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[Q] Spilled water on phone. Now "Unable to start wifi" message

Guys, been hanging out here long time now. First incident with about 6 month old captivate. I dropped a glass of water on my captivate yesterday. I immediately removed and took out the battery and wiped it dry. Did not see much of seeped in water so did not do the rice method. Turned on Wi-fi this morning and it says "unable to start wifi". Same with bluetooth.
Call,sms, camera everything works fine. At work, so blew dry the phone and also have kept it next to a warm laptop exhaust. Should I dismantle the phone and try to dry the swb23 chip (wifi/bt) ?
Please help guys !
stock and unrooted captivate

thelastjedi said:
Guys, been hanging out here long time now. First incident with about 6 month old captivate. I dropped a glass of water on my captivate yesterday. I immediately removed and took out the battery and wiped it dry. Did not see much of seeped in water so did not do the rice method. Turned on Wi-fi this morning and it says "unable to start wifi". Same with bluetooth.
Call,sms, camera everything works fine. At work, so blew dry the phone and also have kept it next to a warm laptop exhaust. Should I dismantle the phone and try to dry the swb23 chip (wifi/bt) ?
Please help guys !
stock and unrooted captivate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't see the water that got inside. Would have been better to do the rice method before switching it back on but you should do it now nonetheless. Just be warned, you may have cooked the WiFi chip already.
Are the moisture indicators clear? If so, you should send it for warranty replacement. If not, then you can resort to opening it up, wiping the traces, etc.

ianwood said:
You can't see the water that got inside. Would have been better to do the rice method before switching it back on but you should do it now nonetheless. Just be warned, you may have cooked the WiFi chip already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, pretty much ^^

uggg...may be too late. If you get a significant amount of liquid on or in your phone the worst thing you can do is turn it on.
You should have:
1. immediately removed battery and placed on a paper towel.
2. immediately place phone in a bag of rice for a minimum 24 hours if not 48 before ever powering back on.
Still its worth a try....remove battery and leave in rice for 24 hours....try again....maybe it didn't fry anything when you powered it on...but you definitely need to finish getting the moisture out of the inside via the rice absorption.
I had my old tilt in a pocket submerged in a swimming pool for a good 15 minutes before realizing my blunder. When i realizing it i didn't try to turn it back on. Left it in rice for 48 hours and everything work fine (luckily the phone was powered of when i got in the pool so that probably helped avoid anything frying).

Haha, I once accidently dropped my old Samsung Epix in a bucket of water and it still booted up and worked but most of the features are dead but screen and all still works. It looked like it was wrecked. I got it replaced under my insurance which is a good thing.

Lol.....Captain Hindsight......i love South Park.......
Sent from my pocket.

swedishcancerboi said:
Lol.....Captain Hindsight......i love South Park.......
Sent from my pocket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
funny
but being aware that you shouldn't turn on an electronic device when it is wet hardly requires hindsight though does it? =)

Thanks guys, I have put my phone in a bowl of rice hoping it will get cured.
If not, will ATT not service my phone under warranty ? I read somewhere that replacing the wifi/bt chip costs $70 with ATT. Has anyone done this here ?
Thanks all for your quick replies ! Much appreciated. I will keep everyone updated on how this issue pans out so it will help someone in the future

Tesist the urge to take out Nd test.....leave at least 24 hours without touching
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

ianwood said:
Are the moisture indicators clear? If so, you should send it for warranty replacement. If not, then you can resort to opening it up, wiping the traces, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I check for the moisture indicator ? Any easy steps ?

It is the white (or not so white anymore) square in the battery compartment.

bames said:
funny
but being aware that you shouldn't turn on an electronic device when it is wet hardly requires hindsight though does it? =)
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Click to collapse
I just felt like being ornery. I think i read a "you should have....." and it just got me laughing thinking of that episode. No disrespect intended towards anyone.

swedishcancerboi said:
I just felt like being ornery. I think i read a "you should have....." and it just got me laughing thinking of that episode. No disrespect intended towards anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know i thought it as funny haven't seen that episode in a long time...almost as good as towlie
i am just always surprised to see the posts where someone gets there phone wet (washed in laundry, dropped in toilet, spilled significant amount of liquid on it) and the first thing they did was tried to turn it back on almost immediately.

btw if your looking at the moisture indicators for warranty purposes its quite possible you have to completely open the shell. Usually they have one visible without taking the phone apart but its not uncommon to have a secondary marker inside the phone where it would be harder for someone to tamper with. Can anyone confirm where all the cappys markers are?

Been a while since I had mine apart but I don't recall seeing one inside.

newter55 said:
Been a while since I had mine apart but I don't recall seeing one inside.
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Click to collapse
wasn't sure....my Tilt2 had one in the battery compartment and one on the motherboard that could only be seen by opening the casing

Help!! Water damage

Use water to clean my phone (yes im very stupid) and then i turned up the volume and the speaker is very tinny. what should i do?:crying::crying:

rockingrubberducky said:
Use water to clean my phone (yes im very stupid) and then i turned up the volume and the speaker is very tinny. what should i do?:crying::crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try take it apart and put it in rice

rockingrubberducky said:
Use water to clean my phone (yes im very stupid) and then i turned up the volume and the speaker is very tinny. what should i do?:crying::crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your only problem is a broken main external speaker?
I'd take off back cover and battery and place in rice for a good day or so.
If that doesn't work. Don't panic.
The speaker is very cheap and very easy to replace.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=160890063224
Pm me if you need any further help or information on the speaker
(If more is damaged, check water marks to see if they are indicating water or not. If not. Have sent to Samsung under insurance.)
Hit that thanks if I pointed you in he right direction.
sent from that young galaxy on clean ROM!

the rice method works pretty good, also if you can get the silicon bags that come with electronics, those work well too to draw in moisture

another vote for rice. I saved a phone from being in three feet of water for 10 seconds with a bag or rice for 2 days.

put in rice for about 4ish hours. Fixed it!! Thanks guys:laugh:

I have used rice to dry a phone out in the past as well. It is an excellent means to solve the "got wet" problem, most of the time.

i dropped mine in some water, everything seems to be ok except it won't recognize my sd card now.... and suggestions??

rockingrubberducky said:
Use water to clean my phone (yes im very stupid) and then i turned up the volume and the speaker is very tinny. what should i do?:crying::crying:[/Q
was workin on the pool last summer and cell was in my pocket while adding water in the pool and slipped and fell in the water but anywho i beat u dry heat is wat i used like from my xbox for about 2hours
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[Q] Nexus 5 exposed to water

Hello Guys
A while ago i received my N5 and i really enjoyed it! 2 days, i drop the thing in the toilet. :crying:
Okay so my insurance wont cover it and the phone has dryed in Rice and i followed all the advices that were online.
Tho i couldnt remove the batteri and i know this is a crucial point since the current+water will destroy the circuits.
Now my phone either wont start, or sometimes it will try to boot showing the google logo and then crashing (it cant enter the OS).
Is it worth trying to repair the thing? I dont think it will be a problem for me to change a circuit board og replace another part, but since i dont have any experience with phones i dont know what part i should start with.
The phone costs 580 dollars here in Denmark where i live.
Is it worth it ?
Regards Jesper

You can open it up, get some rubbing alcohol and submerge the board into the rubbing alcohol. Use a soft tooth brush and scrub the board. Usually the board gets corrosion/dirt from the water. Once thoroughly clean put a blow dryer to it (use medium to no heat. DO NOT PUT THE BATTERY IN THE ALCOHOL. ONLY THE BOARD!
I've tried this before and it worked like a charm when my Galaxy Nexus had water damage.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

OuncE718 said:
You can open it up, get some rubbing alcohol and submerge the board into the rubbing alcohol. Use a soft tooth brush and scrub the board. Usually the board gets corrosion/dirt from the water. Once thoroughly clean put a blow dryer to it (use medium to no heat. DO NOT PUT THE BATTERY IN THE ALCOHOL. ONLY THE BOARD!
I've tried this before and it worked like a charm when my Galaxy Nexus had water damage.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ! I will grab a repar kit tomorrow and then try what you suggested! sounds like a good idea.
regards

---------- Post added at 12:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 PM ----------
ProfessorJ said:
Thanks ! I will grab a repar kit tomorrow and then try what you suggested! sounds like a good idea.
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. You can watch a few videos on YouTube to see what I mean.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

OuncE718 said:
---------- Post added at 12:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:16 PM ----------
You're welcome. You can watch a few videos on YouTube to see what I mean.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity could you link a video? doesnt have to be the N5 Board

ProfessorJ said:
Hello Guys
A while ago i received my N5 and i really enjoyed it! 2 days, i drop the thing in the toilet. :crying:
Okay so my insurance wont cover it and the phone has dryed in Rice and i followed all the advices that were online.
Tho i couldnt remove the batteri and i know this is a crucial point since the current+water will destroy the circuits.
Now my phone either wont start, or sometimes it will try to boot showing the google logo and then crashing (it cant enter the OS).
Is it worth trying to repair the thing? I dont think it will be a problem for me to change a circuit board og replace another part, but since i dont have any experience with phones i dont know what part i should start with.
The phone costs 580 dollars here in Denmark where i live.
Is it worth it ?
Regards Jesper
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As soon as you dropped it in water you should have turned it off and left it off for days and possibly even took a hairdryer to it or let it sit in front of the heat vent.

Number one mistake is trying to turn it on. If anybody else drops the nexus in water. Because it has no removable battery cover. Rice won't do the trick. It would take way too long and the water would have already rusted the metal components and trashed all the pop connectors. If you drop the phone is water. Quickly take the entire phone apart. Than put all the pieces in rice. That will allow the rice to actually absorb the left over water. YouTube "nexus 5 tear down". Its always a good thing to know how to do this.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

I just finished assembling the Nexus again and im a very happy man!
After disasembling the phone i found that the top board was very teared by the water and it was clear how some of the sockets had poor or no connection.
I used pure alchol (Dunno what its called in english) and a small toothbrush to clean the board. I dryed the board with a hair dryer on cold setting to avoid over heating the CPU parts. Now the phone works! and it doesnt look like it has any pearment faults or flaws. Even the display is normal and all my previous settings and the OS was intact. Thanks for the help everybody! and yes the best thing to do is remove the powersource and dry the boards individually if exposed to water
Best regards Jesper

ProfessorJ said:
I just finished assembling the Nexus again and im a very happy man!
After disasembling the phone i found that the top board was very teared by the water and it was clear how some of the sockets had poor or no connection.
I used pure alchol (Dunno what its called in english) and a small toothbrush to clean the board. I dryed the board with a hair dryer on cold setting to avoid over heating the CPU parts. Now the phone works! and it doesnt look like it has any pearment faults or flaws. Even the display is normal and all my previous settings and the OS was intact. Thanks for the help everybody! and yes the best thing to do is remove the powersource and dry the boards individually if exposed to water
Best regards Jesper
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bravo!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

ProfessorJ said:
I just finished assembling the Nexus again and im a very happy man!
After disasembling the phone i found that the top board was very teared by the water and it was clear how some of the sockets had poor or no connection.
I used pure alchol (Dunno what its called in english) and a small toothbrush to clean the board. I dryed the board with a hair dryer on cold setting to avoid over heating the CPU parts. Now the phone works! and it doesnt look like it has any pearment faults or flaws. Even the display is normal and all my previous settings and the OS was intact. Thanks for the help everybody! and yes the best thing to do is remove the powersource and dry the boards individually if exposed to water
Best regards Jesper
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad I could help. Now please help me and hit the thanks button.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Hey guys. I followed the instructions and have gotten my phone to power. Problem is when it goes from the power up screen that say "Google" to the colored balls, the balls freeze and it goes back to "Google" and freezing there. Any ideas on what I can do to get it to boot?
I just need it to boot long enough to retrieve my pictures and this hot chick's number I got right before the phone was dropped in the pool. Thanks.
edit: When I hold Volume Down/Power, I can get it to the bootloader. Anything I can do from here to salvage my stuff? I'm not familiar with bootloader options. Plugged into my computer, I can hear my PC make the noise as though it's connected which typically then leads to the phone's drive being accessible on the computer however it then immediately makes the noise of the phone being disconnected.

I believe I am having the same problem as you. I briefly dropped it into a creek for no more than a few seconds. That was enough to make the display unresponsive to touch. I was able to power down and quickly did so.
Unfortunately I wasn't near any rice immediately (motorcycle) so I put the phone in my mesh jacket in 100F weather and hoped for the best. I left it off at this point. When I got home I turned it back on (stupid I know) and the N5 didn't boot, only stopped at "Google" boot. I powered down the phone and rebooted, this time it worked. A quick checkup showed the external speaker didn't work for Play music, but did work for T-mobile visual voicemail. Also, the earpiece didn't work when I attempted to make calls.
At this point I realize I probably screwed up the phone big time. Once I realized not all components were working I put the phone in a ziplock bag with brown rice new from the store. I guess I'll let it sit for 48 hours and then attempt again. If it doesn't work, I'll attempt taking the phone apart and cleaning each part. And I'm really only going to attempt that because this phone isn't even paid off!!
These phones need to be made tougher! I am losing hope that there's any chance of my phone surviving at this point.
jaymzb0nd said:
Hey guys. I followed the instructions and have gotten my phone to power. Problem is when it goes from the power up screen that say "Google" to the colored balls, the balls freeze and it goes back to "Google" and freezing there. Any ideas on what I can do to get it to boot?
I just need it to boot long enough to retrieve my pictures and this hot chick's number I got right before the phone was dropped in the pool. Thanks.
edit: When I hold Volume Down/Power, I can get it to the bootloader. Anything I can do from here to salvage my stuff? I'm not familiar with bootloader options. Plugged into my computer, I can hear my PC make the noise as though it's connected which typically then leads to the phone's drive being accessible on the computer however it then immediately makes the noise of the phone being disconnected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Nexus 5 Water damaged
OuncE718 said:
You can open it up, get some rubbing alcohol and submerge the board into the rubbing alcohol. Use a soft tooth brush and scrub the board. Usually the board gets corrosion/dirt from the water. Once thoroughly clean put a blow dryer to it (use medium to no heat. DO NOT PUT THE BATTERY IN THE ALCOHOL. ONLY THE BOARD!
I've tried this before and it worked like a charm when my Galaxy Nexus had water damage.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dropped my nexus 5 in the pool while I was on vacation. When i came home i clean all the parts with rubbing alcohol, my phone worked! A day later i tried again but my phone froze on the start-up screen (with the magical floaty balls) and i haven't been able to turn on my phone since i got it to work. What should i do? is it worth saving? PLEASE HELP!!!:crying::crying::crying:

Nexus 5 Water damaged
Hi guyz,
I need some help, lately my nexus 5 was been water damaged. I immediately follow OuncE718 suggestion but I still experiencing problem. When I press on the phone I can feel the vibration but Google-boot logo will not display and it will only display a white-dim light in the bottom part of the screen. I tried to connect it in a Windows computer it will be recognised as a Nexus 5 phone. Does it mean I had to replace my LCD.?
John
Cheers

tolmike23 said:
Hi guyz,
I need some help, lately my nexus 5 was been water damaged. I immediately follow OuncE718 suggestion but I still experiencing problem. When I press on the phone I can feel the vibration but Google-boot logo will not display and it will only display a white-dim light in the bottom part of the screen. I tried to connect it in a Windows computer it will be recognised as a Nexus 5 phone. Does it mean I had to replace my LCD.?
John
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who knows what damage did the water do? If the corrosion sets in, your device will be hosed for sure.
It's really a fools errand to fix water damaged phones as no one can be sure the extent of the damage.
If you take it to a service centre, they'll most probably replace the lcd + mobo which will cost a bomb.
- Sent from an IceCold Hammerhead!

vin4yak said:
Who knows what damage did the water do? If the corrosion sets in, your device will be hosed for sure.
It's really a fools errand to fix water damaged phones as no one can be sure the extent of the damage.
If you take it to a service centre, they'll most probably replace the lcd + mobo which will cost a bomb.
- Sent from an IceCold Hammerhead!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks vin4yak I probably buy a new LCD as I have no choice it is really a bomb!.

tolmike23 said:
Thanks vin4yak I probably buy a new LCD as I have no choice it is really a bomb!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you buy a new LCD, how will you know the Motherboard still works? Then what if you have to buy new motherboard?
Cut your losses. Replace the whole phone. Then get insurance

This ^
Spending money on a water damaged device is usually money wasted. Cause there's usually more things wrecked you find out along the way.
Save the money to go towards a new device.

I had the same problem, I used all the methods that I've read with no solution, my last hope is that the battery got damaged, is there a chance that maybe the battery is the problem? I can get a replacement for 20 dollars, but what do you think? thanks

saman0suke1 said:
I had the same problem, I used all the methods that I've read with no solution, my last hope is that the battery got damaged, is there a chance that maybe the battery is the problem? I can get a replacement for 20 dollars, but what do you think? thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=56142150

S6 drunk [it drank a cocktail]

Yesterday, I had my s6 edge in my pocket, when someone at the disco poured a cocktail on me (i had the s6 upside down so the jack and microusb holes were filled with alcohol).
I noticed the fact after several minutes ..when the phone was already crazy (not working keys, screen rotate all time, and the messagge "the device is too hot")
Today the phone turns on, but after the boot logo, the screen remains black, and the led blinks in 2 colors blue and white.
Recovery and dl mode are working fine (also tried to flash a clean rom ..nothing).
So maybe someone knows with which issue the led blinking is related??

I'm not an expert but it might be game over haha.
Try going into recovery (TWRP would be best) and trying to see if you can mount all the partitions, if you can, I suggest trying to flash stock ROM with Nand Erase All option enabled.
Before all that though, but it in a bag of rice for a day or two.

Had a similar problem but my phone at a lot of snow... I have a clear back so I could see that there was some water underneath it. I turned it off immediately and put it on a car vent with the heat cranked up. Doesn't have to be hear it can be ambient temperature. After an hour or so I checked and water was all gone.
Rice or the silica packets in shoes and the like would be great on a ziplock bag in dry inderect heat.

thx for reply,
tried to put it in a rice ziplock bag for 24hs ..nothing
when trying to put on first see the bootlogo ..than black screen and blue/white led blinking. ..I think it's a sort of error message, but who knows what doest it means

RFrancis said:
Had a similar problem but my phone at a lot of snow... I have a clear back so I could see that there was some water underneath it. I turned it off immediately and put it on a car vent with the heat cranked up. Doesn't have to be hear it can be ambient temperature. After an hour or so I checked and water was all gone.
Rice or the silica packets in shoes and the like would be great on a ziplock bag in dry inderect heat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry but i dont understand the most important part :s

The blue and white led is what the device does when it powers on normally. I believe the alcohol burned out part of your motherboard. You will have to get a new device. Rice also does not work with alcohol
Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

Roman91 said:
sorry but i dont understand the most important part :s
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Click to collapse
Can't put it any simpler...

RFrancis said:
Can't put it any simpler...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He may be having issues with the misspelling of "heat".
From the Users Manual (S6 edge - AT&T model)
Status light: Displays red when charging or the
battery is low, blue when a notification has arrived
or you are voice recording, and green when fully
charged.
Doesn't say anything about white. May be as he said, that's normal at boot-up. I don't have access to my phone at work.
I agree it's probably the end of the device. I know from experience that a phone with liquid damage is considered Beyond Economical Repair by Samsung. You can't pay them to fix it.

Roman91 said:
sorry but i dont understand the most important part :s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theodric58 said:
He may be having issues with the misspelling of "heat".
From the Users Manual (S6 edge - AT&T model)
Status light: Displays red when charging or the
battery is low, blue when a notification has arrived
or you are voice recording, and green when fully
charged.
Doesn't say anything about white. May be as he said, that's normal at boot-up. I don't have access to my phone at work.
I agree it's probably the end of the device. I know from experience that a phone with liquid damage is considered Beyond Economical Repair by Samsung. You can't pay them to fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is heat misspelled ?

RFrancis said:
Where is heat misspelled ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RFrancis said:
Had a similar problem but my phone at a lot of snow... I have a clear back so I could see that there was some water underneath it. I turned it off immediately and put it on a car vent with the heat cranked up. Doesn't have to be HEAR it can be ambient temperature. After an hour or so I checked and water was all gone.
Rice or the silica packets in shoes and the like would be great on a ziplock bag in dry inderect heat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be either of the bottom two as well.

Theodric58 said:
Could be either of the bottom two as well.
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Click to collapse
I have selective blindness and a ****ty phone keyboard, thanks .

RFrancis said:
I have selective blindness and a ****ty phone keyboard, thanks .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hehe, me too. I try to do as much of this on my computer for that very reason.

RFrancis said:
Had a similar problem but my phone at a lot of snow... I have a clear back so I could see that there was some water underneath it. I turned it off immediately and put it on a car vent with the heat cranked up. Doesn't have to be hear it can be ambient temperature. After an hour or so I checked and water was all gone.
Rice or the silica packets in shoes and the like would be great on a ziplock bag in dry inderect heat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get a clear back? can I see a picture?
Thanks

Theodric58 said:
Could be either of the bottom two as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maskerwsk said:
How did you get a clear back? can I see a picture?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There you go

RFrancis said:
There you go
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Click to collapse
Ahh man that looks Rad!!
I'm so tempted to do mine now!
what did you use to re-attach the back cover after?

maskerwsk said:
Ahh man that looks Rad!!
I'm so tempted to do mine now!
what did you use to re-attach the back cover after?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3m skinny tape on the perimeter

My Mate 9 fell in water!

So My Mate 9 fell in water and I tried to dry it but didn't work by any chance
I just want to know exactly what the problem is
like charging port or something? need a new one? im not sure
Thanks

Sir Mohd said:
So My Mate 9 fell in water and I tried to dry it but didn't work by any chance
I just want to know exactly what the problem is
like charging port or something? need a new one? im not sure
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was turned on it probably got fried.
Electronics don't like water

ante0 said:
If it was turned on it probably got fried.
Electronics don't like water
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so what now no hope ? can i fix this ?

Sir Mohd said:
so what now no hope ? can i fix this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always try placing the phone in some uncooked rice, and cover the phone with the rice too. Leave it in a warm place for a few days. Not a hot place, just some place warm like a drying cupboard etc.
The moisture gets sucked into the rice and your phone should dry out and will power on, assuming it's not already fried. Worth a try.

I agree.....
btblue said:
You can always try placing the phone in some uncooked rice, and cover the phone with the rice too. Leave it in a warm place for a few days. Not a hot place, just some place warm like a drying cupboard etc.
The moisture gets sucked into the rice and your phone should dry out and will power on, assuming it's not already fried. Worth a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this method normally works....