting wet and despite my best efforts to dry it it's pretty much still all pink now. Are there any avenues for a replacment sticker? The phone is just fine but I'm worried if I have a problem before october that should otherwise be covered under warranty that they'll use it as a scapegoat and not cover the phone. I already took the phone in while in perfect health and they said they don't have a way to replace the sticker and wouldn't even log the current condition in their records. Any help here would be appreciated!
Look at some cheap phone to see if the sticker is the same.
In my store, those stickers mean nothing. We are corporate and the techs open EACH and EVERY phone to inspect for actually liquid, not just some silly sticker. If you store says the stickers are law, find a new store (corporate would be your best bet)!
mactruc said:
In my store, those stickers mean nothing. We are corporate and the techs open EACH and EVERY phone to inspect for actually liquid, not just some silly sticker. If you store says the stickers are law, find a new store (corporate would be your best bet)!
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I suppose I should note that the folks at my local sprint store did say that they didn't pay attention to it. Maybe i'm making a bigger deal of this than need be. I really just wanted them to make a note of it for future but they wouldn't do that, and with any policy change or an upset tech it's my word against theirs. Personally a few minutes with the phone open in front of them and a note on the account saying the sticker was messed up but the phone is fine would make me feel a lot more comfortable over the next 5 months till I can get my EVO.
Think I should just drop it and hope I've got no need to worry about this at any point?
I wouldn't worry about it to much, down here i can go to Corp. and they look at it, take my word give me a new one. 3rd party i just tell them i have a problem and they order me a new one and i wait for one to ship and just send it back. I went threw 3 diamonds and 2 heros with smart phones they just send it back in most cases without trying. If they said they dont care...they care ha ha. Don't worry about it bro, and if you have protection...its only $100...well worth it IMO.
Bleach and a Q-Tip = new white sticker.
No offense to anyone, but most techs are to bone headed to realize that the sticker is all white instead of Red X's after you do it. I have done it to all the phones I have ever had and no one ever said anything about it missing the X's.
smstutler said:
Look at some cheap phone to see if the sticker is the same.
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thats what i did, i took a water sticker off a cell phone battery i had and replaced the one on my hero. those stickers are pointless and get wet too easy when there is no water damage to the actual phone.
I don't know how well this will work but i put a piece of tape on the sticker on the phone and the battery for preventative measures.
I did not know about the bleach...my sister's phone well in a sink that was still wet but not filled or anything. Still the sticker turned pink and the store refused to replace the phone when she continued to have unrelated problems.
fixxxer2008 said:
thats what i did, i took a water sticker off a cell phone battery i had and replaced the one on my hero. those stickers are pointless and get wet too easy when there is no water damage to the actual phone.
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Mine is red from listening to pandora while I shower.
And no, the phone is not in the shower with me.
abcdfv said:
Mine is red from listening to pandora while I shower.
And no, the phone is not in the shower with me.
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zip loc bag man. you can text call and everything from the shower. i use a quart freezer bag with the double zipper. its awesome. i just sit it my shelf and do whatever while i'm in there.
EDIT: but yes mine is red also from a botched invsashield install
Really, the touchscreen works through a ziploc?
That's awesome.
My sticker is red from dropping it in the toilet once. Phone worked fine, but sticker is red.
abcdfv said:
Really, the touchscreen works through a ziploc?
That's awesome.
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Yep, I do this all the time as well when I take my phone to the beach or out on the boat. Regular plastic wrap works pretty well too in a pinch.
I figured plastic wouldn't conduct electricity.
abcdfv said:
I figured plastic wouldn't conduct electricity.
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oh, it does
thank you, jdog
thedudejdog said:
zip loc bag man. you can text call and everything from the shower. i use a quart freezer bag with the double zipper. its awesome. i just sit it my shelf and do whatever while i'm in there.
EDIT: but yes mine is red also from a botched invsashield install
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bahaha I think its hilarious you text whatever while in the bath and or shower. Thats a new level of geekdom/dependency I have not considered before this moment.
Tipharet said:
bahaha I think its hilarious you text whatever while in the bath and or shower. Thats a new level of geekdom/dependency I have not considered before this moment.
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yea. I know.
edit: posted from inside a ziploc bag while in the shower
I literally LOLed IRL at this thread.
thedudejdog said:
yea. I know.
edit: posted from inside a ziploc bag while in the shower
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thats really kinda good thinking, does it really work?
So...
I went swimming with the phone today and pretty much broke it
Filmed with it for about 20 mins going in and out of the water (not going deeper than half a meter).
The quality of the filming and photographing were really good but then the screen started flickering and on the left it showed kind of lines with purple pixels. Went out of the water to dry it off and phone went tripping. Shut it down and now its broken,
There was water in the battery compartment... Anyways, want it to be repared and / or samsung to get me a new one if I can pull that off.
The reason I post this here is because I want to know if there's a way to make the rubber on the inside / the USB port more waterresistand, like putting some kind of spray on it or something?
Let me know your thoughts and maybe we can make this phone more waterproof / enjoyable for everyone?
Thnx in advance!
I had the idea of doing this but I don't take my phone in water much...You can make a MUCH better gasket with some rtv silicone should have zero issue's then
I work for AT&T and there is a new policy that says we have to replace the Active for first-time water damage, even though it is not covered by Samsung's warranty. Just bring it in and be nice. The rep can exchange it for you.
trevorftard said:
I work for AT&T and there is a new policy that says we have to replace the Active for first-time water damage, even though it is not covered by Samsung's warranty. Just bring it in and be nice. The rep can exchange it for you.
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I herd about that...I have a active I bought off ebay would I be able to get mine replaced or no since I don't have at&t service?
Well, I know now (because i searched the interwebz) that it's actually not as waterproof as advertised..
Since I live in The Netherlands AT&T is not my carrier, gonna try to bring it back today and hope for the best.
The reason for this thread is to know if there are any easy solutions on making it more waterproof.
So how is this rtv silicone stuff working? And how easy is it to use
kjfan985 said:
I herd about that...I have a active I bought off ebay would I be able to get mine replaced or no since I don't have at&t service?
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Unfortunately, you have to have bought it from AT&T. The service doesn't matter.
trevorftard said:
Unfortunately, you have to have bought it from AT&T. The service doesn't matter.
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The person I bought it from on ebay bought it with there upgrade? I have box can I do anything?
S4 Active water resistant improvment
the best sollution is to choose an external rubber case http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOLID-CLEAR...t=US_Cell_Phone_PDA_Cases&hash=item3f26fc4631
to gasket the usb hole and keep the rubber out of sun because the rubber gets soft on sun and it will last shorter if you expose your S4 to the sun
kinda like the external design of the active, so no protective cases for me.
therefor I was hoping there were any tweaks you can make inside of it