DX went for a swim

[vr4]

phone fell into a bucket of water. had a rag in it so it didnt immediately sink to the bottom though it was submerged for about 1 second.


got the phone out, tried to shut down. touch screen wasnt responding due to being wet. ripped the case off and did a battery pull just as the screen started to flicker.

tried to get all the water out and about half an hour later put it back in. phone worked for 30 seconds. main buttons stopped responding so i did another battery pull. this time it didnt start working again. turned on and went to the android and a warning sign. pulled battery to turn off. reinstall and try to charge. same sign pops up.

leave battery out over night and let phone air out. reinstall this morning.



3 hours later.....still working normally. sound is fine. all buttons work, screen normal.



the only thing that saved me i think was the verizon silicone case and the fact that it was in for such a short time. the water sensor doesnt even show any evidence of being wet. compared it to another X and it looks identical.

 

[mxsjw]

Lucky and congrats...I'd still pull the battery and stick that sucker in a bag of rice for a couple days...that should get any left over moisture out.

 

[dhoffman1421]

Lucky and congrats...I'd still pull the battery and stick that sucker in a bag of rice for a couple days...that should get any left over moisture out.

/\This/\

 

[rehpyc]

Being a water cooler of the pc, I've heard some horror stories of expensive electrical equipment getting wet. Typically, if you use a means of completely drying out the piece of hardware (leave out in the sun for a few days, leave in a bag/cabinet with rice, blowdry on low heat and leave to dry for a few days), it'll typically end up working. Those who freak out and rush trying to mostly dry it out, but not fully, to test if it still works end up actually killing their hardware.

Glad your X pulled through.

 

[vr4]

Well see how it goes. If it dies il just wait for the next one.

A few years ago I placed my razr into a glass of water (half asleep), watched it shut down, and thought it was done. 2 days later it was back to normal other than the water indicators being activated.

 

[Hrethgir]

I ran an old Samsung flip-phone through the laundry once. It took a few days to dry out fully, there was a little soap residue bhind the screen, and the battery was never quite the same, but once it dried out, it worked perfectly. The key is to make sure it is completely dry inside.

 

[bishop0114]

I that I dropped in a bathtub (full of soap suds) while it was turned on. It took me about 30 seconds to find it. When I finally fished it out, the phone was still on and running. I pulled the battery but the phone was completely soaked inside and out. It even had water inside the screen..

I threw the phone in a bag of rice for a couple days and then tried to fire it up. That was a year ago and it still works.

 

[polecats03]

throw it in a bottle of rice and ur good too go!! my buddy took my old phone on a camping trip. they ended up going white water rafting and the phone was underwater.... still works today. go LG!!

 

[bigbadwulff]

Tips for water immersion(we have a pool, so trust me on this one ).

-Do NOT attempt to see if it works while it is wet
-Immediately yank the battery
-Put the whole thing next to a dehumidifier. Find one, buy one, whatever.
-Wait until you are 100% sure it is completely dried out(at least over night)

-Cross fingers, put in battery and fire it up....

 

[baberz]

OP you should have put it in a bag of rice as soon as you got the battery out of the phone.

 

[SlvrScoobie]

haha yea, wait about 3-5 days
I had a BB that went in the lake with me when the boat floated away from the dock as I tried to get off - It went in with me in my shorts.
It was dried in rice overnight and such all dry and nice, no batt.
worked great for 2 days then it started having problems. About 3 days in - the phone started not responding or the signal wouldnt work.
I think it started corroding or rusting or something. even after it was dry. cant ever get 100% of the water out.

 

[mxsjw]

There is another way, take out the battery / sd card and give it a bath in denatured alcohol, then let it dry.
But that's gonna scare the crap outta most of ya.

 

[SlvrScoobie]

There is another way, take out the battery / sd card and give it a bath in denatured alcohol, then let it dry.
But that's gonna scare the crap outta most of ya.

Or mineral oil
Course the slippery screen might be a pain later.

 

[Ni Dieu Ni Maitre]

So the rice thing actually works, eh?

Well, I have a question: why? Why does it work?

And do you just take the battery out of the phone and toss them both into a bag of rice, or what?

Pardon my ignorance, but thankfully I've never managed to drop my phone into water. Yet >_>

 

[mxsjw]

Yes both...er' all three in the rice, phone, battery, sd card...all taken out of the phone, one bag is OK.
It works cause rice absorbs the hell out of moisture. Silica packs would work too if you could get enough of em' to pack around the device(s)..

 

[12stringchap]

So the rice thing actually works, eh?

Well, I have a question: why? Why does it work?

And do you just take the battery out of the phone and toss them both into a bag of rice, or what?

Pardon my ignorance, but thankfully I've never managed to drop my phone into water. Yet >_>

Per Wired Magazine. They have said brown rice and/or silica packets for 24 hours. Rice is super absorbant to water. So any mositure goes for it. I usually try to save silica packets. You could also go through the walmart shoe section and take them from the boxes. When security tries to get you for stealing. Tell them your recycling them because your parents are pot smoking hippies and they will stop badgering you about how your not going to amount to anything unless you recycle silica packets.

 

[t4ckleb0x]

For the most part, tap water WILL NOT harm your phone. Short circuiting will. Pull the battery AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Put it in a bowl of uncooked rice overnight (at least) and then it should be dried out.

Also, if you happen to be by salt water, the salt WILL corrode the electrical components inside. Maybe not right away, but if left there it will corrode. Best thing to do is do a battery pull and soak the phone in FRESH water, then drying it out.

Hope this helps somebody.

 

[mlclm]

There is another way, take out the battery / sd card and give it a bath in denatured alcohol, then let it dry.
But that's gonna scare the crap outta most of ya.

What does this do? Should it be dried in rice?

 

[mxsjw]

What does this do? Should it be dried in rice?

Denatured Alcohol will attach to the water and evaporate it quickly/more efficiently than air alone, like a wick. I'd do the alcohol soak, let it air dry for a few hours, then uncooked rice it to be sure all water is out. Alcohol is especially effective when saltwater was involved.

Here's what I'd do...Opps, I dropped my cell in the ocean...pull battery, pull sd card, soak in fresh water, let drain, soak in denatured alcohol, let drain, let airdry, stick in bag of uncooked rice for 48 hours, put it back together and hold my breath.

 

[SlvrScoobie]

my question though would be if prolonged immersion in a fluid would cause any damage to the screen being that its separated by a small air gap. if anything got really Stuck in there, it could be an issue.
also, alcohol and plastics dont always mix well.

 

[mxsjw]

True, I'd test for chemical reaction first.

 

[mlclm]

Denatured Alcohol will attach to the water and evaporate it quickly/more efficiently than air alone, like a wick. I'd do the alcohol soak, let it air dry for a few hours, then uncooked rice it to be sure all water is out. Alcohol is especially effective when saltwater was involved.

Here's what I'd do...Opps, I dropped my cell in the ocean...pull battery, pull sd card, soak in fresh water, let drain, soak in denatured alcohol, let drain, let airdry, stick in bag of uncooked rice for 48 hours, put it back together and hold my breath.

Ah, ok. I learned something today.

 

[Outlaw71]

It's funny, I never knew any of this either... interesting thread.

Way back in the day when I had a Motorola flip phone (remember the one with the blue trim... one of the first phones with a clock on the outside of the phone... oh how revolutionary) I was at a 4th of July party and my girlfriends daughter had gone belly up in her floatation device. I remember seeing this, and a half second later I was in the pool fetching her out.

As soon as I got out I rembembered my phone was in my pocket and I freaked out (I loved that stupid phone). So I yanked it out of my pocket, took it completely apart, pulled the battery out and started shaking the hell out of it (the phone, not the battery). I honestly didn't think anything could really help it, I just started doing things instinctually in hopes that perhaps a miracle would befall upon my beloved phone.

I left it completely apart, and placed it directly under a lamp over night. The next morning as I got ready for work I put it back together fully expecting it to do absolutely nothing at all. To my absolute amazement it fired right back up without a hitch and worked flawlessly. The screen was a bit steamy that first day, but after that you would never know it'd taken a swim at all.

Now after reading this thread (years after the fact) I would point to the fact that I pulled the battery out almost immediately instead of trying to see if it would work. But back then I was clueless as to how it survived that after I'd heard countless horror stories about people dropping their phones in the toilet or sink for just a second and the phone being rendered useless afterwards. So I had always praised Motorola for making phones that could go into a swimming pool for a good 30 seconds and still go about its business like nothing ever happened (kinda like a Timex commercial... it takes a swimmin, and keeps on tickin).

Now it occurs to me that my instincts played a bigger role in its survival than I had previously assumed.

 

[TrendyBull]

Lucky and congrats...I'd still pull the battery and stick that sucker in a bag of rice for a couple days...that should get any left over moisture out.

that worked for mine, only i left it in rice overnight. was too anxious to see if it would work for me. next day, had a little residual water in the bottom corner, then i think the heat the phone gave off dried the rest of that up. not a problem since