Tablet got wet, sat in rice for weeks, still nothing - Nexus 7 (2013) Q&A

So my tablet sat in water for a good 2 minutes.
it was removed, dried. placed in rice, then air dried for days.
still nothing, no light, no power nothing.
any idea where I should start or what i should replace first before i can get it to work?

If any corrosion or shorting took place you could be looking at everything that's not plastic. (screen, battery, system board, speakers, etc...)
Only way to really know where to start it to crack it open and see how bad the damage is. Given the age of these devices it may be more economically feasible to just buy another n7(2013) or update to a newer device.
Keep in mind that once a device has been exposed to liquid, the damage does not stop once its dried out. Mineral or salt crystals can cause shorts at any time and further humidity driven corrosion or galvanic corrosion can take place rapidly.

That things probably done if you let it sit for days. All corroded. You have to get it dry within 6 hours or so I'd guess.
If it happens again with another device you need to at least take the back off and disconnect the battery then shake the hell out of the thing to get as much water out as possible. Then go at it with a hairdryer (take the battery out of course)
Then you put it into the sealed contained with your desiccant. Forget rice. Rice is not a good desiccant, it'll work but it's ****. Get some damp-rid or silica gel from any hardware store. Put the whole tub in with it and it'll be bone dry in a few hours.

Thank you all for your feedback. There is no corrosion on the board and all circuits have been dried. Still no juice. At this time, I'm going to retire it. I do have the N9 however its way too big for my purse. It feels twice as heavy as n7 and I truly hate it

Related

A terrible terrible thing happened this morning..

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.
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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
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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
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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!
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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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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!
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I was more worried about a toaster oven...

Nexus on water (help)

Hey people. I have a situation here. I dropped my phone getting out of my truck yesterday and it was pouring rain, just my luck!in Vegas pouring rain. Anyway, I had no idea my phone was on the ground until about 20 or so minutes my girlfriend found it and told me about it. I immediately took it apart and put it in a bowl of rice. This morning I turned it on to see of it worked, it booted up fine. When it got to the lockscreen I couldn't unlock it. Only the right third of the screen worked .I could pull the notification drawer down but that's really it. So it put it back in rice. Now my question is, should I leave it in another day ,2 or more? Am I just screwed or can I still rescue it? Its so sad. On a serious note though, how can I go about to at least back up my stuff or can I not do that. If there is really anything I can do, please help me. The screen has no water damage, and I was under the impression that the whole screen has to stop functioning, not just a part of it. Thanks in advance, and I will check this thread later tonight since I don't have a phone and wont be home until tonight. Thanks in advance for any help/advice. Extra info, phone is rooted running CNA the black theme version by daxmax. I have a backup of aokp, I don't know if that is relevant or not.
Had that problem with an old Android when I dropped it in water. One side wouldnt work for a few hours so I tossed it back in rice. The screen eventually started working again so I assume it was still wet and needed to dry some more.
Put it back into the rice and don't touch it, the more you turn it on, the more damage it does, let it dry first, and open up your phone to wipe dry any water you see if you are comfortable with it.
Beamed from my Grouper
That's bad. My gio had a water damage before, now my screen has some water spot and my volume button is completely broken. After 6 months now my vibration doesn't work anymore. I suggest u to sell it if u found no error, because they maybe will have some problems in the future. Just my suggestion
Sent from my GT-S5660 using xda app-developers app
I must express a word of caution before trying my method of cleaning PCBs. As I do not know how sensitive the components are on the GNex board, some research/googling of certain components may be required. This is a general cleaning practice for water damaged PCBs.
You can try cleaning the motherboard with isopropyl alcohol. 70% or higher. Get an old toothbrush, clean that first, the get a shallow tray and submerge the board. Gently brush the board all over and pull it out. Next, get a hair dryer with a cold setting and blow cold air on it for a few minutes until the alcohol has evaporated. This helps clean out any water spots and corrosion that the water may have caused. Just make sure all the alcohol has evaporated. This will also help with getting any water that may be hiding and reeking havoc in small spaces.
Assemble and see if it helps.
Lastly, you attempt this at your own risk, I am in no way responsible for any damage or further damage caused by this method.
warglock said:
I must express a word of caution before trying my method of cleaning PCBs. As I do not know how sensitive the components are on the GNex board, some research/googling of certain components may be required. This is a general cleaning practice for water damaged PCBs.
You can try cleaning the motherboard with isopropyl alcohol. 70% or higher. Get an old toothbrush, clean that first, the get a shallow tray and submerge the board. Gently brush the board all over and pull it out. Next, get a hair dryer with a cold setting and blow cold air on it for a few minutes until the alcohol has evaporated. This helps clean out any water spots and corrosion that the water may have caused. Just make sure all the alcohol has evaporated. This will also help with getting any water that may be hiding and reeking havoc in small spaces.
Assemble and see if it helps.
Lastly, you attempt this at your own risk, I am in no way responsible for any damage or further damage caused by this method.
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Click to collapse
Will be better if you use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, it dries faster and 70% Isopropyl Alcohol usually leave water marks. Just that 91% Isopropyl Alcohol is kinda expensive.
Beamed from my Grouper
Isopropyl alcohol is fairly cheap a couple dollars at your local pharmacy for a 500ml bottle to save a 350+ dollar phone seems pretty worth it to me. That said do not use anything less than 90% if you want to splurge you can also go the route of pure distilled deionized water (this can get rather pricey). I'd suggest disassembling your gnex as far as you feel comfortable and use the methods described by others above. Do not use any heating implement to dry anything as there is a high likelihood of warping or otherwise damaging electronic components (principally the PCB)
Well thank you all for your input, it seems my Nexus survived. I took it out of rice this morning and it was working again like a charm. No water marks, vibration works fine, and smooth sailing so far. I have taken or apart before, but I don't trust myself to clean it and mess with the motherboard. As long is it works I am happy, just ordered a new housing though, since it got a nasty scuff from dropping it. RICE is amazing is all I can say
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Water Damage

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.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

H815 - Dropped in water. Stuck in "Firmware Update".

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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Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.

Just stood my phone up usb port and speaker in puddle of water

Hello, proper panicking put my phone down in some water. What should i do?
Help please...!
Sent from my SGP521 using Tapatalk
put it in a bag with uncooked rice. forget you own a phone for at least 24 hours.
Ok the rice wont damage it any more will it.
It wasnt in it for long. And it was a very small puddle....[emoji35] [emoji35] [emoji35]
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Uncooked rice, the more the better, will absorb the moisture. Leave it in long enough, and you should be good to go
Did the phone rest any longer in the water? If yes you should use rice and cotton pad if it wasnt all that long you don't need tovworry about it cause it's splash proof
Do not try to turn it on until the rice absorb the moisture.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
nathlynn22 said:
Hello, proper panicking put my phone down in some water. What should i do?
Help please...!
Sent from my SGP521 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't be that worried buddy, watch this vid. The rice for a day is like a guarantee just to be safe. Chances are its fine though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzh6ypmNwSg
I just put it in the airing cup oars seems good. Thanks.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
I accidently dropped my phone in water yesterday although I took it out almost immediately it's just totally died on me and won't start up at all, totally gutted how an expenisive phone like this can't even withstand a little bit of water.
sam-man said:
I accidently dropped my phone in water yesterday although I took it out almost immediately it's just totally died on me and won't start up at all, totally gutted how an expenisive phone like this can't even withstand a little bit of water.
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Click to collapse
Damn. If mine broke I'd claim on house insurance. But mine seems OK.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
sam-man said:
I accidently dropped my phone in water yesterday although I took it out almost immediately it's just totally died on me and won't start up at all, totally gutted how an expenisive phone like this can't even withstand a little bit of water.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird, someone on YouTube dunked their 10 in a bowl of water for like a some amount of minutes and it worked fine afterwards. Not sure if sound was working though.
Ndaoud360 said:
That's weird, someone on YouTube dunked their 10 in a bowl of water for like a some amount of minutes and it worked fine afterwards. Not sure if sound was working though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine's just gone dead, nothing at all, it heats up if I put it on charge.
I'll call HTC tomorrow to see if I can do a deal of some sort with them.
The rice won't do anything since the water you want it to absorb is inside the phone, where the rice won't reach anyway. The best thing you can do is open the phone up and dry it up with a blow dryer or heat gun. If this is something you can't do or are uncomfortable with doing, putting it in the oven at around 120°f (50°c) is the next best thing.
#killthericemyth
mekanismen said:
The rice won't do anything since the water you want it to absorb is inside the phone, where the rice won't reach anyway. The best thing you can do is open the phone up and dry it up with a blow dryer or heat gun. If this is something you can't do or are uncomfortable with doing, putting it in the oven at around 120°f (50°c) is the next best thing.
#killthericemyth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This Popular Mechanics article contradicts all of your claims:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/how-to/a3419/dry-out-your-cell-phone/
Quoted:
With the battery safely set aside, you now have one goal--dry your phone, and dry it fast. If you let the moisture evaporate naturally, the chance of corrosion damaging the phone's innards increases. Instead, blow or suck the water out. But don't use a hair dryer--its heat can fry your phone's insides. Instead, opt for a can of compressed air, an air compressor set to a low psi or a vacuum cleaner (a wet/dry Shop-Vac would be perfect). The idea is to use air to push or pull moisture out through the same channels it entered.
Finally, use a desiccant to wick away any leftover moisture.*The most convenient choice is uncooked rice.*Just leave the phone (and its disconnected battery) submerged in a bowl of grains overnight. If you're worried about rice dust getting inside your phone, you can instead use the packets of silica gel that often come stuffed in the pockets of new clothes. But acting fast is far more important than avoiding a little dust, so don't waste time shopping if you don't already have a drawer full of silica gel.
The most important thing to remember is to avoid heat. That means no hair dryers, ovens, microwaves or extended periods in direct sunlight. While heat will certainly evaporate the moisture, it could also warp components and melt adhesives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pidzero said:
This Popular Mechanics article contradicts all of your claims:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/how-to/a3419/dry-out-your-cell-phone/
Quoted:
With the battery safely set aside, you now have one goal--dry your phone, and dry it fast. If you let the moisture evaporate naturally, the chance of corrosion damaging the phone's innards increases. Instead, blow or suck the water out. But don't use a hair dryer--its heat can fry your phone's insides. Instead, opt for a can of compressed air, an air compressor set to a low psi or a vacuum cleaner (a wet/dry Shop-Vac would be perfect). The idea is to use air to push or pull moisture out through the same channels it entered.
The key here is, as in so many other cases, common sense. Don't go crazy with a 1200°f heat gun and don't broil your phone.
Finally, use a desiccant to wick away any leftover moisture.*The most convenient choice is uncooked rice.*Just leave the phone (and its disconnected battery) submerged in a bowl of grains overnight. If you're worried about rice dust getting inside your phone, you can instead use the packets of silica gel that often come stuffed in the pockets of new clothes. But acting fast is far more important than avoiding a little dust, so don't waste time shopping if you don't already have a drawer full of silica gel.
The most important thing to remember is to avoid heat. That means no hair dryers, ovens, microwaves or extended periods in direct sunlight. While heat will certainly evaporate the moisture, it could also warp components and melt adhesives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe what you want; I'm IPC certified and have been doing PCB-repairs for over four years. I'm simply sharing the knowledge you need to best deal with an issue like this.
The only thing that can actually get fried from the heat that a hair dryer produces is the battery. If you for some reason hold the hair dryer ON the battery for an extended period of time. Not that I know why you'd want to do that. Any surface mounted component on the board should be perfectly fine with direct heat up to almost 500°f.
The key here is common sense. Don't go crazy with a 1200°f heat gun and don't broil or microwave your phone.
mekanismen said:
Believe what you want;
...
The only thing that can actually get fried from the heat that a hair dryer produces is the battery. If you for some reason hold the hair dryer ON the battery for an extended period of time. Not that I know why you'd want to do that. Any surface mounted component on the board should be perfectly fine with direct heat up to almost 500°f.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that uncooked rice is a desiccant, and can wick-up proximate moisture.
You can stick your phone (battery removed, of course) in the oven at 500°F.
I decline in spite of your "qualifications" on the grounds that 63/37 has a melting point of 370°F [edit]361°F (pardon)[/edit].
If you told me you never messed up a single component by holding the iron on it too long, I wouldn't believe you.
pidzero said:
I believe that uncooked rice is a desiccant, and can wick-up proximate moisture.
You can stick your phone (battery removed, of course) in the oven at 500�°F.
I decline in spite of your "qualifications" on the grounds that 63/37 has a melting point of 370�°F.
If you told me you never messed up a single component by holding the iron on it too long, I wouldn't believe you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Proximate moisture as in moisture it is in fact in contact with. The water the rice is able to absorb isn't water that does any harm to the phone anyway, hence the uselessness. Or are you saying that the rice somehow magically sucks the moisture out through the speaker and microphone grills?
63/37 does indeed melt at 370°f, but applying 500°f using a heat gun for a minute or two from a couple of inches distance will not make the solder reach that kind of temperature. I never recommended anyone to put their phone in an oven at 500°f.
If I said that I never messed up a single component by applying too much heat I'd be lying. I've done it too many times to count.
Anyway people, feel free to put your phone in a bag filled with edible seed of your choice , but don't be surprised if starts acting up a couple of days later.
mekanismen said:
Proximate moisture as in moisture it is in fact in contact with. The water the rice is able to absorb isn't water that does any harm to the phone anyway, hence the uselessness. Or are you saying that the rice somehow magically sucks the moisture out through the speaker and microphone grills?
63/37 does indeed melt at 370°f, but applying 500°f using a heat gun for a minute or two from a couple of inches distance will not make the solder reach that kind of temperature. I never recommended anyone to put their phone in an oven at 500°f.
If I said that I never messed up a single component by applying too much heat I'd be lying. I've done it too many times to count.
Anyway people, feel free to put your phone in a bag filled with edible seed of your choice , but don't be surprised if starts acting up a couple of days later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In hindsight of my original reply to the OP, it would have been wise to include instructions on drying the phone by means of draining through the introduction path and using compressed air. The OP would have benefited from the information.
It is unnecessary for a desiccant to have direct contact with water. If desiccants didn't absorb moisture, they wouldn't be in the packaging of everything from shoes to medicine to electronics.
It is important that most water be eliminated by other means first, but the dry rice will absorb, with time, remaining moisture, just like dry air climates reduce drenching sweat from your body on a hot day.
pidzero said:
In hindsight of my original reply to the OP, it would have been wise to include instructions on drying the phone by means of draining through the introduction path and using compressed air. The OP would have benefited from the information.
It is unnecessary for a desiccant to have direct contact with water. If desiccants didn't absorb moisture, they wouldn't be in the packaging of everything from shoes to medicine to electronics.
It is important that most water be eliminated by other means first, but the dry rice will absorb, with time, remaining moisture, just like dry air climates reduce drenching sweat from your body on a hot day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay so let's say that the rice somehow WILL absorb the moisture. Even in this case it will work way too slow, things start to corrode within hours (or minutes, dependent on what kind of liquid the phone has been dropped in). You don't want a fix that takes days or weeks, you want the moisture out as soon as possible.
mekanismen said:
Okay so let's say that the rice somehow WILL absorb the moisture. Even in this case it will work way too slow, things start to corrode within hours (or minutes, dependent on what kind of liquid the phone has been dropped in). You don't want a fix that takes days or weeks, you want the moisture out as soon as possible.
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Click to collapse
I admit, I would like to get to the bottom of this.
After some more research, I agree, it may take more time than ideal.
Cat litter has even more drying power than rice. Its cheap and readily available.
Infact, the article I get that info from http://smartphones.wonderhowto.com/...st-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/ places uncooked rice low on their list of drying power:
The Sponge Test
Pre-weighed sponges soaked with water (and then weighed again) were used in this experiment.
...
Each sponge was placed on top of wax paper, to prevent direct contact with the drying agents, since in a smartphone, there is normally no direct contact with the drying agent.
Uncooked White Rice Ain't Cutting It
After 24 hours, the sponges were weighed again to see how much weight had been lost. And would you believe it—according to the results, uncooked white rice placed dead last in effectiveness as a drying agent. Here's the list, from best to worst.
Open-air sponge - 7.6 mL lost
Silica gel - 6.1 mL lost
Cat litter - 5.5 mL lost
Instant couscous - 5.0 mL lost
Instant rice - 5.0 mL lost
Instant oatmeal - 5.0 mL lost
Uncooked white rice - 4.0 mL lost
Sealed-container sponge - 0.7 mL lost
Cat litter, instant couscous, instant rice, and instant oatmeal all performed better than uncooked white rice—everyone's favorite damn drying agent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rescind my argument for rice. I give you credit for calling it pretty much useless. There are better desiccant alternatives.
Personally, I'd rather use cat litter than blow-dryer--not because I argue that it works better, but that I have cat litter, and no blow-dryer.
We agree that 500°F in the oven is ill-advised, and I am glad for that.

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