dropped my phone in the toilet,... DOH - Thunderbolt General

okay, i soaked my phone in isopropyl alcohol, then placed it into damprid (a descant, like rice) for almost 52 hours now, the phone functions properly, my speaker will not work, and there is water between my digitizer and lcd.
I am going to place it back in the descant for now, but ive seen no improvement in the amount of liquid between the digitizer and lcd as of yet so it's doubtful i will.
I would like to take my digitizer off and attempt to remove the excess water. ideas? I do have alot of experience in working on small electronics (i fix computers and small electronics for a living), ie. ipods, other phones. just not the thunderbolt, any ideas suggestions? links to a good tear down procedure?
Thanks
-SPIFF

Word of advice...keep it powered off till the liquid is removed, it may screw your digitizer ribbon up or worse.
Here's a really good teardown/repair video.... Good luck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3rjgVsSWxQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App

I would recomend making sure that you have removed all of the water before putting the battery back in your Thunderbolt. Water conducts electricity and you can fry some of your components.

I would try putting it in the oven for a bit on warm, it might help dry it out.
When my wife washed my flip phone years back, it had water under the screen for a couple of months before it finally all dried out.

nrfitchett4 said:
I would try putting it in the oven for a bit on warm, it might help dry it out.
When my wife washed my flip phone years back, it had water under the screen for a couple of months before it finally all dried out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This can work but be real careful or you'll melt it. I say warm it up and shut it down and then place it in. It should help remove that trapped water

altimax98 said:
This can work but be real careful or you'll melt it. I say warm it up and shut it down and then place it in. It should help remove that trapped water
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think my oven on warm is between 125-150 degrees, cool enough that I can take a plate out without mitts.
Here's a chart of plastic melting points:
http://www.machinist-materials.com/comparison_table_for_plastics.htm
I would just let it cool before doing anything with it.

Ooo not good did the rice trick already?
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App

Just take it apart and dry it out, I don't think baked thunderbolt would be a worthy dinner..
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App

Wow, thats ****ty.

Use a hair dryer to heat it up?

Do you do this work for a job or hobby?
If its your job you should know better than to use isopropyl alcohol, it leaves noticeable residue, go get some denatured alcohol and take the thing apart.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA Premium App

Did you try wiping three times?

adrynalyne said:
Wow, thats ****ty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HA!
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

sklobopes said:
Word of advice...keep it powered off till the liquid is removed, it may screw your digitizer ribbon up or worse.
Here's a really good teardown/repair video.... Good luck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3rjgVsSWxQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I would do. You can buy a new screen for cheap, the digitizer costs a little more but if you don't have insurance (like me) it would not be a bad idea.

303bonefish said:
Did you try wiping three times?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. just shot chocolate muscle milk out my nose and on my shirt. thanks.

microwave, popcorn setting, 6 minutes... works for me every time.

Throw it in dryer with dry close put it in a pocket with velcrow or a zipper
Omgadroid is Linux only

Rice. Wife dropped her BB in the pool last year and we where able to save the phone for another month (and get her data off) by placing it in a bag of white rice for a few days. That stuff sucked all the moisture right out of the phone.
We did find random rice pieces for a while falling out of the phone after it started working though! lol

Rice will do the trick.
Hubby left his Droid Eris in his pocket, so when his pants went into the washer, so did the phone, for a full cycle.
When I transferred the clothes into the dryer I hear a suspicious clink clank...
Took the phone apart, stuck it in rice. After a few days I tried powering it up with the original battery and no dice, so I tried a different battery and voila!
There were some water spots under the screen, but they eventually went away and you can't tell anymore what it went through at all.
The original battery actually started to work again as well, just needed a little longer in the rice and hubby has been using it with the phone since then. All this happened in March or April 2010, can't remember exactly.
Our phones are pretty tough little devices. I have been trying to get hubby to upgrade, but he is stubborn and won't part with his phone lol!

If you do get the liquid out of the screen, please repost and let us know how you did it.

Related

Water damage indicator?

Is there any other indicator for water damage besides the one on the battery? My phone got wet. It was in a plastic baggie so it only got barely wet, but enough so that it's not working and the battery indicator is red. Thinking about using a friends battery and seeing if I can get it warrantied if that's the only visible indication.
draggindakota said:
Is there any other indicator for water damage besides the one on the battery? My phone got wet. It was in a plastic baggie so it only got barely wet, but enough so that it's not working and the battery indicator is red. Thinking about using a friends battery and seeing if I can get it warrantied if that's the only visible indication.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you can watch this video to see if there are indicators for water inside the phone. Not sure if the inspire 4g is exactly the same as far as location for the indicators. HTC Desire HD is essentially the same phone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfatoeWbMRk&feature=related
My phone took a swim with me in a pool when I got pushed in. I immediately took it out of my pocket and handed it off to a person standing by. They disasembled it had it sit out in the sun to dry. Unfortunately, it could not be saved. It must have short circuited as soon as it hit the water. Thankfully, I had insurance on it. When I called the 800 number to file a claim, I told then it sustained water damage. They never asked me to look at any indicators. They took my word for it and processed my claim. But it may be a different procedure for warranty.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Thanks for that video link. I didn't see anything conspicuous that looked like an indicator. I guess I'll just have to try it and see.
Well I powered the phone up yesterday after letting it sit in a bag of rice for 24 hours. It powered up and went to the CM7 boot animation but I saw that there was water under the screen so I pulled the battery. Letting it sit for a few more days in the rice, in my truck so it gets nice and toasty and hopefully the water will evaporate.
draggindakota said:
Well I powered the phone up yesterday after letting it sit in a bag of rice for 24 hours. It powered up and went to the CM7 boot animation but I saw that there was water under the screen so I pulled the battery. Letting it sit for a few more days in the rice, in my truck so it gets nice and toasty and hopefully the water will evaporate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to avoid direct sunlight to the LCD screen for a long period of time. The suns UV rays can damage it over time. Just a heads up..
I have read in the past with iPhone's sustaining water damage that people would soak it in rubbing alcohol to remove water, and replace the battery, and have it working fine, not sure on the credibility of this but maybe something you should look into?
Also, a few years ago I had an LG flip phone that was in my pocket during an unplanned swim(got pushed in by a drunk friend who thought I had changed) the phone was dead for a long time, but about a month later it booted up fine and worked perfectly for another year, after a year the only remnants of water damage was a speaker that was starting to blow
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Drop of bleach on Q-tip will fix red indicators.
ekahan1 said:
Drop of bleach on Q-tip will fix red indicators.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol while i don't condone things like this, it sort of made me laugh. nice workaround i guess!
buddy17 said:
lol while i don't condone things like this, it sort of made me laugh. nice workaround i guess!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you shouldn't condone the whole thread then... The very purpose of it is to get the phone warrantied even though it's been gotten wet...
Roland_D said:
Well you shouldn't condone the whole thread then... The very purpose of it is to get the phone warrantied even though it's been gotten wet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
touche lol
kirk123 said:
Try to avoid direct sunlight to the LCD screen for a long period of time. The suns UV rays can damage it over time. Just a heads up..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've made that mistake before
tjb433 said:
I have read in the past with iPhone's sustaining water damage that people would soak it in rubbing alcohol to remove water, and replace the battery, and have it working fine, not sure on the credibility of this but maybe something you should look into?
Also, a few years ago I had an LG flip phone that was in my pocket during an unplanned swim(got pushed in by a drunk friend who thought I had changed) the phone was dead for a long time, but about a month later it booted up fine and worked perfectly for another year, after a year the only remnants of water damage was a speaker that was starting to blow
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it doesn't dry out I may try that. Makes me miss my old Nextel phone though. I dropped that thing in a flag pond twice and it never missed a beat lol.
ekahan1 said:
Drop of bleach on Q-tip will fix red indicators.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know!
I know this is old but I had to find the liquid damage indicator for an Inspire today.
To find the indicator on the Inspire you must remove the bottom panel where your SD and Sim are located. Then under the FC and Bluetooth logo and under the plastic there is a square -- that square is the liquid damage indicator.
Unfortunetly you can not bleach it without removing the void stickers and using a mini star hex screwdriver and taking the phone apart.
If this helps thank me please
I suppose no one would know if taking the back off the atrix would void it's warranty? I don't see any warranty void stickers on any screws. Hopefully there isn't screws under the sticker under the battery.
By the way the bleach doesn't seem to work at all on these new phones. Unless I'm doing something wrong? I don't condone this either just a thought.. any feedback?
I put about 10 drops in total after each drop sitting in the sun drying for 10 minutes each time. Didn't change it at all.

[Q] Soaked in Water

So already pushed in the pool with my brand new infuse... Hopefully all of the tricks in the book will work, but any other advice?
I have had luck with pulling all removable pieces and laying it on the dash of my car for a few hours. Keep in mind not to put it in direct sunlight. I used a newspaper to cover it. You just want the heat factor to evaporate any moisture. Hope this helps.
P.S. You have the phone I want.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA App
pull battery and if you can dis assemble the phone (it's pretty strait forward, 6 screws then you prey the back off, it's a tight fit but you wont break it)
put parts in a bag of rice.
Right now I've got it in a bag of rice and without the battery/back cover but I left the screws on. I'm gonna leave it there for a day or so and then try tomorrow. I'll just pop the SIM in my iPhone. Wow going back to the 3GS is a super big drag. The screen is horrendous.
halfnelson117 said:
Right now I've got it in a bag of rice and without the battery/back cover but I left the screws on. I'm gonna leave it there for a day or so and then try tomorrow. I'll just pop the SIM in my iPhone. Wow going back to the 3GS is a super big drag. The screen is horrendous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah vga resolution is pretty bad, plus it is soo small.
the disassembly is really optional, but is preferable if you are comfortable with it.
Yea thanks again for the help
You get a container filled it with rice and put the Infuse inside like in the middle cover it fully. May sound funny but this thing works. Rice actually suck all the water on any devices. This happen to my iPod twice. I left it inside my pant and wash it in the washing machine, I did this and it fix it twice. No kidding. Live it there for 1day, long wait
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA Premium App
The phone is fine now, except it has water trapped inside of both camera lenses. Is there a fix for this?
i would imagine you need to disassemble the phone. im sure the water is under the protective lens and the sensors are fine.

Dropped In A Puddle

I bought a Sensation on Craigslist.
Guy had dropped it in a puddle.
I made a call with it and it seems fine.
I put it and the battery in a bowl of uncooked rice
to try and draw the moisture out of it.
Anyone had this happen ?
Care to share what you did ?
Thanks
How much you paid for it? And sometimes water damaged devices tend to work if dried properly and wait before turning back on.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App
xdviper said:
how much you paid for it? And sometimes water damaged devices tend to work if dried properly and wait before turning back on.
Sent from my htc sensation 4g using xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
$200.00
I had an evo I dropped in the bathroom sink. I let it dry completely and it worked fine.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App
Bowl of 70% Rubbing alchohol 1 minute ($1)
Bowl of White Rice ($1)
Brand new water damaged cell phone working for $2 bucks. /Wheres my beer?
Atlantian said:
Bowl of 70% Rubbing alchohol 1 minute ($1)
Bowl of White Rice ($1)
Brand new water damaged cell phone working for $2 bucks. /Wheres my beer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what part does the alcohol play in drying it? jw
I'd guess it cleans the insides, of sugars or debris from whatever it was dropped in.
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperCM7 G2 using XDA App
bobzoz said:
what part does the alcohol play in drying it? jw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it also aids in the evaporation of any moisture.
I was able to recover my wife's iPhone 3G with those desiccant packets (found in shoe boxes, hand bags, etc...) when the 24 hours in rice didn't work. Put in a sealed ziplock bag for 24 hours with the phone.
70% is actually weak, ideally go to your local gas station and grab a bottle of gas-line antifreeze usually 96% alcohol... Alcohol, yes, dries faster, and usually takes the water with it faster. It also breaks down any corrosion that occurs due to circuits oxydizing when the phone was wet, and had power. The fair warning is of course, if the screen loses its seal, you end up with residue under it. For the truly adventurous, taking EVERYTHING apart down to bare circuit boards is advised, and even giving them a light scrub with a soft brush while its soaking. You can use distilled water too, drying time is just drastically different.
Sent from my HTC-Z710a using XDA App

My Droid X just fell into a puddle of water

I'm ready to cry because I love this phone so much. It has everything I can ever ask for in a phone and today in fell out of my pocket and into an extremely large puddle of water. The phone itself turns on but unfortunately the screen does not. The buttons light up and I can press the location to unlock it and lock it but can't see sheeeeeet. Please, does anyone know what I can do to remedy this situation. Like I said, I'm ready to cry. It was a gift from my brother and now its broken thanks to my clumsyness.
Wrong forum section....
...regardless throw it in a plastic bag filled with rice to absorb the moisture. May want to take the battery, sim card, and SD card out first.
I sincerely apoligize for positing in the wrong forum.
I have it ina bag of rice at the moment, no sim card due to it being a Verizone branded phone. I am so depressed at this. I mean, it's my baby, my lifeline to the outside world and now this happens!V How long do you sggest that I leave it in the bag of rice? I almost want to throw it pretty hard at the wall and hope it works but I doubt that would resolve any problems and cause only more issues but thank you for the advice and lets keep our fingers crossed. I pray to the phone gods that the screen comes back on. <tear> <tear>
You can buy a replacement screen for your Droid x off eBay for like $25 US. You can also get the digitizer to for about the same price. The screen just hooks up through a ribbon cable. Shouldn't.be to hard to replace. And I've sent an old phone through the wash and as long as it dries out completely you should be fine. But the worst thing you coulda done was turn it on while it was still wet. Water+Electronics=dead electronics
Sent from my Milestone using XDA App
easye420 said:
You can buy a replacement screen for your Droid x off eBay for like $25 US. You can also get the digitizer to for about the same price. The screen just hooks up through a ribbon cable. Shouldn't.be to hard to replace. And I've sent an old phone through the wash and as long as it dries out completely you should be fine. But the worst thing you coulda done was turn it on while it was still wet. Water+Electronics=dead electronics
Sent from my Milestone using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're absolutely right.
Update though :
Thank goodness I have some good friends who was able to deliver a fresh bag of rice to me while I'm at work. I took the battery out, emptied the rice into a ziplock, sealed it airtight and left it on top of the dryer at my job (I work at a day spa). 1 Hour later, put everything back in and I feel like shedding tears because I am so happy! It works. The rice wa able to absorb the moisture and make everything work like nothing happened at all.
So for future reference if anyone ever has an issue, make sure to use rice(fill the bag up), take the battery out, zip lock it, wait a few hours, and profit!
Thank you XDA Moto forums for all of your help! I greatly appreciate it! Thank you, thank you, and one more time, Thank YOU!!!
Chris.
Another update, it doesn't want to turn on now. This is frustrating. Back to the bag of rice and I'm just going to leave it there overnight and see how that goes.
banshee56 said:
Wrong forum section....
...regardless throw it in a plastic bag filled with rice to absorb the moisture. May want to take the battery, sim card, and SD card out first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol really? Bag of rice? I've never heard that one before but if you say so....
ronricoviper said:
Another update, it doesn't want to turn on now. This is frustrating. Back to the bag of rice and I'm just going to leave it there overnight and see how that goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never dropped anything on my phone, I do remember dropping a nokia phone in the pool a few years back. The new phones tend to be more sensitive. I dunno, i'd personally try to dry it out, maybe unscrew the back and put it under a fan, or blower of some sorts. Is your phone under warranty? Dunno if accidental stuff is even claimable under warranty.
After waiting a while, plugging it into the charger without the battery, and then putting battery back in, everything is working fine. No more issues Thank you all. The rice absorbed any moisture so it worked very well,
how do we know theres not gonna be another update? But glad it's working for you, that happened to my moms cell (which was also a Motorola) except it was in the toilet. Bag of rice and a heat lamp absorbed all moisture.

Dropped my Desire S in water :-[

As the title suggests, accidentally dropped my Desire S in a sink full of cold water. Took it out straight away and pulled the battery, dried it as much as I can with tissue and will be putting it in a sealed bag with some rice for 48 hours to hopefully draw the rest of the moisture out!
Has anyone else been this stupid/clumsy before? Did your Desire S survive?
Ouch, sorry to hear that.
But I am very interested to find out the outcome.
All the best.
Was it a sink with just water? Or could have the sink have contained anything other than water?
I would leave my phone for about a week using different methods of trying to eradicate the moisture, eg. hair dryer etc.
Yes it was just plain cold water thankfully, nothing else. A friend has saved a phone using the rice method so I'm hoping that works for me too, bit scared as there's visible condensation in the camera
The visible condensation will always be there.
If you have any bags or laptop cases, they usually come with moisture absorbing silica gel bags. You could put those in the sealed bag as they will probably be a lot more effective than rice.
Nos0x said:
As the title suggests, accidentally dropped my Desire S in a sink full of cold water. Took it out straight away and pulled the battery, dried it as much as I can with tissue and will be putting it in a sealed bag with some rice for 48 hours to hopefully draw the rest of the moisture out!
Has anyone else been this stupid/clumsy before? Did your Desire S survive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have a look at some videos at youtube. the forum wont allow me to post links yet.you'll find some interesting tips to dry electronics. might give you some ideas. best of luck.
yes i have dropped mine i didn't had a case at the time i replay the event in my head over and over to remind my self to always have my kung fu grip on i watched i fall from about 3 feet to the concrete floor the battery latch flung open in the first bounce and the battery flew out in the second the entire thing happened in 2 second but it felt like 60 seconds i wanted to cry right then and their i felt like dark vader when he killed the chancellor while yelling noooooooooo. they should make an app wit that
---------- Post added at 12:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 AM ----------
just a question can one use silicone to seal the gaps in and around the phone to help prevent on slow the water in the event i does drop in the water
Interesting thought. Haven't seen anybody seal their phone with Silicon yet. The phone will lose it's looks after that for sure.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
I left my ds in a big walk in freezer at work. Froze completely solid. Left it to dry, still months later working perfect
Numchalk said:
I left my ds in a big walk in freezer at work. Froze completely solid. Left it to dry, still months later working perfect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably preserved it
---------- Post added at 08:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 AM ----------
Nos0x said:
As the title suggests, accidentally dropped my Desire S in a sink full of cold water. Took it out straight away and pulled the battery, dried it as much as I can with tissue and will be putting it in a sealed bag with some rice for 48 hours to hopefully draw the rest of the moisture out!
Has anyone else been this stupid/clumsy before? Did your Desire S survive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st of all, well done for pulling the battery straight away!
so many people don't do this. their 1st reaction it to dry the surface then try to turn it on to see if it still works. which as we know is not a good move.
All i can say is your doing what i would have done in your situation. just keep it in a warm dry place for a week or so before you try turning it on. fingers crossed!
I'm sorry to hear that. i hope your DS could work as well
Wish you all the best. I was lucky to drop it on marble so not as much effect as dropping it in the water. Its good that you took out the batterystaright away
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
You're doing everything just fine. Please be patient.. My suggestion would be not to switch the phone on for like 15 days, which makes sure that it goes dry. And it would be best not to use any dryers to dry the phone as it might affect the chips inside.
Ur lucky dude. I dropped mine in the toilet bowl while popping. Luckily it's still a alive after I fished it out.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
matthewsucks said:
Ur lucky dude. I dropped mine in the toilet bowl while popping. Luckily it's still a alive after I fished it out.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL!
****! done that before, years ago! but, was with an Old nokia and the hot air hand dryer saved it...(plus was only pee'ing! )
Took it out of it's dry rice bath tonight, have put sim card and SD card back in and turned it on, all seems well so far!
Nos0x said:
Took it out of it's dry rice bath tonight, have put sim card and SD card back in and turned it on, all seems well so far!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow.. Lucky you!
Congrats!
Nos0x said:
Took it out of it's dry rice bath tonight, have put sim card and SD card back in and turned it on, all seems well so far!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear that it's okay!
Now don't do it again lol
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Your device wrote you a song:
(Bon Jovi: It's my life)
It's my life
and it's now or never
why did u let me fall into water
i'm drowning but i hope that i'll survive
I WANT RICE!
I'm glad your DS survived that wet adventure!

Categories

Resources