Google
 
Web www.howardforums.com
Pages: 1

HOWTO: Fixing Cellphones Dropped Into Water

(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: Mark Rejhon

In the event that a non-waterproof cellphone/PDA/digcam accidentally gets immersed in water, you should follow these steps:

(1) IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THE BATTERY. VERY VERY IMPORTANT! 60 seconds later and it may be too late. The battery is usually the source of damage, not just the water alone. Water+Battery = Short Circuits! So REMOVE the battery! And DONT TEST the cellphone after it's been dropped in water!
(2) As soon as possible (preferably within 20-30 minutes). dissassemble the phone using Torx T6 screwdriver. (Get this off eBay or service depots, etc) Make an emergency trip to Sears/RadioShack/ACE/service depot/etc.
(3) Clean/dry as much as you can, using Q-Tips
(4) Dry the electronics components under a desk lamp on a paper towel for 24 hours. A drop of water may have gone under chips and components where you cannot dry, so you need to dry under a 40/60w desk lamp, or 24 hours under a desk fan pointed down at the disassembled components.
(5) Reassemble the phone
(6) Put back together
(7) Only now it's safe to put the battery back in.
(8) Phone may be good as new.

Try not use a hairdryer, unless with heat turned off or at very low settings. You do not want to scorch the electronics. A hairdryer may help in some cases, but more often than not (especially with clean water), a hairdryer will usually cause more damage caused by the stresses of expansion-contraction caused by all the heat. It's best to keep things cold, to keep any contaminants in the water as chemically inactive as possible.

If you follow these instructions, you have a reasonably good chance of a working phone after a non-waterproof phone was thrown into water.

Yes, make that emergency trip to buy the Torx T6 if you have to. You have to disassemble the phone. Although reports some devices such as a PalmPilot, has survived in a snowbank for 7 days (luckily, its batteries were dead) after being lost in a snow-filled driveway, it is generally best to disassemble the device quickly. Clean snow/water usually means you can wait a bit longer, but pool water (chlorine) or ocean water (salt) will make is VERY URGENT to dissassemble the phone.

SALT WATER TIP: If exposure was salt water; you may need to clean the salt water with water. (salt water is far more dangerous). This may actually mean washing the circuit board very briefly under filtered water, in order to save its life from salt water (ocean water) before immediately drying it out. This is a last resort, but NECESSARY if your electronic device was immersed in salt water (unless you have access to special electronics cleaning fluid solutions that can get rid of salt water on short notice. Sometimes filtered water is the only thing you have access to, for cleaning salt water ASAP)

Yes, one must get rid of fear of dissassembly! RESIST trying to test the telephone -- keep the battery away -- until the phone/PDA is disassembled and dried first!

FACT: Water almost never instantly kills a cellphone. You usually still have time to save the phone's life, especially if the water is clean!

Water is usually never usually the source of damage in a PDA/cellphone/pager/etc that has been immersed into water. The source of damage is usually the combination of Battery+Water which causes short circuits. If there are any backup batteries inside the cellphone/PDA, those preferably must be removed too. Removing all sources of power immediately (all batteries) is the most important step in rescuing water-logged electronics!

Also, phones that have already been exposed to water for longer periods even with the battery, are more likely to permanently stop working. For example, having been inside pockets of damp clothes or wet bags, or fallen in a rain puddle for an hour without you noticing until too late. However, remove the battery immediately anyway and dissassemble anyway. Sometimes you can still rescue electronics that has been wet with the battery for longer periods, especially if the water was clean and the electronics shut off the battery before it did any short-circuit damage.

I've had a good success rate in rescuing waterlogged electronics by following the above simple instructions. But to improve your odds, you must act quickly to remove the battery and resist the temptation to reinsert the battery to test, not until at least 24 hours later and after disassembly. If the cellphone/PDA is still wet inside -- ZAP. It can take weeks for the inside of a cellphone/PDA to fully dry if you do not disassemble. It can take less than 24 hours to dry if you diassemble first. So dissassemble first!


Posted by: TriBand81

Excellent guide, Mark, thanks


Posted by: Trekker

Good post. This deserves to be a sticky.


Posted by: novmode

when you say filtered water i think it should be specified that you mean distilled water. Most people will think something along the lines of Britta (a home water filter device) or Poland Springs Bottled Water both of which are still mineral rich. It's what's in the water that conducts electricity (and thus causes shorts) for the most part, not the water itself.... at least in as far as lower power devices are concerned.


Posted by: Mark Rejhon

Distilled water is definitely preferable for cleaning corrosive salt water/poolwater out of electronics.

However, one may find it necessary to briefly wash in tap water *IF* the circuit board is drenched and wet of salt water. Tap water is LESSER OF TWO EVILS compared to salt water -- because salt water rusts metals very quickly especially in the prescence of oxygen! If you don't get rid of salt water quickly, the circuit board will be a total loss very quickly and there is no time to hunt down distilled water. You sometimes only have mere minutes of time if it is salt water that got inside your electronics. It depends on how much salt water you can get rid of without having to resort to tap water. If your electronics got fully immersed in salt water and all electronics components are already fully wet in salt water, then you can wash with tap water because tap water is the lesser of two evils. Try to use distilled water, but failing that, use filtered tap water or bottled water. Failing access to that, go for raw tap water! Still lesser of two evils compared to salt water. You gotta displace the salt water immediately with fresh water to put a stop to the rapid corrosion that salt water gives...

If the circuit board is not drenched or the circuit board is pretty flat, then drying salt water using Q-tips may be feasible. However, time is of essence, and you will probably still leave dry salt residue. Corrosion will happen over time as the circuit board is exposed to simple moisture.. You will still need to wash with some proper cleaning agent (or wet Q-tips dipped in distilled water) to clean the circuit board. Then dry with dry Q-tips. But if you do not think you can dry the salt water quickly using Q-tips (i.e. salt water got under a chip, salt water got between lots of fine chip pins), you've got to wash the circuit board quickly in this order of preference: distilled water, filtered/bottled water, or tap water. Then dry the board quickly using paper towels and dry Q-tips. Hairdryer with the heat turned off is OK. (or from a far distance at lowest heat / highest fan speed setting ... where the heat is not very noticeable) Then finally dry under a desklamp or deskfan.

Ideally lab-quality electronic cleaning agent is best, but you can't always access that quickly enough -- and it even becomes necessary as a last resort to wash salt water-drenched electronics in tap water. In fact, if the electronic is known to be 100% nonwaterproof and completely drenched in salt water internally, and you cannot disassemble right away, then washing under tap water will still actually improve chances of recovery by a few percent. That's precisely how dangerous salt water is. In the event of salt water, you are probably out of luck if you cannot disassemble right away (electronic is as good as dead). That's why if you cannot disassemble right away and you know there is salt water inside the electronic device, then you might as well wash the electronic under a tap in the sink (if no access to distilled water, or even filtered/bottled water) because you already know it is a lost cause otherwise -- a 25% chance is still better than 5% chance!

Some electronic components will break instantly anyway when exposed to water. Other electronics will only break when powered up while still slightly damp inside. Or only when corroded by impurities in water. The goal is to maximize your chances. You have to go for the lesser of evils at hand. For example, tap water to dissolve the highly corrosive salt water, if no access to distilled water or even filtered/bottled water. In the case of salt water, frequently tap water in this case is the only way to save the life of the electronics when the clock is ticking and you must get rid of the corrosive salt ASAP. Then once washed briefly in tap, quickly dry as much as possible and then dry under a desklamp/fan as instructed.

In the event of other types of water than corrosive waters (salt water, and to a lesser extent, pool water), it is best to simply let dry under a desklamp or deskfan. Do not wash.

For other fluids such as spilled juice inside electronics, which is annoyingly sticky when dried, use damp Q-tips dipped in distilled water to get rid of the sugary liquid, essentially blot out all the sugary liquid with clean water, in order to avoid sticky residue. Then dry with dry Q-tips. (If you cannot use distilled water, then you can use plain filtered water if necessary, or even tap water -- still almost always the lesser evil if you're dealing with juice which has far more contaminants than even tap water)


Posted by: vbp6us

Whoa...nice guide!

Thanks very much. I hope I don't have to use this guide but it's good to have.


Posted by: farquan

they should make this a sticky


Posted by: Smileyj

Sticky!! We Want Sticky!! :laughs:


Good job!!


Posted by: V12STORM

is it still possible to revive a phone after its been in a pool and than taken out and left to "air dry".

my friend jumped in the pool with his v400 and i thought maybe i could save him of buyign a new phone by fixing it.

he would have to mail me the phone though as he lives away from me.


Posted by: Nydan14

oh now you tell me. I think i did evrything you said not to do. I left the battery in, i used a hair dryer, and i didnt take appart the phone.

v12storm ur friend sounds like me, except i fell in the water with my v400. Oh well but yea. Evrything on my phone works except the inner display. You can barely make out the images on the screen. Another problem is that my phone wont charge. I replaced the battery but nothing changed. Can anyone help me out?


Posted by: onelilypad

[/list]
Quote:
(QUOTE)v12storm ur friend sounds like me, except i fell in the water with my v400. Oh well but yea. Evrything on my phone works except the inner display. You can barely make out the images on the screen. Another problem is that my phone wont charge. I replaced the battery but nothing changed. Can anyone help me out?(/QUOTE)


Nydan14: How long ago did you drop the phone?

I had a similar situation where I fell into the pool with my less-than-a-week-old SEK700 in my pocket. I haphazardly took my phone apart and dried as much of it out as I could - and put it back together (not a great idea, the battery could have shorted my phone). After getting home, I took everything apart again and let it air dry.


This is what I noticed:

24 hrs after - was able to turn phone on, but still non-functional. Screen was dim at first and quickly dissappeared.

48 hrs after - was able to turn phone on and make calls. Screen was significantly brighter/clearer but still not as sharp as it was when new. All functions were operable, only the screen was slightly dim.

Hope this helps - there is hope!


Posted by: Nydan14

i fell in the pool about a month ago. I doubt that it can be saved but miracles do happen right? lol


Posted by: stratosphere

WOW I had the same thing happened to me this weekend.

It happened Saturday night late hours.... around 3:00m.

I friend of mine was to drunk and threw me in the pool. I had my LG 5450 in my hand at that time. I freaked right out. I've only had the phone for 6 months.

I took the BATT off right away but did not open it . The next day Sunday morning I took it outside side and left in the Sun for 3 hours. After I moved it under a tree with a cool breeze coming from the lake.

Monday and Tuesday I did the same thing, left the phone dry.

Today Wed when I came home I decided to put the Batt back on. Tried to turn my phone on but nothing happend. I decided to take a drive to Future Shop and try one of the Batt's to see if my LG turns on.... and Guessssssssss what...
It turned and it looked more than fine! Everything was working normal. I asked the sales rep and he told me that my BATT was fried. A little red button in the back of the BATT indicated that. I said kewl can I buy a batt from here. He told the I had to go to a Telus store to pick one up.

So here I am all excited now driving to a Telus store, when I decided to call the store and make sure that they have a BATT for my phone. I told the person I spoke to what happened and she instantly tells me that the BAtT costs $100 and if I was you I wouldn't buy it. Your phone is FINISHED. I asked her why is that? She told me that corrosion will built up and my phone will stop working eventually. I asked her if this was 100% for sure... She told me almost 100%....

I also talked toa friend of mine and he kinda told me the same thing. Now I don't know what to do... Do I take the risk and buy a BATT for $100 or do I buy a new phone? If I buy the BATT and my phone dies in 1 month, than I'm losing more money buying a new phone + the BATT expense....

I need your help guys cause tomorrow I will be making a decision... Right now I am leaning towards buying a new phone but if someone can enlighten me here, I'd me more than happy to take an opinion....

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee helppppppppppppppp me I really like this phone.....


Posted by: stratosphere

Anyone please?

Off work at 5 and either going to buy a new phone or buy a BATT......

All the Telus agents tell me that my phone is FINISHED and not to buy a BATT.....


Posted by: Mysticales

Get Tmobile instead ^^ better phones, cheaper batteries hehe

But check ebay 1st for a battery.. chances are the phone ISNT fried.. and if it did fry soon.. chances are it will do that after your year is up Which case upgrade.

Or check to see what phones are in the 100$ range on ebay, see if its better or not.

But if you do get the battery. It should be ok.

I mean dont let your friend die since you talk to it alot. I know if my 3650 fried.. id cry lol.


Posted by: AC87

Good post darr only if i read it when my Sony erricson fell in teh water!!


Posted by: Gordon Weiler

I fell in a pool (Pushed) with my Blackberry 7510 in my pocket. I went 2 weeks hoping for a miracle (Not) so I ordered a new one. 2 days after I got the new one the old one started working. Seems fine but I am reluctant to get rid of the new one just so fast. Anyone have a gut feel? Am I out of the woods or is it possible my damage just has not shown up yet? What to do, what to do?


Posted by: theclarks1

Hey guys. I dont want to be sticking my nose in where it dosent belong. But I did want to add something to this that may also help. As a long time pager tech and now into more cellphones, water damage is a large issue, we use acetone that you can buy at lowes to clean the corroded parts that you will see discolor if you didnt get all the water off of the board. Its also good for cleaning underthe keypad contacts if its dropped in flavored coffee, and hot chocolate. I use a small brush thats stiff like has a metal handle, can find them at crafts stores you just have to cut some of the brush off. Hope that this helps.(Make sure that you dont come in contact with the acetone use gloves if you have too, it can be dangerous.
Patrick


Posted by: Tazradio

After dropping my things in water, I freeze them and chip the ice out. Then use a blowdryer on low hear to finish it off.


Posted by: onelilypad

Quote:
Originally posted by Tazradio
After dropping my things in water, I freeze them and chip the ice out. Then use a blowdryer on low hear to finish it off.


Sounds like a dangerous proposition, but whatever works!

Stratosphere:

I'd definately agree with Mysticales on checking Ebay (or Amazon, half.com) for a cheaper battery before buying either battery or phone. I do want to say that when I dropped my phone, I didn't want to take any chances and got another phone anyways - dispite the fact that the one I dropped into the water seemed to be working fine after a few days. It does seem that corrosion on the mainboard will kill the phone after time, if not properly cleaned and dried. It seems like your options are to A: replace the battery as a temporary solution and risk possible phone failure in the future or B: buy a new phone and be done with the anxiety. How much do you love your phone and how much are you willing to spend to keep(replace) it?


Posted by: DJ_Yuz

Awesome It's nice to know that there are actual steps you can take; I always assumed things like this were hit or miss.

When I got caught walking home in the rain with my V66 a month or so ago, it first refused to run on, then when it finally turned on, the display wouldn't show up. Over the next two days, it gradually began to show up (flashing on and off randomly) and finally went back to normal. Guess I got lucky I didnt follow any of the rules here.


Posted by: Paolo

I couldnt find this mentioned in this post, but I'd like to add a few things I've learned as a Cell Tech.

If you dont have electronics cleaner, Isopropyl Alcohol will work too. I use an old toothbrush to scrubb away any contaminates like under the chips, etc.. I would recommend using Alcohol instwead of distilled water, Alcohol dries up much faster and does not leave any smears or spots.

a Hair dryer wont hurt your phone, we use a heat gun at our servicec centre to install/remove chips, and it gets much hotter than your average hairdryer does.


Posted by: SierraBreez

Did anyone's display start working better after awhile, or did they always stay dim?

I accidentally dropped my phone in water this last weekend and i was able to take the back part apart but couldn't pry the front open. The back inside suprisingly didn't get wet or atleast the sticker didnt' change. Now the phone works fine except for the screen. It was dim at first but now it's black, if i shine a flashlight on the screen i can make out some things. I was just wondering if i should wait to see if it goes back to normal or just use my insurance on it and send it in?


Posted by: Nydan14

thats how mine was b4 it didnt change from being that dim for me. But hey dim wording is better than none.


Posted by: SierraBreez

well the only way i can see it now is with the flash light shining on it. It is black otherwise and unreadable at all.

I have been trying to keep my phone off more till i know what is going on so i don't ruin it further.


Posted by: SierraBreez

ok i should have waited till this morning to reply cause now i don't know. I haven't had to charge my phone till last night cause the battery had been pretty full when it was dropped. well on the charger the screen was readable again for some reason, it was still dim and flickering but readable. This morning when i checked it after i took it off the charger it was black and unreadable again. Could it be that i just need a new battery? even though the one i got works, might it be that it isn't working the same?


Posted by: Nait Sirhc

Quote:
Originally posted by Mark Rejhon

SALT WATER TIP: If exposure was salt water; you may need to clean the salt water with water. (salt water is far more dangerous). This may actually mean washing the circuit board very briefly under filtered water, in order to save its life from salt water (ocean water) before immediately drying it out. This is a last resort, but NECESSARY if your electronic device was immersed in salt water (unless you have access to special electronics cleaning fluid solutions that can get rid of salt water on short notice. Sometimes filtered water is the only thing you have access to, for cleaning salt water ASAP)

Great advice

Use distilled water if it's possible, as distilled water cannot harm your phone; it doesn't conduct electricity.


Posted by: pathos84

I'VE BEEN IN THE CELLULAR BUSINESS FOR MANY A YEAR NOW, AND HAVE SEEN MANY PHONES DROPPED IN WATER. THE BEST TRICK I HAVE FOUND FOR RECOVERING PHONES IS TO DISASSEMBLE THE PHONE AND DOUSE THE ENTIRE CIRCUT BOARD IS STRONG RUBBING ALCOHOL. THE ALCOHOL ABSORBS THE WATER ALLOWING IT TO EVAPORATE FASTER. ALSO IN POURING THE ALCOHOL OVER THE CIRCUT BOARD, IT WILL RINSE AWAY ANY MINERALS WITHOUT LEAVING BEHIND A RESADUE.

JUST THOUGHT I'D PUT MY TWO CENTS IN, AND SHARE WHAT WORKS FOR ME.


Posted by: Al42

Quote:
Originally posted by pathos84 I'VE BEEN IN THE CELLULAR BUSINESS FOR MANY A YEAR NOW

So have I.
Quote:
THE BEST TRICK I HAVE FOUND FOR RECOVERING PHONES IS TO DISASSEMBLE THE PHONE AND DOUSE THE ENTIRE CIRCUT BOARD IS STRONG RUBBING ALCOHOL.

I was cringing until I read this post. Water? We always use alcohol and we have a 70% sucess rate with people who walk in the door with wet phones.

Don't wash your phone with water!!! Wash it with plain old rubbing alcohol - I've even soaked a board in alcohol for a minute or two to make sure it got under everything, although some Nokias can be cleaned with alcohol swabs.

The most important part, though, as Mark said, is to take the battery out, and not put it back in until the phone is clean and dry.


Posted by: clance_911

Wirelessly posted (Nokia 7650: Nokia7650/1.0 SymbianOS/6.1 Series60/0.9 Profile/MIDP-1.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.0)

Nice guide, nice tread. Thanx. I was wondering how much alchol percentage needed in the liquid. Bcoz if v can use som high alchol drink (liquire) itz easy to find in an emergency rather than other alchol solutions. :?


Posted by: Al42

Quote:
Originally posted by clance_911
Wirelessly posted (Nokia 7650: Nokia7650/1.0 SymbianOS/6.1 Series60/0.9 Profile/MIDP-1.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.0)

Bcoz if v can use som high alchol drink (liquire) itz easy to find in an emergency rather than other alchol solutions. :?

Bad idea! There's sugar in booze. Dried sugar will carbonize and cause shorts all over the phone. Might as well wash it in salt water and drive over it.

Rubbing alcohol or alcohol swabs.


Posted by: clance_911

Wirelessly posted (Nokia 7650: Nokia7650/1.0 SymbianOS/6.1 Series60/0.9 Profile/MIDP-1.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.0)

Yap got it. Only tot itz easy to find thanx.


Posted by: OhNoMoTo

Lots of great info here on addressing the wet batteries/keypad/circuits, etc..... but what about the DISPLAYS ?

The LCD DISPLAY on mine is Foggy/misty - 12 hrs. after it took a dive.

(MOTO V300)

Doesn't seem to be any way to open this side of the flip-phone...

Should i just hit it with a hairdryer ?

(i'm going to try the alcohol method on the keypad side - should this also be done on the display ? )


Posted by: Al42

For others, OhNoMoTo (I responded to your private message), yes, you should dry the entire phone, both halves if it's a flip.

DON'T use a hair dryer unless you've been taught how by someone who uses one on electronic circuits successfully. It works, but if you don't know what you're doing you can easily overheat something and destroy the phone. (Even turned off, most parts can be damaged by the heat of a hair dryer set to Low.)

The only reason for a hair dryer is to dry up little spots of moisture you can't reach with a Q-tip or alcohol swab - and I've found that dipping the phone into a jar of alcohol and gently swishing it around for a second works better than a dryer. It also removes minerals, impurities and dirt - which are the cause of most of the problems. Pure water doesn't etch copper and it doesn't conduct electricity very well.


Posted by: OhNoMoTo

V300 Moto:

OK, after completely apart, dunked in Alcohol, (difficult to dry the LCD display completely-but visible moisture was gone after 1 hr under a desk lamp), swabbed & dried rest of phone.
Looked good, no rust.

Powered up : Nothing.

Re-Charged Battery (it had full charge at the time of swim) : WORKS !

Used for ONE hour OK (noticed new 3-D/Ghost effect on LCD) : suddenly, screen froze w/ fixed vertical lines.

Turned off(by removing Battery), tried to Power up: NOTHING.

Re-Charged Battery just in case: NOTHING.

Just in case, placed in Sunny ledge for 1/2 day: NOTHING.


Wondering if this is the Battery thats gone wrong ?
Or, if somehow the LCD didn't like the Alcohol ?
Or ... ?


Posted by: OhNoMoTo

FOLLOW UP:

Tried the *Swimming* Battery (i have 2 of these V300's), in my other V300, it works FINE.
Vice Versa: the good battery does not power up *Swimming* V300.

Conclusion: The battery ain't the problem

BTW, the bad V300 got a fulls days rest w/o battery before 1st Powering up - like recommended.


Posted by: Al42

Quote:
Originally posted by OhNoMoTo
Wondering if this is the Battery thats gone wrong ?
Or, if somehow the LCD didn't like the Alcohol ?
Or ... ?

Or. and it's difficult troubleshooting anything by remote control, the water damaged something before you got alcohol on it, but it wasn't damaged enough to show until after you put it into alcohol. It does sound as if the battery was in the phone for a while after it got wet, and that can start electolytic damage.

Water can start a chemical reaction with a tiny spot of exposed copper, which won't cut entirely through the copper until days, or even a week or two, later. It's the chlorine in tap water or the acids in rain water that does it.


Posted by: OhNoMoTo

Quote:
Originally posted by Al42
It does sound as if the battery was in the phone for a while after it got wet, and that can start electolytic damage.

... won't cut entirely through the copper until days, or even a week or two, later.


Yep, battery was in for 5 hrs after.

It's only been 1 day, - prob. the rainwater in the ditch had a high mineral content.

Basically had hoped to salvage some of the Phone numbers (stored to phone NOT to SIM) ...a few of them are priceless

anyway to retrieve those now ?


-
Thanks again for your help


Posted by: Al42

Quote:
Basically had hoped to salvage some of the Phone numbers (stored to phone NOT to SIM) ...a few of them are priceless

anyway to retrieve those now?[/B]

Depends. If it's just the display that's gone, get another V300, go keystroke-by-keystroke to transfer all the phone numbers to the SIM, duplicating keystrokes on your V300, and you have the numbers on your SIM. If the phone is shot, probably not, unless someone knows more than I do.


Posted by: BigStu

I thought I would add my experience with this situation to hopefully give some hope to anyone else who goes through this.

Two nights ago I had my dog in one arm and my cellphone in the other...I needed to grab my glass of water too and there was no room in the dog hand, so I thought I could just have the glass in the tips of my fingers pinching my helpless little V551 between it and the palm of my hand. Well, you can imagine what happened. The phone started to work it's way up my hand, up over the lip of the glass... and splash... into the glass (not half full, not half empty, it was fully full and not at all empty). Dropped to the ground and spilled the whole thing out, dropped the dog and scrabled to get the battery and sim card out.... then just stood there.... silence....visions of the digital camera I took for a 15 minute swim last summer pass through my head.... visions of the Moto C333 I dropped in a bucket of water 3 years ago pass through my head.... a sort of calm comes over me. I do not deserve to have such expensive and non-water proof gadgets ANYMORE.... SPOKE TOO SOON.... NOW I"M MAD AGAIN!!!!

Anyway, left the phone on some paper towel to dry overnight (no lamp or blowdryer, or alcohol rinse), woke up the next morning and tried it out...things were happening (keys lit up), but it was still royally F***ED. Quickly pulled the battery out again, left it alone and came to trusty ol' Howard Chui forums to find this thread. Read a bunch of the posts and decided I'd leave the phone for a couple days under a 60 Watt lamp. After 12 hours I saw more fog on the inside of the screens than I had at the start of the day, which suggested to me things were at least happening (water was evaporating from sensitive circuitry). I left it for another 36 hours which takes me to this morning when I tried things out again... and presto....everything seems to be working fine.

If you've come across this thread because you need help, I wish you luck and I feel your pain.

Stu

P.S. I THINK maybe the vibration signal has been dulled a bit, but i'm not sure. Doesn't bother me at all though.


Posted by: OhNoMoTo

Well, the only semi-bright thing i did was NOT turning on the unit after it fell for 30 hrs.

I'll post this for others:

Even after i had dunked each side in Alcohol, + delicately swabbing with an alcohol-laden Qtip, after careful dissassembly of everything but the LCD (using a T6 torx), & even "lamp-bathing" it for 8 hrs - the Unit would not come on.

Then for laughs, ( i needed one @ that point) i turned it off and let the (already fully charged) battery charge in unit - turned it on again after 2 hrs. ....
IT WORKED !! ..beautiful, right ? .... About 1 hr. later, screen froze then it died.

I could see that the screen still had substantial Fog on it (it was trapped Alcohol) - so apart it went again - this time, figuring out how to gain access to the rubber behind the screen.
Not easy!
while it was apart, kept it under an incandescent (more warmth) desk lamp for a few hours.
After assembly: NOTHING/DEAD.

Gave up. Next day, for no reason, tried turning it on.
WORKED.
Its worked ever since.

Whats the Lesson ? : A.) DONT GIVE UP.
B.) ALL moisture must be gone
C.) Be even more careful than you think
you're being.
C.) Dont give up.

Any difference ? yes, the digital screen has some slight discoloration (to be expected, i guess).

But the only important difference is in the MIC: I have to hold/tilt it close for others to hear me.
Any tips on that ?


Posted by: abelincoln

this is an excellent thread. thanks to everyone who posted.

i put my samsung 670 through an entire cycle in my washing machine...needless to say with the water, detergent, and spinning I thought my phone was a goner. a couple hours after the incident, i removed the battery and disassembled the casing. i used a cloth to dry up any moisture i could find and sat the parts on a sunny window. after 3 hours of drying in direct sunlight (no hair dryer, lamp, or isopropyl alcohol), i put the battery back on without further charging and the phone regained the ability to power up, make calls, and take pictures. the inner lcd screen appeared stained, but this resolved by itself gradually over three days without additional disassembly or drying. the funny thing is that I was having trouble with static/cracking sound issues before i soaked my phone and now these noises have seemed to have disappeared (this could just be due to signal strength and not hardware).


Posted by: sevla5

This is a very interesting thread to me, as I think I have killed my v551 in water. Can anyone direct me as to how to take it apart? Thanks


Posted by: eddogie

last yesterday night i forgot i had my nokia 7250i in my pocket and it went in the washing machine 5 minutes later im looking for it then i relised it was in my pocket i took it out off the washing machine and it was flashing then i put on a chair by the fire and removed the battery and took the cover off it was left there for a while to dry out and was moved back from the fire by my mum last night so i dont know if it is dry or not i have tryed it with the battery and it comes straight on but its very dull and the screen is on but no lights or anything i dont even turn it on it just comes on will it be alright if i dry it by the deskfan or could it be corroded i dont have a special screw driver 2 take it apart and clean it. how long will it take 2 dry i have tryed with a hair dryer this after noon and it still didnt work can some body please help asap


Posted by: Al42

Quote:
Originally Posted by eddogie
last yesterday night i forgot i had my nokia 7250i in my pocket and it went in the washing machine 5 minutes later im looking for it then i relised it was in my pocket i took it out off the washing machine and it was flashing then i put on a chair by the fire and removed the battery and took the cover off it was left there for a while to dry out and was moved back from the fire by my mum last night so i dont know if it is dry or not i have tryed it with the battery and it comes straight on but its very dull and the screen is on but no lights or anything i dont even turn it on it just comes on will it be alright if i dry it by the deskfan or could it be corroded i dont have a special screw driver 2 take it apart and clean it. how long will it take 2 dry i have tryed with a hair dryer this after noon and it still didnt work can some body please help asap


1) R-E-M-O-V-E T-H-E B-A-T-T-E-R-Y I-M-M-E-D-I-A-T-E-L-Y ! !
2) I wouldn't hold out much hope.
3) If you can, find a dealer who does this type of repair and let him try it.
4) If you want to try it, you'll need a Torx #6 screwdriver. They're pretty easy to find.

Take the boards out. Wipe them down with an alcohol swab. Let them dry for a few days. (Don't use a hair dryer - you can easily overheat a component or melt some solder and cause a short.) Put everything back together. If the phone comes on immediately, take it to a dealer - you won't be able to repair it yourself.

Good luck.


Posted by: kdenninger

Ok, here's my "save the electronics" procedure. It may save you, it may not. It does have a 50+% success rate in SALT water, and a nearly 90% one in fresh though for me over more than a decade....

This assumes you DUNKED the phone. If it got SPLASHED, this is a tough call - you can make it worse doing this! This procedure is a last-ditch effort to save your equipment when the alternative is certain replacement.

Note that I have used this on HID dive lights (lots of high energy running around in those) along with various consumer electronics that are not meant to get wet.

1. FIRST, GET THE POWER OUT OF THE DEVICE IMMEDIATELY! This means removing the battery - PRONTO! Seconds count here. Once it starts to "fizz" (and it WILL in salt water) you're almost certainly screwed.

2. Next, DO NOT remove the phone from the liquid it fell into until you are ready to proceed. This means get a BUCKET full of the water it fell into, plus phone, and transport it SUBMERGED. As soon as you remove the device from the water corrosion begins and salts begin to deposit on connections - in minutes. A couple of hours later you have nothing worth saving. This is especially true if the water is salty or brackish.

3. Get yourself to the store and buy several gallons of DISTILLED (not "spring!") water and three or four bottles of the highest percentage isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol you can get. 90+% is what you want, but its hard to find. 70% will do (the pedestrian stuff) if that's all you can get at your local drug store. Ask the pharmacist if they have the 90% - they may behind the counter. Tell him why you want it if he asks - druggies use it to "cook" cocaine (its very flammable), which is why its getting hard to find. You will also need a FAN (NO heat! Just air movement!) DO NOT use acetone or other strong solvents. Acetone in particular, while an excellent water dispersant, eats a lot of plastics! There is no way to know if the plastics in your phone are safe around it or not. Acetone also is much more dangerous to your health (inhalation) and poses an extreme vapor flash-fire risk if used indoors. Don't.

4. Find a good place to work, and at least two containers big enough to hold everything that got dunked. The kitchen sink area is good, provided you can prevent anything small from going down a drain.

5. Take one of the containers and put distilled water in it. Transfer the phone to it. Disassemble it to the maximum possible extent WHILE UNDER WATER. If you can get the torx screws out, do so. The idea is to maximize contact area and not have any places for the original liquid to "hide". Its especially important to get any keyboard membranes off, because any contaminents in there will hose that key, sticking it "on" perpetually and may destroy the carbon buttons that make contact when you press the key otherwise.

6. Now agitate gently for a few minutes (5 or so) to insure that the clean water gets everywhere the dirty water did.

7. Fill the second container with NEW distilled water, and transfer the parts from the first to the second. Discard the water in the first.

8. Go back and forth like this AT LEAST TEN TIMES, with a change of NEW distilled water each time. You are diluting any contaminent content by doing this, and getting it out of the phone before it solidifies and crystallizes - it is those salt/mineral crystals that cause shorts and corrosion. Pure (distilled) water has NO conductivity - its the impurities that conduct electricity. A minimum of ten changes is required to reduce the concentrations of ions in the water to neglible levels. Don't skimp here - distilled water is a buck a gallon - how much is your phone worth again?

9. Once you've done this, replace the water with rubbing alcohol. Again, perform several "flushes" with the isopropyl alcohol - at least three; more is better. Again, DO NOT permit the unit to come into the air any more than necessary to exchange it during this procedure. The alcohol carries off the water, and the alcohol itself will flash off, leaving nothing. Again, the alcohol is cheap - a buck a pint or less.

10. Take a towel and remove the pieces from the last isopropyl rinse. Tip (allow to run out) and blow free any remaining alcohol you can from the assembly. Place on the towel and direct the fan at it at reasonably close range. Turn the fan on high and move the parts occasionally so all sides and parts are exposed to the airstream to speed drying. This will require some time - as much as a few hours - BE PATIENT! If you used 70% alcohol significant WATER will remain (distilled though) which must also be evaporated quickly. DO NOT USE HEAT. Alcohol fumes are explosively flammable and using heat risks a flash-fire. Better is to let it dry under forced air for 24 hours before attempting to power it up.

11. When you are SURE its completely dry, attempt to power it up. If it doesn't act normally, you're probably screwed, as you either (1) didn't dry it completely, or (2) too much damage occurred.

Finally, be extremely careful with lithium ion batteries - which is what you find in most phones nowdays. Lithium ion batteries, if their case is compromised, are pyrolithic (that is, they ignite spontaneously!) on contact with atmospheric water vapor. Worse, water won't put out a lithium fire, and it burns hot enough to go through solid plate steel. A short in a lithium ion battery pack will almost always cause it to thermally run away and burst its case. There have been several recalls of notebook computer battery packs over incorrect assembly issues causing fires, and contamination from being dunked can do it as well. I would NOT use any lithium battery that got dunked, as the risk of it going up on you in your PANTS POCKET is not to be ignored. If it happens you will be very seriously injured, and if it happens in your home while on charge you'll have a dandy, and very hard-to-extinguish, fire. Go get a new battery or borrow a good one before trying to power up the device, and dispose of the old one properly (and before you do, keep it OUTSIDE away from anything that can burn!)


Posted by: eddogie

my phone has been in the washing machine for 5 minutes before i discovered it it was flashing i took the batt out put it near the fire 2 dry then 2 days later tried cleaning it in alcohol. tried to power up the screen turns on as soon as batt is inserted and is a light blue colour it stays that way till i remove the batt and when i plug it into charger(without batt) does same thing i hold the power button down and it switches off cannot switch off with battery inserted is my fone stuffed and why does it the screen come on can somebody please help if i can save it i would like too


Posted by: eddogie

you guys are so helpful it amazes me what is the prob with getting an answeR?


Posted by: kdenninger

Your phone is almost certainly stuffed.

Did you see my post right above yours? Once you let it start to dry out without properly getting the contaminents out of there, or if the power was left on for that length of time while submerged, you are almost certainly screwed.


Posted by: qoo

hi, a noob Electronic tech here.
I have a question and some additional comment.

Question: is there a way to detect if the cell phone has been dropped into water? like UV light or some sort? I am always afraid to buy an used phone.

Add. comment.
pure water is a bad idea. NOT if you are using the pure H2O. which means 0 ppm.
I forgot what's the procedure call. but the water is product from combine H2 and O2 via some chemcical reaction. coz pure H2O (no electron adrift ) is a non-conductive medium.
It wasn't popular coz it is expensive as hell. (please correct me if I am wrong)

now answer my question


Posted by: 155

I fell into a lake with a treo 600. I would have removed the battery, but it was non-removable. Those bastards at handspring

Anyways, I listened as the mp3 got fainter and fainter and the unit died.


Posted by: kdenninger

Quote:
Originally Posted by qoo
hi, a noob Electronic tech here.
I have a question and some additional comment.

Question: is there a way to detect if the cell phone has been dropped into water? like UV light or some sort? I am always afraid to buy an used phone.

You could examine it with a jewler's loupe, looking for mineral crystals, but that would require a fairly complete disassembly and is not conclusive proof either way.

Quote:
Add. comment.
pure water is a bad idea. NOT if you are using the pure H2O. which means 0 ppm.
I forgot what's the procedure call. but the water is product from combine H2 and O2 via some chemcical reaction. coz pure H2O (no electron adrift ) is a non-conductive medium.
It wasn't popular coz it is expensive as hell. (please correct me if I am wrong)


Distilled (also called "deionized") water is as close to pure as you're going to get in the consumer world. From a sealed container it is very close to pure - close enough to work for the rinse procedure I outlined above.


Posted by: chrbut

This past weekend, a friend of mine threw me in the pool while my phone was on in my pocket. I have to say that the phone was in water for about 10 secs, till I threw it outta there. Let the phone dry for 24 hours..all the mostuire came out from the LCD screens, put the battery back in. Nothing. Plugged the charger in and all I hear is a high pitched noise from the phone. No display or light, just a High Pitched Sound. is my Phone messed up for good?


Posted by: abdullah993

Hii..
my 6610 got some water in it !
but the battery was there for a long time n i tried to turn in on for abt more than 5 times !

i opened the phone n sprayed it with parfume (as it contains some alcohol) and rubbed it nicely with tooth brush then let it to dry for abt 4 ~ 5 hrs ...

now it doesnt work !

can someone help me ??
MILLION Thanx in advance !!!


Posted by: theclarks1

Quote:
Originally Posted by qoo
hi, a noob Electronic tech here.
I have a question and some additional comment.

Question: is there a way to detect if the cell phone has been dropped into water? like UV light or some sort? I am always afraid to buy an used phone.

Add. comment.
pure water is a bad idea. NOT if you are using the pure H2O. which means 0 ppm.
I forgot what's the procedure call. but the water is product from combine H2 and O2 via some chemcical reaction. coz pure H2O (no electron adrift ) is a non-conductive medium.
It wasn't popular coz it is expensive as hell. (please correct me if I am wrong)

now answer my question


Most companies now have a red or white dot on the phone under the battery or under the battery door, that will change color or distort if it comes in contact with water. Otherwise just check the contacts for corrosion, or if it has removeable faceplate check under the keypad on the contacts there.


Posted by: sk8boarder

ok wow, wish i had read some of these things earlier, um so about that whole, "dont use a battery after its been in water," wow, ok so it started out, my friend had a v400 that he let me use, it died, bc b4 he let me use it, he informed me that he dropped it in the lake, well, w.e bc it worked. but then, it died, and i forgot about the battery, but i get a new V400, and being stupid, i put that battery in my new phone, bc the battery that came with it is a 3rd party battery, ( i got it off ebay, bad disecion, long story). ne way, so not thinkin about it, i charged it with that battery, and right away i noticed a dim screen where i have to hold it in direct light to read ne thing, but then it started working fine, and then, completely died. so i used the other battery, and now the outside screen works, but doesnt light up, and the inside screen is still really dim. but id really appreciate ne help, i spent way to much money on this phone, and i really could use some help.
thanks


Posted by: theclarks1

Quote:
Originally Posted by sk8boarder
ok wow, wish i had read some of these things earlier, um so about that whole, "dont use a battery after its been in water," wow, ok so it started out, my friend had a v400 that he let me use, it died, bc b4 he let me use it, he informed me that he dropped it in the lake, well, w.e bc it worked. but then, it died, and i forgot about the battery, but i get a new V400, and being stupid, i put that battery in my new phone, bc the battery that came with it is a 3rd party battery, ( i got it off ebay, bad disecion, long story). ne way, so not thinkin about it, i charged it with that battery, and right away i noticed a dim screen where i have to hold it in direct light to read ne thing, but then it started working fine, and then, completely died. so i used the other battery, and now the outside screen works, but doesnt light up, and the inside screen is still really dim. but id really appreciate ne help, i spent way to much money on this phone, and i really could use some help.
thanks


Did you check the phone with the battery supplied to see if it powered up before you put the battery in the phone that had been wet? I cant see where the water would make a diffrence. I have tested lots of batteries and water damaged phones to see that the parts work. Some batteries may be ruined if they are submerged in the water for a period of time but most of them look to be sealed. I have only had a few that didnt work when dropped in water.


Posted by: sk8boarder

Quote:
Originally Posted by theclarks1
Did you check the phone with the battery supplied to see if it powered up before you put the battery in the phone that had been wet? I cant see where the water would make a diffrence. I have tested lots of batteries and water damaged phones to see that the parts work. Some batteries may be ruined if they are submerged in the water for a period of time but most of them look to be sealed. I have only had a few that didnt work when dropped in water.

yeah, ive been using the battery that came with the phone for a while now, and it seems to be better now, but the screen is still dim, but everything eles on the phone works. and i would say its a problem with the screen, but every now and then, the phone will work perfectly fine, as in the screen on the out side lights up, and the screen on the inside lights up. However, this rarly happens, so idk, ne help would be greatly appreciated.


Posted by: theclarks1

Quote:
Originally Posted by sk8boarder
yeah, ive been using the battery that came with the phone for a while now, and it seems to be better now, but the screen is still dim, but everything eles on the phone works. and i would say its a problem with the screen, but every now and then, the phone will work perfectly fine, as in the screen on the out side lights up, and the screen on the inside lights up. However, this rarly happens, so idk, ne help would be greatly appreciated.


It could be a lot of things. My first thought would be that it may be a loose ribbon cable on the board from the inside lcd. If it has been doing this since you got the phone why didnt you send it back to the guy that you got it from if it wasnt working as described in the auction? But I would say that its either the ribbon cable loose or an LCD may even be some hardware problem, that isint fixable well not unless its done by a shop that has some serious technical equipment that can do component level troubleshooting.
Good Luck!!


Posted by: onetimedeal

Last night I was out and I dropped my phone in the snow. When I dropped it the back popped off, so I picked it up, took the battery out, wiped it quickly and put it back in. A while later my phone starts ringing, I pick it up but I can't hear anybody. They could hear me but I couldn't hear them. I decided I would look at it later, so when I got home I tested it, and I can hear alright when my phone is on speaker phone but if I'm off speaker phone I don't hear anything at all. I gave up and went to bed, when I woke up this morning I looked at my phone and the screen is all foggy in the one corner.

It's pretty ****** considered it was only dropped in the snow, and then picked up right away. Whats even worse is that it's a temporary phone! My other phone is out being fixed because suddenly it started to display "no service". Anyway, I really need a solution to this because I'm afraid they are going to want the loaner phone back soon. :/ I didnt want to try all the extreme options I previously read because I was unsure if there was another way to go about it. I can't find the extremely tiny screw driver to further open the phone, but I'm going to keep looking.

Oh yeah, and I have a Motorola V220 by the way. :|

Help me, please!


Posted by: wafer_dorese84

thanks for the post.


Posted by: theclarks1

Quote:
Originally Posted by wafer_dorese84
thanks for the post.


I dont know what you are referring to. As to the poster that dropped it in the snow, the part that you may have messed up on is putting the battery back in the phone. Anykind of moisture in the phone is deadly even if its just a bit. Look on the back of the phone under the battery and see if the dot is red. If it is then you are screwed. As it indicates moisture. It could just be the earpiece though.


Posted by: sk8boarder

Quote:
Originally Posted by theclarks1
It could be a lot of things. My first thought would be that it may be a loose ribbon cable on the board from the inside lcd. If it has been doing this since you got the phone why didnt you send it back to the guy that you got it from if it wasnt working as described in the auction? But I would say that its either the ribbon cable loose or an LCD may even be some hardware problem, that isint fixable well not unless its done by a shop that has some serious technical equipment that can do component level troubleshooting.
Good Luck!!

yeah i think your right bc i dropped the phone the other day, and it worked fine for about 3 days, then, i dropped it again... on accident, and it stopped workin, then i dropped it again, and it works for a couple of hours, so idk, but thanks for the help
robbie


Posted by: onetimedeal

no red dot. so i don't know.

arg.
i found a screw driver to get the top open, but i don't know where to go from there.


Posted by: allibpl

i dont know how to post my own message on here but i dropped my phone in my pool last night and got it out immediately. then i went and dried it with a towel and put the battery back in. i turned it on and everything worked but the bottons. then today i came home and tried to blow dry it because someone told me it would work. now my phone wont even turn on?

any advice? ive already gone through three phones in the past 2 years


Posted by: powdbyrice

hello,

my v710 was exposed to a small amount of salt water. i didn't have access to a hardware store, so i left the battery out so the phone could dry out. the phone now turns on, however the screen is completely white. any suggestions?


Posted by: powdbyrice

anyone? please?


Posted by: stunt_101

this is very useful, thanks mark


Posted by: kamusta ka

why isnt this a sticky yet?? it really should be cause it would help ALOT of people (it did me)!


Posted by: OldEngineer

Quote:
Originally Posted by powdbyrice
hello,

my v710 was exposed to a small amount of salt water. i didn't have access to a hardware store, so i left the battery out so the phone could dry out. the phone now turns on, however the screen is completely white. any suggestions?



Get a new phone. Sorry.


Posted by: AC87

Quote:
Originally Posted by powdbyrice
hello,

my v710 was exposed to a small amount of salt water. i didn't have access to a hardware store, so i left the battery out so the phone could dry out. the phone now turns on, however the screen is completely white. any suggestions?


Does the phone power on like can you make calls and stuff still, or nothing is working?? IF nothing is working try flashing it, might work


Posted by: sdotty313

cool thanks for the tips might need this in the future


Posted by: M@sterchief

Excellent thread. Well written.


Posted by: wicked.game

ive dropped my brand new 4 day old LG 8600 chocolate flip in the pond. turns on i hope it works soon.


Posted by: chorro

what do people do when they've dropped their phones in the toilet after they've pissed in them?? Does urine have acidic properties?? Is it more damaging than from salt water??


Posted by: Mark Rejhon

I just visited my thread for the first time in 2 years. Wow, it's a sticky now. I'm famous (again?)

I should point out that a lot of kdenninger's tips are excellent too, although keeping the device immersed is more important with salt water (which will corrode very fast when exposed to air) than with fresh water - sometimes it just not pratical to transport the device submerged....In this case, that's why I recommend washing dirty/salty water with clean water, to slow down corrosion sufficient enough until you have enough time to manage to get the device to be cleaned (proper tools, proper chemicals, etc). Also, water can leak inside things such as behind the LCD screen. So this can be a really tough call. For example, devices have survived semi-wet for weeks on end, as long as power was disconnected and it was a low-corrosion environment -- such as the report on a PalmPilot buried for a week in a relatively clean snow bank until the snow melted a little. But this guide is pretty useful if you've dropped something at the seashore, and you've got a sandpail handy for water transport.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdenninger
Ok, here's my "save the electronics" procedure. It may save you, it may not. It does have a 50+% success rate in SALT water, and a nearly 90% one in fresh though for me over more than a decade....

This assumes you DUNKED the phone. If it got SPLASHED, this is a tough call - you can make it worse doing this! This procedure is a last-ditch effort to save your equipment when the alternative is certain replacement.

Note that I have used this on HID dive lights (lots of high energy running around in those) along with various consumer electronics that are not meant to get wet.

1. FIRST, GET THE POWER OUT OF THE DEVICE IMMEDIATELY! This means removing the battery - PRONTO! Seconds count here. Once it starts to "fizz" (and it WILL in salt water) you're almost certainly screwed.

2. Next, DO NOT remove the phone from the liquid it fell into until you are ready to proceed. This means get a BUCKET full of the water it fell into, plus phone, and transport it SUBMERGED. As soon as you remove the device from the water corrosion begins and salts begin to deposit on connections - in minutes. A couple of hours later you have nothing worth saving. This is especially true if the water is salty or brackish.

3. Get yourself to the store and buy several gallons of DISTILLED (not "spring!") water and three or four bottles of the highest percentage isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol you can get. 90+% is what you want, but its hard to find. 70% will do (the pedestrian stuff) if that's all you can get at your local drug store. Ask the pharmacist if they have the 90% - they may behind the counter. Tell him why you want it if he asks - druggies use it to "cook" cocaine (its very flammable), which is why its getting hard to find. You will also need a FAN (NO heat! Just air movement!) DO NOT use acetone or other strong solvents. Acetone in particular, while an excellent water dispersant, eats a lot of plastics! There is no way to know if the plastics in your phone are safe around it or not. Acetone also is much more dangerous to your health (inhalation) and poses an extreme vapor flash-fire risk if used indoors. Don't.

4. Find a good place to work, and at least two containers big enough to hold everything that got dunked. The kitchen sink area is good, provided you can prevent anything small from going down a drain.

5. Take one of the containers and put distilled water in it. Transfer the phone to it. Disassemble it to the maximum possible extent WHILE UNDER WATER. If you can get the torx screws out, do so. The idea is to maximize contact area and not have any places for the original liquid to "hide". Its especially important to get any keyboard membranes off, because any contaminents in there will hose that key, sticking it "on" perpetually and may destroy the carbon buttons that make contact when you press the key otherwise.

6. Now agitate gently for a few minutes (5 or so) to insure that the clean water gets everywhere the dirty water did.

7. Fill the second container with NEW distilled water, and transfer the parts from the first to the second. Discard the water in the first.

8. Go back and forth like this AT LEAST TEN TIMES, with a change of NEW distilled water each time. You are diluting any contaminent content by doing this, and getting it out of the phone before it solidifies and crystallizes - it is those salt/mineral crystals that cause shorts and corrosion. Pure (distilled) water has NO conductivity - its the impurities that conduct electricity. A minimum of ten changes is required to reduce the concentrations of ions in the water to neglible levels. Don't skimp here - distilled water is a buck a gallon - how much is your phone worth again?

9. Once you've done this, replace the water with rubbing alcohol. Again, perform several "flushes" with the isopropyl alcohol - at least three; more is better. Again, DO NOT permit the unit to come into the air any more than necessary to exchange it during this procedure. The alcohol carries off the water, and the alcohol itself will flash off, leaving nothing. Again, the alcohol is cheap - a buck a pint or less.

10. Take a towel and remove the pieces from the last isopropyl rinse. Tip (allow to run out) and blow free any remaining alcohol you can from the assembly. Place on the towel and direct the fan at it at reasonably close range. Turn the fan on high and move the parts occasionally so all sides and parts are exposed to the airstream to speed drying. This will require some time - as much as a few hours - BE PATIENT! If you used 70% alcohol significant WATER will remain (distilled though) which must also be evaporated quickly. DO NOT USE HEAT. Alcohol fumes are explosively flammable and using heat risks a flash-fire. Better is to let it dry under forced air for 24 hours before attempting to power it up.

11. When you are SURE its completely dry, attempt to power it up. If it doesn't act normally, you're probably screwed, as you either (1) didn't dry it completely, or (2) too much damage occurred.

Finally, be extremely careful with lithium ion batteries - which is what you find in most phones nowdays. Lithium ion batteries, if their case is compromised, are pyrolithic (that is, they ignite spontaneously!) on contact with atmospheric water vapor. Worse, water won't put out a lithium fire, and it burns hot enough to go through solid plate steel. A short in a lithium ion battery pack will almost always cause it to thermally run away and burst its case. There have been several recalls of notebook computer battery packs over incorrect assembly issues causing fires, and contamination from being dunked can do it as well. I would NOT use any lithium battery that got dunked, as the risk of it going up on you in your PANTS POCKET is not to be ignored. If it happens you will be very seriously injured, and if it happens in your home while on charge you'll have a dandy, and very hard-to-extinguish, fire. Go get a new battery or borrow a good one before trying to power up the device, and dispose of the old one properly (and before you do, keep it OUTSIDE away from anything that can burn!)

Anyway, thanks for making my thread famous -- didn't realize my thread eventually became a sticky here (it's a 2004 thread!).


Posted by: muna580

I saw this topic on another site that shows how to fix a wet phone. I am not sure if this technique really works. Can someone tell me what this guy is saying is true or not.

Quote:
Originally Posted by http://www.cellphonehacks.com/viewtopic.php?t=56666
I see alot of posts from people complaining about phones ruined after being wet. I have saved many pieces of electronic equipment this way (including a turntable that was underwater for a week and an R/C car when the batteries leaked on the board).

The electronics will not be harmed by the water. What WILL harm them is trying to turn them on while circuits are shorted by the water. So DON'T try to turn the phone on until you have done this.

Scientific fact: Pure water does not conduct electricity. It's the impurities in it that conduct. Salt is an excellent conductor, and so is saltwater. So if your phone got wet with saltwater or water with bleach or chlorine in it (ie.- municipal water... chlorine is a "salt"), the first thing to do is remove the battery and SIM card and immerse the phone in distilled water to get the salt out. Distilled water is available in any drugstore and most auto parts stores.

Not only is salt conductive, it's also corrosive and will eat up microcircuits, so this should be done ASAP. This also applies if the battery is overcharged and leaks inside the phone. Battery "juices" are conductive and even more corrosive than salt. You can leave the phone in the distilled water without any damage till you get the silicone or WD-40 for the next step.

You don't have to do the distilled water thing if your phone got wet in fresh water, but it wouldn't hurt just in case there were alot of minerals in the water. Second step is to get a big can of either electronics cleaner, Brake Kleen (available in auto parts stores), or WD-40. Electronics cleaner is pure liquid silicone, and it's the better choice (it won't leave a smell) but in a pinch WD-40 will work (but your phone will smell like it forever). Brake Kleen is a solvent that leaves no smell or residue. Turn the can upside down and push the button till all the pressure is out. Then take a can opener and pop the bottom of the can and pour the stuff in a bowl or something (you want some depth here, so use a small diameter bowl, and make sure you get a big can). Take the phone and put it in the silicone/WD-40 and turn it over and around in the stuff. You want to get the stuff through the whole inside of the phone so turn it in every possible position.

The silicone/WD will drive the water out of the phone, so you want to also turn it so the water can run out of the various openings (like the battery cover) It would be helpful to disassemble the phone as much as possible before doing this, but I realize most people don't have the tools to do it or are afraid to try it. This will work anyway. You may see beads of water at the bottom of the bowl when you are done doing this. That's the water that was in your phone. Leave the phone in the silicone/WD for about 15 minutes and then take it out and let it dry on some paper for about 24 hours. Then it's safe to put your battery back in and charge it.

If your SIM card got wet it's probably shot and you will have to get another one. If your network won't give you a new one, then see my post on how to unlock your phone for free, and get a different SIM for it. This post is under "Easy unlock courtesy of Motorola" in the Motorola message board.

That's all kiddies. And if you have to use this procedure, good luck and I hope it works for you.



Posted by: xjonelle

I dont know if anybody will read this since this fourm has been made years ago and the last post was made months ago but anyway.

I accidentally left a bottle of apple juice open in my bag, and didn't realize my phone was in there too.

When I got home I left the battery out for a couple of hours but then turned it on again due to I was waiting for a important phone call.

I could tell the phone wasn't completely dried, because the pictures on the screen were different shades of color and sometimes when I pressed a key it wouldn't respond until 10 seconds later.

Anyways so I have been letting my phone dry for the whole night and when I turned it on again it seemed to work fine except the opening screen would freeze on the inside and the screen on the outside would contuine to show what time it is, etc.

I tried 2 more times and it would keep doing to the same thing and eventually turn on.

Now I thought it would be fine until I turned off my phone, then when I turned on my phone again the inside screen is completely black but the outside screen is dim.

Is there any hope for my cell phone??


Posted by: onelilypad

xjonelle, I am unclear if your phone is now COMPLETELY dry or still damp. It sounds like you tried turinging it on a couple times and actually succeeded to some degree. This is critical because it will determine if your phone is "save-able". If your phone was soaked in apple juice (or any type of liquid for that matter), you need to IMMEDIATELY rinse the compents with distilled water and follow my previous instructions. That means opening up the battery pack, removing the battery, and taking off the faceplate, etc. If the phone has since dried without being rinsed, the chances of survival is very slim. The acid in juice (like salt water) will corrode the internal components even if all the external components look fine. If this is the case, your phone WILL eventually die even if it does work in the days immediately following the accident.

Hope this helps! Good luck and worse case scenario, you can pick up a used phone relatively cheap on ebay, craigslist, etc (unless you have a Sprint or Verizon phone - in that case, you'll have to spring for a new one).


Posted by: neetu

I dont know if anybody will read this since this fourm has been made years ago and the last post was made months ago but anyway.

I accidentally left a bottle of apple juice open in my bag, and didn't realize my phone was in there too.

When I got home I left the battery out for a couple of hours but then turned it on again due to I was waiting for a important phone call.

I could tell the phone wasn't completely dried, because the pictures on the screen were different shades of color and sometimes when I pressed a key it wouldn't respond until 10 seconds later.

Anyways so I have been letting my phone dry for the whole night and when I turned it on again it seemed to work fine except the opening screen would freeze on the inside and the screen on the outside would contuine to show what time it is, etc.

I tried 2 more times and it would keep doing to the same thing and eventually turn on.

Now I thought it would be fine until I turned off my phone, then when I turned on my phone again the inside screen is completely black but the outside screen is dim.

Is there any hope for my cell phone??


[url=http://www.homephoneline.co.uk%5dhome phone line[/url]


Posted by: neetu

xjonelle, I am unclear if your phone is now COMPLETELY dry or still damp. It sounds like you tried turinging it on a couple times and actually succeeded to some degree. This is critical because it will determine if your phone is "save-able". If your phone was soaked in apple juice (or any type of liquid for that matter), you need to IMMEDIATELY rinse the compents with distilled water and follow my previous instructions. That means opening up the battery pack, removing the battery, and taking off the faceplate, etc. If the phone has since dried without being rinsed, the chances of survival is very slim. The acid in juice (like salt water) will corrode the internal components even if all the external components look fine. If this is the case, your phone WILL eventually die even if it does work in the days immediately following the accident.

Hope this helps! Good luck and worse case scenario, you can pick up a used phone relatively cheap on ebay, craigslist, etc (unless you have a Sprint or Verizon phone - in that case, you'll have to spring for a new one).

home phone line


Posted by: zdogg@mail.com

I dropped my phone in the toilet and i pulled it out right away before it was even fully submerged. I let it dry out for awhile put the battery in. It comes on and works fine accept the battery wont keep a charge for long and the battery got really hot the other day and the battery went dead very quickly. It is a Lithium battery do you think i might need a new battery or is the phone shot? Also its a t629, on the battery it has a sticker with blue x's. I think thats the water damage inductor are they suppose to be red or blue?


Posted by: choicefreedom20

Quote:
Originally Posted by zdogg@mail.com
I dropped my phone in the toilet and i pulled it out right away before it was even fully submerged. I let it dry out for awhile put the battery in. It comes on and works fine accept the battery wont keep a charge for long and the battery got really hot the other day and the battery went dead very quickly. It is a Lithium battery do you think i might need a new battery or is the phone shot? Also its a t629, on the battery it has a sticker with blue x's. I think thats the water damage inductor are they suppose to be red or blue?


Ok mate, Similar situation had been faced by me six months ago, When I was passing from a road there was a small pit with muddy water and as soon I tried to jump my mobile was in my pocket fall into that pit of muddy water after sometime I got it and cleaned it with wet towel I have taken the battery out for some hours then turned on my cell phone

My cell phone was completely dried but the problem arise was the display on the screen were having different shades of color and sometimes I wont reply for few seconds after starting it. Whatever but the main impact of it is on my screen and it seem my cell phone is not affected anymore because generally batteries are so sensitive rather than cell phones so ultimately I have to replace my battery and you know it really works fine. If you like I can suggest you some batteries which are available here say foreg. Nokia Battery BP-5L. Different varieties of batteries are available its upto you which is compatible with your cell phone, which are not easily damaged or reach at its worst in just single hurt. So you should replace your battery I am damn sure you will get the result. Ya sure there may be different type of symptoms for battery such as it may got hot in couple of minutes or sometimes responding quite good and sometimes very strangely.

One more thing if your SIM card got wet it's probably shot and you will have to get another one but there are only 5% chance for this.


Posted by: alan ciccone

just dropped my sony ericcson w200i in a glass of seven up. unbelievaby stupid I know but I was only waking up. i'm in a panic trying to take it apart. also i rinsed it quickly with water as the idea of the seven up inside worried me. the battery didn't get too wet as the phone was only about half immersed. any thoughts on its chances?


Posted by: stnwag0n

my t629 went through a complete wash cycle. im sure it was on when it went in. i soaked it in alcohol and now trying to dry it out. is it salvagable?


Posted by: alan ciccone

I washed it with distilled water and followed the instructions in this thread to a t. after four days of letting it dry it was fine. I'm glad I took the whole thing apart though as I found a lot of drops of water


Posted by: mrshershey

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My LG8700 phone got wet a couple of hours ago. I brought into Verizon Wireless and they tried to turn phone on using another battery, but it wouldn't fully go on.
The tech service guy suggested leaving it for a day to dry it out, and then if the phone fully goes on he could test the circuits.I know I remember reading something about placing the phone in a bowl with rice, to dry out the phone, or is it better to leave it under a desk lamp?
Is there any hope for the phone?


Posted by: blazie151

I personally take the phone apart and use a toothbrush with some clear rubbing alcohol. It's worked many, many times for me. It cleans all the corrosion off, and evaporates quickly. After a good cleaning its dry in 20 mins, then I just fire it up. Sucks when liquid gets behind the LCD though. Its a huge pain taking apart an LCD to dry out the layers within.


Posted by: shell618

This is an excellent thread, with loads of great advice. I am a cell tech and when we get water damaged phones in the shop, we take them apart, spray liberaly with electronics cleaner (available at Radio Shack), scrub with a toothbrush, spray liberally again, then place the circut board into a food dehydrator. The fan and low heat dry out the board in about two hours. We have an 80% success rate with this method. IF the phone was exposed to salt water, or any thing sticky or "gunky" we rinse the board in tap water, dry with a soft towel (or in some cases where the shields on the board prevent good drying...compressed air at a low flow rate) then finish the process. Besides salt water, the item I have found to be VERY corrosive is any type of cola. You know, Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper....any of the brown stuff. My best success in those cases is rinsing in luke warm water with a very mild soap, being sure all the soap is gone before proceeding.
We have had success reviving phones that have been frozen in puddles over night, at the bottom of a lake for hours, Diesel fuel, paint and paint thinner, cat pee, dog & human puke (ewww), Hot tub and pool accidents, shower & toilet accidents, dish water, and others that have been in car accidents with water, foam fire retardant and some blood. Yep, we use gloves! The message here is it doesn't matter what got the phone "wet" chances are it can be saved.

REMEMBER>>>take out the battery and DO NOT try to power it up! I know, its human nature to want to try!!


Posted by: danquin

Thanks, everyone here. This is all very useful information. I will point out, just as an amusing factoid, that there is yet another way to dry out a phone, and quickly, but it will take kinda unusual equipment. A vacuum chamber. Water is only liquid somewhere around standard atmospheric pressures, so if you've got something you can put it in that will take the air out, the phone will dry out nearly immediately.

The obvious disadvantatage to this method is that it's a false friend if the substance it got in is more than just water (salt water, juice, etc.). The water will leave but that won't. Still, if non-water stuff isn't a concern (say, if it just fell in tap water, which would conduct some electricity but probably wouldn't produce too much in the way of mineral deposits), and you're lucky enough to have a vac chamber nearby, then stick it in and go for it. It's probably your quickest option for getting the phone dry, and you wouldn't really even have to open up the phone. (do take the battery out, though.)

Don't know about batteries in vacuums or such things. Anyone else have any further input?


Posted by: shesadiva

Nice guide, I wish I read this before so I could've saved my poor N70!

I didn't follow a thing from #1 alone

(1) IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THE BATTERY. VERY VERY IMPORTANT! 60 seconds later and it may be too late.

The battery is usually the source of damage, not just the water alone. Water+Battery = Short Circuits! So REMOVE the battery! And DONT TEST the cellphone after it's been dropped in water!

~I panicked and removed the battery then put it back again


Posted by: robo87

My LG VX8350 just went for a swim in the pool without me. After yanking the battery I put in in the dryer (with a no-tumble rack) for about an hour and let it dry overnite. The next morning I couldn't resist the temptation to power it up. It booted up OK and so I thought I was out of the woods. Unfortunately, 30 min later I saw a bit of condensate under the outer LCD and I was very warm. The inside LCD was completely white.

So I called PPC Tech and brought in in to them. A few hour later they told me it was good to go with all the data intact. They charged me $45 bucks, GREAT job. I was told that even if it had adequate time to dry out, the water calcium from the water would have shorted it out eventually.

Moral: There's no substitute for a good alcohol cleaning after a dunking, No more phone swimming for me!


Posted by: Scottish Skyedance

I did exactly same thing as OP posted when I dropped my HP HX2495 into toilet
after 2 days, I re-assemble it, it's saved

btw, another thread at The Lounge pointed here


Posted by: Calvin80

The guide and all other tips sound really useful ...thanks all !


Posted by: clem24

I've got an LG 9100/Keybo that got wet (to what extent I don't know as I unknowingly bought it from someone). I *think* it's dry by now. The issue is that the power/end key does not work, on BOTH keypads. And the interesting part is that the buttons do work when I pull the battery out for a day. Then they stop functioning after an hour or so. Looks like I'll be pulling it apart and checking for oxidization.

Great thread BTW.


Posted by: dyosa

Luckily i never had an accident of that kind.
Although i'm tempted to make my nokia 3210 swim
i love this fone though.


Posted by: MrWeller

Well, my wife forgot to take her LG EnV2 out of her coat pocket when she washed it and now I am dealing with the same thing you guys have all been through...luckily as soon as she realized what had happened she immediately pulled the battery... She also told me that it was wet but had been mostly protected by the coat because it was still inside one of the larger pockets... At this point, I am thinking that I'll try to take it apart if possible and then use some alcohol on it...


Posted by: MrWeller

I successfully took apart and cleaned my wife's LG EnV2 however after I powered it back up with a different battery, it doesn't want to connect to the network to make a call... Any ideas? Thanks!


Posted by: dyosa

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWeller
I successfully took apart and cleaned my wife's LG EnV2 however after I powered it back up with a different battery, it doesn't want to connect to the network to make a call... Any ideas? Thanks!



I wish I have an idea to help you..goodluck


Posted by: MrWeller

Sorry, I should have come back to update this sooner... I took it apart even further the next time and pulled the metal caps off of the chips, etc... Cleaned that up the same way as everything else and when put back together it worked like a charm! Only issue is the front screen on it is messed up...has a lot of white lines in it and generally blurry...but I did use it successfully for almost 2 weeks! It reminded me of how much I liked the phone when it was mine!


Posted by: SKYP

Took apart and cleaned my energy water soaked phone with an alcohol soaked cloth (but had not immediately removed the battery & had tried it several times with battery in). Everything works except I get "No Service" and when I try to dial out, it says "Call Failed".

Shall I take it apart again? What part of it connects it? If I knew, maybe I could clean that again.

Help! I'm job hunting and short of cash and need my phone for employer calls!


Posted by: MrWeller

How far did you tear it apart? I had a similar thing happen to me. I ended up prying the metal caps/covers off of the chips and cleaned those out with alcohol and then put it back together and it worked...it could be that water got in even further than you did so far...


Posted by: SKYP

I got some electronics cleaner from Radio shack and sprayed down the parts. Then I soaked them in alcohol for about five minutes. Lay them out under a lamp overnight. Assembled this morning and got reception, very excited, but then some quit working and I stopped, took it back apart and am letting it air some more in case not dry. Stupid to push it this morning. It's rainy here so probably not dry yet. I'm afraid to pry the metal covers off. Did they just pop off with a screwdriver? Do they just pop back on then? I'm guessing it would be a bad idea ever to take the plastic cover off the keyboard as there are contacts attached to the plastic?

Thanks for all this feedback. I am have a friend with a dead Razr and am going to try swapping out circuit boards, etc. if there are still problems after it dries further. I'll let you know.


Posted by: MrWeller

I was afraid to pry the metal covers off at first too...then I realized how much a non-working phone is worth -- $0. So I figured it was worth the risk either way... Good Luck!


Posted by: SKYP

Assembled the phone yesterday after drying the parts gently with cold air from the hair dryer and letting them sit most of the day. The phone worked!!! I still cringe everytime I push a key.

Just for the heck of it, I tried cleaning another Razr I had that would do nothing more than turn on and off. Has not improved the performance of that phone to tinker with it. Well, I'm thrilled to have one working and can't thank you all enough.


Posted by: Justin-Goldberg

I cleaned a phone that was dropped on the toilet with alcohol hand sanitizer all over every part, then washed it with water (using gloves of course) left it in a windows with sunlight for a few days (the longer the better) and it works just fine. as always, ymmv.


Posted by: clem24

Update: I posted in January regarding my LG Keybo. After about 3 weeks of ownership, the phone's operation has completely returned to normal, and has been operating without a hitch since. So I think I got lucky.


Posted by: dadala

How do I disassemble env2? Only see one small phillips head screw in battery compartment.


Posted by: MrWeller

There are screw covers that cover the rest of the screws for the EnV2...gently remove the covers and carefully remove screws...


Posted by: dadala

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWeller
There are screw covers that cover the rest of the screws for the EnV2...gently remove the covers and carefully remove screws...


Thanks - I'll look for them. How many are there and is there a photo or the like showing where they are?


Posted by: ethanr316

Thanks for the great feed Mark. Water damage to a cell phone can really be a nightmare. I remember loosing my first phone due to water damage.


Posted by: ethanr316

Thanks for the great feed Mark. Water damage to a cell phone can really be a nightmare. I remember loosing my first phone due to water damage. :/


Posted by: fantastic fck

I have never been not able to save a phone dropped in water.
one day I dropped a phone in the yoilet and saved it.
I haeve never used distilled or any other type of water but removing the batter is the key.
using the blow dryer on cool is the #2 winner, and the heater (in house) or hung on a string behind the refrigerator never fails, it send slow heat.

There is another potential threat, which is condensation that will only surface after a couple of days and can still destroy the phone.

But this has happenned to me many times and I have always saved the phone.


Posted by: thevainone

well, i left my phone in my pocket and washed my pants...for some reason i had the reflex action of trying to turn it on, the camera flash stayed lit up but the phone didnt start up. that might be the end of the phone since everyone here said dont turn it on. i decided to google a little... one site said to use a hairdrier on low, and put the phone in a bowl of rice. so i'm trying that for now. im going to try to goto the verizonstore tomorrow and see if they can help, if not ill unscrew the back and try the alcohol. sigh


Posted by: oldcarman

Ran phone through clothes washer. Took battery out and have left phone covered in uncooked rice for 2 days. Phone does appear to work, but earpiece side (outside) LCD screen has condensation across part of it, that is not going away. Outside cover appears to snap on, but I am afraid to break it, by prying any further. Any ideas on how to remove the cover, and dry the screen off?
Thanks!!!


Posted by: C DM

Quote:
Originally Posted by oldcarman
Ran phone through clothes washer. Took battery out and have left phone covered in uncooked rice for 2 days. Phone does appear to work, but earpiece side (outside) LCD screen has condensation across part of it, that is not going away. Outside cover appears to snap on, but I am afraid to break it, by prying any further. Any ideas on how to remove the cover, and dry the screen off?
Thanks!!!
Give it some time (like a week or two even) and see if it goes away on its own.


Posted by: masterninja50

Hi there, wish I had seen this thread last week. It started off that I was fishing last weekend with my LG700 in my shirt pocket thinking it would be safe. As I had a fish on ( nice trout and great eating but, think it cost me $300 ) I had slipped in the water getting splashed on the chest thinking the phone was fine and dry. When I was done fishing I took my phone out and noticed dampness on it. I tried the phone and it didn't seem to work so I placed it on heater to dry with the battery out. The next morning put it back together and seemed to start up but wouldn't stay on. did this a few time and the same thing would happen, goes on then shuts down. Now the phone won't even turn. I've looked through this thread and haven't done the alcohol thing yet. When I took it in to Bell World they told me that because the little strip is red that it voids the warrenty and can't do anything for me cause LG won't warrenty it either. I have taken the back cover but that's as far as I can get.

I was wondering if anybody thinks it's still salvagable or am I scr**ed and have to end up getting another phone? I don't know if using alcohol will fix now?


Posted by: ethanr316

Quote:
Originally Posted by Al42
So have I.

I was cringing until I read this post. Water? We always use alcohol and we have a 70% sucess rate with people who walk in the door with wet phones.

Don't wash your phone with water!!! Wash it with plain old rubbing alcohol - I've even soaked a board in alcohol for a minute or two to make sure it got under everything, although some Nokias can be cleaned with alcohol swabs.

The most important part, though, as Mark said, is to take the battery out, and not put it back in until the phone is clean and dry.


Woh! Thanks for the information here. I will keep this in mind. Your are right about the battery. The battery needs to be removed in all cases where we find liquid seeping to our precious communication devices heh




vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
vB Easy Archive Final ©2000 - 2009 - Created by Stefan "Xenon" Kaeser