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So this morning, still half asleep I dropped my TP2 into the toilet while it was on. I grabbed it out of the toilet, and removed the battery as fast as i could (while a string of expletives came out of my mouth), let it sit under a lightbulb for a few hours.. then put it in a bag of uncooked instant rice, and left it in my warm car for most of the afternoon.
I never have been a very patient person so after about 8 hours of drying off, i put the battery back in and tried it. Phone boots up fine, everything seemed to work.. could see some moisture on the inside of the lcd still. Seemed I got lucky.. till i tried the keyboard. Some keys don't do anything, some make random crazy strings of letters.. oy. Took the battery out again, and it's back under the light bulb (sick of cleaning rice dust out of my phone).
Anyway, i'm wondering if anybody's had a keyboard on a phone screw up like that and work properly after completely drying out? I've had a few computer keyboards that screwed up like that but worked fine after drying a few days so i really hope the keyboard comes back, especially with USED tp2s still going for over 200 bucks on ebay.. yikes. Touchscreen works fine, was able to send a text no problem using the stylus.. but man i miss the keyboard!
Sorry for the novel.. any input would be appreciated!
if you can, take it fully apart so you can dry the back of the keyboard directly
as you said, i've had PC keyboards that worked after drying, but i always had to take them apart to properly dry the innards
Urgh!
I feel for you! I sit in the bath and surf and read on my TP2 and I am so careful! But accidents can happen!
Was the toilet water, err, fresh? I would suggest always leaving things with the battery out and in a warm place for at least 24hrs, as tempting as it is to power it up.
The keyboard membrane may dry out over a few days, I would suggest you don't use it for a few days.
Let us know how you get on.
aerotec said:
Urgh!
I feel for you! I sit in the bath and surf and read on my TP2 and I am so careful! But accidents can happen!
Was the toilet water, err, fresh? I would suggest always leaving things with the battery out and in a warm place for at least 24hrs, as tempting as it is to power it up.
The keyboard membrane may dry out over a few days, I would suggest you don't use it for a few days.
Let us know how you get on.
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Click to collapse
Unfortunately no, had a lil liquid waste in it.. i'm thinking about getting some rubbing alcohol to swish the phone around in.
to defaultdotxbe:
I would but i don't have the proper screwdriver, looks like a tiny little allen key type deal
meadams314 said:
Unfortunately no, had a lil liquid waste in it.. i'm thinking about getting some rubbing alcohol to swish the phone around in.
to defaultdotxbe:
I would but i don't have the proper screwdriver, looks like a tiny little allen key type deal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rubbing alcohol isn't absolutely safe. It's only 70% alcohol, for one thing, and the rest is water. So you're actually putting more water INTO your phone when you use it, even though the alcohol helps it to evaporate faster.
I tried cleaning my old BlackBerry keyboard and trackball with rubbing acohol. The keyboard went nuts for a while. Eventually, after many days, it settled down, but now the trackball has a distinct tendency to bounce -- send two clicks instead of one, which is a drag when you click Delete and it instantly sends the Confirm click as well!
There's probably something better than alcohol, like ether, but I dunno where you'd get it.
meadams314 said:
Unfortunately no, had a lil liquid waste in it.. i'm thinking about getting some rubbing alcohol to swish the phone around in.
to defaultdotxbe:
I would but i don't have the proper screwdriver, looks like a tiny little allen key type deal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its a torx 5, i have this screwdriver: http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
EWAdams said:
Rubbing alcohol isn't absolutely safe. It's only 70% alcohol, for one thing, and the rest is water. So you're actually putting more water INTO your phone when you use it, even though the alcohol helps it to evaporate faster.
I tried cleaning my old BlackBerry keyboard and trackball with rubbing acohol. The keyboard went nuts for a while. Eventually, after many days, it settled down, but now the trackball has a distinct tendency to bounce -- send two clicks instead of one, which is a drag when you click Delete and it instantly sends the Confirm click as well!
There's probably something better than alcohol, like ether, but I dunno where you'd get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most stores carry 91% alcohol too, and and some places will have 99%
although im always hesitant to put more liquid into the electronics, lol
Right.. i havent yet because it just doesnt feel right putting a 650 dollar piece of electronics into liquid. Heh.. Anyway, ran up to the local grocery store and all they carry is 50/50 alcohol/water. Leaning towards just letting the phone dry out now.. it has already been 14 hours since the dip in the toilet, and the water wasn't filthy just had a little pee in it (trust me, i stopped real quick when the phone hit the water, lol)
EDIT: So if it turns out the keyboard is shot, but the rest of the phone is fine.. is there any way of replacing the keyboard? I searched around online but all i could find was replacement lcd/faceplate/front keypads.. no keyboards.
Also.. unimportant but I thought it was kind of interesting, the water sensitive sticker on my battery is completely un-touched; looks good as new. However the one on the inside of the phone which couldnt be more than an inch away from the other sticker is completely washed out.
EDIT: (again lol) so on second thought.. the water in the 50/50 rubbing alcohol should be purified, correct? I'm really starting to worry about corrosion from the minerals in the toilet water and thinking it might be a good idea to wash it out with the rubbing alcohol. I've seen stories of people who left their phone underwater for long periods of time without a battery and once it dried out it was fine, one guy put a test phone under water for 3 days, then dried it out and it was fine. So that begs the question- take a risk on corrosion but let the phone dry out quicker OR get all the minerals/salts out of the phone but risk more water damage and deal with a longer drying time..
Note that Walmart sells 90% rubbing alcohol, and many pharmacies stock 99%.
(I don't have an opinion if washing your phone in this is a good or bad idea; just wanted to let you know where you can find it).
So after reading probably a couple hundred different "i dropped my phone in the toilet, ran it through the wash, or jumped in the pool with it in my pocket" stories and their outcomes...
Decided to put the phone back into a sealed container of uncooked rice (only because I couldn't find any silica gel) and leave it in a warm area overnight minus the battery. It'll have spent 30 hours drying in a desiccant come noon tomorrow so I'll fire it up and again and see what happens.
To condense everything I've read in the past 4 hours: Water + electricity +electronics = bad, remove the battery immediately (duh). Let it dry, do not turn it on (you'd be surprised how many people turn it on right after towel drying, and leave it on till it fries). Taking the phone apart and cleaning with alcohol and a q-tip seems to help, as does completely soaking the phone in alcohol; however I saw quite a few people who said their LCD quit working after the alcohol bath so I'd use it as a last resort only if even after extensive drying the phone still won't work (might as well give it a shot then, right?) ...just try to keep it away from the lcd.
Anyway, gonna try the TP2 around noon tommorow.. I'll let ya know how it goes.
this is horrible, its like my worst night mare, but i just recently switched to at&t and specifically didnt get the iPhone because i am a very strong windows mobile user lol, but anyway, im selling my tp2 that i had, almost perfect condition, but if i can get it apart, i would sell you the keyboard, i didn get a sale on ebay, but i dont think the guy is gonna pay ((, but ill keep in touch, i hope all goes well
thesyntax said:
this is horrible, its like my worst night mare, but i just recently switched to at&t and specifically didnt get the iPhone because i am a very strong windows mobile user lol, but anyway, im selling my tp2 that i had, almost perfect condition, but if i can get it apart, i would sell you the keyboard, i didn get a sale on ebay, but i dont think the guy is gonna pay ((, but ill keep in touch, i hope all goes well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I'll have to take you up on that if the keyboard doesn't return to normal. Coming up on 20 hours now it's been drying in rice at not quite 100 degrees.
Just checkin up on ya before I go to school. I'll be checkin the thread all day, im really interested to hear if you get it working again, if so, I think this post thread should stay in the archives as "Opps..."
Well it's been 30 hours.. crossing my fingers and powering it up...
Still some signs of moisture inside the lcd, but definately less than yesterday.. phone still boots up properly. Keyboard still doesnt work.. when i press the buttons i can hear water inside it. Thinking the rice doesn't work as well as silica gel would so today at work i'm gonna see if i cant find a few big packets of silica gel to let the phone sit in. Starting to get pretty impatient.. i need my phone!
Starting to seriously think about getting some 99/1 rubbing alcohol and dipping the keyboard in it for a few minutes too..
tempted to just put the battery back in and bring it to work with me.. can use the touchscreen no problem.. but ARGH dont wanna damage my phone!
Sigh.. guess it's going back in the rice and sitting in my car for another baking session I work till 10pm tonight, and go back at 6am tommorow so if the keyboard's still not working by the time i'm off tommorow i'm gonna run up to home depot, get a torx 5 and take the stupid thing apart to dry/clean it better.
Oh I wouldn't "dip" the phone into alcohol if I were you, that can only make the problem worse.. Best thing you can do is open the phone (if you have the appropriate screwdrivers) and try to make it dry with a hair dryer or something like that!
And yeah you should definately try the Silica gel!
Dude I feel so sorry for you, must be harsh to drop your phone into your own piss x'D
atticus182 said:
Oh I wouldn't "dip" the phone into alcohol if I were you, that can only make the problem worse.. Best thing you can do is open the phone (if you have the appropriate screwdrivers) and try to make it dry with a hair dryer or something like that!
And yeah you should definately try the Silica gel!
Dude I feel so sorry for you, must be harsh to drop your phone into your own piss x'D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only problems i've seen caused by alcohol is with the lcd.. was thinking about dipping just the keyboard, but yeah.. thinking it might be better to get a torx 5 and take it apart.. water's been in there too long, dont want any corrosion.
meadams314 said:
So this morning, still half asleep I dropped my TP2 into the toilet while it was on. I grabbed it out of the toilet, and removed the battery as fast as i could (while a string of expletives came out of my mouth), let it sit under a lightbulb for a few hours.. then put it in a bag of uncooked instant rice, and left it in my warm car for most of the afternoon.
I never have been a very patient person so after about 8 hours of drying off, i put the battery back in and tried it. Phone boots up fine, everything seemed to work.. could see some moisture on the inside of the lcd still. Seemed I got lucky.. till i tried the keyboard. Some keys don't do anything, some make random crazy strings of letters.. oy. Took the battery out again, and it's back under the light bulb (sick of cleaning rice dust out of my phone).
Anyway, i'm wondering if anybody's had a keyboard on a phone screw up like that and work properly after completely drying out? I've had a few computer keyboards that screwed up like that but worked fine after drying a few days so i really hope the keyboard comes back, especially with USED tp2s still going for over 200 bucks on ebay.. yikes. Touchscreen works fine, was able to send a text no problem using the stylus.. but man i miss the keyboard!
Sorry for the novel.. any input would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reminds me of the time my old Ericsson T28 went through an entire wash cycle. The battery was shot, but the phone worked fine once I got a new battery. That was a full 10 years ago, and phones were a bit tougher back then (though still not warranted to be cleaned that way)!
Good luck on the phone. I gather you don't have insurance on the TP2 through your carrier?
Also, if you are willing to extend your contract, you can get a new TP2 for under $200 with a two year extension.
da9th_one said:
why are you updating this tread every few minutes like it's a blog...???
never take you phone into a bathroom people...IT HAS 3 MAJOR WATER SOURCES...!!!
there are 3 places one should never take a phone: bathrooms, beaches, battlestar galactica...
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Click to collapse
Hehe there are actually 4 places, because you forgot Chuck Norris! Never take your phone to Chuck Norris, he will roundhouse kick it out of your hands, right back into the toilet xD..
And some other tips that might help the guy with the broken phone:
- Give time for the phone to dry. Don't experiment with putting the battery back on to see if it works as this would risk damaging the phone with a short circuit.
- Be patient and wait. Yes - be patient! Let nature have its way; just leave it in a warm place and let the water evaporate.
- Place it on top of the vent of a cable box, monitor or TV for at least 24 hours (up to 3 days). The low heat emitted is enough to gently dry out the phone.
- Do not under any circumstances heat the battery - it could leak or explode. Lithium-ion batteries are sensitive. If you use an oven or hairdryer, remove the battery first.
- If you use alcohol for the drying process, only do so to the outside, and do not apply heat in any way shape or form, not even the gentlest of heat. Do not connect the battery until the alcohol smell goes away
- And, if it's not stating the obvious, do not put the phone into the microwave. You will fry the components and probably ruin the microwave!
atticus182 said:
- And, if it's not stating the obvious, do not put the phone into the microwave. You will fry the components and probably ruin the microwave!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was more worried about a toaster oven...
(I know there is some topics here in similar subject, but I'm having desire z with lid structure and the phone was in the water only for a short time)
I know it's not smart to take expensive smart phone to toilet with you, especially when the phone is on your hand. Well, I wen't to take a leak and the phone slipped off my left hand and dropped straight to the dirty water in the toilet seat. Picked it up immediately, it was in the water about 1-3 seconds.
The screen was on before getting wet and turned immediately off, the lights on front flashed couple of seconds and I took battery and simcard out immediately. Shaked it a bit and tried to dry it with paper and left it on the towel which was on the warm radiator.
I have googled now a long time and got very different solutions... I'm not going to try any of them since some of the solutions are clearly by trolls. I'm not going to put my phone to the water or sack of rice, I'm not going to use hair dryer since I don't have one. I don't think I have rice either...
What is to be done here? Is my phone dead and gone... ? I had it about a month and I'm scared if it doesn't work any more. I use it both in work and home and this is really bad situation for me.
I made first mistake and tried turn the phone on too soon, about under an hour since the accident. As soon as I put the battery on I got the dim orange led light, the screen was black. When pressed the power button it vibrated three (3) times and nothing happened. I then took the battery and SIM off again and put it back on the radiator. Now I'm going to have it there until tomorrow morning I go to work. If it's still not working, I have to use my Nokia E90 since I get it fixed or.... I have to buy the new phone... damn it.
While waiting, any solutions available? Warranty is not covering this for sure.
And please, do not start conversation about "why phone in the toilet?" or things like that. The accident already happened and there is no point thinking "why"? I learned my lesson and this is the first time in my gadget history when something dumb like this happens... I feel like I have won in the lottery, same chances...
I had rooted Virtuous and I'm from Finland if it counts something...
rollex said:
I have googled now a long time and got very different solutions... I'm not going to try any of them since some of the solutions are clearly by trolls.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What makes you so sure? Don't knock the bag of rice trick. A ton of people on here have advocated its use, and swear by it. Its supposedly a natural desiccant. Rice is cheap, and it really can't hurt at this point, can it?
The "dirty water" might contain salt... if so the salt will short out the components ... I had a old WM 6 phone that dropped in to the ocean.
The keypad for it stopped working had to take it apart and clean off the salt from the ribbons and components, you can clean with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol (worked fine after that).
Whatever you do don't use a blow dryer it will melt the components in your phone.
Try letting it dry naturally. or the Rice Idea.
The rice is not a trick -- it really works for getting the moisture out.
luckye Smartphones are not so expensive these days.
If I dropped my phone in the toilet I would get a new phone for exsmpe a HTC Sensation 1.2GHz dual-core, qHD display, and Sense 3.0 or evo 3D
Thanks for the comments! @redpoint73, Some of the tips sounded really bizarre to me, like dropping the phone again to full bowl or glass of water or even alcohol, letting it fully drown to water and alcohol and leave it there for certain amount of time...? or put it in the freezer for hours? or in the oven for too long time? what??
Now when I think of it, the white rice sounds ok. But I still don't feel that easy to use the tip even if I could borrow the neighbour's.
I decided from the start I let it dry naturally. It seems very dry from outside, not much water came out from the start and it was "under water" (I don't think it fully drowned even yet) only 1-3 secs like I said, that's why I tried it on in the first place... my mistake.
I hope I have not bricked the phone. I will keep you posted.
rollex said:
Now when I think of it, the white rice sounds ok. But I still don't feel that easy to use the tip even if I could borrow the neighbour's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me ask you this: is it easier than buying a new phone???
redpoint73 said:
Let me ask you this: is it easier than buying a new phone???
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Click to collapse
Nice question, got me thinking. I meant there is just too much those answers around "just let it dry naturally" and because this is new situation for me I try to avoid damaging it more, which I've may have already done by trying to start it again, but anyways, doh...
Anyways, I found basmati/eastern white rice and put it to rice bag on the rice. I'm afraid it might get inside the phone. The phone will now be on the rice overnight.
enp82003 said:
The "dirty water" might contain salt... if so the salt will short out the components ...
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Click to collapse
If there were piss or similar, it contains sulfuric acid and other mild acids. That might not have very good effect to htc desire z electronics...
stian230 said:
luckye Smartphones are not so expensive these days.
If I dropped my phone in the toilet I would get a new phone for exsmpe a HTC Sensation 1.2GHz dual-core, qHD display, and Sense 3.0 or evo 3D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What toilet did you drop your G2 in? *grabs gloves*
if you saw $100 in a toilet would you pull it out?
rollex said:
Nice question, got me thinking. I meant there is just too much those answers around "just let it dry naturally" and because this is new situation for me I try to avoid damaging it more, which I've may have already done by trying to start it again, but anyways, doh...
Anyways, I found basmati/eastern white rice and put it to rice bag on the rice. I'm afraid it might get inside the phone. The phone will now be on the rice overnight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah trying to power it on prob wasn't the best idea... sorry for the generic trying to let it dry naturally if you don't have rice. I am just going by my own experiences with cell phones the last 10 years since back when Nokia Candy bar style phone were the norm. If you just let it naturally dry for a day with the battery out and then try turning it back there is a 70% chance it might turn back on.
"60% of the time it works every time "
I would take the battery out, then leave the phone in a bowl of pure alcohol
After a couple of minutes swishing it around I would leave it in a bowl of rice to get ALL of the moisture out
enp82003 said:
if you saw $100 in a toilet would you pull it out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see the workings of a new candid camera or punked or some sort of tv show with this idea... XD
But that sucks, man. Good luck. I hope the phone doesn't smell after this.
Soaking it in isopropyl alcohol 99% will clean all of the electronics and draw out the water and piss.
Then bury it in a bag of white rice for 24 hours, alcohol evaporates extremly fast, but after 24 she should be clean and dry.
I say this because I am an electronic tech by trade and have used this method successfully numerous times. The even better thing to do is to completly disemble the phone, clean with alcohol and dry but most people find it easier to just drop it in a bowl then a bag of rice.
Good luck dude
Sent from my HTC Desire Z/G2 using XDA Premium App
Okay, it has been in the rice now overnight and everything works except the touch screen. I put it back to rice and let it be there for a days or so, in the mean time I think I will call my local store and ask what to do. And tell my boss (I use this phone as work as well). I have to use my old Nokia while gettin the solution...
Thanks for the precious tips!
ptesmoke said:
Soaking it in isopropyl alcohol 99% will clean all of the electronics and draw out the water and piss.
Then bury it in a bag of white rice for 24 hours, alcohol evaporates extremly fast, but after 24 she should be clean and dry.
I say this because I am an electronic tech by trade and have used this method successfully numerous times. The even better thing to do is to completly disemble the phone, clean with alcohol and dry but most people find it easier to just drop it in a bowl then a bag of rice.
Good luck dude
Sent from my HTC Desire Z/G2 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry had to ask ever since i heard this idea... submerging it in a bowl with alcohol.... wouldn't that kill the screen? since the screen it's liquid crystals? Sorry ahead of time for not understanding...
enp82003 said:
... submerging it in a bowl with alcohol.... wouldn't that kill the screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking exactly the same, but was too afraid to ask it
Screen should be sealed..
Sent from my HTC Desire Z/G2 using XDA Premium App
Wow, my first post here gets to be about dropping my G1 in the toilet.
Except my G1 sat in the bottom of the toilet for a good 2 hours. Let me tell you, that was quite the shocking discovery when I went back in the bathroom to take a leak! Well after 2 hours of sitting in water I wrote it off and headed straight out and got my G2. I did immediately pull the battery out and rinsed it off under fresh water and wiped it down with disinfectant. When I got back from purchasing the G2 I put the G1 in a bowl of rice and it sat there for at least 3 days before I thought to try turning it on. And of course it works flawlessly now.
The key I thing is that I didn't even bother trying to see if it still worked by powering it on after a few hours. Made that mistake with prior phones, and that is probably what kills most phones that have been submerged. So resist the temptation to check and see if it still works and just let it sit in a covered bowl of rice for a few days.
My 8 year old now plays with the G1 which she calls the "toilet phone". :d
ptesmoke said:
Screen should be sealed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to know exactly what you're doing before trying it... for me it sounds too dangerous.
I have decided to let my phone be in rice bag until Thursday morning, if it does not work by then I will boot it to recovery mode and nandroid backup all my data and then take it to repair service... I hope it works and it does not cost much...
Thanks for hanging with me.
What are the chances that it's going to make it?
It was in there for a good second before I managed to get it out. I quickly reached down pulled it out and did a battery pull as fast as I could. Now my question is, how long do I leave it to dry for before attempting to turn it back on?
It's presently on my patio air drying where I plan on leaving it for a full day. Then I plan on submerging it into a bowl of rice for yet another day.
Is this the right procedure and anyone have any other recommendations?
Please describe the toilet bowl, what was in it? how much poop/urine?
vapotrini said:
What are the chances that it's going to make it?
It was in there for a good second before I managed to get it out. I quickly reached down pulled it out and did a battery pull as fast as I could. Now my question is, how long do I leave it to dry for before attempting to turn it back on?
It's presently on my patio air drying where I plan on leaving it for a full day. Then I plan on submerging it into a bowl of rice for yet another day.
Is this the right procedure and anyone have any other recommendations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did all you could to save it. You actually have minimal chances of permanent damage if you really took it out in one sec. and pulled the battery.
I've saved this way a SGS1 but is stayed under water a good 5 to 10 minutes (time it took to my friend to stop crying and come find me and complain about dropping the phone in the toilet ).
You can get a water proof spay applied on the phone
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
It should be fine if you got it out quick as your phone didn't get immersed in water for that long; just leave it out to air dry, wipe away any water and I'd probably recommend waiting over 24 hours depending on where you live... If you have a sim card, I'd suggest you to remove it as well
If that bowl contained only water it should be ok. To be sure 100% you can put it in rice for some time, like overnight.
There should be an app for a warning screen when you approach proximity of toilet. Bombs away.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.
I would have pulled the battery and sim immediately, then shook off any excess liquid... then sealed it in about 2 cups of white rice in a sealed baggie. And for no less than 48 hours, much more like 72...
Then there's the other crowd who not only would have done the above, but after shaking off the excess liquid, would have submerged it into 91% rubbing alcohol which would have sanitized it by removing impurities in the water. Then putting it into the rice baggie.
I'm not too keen on further submerging it into anything on purpose, but it makes sense as alcohol has drying properties.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Good Luck!
NIK516 said:
You can get a water proof spay applied on the phone
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does a water proof spray keep water out of openings? A force field?
does it still smell like poop/urine?
adrynalyne said:
A force field?
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Click to collapse
Duh...You have no imagination.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk
Thanks for all the replies guys.
When I get home later I'm gonna put it into a bag of rice for a further 48 hours, then hope for the best. Sadly, this is my 2nd Galaxy so if it doesn't work I'm gonna just hold off for the next best thing. The first one fell into the ocean. I had too much to drink so I more or less deserved that happening. This time though, I was trying to be so careful and made sure to keep the phone FAR away from the toilet (literally 3 feet or more) while I was reading an email. I turned slightly and my elbow accidentally hit my shower's door causing the phone to pop out of my hand. Out of all the places it could have landed, of course, it landed straight in the toilet bowl.
Buy a motorola defy
Sent from my MB525 using xda premium
Man that is awful, sorry about your luck...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
****ty situation bro. Literally.
I dropped my OG Incredible into a ****ty toilet. Grabbed it just as fast as it fell in. Took the battery out immediately, then took the whole phone apart and cleaned it with alcohol. Worked fine.
Personally, I wouldn't put it in rice, I would look around for some silica gel. The rice can (and will) get somewhat permanent dust under the screen, while the gel does not release dust/powder/etc.
miketoasty said:
Personally, I wouldn't put it in rice, I would look around for some silica gel. The rice can (and will) get somewhat permanent dust under the screen, while the gel does not release dust/powder/etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed... too many particles floating around in a bag of rice but if it's your only option, then rice is better than nothing
Rinse it off in alcohol, that will fix it.
adrynalyne said:
How does a water proof spray keep water out of openings? A force field?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it creates a water proof coating on all components, preventing water from every reaching them/get them wet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhydrophobe
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/16/2711980/waterproof-samsung-phone-superhydrophobic-coating
i concur with the alcohol suggestion. your issue is going to be corrosion. if you are able to obtain some anhydrous isoproply alcohol i would submerge it in there then let it dry fully at least a few days just to be sure.
We've all seen the various posts of HELP I HAVE WATER DAMAGE. In fact a global search of XDA will net you with a LOT of posts asking for help.
Everything from I dropped it in the snow, to my kid put it in the toilet, and my personal favorite, I was listening to music while in the shower and it vibrated itself into the toilet. :good:
But in all these cases the poster is asking what to do, their beloved device won't power on and they have something "important" that they forgot to back up and need off of the device.
I've seen such things as put it into a bag of rice (usually about a 25% chance of recovery), and wrap it in paper towels. Even 1 suggested to put it in the microwave.
Lets put some of these myth's do rest shall we. Lets start with the microwave. DUDE WTH are you thinking? Electronics, microwave, BAD IDEA! No ten seconds, no 5 seconds, not even 1 second. You are just begging for BAD to happen, DON'T EVEN THINK OF IT!
Wrap the device in paper towels, while YES paper towels are absorbent, they are NOT going to get the water out from the inside of the device, no matter how "open" you have it.
Putting the device in a bag or jar of flour. AGAIN BAD IDEA! While YES flour is very good at pulling moisture it is just going to cake up and actually cause even MORE damage to the device.
Hair dryer, Ok this does have SOME merit, but again heat to an electronic device is not something that you REALLY want. Especially with many devices being made of plastic now days. This will end up with permanent fogging of the glass and render the device virtually unusable.
Rice Rice Baby....duh nah nuh nuh nah nuh nuh, put it in a bag of white rice baby. Rice is a FOOD, while it does react to water well, it is not a very good idea, but then again it is a FAR CRY better then the ones above. This could work, but I would rather leave the device as open to the air as possible and let it air dry for a week then put an electronic device into a bag of rice.
Silica Jell, Silica Jell WILL pull moisture out of the air, and in fact in an enclosed space such as a zip locking bag, they work VERY WELL at pulling moisture out of electronic devices. Now I've heard of complaints about how expensive these little baggies are to the average consumer, but NO they are not.
You say you can't afford to buy silica jell packs? Well why not? Many of you are married, and have had to take that HORRID trip to the shoe store. Instead of just playing with your phone or what ever, while your wife is off looking at some new pumps or heels that she "needs," go up to a store clerk and ask them if they have any of the little bags of silica sitting around. Tell them what you need it for, and 9 out of 10 times you will walk out of the shoe store with not just new shoes for your wife, but a FREE insurance policy for your beloved electronic devices.
Hit up several shoe stores, get yourself a bag full of them. Get them home and hide them away. I prefer to put them into a vacuum seal jar and vacuum seal the jar closed. This does a couple things. It keeps the silica jell from absorbing any free moisture in the air, and often makes it so that little hands won't mess with them. All in all you want about 200 of the little baggies. WHY. Because I told you to, no really the reason is, that some will already be full, and others will not, you just never know for certain.
When that inevitable moment comes that you need to recover from your arse hole brother in law pushing you into the pool with your new device, open that jar up, grab a zip locking type bag, drop your device in it, then cover that sucker with all you can fit. Leave your device in the bag for AT LEAST 3 days with the battery out and all in the bag. let those little insurance policies do their job for you. There is of course a level of failure in this but it is by far more effective then any of the above posted "methods."
I did a personal test over the last 2 weeks with an old HTC Tilt. That dad burned thing has been sitting in my desk for a couple years now BEGGING to have something done to it. Well now it did.
I filled a mixing bowl with water and turned the phone on, and waited for it to get done booting up. Once it was done I dropped it into the bowl and waited 5 seconds. Reached in, grabbed it out and yanked the back off and took the battery out. Put the phone, battery, back and all into a zip locking type bag, and removed the sim card and sd card. Opened up my handy dandy jar of silica jell packs and poured them into the bag.
I zipped it closed and left the phone in there for 5 days. Pulled it out, and looked over the phone. YES the water indicator had been tripped I put the battery back in, put the back on, put in the sim card, and pressed the power button. Then out of no where I heard my phone come to life, and the screen was just fine. The phone has been sitting plugged into a wall socket and left on for 5 days now. So far no issues, not even a speaker issue.
After I pulled the Tilt out of the bag, I decided WHY NOT, and dropped my old Tilt 2 into a bowl of water and did the same thing. And now, it too is sitting plugged in to a wall socket and left on for a couple days. Only issue with it so far is that it OCCASIONALLY has a bit of "static" with certain alert tones.
So here I sit with a 100% success rate for 2 devices intentionally put into what would normally be the end of life for an electronic device.
So do yourself a favor, and get a bunch of those little baggies and save them up for when you need them. I would however recommend replacing the ENTIRE LOT of them every few months, even if you have them vacuum sealed. Why, because i told you to. No, really, it is because everything has some sort of expiration. Better to keep them refreshed then to find out that you didn't change them out 2 years ago and they absorbed all the moisture out of the air in the bathroom where you hid them.
Rice is hygroscopic and works just fine as a drying agent since you're not drying your phone for a month. better than open air.
gel, not jell
I got a cracked up screen, i'm really hoping I don't have to fight water damage... (i know how to replace the glass and I plan on doing it sometime sorta soon)
I think I'd prefer cracked screen to water damage if I had to pick.
Way back when I had a little iPod nano that went into the wash with and old Samsung flip phone the phone died but the iPod survived. I had put them in front of a wall heater, basically equivalent to a hair dryer i guess.
just be smart don't get your phone wet
OH any thoughts on Liquipel? http://www.liquipel.com/
sounds like they use a vacuum to coat everything inside.
I'd be interested to try some of NeverWet's product with my vacuum pump
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7is6r6zXFDc
http://www.neverwet.com/index.php
But it sounds like they aren't in production yet.
Ok. My wife dropped her two week old GS3 in the toilet and few weeks back. She claims it started making weird noises and the screen was flashing. She turned it off and let it dry out in the sun. A couple of hours later she returned home and I turned it on. There was a green hue to the screen.The touch screen was unresponsive. I turned it off and took out the battery, sd card and sim card. I shook the phone and felt some water come out. We put the phone in a zip lock bag filled with rice and a handful of those little descicant packets. Her idea. We let the phone sit there for around 36 hours. We then turned it back on and everything did and still does work fine.
I doubt the rice or packets actually did anything. I think just giving it time to dry was all that was needed. Just my personal experience.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
jjm3175 said:
I doubt the rice or packets actually did anything. I think just giving it time to dry was all that was needed. Just my personal experience.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
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The rice and silica absolutely did something - its the chemical equivalent of vacuuming the moisture out of every nook and cranny. You'll never air dry it as much.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Silca gel does 999x better then air drying,it even takes the moisture from water spots. Do not air dry please. You will build corrosion from water and oxygen on electronic parts
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Saiboogu said:
The rice and silica absolutely did something - its the chemical equivalent of vacuuming the moisture out of every nook and cranny. You'll never air dry it as much.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
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+1
The air in your home has some moisture/humidity already, making air drying much less effective than silica gel or rice.
I guess I should be thankful for my wife's shoe buying habit since I'm the one who paid for the phone lol.
Good thread.
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My slippery fingers dropped the G4 in water (not salt water). Removed the battery as quick as I could and put the phone, battery into a rice bowl. Booted it up after about an hour and it's just showing me "Firmware Update" without a USB cable plugged in.
I haven't tried flashing it to anything just yet. Is it possible that the water might got somewhere into the USB port and making the phone think it's in download mode? I'm gonna dump it in the rice bowl for a few more hours.
Edit - The liquid contact indicator above the SD card is still white. The LCI on the battery is red thou.
Try replacing battery first
bender_007 said:
Try replacing battery first
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Thanks for the advice. Now it's booting fine with both batteries (I had one extra that wasn't water damaged).
I think there's still some water left in the headphone jack since the G4 thinks it's plugged into an audio out device. I've tried cleaning the hole with some very soft cloth but no change. If I blow hard enough into the jack, it'll momentarily come out of that mode just to go back soon as I stop. I guess I just have to wait a few more hours.
Edit - When blowing air into the headphone jack, LG Voice Mate app comes up. Rather weird.
Sadly yes, it´s a known issue, first when they see the headphones they will think the phone was skinny diving
I'd like to take this opportunity to advise people not to put their phones in a bag of rice. You don't put your laundry in a bag of rice to dry it, you hang it up in a warm area with moving air. The rice and bag will keep the water in your phone longer than drying it in the sun. It works eventually, but it isn't as good as putting it on your heating vent or just in a sunny spot. By the way, I don't recommend a clothes dryer.
bender_007 said:
Sadly yes, it´s a known issue, first when they see the headphones they will think the phone was skinny diving
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After a few more hours of rest near in a dry, warm place, the jack is back in service. Hopefully no more crazy jack again.
The battery with red LCI seems to be working fine still. Should I retire it completely?
Robert18 said:
I'd like to take this opportunity to advise people not to put their phones in a bag of rice. You don't put your laundry in a bag of rice to dry it, you hang it up in a warm area with moving air. The rice and bag will keep the water in your phone longer than drying it in the sun. It works eventually, but there's it isn't as good as putting it on your heating vent or just in a sunny spot. By the way, I don't recommend a clothes dryer.
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Rice always seems to have worked for me. Anyway, I chose a sunny spot later on.
I have heard the opposite about rice - it is better than putting your phone on heater or using hair dryer. The best solution would be to put it in an airtight bag with silica gel (those small, white paper packages that come with your newly purchased bags and shoes).
You and everyone else have heard the same thing, but testing has shown that putting your wet phone in a bag of rice will keep it wet longer than just putting it on a counter (that's not in a locker room). And it makes sense, compare putting a wet sock in a sealed bag of rice (or silica) and another hanging somewhere, like over a heating vent. In one you've sealed the moisture in a bag, in the other you're letting heat evaporate the water and providing air to take the moisture away. It's a myth that a bag of rice is helping you.
Throwing my rice experience in here. It is TRUE. Rice does work and absorbs the moisture. My son took a swim (SWIM!) with his Atrix 4G in the DEEP END of the pool. He immediately disassembled it as I've told him to. We got rice and a bag, completely submerged in the rice and put ALL pieces (except the back) in it for 5 days in the window of our house that got sunlight. After 5 days, the Atrix booted up as good as before the swim. The trick is to disassemble right away AND DO NOT TRY TO POWER IT ON FOR MINIMUM 3 DAYS! We also shook it out until no more water was coming out of any holes. So to those skeptics, you're wrong, it does work if you have patience.
I don't doubt that a phone which has been wet, then put into a bag of rice, will eventually dry. My point is that it would have dried much faster if you had done something else. Just because your phone worked after putting it in rice, doesn't mean the rice helped you, it just means it didn't hurt enough to keep the phone from recovering. Again, try wetting 2 socks, then put one in a bag of rice, and one on a clothes line. The one on the clothes line will dry faster, but maybe the one in the rice will eventually dry also. Most people don't want to wait 5 days for their laundry, so we've found better ways of getting water out of objects.
Water will hurt your electronics in a few ways, one is that it is the universal solvent and may dissolve something (like a glue or flux) if left there too long. But most likely the biggest issue is that it conducts electricity if it has enough minerals in it. If the phone is on when it gets wet and the water has high mineral content, it's possible that some parts will just short circuit and burn out some. If most of the electronics are off, then the biggest problem is the left over residual minerals that will stick to phone parts and conduct electricity where it shouldn't, but that depends on how hard your water is. In some cases, you'd be better off washing the phone in deionized water which doesn't conduct electricity and is used in cleaning electronics.