Rice stuck in my phone

Tasmin · July 15th, 2011, 09:06 PM

My field crew and I got caught in a down pour on Tuesday. My phone was in my stylin' fanny pack; I figured it was better off taking its chances in there than getting soaked being transferred into a plastic bag.

Got it home and it was only a wee bit damp. A single big drop of water under the battery cover and some drops under the camera lens. It was still on but running hot. I was able to power it down normally and left it packed in rice from Tuesday afternoon until Friday afternoon (there were no signs of moisture by Wednesday afternoon, but I left it a while longer to be on the safe side). The water damage indicator never changed color.

When I pulled it out this afternoon, there were 2 pieces of rice stuck in the small round hole just to the right of the SIM card slot. Finally got one out, but the other one is stuck up in there pretty good. Went to Fry's looking for a screwdriver to remove the casing (and hoping to find a pry tool - no luck) and the sales person I asked to help me find the appropriate sized screw driver (does anyone know, btw?), I was told the rice shouldn't hurt the phone if it was left in there. Before I either go on an extended quest for screwdrivers and pry tools or risk powering up my rice-clogged phone, I thought I'd ask the experts. Any suggestions?

lunatic59 · July 15th, 2011, 09:11 PM

Unless the rice is preventing the back cover or battery from fitting properly, I wouldn't worry about it unless you see some birds following you around

CrimsonPride · July 16th, 2011, 12:32 AM

I wouldnt worry about it, and hey if you get lost in a desert sometime and you have your phone you can break it open and eat the single rice granule

Darkeligos · July 16th, 2011, 04:45 AM

Superglue + toothpick. Try not to superglue the toothpick to the surrounding plastic though.

Tasmin · July 16th, 2011, 11:41 AM

You folks are hilarious

Booted it up without the SIM. Seems more or less ok, but it's running hotter than normal, and most of the heat seems to be coming from the camera-end of the phone. Any thoughts?

Edit:

Arg! Went to charge the blasted thing and found some pretty significant corrosion in the usb port. The extra heat generated by the corrosion will eventually cause problems, won't it? If nothing else, the parts will "age" faster, right?

Jack45 · July 17th, 2011, 06:57 AM

You're between a wok and a hard place.

If you attempt to exchange the device under warranty they could discover the introduction of water into phone...even thought the visible water sensors haven't exposed it. If you don't, the USB port could become a problem down the road.

Me? I'd try the warranty road as it's a no-lose situation...especially since you don't know what else might be lurking under the covers that's resulted from the water intrusion.

Tasmin · July 17th, 2011, 07:44 AM

To go the warranty route I'd have to figure out a way to flash back to stock without connecting to my PC, because that functionality was not working well when I tried to connect to back it up last night. Currently running Serendipity VII.

Finding some references online to using alcohol swabs to clean out the corrosion on the USB port. Anyone here gone that route?

Edit: Used tiny pieces of rubbing alcohol wipes and watch-maker's forceps to clean out the USB port and the headphone jack. Good news is that when I booted it back up it was running a lot cooler. The bad news is that the first time I plugged it in to charge it started to charge then stopped. Now absolutely no response when I plug in the USB cable.

*Beats head against wall*

I'm wondering if it's worth buying an extra battery and external charger to limp along with ($30). I'm 3 months out from my wedding and won't have much cash to spare until after then for a new phone (and maybe the SGSII will be available by then). I found a website (http://www.cellularrepairandexchange.com/samsung-captivate-i897-charge-port_1263_p.aspx) that claims to replace the port for $40, but (a) I'm a little leery of sending my phone off to some random site for repairs and (b) who knows how much MORE corrosion is down in the motherboard? Everything you can see from the back looks fine, but I'm rapidly discovering how deceptive that can be.

Jack45 · July 17th, 2011, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tasmin

I'm a little leery of sending my phone off to some random site for repairs...

Atlanta, eh?

http://www.georgia-cell-phone-repair.com/

I took my Nokia into them a few years ago (remember Nokia?) and was satisfied with their service and what they charged.

Tasmin · July 17th, 2011, 12:10 PM

I had Nokia flip phones for several years

Just shot them off a request of ball park estimates on mine and my fiance's shattered Transform screen (he's been pouting over it for weeks - if I get mine fixed and don't fix his too, I'll never hear the end of it!). Thanks for the local referral, Jack!

Went ahead and ordered a Samsung external charger and extra battery from Newegg for $27 while I was at it. I figure I can return or resell if I end up not needing it.

Jack45 · July 17th, 2011, 12:38 PM

OT, but useful nonetheless as it addresses your charger / battery comment:

Amazon.com: New Trent itruck IMP880 8900mAh External Battery Pack and Charger for iPad2, iPad, iPhone 4 4G 3Gs 3G (AT&T and Verizon), iPod Touch (1G 2G 3G 4G), Motorola Droid, HTC Android Phones, Blackberry, Kindle, Samsung Galaxy S, Nintendo, Sony P

Great item. Contains four full charges. Rechargeable. Connects to phone via USB cable.

Tasmin · July 19th, 2011, 06:44 PM

Update: Quoted $72 this morning to clean the corrosion off the motherboard and replace the USB port. Sounds like a fair price, but I can't swallow it for a phone I can completely replace for less money via an upgrade.

Now anxiously waiting on the external phone charger to arrive and hoping it will allow me to limp along for a couple more months.

bellerbee · January 18th, 2012, 01:29 PM

Apparently my evo has water damage...and the top of the touch scren won't work so i put it in rice and now it's stuck in there...how do i get it out...i can't see it but can hear it..and i don't want anymore problems with my phone...also any clue on how to fix the touch screen?