Database Users

permanent water damage?

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

Tell him to put it in rice.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

wet g1?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

myTouch Doubles as a Sex Toy

I've had my myTouch for about a month now and have been lurking around the forums for about the same amount of time. With adequate research, I've been able to successfully root, install and run my phone with Maxismo's HERO rom. Successfully meaning have done all that can be with a 4GB class 2 SDHC.
Now to the title. Yesterday morning after a quick McDonalds run, a friend and I decided to post and enjoy our 600 calorie breakfast in the car while I had Pandora running on my Magic through the car audio jack. To no surprise, friend decides that it is a good idea to slide my phone off the armrest, onto the cupholder where a half-filled cup of McD's orange juice parked itself with no cover.. I blame the lady at the drive-thru for not giving us straws. It was in there for a good 5 seconds.
A **** load of used Kleenex's later, I examined the phone and found that the water-damage indicator was still solid white. Aside from the apparent stickier feel, everything seemed fine.. Until I got home. A couple hours later, I reached for my phone to find that it was vibrating. No call, no vmail, not even a text from homegirl to see how my phone was doing. I had tried all the "phone-drying" methods, from Dust-Off to submerging your phone into a bowl of uncooked rice and I still sit here writing this, with my month-old myTouch dancing around my desk like it was happy to see me.
My first question is, has anybody encountered such a problem? If so, has anyone devised a way to remedy this? Second, I have PHP through T-Mobile (phone insurance for those overseas).. Should I just un-root, suck it up and pay the $130 deductible?
I met up with homegirl later on that night and yes, she was happily myTouched.
I shall await replies if any. Thanks for reading.

does the phone still work besides that. cuz if you are going to pay the deductible, i say just report it stolen and pay the fee to get a new one and use the water damaged one as a back up to flash test roms. the only reason you would unroot it and return it is if you are going through warranty, but it would fail, because though the indicator is still white, they open it up and check for water damage there, so you would still have to pay an out of warranty fee, which is like 400 when I had to return my mytouch for warranty purposes.

Just out of curiosity, where is the water indicator?
Also you should leave the phone submerged (cover off and battery off) in rice or packs of silica if you kept those from packaging of electronics for about 2 days. The longer the better. Then see if the phone still works.

Taknarosh said:
Just out of curiosity, where is the water indicator?
Also you should leave the phone submerged (cover off and battery off) in rice or packs of silica if you kept those from packaging of electronics for about 2 days. The longer the better. Then see if the phone still works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Water level indicator is on the lower right hand corner of the battery compartment. It's a round white sticker.
Phone was left (battery and cover off) in a bowl of rice as I mentioned in my post. I think it's the dried up sugar stuck on the board that's causing the phone to act up.. Gives a whole new meaning to "sweet phone".

tazz9690 said:
does the phone still work besides that. cuz if you are going to pay the deductible, i say just report it stolen and pay the fee to get a new one and use the water damaged one as a back up to flash test roms. the only reason you would unroot it and return it is if you are going through warranty, but it would fail, because though the indicator is still white, they open it up and check for water damage there, so you would still have to pay an out of warranty fee, which is like 400 when I had to return my mytouch for warranty purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone is still running fine aside from being stuck on vibrate.. The volume button seems to be the only other that's acting up but it's sporadic. If I do end up keeping the phone I'll open it up and have a look-see. I imagine it isn't gonna be a walk in the park like my N95.
Good point on the warranty, my friend who works for T-Mobile said I could return it at her store though.. Will they crack it open later on and possibly bill me?
Thanks for the input.

mausheezy said:
Phone is still running fine aside from being stuck on vibrate.. The volume button seems to be the only other that's acting up but it's sporadic. If I do end up keeping the phone I'll open it up and have a look-see. I imagine it isn't gonna be a walk in the park like my N95.
Good point on the warranty, my friend who works for T-Mobile said I could return it at her store though.. Will they crack it open later on and possibly bill me?
Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they send it to their return center and there they open it up. it happened to me on my sidekick. My trackball on it wasn't working so i returned it to warranty. They billed me 3 months later because they said it was an out of warranty product because they found water damage on the inside of the phone and the water damage indicator was still white. I didn't even know that it had water damage when I returned it. It must have gotten water in it when my hands were wet or when I had it in the rain.
Have you tried to turn off the vibrate feature from the settings to see if that turned off the vibrations?

All stickied up is what your volume button is. That is why it is vibrating and why the volume is acting up. The trick would be to get the sticky orange juice out from under your volume rocker. My menu button was sticking so I used a tiny piece of paper to stick in the very tiny gap between button and phone, maybe you will be able to dislodge the sticky stuff. Its a thought.
But insurance wise I think I'd say I lost it at Mcdonalds (snicker).

mausheezy said:
I met up with homegirl later on that night and yes, she was happily myTouched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROFLMAO!
I agree. Keep the phone and report it stolen.

Had the same thing happen with cranberry and vodka. pull the battery. Get the assembly manual off of the forum. Dissasemble and clean any and all boards with 90% isoproyl alcohol and a childs soft bristle tooth brush. Do not blow on the boards to dry them as condensation can occur. Just use a fan at room temperature. Make sure you don't get a bunch of alcohol in places it won't come out of (speakers, Microphones, any type of button, USE COMMON SENSE), and only use as much as absolutely necesary. I did mine about 24 hours after it happened and it is still working 3 months later. Sugar will kill it eventualy if left inside so it needs to come out. I have had not one single issue since iI cleaned mine. BE VERY GENTLE. There are a total of FOUR liquid indicators on the unit. One in the battery compartment, and two you cant see, and yet another behind the tab for holding a lanyard. If you need better instructions shoot me an e-mail. [email protected]

tazz9690 said:
they send it to their return center and there they open it up. it happened to me on my sidekick. My trackball on it wasn't working so i returned it to warranty. They billed me 3 months later because they said it was an out of warranty product because they found water damage on the inside of the phone and the water damage indicator was still white. I didn't even know that it had water damage when I returned it. It must have gotten water in it when my hands were wet or when I had it in the rain.
Have you tried to turn off the vibrate feature from the settings to see if that turned off the vibrations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I did and it still did it. I guess warranty exchange is out of the question then.. Thanks again.

Tech no logy said:
All stickied up is what your volume button is. That is why it is vibrating and why the volume is acting up. The trick would be to get the sticky orange juice out from under your volume rocker. My menu button was sticking so I used a tiny piece of paper to stick in the very tiny gap between button and phone, maybe you will be able to dislodge the sticky stuff. Its a thought.
But insurance wise I think I'd say I lost it at Mcdonalds (snicker).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. I tried it out with a bunch of post-its and it seems to have alleviated the volume issue slightly. I think I do have to open it up though coz it's still acting up. Thanks for the tips.. Maybe I should blame it on a McDonalds staff member.

softbanksucks said:
ROFLMAO!
I agree. Keep the phone and report it stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I think I will.

donepate said:
Had the same thing happen with cranberry and vodka. pull the battery. Get the assembly manual off of the forum. Dissasemble and clean any and all boards with 90% isoproyl alcohol and a childs soft bristle tooth brush. Do not blow on the boards to dry them as condensation can occur. Just use a fan at room temperature. Make sure you don't get a bunch of alcohol in places it won't come out of (speakers, Microphones, any type of button, USE COMMON SENSE), and only use as much as absolutely necesary. I did mine about 24 hours after it happened and it is still working 3 months later. Sugar will kill it eventualy if left inside so it needs to come out. I have had not one single issue since iI cleaned mine. BE VERY GENTLE. There are a total of FOUR liquid indicators on the unit. One in the battery compartment, and two you cant see, and yet another behind the tab for holding a lanyard. If you need better instructions shoot me an e-mail. [email protected]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. You might expect an email from me pretty soon.

mausheezy said:
Yeah I did and it still did it. I guess warranty exchange is out of the question then.. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's a good thing you have insurance then and you told them that you "lost" it or it was "stolen"

RIP - Drowned Galaxy S

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P8Lite partly submerged in seawater. How to proceed? Parts?

Hi everybody,
I am a total noob to cellphone developing; I just came here by external advice, so here's my story.
- Was goofing at the beach when I partially submerged my Huawei in the sea.
- The apparatus was still working when I turned it off, only that it didn't turn off immediately so it must have been at least 15 minutes of of further damage before I turned it off for good.
- I did suck out the little water that managed to go inside as soon as I could. It went in mainly via the phone connector.
I wanted to ask you wise people if you reckon that I can save this device or not, and what parts would I have to buy (judging by what I just specified). I already took it to a serviceman (not the best, just a street stand, as I'm poor), and he couldn't make it work after a peroxide bath, and he told me that the motherboard was dead.
Do you know where can I get a new one? Is it worth it?
That's it. Thank you for reading this long rant.
Cheers!

huaweidummy said:
Hi everybody,
I am a total noob to cellphone developing; I just came here by external advice, so here's my story.
- Was goofing at the beach when I partially submerged my Huawei in the sea.
- The apparatus was still working when I turned it off, only that it didn't turn off immediately so it must have been at least 15 minutes of of further damage before I turned it off for good.
- I did suck out the little water that managed to go inside as soon as I could. It went in mainly via the phone connector.
I wanted to ask you wise people if you reckon that I can save this device or not, and what parts would I have to buy (judging by what I just specified). I already took it to a serviceman (not the best, just a street stand, as I'm poor), and he couldn't make it work after a peroxide bath, and he told me that the motherboard was dead.
Do you know where can I get a new one? Is it worth it?
That's it. Thank you for reading this long rant.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try putting it for a night in a bowl full of rice (not cooked:laugh: ) it should take water from inside the phone
Let me know

faby GT said:
Try putting it for a night in a bowl full of rice (not cooked:laugh: ) it should take water from inside the phone
Let me know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a shame you can't remove the battery. But keep it in rice (submerged) few days, maybe a week. Don't try to power it up. And start praying.

Azzureux said:
It's a shame you can't remove the battery. But keep it in rice (submerged) few days, maybe a week. Don't try to power it up. And start praying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then it's better to try power it on long pressing power button and volume up more possibilities

Thanks everybody!