so I went to the hot springs with my phone today....

[jova33]

Played around, took some pictures underwater. About thirty minutes after we got out my wife was in the shower and I noticed the back of the phone wasn't properly seated. I pulled the back off and it was full of water. Phone was still on and working properly. I was looking up prairie oyster(the hangover cure) on wikipedia when I noticed the back wasn't on right.
I pulled the battery, poured out the water, blew it out, took out the sd card, and let it dry for the past four hours. Everything is still working fine. But yeah, I thought this thing was ruin for awhile.

Guess this voids the warranty more than rooting though. Unless someone knows what to do about the water sticker that used to have pink x's on it?

 

[El Presidente]

Yeah, the warranty is toast unfortunately, sorry.

I would leave it for a bit longer than 4 hours before trying to use it again though. Generally, it's supposed to be at least 48 hours in a box of rice in a warm cupboard.

I know the Commandos are supposed to be a little rugged, but I'd still give it more time to dry out properly first.

 

[jfever311]

I have been through this, and this saved the day. Get a bottle of rubbing alcohol that is at least 91%. Immerse the device in a bowl of that for a few hours, and then remove, shake it out, and sit it in a container of rice for a couple days. The alcohol will help prevent the corrosion that is the cause of device failure. I have personally done this and know it works.

 

[jova33]

well the four hours were in sunlight.... anyway, I just got home and took a good look inside. seems there's a white residue in there. These were mineral baths, soooo.... I guess I've got some minerals in there.
I'm pretty sure it's all dried out though. Blew inside with some air duster and no signs of water. Phone was on the charger for the past two hours on the drive home. Phone was working completely fine. Didn't think to do the rice thing because I was out of town and on the road. And there's no rice at home.

So I still might do the alcohol dip tomorrow. Think that'll get some of the mineral stuff out?

 

[dodgef25]

My question to you is, Did you check the temperature of the hot spring water with the phone? LOL

 

[eltee]

Would putting some rubber cement or something similar help shield the moisture detector? You could rub it off when needed.

 

[jfever311]

Yes, the alcohol should get rid of the mineral deposits and/or corrosion. Just make sure to get the highest concentration available.

 

[jova33]

Yes, the alcohol should get rid of the mineral deposits and/or corrosion. Just make sure to get the highest concentration available.

so anyway, i decided to go with the alcohol bath for my phone because I did notice some oxidation on the copper where the battery connection is. I found these instructions online:

How to Revive your Water Damaged Cell Phone

It's been sitting in a bowl of rice for a few hours. Now the only problem i have is looks like some alcohol moisture under the screen. I think i'm going to throw it in a zip lock bag with rice. Also, the alcohol takes off the coating revealing a shinier black under the black rubber.

Any suggestions?

edit: Worse comes to worst, I'll call asurion tomorrow and find out if they can replace me with a device that hasn't received the M100 update. One would think they haven't gone through all thier stock and updated every singe commando not in circulation. What's the price tag on the phone if you go through asurion?

 

[paxchristos]

Worse comes to worst, I'll call asurion tomorrow and find out if they can replace me with a device that hasn't received the M100 update. One would think they haven't gone through all thier stock and updated every singe commando not in circulation. What's the price tag on the phone if you go through asurion?

Here's verizon's info for refunds (through asurion)
Calling Features: Total Equipment Coverage – now with Mobile Recovery

 

[jova33]

so.... asurion doesn't have any commandos in stock and it'll take 3-7 days until they do. so back to the current problem, moisture behind the glass. any suggestions?

 

[john58ford]

Turkey baster with desiccant in the bulb. Rubber vacuum hose from tip of baster into headphone jack. All other Ports closed. Put in warm location for as long as required. Replace desiccant as necessary. For best results have the phone higher than the air dryer with the head phone port tipped downwards. By warm I mean 120-180 F up north here over a furnace vent would work down south maybe on the dash of your car shaded by a hat or something.

Good luck

 

[jova33]

oh well, i just coughed up like 180 on ebay for a used one. i think i should just ditch asurion.

 

[Spike G]

Jova does your old one still work?

 

[jova33]

well i figured i'd try something since the alcohol wasn't coming out from behind the screen, and it was leaving streaks where it hadn't been sitting. I let it soak in distilled water, but the water wasn't getting down to where the alcohol was. I has to shake it around underwater and turn it every which way just to get the water down to the screen. I figured since the alcohol wasn't drying up in the rice, maybe the water would lol. So now it's stting in a zip lock back of rice and I set the bag in the sun for now.

If it does get to working again, I guess I'll just keep one around as a spare.

 

[jfever311]

What percentage alcohol did you use? A higher percentage would have evaporated by now, or so I would think. I personally used 95% we get from the pharmacy. You might want to try that, or be patient and wait for asurion to get another device to you

 

[jova33]

91%

I don't want the M100 update though.

edit: and if they're all out of stock of commandos, then they will probably get a newly refurbished one that has the M100 update. I like having root access.

 

[jova33]

i just got my bheestie bag in the mail today. I'll give this a shot. 48 hours in there. We shall see.

 

[elderlypunk]

bheestie bag

what's that? I drowned my og droid last year and would have loved to have been able to save it...

 

[jova33]

i found some pretty good reviews online about it. it's basically just a bag with pouches of those silicone pellets similar to the ones you'd find in clothes or shoes. it's dried it out pretty good. most of the moister from behind the screen is gone, but not all of it. and there's streaks from where the water/alcohol was. i think i'm going to take this b apart and wipe down the innards.

 

[~aRBy~]

...Also, the alcohol takes off the coating revealing a shinier black under the black rubber...

Could you post some pictures of that?

In several sections of mine the rubber coating is

 

[jova33]

it's patchy. I mean I could go all the way and peal the rest off, but that'd be a pain. It's just shiny black.

So anyways, if you have water seep into your commando, DO NOT dip it in alcohol. This is poor advice. The same features that keep the water out of our phones keep water into hard to reach places. And I guess since alcohol acts differently than water, it can get deeper into the inner workings of your phone. Where I had some problems with moisture in my phone, the alcohol found it's way to the screen. I took my phone apart as far as I could, but eventually you'll need a three prong screwdriver. The screen dried out, and left watermarks all under the glass. I figured what the heck, put the battery back in and turned it on. Wow.... This thing is jacked. I remember once a friend of mine dropped a laptop and it landed on the corner and the screen color was all distorted and there was like a halo effect on the edges of the screen. Well that's exactly what's up now. Touch screen works. haptic feedback is gone.
I might, might, take it to a phone repair shop. But i did just dish out $180 for a used commando. Asurion said they'd contact me as soon as they had my device in stock.
So i dunno. Whatever is cheaper.

In conclusion, make sure all ports are closed before taking pictures underwater, and don't dip your commando in alcohol to try and remove moisture.

Not blaming anyone, I usually look more into things before I do something that could potentially damage expensive things. There's more sources that say don't put your phone in alcohol than ones that say do.

edit: I think i'll take the asurion route. if they send me one that doesn't have the M100 update, then I'll keep that one and see if verizon can replace the used device i purchased under warranty..... hmmm....

 

[~aRBy~]

....
edit: I think i'll take the asurion route. if they send me one that doesn't have the M100 update, then I'll keep that one and see if verizon can replace the used device i purchased under warranty..... hmmm....

They will replace the used one for you under warranty, but a few days later, you will end up with a charge on your bill for full price of the unit. When you call in to find out why, they will tell you that the numbers on the returned phone do not match what they have on file for your

 

[jova33]

are you sure about that? i had a replacement device a long time ago that I acquired second hand, and I could've sworn i had it replaced under warranty. or maybe it was through asurion. but i did have it replaced....

 

[~aRBy~]

Yep, the warranty is non-transferable and only valid for the original owner.

Last year my wife ended up breaking her phone and we do not carry insurance and never have. We went to a Verizon corp store and added another line to our account with the same model phone as which she just had. After adding the new line/phone we had them switch the phone to her line. We did it there to make sure everything would be good and the warranty would still be valid if anything happened within the year. If we would have just paid them for an FRU, we would have had a replacement phone for her line, but then lost the remainder of her original warranty for a 90 day warranty.
Well a few months later, the backlight on the display went out. Under warranty we had that phone replaced thinking everything was fine. On our next bill, there was the full charge for the replacement phone, because the meid # was not the original number listed for her line. It took us 4 months to finally get everything all straight.

 

[jova33]

verizon is such a rip off. the only reason i still have them is because i normally get service every where and i travel alot.