Database Users

Just dropped my HD2 down the toilet

I immediately removed it from the water, and desperately tried to remove the back case to remove the battery (its quite hard when the phone is wet) i got there eventually though.
The screen was flickering whilst the phone was still on, and the water sensitive stickers on the battery and phone are both pink. I've blow dried it for about 10 minutes haven't tried to start it back up yet.... any suggestions?

joeyjoee said:
I immediately removed it from the water, and desperately tried to remove the back case to remove the battery (its quite hard when the phone is wet) i got there eventually though.
The screen was flickering whilst the phone was still on, and the water sensitive stickers on the battery and phone are both pink. I've blow dried it for about 10 minutes haven't tried to start it back up yet.... any suggestions?
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Click to collapse
DON'T start it for a few days. Put it in a warm place, leave it to dry for 48-72 hours and pray it works when you turn it on.

yeah just be patient and wait about 3-4 days to dry. but do not put it under direct sunlight

....and wash your hands

Try to put into bag with rice, and leave for couple of days...

DanijasDub said:
Try to put into bag with rice, and leave for couple of days...
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put it in a bag of rice or leave out in the open?!?

put your phone into rice and keep bag closed

Basically you just need to make sure you dry it out thoroughly. Don't try to rush this process in a few hours. All the posts about leaving it somewhere warm (like an airing cupboard) are correct. Don't put it on top of a radiator or hot pipe, or in the sun as already suggested. The idea of putting it in a bag of rice is to help draw the moisture out. Never tried this method myself.... You really must be patient with this - managed to save my Touch Pro that got soaked in the rain last year....

okay so i've put the phone the battery and the sim on top of some rice in a bad behind my tv in my bedroom

rice like the others said or if you are a cigar person (or know someone who is) place it in an acrylic humidor w/ humidification beans.......I resurrected a M$ ZUNE my wife dropped in a rain puddle by doing this in my humidor

man, this reminds me of the time I dropped my phone in a bucket of puke from a heavy night. Still worked after I dried and cleaned it up.

"DON'T start it for a few days."
yup ..is correct wait until dry ... "rice" are good for absorb humilities ..
but If I not wrong ..after dry .the speaker of the phone will change ..just like my tytn II drop into "wash floor water", it still can use .. but the speaker sound change ...

Οh man , really bad luck..
hope it goes ok but be patient and let it dry manually !!!

my wife washed my cellphone once (left in pocket after heavy night of drinking). Took the battery out, let it sit on a counter for about a week. Phone recovered though it took the screen a while for the colors to all show properly.
I have read where people put their oven on warm and leave it overnight. I don't think this will hurt the phone since their won't be a power source in it.

Dropped in a sink with the tap running!
I dried it out under a hand dryer, then powered it up straight away. In hindsight this was pretty stupid, but it booted up ok. The only problem being the NAVPANEL would randomly appear and require a reboot. The next day that problem had gone away, and was replaced with a new problem - the Volume down button being jammed on! Also the battery life was reduced to about 10 hours. After a further 48 hours and a blast with compressed air (around the volume buttons) the phone has returned to 100% normal use - even the battery life is getting better, now upto about 36-42 hrs..... but I have bought a replacement for that anyway!!
Can't believe how lucky I was!

[Edit: Just saw you fixed it. Bravo! I'll leave this here anyway...]
Rice is good, unless you have any silica gel kicking about, the stuff you get in electronic packaging in the little paper bags/sachets that say "do not eat".
But yes, definately don't do what the majority do...
"I just turned it on to see if it would work..."
"You turned your phone/laptop on while it was wet... to see if it would work?"
"Yeah... why?"
*facepalm*
Happens about once a week in the PC store I work at. You could also try stripping it after it's dried and going over it with a carbon pen to remove any corrosion/residue.

After removing the battery, SIM, and MicroSD and gently removing any surface water.
One trick I found is to put a phone in the path of hot dry air for 30 minutes to a couple of hours. A clothes dryer vent works wonderfully for this since its temperature controlled (and timed) to keep from destroying the fabric in your clothes, and hot enough to allow water to evaporate. If you have access to your dryer vent hose, unhook it and rest it on top of the dryer and put your phone in the path (at least 4 to 6" from the opening). It's worked for 2 phones so far. One being my wife's Motorola, and one my Touchpro. If you have a dryer with an insert for shoes, you could use that as well, although I would put the phone on something to keep it from vibrating off.
You could use a hair dryer but keep in mind that hair dryers are not designed to be run continuously and the temperature is not technically regulated.
The trick is to get the temperature of the whole phone up to about 130 to 140 degrees and the water will evaporate. I would avoid shaking the water out of the phone or using pressureized air since that will push water into the delicate connectors, keypad matrix, screen, etc.

Let me give you a more scientific approach to your problem, i will try to explain as better as i can since english aint my primary language.
After you drop it in the water, your phone will never be the same for couple of reasons. First of all, when the water will dry, salt will "sit" on the connections and the weldings of the connectors, and that will slowly but steadily eat them. My saying is : " Never trust a phone that was dropped into water/coffee ". For you to be sure of your phone you need to strip it, and clean it with a spray for electrical appliances. Now there are 2 types of those sprays, one with oil and one with no oil in it. For your thing you need the NO-OIL one. Thats to make sure you wont get a loose joint and eventually your phone wont get broken.
If you dont feel like opening your phone and you dont feel comfortable with it, just ignore my post and just dry it out. What is 100% sure is that at some point it will break down, it depends on when though, from hardware to hardware.
Just my 2 cents.

Any time I get anything wet I IMMEDIATELY remove the battery, then I remove anything else I can from it: Sim Card, Memory Cards, etc. I don't like the rice idea because rice ALWAYS ends up stuck somewhere inside. I prefer setting my phone on some foil out in the sun for a bit (provided it's not too hot out) or just leaving it somewhere where it's warm to dry out. DO NOT BY ANY MEANS put the battery back in or turn it on until it is COMPLETELY dry. A minimum of a day if you even want to begin to chance it. If it was dropped in something other than relatively clean fresh water, I would keep everything out of it (battery, sim, memory cards, etc.) and dip it in a cup of distilled water a few times to clean any particles off, then let it dry again completely before turning it on. Just because an electronic gets wet, doesn't mean it won't work. The only way to kill it really is if you power it back on or the battery shorts it.
I went swimming at the lake with my old Nokia 5310 for 10 minutes before remembering it was in my pocket, I immediately took everything out when I remembered and left it in the sun for 8 hours and it worked fine for a year after until I threw it into a wall as hard as I could due to a frustrating girlfriend haha

U may have problems in the future... Since it was submerged in water some components will begin to rust... I suggest u take it to a mobile service shop so they can tell u what to do, or maybe they can fix it...

dropped N1 in bathroom .. got water on it .. D:

i wiped it dry seconds after it dropping with a microfiber towel.. put it back together and tried turning it on. it worked by the screen acting weird... kinda greenish?? turned it off and threw the phone in a bag of uncooked rice in hopes its some water that seeped into somewhere that will come out D:
any ideas what happened?

"any ideas what happened?"
hmmmmm.....water damaged!!! all i know water damaged electronics gives u random issues even after a month from drying.
claim it if u have insurance with asurion on t-mobile.

bought directly from google D:

with or without contract on t-mobile?

Follow the same procedure as posted on this forum dozens of times.... Don't turn it on until it's BONE DRY, ie: no moisture in the container you're drying it in at LEAST TWICE.
Otherwise might as well as flushed it.

very hard for a bunch of rice to get wet .. xD but ill leave it in the rice for a few hours

I used hair dryer. My n1 works fine after beeing in water for a few min.

my dog peed on my n1, bur I just put it in the microwave and its been fine ever since. The only problem it has now it it dosnt turn on.
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

android01 said:
my dog peed on my n1, bur I just put it in the microwave and its been fine ever since. The only problem it has now it it dosnt turn on.
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
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LOL>> You had me rollin, just think of the smell

lol u guys xD
i threw it in a bag of uncooked rice for like.. 6-8 hrs. took it out. dusted it off and popped everything back in and turned it on. works fine now
oh man D: so scared ><
but thx guys for the suggestions

my n1 has been completely soaked visible water under the screen, and it came back to life (after a week in a bag of rice) i think you will be just fine

I use 100% isopropyl alcohol. It forces out the water and dries fairly quickly when placed somewhere warm with good air flow. The more you can open up the case the better though.
Isopropyl is what I use to clean electronics when soldering. It will not hurt the circuits, but you need to let the alcohol evaporate completely; though this happens quicker than water by far.

Water Damage

So I dropped my N1 in water. Took out the battery as soon as possible then I dried what I could with a towel.
After this I tried hours of the rice method (putting my N1 in a bag of dry rice to dry it out). And I was able to successfully boot up my phone again, almost everything works fine but the digitizer/touch screen has some issues.
The rightest side of the screen, about an inch worth is completely unresponsive, so if I load up my app drawer and try to click anything on the right it won't work at all just so you know what I mean.
What can I do about this? Is this a simple fix? Do I just need a new digitizer? Or is it something else?

Water damage can affect anything. Luckily the digitizer is only $25 and there are tons of videos on how to disassemble the phone.

Sounds to me like you've still got a short somewhere inside your N1. Here are some suggestions.
1. Rice is a desiccant, it takes a LONG TIME to actually dry-out something like the internals of a phone. If you can part with the phone for that long, I'd suggest leaving it in the rice for more like 72hours!!
2. If you can't give it that much time, and you've got some tools, skills and a willingness to take apart your N1? Then search youtube for "nexus one disassembly" and take it apart, being extra sure to manually dab dry all areas possible (especially in the digitizer area as you've stated issues around there).
3. Finally, if those steps don't work, you're looking at a digitizer replacement. Which, if you've already taken apart your N1 from step #2, will be an easier swap out for you to handle.
My N1 too went for an unwanted splash as well. Total submersion for a good few seconds as I had to fish it out. Water had gotten into the screen, EVERYTHING was wet.
I had the tools and the mindset that my N1 was likely dead anyway so taking it apart couldn't hurt any further. So I took it completely apart, used a paper towel to dab dry everything possible that I could. Then I left everything out on the table overnight to dry.
Next morning I put it all back together and to my delighted surprise everything worked!
Our N1s are troopers! I'm confident you can bring yours back to full life!
Good luck!

Thanks for the responses!
I will definitely try taking it apart and I'll post back soon on the outcome, if I get lazy though I'll just buy a new digitizer.

How is it possible that water doesn't hurt your N1? It's completely incredible. Few years ago i had a samsung player (my son in fact) that was in contact with water (no immersion!!) and after drying for a week (air then hair-drier!) it was impossible to get it on again.
Is N1 that strong!! So lucky you are!!

abccg said:
Thanks for the responses!
I will definitely try taking it apart and I'll post back soon on the outcome, if I get lazy though I'll just buy a new digitizer.
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Well if you buy a new digitizer you're gonna have to take it apart anyway haha.
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

abccg said:
So I dropped my N1 in water. Took out the battery as soon as possible then I dried what I could with a towel.
After this I tried hours of the rice method (putting my N1 in a bag of dry rice to dry it out). And I was able to successfully boot up my phone again, almost everything works fine but the digitizer/touch screen has some issues.
The rightest side of the screen, about an inch worth is completely unresponsive, so if I load up my app drawer and try to click anything on the right it won't work at all just so you know what I mean.
What can I do about this? Is this a simple fix? Do I just need a new digitizer? Or is it something else?
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Click to collapse
Use rice is a real bad idea, hairdryer is the best and i'm pretty sure you can find one in your house or borrow one from your neighbour
Seems like there is still a short in your cellphone and i would recommend you call your manufacturer for this. Anyway, it's risky to repair a cellphone by yourself.

A little over a year ago I washed my Nexus One in the washing machine. Extra bleach, long cycle with an extra rinse cycle since it was a bunch of dirty clothing.
I remembered it was in my pocked when I went to remove my clothing, I was sure it was dead.
I pulled the battery and put the phone on the dry air vent of my dehumidifier for two days. The vent blew warm, completely dry air directly into the open back of my phone.
I popped the battery back in and it's been working like new ever since. The camera colors are ever so slightly off, however.
Let the phone dry out before you try to turn it back on.

Recently had the same issue. In my case was a bit easier.
What I did - removed back cover, battery, SIM, sd-card..
Switched my laptop and loaded it with compiling linux kernel. Then decoding HD video with handbrake. The aim was to get a constant flow of warm air (abt 70 degrees Celcius). And I put my phone close to vent fan out of my laptop. It is not overheating too much (like you can with air dryer).

I had a water damage as well, sliped with phone into the while geocaching. The salt walter wasn't good for my phone... :-(

CCpotter said:
Use rice is a real bad idea, hairdryer is the best and i'm pretty sure you can find one in your house or borrow one from your neighbour
Seems like there is still a short in your cellphone and i would recommend you call your manufacturer for this. Anyway, it's risky to repair a cellphone by yourself.
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I always thought rice, particularly instant rice because it is so absorbent, or any dessicant was a good strategy.
On the other hand, hair dryers seem a very bad idea. Heat from the dryer can be damaging, but the real damage from a hair dryer is that is sends the air at a strong velocity and it blows the water further in the device.

CCpotter said:
Use rice is a real bad idea, hairdryer is the best and i'm pretty sure you can find one in your house or borrow one from your neighbour
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cyberstoic said:
I always thought rice, particularly instant rice because it is so absorbent, or any dessicant was a good strategy.
On the other hand, hair dryers seem a very bad idea. Heat from the dryer can be damaging, but the real damage from a hair dryer is that is sends the air at a strong velocity and it blows the water further in the device.
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Click to collapse
Rice is actually a very good thing to use just like cyberstoic says. It sucks the water into the rice and gets it out of the device.
The reason he listed for the hair dryer is valid, but it isn't the main reason. The main reason is that the hair dryer will just cause the water to evaporate, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the super humid air will leave the device, so as soon as it cools back down, you will still have that moisture in there.\
This is why rice or other desiccants (like all those silica gel packets that come with a lot of packaging) are used. They actually pull the moisture out of the device.

Rice worked for me when my N1 spent a night soaking in seltzer. (not completely submerged, but enough to get a big batch under the screen) But first I used a vacuum to suck out as much of the seltzer as I could. Then I put it in rice for about 30 hours.
Sent from my Atrix 2 using Tapatalk...

cyberstoic said:
I always thought rice, particularly instant rice because it is so absorbent, or any dessicant was a good strategy.
On the other hand, hair dryers seem a very bad idea. Heat from the dryer can be damaging, but the real damage from a hair dryer is that is sends the air at a strong velocity and it blows the water further in the device.
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Click to collapse
What about the dirt in the rice? If you use rice to dry those water inside, the dirt with rice will melt with the water inside and make damage to your elements.
If you use hair dryer in a proper way, it can dry your water inside without causing any damage. Have seen after-sale repair workers do this many times.

CCpotter said:
If you use hair dryer in a proper way, it can dry your water inside without causing any damage. Have seen after-sale repair workers do this many times.
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Did you read my response at all? While it is possible for the hair dryer to fix the problem, it can also cause the problem to remanifest itself if that humid air doesn't actually leave the casing. That is the point of the rice. Dirt in the rice is irrelevant. We aren't talking about that much water, and the phone is still in its casing. The rice is just removing the moisture from the air.

How To Save A Wet Milestone 2?

Hi there
I accidentally slipped on some steps near a harbour and fell into the water. My Motorola Milestone 2 was in my pocket and hence it pretty much got submerged for about 5 seconds in water.
As my phone was dieing, the led flashlight was on and my notification night was flashing yellow and my screen had blanked out.
Anyway I put the phone onto dry concrete and pulled myself out of the water, removed the battery and flung my phone around abit to get the majority of water out. Obviously it's still wet inside, so i'm wondering whats the best possible way to dry a Milestone and try and revive it?
Thanks everyone.
Cheers

I think that its probably messed up but you can try a hair dryer, if you have the tools you may open it and blow it inside.
Those new phones don't like water too much, they are very sensitive...

Well, the last time this happened to me, I found a remarkable answer: Dry it as much as possible with towels and hair dryer (don't melt it). After that, put the phone in a plastic bag and four or more cups of uncooked rice (buy a new one kilo), close tightly and leave there for a couple of days (the longer the better). Will be removed any remaining humidity that. No guarantees, of course ...

Please help, buddies kid spilled water on my N4?! I can't lose this phone.

I was at dinner, we go to pay, I check Reddit for a sec, put the phone next to my plate, kid spills maybe half-1/4 a glass of water on it (screen, homebutton, speaker).
I immediately took out the battery (both water indicators seemed fine, don't remember any water in the compartment). I had port plugs in the headphone jack and USB port, so that's lucky. S pen was in too. But I'm pretty sure water washed over the speaker and home button I just put a new toast cover which is super gluey, so...I hope that it kept water from getting into the screen that way. I have it in a bag of rice, screen facing down, with 3 large desiccant pads (2 on the screen/speaker/home button, 1 in the battery compartment). Nervous about using iso alcohol, for fear of damaging the screen. It wasn't a huge amount of water and I jumped on it instantly, got it towel dry in seconds and in rice/silica in desiccants in minutes.
Is there anything else I should do? Think I'll give it 48 hours to dry, rather than 24. I've been working to get it going the way I want it for like 3 weeks straight now. Maybe BS me and tell me it likely didn't do anything, I'm really having angst and anxiety right now. Sad as it may be, this particular phone, this very one, is like my baby.
Sorry for the long post, I'm flipping the ef out.

Putting it inside a bag full of rice for several day should be enough.
Water spills usually doesn't do any harm unless you have a crack on you phone.

d4rkkn16ht said:
Putting it inside a bag full of rice for several day should be enough.
Water spills usually doesn't do any harm unless you have a crack on you phone.
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Thanks man. No cracks, just worried about the front speaker and home button. I did rice then was told that silica is the way to go. Found one bag and 3 desiccant pads. Wrapped up tight now on in my warm room. Gonna see if walmart has any more silica bags. Will let it dry till Sunday, at least. Loved dads response of, "Awe....sowwyy". Kid thought it was funny too.