Dropped phone in water. Any chance of survival?

[mitk0o0o0]

Well I dun goof'd this time really badly. It fell in a "bowl" of water and I quickly managed to pull it out. The phone was still on, working as usual, except I noticed that the battery started charging itself LOL. Like it had the electricity symbol on it. Anyways, I quickly took out battery, SIM card, opened up the USB port, took off the MicroSD and I noticed they're all pretty wet, wiped them along with the battery and the back of the phone but I still think there is some moisture left inside so I just put it in a bowl of rice, covered up so that no air can go in and hoping that everything will turn out good within 3-4 days.

What keeps me calm is that it was working still while wet so that makes me think it'll still turn on once fully dried. Hell, my cousin's home had a flood and his computer was on the floor, he didn't turn it on for about a week and once he got the courage, his computer started without a problem and so far no motherboard issues or anything of the sort.

I don't know how I'm gonna live for these next 3-4 days as my phone was half of my daily life, I feel disconnected from the world. Has anyone had similar drowning situations? If so, did leaving it with rice or just like that got it to survive? I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Young btw.

 

[Hadron]

You've done the right thing. From now on it's just fingers crossed that there is no serious corrosion damage.

 

[mitk0o0o0]

You've done the right thing. From now on it's just fingers crossed that there is no serious corrosion damage.

Thanks for the reply.

And yeah I guess there's not much I can do other than just being patient. But I just have to be aware of what can and what cannot happen, being nervous. I got so hooked with using a smartphone and I don't think I can afford a new one pretty soon. Also should I change the rice every day or I shouldn't touch it at all?

 

[jerry42570]

Rice trick has worked for me in the past. My problem was getting impatient and trying to turn on the phone too soon - say after a couple of days. Best bet like you said is to be patient before trying to power it on again.

I used enough rice that the phone was completely covered in it. I maybe rotated the phone once or twice, but didn't need to change the rice at all.

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Rice trick has worked for me in the past. My problem was getting impatient and trying to turn on the phone too soon - say after a couple of days. Best bet like you said is to be patient before trying to power it on again.

I used enough rice that the phone was completely covered in it. I maybe rotated the phone once or twice, but didn't need to change the rice at all.

So until today it still works and hasn't caused any malfunctions? I also use that much amount of rice, enough to have it covered. Thanks for the info I'll be sure to not lay my hands on it even for a week if I have to.
I was thinking, the rice is not dangerous at all for the hardware inside the phone, right? Like it cannot create some kind of dust or anything that gets everything inside dirty.

 

[Waldys]

Rice is good, but believe me when I tell you, Instant Oatmeal will do it faster and easier.

Ever eat a bowl of oatmeal and like 5 minutes later, you're THIRSTY. That's because High Fiber foods absorb MANY times their own weight in water.

So instead, try a bowl of oatmeal or Bran cereal or, if you'd like, sandwich it between two slices of whole-wheat bread and bury THAT inside a bag of oatmeal.

 

[gtbarry]

I think you should leave your phone immersed in rice for one week or more if you can.

A friend dumped an entire cup of coffee on his laptop and it went dark on him immediately. He threw it in rice for one week. Took it out. It was dead. He threw it back in and bought a new laptop. Two weeks later tried the old one, it has been working fine since.

a.k.a. the longer the better. But it is your phone, so how long can you wait? Can you borrow an old phone for a short while?

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Rice is good, but believe me when I tell you, Instant Oatmeal will do it faster and easier.

Ever eat a bowl of oatmeal and like 5 minutes later, you're THIRSTY. That's because High Fiber foods absorb MANY times their own weight in water.

So instead, try a bowl of oatmeal or Bran cereal or, if you'd like, sandwich it between two slices of whole-wheat bread and bury THAT inside a bag of oatmeal.

Thanks for the advice, I'll look those ingredients up.

I think you should leave your phone immersed in rice for one week or more if you can.

A friend dumped an entire cup of coffee on his laptop and it went dark on him immediately. He threw it in rice for one week. Took it out. It was dead. He threw it back in and bought a new laptop. Two weeks later tried the old one, it has been working fine since.

a.k.a. the longer the better. But it is your phone, so how long can you wait? Can you borrow an old phone for a short while?

A whole week.. The only phone I can use at the moment is a Nokia 100. It doesn't even have a browser.

 

[angrybirds365]

I think you should leave your phone immersed in rice for one week or more if you can.

A friend dumped an entire cup of coffee on his laptop and it went dark on him immediately. He threw it in rice for one week. Took it out. It was dead. He threw it back in and bought a new laptop. Two weeks later tried the old one, it has been working fine since.

a.k.a. the longer the better. But it is your phone, so how long can you wait? Can you borrow an old phone for a short while?

2nd that! the rice method does wonders...

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Also guys, is it true that I should take off my screen protector if I had one?

 

[Digital Controller]

Also guys, is it true that I should take off my screen protector if I had one?

Yes i would do that....

I have also seen the rice method work miracles...

Sometimes a screen protector can trap water between cracks of the phone if it say...goes to the absolute edge of the device, so remove it...

Wish you the best of luck

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Yes i would do that....

I have also seen the rice method work miracles...

Sometimes a screen protector can trap water between cracks of the phone if it say...goes to the absolute edge of the device, so remove it...

Wish you the best of luck

Thanks, I just removed it. The screen seemd dry under the protector, just the outside part of the protector was still wet for some reason.

Will this bowl of rice do? I'm pretty sure no air can go in:

 

[lucky013]

Not sure if you should trap the air. You want the moisture to evaporate. The rice will only absorb so much and want to let the moisture escape.

 

[Digital Controller]

Not sure if you should trap the air. You want the moisture to evaporate. The rice will only absorb so much and want to let the moisture escape.

This ^^

but just poke some holes with a fork in the top or something...

Otherwise looks good to me...maybe you should put a lock on it and give the key to your neighbor haha

 

[gtbarry]

A whole week.. The only phone I can use at the moment is a Nokia 100. It doesn't even have a browser.

The longer the better. You want to be sure that all of the moisture is gone gone gone. But, ya, reality is you need a phone.

 

[moorken]

remove the battery if removable and leave the device drying for at least 1 full week without trying to turn it on again. I know cases where the device worked again after one day, but finally after one month it ended up dead anyway because of corrosion

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Thanks again for the tips everyone. I guess I can live with the fact that it's life will reduce. Hoping that it will survive atleast a month or two so that I can find some money for a replacement phone. For now the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 has caught my eye, and it doesn't seem to be too expensive.

800MHz Dual-core processor
480x800 display
768MB RAM
4 GB Internal memory
GPU: Mali, 400MP

In my currency it is 499 bgn, that in dollars is $325. Do you guys think it's worth it?

 

[gtbarry]

Thanks again for the tips everyone. I guess I can live with the fact that it's life will reduce. Hoping that it will survive atleast a month or two so that I can find some money for a replacement phone. For now the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 has caught my eye, and it doesn't seem to be too expensive.

800MHz Dual-core processor
480x800 display
768MB RAM
4 GB Internal memory
GPU: Mali, 400MP

In my currency it is 499 bgn, that in dollars is $325. Do you guys think it's worth it?

Similar price is the Nexus 4 - if you can get it. Direct from google, unlocked, first-ish in system updates, more RAM, etc. etc.

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Similar price is the Nexus 4 - if you can get it. Direct from google, unlocked, first-ish in system updates, more RAM, etc. etc.

Directly from Google? They better have free shipping.

I've also put my battery in the rice btw, is it advisable to even try it after it dries out or I should just throw it away now?

 

[Digital Controller]

Directly from Google? They better have free shipping.

I've also put my battery in the rice btw, is it advisable to even try it after it dries out or I should just throw it away now?

Just wait it out man, be patient, leave everything where it is...

And the nexus 4 would be a good phone for you to get, a lot better than the Ace 2

 

[lunatic59]

Directly from Google? They better have free shipping.

I've also put my battery in the rice btw, is it advisable to even try it after it dries out or I should just throw it away now?

At this point, it's either saved or R.I.P. the only way you will know is to try it. If it works, great. If not, then trying it can't really hurt it any further.

 

[mitk0o0o0]

No no, I was asking if I should test the battery on the phone once both are done drying out.

I've heard it could spill some acid and stuff like that. Since I got the weird charging effect I have a feeling this battery won't live well.

 

[jerofld]

Does your battery feel firm or is it puffed out and feels a little spongey?

If it feels firm, it's good to go and you should be fine. If it's puffy or feels soft...do not plug it in! Dispose of it via official battery recycling centers. It doesn't contain acid, but it does contain chemicals and heavy metals that can injure you and/or catch on fire. Do not just throw them out (because it'll catch fire in the trash just as easily).

Or replace it for the sake of replacing it.

PS: Rice does little to nothing for saving your phone. Rice does absorb water, but pure water does not conduct electricity. The sediment that is suspended in water conducts electricity. So, like when water is evaporated from the ocean to form rain, rain is fresh water because the salt was left in the ocean. Same theory goes here. The sediment is left behind (to cause short circuits) when the water is removed. You likely just got lucky that the sediment wasn't substantial enough to form a short circuit or has had the time to corrode internal components.

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Does your battery feel firm or is it puffed out and feels a little spongey?

If it feels firm, it's good to go and you should be fine. If it's puffy or feels soft...do not plug it in! Dispose of it via official battery recycling centers. It doesn't contain acid, but it does contain chemicals and heavy metals that can injure you and/or catch on fire. Do not just throw them out (because it'll catch fire in the trash just as easily).

Or replace it for the sake of replacing it.

PS: Rice does little to nothing for saving your phone. Rice does absorb water, but pure water does not conduct electricity. The sediment that is suspended in water conducts electricity. So, like when water is evaporated from the ocean to form rain, rain is fresh water because the salt was left in the ocean. Same theory goes here. The sediment is left behind (to cause short circuits) when the water is removed. You likely just got lucky that the sediment wasn't substantial enough to form a short circuit or has had the time to corrode internal components.

Well it feels hard/firm I mean it's not soft and all that, feels like a brand new battery when I'm holding it.

And also are you talking about that I was lucky that it didn't short circuit while it was still powered on while wet? Like I said, while it was still wet everything was still functional. I could hear the sound (because it started "charging" like I said) and I was also able to unlock it. Even hold the power button to power it off manually but it hit me "what the hell am I waiting for?" so I just took off the battery.

 

[mitk0o0o0]

Does it look okay?