Phone fell in water - EVO Shift 4G General

Still works but the screen is foggy and flickers alot.
A friend of mine was telling me that something in the batter triggers and sprint can tell if it had water damage or not. How can i tell and look for that?
I also want to take it in but dont want sprint finding out about the water damage. Is there a loophole?
Shifted from my EVO

Well first things first. Turn it off, pull the battery. Do not try to restart it. You have several choices to dry it out. One really and proven one is rice. Fill a container half way with rice. Then stick your phone in the rice with the battery out, and the cover off. Push it down into the rice, and let it stay there for at least two days in a warm dry place. The other was actually used by a member here on XDA. He used is a Dehydrator. Not sure of the details, but it definately worked. I'd say set it on low and leave it there for at least 24hrs. Sprint can tell if the phone has been dropped in water by checking the water damage indicators. On the phone itself, and the battery. They're Red checkered squares. They turn bright Red when dropped in water. Although it has been proven they're not very reliable.

^^ is correct about the indicator on the battery. Its a little sticker and i always pull it off and take it to them. Once they asked me about the sticker and i just told them i have no idea what your talking about and that i didn't know about any sticker. Playing dumb helps

Take battery out....Stick it in oven on warm heat...take it out after 10 minutes to let it cool down.....repeat like 4 times.....
Sounds freaky but i fixed an iPod Touch and a Droid X with this method

Thanks for the replies guys. I ended up using a hair dryer on heat. It's not that bad of a condition. Everything seems to work properly (so far). This would happen when a ICS beta ROM comes to our phones... -_-

is there any other indications that sprint would be able to tell if it had water damage?

Enraged21 said:
is there any other indications that sprint would be able to tell if it had water damage?
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Nope, unless there is still water in it when you take it there, oh and don't use a hair dryer, all that does is "push" water in deeper through all the electrical wiring and circuits, plus it can melt parts of the device
Personal expierence lol

notsointeresting said:
Nope, unless there is still water in it when you take it there, oh and don't use a hair dryer, all that does is "push" water in deeper through all the electrical wiring and circuits, plus it can melt parts of the device
Personal expierence lol
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+1 to not using the hairdryer . It will not work as well as you think. There's a good chance that you still have moisture in the device.

See I wouldn't have known that lol. Thankss!

Why we're here.

Related

My HD dropped in the water ... HELP

My HD dropped in the water. I dissembly it and let it dry for 3 days. Battery was only 30% charged. After 3 days when I switched it on it worked fine for 2 days but now it switched off and is not switching on again . I replaced battery but nothing happened. Any help ...
Normally speaking electronics would be able to handle the water if dried thoroughly and as quickly as possible (using a hairdryer is recommended) and it's the battery which dies on the spot and can actually explode. In your case tho it worked for 2 days after, so that's quite lucky.
If you haven't done it yet, there's a link in the wiki to the technical service manual which shows how to disassemble the phone to it's smallest parts. If you're up to it, you could see if there's anything turning brown\reddish. If so (or not) you could try clean everything as best possible (perhaps with some alcohol) and then try make use of your warranty...
Could very well be the powerswitch itself which is just sticking tho..
so sorry for you man!
That's too bad. I dunno if this will help you at this point since it's already been several days since it fell in the water, but I read that if you drop your phone in water, you should take whatever you can apart, dry them the best you can, and then submerge all of the parts in dry, uncooked rice. This is supposed to absorb all of the moisture from the parts. I actually used this technique once when my old phone fell in water and it worked perfectly.
I know this won't help you at this point, but it may help others...good luck.
BMW^Z4 said:
My HD dropped in the water. I dissembly it and let it dry for 3 days. Battery was only 30% charged. After 3 days when I switched it on it worked fine for 2 days but now it switched off and is not switching on again . I replaced battery but nothing happened. Any help ...
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Just a word of thumb to all people. Once the phone / battery has been submerged in water you need to discard the battery right away. Never use a battery that has been exposed to water again in your phone. That is how you fry a phone. I bet if you would have used another battery in your phone it might still work.
Too late for BMW^Z4, but to others:
If it was dropped in dirty or especially salty water, after taking it apart, before drying it, you may want to submerge/rinse it in even more clean water. Distilled water would be even better.
Any left over residue (especially salt) will accelerate corrosion of contacts and leads and could indeed cause it too fail a few days later.
Buy another one
AllTheWay said:
Just a word of thumb to all people. Once the phone / battery has been submerged in water you need to discard the battery right away. Never use a battery that has been exposed to water again in your phone. That is how you fry a phone. I bet if you would have used another battery in your phone it might still work.
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Which is why I said:
'If so (or not) you could try clean everything as best possible (perhaps with some alcohol) and then try make use of your warranty...'
If you take it back to the store and they (HTC) see you've used it as a submersible they'll turn you down and charge you for the repairs..
I dropped my phone in toilet too. Was in back pocket. I heard a clunk and turned around and noticed it was my phone. I quickly removed it. Took cover, battery, sim and sd card out and dried it with tissue. Then i used those super powerful Dyson heated hand driers to dry it as much as possible. It happened Monday night and I still have not tried putting in the battery. Now I don't know if I should try the battery or just buy a new one from the posts up. I am dreading it if it does not work. I would hate to have to buy another HD as they are so expensive. I guess toilet water is not considered clean. Hope no corrosion.
A friend send I should leave it overnight in white spirit but i did not trust him.
Hoping all is well.....
So sorry to hear this.
In another forum, somone accidentally pour coffee on his Athena.
Some one had suggested in another forum that you bury your HD with rice as the later has the moisture absorbing property. Of course, if it is dirty, you should wash it with clean water first.
I would leave it for a few days to let any water completely evaporate before trying on.
I think there may be hope still. Let's keep our finger cross.
tboy2000 said:
A friend send I should leave it overnight in white spirit but i did not trust him.
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Great way to dissolve the remains of your phone Hope your friend wasn't serious.
Unless he meant alcohol. He said he used to do it with laptops when they were sent in to repair to him.
What do you guys think? Should I try inserting my battery in again or not even try it and just buy a brand new battery?
tboy2000 said:
Unless he meant alcohol. He said he used to do it with laptops when they were sent in to repair to him.
What do you guys think? Should I try inserting my battery in again or not even try it and just buy a brand new battery?
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A couple people above you specificly stated to NOT use a battery that has suffered water damage. Get a new battery or risk frying your phone for good.
3 days
3 days may have not been enough unless you left it in a hot dry place. I once put an old nokia phone in the washing machine. When it came out it was full of water and the water had shorted and turned it off (obviously). I wrapped it in a couple of layers of toilet roll and pushed it down the back of the radiator. Water dropped out the bottom and steam went out from the top. This ensures there is no water left. Next (when fully dry) take some sandpaper to the battery connections in the phone and the battery. Water can oxidise the heads and you may not be getting a good connection. Try again and try a friends battery if that does not work.
Good luck (if its not already too late)
i think is too late but....
the better way to avoid definitive damages was an immediate extraction of battery and cards, rinsing in distilled water to avoid corrosion or salt deposition and put on gentle warm hair flux for a long long time.
polish any visible contact with very soft paper and replace with a new battery
pray if you believe and try to turn on
let us know good luck
giano
eaglesteve said:
Some one had suggested in another forum that you bury your HD with rice as the later has the moisture absorbing property. Of course, if it is dirty, you should wash it with clean water first.
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This is a very good idea! The rice will definitely absorb the moisture.
tboy2000 said:
Unless he meant alcohol. He said he used to do it with laptops when they were sent in to repair to him.
What do you guys think? Should I try inserting my battery in again or not even try it and just buy a brand new battery?
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http://video.about.com/cellphones/Revive-Waterlogged-Cell-Phone.htm
Check out that video for more information. I don't know if it will help but they don't mention about getting a new battery.
However I have heard differing reports.
tboy2000 said:
I dropped my phone in toilet too. ... I guess toilet water is not considered clean.
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I guess that depends if it was before or after....
Seriously, while urine is salty, conductive and corrosive, the actual water used in the toilet is in fact as clean as that out of your kitchen tap.
If you took it out that quickly, and if it was clean barely conductive water, the battery may not only not be damaged, it may still hold a charge. If you have a multimeter, and you can measure between 3 to 4 Volt, I am fairly sure the battery is fine. Though I am not taking responsibility....
Phone in water
Hi guys,
i just read the HTC water story. Clean it first with pure water (best distilled water) and then use pure alcohol and submerge the electroncis in it.
The water at first replaces the dirt water and washes away particles or solids. As water takes long time to dry alcohol is used to replace the water completely. Alcohol has also a much lower conductivity - therefore avoiding shortened circuits due to salts or similar.
Hope this gives some clarification...worked once in a museum where we had mobiles and they pretty regularly fell into the toilet
Have fun with your HTC,
Nils
I used thoses Dyson fast hand dryers - the ones where you dip your hands in and out. After seeing the video I hope I have not done more damage. I was in a public toilet when it happened so had no access to distilled water, alcohol or rice.
I will find out tomorrow if my phone works and will let everyone know. Fingers crossed.
I have already started looking online for a cheap secondhand HD so if anyone knows of one let me know. London based. I guess I don't have much condidence in the phone working.
I got you beat on that one, don't ask how, but I got coffee cream (liquid) on my HD. Broke it down to component level, cleaned, reassembled and everything is working fine. No corrosion, no battery loss. Luck of the draw I suppose. Now I always have HD in protective case.

Washing machine x HTC HD2

Right, please no sarcasm this may happen to the best of us.
I left my phone in my pocket and washed it yesterday morning. Since then I have done all the recommended things eg. battery out, dryed off, into sealed bag with rice under warmish conditions (near radiator). It has been 24hours since the horrific incident, I am still feeling emotional.
However, I have attempted a partial disassembly in the same way as the official htc leaked video but can't get the thing apart. I thought this may help the drying process if I can get a bit of air flow through the device. The phone was on at the time of washing and was probably in water for 5mins. It was in its case and when I took it out there was no unusual activity (vibrating, flashing LED's etc.). I didn't attempt to turn the screen on just got the battery out, and wiped away a small tear whilst drying it.
Has anyone had any experience of drying out phones, any good advice? The water indicator stickers are now a disgusting shade of pink, therefore my warranty is gone and because I'm tight I have no insurance I have only had it 6 WEEKS.
HELP!
testarossa said:
Right, please no sarcasm this may happen to the best of us.
I left my phone in my pocket and washed it yesterday morning. Since then I have done all the recommended things eg. battery out, dryed off, into sealed bag with rice under warmish conditions (near radiator). It has been 24hours since the horrific incident, I am still feeling emotional.
However, I have attempted a partial disassembly in the same way as the official htc leaked video but can't get the thing apart. I thought this may help the drying process if I can get a bit of air flow through the device. The phone was on at the time of washing and was probably in water for 5mins. It was in its case and when I took it out there was no unusual activity (vibrating, flashing LED's etc.). I didn't attempt to turn the screen on just got the battery out, and wiped away a small tear whilst drying it.
Has anyone had any experience of drying out phones, any good advice? The water indicator stickers are now a disgusting shade of pink, therefore my warranty is gone and because I'm tight I have no insurance I have only had it 6 WEEKS.
HELP!
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Click to collapse
I'd let it dry for at least a couple of days before I'd even try turning it on. Accidents happen and that's why you really ought to get insurance. Nothing you can do now but wait it out. If you're lucky you'll end up with a working phone. Any specific reason you put it into a sealed bag? Imho that should only prolong the drying process.
I thought the rice in a sealed bag would minimise the amount air in the bag and therefore the rice would draw the water out of the phone not the air. I have bought some desiccant from a photography shop as well but I am resisting temptation to turn on until at least Tuesday.
Toss3 said:
I'd let it dry for at least a couple of days before I'd even try turning it on. Accidents happen and that's why you really ought to get insurance. Nothing you can do now but wait it out. If you're lucky you'll end up with a working phone. Any specific reason you put it into a sealed bag? Imho that should only prolong the drying process.
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agree about not needing a sealed bag. Rice is going to suck humidity, yet air recyrcleing is still another drying measure.
Anyway, why did you try disassembling it? You surely voided your warranty by removing the VOID sticker on the screw. If you just waited long enough for it to really get dry even inside, after you ascertained it didn't work anyway, you could've played dumb and send it back for servicing with warranty coverage, since they would find an unoperative device, but with no means to prove the uncorrect usage, since there would have been no traces of water inside after a few days in a warm place...
ephestione said:
agree about not needing a sealed bag. Rice is going to suck humidity, yet air recyrcleing is still another drying measure.
Anyway, why did you try disassembling it? You surely voided your warranty by removing the VOID sticker on the screw. If you just waited long enough for it to really get dry even inside, after you ascertained it didn't work anyway, you could've played dumb and send it back for servicing with warranty coverage, since they would find an unoperative device, but with no means to prove the uncorrect usage, since there would have been no traces of water inside after a few days in a warm place...
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The water indicating stickers would have given away that there had been water within the device (I thought). The phone is outside of the rice now drying in a warm place, cheers for the advice.
testarossa said:
The water indicating stickers would have given away that there had been water within the device (I thought). The phone is outside of the rice now drying in a warm place, cheers for the advice.
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...are there water indicating stickers on/inside the hd2? news to me!
Better yet, just googled around and water stickers should be white-ish pieces of paper that become (and stay) red-ish when wet... did you identify one inside the phone somewhere?
ephestione said:
...are there water indicating stickers on/inside the hd2? news to me!
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The top left screw is covered by a sticker that is now pink on mine. The battery has also get one.
eloeludumideeitursowfingwetoddid
ProjektFuze said:
eloeludumideeitursowfingwetoddid
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Good advice thanks.
testarossa said:
Right, please no sarcasm this may happen to the best of us.
I left my phone in my pocket and washed it yesterday morning. Since then I have done all the recommended things eg. battery out, dryed off, into sealed bag with rice under warmish conditions (near radiator). It has been 24hours since the horrific incident, I am still feeling emotional.
However, I have attempted a partial disassembly in the same way as the official htc leaked video but can't get the thing apart. I thought this may help the drying process if I can get a bit of air flow through the device. The phone was on at the time of washing and was probably in water for 5mins. It was in its case and when I took it out there was no unusual activity (vibrating, flashing LED's etc.). I didn't attempt to turn the screen on just got the battery out, and wiped away a small tear whilst drying it.
Has anyone had any experience of drying out phones, any good advice? The water indicator stickers are now a disgusting shade of pink, therefore my warranty is gone and because I'm tight I have no insurance I have only had it 6 WEEKS.
HELP!
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Click to collapse
LOL, how did u managed that?! Its not a small thing to miss in your pocket
Hope everything will work fine in the end
Even if you manage to get it to turn on I would have thought water getting into the layers of the LCD screen would make it pretty much useless anyway?
ephestione said:
...are there water indicating stickers on/inside the hd2? news to me!
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Yes, all HTC devices have had some for some time now. Usually one visible one (on the top left screw on the HD2, was under the battery on the kaiser), and one inside that you can't get to without opening the device (and voiding the warranty sticker on the other screw), so that even clever people who think of replacing the visible one will still be busted by the hidden one
testarossa said:
The top left screw is covered by a sticker that is now pink on mine. The battery has also get one.
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kilrah said:
Yes, all HTC devices have had some for some time now. Usually one visible one (on the top left screw on the HD2, was under the battery on the kaiser), and one inside that you can't get to without opening the device (and voiding the warranty sticker on the other screw), so that even clever people who think of replacing the visible one will still be busted by the hidden one
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that's as much as I suspected as soon as I discovered the existence of "white water detection stickers that become red", and I noticed the white sticker on the top left screw... dam those cunning taiwanese!
Obviously it would have been very, very silly of me if, for test purposes, I would have intentionally got water on that round white sticker...
mine went for its first trip to the bar last night.
got a beer spilled on me and i somewhat remember freaking out cause the phone reset a bunch of times but this morning the hard keys wouldnt stop lighting up. now they have stopped and im back to business
ProjektFuze said:
eloeludumideeitursowfingwetoddid
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Translation: LOL. You dumb idiot, you're so [email protected]*king retarded.
Not particularly pleasant or a helpful response, but funny nonetheless.
As far as OP is concerned. Rice in bag or outside of bag, I think you did a good thing by attempting to disassemble. Water damage gets NO LOVE from insurance/warranty and they would have just sent it back to you.
If you get water damage, the rice and drying method is true. But to ensure moisture free I disassemble phone to the guts and apply a high percentage alcohol, something that evaporates. Water can short a circut, but really it it the minerals and impurities left that usually are the culprit. I have gone as far as to give some circut boards a good soak and/or swab cleaning with 90%+ alcohol. Let dry for FIVE OR SIX DAYS (my standard) while fully disassembled and then reassemble.
What most people do is start using phone too early because stuff is still working okay. For the guy who said that he spilled beer on his phone and at first it was glitching but now it is okay, he is more than likely to experience some erroneous behavior from that phone in the future. Sometimes it takes just a couple weeks, sometimes months. But usually stupid stuff starts happening like random shutoff. No battery charge. Button functions becomming switched. Usually symptoms of a phone dried but not cured of moisture damage.
Good luck, check your pm.
How about house insurance. Do you have cover for electrical items on your house insurance? Might be able to claim acidental damage (also check you are covered for acidental cover too).
I used to work in support for pen tablets, wouldnt believe how many of these got used as umberalas when it rained. My tip used to be to stick it in the airing cupboard over night. Fixed quiet a few this way.
Good luck capt'n
testarossa said:
...and washed it ...
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hi, thats your biggest prob. because usealy washing means using washingpowder or similar. all these things are pretty good in, making new (unwanted) connections on your circucit board.
so normaly your first step has to be, to dip your device into distilled water, and clean it that way. then start drying it the way you have done already. another thing is the display of the hd2 that realy scares fluids of any kind. anyhow i wish good luck to you in recovering your device.
regards mad
Thanks for the tip Mad,
I did consider the distilled water wash off but when I recovered the device it didn't seem too wet. There was hardly any visible water under the battery or screen probably as it was in its case, which is quite a tight fit and fairly waterproof (besides the opening at the top). The water seemed mostly superficial although I'm taking every caution on the drying, I have even bought some desiccant from a photography shop. Hopefully putting this in a sealed container with the device may draw out any remaining water.

Took my HD2 for a swim

Hi folks!
Just wanted to post this, as it really surprised me.
I went to a swim the other day (about 2 weeks ago) and forgot, that I had my HD2 in my Pocket.
It was about 0.5 hrs under water. Afterwards I yelled... then took out the battery and tried to dry it with a hairdryer.
It did not help. It stayed dead (The paper indicator are in a bright pink now)
Then about 1 week later I finally found the time to buy a new battery. I put it in and then... it worked.
After about 5 or 6 hrs using time, the last bit of water in the screen (a nice 3D effect ;-) dryed and I have absolutely no difference whatsoever. Working like a charm, no problem.
Maybe it helps so.
JoC
lucky you ;-)
Wow, happy you. Don't try this at home
lol, how many hd2's have been sold? thats a one in that many chance occurance, and no mistake.
just wow
Wow I cant believe it still works. Id wanna shoot myself!
If you get your phone wet don't use a hair dryer to dry it coz it overheats metal parts so the circuits melt.
In the words of homer simpson DOH! cant believe it worked after
as long as the internal complete dry, u shouldn't have problem to turn it back on.
The best thing you can do with a phone that has been for a swim (completely submerged in water) is to pull the battery off and soak it in isopropyl for 30 min or so. This should get the water out of it. Then leave it out to dry until completely dry.
Iven if a wet phone works initially, it generally wont be long before the components begin to corrode. The isophopyl will drive out any water and then completely evaporate.
u are one lucky guy lol
very very lucky, my friend sneezed on his and it stopped working...
Built HTC Tough
Sentinel196 said:
The best thing you can do with a phone that has been for a swim (completely submerged in water) is to pull the battery off and soak it in isopropyl for 30 min or so. This should get the water out of it. Then leave it out to dry until completely dry.
Iven if a wet phone works initially, it generally wont be long before the components begin to corrode. The isophopyl will drive out any water and then completely evaporate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even better, since this phone already soaked for half an hour, with the battery out soak and then flush it well with distilled water to remove all the minerals that could cause corrosion, then stick it in a container of desiccant or rice if you're cheap
Alcohol especially soaked that long could be harsh on adhesives, surfaces and components in the phone.
Water itself isnt bad for electronics, its the minerals that are in the average tap, pool, beach, lake water. Distilled water has none of these minerals. Also any liquid tends to damage things like the camera and LCDs where it can get between the glass covering and LCD and backlight causing water spots to develop that are hard are just about impossible to remove.
If you do go the isopropyl route, id say do a very quick flush with it, and then make sure you are using 90%, usually in a red labeled bottle at the drug store, normal isopropyl is something like 65% alcohol and the remainder is water!
Really the best option for either route is to completely disassemble the phone then flush and dry while disassembled, but i know thats hard for some people to do without completely damaging it cosmetically. Remove things like the LCD, Camera, and speakers as these could be further damaged by subsequent soakings in either water or alcohol. These parts may need to be completely replaced depending on the existing damage
im supprised no one has asked this but,
HOW DO YOU GO FOR A SWIM WITH YOUR HD2??????
Did you go fully clothed or something? or do you normally keep your HD2 in the pockets of your swim shorts?
Me too
Hi,
I also took my leo swiming. Now loud speaker isnt working. can anyone help where i can get one?
Oooo, that's interesting...for your next test...microwave the phone for half an hour.
Yes.. I had it in my swim shorts. Before I went to the pool, I thought: "Be aware of that phone, don´t forget it in the pockets..." -> That didn´t help...
Yeah, our HD2 is a great phone.
Redeyedrichard said:
Oooo, that's interesting...for your next test...microwave the phone for half an hour.
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xD hilarious
and distilled water won't screw up your device? so lets say, if I want to clean my screen randomly, I should use that?

Waterproof G2/DZ ...?

First I have to say, this is the first phone i have had for a year and it still looks like almost new
This morning when my alarm on my phone screamed at me to get out of bed, i accidentally tipped over a full glass of water that i had next to my bed, all the water got on my phone and my phone died (at first), i removed the battery as fast as i could and noticed that the "moist-markings" (?) on the phone and the battery had turned from white to red..
and it still works..
well ok, i used my mouth to blow very hard into the phone to get the water to disappear, but i never disassembled it or anything to dry it.. i have been using the phone all day and still can't find any malfunction :S Did i have an incredible amount of luck or is the G2/DZ waterproofed in any way?
The phone is in no way waterproof. But I've seen other folks on here that have had luck after getting their phones wet (even complete immersion), then had them come back to life after drying them out. Removing the battery quickly is definitely key.
I think you just got lucky, and water did not yet get to any places that could cause a short circuit and permanently damage the phone. I'd let the thing dry out as much as you can for a day or 2 (rice in bag trick seems to work wonders). At least dry it while you are sleeping. You never know, there can be some water hiding somewhere in there, that can still mess things up by flowing into the wrong place.
You, my friend, just have incredible luck.
The G2 is not waterproofed. I accidentally dropped mine into a glass of water, and let's just say, it did not fare so well... The screen colors went wonky, it stopped responding to touch, and half the keyboard keys stopped working.
Needless to say, I didn't get a warranty replacement on that one! (Thank goodness for insurance.)
Take the battery out of the phone and put it in a sealed bag of uncooked rice. This will draw moisture out of the device.
You're extremely lucky that it works currently, but you may get future problems from corrosion with any water that got into the device. You should give it a couple days in rice to pull out what moisture you can.
martonikaj said:
Take the battery out of the phone and put it in a sealed bag of uncooked rice. This will draw moisture out of the device.
You're extremely lucky that it works currently, but you may get future problems from corrosion with any water that got into the device. You should give it a couple days in rice to pull out what moisture you can.
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Click to collapse
X2. Rice works wonders!
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Dessicant work better lol. www.ifixit.com has awesome bags fire just such emergencies. If you do go the rice route, put the phone in a panty hose our something similar or you well have rice dust in your phone forever! Lol
Okay, ex cell tech here... (oh God not him again! ) you were lucky because it was water. Soda or juice kills and rusts much quicker plus sugary residue left behind. I recommend taking it apart and scrubing all components you can with an old toothbrush and alcohol. Hand sanitizer will do just use it more sporatically. The problem is, what someone meantioned before, is the corrsive action that takes place after drying. It may happen a month later but it will unless you take it appart and dry it out. The bag of rice is okay but if you want to be 100% safe, take it appart. The warranty is void anyways, no worries. There are a few good guides on disassembly.
Good luck! Excuse my spelling... in a hurry.
I've done this for well over 200 phones and had about 70% success rate. Rice is good if you're not technical but if you want to be positive... take it apart and scrub away. The alcohol will dry up components and remove any corrusive buildup forming. Let us know how it goes...
sino8r said:
Okay, ex cell tech here... (oh God not him again! ) you were lucky because it was water. Soda or juice kills and rusts much quicker plus sugary residue left behind. I recommend taking it apart and scrubing all components you can with an old toothbrush and alcohol. Hand sanitizer will do just use it more sporatically. The problem is, what someone meantioned before, is the corrsive action that takes place after drying. It may happen a month later but it will unless you take it appart and dry it out. The bag of rice is okay but if you want to be 100% safe, take it appart. The warranty is void anyways, no worries. There are a few good guides on disassembly.
Good luck! Excuse my spelling... in a hurry.
I've done this for well over 200 phones and had about 70% success rate. Rice is good if you're not technical but if you want to be positive... take it apart and scrub away. The alcohol will dry up components and remove any corrusive buildup forming. Let us know how it goes...
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Click to collapse
I'm an avionics tech myself, while alcohol works wonders and it is the sure fire way, I reccomend the bag of rice trick mostly because not everyone is like us and wants to completly disemble they're cell. And a bag of rice is a no brainer lol. So long as you put it in rice and leave it in for a few days promptly after the incident you should be ok.
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
ptesmoke said:
I'm an avionics tech myself, while alcohol works wonders and it is the sure fire way, I reccomend the bag of rice trick mostly because not everyone is like us and wants to completly disemble they're cell. And a bag of rice is a no brainer lol. So long as you put it in rice and leave it in for a few days promptly after the incident you should be ok.
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
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Yeah, you're right. To me and you, its just removing a few T5 screws and unhooking a few ribbon wires. The rice is good enough. Just be sure to pull the battery, sim, and sd card. Powered on device could make it corrode faster...
sino8r said:
Okay, ex cell tech here... (oh God not him again! ) you were lucky because it was water. Soda or juice kills and rusts much quicker plus sugary residue left behind. I recommend taking it apart and scrubing all components you can with an old toothbrush and alcohol. Hand sanitizer will do just use it more sporatically. The problem is, what someone meantioned before, is the corrsive action that takes place after drying. It may happen a month later but it will unless you take it appart and dry it out. The bag of rice is okay but if you want to be 100% safe, take it appart. The warranty is void anyways, no worries. There are a few good guides on disassembly.
Good luck! Excuse my spelling... in a hurry.
I've done this for well over 200 phones and had about 70% success rate. Rice is good if you're not technical but if you want to be positive... take it apart and scrub away. The alcohol will dry up components and remove any corrusive buildup forming. Let us know how it goes...
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Thus is what I do for my phones, and customers phones.
Wow you're lucky! But indeed don't expect it to be safe if you never got it dry in the first place. In fact yuo should follow all the advise in this topic before ever powering it on again! Anyway do it .
Exanimus said:
First I have to say, this is the first phone i have had for a year and it still looks like almost new
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Click to collapse
I think about buying second-hand phones after I opened a beer with my "almost new" DZ...

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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Click to collapse
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.

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