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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

[Q] Help! Water under lens cover

Went to take a picture tonight and there is water or condensation underneath the lens cover. No idea how this happened. But any idea on a fix or drying it out??
Any way to pop the lens cover off??
Not what I was hoping for.

Hair dryer on low setting?
sassafras

Rice leave it in Tupperware with dry rice overnight always has worked for me IMO

Bury it in rice overnight. I went swimming with my One X and this obviously got water all through it. I had put it in rice but ended up just claiming insurance on it, however, all of the water was out of the camera (and there was a lot).
---------- Post added at 10:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 PM ----------
sassafras_ said:
Hair dryer on low setting?
sassafras
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Do NOT use heat on the phone. However low of a setting, it would either be low enough to not remove the water, and if it was warm enough then this can also weaken the adhesives inside the phone and cause other problems later on.

Tried gently blow drying it...condensation clears but come back
Tried gently blowdrying it, and the condensation clears but then comes right back once it cools.
Rice?? (of course i used the last of our rice for dinner tonight, so its off to the grocery store).

Of course off blowdrying on low while you are posting me not to...oh well, off forrice and see what things look like in the am.
I don't think it got very wet. I did have it on the counter while I was doing dishes, but it was a few feet away. All I can figure is that some water got on the back and somehow under the lens cover, but the phone itself wasn't wet. I popped out the sim card and that whole area was dry.
My concern is just whether the lens cover dries "clear" or if it remains clouded or dirty from the inside. Anyone know if there is any way of popping off the lens ring and cleaning the inside?

danwc said:
Of course off blowdrying on low while you are posting me not to...oh well, off forrice and see what things look like in the am.
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Good luck buddy

Uncooked rice in Tupperware! Take out microsim and cover. This phone is sealed up too good. Could take a few days.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA

If the rice thing doesn't work, I'd exchange it.
just say it randomly reboots. Good luck finding one at an AT&T store though

Maroon Mushroom said:
If the rice thing doesn't work, I'd exchange it.
just say it randomly reboots. Good luck finding one at an AT&T store though
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The rice thing may not work for true water damage, but it WILL remove the water from behind the camera. My phone was sumbereged for a couple minutes and one night in rice took away all of the visual water that was behind the screen and camera lens.

that reminds me, since the phone is so sealed up, where's the water damage indicator? inside the headphone jack?

gunnyman said:
that reminds me, since the phone is so sealed up, where's the water damage indicator? inside the headphone jack?
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The only one I could find was inside the micro SIM card slot.

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
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

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
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

nrm5110 said:
Issue is he has been running it already
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
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Right. All the damage is already done. He didn't care for it properly immediately after it got wet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

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?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

You see this guys pinky nail?!? Whou. I couldn't stop looking at it. I bet i can guess what its for
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk

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
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

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. )

[Q] Advice on water damage. Pics.

So, my girlfriend had her Moto G in her purse and a water bottle opened and got her phone wet. I completely. disassembled the phone and dried everything out with a hair dryer. There is still a section of the screen that has a weird mark on it and the screen will appear to flicker every so often. I know for a fact the connection is dry so what else could it be? She's using my Nexus 4 for now. Eeeekkk. She's clumsy and that phone is glass all around!!!

supremekizzle said:
So, my girlfriend had her Moto G in her purse and a water bottle opened and got her phone wet. I completely. disassembled the phone and dried everything out with a hair dryer. There is still a section of the screen that has a weird mark on it and the screen will appear to flicker every so often. I know for a fact the connection is dry so what else could it be? She's using my Nexus 4 for now. Eeeekkk. She's clumsy and that phone is glass all around!!!
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spot could be because water maybe got into the lcd itself? Or maybe the digitizer is right up against it

T10NAZ said:
spot could be because water maybe got into the lcd itself? Or maybe the digitizer is right up against it
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Thanks. Any way to fix?

it's probably because you used a hair dryer to dry the phone

supremekizzle said:
So, my girlfriend had her Moto G in her purse and a water bottle opened and got her phone wet. I completely. disassembled the phone and dried everything out with a hair dryer. There is still a section of the screen that has a weird mark on it and the screen will appear to flicker every so often. I know for a fact the connection is dry so what else could it be? She's using my Nexus 4 for now. Eeeekkk. She's clumsy and that phone is glass all around!!!
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In theory it can be fixed, but it's very hard to do and you may end up destroying the lcd. You may have gotten water between the layers of the lcd and it won't dry easy and even if it does it will probably stay as a permanent blob due to the minerals in the water.
The way to fix it is to open the lcd itself and separate the layers until you reach the blob, then wash it gently with 99% alcohol and dry gently with warm air. I've done this several times, but few it didn't end well, depends on the lcd itself.
My advice is to disassemble the phone and leave it in an open-air bag of rice and leave in in a warm place for 3 days or so.
As a last resort you can try what I said above, just make sure to note how the layers were put and which side, so you don't mess it that way.
Good luck.

It's weird. I woke up today and it was completely gone. Either the drop of water that was in there migrated to somewhere else in the phone, or it evaporated. Thanks for the help.

Dropped Nexus5 in toilet...

So yesterday around midnight clumsy as I am I managed to drop my Nexus 5 in clean toilet water. Fortunately I managed to get it out of there in less than a second so the phone just like "paddled" in the water before it was in my hand again. Well when it was in my hands I quick took some paper and cleaned the outlayers of the phone but unfortunately it took me a few minutes until I managed to turn it off because of non-responsive touch because of the water on the screen. Still, until I turned it off the phone seemed like to work as it always have, perfect.
So when it was turned off I took out the SIM and card holder. I took a cotton swab and cleaned the headset and charger hole and put in it uncooked rice.
Now it's been in the rice for 5-6 hours and I just took a quick look on it (No, I did not turn it on.). I'm put it in again and I am going to leave it in the rice for 20-44 hours more.
How big is my survival chance? Should I try to take the phone and try to blow out the minimal amount of water with a vaccum cleaner? I left the back cover (the one who came with the phone) on but on YouTube it doesn't look like too much of an hassle to get it off. Should I take the back cover off and put in rice again or blow with hair dryer/vaccum cleaner?
And how many hours should it stay in rice?

To be honest... I'd sit it on a radiator as well to let it get hot and really dry out. Then it's probably just a 50 50 chance that nothing is damaged and turn it on and hope for the best

Just open it and dry it.
Half year ago I put the phone in laundry machine and washed like 5 minutes...
Open it up, get parts out, and make sure every part is dry after few hours.
Then put them back, and everything is fine as before
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

K9998 said:
Just open it and dry it.
Half year ago I put the phone in laundry machine and washed like 5 minutes...
Open it up, get parts out, and make sure every part is dry after few hours.
Then put them back, and everything is fine as before
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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I really don't want to open it...I destroyed the case of my former phone that way and it looks like the case for the Nexus is really hard to get off...
By the way I have now vacuumed some small, small drops of water out from the charger hole and the speakers. If I remember right only half of phone got fully in the water since the headphone jack was completely dry. The phone is in a container of rice now and I will leave it there for another 12-16 hours...
Do you really recommend me to try to take of the case?

I believe the back is pretty easy to take off - you can start with a fingernail. And it would certainly increase the drying performance. I think I remember doing it myself. Try iFixit for the Nexus 5 teardown.
Yep, there's a video, but it's really a narrative rather than showing the removal of the back cover. It shows that it's held on with clips with a very small amount on the bottom edge. It's as simple as I thought, and now I've seen it I remember doing it on my old N5 before I exchanged it for a refurbished model.
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5+Teardown/19016

Worked
I powered it on now. Everything seems to work perfect