Database Users

permanent water damage?

This question was just asked to me by avery close friend.
Has anyone dealt with the phone recovering from being completely submmerged under water?
Below is the procedure followed on my friends phone after it fell in the toilet. ( I don't know how he managed that)
He took out the battery and left the phone open and face down, to let it air dry. Thiis happened around 9:15 pm est (02/24/09)
I told him to give the phone a few days to dry, I will post to see what happens.
Any suggestions from the community?
Thanks in advanced.

Tell him to put it in rice.

first things first, is the little sticker in the battery compartment still white? if not then keep reading, if it is then call t-mo when the phone stops working and get warranty exchange.
if the sticker is no longer white then it is out of warranty and the fun stuff begins, go here to see how others have fixed it

I washed my G1 on accident. Finicky on starting up, but I took the battery out immediately, took the blowdryer and did that for about half an hour (on cold), and then let it sit out for a few days. It sometimes will just display a blue LED and do nothing else. I've noticed holding the trackball and pressing the power button multiple times it started up more often, not sure why. Touchscreen kinda doesn't work and the home key goes bananas once in awhile.

Thanks
Ok so it is now in rice after I blow dried it from about a foot away on cold for about 10 minutes. My friend said he will pay me $50 to get it working again.
he doesnt have the time to do it and just took is sim card out and put it in a different phone...
i guess i will leave it in the rice for a couple of days. I hope the rice doesnt puff up and get stuck in the swivel compartment... LOL
Anyways- - off topic and all but I am also making a theme for the competition. Maybe I will test it on his phone (cant get any worse in case there is a problem)
Thanks all for the help.

cheap way to fix it
buy a new battery
switch them
tell Tmo that your phone doesnt work anymore
and there you go

roguestatuskat said:
cheap way to fix it
buy a new battery
switch them
tell Tmo that your phone doesnt work anymore
and there you go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and how is that gonna fix the fact that the water damage indicator is no longer white???

you will have a completely new battery that already has untouched battery indicator

Dry
Put it in front of blow dry cold for an hour. I had two iphones one fell in bathtub and other in the toilet. I even washed the one hat fell in toilet 3-4 times. To my surprise the indicator of the headphone didn't change colour. Blow dry does a good job. Remove everything from sim to cattery and SD card

roguestatuskat said:
you will have a completely new battery that already has untouched battery indicator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are an idiot the sticker is on the phone NOT on the battery, take your battery out right now and look on the side wall of the battery compartment in the lower right hand corner, that is the battery indicatot. maybe you should read before you look dumb. i tried to be nice with my other post in hinting that you were wrong but you didn't get that hint

wet g1?

okay, I put my phone in my coat pocket when it (the coat)was slightly damp for at least 2 hours and later, I found that my phone kept showing the option to power off and my keys werent responding...the keys didnt seem to be stuck...I then wiped then reflashed, which in itself took a good while since my keys werent responding fast enough...but even the reflash didnt work...so did I ruin my phone because of the damp coat? And if so, anybody know how I can fix it? I'm thinking about blow drying my phone...good idea or not?

Don't try to turn the phone on anymore. Remove the battery, battery cover, memory card and SIM card. Place your phone in a bowl of rice to absorb moisture. Sometimes there's just a bit of water left in the system. Let it dry off, phones come back to life most of the time.

SolemnWishing said:
Don't try to turn the phone on anymore. Remove the battery, battery cover, memory card and SIM card. Place your phone in a bowl of rice to absorb moisture. Sometimes there's just a bit of water left in the system. Let it dry off, phones come back to life most of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im going to try this, but just in case anybody else has any ideas, here's a few more details on my phone...it'll turn on, touch screen works, but it's when i use the hard keyboard and press the keys that the option to turn off shows up on the screen...and the phone's green and end keys are flashing on and off like the phone is turning itself on and off, on and off...never seen anything like this on the forums...weird...

naars90 said:
Im going to try this, but just in case anybody else has any ideas, here's a few more details on my phone...it'll turn on, touch screen works, but it's when i use the hard keyboard and press the keys that the option to turn off shows up on the screen...and the phone's green and end keys are flashing on and off like the phone is turning itself on and off, on and off...never seen anything like this on the forums...weird...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh and thanks for the quick response...

No problem. The lights on the buttons going on and off is the water interfering with the circuitry. I highly recommend you leave your phone off, or you run the risk of shorting it out.

If water is making it run wrong, it **IS** shorting out.

my G1 was completely submerged in a lake for 5 minutes while powered on. as soon as it came out of the water i powered off, and blew it dry with an air compressor. left battery out for 24 hours and, worked 95% ever since. only had some random touch screen sensitivity loss.

if you are ok with taking the phone apart and the rice solution doesn't fix it then send me a PM and i'll let you know how to make absolutely sure nothing MORE goes wrong. right now though you probably messed up the phone cause you turned it on and off repeatedly

ok...did the rice solution...didnt work, so does anybody know any good, reliable cellphone repair shops in chicago that does the g1? Googled , found a place called CPR(cellphone repair) but the yelp reviews werent really convincing...so I thought I'd ask the people on here... you guys seem very reliable and I thought I'd rather ask you guys' opinions than go to a repair shop with poor to average reviews...pretty please?

oh, tubaking...ty for the reply...but I looked up the service manual and taking apart the g1 seems to take a lot more skill and experience working with electronics than I have, so that solution's out....thanks a lot anyways....peace, bro

there is no fix for permanant water damage, any shop is just gonna do the same thing i said unless they have access to the main board and all proper pieces to the phone. usually at times like this i go on ebay and buy a real cheap G1 with a broken screen or some other defect that the seller wants to get rid of the phone quickly and cheaply

I left my phone in the rain for a couple of hours and had the same issue. I know this is not the best solution (due to heat) but it fixed mine completely. I removed sdcard, battery, and bback. Then placed it on an egg carton and put in my toaster oven at 150 degrees for an hour or so. Didn't touch it for another day then powered it on. Power button glitched the first time I pressed it but has worked great ever since (been about 3 months)

dumfuq said:
I left my phone in the rain for a couple of hours and had the same issue. I know this is not the best solution (due to heat) but it fixed mine completely. I removed sdcard, battery, and bback. Then placed it on an egg carton and put in my toaster oven at 150 degrees for an hour or so. Didn't touch it for another day then powered it on. Power button glitched the first time I pressed it but has worked great ever since (been about 3 months)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is awesome.

G1 at bottom of lake revived!
I think we should have a sticky to this Thread! Or maybe a a wet willie.
This weekend I dropped my G1 to the bottom of Lake Conroe and was able to fish it out within 5 minutes. Fortunately I was docked in about 6 feet of water. I totally took everything apart and when I got home placed the phone and parts in the direct sun wrapped in a white cloth. I suppose this is equivalent to the egg carton and toaster oven method.
That night, I put the pieces in a box of rice and put it back together in the morning and voila it worked!! For a few hours I had issues with the backlight coming in and out but after about 8 hours of use it works perfectly. I didn't even have to wipe or flash anything - everything like new.
Whew!!!

well, if people stopped playing with there phones and fingering it, it wouldn't get so wet, maybe you should try a personal lube if you can't keep your hands off

gridlock32404 said:
well, if people stopped playing with there phones and fingering it, it wouldn't get so wet, maybe you should try a personal lube if you can't keep your hands off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn it you beat me to it. I saw the title and said damn this is to easy, wet g1. haahaha.

I dropped my phone in boiled hot dog water and here's what worked for me. I took my phone completely apart and wrapped it up in tin foil. I then put it in the microwave on med-hi for 1:32. Once that is done you take it out and put the phone (disassembled of course) in a bag of bbq potatoe chips (yes it has to be bbq or it won't work) over night. In the mean time you need to feed your dog a snickers bar (this is a must). The next day you need to take magic fairy dust (found a good deal on ebay) and sprinkle it over your g1. Then put your phone back together and slap your momma. Push the power button and bam a perfectly working g1 again. I can write a detailed "how to for dummies" on this if it will get stickied.

supreme, you forgot they need to eat the bbq chips while powering the phone on.

crpercodani said:
supreme, you forgot they need to eat the bbq chips while powering the phone on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yea, I also forgot to mention with a tall glass of chocolate milk.

I'd bump your guide, if I would have had this then I wouldn't have spank the neighbor's wife's ass instead of my momma's, no wonder I still have a wet g1. Wait. What are we talking about, something about crickets and penut butter, I'm confuddle. Oh well back to spanking his wife's ass, mmmm cottage cheese thighs

RIP - Drowned Galaxy S

Went to fix the boiler yesterday, thought best take my Galaxy S out my shirt pocket in case it falls in the toilet.
You guessed it. As taking it out dropped it in the bloody toilet!
Its resting in rice at the moment but as it was turned on I am not holding out much hope.
3 months into a 24 monther!
Oh well looks like one of those Palm Pixies that O2 are knocking out cheap is on the cards.
Best dam phone I ever owned!
SS

I posted a HOWTO further down as I tackled a similar problem succesfully yesterday;-)
May the force be with you
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

simonsteele said:
Went to fix the boiler yesterday, thought best take my Galaxy S out my shirt pocket in case it falls in the toilet.
You guessed it. As taking it out dropped it in the bloody toilet!
Its resting in rice at the moment but as it was turned on I am not holding out much hope.
3 months into a 24 monther!
Oh well looks like one of those Palm Pixies that O2 are knocking out cheap is on the cards.
Best dam phone I ever owned!
SS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy! This phone might not be dead (only in comma).
This same thing happened to my wife last week with an Omnia2 and it looked dead, but she proptly removed the battery and after drying it... It's alive and well again.
Just pray... and wait
You may want to wait a full day before you turn it on again. Please let us know

let it dry thoroughly
and you may want to try another battery
10 years ago i dropped a motorola startac in the loo as I was cleaning it
it still works on the charger!!!
just be patient and let it dry well (two days)

oh man that sucks, update us if it's still alive..

Went fishing last week and after a full day on the boat I realized my dad had put my bag (with ipod) in the live well instead of the dry area. The thing was DEAD for about 3 days and sitting in the rice jar for 48 hrs AMAZINGLY brought it back to life.
Ow and since I´m in Brazil an iPod here costs ARM+LEG so I´m a very happy camper now.
Wait and be happy!

Latest news after a few days drying.
Turns on but screen is grey. It used to show very faint lines. Like the screen matrix lines.
Now it turns on and screen is just grey.
Occasionally get flashes of the Samsung splash screen and I did try the 3 button recovery mode and once I saw a flash of green and the little robot.
Maybe all is not lost. Its back in the rice at the moment! Not sure what we are having with our sweet n sour tomorrow night though!

simonsteele said:
Latest news after a few days drying.
Turns on but screen is grey. It used to show very faint lines. Like the screen matrix lines.
Now it turns on and screen is just grey.
Occasionally get flashes of the Samsung splash screen and I did try the 3 button recovery mode and once I saw a flash of green and the little robot.
Maybe all is not lost. Its back in the rice at the moment! Not sure what we are having with our sweet n sour tomorrow night though!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i thought it got wet yesterday?
let it dry for a few days DO NOT use it before that
take the battery out!!!

Once I silly took my iPhone to the bathroom and drowned it. It took three days in rice for it to completely recover. So, don't lose you hope. We all support you
*If completely dead, I am ready to have a virtual beer for it to rest in peace*

chiffa_ua said:
Once I silly took my iPhone to the bathroom and drowned it. It took three days in rice for it to completely recover. So, don't lose you hope. We all support you
*If completely dead, I am ready to have a virtual beer for it to rest in peace*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should we be drinking beer together so close to the Ashes and the Rugby? lol

allotrios said:
i thought it got wet yesterday?
let it dry for a few days DO NOT use it before that
take the battery out!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No sorry was Saturday.
I keep the hope but have always fancied a play with a Palm WebOS.
Still I am missing the Galaxy S. I want it back! Live damn you live!!!

You never know, my son poured a glass of sticky fruit juice on my laptop. Came out of every hole. Turned it off quick. Stripped it down as much as possible, got to unlock all the ribbon connectors, water sits right in there. Soaked it in Isopropyl alcohol. Binds to the water and draws it out. Let it dry for a few days and it fired right up. Also had to strip my SGS, screen was messing about, found the main screen connector hanging off. Anyway comes apart quite easily, just a few small screws and some gently pulling on the bezel edge.

simonsteele said:
Should we be drinking beer together so close to the Ashes and the Rugby? lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what? We all are under the same Queen!

Still just the grey screen but it flashes the Galaxy S splash screen for a second now.
Been quoted £64 to fix it by a place in London

simonsteele said:
Still just the grey screen but it flashes the Galaxy S splash screen for a second now.
Been quoted £64 to fix it by a place in London
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
take it and get it fixed LOL
64 quid is better that whats its worth for the whole two year contract lol

Last time I drowned a phone i managed to rescue it by sticking it infront of a dehumidifier and max for a day. Also dont forget if u drown a phone take the battery out ASAP so not cause any further damage.

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, my heart sank. Hope it works but if not its definitely worth the Money to fix it

Put it on a hot place(not to hot)
That help it to dry.
You can also use a hairdryer over the backside. Do it gently and don't make the phone to hot.
When foe put it in the rise jar again for a day or two.
Sent from GT-I9000 jpo. My own kernel for z4mod and with 341MB Ram

Well guys it is at a Samsung service centre being looked at.
They give cause for hope and think up to £60 to fix it.
Should know if it is viable to fix by tomorrow afternoon.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Good luck with the repairs. Hopefully you get it working 100% without costing you too much.
One warning I have for people with regards to the alcohol bath. I spilled beer all over my old BlackBerry Storm and after I dried it out the buttons were all sticking but at least the phone worked. People kept suggesting to bath the phone in 99% alcohol. I decided to try it. Well it definitely cleaned out all the sticky beer but it also leeched in between the layers of the touchscreen and left some permanent clouds and wet spots under the screen. The phone worked fine but the display looked a bit messed up. I'm not sure if the Galaxy S could suffer from the same effects but I thought I would share this experience in case someone is thinking about trying it.

S7 Edge capacitive buttons pressing themselves?!

Hey guys,
Yesterday I thought of the great idea to watch youtube whilst showering. After about 10 mins of showering, the phone went crazy. The capacitive buttons were pressing themselves and the lights were lit, I thought maybe it had to do with the water. So I wiped the phone dry, that didn't help. So I put the phone in a ricebag for the night, next day the phone was working perfectly! After a half day the phone started doing it again... It happens randomly and not all the time. I disabled the capacitve buttons for now.
Does someone know a fix for this anoying problem?
I'm running the superman ROM, latest version. Would it have something to do with the rom? The last time I updated is about a month ago or so ....
Thanks!

No, it has something to do with you taking a shower with it. Hot water probably softened the glue seals and water got in.

nickxofficial said:
Hey guys,
Yesterday I thought of the great idea to watch youtube whilst showering. After about 10 mins of showering, the phone went crazy. The capacitive buttons were pressing themselves and the lights were lit, I thought maybe it had to do with the water. So I wiped the phone dry, that didn't help. So I put the phone in a ricebag for the night, next day the phone was working perfectly! After a half day the phone started doing it again... It happens randomly and not all the time. I disabled the capacitve buttons for now.
Does someone know a fix for this anoying problem?
I'm running the superman ROM, latest version. Would it have something to do with the rom? The last time I updated is about a month ago or so ....
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The same happened to my phone after going in a swimming pool with it for the second time... gladly it lasted only for some short time, and went maybe after 1 hour. Did not happen again, but now I am carefully when I wet my phone.

arnes_king said:
The same happened to my phone after going in a swimming pool with it for the second time... gladly it lasted only for some short time, and went maybe after 1 hour. Did not happen again, but now I am carefully when I wet my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! Mine stopped as well, but continued today.... It's so annoying

Was the water, I got a capacitive watch and happened the same, it felt like somebody was touching it

IP68 means submersion in still water, not exposure to water streams under pressure.

HELP!! SOS!! Black screen by isopropyl Alcohol(99%)

PS: you can skip this deatils to my main problem
Somebody pls help me
my galaxy note 3 was water damaged nearly an year ago. But i was able to recover at that time by using isopropanol(99%).
In Detail: After water damage i loosed all hope for around 2 days, then outtanowhere i got this solution over the internet and then i submerged my phone's green board into that alcohol and then in rice. Unfortunately it doesn't turned on. I kept putting my phone outside under sun light, still the display wasn't working. Then i left my phone for about 1 and a 1/2 month in my cupboard abandoned....It got fully recovered!!! i was living a happy life then.
:Main Problem:​Now in today's date i was feeling something is wrong in the phone because it was discharging these days too quick(abnormally and this things were happening after recovery too). So i decided to put the whole phone(deassembaled the green board) in the isopropyle(99%). after 30mins later i picked it up back and assembled every thing back turned on the phone and guess what the screen was black again. I putted the phone under sunlight again but case got even worse (but i think it is good both) at the same time. My note 3's screen is turning on and working but inplace of black screen its showing dark smudges or a quit a bit of screen(not cleared but seen-able) like some kind of weird shape/spots of black. Now HELP ME
Tell me what to do!! i don't know what is this happening because 99% isopropanol isn't that conductive and will not harm the phone whatever the case is.
What should i do to get all the things back at the track? should i submerge the phone again in alcohol or should i leave it for now.
*i hope somebody read this, waiting for reply and help*
BTW: i'll keep updating this thread if something happens

Whats the 1% ?? Water ??

When a phone gets wet, I never recommend dunking anything in alcohol or any other liquid, especially the screen. Sounds like the alcohol may have seeped in between the glass and LCD.

Update:
So after putting it under sunlight for 2 days. My phone's screen is completly BLACK.
just a tiny part was showing lighted up but that also gone after about 15mins.
What the heck should i do now. I removed the battery now and putted the phone in the cupboard again (hoping for a miracle).
Any help will be appreciated.

New screen or bin the phone .
Sent from my SM-N930F using XDA-Developers Legacy app

You made a huge mistake by placing the phone in alcohol. You should only submerge the motherboard. It seems like you have alcohol/some water inside the display assembly now.
Use a hairdryer to completely dry the motherboard, place the display/ rest of the phone in rice and give it 3 days or so.
Should work.
PS: You may have killed it by turning it on while it had the spots on the display, i.e.. caused a short.
Good luck.

Skander1998 said:
You made a huge mistake by placing the phone in alcohol. You should only submerge the motherboard. It seems like you have alcohol/some water inside the display assembly now.
Use a hairdryer to completely dry the motherboard, place the display/ rest of the phone in rice and give it 3 days or so.
Should work.
PS: You may have killed it by turning it on while it had the spots on the display, i.e.. caused a short.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright man i'll try it. Thanks for helping, as i said well appreciated:good:
i already done the hairdryer part for 10mins or so.
And also putted the phone packed in a bag full of rice. Lets see after 3days :crying:

Update guys: so after putting my isopropyle damaged phone's screen into a bag of rice for 3+
days lol nothing happened. It seems that rice done nothing, my screen is still black sadly. My phone is booting and speakers etc. everything is working fine the only problem is in the screen.
Please don't forget to read my detailed post in which i stated that-
nearly a year ago i was able to recover my phone which was water damaged and for that solution i gave a bath of isopropyle alcohol. And after a month i was able to recover my phone just by putting it somewhere without battery
So at last i want to only ask you what the heck should i do to GET MY PHONE BACK AGAIN HELP!!!!

Buy a new screen .
Sent from my SM-N930F using XDA-Developers Legacy app

if phone dropped into water or something,make sure u put the phone into a sack of rice and leave it for 1 day,for sure your phone will be back to normal,i already done it for sure and it work,sorry for my english grammar

Try reading what's been posted first .
Sent from my SM-N930F using XDA-Developers Legacy app

It takes effort to accept that the best thing to do is just to get a new phone. I remember when I wanted to stick to my old, microUSB-port damaged Galaxy S II but I had to accept that I needed to move on.
I know sometimes it's difficult ($$$) but yeah, save some money up and you'll see that this will be just a small episode in your history of smart phones.

ShaDisNX255 said:
It takes effort to accept that the best thing to do is just to get a new phone. I remember when I wanted to stick to my old, microUSB-port damaged Galaxy S II but I had to accept that I needed to move on.
I know sometimes it's difficult ($$$) but yeah, save some money up and you'll see that this will be just a small episode in your history of smart phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah...hh...am crying rite now:crying:
You are write bro, it's very difficult to move on and breaking the relationship with the current phone. I am just forcing me to reject this naked truth that My phone is now old
Well for now i'll still wait a month hoping for that miracle to happen cause my pocket is empty rite now lol.
If something happens in this 28 days i'll post it ASAP may god bless me

JJEgan said:
Whats the 1% ?? Water ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe.....
but seriously it maybe any kind of impurity but i'm sure it is not water.

I would suggest to buy a new phone. You could TRY changing the screen, but there is no guarantee that the screen is the only issue. + a used Note 3 is almost the same price as a new screen.

Sorry that the method I suggested did not work. :/
Since this didn't work, you probably fried the screen driver when you turned it when it was filled with liquid under the display.
Change the display or the phone.
Never, ever attempt to turn on a liquid damaged device. I know it's tempting. This is an expensive lesson!

Skander1998 said:
Sorry that the method I suggested did not work. :/
Since this didn't work, you probably fried the screen driver when you turned it when it was filled with liquid under the display.
Change the display or the phone.
Never, ever attempt to turn on a liquid damaged device. I know it's tempting. This is an expensive lesson!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dont need to say sorry bro.
Well from all the experience i gain from this incident and including my experience with isopropyle alcohols, i don't know definitely what happen but i can guess what may be going on there.
So, in recent months a previous phone (not my phone) was water damaged and the owner gave it to me as a last hope lol. I 100% submerged that phone in isopropyl for 3days!! lmao and as a result the phone's some part like speaker and screen (which are stacked by an adhesive) were floating in the solution and then i picked up that phone up and situation got even worse the phone's screen was a bit hanging i turned the phone on and the screen was working perfectly but as i said the phone's screen was hanging so it was not touching fully the digitizer and hence the touch was not working but the screen was turned on i dunno why.
Now i look at my phone which screen was just dipped about 15mins and still not able to show anything. I think the cause may be a part between the screen and the phone which might be displaced by that solution.
Now i ask you guys that should i remove the screen only by heating & removing and stick it again. Will this solve the problem? any advice?