HTC EVO 4G LTE water damage

[3vodroid]

Yes you read it correctly, my beloved ltevo took a little dip a couple days ago. If you are unaware the East coast just got waffled by a storm which knocked power out to over 200000 people... me being one of them... It was actually out for 4 days for me. so to cool off me and some friends decided to go to a blue hole about 35 mins away... Big mistake lol... My phone was in my truck and when I backed up to the water and put the tailgate down it somehow fell out of the truck and hit the water... It was maybe 3inches deep... I got it out extremly fast and quickly removed my defender... The phone was barely wet... It was still on but the phone was acting as if I was holding the power button down.... turning off, prompting soft resets etc... So here is where the story gets interesting.. and also the reason why I chose to share it here.. I went to the Sprint store expecting to have to bite the bullet and 1= pay the 200$ deductible and 2= get a refurbished device:banghead:.... But to my surprise the Sprint employee determined that there was no water damage and that it was a factory defect and get this.... I got a brand new ltevo bc he said no refurbished models have been made.. It was in the HTC box and even had the htc/sprint plastic on the screen.. . then just to make sure I checked the reverse logistics screen (##786#) and sure enough it is brand new .... after my new ltevo charges I will be posting a screen shot of the ##786# screen showing ( reconditioned status- No) with todays date for activation . So the moral of the story is... If your gonna break your phone... Do it now!

 

[Rxpert83]

It's still too new to expect a refurb.

Glad you got a new one. Looks like the case may have saved you some cash.

 

[3vodroid]

It's still too new to expect a refurb.

Glad you got a new one. Looks like the case may have saved you some cash.

I really thought I was going to get a refurbished one i was so bummed out!

 

[Greens]

If your phone ever decides to go for a swim again, you may be able to use Damp Rid to save it. I have saved at least 5 phones and 4 cameras for myself, friends and family using Damp Rid. One was even put through a clothes washer.

Hi-Capacity Moisture Absorber 4lbs. (FG50T) | Moisture Control Products | DampRid

To use it, just remove memory card and battery from the phone and put all parts in a small baggie or on a small saucer. In a second, larger baggie put a half cup of the Damp Rid crystals then place the open baggie or saucer inside the larger baggie on top of the crystals and close the larger baggie to make a drying chamber. Leave it there for at least one day and up to three. As long as you don't try to use the phone while still wet, it has a good chance of working again. It's important to not put the phone directly on the crystals because they can get slimy as they absorb moisture.

Hope you never have to use it, but it may be helpful to you or others in the future. I keep baggies of Damp Rid in my house, car, computer bag, kayaking kit, and give it to friends.

 

[ironbrewer]

The only problem with that is that the Eltvo's battery is non-removable.

 

[3vodroid]

I put it in a bowl of rice for I'd say almost a day.. Rice has saved the day a few times for me.. But my evo just had enough I think haha.. I'm just so happy I got a brand new replacement

 

[drexappeal]

I went from seeing the thread title and saying, "So sorry to hear your phone took a swim!"...to..."That is absolutely awesome news! Glad Sprint is still working the way that I've personally experienced in my 12 years with them."

When it has come to replacements and whatnot, I've always had a great experience with Sprint. I know others haven't had as "good" of experiences when it came to replacing their broken phones, but they've been great. It's part of the reason I'm considering keeping their TEP vs. switching to Best Buy's black tie or something else.

 

[3vodroid]

I went from seeing the thread title and saying, "So sorry to hear your phone took a swim!"...to..."That is absolutely awesome news! Glad Sprint is still working the way that I've personally experienced in my 12 years with them."

When it has come to replacements and whatnot, I've always had a great experience with Sprint. I know others haven't had as "good" of experiences when it came to replacing their broken phones, but they've been great. It's part of the reason I'm considering keeping their TEP vs. switching to Best Buy's black tie or something else.

Yeah definitely... I always go to the corporate store and always expected an argument.. I have since changed the store I go to and now I always have a pleasant experience.. I was completely shocked when they said they were replacing it for free.. But when he said it would be a new device... I couldn't help but do the happy dance lol

 

[drexappeal]

Yeah definitely... I always go to the corporate store and always expected an argument.. I have since changed the store I go to and now I always have a pleasant experience.. I was completely shocked when they said they were replacing it for free.. But when he said it would be a new device... I couldn't help but do the happy dance lol

Maybe that's the difference there. I've always had corporate stores within 5-10 miles from me and every single one I've gone to, I've come out with a great experience when it came to phone fixes and/or replacements.

 

[evoowner]

Help! I dropped my phone in the toilet 4 days ago but brought it back to life without any signs of water damage on the LDI. Right when I dropped it I dried it off and then put in uncooked rice soon after. I took the phone out every few hours and it would turn on for short amounts of time but was hard to maneuver so I kept it in the rice overnight. In the morning it was back to normal and working perfectly but would not vibrate and the cameras had condensed water in them so I put it back in the rice. The cameras completely cleared up and there's no water in it. I left it alone for three days and now it won't turn on at all and won't charge or show up on my computer when plugged in to USB port. What happened?!

 

[Nevis]

Bummer! I did that with my OG EVO, and had to get a new one.

What happens if you put it on the charger? Does the charging LED come on at all?

I'm guessing that the battery is SO dead that it won't respond for a period of time until charged to a certain point.

Have you tried holding down the volume down button while pressing the power button (as if you were trying to bring up the recovery screen?) Sometimes my wife's Photon Q gets cranky when she lets it drain completely, and I have to use a similar method to get it to boot up.

 

[Droidwerks]

Help! I dropped my phone in the toilet 4 days ago but brought it back to life without any signs of water damage on the LDI. Right when I dropped it I dried it off and then put in uncooked rice soon after. I took the phone out every few hours and it would turn on for short amounts of time but was hard to maneuver so I kept it in the rice overnight. In the morning it was back to normal and working perfectly but would not vibrate and the cameras had condensed water in them so I put it back in the rice. The cameras completely cleared up and there's no water in it. I left it alone for three days and now it won't turn on at all and won't charge or show up on my computer when plugged in to USB port. What happened?!

Did you pull the battery? There's vids on youtube that show you how. I'd open it up, pull the battery, and leave it in the rice another 24 hours....at this point you've really got nothing to loose....

 

[TransTronTra]

:stupido2:Okay guys, yesterday I was washing my car with my phone in my pocket. I felt a little water get in there, so I took my phone out, wiped the little bit of water off of it and set it down away from me so it wouldn't get any more wet.
When I was finished I returned to my phone and now the screen is un-responsive. Everything else works, the hard keys, I receive texts and calls still. The screen just won't work. I tried putting it in rice for a while to see if that helped but nothing.
Has anyone else had this problem before? Or even gotten their EVO LTE wet? Any known fixes? (Other than sprint store, dummy me didn't get insurance)

As a tip to EVO LTE owners, avoid getting it wet, at all costs.

Thanks for any help and tips. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a very expensive paper weight.

 

[PattiCakeUS]

:stupido2:Okay guys, yesterday I was washing my car with my phone in my pocket. I felt a little water get in there, so I took my phone out, wiped the little bit of water off of it and set it down away from me so it wouldn't get any more wet.
When I was finished I returned to my phone and now the screen is un-responsive. Everything else works, the hard keys, I receive texts and calls still. The screen just won't work. I tried putting it in rice for a while to see if that helped but nothing.
Has anyone else had this problem before? Or even gotten their EVO LTE wet? Any known fixes? (Other than sprint store, dummy me didn't get insurance)

As a tip to EVO LTE owners, avoid getting it wet, at all costs.

Thanks for any help and tips. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a very expensive paper weight.

I dropped mine in the toilet & then quickly rinsed it off under clear running water & then I left it to dry out near a heater on low (it was winter) for a few hrs, it came through fine. I think it's all based on luck just how much water ends up where, I was just lucky. Electronics & water aren't a good mix.

Other than that I can't really advise you, it doesn't sound good for your phone.

 

[AlwaysSumtin]

So here's my story - I wake up, check my phone and see a fuzzy/staticky colorful screen that looks like a staticky tv channel or what your tv would look like when playing an old school Nintendo and the game freezes.

I could do absolutely nothing with my phone. I tried calling it and it rang.. but there was no way to answer because the screen was whack.

I took it to the Sprint store where they took a look at it for an hour behind closed doors, then tell me it has water damage and I all I can do is call TEP and pay a $100 deductible since I have TEP on my phone. I never dropped my phone, never through it against a wall, and definitely never had it near water.. so it makes no sense that my phone would have water damage, and that I am responsible for paying extra money for a new phone after taking extremely good care of it. Anyway, before calling TEP, I called Spring customer service where the guy attempted troubleshooting but was unable to do anything, and told me I should call TEP and they could probably get me a phone for free or like $50.

So, I call TEP to speak with a lady who clearly could care less about the crap I've gone through, who told me I could get a new phone in the mail for a $150 deductible. Who I then hung up on out of anger/frustration since I've been a loyal Sprint customer for 8 consecutive years and am expected to pay $150 for a phone that's at least a year out of style because mine out of nowhere started having issues.

I'm so frustrated and don't know what to do. I really can't afford to be spending $150 on a new phone right now especially since I did nothing wrong to it.

I tried taking off the top and bottom of the back of the phone, then let it sit in rice over night. Thought about attempting to take the middle section off the back as well.. and bought the tools to do it.. then realized that'd probably be a bad idea and i'd make things worse with all those screws in the back and parts that I have no clue what they are. Just thought about doing it to try the rice method again, except with the phone totally open since it's tough to do the rice method with this phone since the back is pretty much impossible to take apart.

The phone has been working most of the day today. It did the frozen fuzzy screen thing a few times today though which really got on my nerves. So I pressed the power button on and off for the display screen and eventually it worked again.

I'm just wondering what advice anyone here has. Its extremely important to me to have a reliable, working smartphone throughout the day for my job. And I'm afraid that this is going to continually happen with my phone.. and totally mess me up at work.

Does anyone know what the issue could be? If there's anything I can do to ensure the frozen colorful kaleidoscope looking screen doesn't happen again? Or would you just bite the bullet and spend $150 on the TEP deductible? I really can't believe this crap..

 

[marctronixx]

Hello,

unfortunate to hear of your issue with your device.

The phone has a water damage sticker on the inside, and once this sticker is activated, it tells the tech the insides have been exposed to some type of moisture, so they rule it as user error and then its up to your TEP plan to get it replaced.

if the internals have been exposed to moisture, its only a matter of time before the unit beings to show more signs of damage.

You may be able to find a phone second hand or find parts that you may be able to use to swap into your current phone. otherwise paying the deductible is the next step.

 

[EarlyMon]

I've heard of the indicator showing falsely after being in a safe but moist environment, like steam in a kitchen or bathroom.

Too much of that can cause a short.

Could that have happened?

 

[Rxpert83]

I've heard of the indicator showing falsely after being in a safe but moist environment, like steam in a kitchen or bathroom.

Yup. Don't listen to your phone while showering folks.


(Not accusing anyone of doing this, just general advice to anyone reading as I've seen this happen)

 

[Nevis]

If you use it for work, maybe your employer could pick up the TEP tab. Or, you could write it off as an unreimbursed business expense.