Hello, ladies and gentlemen (and those inbetween, too)!
I will try to keep this as short as possible. If you want less details, tl;dr section at the end. EDIT: i.... didn't quite think this through
My girlfriend has an Xperia Z3 which she bought from a random seller from Germany (am UK residents). Everything about the phone was great, it was brand-new albeit it has been, apparently, been the display device; but other than that it worked perfectly. We even tested out the waterproofness right after setting up the device and charging it up to see if it works. Back then, it did.
Now, this friday (frikkin' Friday the 13th) she had some sort of an art project going on, which she wanted to do underwater. She does have a GoPro for it, but for some sample shots before finishing out, she decided she could just as well use her Xperia. Now, I was sleeping at the moment so I did not get to witness how she did it, but she assures me she closed the flaps extra carefully. However, after she tried submersing it into water, the screen started blinking randomly, as if there is some problem with LCD matrix of some sorts.
We put the Xperia into a bowl of rice and left it that way overnight. After turning the phone back on, the screen showed first "Sony Xperia" logo, then completely went blank. Just a random look-around on the Internet showed me that for extra help it would be best if you take your water-exposed phone and leave it upside-down while it is drying out. I was hopeless, but I didn't want to disappoint her so I said it would work. I was sure it would work since at times, when turning the phone on, some images did work out (like the charging icon when it's turned off and charging) so most probably the phone is not damaged yet, its just still exposed to water.
Next day, after leaving it just standing there upside down, the screen worked as normal, and normal touch functionality returned as well. Not for long however.
My final hurdle is this: When you turn on the phone (after being in vertical upside-down position) and hold it properly (as in, again, vertically, but upright-down) , the touch functions work very well. For a couple of minutes. After that the touch functionality artifacts (faulty touch detection, ultrahigh sensitivity etc) return. It appears that the water is still there somewhere, and as you hold the phone correctly, it goes down back a bit and impairs functionality.
Now, the question is: What can I do to completely remove the water from the device, seeing as keeping it in rice for 2 days did not remove the impairments from internal water exposure entirely?
So far I've tried only rice. Was bad call, but I did not think of anything better and used a bit of hairdryer at the very beginning of the issue, and yes, I now know that it was a stupid idea.
I think I will leave it in one-two more days upside-down in rice and see how it goes from there. Before turning on, I also thought about using the vacuum cleaner method of attempting to suck the water out of it through available holes.
Any other suggestions, tips and ideas? Would seriously want for things to go back to normal, considering now I do not have a phone (gave mine to girlfriend in place of her ill Xperia).
Thanks for your attention and I hope your devices stay healthy and safe!
tl;dr exposed Xperia Z3 to water with problems, turns out the damage was reversible and everything works well so far but touch functionality is faulty, still water stuck inside the phone that impairs touch screen, tried drying it by leaving in rice, gonna leave in rice for a day or two more and use vacuum cleaner on the holes right after, anything else that I could do?
Related
Yesterday at work my boat caught on fire (serving with the Coast Guard atm) and while fighting the fire I got wet. I didn't have time to empty my pockets, and as such my phone got wet. It wasn't soaked to the point where water was dripping out of it, just the outside was damp. When I got home, I took it apart as much as I could and set it out to dry.
This morning I put it back together after checked for any water (there was none) and plugged it in, then turned it on. It booted up fine, I was able to send/receive text messages, make a phone call, and tether it to my laptop. The only problem I found was the hang-up button was constantly light, and the button itself didn't work. About an hour later I was talking to my roommate about the fire, and told him how my phone had gotten a little wet but seemed to be working OK, save for the one button. As if on cue, when I pointed and looked at it, the screen seemed to shift a little, then stopped showing the Today page and just showed a dark blue plaid pattern.
Now, about 3 hours later, the screen doesn't show anything at all. The phone is still working, hence why I am able to tether it, except I'm afraid to do anything with it in case I can't tether it again. When I hit the power button that would normally turn the screen on, all the buttons along the bottom light up, but the screen just shows a very feint, dark blue color. No plaid anymore.
Is there something I can try to do to fix this? I had thought about pulling apart even further and hope that re-seating something might help, but I don't want to completely screw it up.
A friend of mine once dumped her phone into a puddle, it wasn't a fuze, but a phone is a phone...lol. The screen stopped working, it would flicker every now and again, and you could see that the phone itself still worked, just not the screen even when it was aired out. She buried it in a bowl of dry rice and left it overnight, apparently the rice absorbed the excess moisture in the phone and it works flawlessly now. I don't know if this will work for you, but it's apparently a common fix for moisture damage as telling this story a lot of people have told me they have done the same thing and it has worked.
Quick update, I just opened the keyboard, just playing around with it in the hopes of getting something... and I did. If I open the keyboard with some force (flicking it open hard) the screen shows up perfectly for about a second, then fades to red then back to blue. So all is not lost, but maybe a bad connection somewhere?
*edit*
Just did it again (closed the keyboard pretty hard) and the screen is back to normal. Touch screen is working normally, and hasn't faded after about a minute. I'll keep you updated. I guess the good old method of beating things into submission still works like a charm.
Sometimes a good ole WACK does some good. Few years back my sister called me, her new computer would just beep when turned on. I told her to give it a good wack and turn it back on. Did the trick. Next time was up there, pulled it apart and the video card wasn't quite seated.
My Fuze got a wet.
I shook out the water
I powered it on. It came on and everything.
It reset itself.
Then I played with it for a while.
Everything seemed fine until I hit the power button. The screen turned off.
I pressed it again and it wouldn't turn on.
Nothing gets the phone back on at this stage, except taking the battery out and powering up again.
I then decided to do the bowl of rice thing and let it sit for about 7 hours.
It is still the same. If I press the power button at the top of device, it turns off.
If I press it quickly after, it turns back on but if I wait a while, lets say 3-5 seconds, it doesn't turn back on.
Also, the water damage sticker has turned light pink, like 65% of it.
any suggestions
I'm afraid there is probably no help. Even if the water dried completely before turning it back on the impurities in the water probably will cause problems.
I had one drop in some water. Powered it off, disassembled it and dried completely. I let it sit for 8 hours, reassembled it and powered it on. It worked for a couple of hours.
Luckily I had insurance on it.
oh ok
what about warranty, i am still covered
the little white box is still white but mostly pink
its kinda crazii that it turns on and everything works
its just that if i turn off the phone or it turns off automatically due to the power settings, it can't turn on.
the soft reset doesn't work and the power buttton atop the phone doesnt work either
w0w!!!
i just powered on my waater damaged 8525 from 2 yrs ago (had a tilt & fuze since) & it works!!!
b4 it would turn on but the screen wouldnt work
you would have to position it @ a certain angle in order to make anything out
it works now, besides needing to hooked up to the charger in order to load up
fuze is still sitting in a bowl of rice
any more ideas, suggestions...etc
ok, i just realizedthat the soft reset button @ da bottom doesnt function @ all
any idea on how to go about fixing this??
itsjust the screen doesnt come back on but device isnt off because the scroll wheel lights still show up
but it shouldnt because the device isnt charging
Can you warranty a device if the sticker is partially pink?
You can try the warranty, but when they see the water sticker is colored, you're likely to be charged for the cost of the phone. Water won't be covered by warranty, only insurance.
If you want to avoid replacing the phone at your cost, then about the only thing I can think of doing is pulling the battery out and cleaning it thouroughly with distilled water (in other words, another dunking). Do that 2-3 times with fresh distilled water to get rid of as many impurities from the other water as you can. Then let it dry for 24-48 hours (getting some dessicants wouldn't hurt to suck out as much water as you can). Then put a battery in and see what happens.
Odds aren't good this will improve things, but it's possible. It's more likely you'll need to get your hands on a new phone.
You could also try to find a broken fuze online, maybe eBay, but no water damage, and swap stickers.
thanks guys
do the silica packs count?
how would you go about switching the stickers?
is there a particular part i can switch from a used fuze to fix my problem?
wutitizshorty said:
thanks guys
do the silica packs count?
how would you go about switching the stickers?
is there a particular part i can switch from a used fuze to fix my problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the sticker, just carefully take it off a different Fuze, hell maybe even a different phone as long as the sticker fits. Take off the pink one on your Fuze and glue on the new one. Should be good as new.
As for swapping parts, it would probably be too much money and trouble to do that, that'll void your warranty right there anyways and there's a chance you'll never assemble the phone back perfectly. Trust me, it has happened to me a lot when I thought I could swap parts.
I've seen a friend of mine do something with one he got wet that actually worked ... he dipped his entire phone in a bowl of rubbing alochol for a few seconds - the pulled it back out & let it dry out for about 24 hours and it's worked. Obviously take the battery out when you do that....
kinda scared about the rubbing alcohol because the phone works for the most part, just not the reset button
i have other devices so im gonna try the sticker swap for now
well the concepton the alcohol dunk is that you need alcohol that is as close to pure alcohol as possible. rubbing is great as previously mentioned. what it does is that it takes the water and vaporizes with the water. the same concept as adding wine or spirits into a soup. it makes the soup thicker and creamier because there is less water in it.. and it also can be used to fix a situation where you use too much water or something....
Hello,
by a rediculous accident I forgot my HTC Diamond in the pocket of my jeans when running the laundry :-(
Afterwards, I opened the cover, took out the battery and let the phone dry out for 2 days. Now I've put it back together, and connected it to the charger. The "ring" is flashing, so the battery is charging but the phone itself is not starting and the display remains completely black, not even the vibration kick on starting...
Is there anything I could do? Or perhaps there is a chance to get out some photos I have shot earlier, would also be something...
ive heard that taking apart your phone and leaving the parts in rice can help (because the rice absorbs moisture)
Off topic:
I read one Desire went through a washing sequence in a washing machine in Desire spesific forum and now this?
Is this a new hobby? I mean... washing smartphone
darkman088 said:
Or perhaps there is a chance to get out some photos I have shot earlier, would also be something...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the photos are on your micro sd card, you may be able to plug that into an adapter and plug it into your PC and gain access to them that way. Just be sure that micro sd card is thoroughly dry before doing so.
WORKING !!!
Hello,
thanks for the replies... This morning the phone booted!!! I was able to download the photos!!! But the screen has stains, obviously the remaining water.
PLEASE advise on how to dry that thing completely !!!
I think that I'm gonna pass on the rice thing.
@aaa - YOU ARE A JUNKA$$ !!! You think that's really funny?!? Especially when I'm currently TIGHT on budget and need the money for other things and the next phone is planned no earlier than Christmas... I'm hesitating whether you're a real human being...
You can dry it completely in an oven for three hours at thirty degrees or so. I've done this three times. If you have a fan forced oven, just turn the fans on, that'll be enough.
A safer way (if you can obtain it) is to leave the phone for 24 hours in a bowl of dessicant silica gel. You'll often get a small packet of silica gel when buying new electronics or other moisture-affected things. That small packet is enough, just put it in an airtight bag and leave it for 24 hours.
The next step would be disassembly and a thorough swabbing with denatured alcohol, but that's pretty extreme and only needed when the device isn't booting.
Some LCDs are hard to get moisture out of, some are not. Leaving the phone with the silica gel for longer will have a better effect. As the previous poster mentioned, rice also works (quite well), but takes longer than silica.
Good luck with it!
Another thin that will absorb moisture is common table salt. Take the phone apart very carefully. Remove battery first, make sure you're grounded as well.
Hello everybody.
thanks a lot for the numerous advices...
Unfortunately, I have more to report...
The phone dried out and booted 2 or 3 days later, as I said. The stains on the display disappeared as by magic one day later.
Everything was fine for a week until I launched the camera 2 days ago. The backlight of the display went off and came back only after removing the batter for 15 minutes.
Now the backlight is going off pretty often, sometimes it requires to remove the battery 1-2 times before it starts working again and yesterday it happened that it got activated again when I got a call...
Any ideas please?
And also the phone keeps overheating from time to time without real load (GPS or wi-fi) which dries out the battery. But I had this problem also before the laundry
Sounds like that moisture in the LCD unit left a bit of residue and is shorting the backlight somewhere.
Only option there would be to disassemble and swab the LCD boards and cables/connectors with denatured alcohol.
Alternatively, a new LCD unit should fix the problem if it persists, just make sure you alcohol swab the connectors before plugging them back in
Someone also mentioned drying out in salt before. While that does work, salt is extremely corrosive on solder and SMCs, so I wouldn't recommend that route.
i heard hair dryers are the bomb at the screen moisture, just take off all that you can and blow dry it.
I just don't understand your refusal on using white rice. It have saved countless phones.
Uncooked white rice is VERY mosture negative. Just put layer of rice, put your phone on it, cover it completely with white rice, seal it in. Ziploc could work too.
In a day or two your partially dry phone will be bone-dry. If it was soaked still you could first try to shake out water as much as can, soak it in distilled water to remove minerals, then white rice it for 3 to 5 days.
I had this problem with my Touch Diamond. Everything worked, but while i was trying to dry it I broke one of the battery "hinges" but the phone still worked after except only with black screen. The best thing to do probably is just leave it for a couple of days and hopefully your phone will be back!
XXCoder said:
I just don't understand your refusal on using white rice. It have saved countless phones.
Uncooked white rice is VERY mosture negative. Just put layer of rice, put your phone on it, cover it completely with white rice, seal it in. Ziploc could work too.
In a day or two your partially dry phone will be bone-dry. If it was soaked still you could first try to shake out water as much as can, soak it in distilled water to remove minerals, then white rice it for 3 to 5 days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly what ive said. ive read everywhere that rice is one of the best solutions out there
Like was said before you most likely have some corrosion on a few contacts, if you have about 6 bucks you can spare you can get residue free contact cleaner in an aerosol at radio shack or any electronics store and save yourself having to scrub each contact and connector. Just tear the phone down down spray all the contacts and connectors with contact cleaner let it sit for a few then spray it down with air duster to get any thats get under the resistors, in the connectors, etc that hasn't dried; let it sit till you're positive everythings dry and put it back together. Does the same thing as alcohol just alot less scrubbing.
Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
Hello,
thanks for narrowing the problem down.
But for me it looks like something different, because:
1) I have been using the phone for 1 week without any problems and it got screwed after I've launched the camera app for the first time
2) The backlight works when I power on the phone. But its stop is event-triggered, like when I launch the sound or video player or when I get a call... Similar events would trigger the backlight back on.
Perhaps reflashing the software could fix that?
I went to a shop today and put another battery. The phone booted, anyway without any backlight, twice...
At least the device is still alive.
There probably was a tiny water bubble and it messed with phone when you turned camera on.
darkman088 said:
Hello,
thanks for narrowing the problem down.
But for me it looks like something different, because:
1) I have been using the phone for 1 week without any problems and it got screwed after I've launched the camera app for the first time
2) The backlight works when I power on the phone. But its stop is event-triggered, like when I launch the sound or video player or when I get a call... Similar events would trigger the backlight back on.
Perhaps reflashing the software could fix that?
I went to a shop today and put another battery. The phone booted, anyway without any backlight, twice...
At least the device is still alive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
remove the back cover and battery from the phone, and put everyting in a bowl of rice for a day,. should fix everything,
XXCoder said:
There probably was a tiny water bubble and it messed with phone when you turned camera on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either that or a short in the cameras circuit from corrosion, either way i'd pull it apart before it gets worse and check it out.
Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
Hey!
So On Saturday I dropped my phone down the toilet by accident, i removed it from the toilet, after about 5-10 seconds, and it was still on, it seemed fine, so I was like ohh okay...i dried it ect ect and it was working fine, but some parts of the touch wasn't working so I left it on as i could not switch it off. On that night i dried it with the hair dryer as well, didn't work, so wrapped it in a towel and but it in the boiler cubard to keep warm for around 12 hours maybe more...tried to switch it on and it didn't work again.
the day later (Sunday) decided to take it apart, and dry the insides, still wasn't working, but the notification light is on and sometimes flickers so i slept with it under my pillow as it would keep warm over night, on Monday, i put the charger in and the screen came on to that battery charging screen for around 5-6 seconds and it said it was on 0%....the notification light was still on.
I Put the phone in some rice in a box, wrapped it in a towel and left it in the boiler cubard again until Wednesday, afternoon....
what can i do?? will this work?? how much would it cost to get fixed?
is the touch screen broke? do i need new battery? ect ect
THANKS!
Best thing to do if you get a phone wet is turn it off and leave it off for at least a week. The problem is that moisture gets inside the phone itself and just takes time to evaporate. If you turn it on or leave it on after water gets in you run the risk of shorting something out and killing the phone (which is what sounds like happened). As far as repairing it is concerned, might as well get a new one, it'll cost less.
your phone should survive just give it some time in the rice, my brothers samsung ace went through something similar and he put it in rice and it was fine after a day buried in it, there is videos of the moto g submerged in water for a while and still works fine
good luck
Hi,
Earlier today I was in the pool, I grabbed my Z3 and started taking pictures. (of course I checked twice that all the flaps are closed).
After 10 minutes, I put the device on the table near the pool to dry.
I went out for watching the pictures but I was surprised to find out that the device doesn't recognize my touchs.
I already tried restarting the device using the power + volume up buttons, but I can't see any change.
Important to mention that all the buttons work well, the same goes for the speakers, the microphone, the light sensor, LED light etc.
Do you have any idea what should I do?
Thanks and sorry about my grammer mistakes.
I got quite the panic attack the first time I experienced the same thing. For me waiting a while worked, and it came back to life. I still have trouble a couple of hours after soaking it when it comes to sound, though. Sometimes it thinks that I have a jack connected, for instance. I'm guessing you just have to wait for it to dry properly.
owid408 said:
I got quite the panic attack the first time I experienced the same thing. For me waiting a while worked, and it came back to life. I still have trouble a couple of hours after soaking it when it comes to sound, though. Sometimes it thinks that I have a jack connected, for instance. I'm guessing you just have to wait for it to dry properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same as me! It also thought I connected my headset, for some reason.
when you waited a while, the device was turned-off or on?
I never turned it off. Might be a good idea to try to connect a useless headsets jack (I take no responsibility for whatever might happen though. I have no good concept of whether this might be a bad idea or not) to try to clean it.
owid408 said:
I never turned it off. Might be a good idea to try to connect a useless headsets jack (I take no responsibility for whatever might happen though. I have no good concept of whether this might be a bad idea or not) to try to clean it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have connected a headset already and it worked fine. I will let the phone to dry until tomorrow.
Very strange. I get my phone wet a lot and never had any issue. Of course touch does not work well when phone and hands are wet. But after a couple of minutes, it is good to go.
If your phone stops working properly after being immersed in water then it is defective and water got inside of it. Bring it to a service center, they will test it and if they find a leak with flaps closed they will replace under warranty.
I've immersed mine in water a few times and I never had any problem (not pool, mostly in the sink for cleaning purposes and to test the waterproofing). If water goes and stays into the headphone jack the phone will detect headphones, but you just have to blow the water out of it or shake it a bit to get the water out. Underwater the screen will not work and it will detect fake touches if a lot of water is still on the screen, but it should work perfectly as soon as you dry it with a towel or something.
If you experience a malfunction after drying up your phone with a towel and getting residual water out of the jack then water got inside and you should get it replaced ASAP. It doesn't need any drying period, drying it with a towel is enough.