Database Info

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.
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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!
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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..
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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.

dropped my phone in the toilet,... DOH

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.

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

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!

Booting N5 after getting wet

Hi!!
I drowned my N5 last week and managed to revive it after 4 days in rice + hair dryer + oven and it worked perfectly fine for 2, 3 days and I reflashed it 15 times in between for testing my rom.. and yeterday I went to recovery and it couldn't boot recovery..
Bootloader works fine and from there I can't go anywhere, it always bootloops on Google letters... also it powers ON whenever I plug in charging cable or if it's connected and I select Power Off in bootloader, it always boots up to google letters until I unplug it..
So I went and flashed factory images with the flash_all.sh script that came with the package and there was absolutly NO errors while flashing, it flashed perfectly fine, bootloader, recovery, radio, system etc...
But the problem remains..
Any ideas are welcome before I drain it completely
I'm suspecting on battery or charging controller

There still could be some moisture inside that moved due to a movement of the phone.
I´d suggest putting it in rice once again or even opening it and then putting it in rice. I mean your warranty is gone anyways
But maybe there is someone with better advice, luckily I never had such a problem.

Rice was a really good idea. Hairdryer and oven were really bad ideas. So much so that you've undone some of the good you did with the rice.
I wouldn't hold out much hope if I were you.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Triversity said:
There still could be some moisture inside that moved due to a movement of the phone.
I´d suggest putting it in rice once again or even opening it and then putting it in rice. I mean your warranty is gone anyways
But maybe there is someone with better advice, luckily I never had such a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I left it in rice after it didn't booted but probably too short.. I might put it in oven again

LorD ClockaN said:
I might put it in oven again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know that heat turns water into steam? Puts it in the air and spreads it around? Making even the dry parts of the phone wet?
If you want to ruin your device further, this is easily the best way to do it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Yes don´t put it in the oven.
And don´t use a hairdryer, chance are that you are pressing the water even further in small gaps.

Sounds like it's done for. Since you already not gonna be covered by warranty because of the water damage. I'd do what another poster suggessted and take it apart then soak it in rice in an airtight container for at least another 48 hours. I doubt it'll help since the phone already been booted but it's worth a shot. As far as the oven thing goes good luck. lol If you look online you will find some that have succesfully used an oven to reflow a logig board but they are in the tiniest of minorities I assure you.

it's already in rice..
water turns into vapor and that way easier exits the device also
hairdryer would push the water further, but also evaporate it. all this is a 2 blade sword
I'm getting a new one tomorrow or in 2 days, but still wanted to get this one working. will leave it in rice for a couple of days more

LorD ClockaN said:
water turns into vapor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes
LorD ClockaN said:
that way easier exits the device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Every surface it hits becomes wet.
LorD ClockaN said:
hairdryer would push the water further
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
LorD ClockaN said:
also evaporate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Which is a BAD thing. Evaporated water doesn't disappear! It is in the air and every surface it hits becomes wet.
Cone on man. This is basic pre-high school science
LorD ClockaN said:
all this is a 2 blade sword
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. 1 blade. The wet blade
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

but phone isn't hermetically sealed..
nvm, I hope it will start working

LorD ClockaN said:
but phone isn't hermetically sealed..
nvm, I hope it will start working
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take your phone to the Caribean for a week and let it dry there

I admire the physics and chemistry going on in this thread
Taking it apart and then drying it in the rice might work,if it doesnt then you probably have a problem in the firmware, try going back to stock if its possible
Sent from my GT-S5282 using xda app-developers app

gee2012 said:
Take your phone to the Caribean for a week and let it dry there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Carribean has really high humidity. As you can imagine this will not help to dry something...

LorD ClockaN said:
but phone isn't hermetically sealed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats that got to do with anything?
Ok here is a test for you....
In your non-hermetically sealed kitchen, boil the kettle. When you see the steam coming out of the spout, put your hand over the steam, about an inch above the spout*
If you're right, the steam will change direction and travel around your hand magically.
If I'm right, once your hand has recovered from the scalding, you'll notice your hand is wet.
*DONT put your hand above the spout of a boiling kettle. I AM right. You WILL hurt yourself. Your hand will be wet in the same way the components in your phone would become wet if you put steam inside it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

swhackeristahsan said:
I admire the physics and chemistry going on in this thread
Taking it apart and then drying it in the rice might work,if it doesnt then you probably have a problem in the firmware, try going back to stock if its possible
Sent from my GT-S5282 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Warranty is gone when the moisture indicators are colored anyway, so stock or not doesn`t matter in this case.

rootSU said:
Whats that got to do with anything?
Ok here is a test for you....
In your non-hermetically sealed kitchen, boil the kettle. When you see the steam coming out of the spout, put your hand over the steam, about an inch above the spout*
If you're right, the steam will change direction and travel around your hand magically.
If I'm right, once your hand has recovered from the scalding, you'll notice your hand is wet.
*DONT put your hand above the spout of a boiling kettle. I AM right. You WILL hurt yourself. Your hand will be wet in the same way the components in your phone would become wet if you put steam inside it
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get that, I'm not 10y old, but I still think that IF there is little moisture left, while it evaporates I don't think it can make more damage and turn into a wet sword
I do think this thread went the wrong way..
@swhackeristahsan: I already did that as I said in the op

LorD ClockaN said:
I get that, I'm not 10y old
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha ha. Ok.
LorD ClockaN said:
but I still think that IF there is little moisture left, while it evaporates I don't think it can make more damage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately you'd be wrong there. Steam hits every surface it passes on the way out. Water is very corrosive. Even if there is only 1 water droplet in your phone, that becomes a lot of steam and damages everything it touches.
There's one fix and one fix only and its not heat
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

ok, won't be heating it ever again

LorD ClockaN said:
I get that, I'm not 10y old, but I still think that IF there is little moisture left, while it evaporates I don't think it can make more damage and turn into a wet sword
I do think this thread went the wrong way..
@swhackeristahsan: I already did that as I said in the op
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahaha we have some pretty genius people up here on xda
Sent from my GT-S5282 using xda app-developers app

I'm surprised nobody mentioned disconnecting the battery and soaking the phone in 99% isopropyl alcohol. That's the most effective way to save a drowned phone.
Even at this point, opening it up and soaking it in alcohol and scrubbing the internals with a soft bristled tooth brush can help get rid of some of the corrosion that might have occurred from the water. If you want to salvage it, this is the way to go. Just stop trying to power it on before you do this, it is likely you are causing more damage.