Little advice when it comes to water damage, anyone? - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I basically dropped my phone in the toilet, turned it off and back on later and the earpiece and microphone won't work. Now my baby is sitting in the intensive care unit in a ricebowl with the back cover removed. Should i continue tearing it down and put the individual pieces in the rice bowl or could that potentially damage something?
Any input is appreciated, HELP!

Garciahenry63 said:
I basically dropped my phone in the toilet, turned it off and back on later and the earpiece and microphone won't work. Now my baby is sitting in rice with the back cover removed. Should i continue tearing it down and put the individual pieces in the rice bowl or could that potentially damage something?
Any input is appreciated, HELP!
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You took the glass back off? That should be more than enough. If the water got in, it can get out. I would leave it in the rice for at least 24 hours.

nskowyra said:
You took the glass back off? That should be more than enough. If the water got in, it can get out. I would leave it in the rice for at least 24 hours.
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yeah i did, i hope so. i have like really low hopes because the earpiece and mic aren't working. do you know if its common for phone speakers to not work and then dry out and its ok?

I've dropped a previous phone into a well at work and it was submerged for nearly ten minutes before I could get a light to find it. Needless to say I let it dry for several days near a heater without attempting to turn it on. After a few days I turned it on and everything worked fine. In the mean time I ended up getting a new phone and gave that one to my sister and it worked just fine for well over a year until she got a new phone. Your biggest mistake may have been powering on the phone if it was less than 24 hours after getting wet.

Garciahenry63 said:
yeah i did, i hope so. i have like really low hopes because the earpiece and mic aren't working. do you know if its common for phone speakers to not work and then dry out and its ok?
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My old phone (HTC Wildfire) went through a washing machine cycle, then I tried to switch it on nothing happened
After 5 days in rice with the back off and battery out it worked like a charm.
I hope yours is the same!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

The best thing to do is to remove the battery immediately to prevent a short circuit.
In the case of the Nexus 4 (non-removable battery) there is a great risk of a short
even when the phone is off. Turning it on before it is dry is NOT a good idea.
It's hard to know whether you caused irreversable damage but don't turn it on until
you are very sure that it's dry inside. There is a chance that the mic and earpiece
will come back after the water is out.

I dropped my vivid in a large glass of iced tea. It shut itself off and wouldn't turn back on. Three days in a bag of rice and it started up again. It was on when it went in, but I did pull the battery and left that out. So who knows, but I'd give it more then a day or two in the rice.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

Garciahenry63 said:
I basically dropped my phone in the toilet, turned it off and back on later and the earpiece and microphone won't work. Now my baby is sitting in the intensive care unit in a ricebowl with the back cover removed. Should i continue tearing it down and put the individual pieces in the rice bowl or could that potentially damage something?
Any input is appreciated, HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
remove the back of the phone. disconnect and remove the battery. If the toilet was dirty, rinse in clean water. soak in denatured alcohol for 5 min. gently blow out with canned air. place in a warm place, not more than 180 degrees F, for 3 to 5 days with the back still off. the more you can disassemble the phone to dry out the better. put it back together and see if it works. pay particular attention to battery drain rate if it does work, as sometimes there will be a slow current leak after this kind of damage.
rice is not effective no matter how much anecdotal evidence you find. it can't get the phone as dry as the above procedure. chances are if rice worked it would have worked over time anyway.

ChauncyG said:
remove the back of the phone. disconnect and remove the battery. If the toilet was dirty, rinse in clean water. soak in denatured alcohol for 5 min. gently blow out with canned air. place in a warm place, not more than 180 degrees F, for 3 to 5 days with the back still off. the more you can disassemble the phone to dry out the better. put it back together and see if it works. pay particular attention to battery drain rate if it does work, as sometimes there will be a slow current leak after this kind of damage.
rice is not effective no matter how much anecdotal evidence you find. it can't get the phone as dry as the above procedure. chances are if rice worked it would have worked over time anyway.
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a little extreme. and your method can be harmful to the phone.
i dropped my gs2 in my dogs water mid november. will post the easiest thing to do in case others read.
1. remove sim and put phone in baggy.
2. add 90% rubbing alcohol to the bag and close. making sure there is enough alcohol in bag to cover and fill up the phone the the majority of the air squeezed out.
3. gently agitate phone for thirty secs to make sure it gets everywhere in the phone. making sure you dont hit power button
4. remove phone from baggy and gently shake out the alcohol. making sure you dont hit power button.
5. set down in upright position for two hours to completely dry.
6. turn on phone.
what you are doing is filling up the phone with something that will displace the h2O and then dry quickly. two hours is probably a lot of overkill. i would say ten minutes should do the trick but i wont be taking that chance. i let my phone sit for 2 hours and it worked.
what you dont want to do is leave the phone sitting in the alcohol for too long. it can eat away at the glues holding the screen on and the glues in the mobo and dabo.

I agree, is a bit extreme and if not careful you can damage the phone but in most cases by the time other less extreme measures are tried the contacts and some components inside the phone are toast.
the battery needs to be removed immediately or you are just cooking the phone whether it is on or not. even though the phone is off there are still small currents in the phone. capacitors on the motherboard hold enough energy to destroy some connections
the other thing assumed is that all liquid damage is the same. it is not. not even between the same model phone and complete immersion for the same length of time, largely because final assembly of the phones is done by us humans and seals and gaskets are not always installed with the same degree of accuracy.
to maximize any attempt at liquid damage repair the phone needs to be opened up, not necessarily disassembled, but opened for drying out. even if one has success with any other method, I will guarantee that at some time down the line the phone will start acting 'funny', even a year later. connections are very thin and electrolysis works 24/7.

hmm.. i really wanna try the rubbing alcohol and removing the batttery, but i'll try it tomorrow afternoon, that will be 36 hours of it sitting in the rice. I don't wanna do all this work if the ear piece and mic are short circuited already because of my stupid mistake of turning it on. This is awesome though, i really appreciate all the input.Quick question, do you know what causes the ear piece to not work when wet, but it does work after getting dry? Shouldn't it just short circuit and be done for? Just curious

Garciahenry63 said:
Shouldn't it just short circuit and be done for? Just curious
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thats what i would think also. but you never know.

I can totally confirm that the 90% rubbing alcohol trick works. Had to do it to my step-sons One X after he dropped it in the dogs water dish. We set the phone in a bowl and poured the alcohol until the phone was completely submerged. Left it in there for about 10 minutes, agitating it every few minutes. Took it out and set it on paper towels for about an hour to dry. Popped the battery back in and has worked perfectly ever since.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

Better explanation
I will try to explain water damage on electronics.
I might be wrong on some points so please feel free to correct me.
A circuit board has many different electronic components and each can take a limited
amount of power before it is destroyed. The voltage on a computer board is stepped up and
down to accommodate each component. On a dense board it is common to have power lines
carrying different voltages in close proximity.
Water is conductive so a droplet can act as a bridge from one power line to another.
An irreversible damage will occur when water accidently routes a high-power line to a component
that can not handle the power.
A temporary malfunction can occur when water routes power away from a component. The component
won't have enough power to work but unless there was damage, drying the water will allow the
circuit to route power properly afterwards.
Some components are directly damaged by water. Speaker cones for example are often
made out of paper.
----------------------
That's why it is crucial to disconnect the battery immediately before water spreads on the circuit board.
I used to take my old phone hiking. At the first sign of rain I would pop the battery out.
I got caught in several downpours but after I thoroughly dried the phone it worked fine.
The alcohol method is theoretically fine but I won't recommend it because it is a harsh solvent.
There are many sensitive components and glues in a phone that might be affected by it.

-Mindroid- said:
I will try to explain water damage on electronics.
I might be wrong on some points so please feel free to correct me.
A circuit board has many different electronic components and each can take a limited
amount of power before it is destroyed. The voltage on a computer board is stepped up and
down to accommodate each component. On a dense board it is common to have power lines
carrying different voltages in close proximity.
Water is conductive so a droplet can act as a bridge from one power line to another.
An irreversible damage will occur when water accidently routes a high-power line to a component
that can not handle the power.
A temporary malfunction can occur when water routes power away from a component. The component
won't have enough power to work but unless there was damage, drying the water will allow the
circuit to route power properly afterwards.
Some components are directly damaged by water. Speaker cones for example are often
made out of paper.
----------------------
That's why it is crucial to disconnect the battery immediately before water spreads on the circuit board.
I used to take my old phone hiking. At the first sign of rain I would pop the battery out.
I got caught in several downpours but after I thoroughly dried the phone it worked fine.
The alcohol method is theoretically fine but I won't recommend it because it is a harsh solvent.
There are many sensitive components and glues in a phone that might be affected by it.
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ohhh.. makes sense. awesome! well on a side not, i pulled my phone out of the rice today and it works perfectly, I didnt hav't to do the alcohol trick, which i really wanted try. maybe next time haha

Garciahenry63 said:
ohhh.. makes sense. awesome! well on a side not, i pulled my phone out of the rice today and it works perfectly, I didnt hav't to do the alcohol trick, which i really wanted try. maybe next time haha
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glad to hear it.

Great News! Now you can continue using your Nexus 4

This thread needs pictures.

irishrally said:
This thread needs pictures.
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not much but this was my intensive care unit haha
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ChauncyG said:
snip //
rice is not effective no matter how much anecdotal evidence you find. it can't get the phone as dry as the above procedure. chances are if rice worked it would have worked over time anyway.
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Garciahenry63 said:
ohhh.. makes sense. awesome! well on a side not, i pulled my phone out of the rice today and it works perfectly, I didnt hav't to do the alcohol trick, which i really wanted try. maybe next time haha
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Great news!
Despite only being 'anecdotal' evidence, rice treatment worked perfectly for you... and me... and loads of other people
It is the most practical method for 90% of people imho.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

Related

Today is the worst day of my life

I woke up this morning to find my 8525 sitting in my computer chair as usual. Only to reach over and grab it, and ....its sitting in three inches of water. I have no idea what happened, or how it got there. All i know is my phone wont turn on, and is totally dead. Is there ANYTHING that can be done to right this horrid tragedy? Any help would be a gift from god. Thanks
Wow.
Sorry about that.
Let it dry out before trying to use it. Since it's wet, you have nothing to lose by taking it apart to facilitate this. You could dry it faster by using a hair dryer but NOT on the heated setting.
agreed; but let it dry for a day or two before you try, you should also put it somewhere that will provide additional moisture evaporation (gas oven with pilot lights or a furnace room, behind a PC fan or the like). i saved my old Sony S710a by letting it bake in my hot car for about 6 hours while i was at work. just make sure its totally dry before you try, and considering you already voided the warranty with the pool of water incident, you might as well take it apart if you can to make sure its completely dry.
hmm, bad luck.
Try all the above suggestions. But make sure you have disconnected your battery
Tried putting the battery back in after about a good 4-5 hours of being in the sun. All i get is a crackling noise when i try to place the battery to the metal conductors
Ewww.. I know it is stressful for you not to switch on the phone, but doing that will just make matter worst. Since you said that it wont turn on, I presume that you've tried it once (Strike 1), and you did it again 4-5 hours later (Strike 2), which usually others just leave it for at least 1 day (but probably the sun does help).
Can you identify what water is it? Can there be mineral within? Which may cause a short circuit somewhere in the phone. You'll need to open up the phone and clean it up somehow.. either DIY or get some phone shop people to do it. Your warranty is 'washed' anyway.
Try This
Stop Drinking!
Read This To Possible Save You Phone
OK, this comes from my many decades in the electronics industry.
1. PULL the battery. Do not put it back in in few hours.
2. Where did the water come from? Was it really water or? You need to know this. It's real important because mostlikly the PCB is contaminated. Anything that got inside has most likely contaminated the board and will cause shorts, intermitent contacts and the like. Even rain or spring water, it's the minerals...
What you have to do most likely is disassemble the unit. Get a gallon of DISTILLED (not Spring) water. Distilled, also know as deionized is free of all minerals. You are going to have to carefully submerge the board without the LCD in the water and gently rub it with a very soft tooth brush while underwater. Next take it out and put in another bath of distilled water. Agitate it gently. This proces should remove any contamination as long as the offending liquid is not sticky or heavily acidic or base. In the case of the later 2, you are most likely screwed.
Ok, so now you have a wet board. Genly shake the excess water off of it. Turn your oven onto WARM. Nothing above 150 F. Let it warm up and then shut the oven off. Put the PCB in the middle of the oven directly on the rack, close the door and come back 8 to 10 hours later. If the board isn't dry, repeat the steps again.
If you are luck and didn't fry it from trying to power it up, it may work again.
I have saved lots of radio equipment from rain & saltwater submergence this way.
Feel free to PM me if you need to. Good Luck.
I used to have a motorola and dropped it into a bucket of water. Dried out in a few days and it was working fine.
my 8525 recently fell in the sink. as soon as i seen it in the sink i pulled the battery out. rigged the phone up on something in the floor so air could ventilate under and over, set the hair dryer on high (but without the heat) and 5 or so ventilation fans from a desktop pc wired to a 9v battery. let the hair dryer go for about 15 minutes but left the fans on over night. took the phone with me to school the next day and left it in the car during both of my classes. came out put the battery in and powered it up. works just fine now
http://www.wikihow.com/Save-a-Wet-Cell-Phone
ive heard the rice thing works, ive alway wanted to flush with alcohol, that would in theory dilute the water and the alcohol would dry out faster.
Ok so heres the deal. I put the battery in. Power up the phone, gets to the vp3g startup screen, then fades to white. Could someone point me in the direction of a tutorial that shows me how to disassemble a Hermes CORRECTLY.
Hopefully ill be able to give it a DI Water bath and breath a little life back into her. Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it
It's drying out slowly. I had a Hermes that did the same thing - eventually getting to the "screen behavior" you describe. I never fully disassembled it. I just let it sit open, with the battery out, keyboard pulled out, and the back off. Eventually (after leaving overnight), it was fine. Worked normal ever since that with one exception.. I had forgotten to pull the SD card. The SD socket never worked again :-(
Moral of the story: don't forget to take out the SD card.
todd_jg said:
It's drying out slowly. I had a Hermes that did the same thing - eventually getting to the "screen behavior" you describe. I never fully disassembled it. I just let it sit open, with the battery out, keyboard pulled out, and the back off. Eventually (after leaving overnight), it was fine. Worked normal ever since that with one exception.. I had forgotten to pull the SD card. The SD socket never worked again :-(
Moral of the story: don't forget to take out the SD card.
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Click to collapse
yeah i got lucky. when mine fell in the sink i had the SD card out and in the laptop doing hw. so i guess im really lucky that the sd socket still works
Not worried about the SD card as much... Anyway, Ive popped the back off of my 8525 after removing a couple screws. On the back of the circuit board there is white material that can be wiped off with a little rubbing alcohol and an ear swab. What is that crap? Ill go further in depth here soon once it fully drys. I sure hope I can get this thing running again, birthday is the 13th and would be a nice little gift to myself to get the phone working. Thanks for the help guys
WOW Just look it here...Thats what I call the Power of Unity man. Great piece of work, info. I love all You people. If the world learns anything from XDA developers then there wont be any more human sufferings I am sure..Enjoy friends the power of forum..
If it fades to white, it is still wet.
You need to let it dry a lot longer before trying to use it.
Sterch said:
On the back of the circuit board there is white material that can be wiped off with a little rubbing alcohol and an ear swab. What is that crap?
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Click to collapse
Well, those are either stuff from the water or stuff from your phone that is washed and gathered to form some dangerous circuits (much like coffee water rings, that things tend to get to the edge of waters). These stuff may conduct electricity, hence making your phone goes nuts. Search and destroy all these 'crap' Good luck. Don't try the phone unnecessarily until you are sure that all 'crap's are gone. One of these 'crap' may potentially kill your phone (ok, it is usually not that serious, but just incase )
Sad story, I was lucky with similar story, but much cheaper. I left my Nokia BH-600 Blue Tooth Head set in my panties and give them to washing-mashine. 40 degrees program for 30 minutes ended by wringing on 800 turns/minute
When I found it in the pocket I just left it to wither up and it didn’t worked. So I tried to re-charge it and WOW it works and the battery has normal capacity.
Video of 8525 / Hermes being dismantled
Sterch said:
...Could someone point me in the direction of a tutorial that shows me how to disassemble a Hermes CORRECTLY ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget the popcorn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsljpn74SW0

[Q] Waterproof Epic!!

<---- Idiot jus dropped his epic in sum water & of course it's not working!! I dried it out w/ a towel & blow dryer after it happened. When I connect the battery the keyboard keys still lights up, but when I press the power button all I hear is a ringing type noise (sounds like a fan spinning) and no bootup. I cannot boot into CWM or Download mode either. Has anyone experienced this or found a solution w/o having to replace the whole phone.
** Also, my battery has the red marking on the top of it stating it's been wet.
EDIT: If I plug in my usb the LED light comes on, but it's blue & my phone was @ 80% when I dropped it.
Thanks in advance!!
UPDATE: [ I couldn't wait the 48 hours!! (36 Hours) -- LoL ] I just removed my phone/battery from the rice bags & everything is working!! Yes, even the battery is good @ 72%!! I can't believe it worked!! Thanks Matrix!! And thanks to everyone for your great suggestions!! This phone is truely EPIC!!
Turn it off and remove the battery now!!! Do not put the battery back in.
You're going to mess it up by turning it on when things are shorting out!
Take the battery and the phone. Put them (separately) in a zip lock bag full of rice. Wait a day or two. Then try it out.
PS: Everyone should ingrain themselves in this reflex: If your phone hits water, remove the battery NOW. Do the rice trick, and try it later. Resist the urge to see if it still works.
Thanks for your quick replay & suggestion matrix!!
I am currently trying your method, but I'm hoping I didn't further short anything on the circuit board by trying to get it to work earlier.. It sounds like a good plan because the rice will absorb the water and probably be ready for consumption in a day or two!! LoL
Forget the bag of rice, you need to take the phone apart immediately, to the last screw and board and wipe down everything with alcohol and blow it out and dry it with a hair dryer. Otherwise even if you get it to work in a couple of days, corrosion will start to build up on the contacts of various things inside and you'll end up having to get another phone.
And this is why that extra $7.00 a month is worth it.
hdnet1 said:
Otherwise even if you get it to work in a couple of days, corrosion will start to build up on the contacts of various things inside and you'll end up having to get another phone.
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Forget about taking it apart... you're garonteed t miss somthing and the corrosion will kill it anyways. I know for a fact
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
hdnet1 said:
Forget the bag of rice, you need to take the phone apart immediately, to the last screw and board and wipe down everything with alcohol and blow it out and dry it with a hair dryer. Otherwise even if you get it to work in a couple of days, corrosion will start to build up on the contacts of various things inside and you'll end up having to get another phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Soo .. which 1 should I do?? They both sound right to me!! I checked on YouTube & I seen a vid about using the rice technique, but no vid about completely taking it apart to dry off the components??
styckx said:
And this is why that extra $7.00 a month is worth it.
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Click to collapse
I do have the warranty -- Doesn't water damage void it?? They can tell by the red marking on the battery.
No, just means you gotta pay them whatever the current fee is for water damaged phones. Used to be 50 bucks, but I think the crooks doubled it. As for taking it apart, forget about that nonsense. Bag of rice for a couple days, take it out, if it boots up you are fine.
muyoso said:
No, just means you gotta pay them whatever the current fee is for water damaged phones. Used to be 50 bucks, but I think the crooks doubled it. As for taking it apart, forget about that nonsense. Bag of rice for a couple days, take it out, if it boots up you are fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool .. I really didn't wanna take it apart. I would have prob did more damage to it!! LoL I will wait out the 2 days & post back w/ an update then.
Thank you all for your help!!
CRC Mass Air Sensor Cleaner
You can find it at auto parts stores, its an electrical component cleaner that displaces water, removes grime, grease, corrosion and dries with no residue.
You have to take it apart to use it and don't get it on plastic stuff. CRC makes several different electrical component cleaners and some of them will eat plastic so be careful with it.
Saved my Sprint Hero with this stuff after it landed in a puddle and spent about two minutes fully submerged in the water before I found where it landed. Luckily I was home, ran inside, took it apart and grabbed a can of CRC I had in the garage on a whim.
Granted, I never tried turning it back on while it was still wet, that is often the killer for wet electronics.
Just figure that its dead, whatever you do to it at this point isn't going to hurt it anymore but I would HIGHLY recommend taking it apart to make sure you get all the moisture out of it. I don't put much faith in the rice trick
D`Nyed said:
CRC Mass Air Sensor Cleaner
You can find it at auto parts stores, its an electrical component cleaner that displaces water, removes grime, grease, corrosion and dries with no residue.
You have to take it apart to use it and don't get it on plastic stuff. CRC makes several different electrical component cleaners and some of them will eat plastic so be careful with it.
Saved my Sprint Hero with this stuff after it landed in a puddle and spent about two minutes fully submerged in the water before I found where it landed. Luckily I was home, ran inside, took it apart and grabbed a can of CRC I had in the garage on a whim.
Granted, I never tried turning it back on while it was still wet, that is often the killer for wet electronics.
Just figure that its dead, whatever you do to it at this point isn't going to hurt it anymore but I would HIGHLY recommend taking it apart to make sure you get all the moisture out of it. I don't put much faith in the rice trick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, it prob is near dead at this point. I will try this solution if the rice trick doesn't work tomorrow. Hopefully, one of these solutions work out!! Thanks for your input!!
It's def dead if u already tried to turn it on.
Just tell them you dropped it off the side of a boat.......then you wont have to show it to them
My buddy dropped his epic4g in the toilet bowl, he was paying insurance ($7.99 a month.) He did the samethings you did and did the rice trick and nope didn't work. Ended up calling sprint and spending 150 I think for a replacement phone.
- Its just going to be Epic!
Silica Gel packs are better than rice if you have any of those.
BUMP!! Please read my update to my OP!! Rice is the not only good for eating!! LoL

Dropped top half in water

Well, my MT4G was dropped in a cup of tea (long story) and the top half was submerged in water for maybe 4-6 seconds. I immediately pulled the battery, removed the micro-SD and SIM cards and put the phone in rice. The screen looked like there was water in it. At first I thought it was inside the screen protector, but it turns out it wasn't. How long should I leave it in the rice? Also, has anyone else had their MT4G fall in water? If so, did it function after drying it?
at LEAST 24 hours. Water isn't what causes issues with phones, its the corrosion and shorts it causes that are the problem.
i dropped my mt3g in a half full 5gal bucket of clean water. it ruined the battery, but after leaving it in a bag of rice for about 24hrs it was fully functional again. not sure how that will translate to the mt4g, but that's my history with water & rice. good luck
It seems like it wasn't damaged too bad considering everyone else whose dropped it have either submerged it or had it wet for a long time. Anyways, I hope it still works.
I dropped mine in a clean toilet with the led flashlight on at 330 am.lol it was pretty funny to see a toilet lit up like that! I pulled the battery asap and It was in rice 36 hours and all was good it did have a little discoloration in the screen first run but it cleared up after a few hours on. Hope you get as lucky as I did.
ELBdelorean said:
Well, my MT4G was dropped in a cup of tea (long story) and the top half was submerged in water for maybe 4-6 seconds. I immediately pulled the battery, removed the micro-SD and SIM cards and put the phone in rice. The screen looked like there was water in it. At first I thought it was inside the screen protector, but it turns out it wasn't. How long should I leave it in the rice? Also, has anyone else had their MT4G fall in water? If so, did it function after drying it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
option94 said:
at LEAST 24 hours. Water isn't what causes issues with phones, its the corrosion and shorts it causes that are the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats it exactly. Considering what the phone was dropped in was not plain water, he will have major issues. I doubt just drying it out is enough. If the tea had sugar in it, the problem is worse still. The compounds in tea and sugar will be conductive and corrosive, that is bad, even if it was fully dry there will be problems.
You need to seriously clean the device now. Use 100% pure isopropyl alcohol or pure denatured alcohol to clean electronics. And it would be best to take apart the outside case and expose the circuits. Use a spray bottle and spray it down until it comes clean. The alcohol will clean the tea out and it drives off the water. heck, you could dunk the phone in it a few times even. Just let the alcohol dry for several hours in a warm spot, air movement will help as well. Alcohol is perfectly safe for electronics, it is all that I use when doing repairs. Isopropyl is what is used in rubbing alcohol, but that is not 100% isopropyl so do not use that.
First advice though, before breaking into the phone to clean it, check the water exposure sticker. If it is not discolored meaning that it was exposed to water, clean the outside of the phone with alcohol well, and send it in for warranty if it does not work.
Never really understood how the rice thing works, seems if it did draw out the water, you could cook rice by leaving it out on a humid day. Maybe in the closed system inside a sealed container, it evens out the humidity level and allows the water to evaporate naturally more quickly.
Marine6680 said:
Thats it exactly. Considering what the phone was dropped in was not plain water, he will have major issues. I doubt just drying it out is enough. If the tea had sugar in it, the problem is worse still. The compounds in tea and sugar will be conductive and corrosive, that is bad, even if it was fully dry there will be problems.
First advice though, before breaking into the phone to clean it, check the water exposure sticker. If it is not discolored meaning that it was exposed to water, clean the outside of the phone with alcohol well, and send it in for warranty if it does not work.
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Click to collapse
It was just water that had a teabag in it. No sugar. Also, where is the water exposure sticker?
Bottom half lol under battery it should be a white circle not red at all. Its possible it has an internal one but I'm not tearing in to mine to find out
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
I just took the phone out real quick to look at it, and it's been about 22 hours. I didn't put the battery in yet, but the screen still looks like there is water in it. In the top left corner, it looks like there is water there. If it's still the same after 22 hours, how much longer should I leave it in there? Also, the water indicator looks like it's white. I'll try and post some pictures later.
ELBdelorean said:
It was just water that had a teabag in it. No sugar. Also, where is the water exposure sticker?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ELBdelorean said:
I just took the phone out real quick to look at it, and it's been about 22 hours. I didn't put the battery in yet, but the screen still looks like there is water in it. In the top left corner, it looks like there is water there. If it's still the same after 22 hours, how much longer should I leave it in there? Also, the water indicator looks like it's white. I'll try and post some pictures later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How long had it been brewing? If it was still mostly clear, you should be ok, but if not the compounds in the tea can cause issues.
With that much water, it could take a long time. The longer the water sits in the phone the worse it gets. Standing water like that is never good.
forgive my ignorance. but why 4-6 secs?
usually when a phone drops into water i would expect it to be pulled out within 1-2 secs..lol
but good luck, hope all turns out good for you
I turned the phone on and it works fine except for the screen which still has water in it. Here are some pics:
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Any ideas on how to get it out? The rice doesn't seem to be taking the water out of the screen because it looks exactly the same as about 30 hours ago.
Mine had discoloration but not actual water as yours does. After I left it on and charging with stay awake checked it dried it out, after about 2 hours. Its best though to let it dry while OFF.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
You may need to crack it open, water needs exposure to evaporate efficiently. If your cracking it open, it wouldnt hurt to clean it with isopropyl like I mentioned.
If worse comes to pass, get insurance on your plan, and make a claim.
I managed to get the water out of the screen but it left a water spot where it was. Is there any way to get that off without opening the phone?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Just wanted to share my experience:
Woke up much earlier than usual due to work, and dropped the phone in the toilet. I grabbed it out within a couple seconds, pulled out the battery, dried everything as much as I could with kleenex, used a vaccuum to get as much out as I could, then tossed it in a zip locked bag full of rice for 48 hrs.
Phone worked as normal afterwards. $$ saved!
on my first mytouch, I actually wanted to see how it would react to water. turned it on and left it in a sink full of cold water for about 15 mins. took it out and gave it a good shake to get most of the water out. then I just set it out on my desk, no rice or anything. after 2 full days, I put the battery back in and it booted back up just fine, no discoloration or water in the screen...no hiccups in performance or anything. I wouldnt recommend anyone to just go throw their phone in some water, but this is what I experienced

[Q] Nexus 4 takes a swim in the toilet

This is a "what would you do?" thread.
Last night, I dropped not one, but two phones in the toilet. I was cleaning the bowl, so there was Comet in the water as well. One phone was my Nexus 4, the other my (work) Blackberry Torch. The torch has been pronounced dead and replaced already. The Nexus 4....
I pulled it out almost immediately. It was in the water for maybe 1 second. I first turned it off, then patted it dry with a towel. At this point, the phone appeared dry. I turned it this way and that, and no water came out. So far, so good. I left it on a towel overnight, propped up with the headphone jack down, in the bathroom, with a space heater on but not blowing directly on it, though there was moving air. I took it to work with me this morning and laid it on a paper towel to see if there was any evidence of water. There wasn't. I turned it on for a moment and made a call. The call was clear on both ends. I turned it off again, and put it in a ziploc bag with a packet of clay dessicant, where it remains. The only evidence I can find is a touch of residue from the cleaner at the top edge of the headphone jack, which I wiped off. I took the SIM out, and could find no evidence of water intrusion.
So, my question is, where to go from here? I've heard that using alcohol (denatured or 99% isopropyl) might be appropriate, but at this point I wonder if that would just do more damage. Do I leave it off and in the bag with the dessicant for a while? Do I just use it and hope for the best? Thanks for any input.
-Matt
whosmatt said:
This is a "what would you do?" thread.
Last night, I dropped not one, but two phones in the toilet. I was cleaning the bowl, so there was Comet in the water as well. One phone was my Nexus 4, the other my (work) Blackberry Torch. The torch has been pronounced dead and replaced already. The Nexus 4....
I pulled it out almost immediately. It was in the water for maybe 1 second. I first turned it off, then patted it dry with a towel. At this point, the phone appeared dry. I turned it this way and that, and no water came out. So far, so good. I left it on a towel overnight, propped up with the headphone jack down, in the bathroom, with a space heater on but not blowing directly on it, though there was moving air. I took it to work with me this morning and laid it on a paper towel to see if there was any evidence of water. There wasn't. I turned it on for a moment and made a call. The call was clear on both ends. I turned it off again, and put it in a ziploc bag with a packet of clay dessicant, where it remains. The only evidence I can find is a touch of residue from the cleaner at the top edge of the headphone jack, which I wiped off. I took the SIM out, and could find no evidence of water intrusion.
So, my question is, where to go from here? I've heard that using alcohol (denatured or 99% isopropyl) might be appropriate, but at this point I wonder if that would just do more damage. Do I leave it off and in the bag with the dessicant for a while? Do I just use it and hope for the best? Thanks for any input.
-Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should put the phone into warm (uncook) rice. Put large amount of the rice over your phone. I'm not kidding. It will save your phone. Do not
cook the rice....Put your phone with UNCOOK rice.
zxcv106106 said:
You should put the phone into warm (uncook) rice. Put large amount of the rice over your phone. I'm not kidding. It will save your phone. Do not
cook the rice....Put your phone with UNCOOK rice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the clay dessicant is doing the same thing. Is rice somehow better?
zxcv106106 said:
You should put the phone into warm (uncook) rice. Put large amount of the rice over your phone. I'm not kidding. It will save your phone. Do not
cook the rice....Put your phone with UNCOOK rice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes this workss!! make sure u put it on airtight plastic bag or container fully covered ur phone with rice make sure take the sim tray out ....at least put it for 72 hrs......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Fpb3UjHY
Rice works! Its a well known trick.
Sounds like you were lucky. If you turned it on and made a call with it then it sounds fine. I'd take it all apart and clean it.
scottx . said:
Rice works! Its a well known trick.
Sounds like you were lucky. If you turned it on and made a call with it then it sounds fine. I'd take it all apart and clean it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guess I'll have to google for a take-apart guide for the nexus 4. I really wish there was a high end android phone that was as tough as my motorola defy. I put that thing through the ringer, including salt water, and what finally killed it was a drop that busted the screen..... It was also really easy to disassemble, having replaced the earpiece. May it rest in piece(s).
-M
RICE IS THE WAY TO GO ! , when i was younger riced saved my gameboy advanced SP ! and it saved my aunts mytouch 3g , just make sure you turn off the phone as soon as you can so it wont short circuit
SneakyGuyDavid said:
RICE IS THE WAY TO GO ! , when i was younger riced saved my gameboy advanced SP ! and it saved my aunts mytouch 3g , just make sure you turn off the phone as soon as you can so it wont short circuit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
God dang it. I hate your avatar. It creeps me out! Stop smiling at me!
just realized i've been misspelling "desiccant" sorry
Get rid of it before it dies within 30 days. U should have not turned it on without first making sure all water dried. It will work once the water fully penetrates into the circuits inside the phone. Google it you have plenty of cases. The rice works if u use it right away without turning phone on but now u turned it on rice is useless cuz all that water already inside penetrating.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Sorry fo rthe stupid Qs BUT does the phone need to be in some covering like a plastic bag? Or just the bare phone in a jar filled with rice?
I am asking this because usually the rice contain A LOT of dust (at least in this part of world it does).
rice works in a pinch but the stuff the OP put it in is what is shipped in various items to keep dry from hot cold climate changes. It is really the best thing to use to dry a phone out if you have a large amount. Rice works but it can get residue in the device via the headphone plug and the usb port.
I would leave it in the silica gel for a day. No joke a full 24 hours. I do not advocate returning it and pretending it never touched water. I would call google up and tell them your story. Sometimes you get a rep that will not make a note on your account. I understand these things arent cheap to replace but be honest and you might get a really compassionate rep that will work a deal with you. I also suggest contacting maybe something like square trade and see what their policy is on water damaged devices. My sister bought a used tablet and the usb port broke she paid square-trade like 20 bucks for the warranty and then 50 bucks to fix it.
Bare. How would rice help if it wasn't in the same bag?
Odp: [Q] Nexus 4 takes a swim in the toilet
One guy ask in one thread "why u here if you love stock ROM?" and here is one of answers for this question. For knowledge, hints like that one. I didn't know how to act when my phone get into water. Thx guys.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
whosmatt said:
Guess I'll have to google for a take-apart guide for the nexus 4. I really wish there was a high end android phone that was as tough as my motorola defy. I put that thing through the ringer, including salt water, and what finally killed it was a drop that busted the screen..... It was also really easy to disassemble, having replaced the earpiece. May it rest in piece(s).
-M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's a good guide on how to disassemble the Nexus 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZDAIgwbXk4
filthykid said:
Sorry fo rthe stupid Qs BUT does the phone need to be in some covering like a plastic bag? Or just the bare phone in a jar filled with rice?
I am asking this because usually the rice contain A LOT of dust (at least in this part of world it does).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The idea behind it is that the rice will absorb any water left behind in the phone, so it has to go in without anything that stops the rice from drawing the moisture. An alternative for rice is the method eollie mentions.
Wiggierip said:
Here's a good guide on how to disassemble the Nexus 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZDAIgwbXk4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the phone is fine. I took it apart and found only minimal evidence of water intrusion around the headphone jack and USB port and speaker. It was entirely dry, and I took the USB port and speaker out out and cleaned the board with a Q-tip and denatured alcohol and put it back together, even the water indicator was still white.
Made a call, sounds good on both ends. Thanks for the video, that helped immensely. Never thought of using a guitar pick.
A bit more...
I have to say that in hindsight, turning the phone upside down to dry was a fortuitous move on my part, as that allowed the water that entered through the headphone jack to pool at the edge of the case to dry... most of the main electronics are in the upper half of the phone.
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I wish I had taken more pics after I broke the phone down some more, but that gives you an idea of what was in there... it apparently wasn't much. The white residue is the Comet cleaner that was in the water.
My wife dropped her Razr M in the toilet. RICE in a BAG even with the phone left on, If you try to use any buttons, the water has a greater chance to enter the motherboard. Rice DOES WORK!
use uncle bens rice...its has the most flavor
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
If your going to take apart the unit you can put the board its self in a bag of 99% isopropyl alcohol.
Ive done that with a few iPhone boards at my shop and they have worked well.
The main thing is to remove the battery as soon as possible. As long as the battery has a charge and still connected to the phone, (even if its off) current can still flow thru the board. When this happens AND if any of the water or corrosive material is in the unit, the chemical break down can and will occur. Once you start to get rust on the board you will then start to get some major problems.
The sooner you can get it apart and use the alcohol to flush out the water / contaminants and then let it dry naturally the better chance you have of a full recovery.
Use the alcohol to remove the contaminants off the board and electronics and plastics. Feel free to use a small paint brush or something to get the toilet water and comet cleaner out of the unit.

S7 Edge NOT water resistant - Overview/Recent Tasks button stuck "pressed"

After a short dip in water well within the IP68 specs of the Edge, the phone died and I couldn't boot it for a few days. Definitely not water resistant, let alone waterproof. After 5 days, I pressed Volume Down + Home + Power and it finally booted, with the Home button not registering fingerprints. A day later, that problem fixed itself, but the Overview / Recents button keeps being "stuck" (as if I was pressing it all the time), so it triggers the context menu in any app that supports that (e.g. in Google Maps is brings up the side drawer menu, in Chrome it brings up the overflow menu) every 3 seconds, making the phone basically impossible to use.
Any ideas on how to fix this? I bought the phone on eBay, so I doubt Samsung will honor the warranty.
More about the water encounter: 10-15 minutes in my swim trunks pocket, pool with slightly salty water, depth of ~2-3ft of depth - well within the IP68 specs of the Edge (1.5 meters for 30 minutes).
Salt water. Corrosive, a good conductor and if the water evaporated, you can get salt deposits which can block anything and everything.
I've just read Samsung's literature and it warns specifically against salt water, and you should try and rinse it out with fresh water immediately after exposure to salt water.
Afraid this is your fault, not Samsung's.
B3311 said:
I've just read Samsung's literature and it warns specifically against salt water
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Click to collapse
That's just lame of Samsung. I used my old Sony Z2 to take pictures of f'in sharks in Belize and of my friends in a goddamn MUD VOLCANO in Colombia.
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dandv said:
That's just lame of Samsung. I used my old Sony Z2 to take pictures of f'in sharks in Belize and of my friends in a goddamn MUD VOLCANO in Colombia.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool story bro.
I've seen Xperia Z2s get water damage easily enough. There is no such thing as a fully waterproof phone. Water resistant. Samsung's adverts show people in the Rain not swimming with their phones. Over time the seals won't be as fresh as they were when you first bought your phone. All that changing temperature and flexing.
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Water under the Overview button
After a closer look, here's what probably happened: water entered around the Home/fingerprint button under the Overview button, and it intermittently triggers it.
Any idea how to fix it? So far I've tried leaving the phone overnight in a ziplock back with ~1 ounce of silica gel, then leaving the Home button area on a running vacuum cleaner for 15 minutes. The water is still there just as before.
dandv said:
After a closer look, here's what probably happened: water entered around the Home/fingerprint button under the Overview button, and it intermittently triggers it.
Any idea how to fix it? So far I've tried leaving the phone overnight in a ziplock back with ~1 ounce of silica gel, then leaving the Home button area on a running vacuum cleaner for 15 minutes. The water is still there just as before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hairdryer. Be careful to not make it too hot, but heating it up with a hairdryer will dry it out.
Hairdryer didn't work
dhorgas said:
Hairdryer. Be careful to not make it too hot, but heating it up with a hairdryer will dry it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I aimed a hairdryer on "warm" at the bottom of the phone for about 15 minutes, but that didn't help. The overview button still triggers randomly.
This teardown video suggests it's impossible to get to the buttons without damaging the screen and this other video does show how the screen gets damaged.
dude be patient 15 minutes of everything isnt going to help,that silica thingy should be done a few days the same goes for rice, the hairdryer method should be done like an hour at a minimun,all the components have to heat up not just the outside of the phone...be patient it will work
Phone off, place on radiator on top of a soft cloth. Not for too long though.
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
You bought it second hand, who knows what the phone had been through had that point. Maybe the previous owner had a screen replacement, maybe the home button was somehow faulty. Doesnt say anything about the water resistance of a phone bought new.
From the image it looks dry and that is salt residue correct?
If its the salt water thats damaged the buttons, my best guess would be to submerge the device in fresh water and attempt to have the salt cleared.
then dry and see if its any different.
I have submerged in the bath and used my device many times in the bath and never had a issue.
I have event split a stupid amount of coke (Not the powder substance chaps) and various alcohols. Device still works perfectly.
The only issue i experienced was after coke / beer was split on the device quite badly the volume buttons got stuck a bit, but after a long shower with the phone it was as good as new again
I will agree that it takes time. Unless the internal electronics are damaged, the hairdryer should dry out the phone and solve your problem but the area has to heat up substantially.
Tried hairdryer for 1 hour and a half, nothing
Killuminati91 said:
You bought it second hand, who knows what the phone had been through had that point. Maybe the previous owner had a screen replacement, maybe the home button was somehow faulty. Doesnt say anything about the water resistance of a phone bought new.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it new from eBay, it certainly looked absolutely new, and was waterproof for 9 months in far worse conditions than in that pool.
dhorgas said:
I will agree that it takes time. Unless the internal electronics are damaged, the hairdryer should dry out the phone and solve your problem but the area has to heat up substantially.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Left he hairdryer on warm pointed at the bottom of the phone, about 20 centimeters away, for about an hour and a half. It's also been a week... I no longer see that residue at the edge of the Overview button, but it still triggers several times a minute.
I had severe water damage in my s4 while kayak fishing. I just pulled the battery out and had a desk lamp with a 60watt bulb in it turned on hovering about 6-8 inches away. Flipped the phone over every 30-45 minutes while I did other stuff on my PC. Took about half a day or so but it work perfectly. Phone is back to normal. It's now just a back up phone since I now have the s7 edge.
dandv said:
I bought it new from eBay, it certainly looked absolutely new, and was waterproof for 9 months in far worse conditions than in that pool.
Left he hairdryer on warm pointed at the bottom of the phone, about 20 centimeters away, for about an hour and a half. It's also been a week... I no longer see that residue at the edge of the Overview button, but it still triggers several times a minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shall try disabling the recent touch button for a while. The device needs to be rooted to do this. Meanwhile you can have the soft buttons at the bottom like nexus and moto phones using some apps out there. Few Edge apps also have the back, home and recents soft buttons.
Leaving it disabled for some days may fix it. May be you can give a try!
mpadhu said:
You shall try disabling the recent touch button for a while. The device needs to be rooted to do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need for root - the Buttons Remapper app worked just fine to disable the task switcher button.
mpadhu said:
Leaving it disabled for some days may fix it. May be you can give a try!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, no luck. 6+ weeks later, still not fixed. The task switcher button presses itself randomly and very often.
The characteristics of that IP certification is that there is plain water used and salt (sea) as well chlorine (pool) do not apply as well as anything else there might be with the water. Especially those two mentioned ones are rather aggressive materials.
The problem is whatever happens and if you even get your phone running afterwards there will be damage to your phone which may bring up faulty behavior sooner or later (corrosion is the most common reason).
And the disadvantage of the certification is as well that as difficult as you get water in the more difficult is it to even get it out. Pretty much there are only two ways - flowing downwards or steaming upwards. Any edge, corner, obstacle will keep some portion of it inside.
In your case you can try to check with Samsung (it doesn't hurt you) if they can help you. As long as the phone is designed for your region and the eFuse is not triggered (Knox Warranty must be 0x0) they will have a look. The further outcome will be depending on what they discover (if they find any residues they may refuse, either).
Aside of that you can always check with a qualified repair center and ask for a price estimation.
Btw compared to Xperias the S7 keeps the water really good out (my experience).
dandv said:
Any ideas on how to fix this? I bought the phone on eBay, so I doubt Samsung will honor the warranty.
More about the water encounter: 10-15 minutes in my swim trunks pocket, pool with slightly salty water, depth of ~2-3ft of depth - well within the IP68 specs of the Edge (1.5 meters for 30 minutes).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 'repaired' a number of water damaged smartphones (2x iPhone and 1x Galaxy Note 4) by putting them in an electric oven at 70'c for 20 minutes (powered off) then allow to cool for another 20 minutes.
If that is too extreme for you, putting your handset inside a bag totally covered on all sides with dry uncooked white rice can do the same job but takes days or even weeks to do the same job as an oven at 70'C
However this works well for clean water damage... not tested with sea or swimming pool water.

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