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Case-mate tough case

Hi all i would just like to share my experience with this case..Last week i had the unfortunate accident of dropping my Samsung galaxy s phone in the toilet at home...
The phone fell out of my pocket and straight in too the pan and finally landed in the u-bend.
The phone was in total water submersion for not more that 3-5 seconds..my heart fell to the floor...
I quickly grabbed the phone from the toilet..turned phone off and removed the battery..water was all inside the phone.
I shook the phone and lots of water came out..my thoughts at this time was phone was well and truly buggered.
I proceeded to dry the phone on my radiator at home..sim-card,sd-card,battery and back plate all removed to aide drying.
Left the phone to dry for a full 24 hrs...before attempting to turn phone back on.
There was condensation inside the phone which all dispersed after 24 hrs. of drying out the phone.
And the big moment arrived of putting the phone back together to see if it would ever work again....
My heart was pounding at this time hoping and willing the phone back to life..pressed the power on button and the phone came to life.
Apart from having to do a reset on the phone and re-installing all my apps there has been no problem with the phone working 100%.
Phone has been working for well over a week now with no problems.
How lucky was I??...Im not saying that the Casemate Toughcase is the be all and end all in cases but im sure it went some way in helping reduce the damage that would have been caused by water ingress in to the phone.
happy case hunting...

Ewwww That Dirty Samsung Galaxy S

Lol..must add the water in toilet was clean...

The tough case was not the parameter influencing the luck in this case. As long as the rear speaker hole is not sealed, the water will always have a way inside the phone, no matter how many shock protection layers you have o the phone.
And generally speaking, tap water is not dangerous for the electrical parts of low voltage powered devices (like watches, phones and so on). The main issue with phones dropped in water is that the water will infiltrate in the optical dispersers of the LCD screen and on the screen connectors, generating blurry pictures or no picture at all.
I've learned something from your experience ... the water will not go in between the OLED screen and the digitizer .. which is a GOOD thing.

Great! I'm glad your SGS survived!
just take more care of it, ok? and don't drop it on Sea Water!

any waterproof supplies for galaxy s?

alex.bacer said:
any waterproof supplies for galaxy s?
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Zip-lock bag?

I've almost fell from my seat reading the end of your story. I am glad to read that everything went Ok. But does the phone smell .... hmmm different?

Truly lucky.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

There are better ways to change the colour of the phone

Update phone still working a OK two and a bit weeks on...

I have toughcase as well. Not the prettiest case, the phone loses it's "luxury" feeling, but you can certainly throw around the phone no problem.

I dropped my Galaxy S (with Tough Case) today, it fell directly on my hard tiles floor at a height around 70cm. I was really freaked out! I picked it up and it was still there like nothing happened (no crash, no slow, no reboot, no nothing) really happy that I chose this case!

thanksss a lot for content

skyrocket water damage fix

my skyrocket got dropped in water i pulled it out put it under a hair dryer and it works, kind of. i use it as my primary phone right now but sometimes it freezes and the touch sensitive keys dont work the it either a) shuts off or b) i have to take the battery out.
any idea what replacement part or parts i could possibly change to fix this?

A new phone you prolly toasted the pcb
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1582881
Link to thread with link to AdamOutler video recovering from water. Take apart if you can. If left as is, you may expect further deterioration of the internal components and connections.

dac1227 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1582881
Link to thread with link to AdamOutler video recovering from water. Take apart if you can. If left as is, you may expect further deterioration of the internal components and connections.
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Issue is he has been running it already
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nrm5110 said:
Issue is he has been running it already
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Right. All the damage is already done. He didn't care for it properly immediately after it got wet.
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It ain't over till it's over.
I had the proverbial "Bad Day" yesterday, or rather, my poor Skyrocket did. It went from being perfect, not so much as a scuff on it to: a) Dropped onto my CEMENT driveway from a height of almost 6 feet. How is this possible, you may ask? I was leaning over the porch rail to open the recycling bin, instead of going around and down the stairs... PURE LAZINESS is what it was! Anyway, it slipped out of my top pocket, in spite of the fact that I was trying to hold it with my fore arm. Why of WHY did the Skyrocket have to be so slim and sleek! The phone hit the cement, bounced once or twice, and then slid, ON IT'S FACE about 3-4 feet, with me making that scream you do while breathing in; kind of a "Uuuoooaaarrrrggghhhh" is the best I can describe it. I followed this by grabbing the phone, taking it inside and throwing an ever loving **** fit. I proceeded to throw the phone on the couch (Even during a full blown hissy, I try to protect the damn thing!) and as I examined it, it was one of those "It could have been much worse" things, that we try to comfort ourselves with, and amazingly they do help, even if it's BS. The damage was 100% to the front black chrome bezel (around the front edge of screen) - A part that in fact CAN be replaced, but requires COMPLETE disassembly, including separating the Screen from the digitizer, which I have no clue how to do. It may NOT be possible, in fact without breaking a layer of adhesive. EVERY other part of the phone is replaceable, in modular sections, I know, and will explain in a moment.
So... bad day right... well that would had been enough since I love my phone as many folks on XDA understand, but nooooooo. I had to then drop it in 8 inches of standing water. Yep.
Was in the bottom of my above ground pool trying to restart a siphon for draining it, when, "SLIP" I %&*&#@ DID IT *@#&$% AGAIN!! *#$%&!!
Phone drops STRAIGHT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HALF FOOT OR SO WATER IN THE POOL!!!!!!!!
Ok, so I almost NEVER keep my phone on me when doing physical work of any type. When I work on my cars engine compartment, or crawling around under it, I put my phone in the car. Even when I dry my car after pulling out of the car was the phone gets taken OUT of my top pocket and put somewhere safe. I guess I got complacent, since I hadn't had "an incident" in several years. Even with my 5" Dell Streak, beast that it was, I never let it slip from my standard place of Top shirt pocket. Every time I lean forward, my hand or forearm holds the phone from slipping. It is a motion as natural to me as shifting while driving, without even thinking about it. But even I know that "**** happens" so, lesson learned: I am going to bite the bullet and get a nice slim cover for the Skyrocket. NOW THAT IT WORKS AGAIN....
So after I pulled it out of the water I was in full panic mode: I quickly patted it in my shirt, but even while it was still wet and dripping, I RIPPED the back cover and battery out. In hindsight, I wish I had worked to dry the exterior quickly, and THEN opened it. The battery liquid detector wen bright read... CRAP! The PHONE liquid detector stayed WHITE… Ahh, finally caught a break. So after a basic dry everything I can reach (and the Sim came out wet, and the microSD came out wet, not good signs) I tried a quick power up.... The SkyICE animation began, then suddenly changed colors and turned pink/red.. WHOA.. STOP THE BOOT! So I yanked the battery.
After quite a bit of further drying, warm gentle air across the back for a venturi effect (sure!) another try and the screen behind the Samsung logo was bright, blood red, instead of black...
THIS convinced me to take the sucker apart, and for the most part I did really well. I did break ONE tab on the "body" of the phone - that holds the back section over the PCB on, but fortunately there are 7 screws, and it fit tightly when reassembling. I DID frin s coupe drops of water, though they did not seem to be in spots that would short anything, like on the stainless cover over the Qualcomm Processor, but those were just what I could see, without magnification. I dried those, blew warm gentle air over the PCB, and then gently warmed the parts over a low wattage bulb in a lamp.
I am SO impressed with the construction of this baby! I WOULD prefer more alloy, and less plastic for frame, shell & body parts, but what AMAZED me were the connections for all the ribbon cables, between modular PCB's (Like the one on the bottom with a antenna, USB port, Speaker, Mic and capacitive touch buttons, and others... The ribbon just comes around from behind, and attaches via a snap in connection to a receptacle soldered onto the corresponding PCB. In the video of the guy taking it apart, he just goes around and pops up 5 or 6 of these in about 10 seconds total time elapsing. Anyway, check out the middle section of the video I post here, right after he pulls the rear frame off... you'll see...
Bottom line? It's maybe NOT too late for the OP... Granted the more he runs it with a short or worse, the more potential damage. But in my experience it is REALLY difficult to get ALL the water out of a current design phone. It just travels from section to section, His best option (besides either trashing it or paying for repairs is doing what I did. Parts are readily available from Hong Kong, and short of the Screen/Digitizer, most are reasonably priced. Good luck with it. Get a jewelers screwdriver, and a plastic "separator" before starting. My only warning: When separating the main frames, after removing the 7 screws holding the two main frames together, use a CURVED separator, and try to bend the frame that’s the back of the phone OUTWARD a little bit. In other words, pull it OUT as well as spreading the two halves. I did not have a curved plastic tool, just a straight one, and as I pulled the two halves apart, I did not bend it out (away from an inner opening, that tabs go into from the back frame, and I snapped one of the inner openings edges. Think of it as tiny tabs that you want to pull up out of a depression before pulling the parts directly away from each other.
Aww, hell, just watch the video closely, I repeated some sections a few times before trying the procedures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf6jqYejWNU
Sorry for the lengthy post, but if I can save ONE person the pain of losing a good friend, then I think my life van finally have true meaning. Or something like that.

Why would you power it on so soon without even taking it apart to dry out?
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You see this guys pinky nail?!? Whou. I couldn't stop looking at it. I bet i can guess what its for
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should've left it off and left it in sack of rice for a day or so. RIP your phone...

Bricks don't fly or float.
Sent from, The Eclectic Chair.

At least he didn't drop it in the water during a mini bath
Sent from my SGH-I727 using xda premium

jnicks510 said:
should've left it off and left it in sack of rice for a day or so. RIP your phone...
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Yeah I was about to mention rice
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Well, I dropped my skyrocket in water a couple days ago but fished it out instantly.
Learning from past mistakes, I immediately turned it off and took the battery, sim and memory card out. After I took a paper towel and tried to dry as many cracks and openings as possible until I saw I could not get any paper towel wet. I put the phone and battery in a sealed bag filled with rice and left it for 3 days. When I took it out, the phone was covered in rice dust so I took compressed air and tried to blow it clean. Praying it worked, I put the battery in and turned it on. Miraculously it booted like nothing ever happened.
I heard online to not use a hair drier as you will blow the water into components which were initially not wet.

"I heard online to not use a hair drier as you will blow the water into components which were initially not wet."
This. Definitely avoid hairdryers. Rice is like magic. I have only dumped one phone in water (it was an iPhone 3GS on and playing a video at the time! Then I had a hellish time getting it to turn off... kept turning back on.) I popped the screen and gave it a rice bath for a couple days. It was as good as new after that. (Well, as good as any iPhone can be, anyway. )

Wet phone. How long in rice?

I dropped my phone in Tuesday night and managed to pull the battery out before the phone turned off itself by short circuit, that keeps me calm that it will work once dried.
So anyways, I put some uncooked rice into a small food container, and have placed my phone along with the battery at that night. It's now Saturday and I'm thinking of finally turning it on tomorrow (Sunday noon).
Should I do it? Has 5 days been long enough for it to dry out? I have not used anything like hair dryers or such, I just wiped it with a clean towel before placing it in rice and it's been there ever since.

Yeah just about I think. Just to be in the safe side leave it until Tuesday. But 48 hours should have been enough
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Rashed97 said:
Yeah just about I think. Just to be in the safe side leave it until Tuesday. But 48 hours should have been enough
Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
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Well I'm just asking cause I've read about people leaving their phones for roughly 24 hours and they work normal again, in my case the drowning was in a bowl of water so it definitely got very wet inside, lots of water probably went inside it through the speaker holes at the back.
I'm starting to get sick of being without a smartphone and I want it tried out ASAP, but I'm a little afraid to power it up yet at the same time.

Mitko said:
Well I'm just asking cause I've read about people leaving their phones for roughly 24 hours and they work normal again, in my case the drowning was in a bowl of water so it definitely got very wet inside, lots of water probably went inside it through the speaker holes at the back.
I'm starting to get sick of being without a smartphone and I want it tried out ASAP, but I'm a little afraid to power it up yet at the same time.
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Ok. 5 days should definitely be enough I'd say its safe to remove it now
Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

Water evaporates.
Blow a little bit with a hairdryer just to make sure and hope there weren't much minerals in it.

It works! Thanks guys. All the buttons including the touchscreen work as nothing ever happened, including my speaker. I'm currently charging it and the battery seems to be normal aswell. :laugh:
And I miscalculated, it was actually 4 and a half days since it was burried in rice. Seems that was enough.

Glad to hear good news :good: I love that resurrection feeling.

Success repairing water damaged S3

I thought I would make a quick post to provide some encouragement for those who may water damaged phones. Took mine swimming the other day. Phone fell out of my pocket and drifted down to the deepest end of the pool 8+'. Fortunately I discovered the phone before I got out of the pool.
I ran down to the hardware store and bought a bag of powder dehydration powder used for drawing humidity out of the air. I combined this powder with a bag of white rice in an airtight container (may seem like overkill but this worked much better then the typical prescribed method).
Any how, I removed the battery, took the screws out of the inner housing assembly popped the assembly without completely disassembling. I then wrapped the phone in a couple of coffee filters to prevent any of the powder from entering the phone.
I put the filter wrapped phone in the powder over night, sealed the container and left overnight. When I awoke I had a completely dry phone.
When I attempted to reboot the phone, the phone booted, but the touch screen didn't work.
After watching a video on Youtube (disassembly guide) I completely disassembled the phone. Working with 99% Iso alcohol and some small brushes, I completely cleaned the interior of the phone assembly including the main board, all connectors (paying very close attention to the pin assemblies). I found quite a bit of white corrosion inside the pin assemblies for the connectors and on much of the components. I assume this was residual chlorine from the pool water. After thoroughly cleaning all components, board etc. I carefully reassembled the phone per the instructions in the video.
Once the phone was buttoned up and recharged, I rebooted the phone. The phone booted right up. Everything worked perfectly, with the exception of the camera (wouldn't focus right). I disassembled the in housing again and took the camera out again. After inspecting, I realized I hadn't cleaned the interior of the plastic cover that protects the camera. After booting again, camera worked perfectly.
I would highly encourage anyone who mistakenly immerses their phone in water to at minimum use the powder and rice mixture w/partial disassembly. This worked exceptionally well compared to simply removing the battery and placing in rice.
If your patient and willing to follow directions, I found the thorough disassembly and cleaning process to be quite informative and rewarding, and I got a working phone out of the deal.
Don't recommend getting your phone wet, but if you do, take the initiative and try this yourself. Feel free to msg me if you have any questions

Good to hear that home solutions is still a viable way to fix electronic problems.

How long was it in the water for? I would have figured there was no way that phone would come back to life. Good to know.

Makes no difference if it was 10 seconds or 10 minutes. It doesn't get "wetter" being in longer.
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mine got wet 9 months ago and the op's steps that they took were similar to what I did and I can confirm that you can save your phone. My phone even got plugged in to the charger before i realized it was wet. Thanks op for posting this to help others out.

Hall, that cant be entirely true. Granted, either way is bad, but you can have more corrosion build up if it sat longer. Will 10 minutes do that much corrosion? still doubtful, but still can effect the phone differently. Also, depending on the case, it could take a little longer to access deeper in to the phone.
Sent from my MIUI powered S3 thanks to StrumerJohn and using Tapatalk 4. Respect My Authoritah!

BurningDog said:
How long was it in the water for? I would have figured there was no way that phone would come back to life. Good to know.
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Sorry for the late reply. Phone was about 9' deep for about 10 minutes. It was completely water logged. Funny thing was screen was still operational when I pulled from the water. I immediately pulled battery to prevent shorting.
I tend to think the amount of corrosion is relevant to the depth of water invasion and the amount of chemical or other component in the water. Mine was full of white corrosion. Under a magnifying glass I could see it everywhere. Any place i found it, I scrubbed with a fine brush and alcohol, specifically around the pins in the connectors. Be careful not to bend any though.
As far as components, they seem to be very well sealed. Nothing got into the camera, gyro etc. Speaker and phone jack both needed quite a bit of work, but eventually came clean.
Wouldn't suggest opening a phone for no reason, but it is actually quite interesting to see how small and well designed the components are, as well as to see how and where they are installed, gives one a much better understanding of how these things work.
Should I ever drop a phone in water again, I will certainly feel much more confident about my ability to revive it. Not good for the phone but certainly not a death certificate either. With a thorough cleaning your phone should work just fine again.

Edit: so I read the OP. Excellent job, with the exception of the rice. Leave it out next time. It's time to end the rice myth!
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For the love of God people, stop putting your wet phones in rice. I work at a repair shop and have worked on more water damaged phones than I can remember. Also, I come from a fobby Asian family and have carried(20+ lb bags)/washed/steamed/eaten a lot of rice.
First, rice doesn't just absorb moisture. If it's submerged in it, it will. It doesn't just pull it out of the air.
Second, when you put something wet in a container, or anywhere without good airflow it takes significantly longer for the water to evaporate. Take some wet clothes and put them in a bag. Even an open bag. See how long it takes compared to something like line drying.
Half the time someone leaves their phone in a rice filled container, the phone still has water in it 3-7 days later. The other half the water is gone, but it has accelerated damage from corrosion/rust.
Best thing to do with a water damaged android phone: take out the battery. Put it anywhere with a comfortable ambient temp and airflow, leaving the battery cover off. Leave it as long as you feel comfortable. Install new battery and back up your stuff.
At this point, you may need to clean everything with rubbing alcohol. If you don't feel comfortable doing that yourself, bring it to someone.
Sorry to rant but I'm just so sick of opening up wet phones and having people tell me "but I read it on the internet!"
Spread the word.

rockingondrums said:
Sorry to rant but I'm just so sick of opening up wet phones and having people tell me "but I read it on the internet!"
Spread the word.
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Everything on the internet is true though. Which is why I will now let everyone know. You all owe me money. Depending on your yearly net income.
20k and below. $10
50 - 70k $20
70 - 90k $50
90k and up $100.
You may pay me via PayPal.
This is on the internet. This is true. Good day!
Sent from my MIUI powered S3 thanks to StrumerJohn and using Tapatalk 4. Respect My Authoritah!

Dropped S6 in water.

Yep. My daughter was in a rush to get into the pool and old dad forgot to take phone out of my pocket.
This happened a few weeks ago. I kept it in a bag of rice for 3 days and no luck.
I've since got another new S6 but was wondering if there's anything I can do in hopes of reviving it.
Thanks

Its a gonner.
The rice trick is a lie, its just as stupid to me as when batteries are dead to put them in your armpit to "recharge them" for that last little bit of juice.
The truth is, if you have a removable battery, the first thing you do is PULL that battery and LEAVE it out, which you and I dont. But when theres juice flowimg to the board when water hits it, it super cools very hot and tiny solder points on a board which causes fractures and most of the time complete breaks. Some people get lucky and only suffer from fractured joints from being able to pull the battery out and allowing joints to cool quickly. But with a sealed battery you are basically doomed from the time it hits the water OR if your lucky enough and it just got splashed or dunked for a second it didnt allow enough time to pull in water and your usually safe.
To those people who couldnt fire up their phone it is because water was shorting their phone, and once the water was evaporated if the joints didnt get damaged the phome fores up again. They say its the rice, I say its physics.
The roce thing is a joke, and it "only works" cause YOU the individual who thought the phone was thirsty didnt get it wet enough
;:EXAMPLE< THIS WILL DESTROY YOUR COMPUTER ONLY CONTINUE KNOWING YOUR COMPUTER WILL NO LONGER RUN AGAIN, I SUGGEST ALL PRECAUTIONS WHEN WORKING WITH ELECTRICITY AND AM NOT LIABLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU OR YOUR PROPERTY.>
I have PROOF of this theory if you thing im lying. Grab and old DESKTOP with an easily removable motherboard and remove it. I HAD ONE FROM 1998 THAT HAD WINDOWS 2000 ON IT. Again make sure its NOT been on, preferable one that has sat in your closet for years. Pull the motherboard and ram and cpu, places where water can get lodged, and soak the motherboard for 10 minutes. Dry it off as much as you can and bake it in the sun for a day, two just to be safe.. That night plug everything back in and it will fire up. It more than likely will run just fine, unless you didnt let it get hot enough to evaporate the water while in the sun. In the same test let the computer run for about 20 minutes, enough time to get everything nice and warm.
Then quickly turn the pc ocr and UNPLUG it and LIGHTLY with a cup of cool water slowly drizzle it on the motherboard and you should start to hear cracking noises. Again the next dry pull it out and you will notice cracks in solder joints. And youll nitce that it never works again.
Maybe ill make a youtube video as I have another old pc.
The point it hot joints dont like cold water. So its all up to how fast water got in if any, most of the time if your phone is sealed properly its just outside on the screen and casing.

Even if it did revive, it's days would be numbered anyway. You could eBay it for water damage/parts only and probably recoup a couple hundred bucks.
Edit: My opinion on the rice is that it only helps dry out the phone slightly faster if left completely sealed airtight and buried for like a week. If there's going to be damage, it has already been done as was stated above.

See...rice works great with humidity or direct contact with water, my problem with rice on a phone is it is not in direct contact with water. NOW if you said you coverd the phone in rice in a SEALED container and threw that out in the sun? Yes I could understand the rice absorbing water faster
Now i am no genuis...ive just done a lotttt of research in my time. And I do a lot...of testing hahaha

I dropped mine in the sink under running water and it shorted out. Put it in rice for 5 days and it started working eventually. Still working flawless to this day. So rice is not totally a lie unless that was just a coincidence. All I know is that my phone is still working after water ****ed it up
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GoBears said:
Even if it did revive, it's days would be numbered anyway. You could eBay it for water damage/parts only and probably recoup a couple hundred bucks.
Edit: My opinion on the rice is that it only helps dry out the phone slightly faster if left completely sealed airtight and buried for like a week. If there's going to be damage, it has already been done as was stated above.
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Is there any way they could pull any of my info off there of I sold it on ebay?

Gytole said:
See...rice works great with humidity or direct contact with water, my problem with rice on a phone is it is not in direct contact with water. NOW if you said you coverd the phone in rice in a SEALED container and threw that out in the sun? Yes I could understand the rice absorbing water faster
Now i am no genuis...ive just done a lotttt of research in my time. And I do a lot...of testing hahaha
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I'm glad you clarified your earlier post. In certain cases, the rice trick does work. It does absorb humidity and draw wetness to itself. However, like you stated, it usually cannot magically pull moisture out of trapped jointed components.

hank3fan said:
Is there any way they could pull any of my info off there of I sold it on ebay?
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I'm sure if they really wanted to, they could. I doubt anyone would go through trouble. Have you tried hooking it to a computer lately and see if there's a response?