Dropped my phone in water

[Blizzerand]

We had a trip from college and I literally fell into the water and along with me, went my phone which I had placed in my pocket. Since its a new phone and I didnt have much idea about handling wet phones, I switched it on and off several times. Few things except the home/back were not properly functioning then.

After about 5-6 hours, I've reached back home and I've placed the phone in rice. Wth chances do I have?

BTW, I am having samsung galaxy R...

 

[Kicksilver]

If you turned it on right after taking it out of the water, I'm sorry then...

 

[Blizzerand]

Oh shit. I guess warranty wouldn't be much use in this case.

Do you think 3rd party repairers will be able to fix it?

 

[Kicksilver]

Hardly, but give it a shot.

 

[lunatic59]

Make sure the battery and any sim or SD cards are removed and let it sit in the rice for 48 to 72 hours (72 is better if it was a full dunking). Kicksilver is right in that turning a wet phone on while wet is probably the worst thing you can do and, unfortunately, is the natural reaction by many ... just to see if it still works.

I'd say you have a 50/50 chance of it working and a 90% of it being a little flaky even if it does work. Hey, but I'll think good thoughts for you and let us know how you make out. It's possible that it will be okay.

 

[Blizzerand]

kk! I will let you know I have any luck with it.

 

[TweakAndroid]

Rice and time.......and patience.

 

[Blizzerand]

SInce it has been 3 days, I tried to switch it on. It didn't work at first. I tried charging the phone, but the power button didn't function, it seems. I pressed the battery hard and then tried switching it on, surprisingly, it worked. Beneath the screen I could clearly see the wetness. Everything except home and power button works. I dont care much about home button since I never use it. But the power button was my fav. lol

I decided to keep it rice for a week since that should solve the issue with the display and may be the other stuff might work too, who knows?

Wish me luck. Really worked hard to earn that phone.

 

[Tattycakes]

I had a similar issue with an ipod that got wet in my pocket, there were bubbles of moisture under the screen that just wouldn't go away. I booked an appointment at an apple store and wandered around the shopping mall until the appointment time; when I went in, the bubbles had finally evaporated! Patience and good luck x

 

[SprintTechJosh]

I see liquid damaged phones all the time. The device may work for a few months and then just fail. It will likely begin to do quirky things like power cycle or lock up. As far as getting it fixed, a technician is going to look at it and see that your liquid indicator stickers have been triggered. You could take those off but a good tech will probably spot corrosion. It couldn't hurt to try though. When phones come in here with liquid damage the customer's have to make a insurance claim (if they have insurance) and then pay a 100 dollar deductible if it's a smart phone. Not ideal I know BUT it is certainly better than paying for a new phone at full retail price.
Good luck.

 

[Blizzerand]

Thanks for your input. But can anyone let me know the places where I can find liquid indication sensors on a galaxy phone? THe sticker at the top of the battery is still grey/silver. I believe there is one inside the battery. Where else?

 

[TweakAndroid]

Just be patient and leave the phone in the rice for a week or two. Rushing it and messing with stickers won't help anything.

You have had it in rice for what...two days?

How about a little patience as the rice does its thing.

 

[Blizzerand]

Guess so. I wasn't going to mess up the stickers though. (a bit over curious, I guess)

 

[zombie kat]

Messing with the stickers isn’t a good idea, if you’re going to a private repairer you want them to know what the problem is, if you’re sending it back for warranty replacement they would see them missing and deny your claim on the grounds of tampering.

I am curious as to why rice is used now. I could get much more powerful desiccants for $20.

 

[Andima]

After your phone dry water, never switch on. Try theses methods

How to Dry your Phone with Rice or Silica Gel - YouTube

How to Dry your Water Soaked Cell Phone [Video]

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Am8hhNhNVEw

 

[Blizzerand]

Nearly about a week. Will check it out tonight and get back to you guys.

 

[Blizzerand]

It works! The power button is a bit rough. It doesn't do much if I press it the way I used to earlier. But everything else works as awesome. Didn't expect this though. I thought my phone was dead the moment it got wet. I'm gonna make the best out of it in the coming months and i hope it lasts at least 1 year.

Cheers and thanks for keeping my hopes up.

Regards

 

[lunatic59]

Great news!

Now, just to be sure, you might want to return the phone to the rice bag each evening while you sleep for a couple of weeks to make sure it's %100 dry. It's not uncommon for a dunked phone to work for a while and then crap out a few months later. This is due to a little residual moisture corroding connections.

 

[Blizzerand]

Alright. I will do that.

 

[reesatoo64]

I dropped my Galaxy in the water last night, immediately dismantled, dried off and put into rice. I happened to have loose silica gel (from the DriZAir product) I am wondering if that would be a better solution and if it is okay to put the phone in the silica sand loose or if I should figure some way of "bagging" it like how the gel packs come in your purchases. I'm just concerned that any chemicals could do more damage. I'm absolutely heartbroken over this, had cell phones for 15+ years and never let myself be near water with mine. One moment of tired stupidity and now this... Any help and encouragement is appreciated.

 

[lunatic59]

I dropped my Galaxy in the water last night, immediately dismantled, dried off and put into rice. I happened to have loose silica gel (from the DriZAir product) I am wondering if that would be a better solution and if it is okay to put the phone in the silica sand loose or if I should figure some way of "bagging" it like how the gel packs come in your purchases. I'm just concerned that any chemicals could do more damage. I'm absolutely heartbroken over this, had cell phones for 15+ years and never let myself be near water with mine. One moment of tired stupidity and now this... Any help and encouragement is appreciated.

I would not put the phone in loose sand. Besides getting sand inside the phone, it could scratch the screen. As for the silica packs or gel, if they are new, they will work as effectively if not more so that dry rice. Those products do lose effectiveness over time so if they are older products, you'd be best to stick with the rice. Whichever method you use, you must give it enough time to completely dry before turning on your phone. Even trace moisture can cause serious problems if you apply power to an electronic device. Give it at least 72 hours and if the humidity in your area is high, give it a week.

Good luck.

 

[reesatoo64]

It's not really sand sand it's those little white "bubbles" of silica gel I guess is what the stuff is. I know it sucked the moisture out of my car like crazy, and I just bought the dri-z-air because my windshield seemed inordinately wet. Maybe it will work a miracle on my phone too. God knows I don't have a spare few hundred (?) lying around for a new Galaxy. The devious part of me wants to set up warranty for both my phones and in a few days put in a request. I just fear Karmic retribution from that though. Thanks!

 

[TheBrit]

...Karmic retribution...

Have you been watching Apprentice UK?

 

[lunatic59]

It's not really sand sand it's those little white "bubbles" of silica gel I guess is what the stuff is. I know it sucked the moisture out of my car like crazy, and I just bought the dri-z-air because my windshield seemed inordinately wet. Maybe it will work a miracle on my phone too. God knows I don't have a spare few hundred (?) lying around for a new Galaxy. The devious part of me wants to set up warranty for both my phones and in a few days put in a request. I just fear Karmic retribution from that though. Thanks!

If you do use the silica beads, I would get a tupperware (or some other brand) of air-tight container and fill it about half full of the beads, then put in a rack or perforated tray above the beads and put the phone, battery and cover on the tray making sure none of the parts touch the beads, then seal it up for several days. If you have a humidistat, you could throw it on the tray, too and assuming the lid is clear (don't open it) monitor the humidity until it stops dropping and then let it sit for an additional 48~72 hours.

 

[reesatoo64]

Thanks again! I'm already thinking of how to do this using vented lids from microwave meals and some container. Soooo hoping it works, considering how well they work on other things that don't seem like have any moisture, I'm just going to be positive and try to not cry over this.