my cell phone fell in water? Options

[MobileMania]

hey all!
my cell phone fell in water and now it is powered off, what might be done now? is there any hope for my phone?

[Tomk]

If your phone was on when it hit the water... and it was off when you took it out....

what might be done now?

You might consider finding a new phone.

[Doug]

Talk to the good folks where you purchased the phone.
I'd imagine that they have heard that same story many times.
Sometimes, they might even have been able to help.
____________________

Remove the Battery from the phone.
Don't be pushing any of the buttons.
Place the phone into a bowl full of uncooked dry white rice.
Place the battery into the same bowl of dry rice.

Leave it that way for 24-48 hours.
Hopefully the rice will act as a desiccant, to draw any moisture out of the phone.

While waiting for the 24-48 hours to expire, go visit your friendly cell phone merchant and ask for any specific advise about your specific phone.

[appleoddity]

If the battery was not removed immediately (within like 10 seconds) from the phone after it fell in water, you can count on it being dead.

If the battery sat in there for just a couple of minutes it would have done horrible damage internally.

If the battery was removed very quickly, the phone can set to dry for a couple of days (hard to say if that is long enough to get water out of very tight spaces) then the battery can be reinserted. Everything should work.

You might try to improve the drying of the phone with Doug's recommendation and you might add to it a small desk light (60 watt?) over top of the rice to warm it all up. Just be careful you don't get the light closer than 6 inches or so away.

This post has been edited by appleoddity: Aug 11 2010, 03:51 PM

[MobileMania]

Thankfully i knew that the battery must be removed immediately so i did that. But i have still left it there to be dry for a couple more days. Then i will try what you just suggested. Thanks

[8210GUY]

Sorry for being a bit late here, but Doug has covered it pretty well, and Yes, removing the power ASAP is the major key factor in how lucky you get, but there are no guarantees, it is pure luck, but following the advice Doug gave is a good start, but to add to that, strip the phone down as far as you can, remove the fascia\cover, remove the screen and PCB if you can, you will need a T6 (Torx) screwdriver for this, and take care.

The screw heads are easily stripped, once done, add to the rice as advised, then put it in the airing cupboard (other heat sources can create condensation as a by product in my experience), 48 hours is my minimum to maximise you're chances, but under NO circumstances EVER, should you place the battery in or near heat, it can explode and catch fire, but as the battery is a sealed unit you only need to put it on a shelf or in a drawer, out of any heat and direct sunlight.

Stripping the phone down reduces the chances of condensation occurring, BUT, there are many small clips and possibly springs inside depending how far you strip it down, so I suggest doing it slowly and over a table, say with a white cloth to make seeing bits easier, it may be an idea to take a picture as well, it may help when you put it back together.

The liquid is also is a major factor in how lucky you get, plain water will only allow the phone to short out, hence removing power ASAP being important, but if the liquid has any additives, or is not water, such as fizzy drinks or the like, then it can corrode the PCB etc, and you will need to clean the phone before advancing to drying it out, but thats another issue, but I mention to raise awareness.

The biggest mistake people make (apart from not removing power quickly), is trying to turn it on again too soon, often they see it as being dry, when in fact there is still moisture where they can't see, and by putting power back into it before this is completely dry is the final kiss of death, even if it could have been saved prior, so don't be tempted to rush it, it can't hurt to try a sonic bath either, but few have access to such a thing, so it is unlikely many do this, but if you did have access, it can't hurt to try it.

But as said above, if the phone doesn't work afterward, or has faults showing up, then it is time for a new phone, hope you get lucky.

[Hemal]

I think everyone summed it up nicely. If handled properly, a water incident does not have to end poorly. As instructed, the best way to do it (and a method I use for myself)

is to remove as many parts as possible from the phone that you feel comfortable with. I usually dry everything off with a towel to remove as much moisture as I can.

Put everything in a giant zip lock bag full of dry rice and keep it in a very dry location. Do not shake the bag or try any other methods besides rotating the phone and parts inside every 12 hours.

It's important to keep in mind that these phones are made to be sealed pretty tight...even if the battery is destroyed your phone might not be and you can always get that checked once it has been in the bag of rice for a couple days. DO NOT TURN IT ON until you are sure that it has been in that bag of rice for a while.

[MobileMania]

thanks all for your detailed replies. i know if not this time, next time it will be of great help

[Jkc73]

Does this mean the phone didn't recover?

If not,
What type of phone should we not drop into water?

[goose90proof]

Talk to the good folks where you purchased the phone.
I'd imagine that they have heard that same story many times.
Sometimes, they might even have been able to help.
____________________

Remove the Battery from the phone.
Don't be pushing any of the buttons.
Place the phone into a bowl full of uncooked dry white rice.
Place the battery into the same bowl of dry rice.

Leave it that way for 24-48 hours.
Hopefully the rice will act as a desiccant, to draw any moisture out of the phone.

While waiting for the 24-48 hours to expire, go visit your friendly cell phone merchant and ask for any specific advise about your specific phone.

Best advice!!!!

[greywolf2]

I had same problem but mine went into a cup of coffee. I took out the Battery and put it under a hand dryer. A few days it came back up and ran for 2 months before it bit the dust...

[Jackio]

Wow, I didn't know removing the battery so fast would make you phone work again ! Good trick. By the way, I'm not throwing my phone into the water hahaha but you never know when this can happen !

[chrissy72]

A quick hint, never put your mobile thru a full cycle in the washing machine.

I think when the kids were young, and i was so busy I would just throw everything in without checking first, I actually killed about a dozen of hubbys phones this way! One was less than a day old (I was not popular to say the least)

BTW, great suggestion about the rice, I never would have thought about that. U guys are amazing.

But as for hubbys sparkling clean phones I would say they would have been "dead in the water" (Haa haa) and no amount of rice woulda saved them.

Chrissy.

[Lee]

Some great advice here, but if it was a salt water dunking, it's all useless

[chrissy72]

lol Lee, yes Im sure the Aussie summer spent cooling down at the beach has claimed the lives of many a mobile phone