So I didn't get the insurance for my wife's Pixel 4a and it (and my Pixel 4) were submerged in water at Busch Gardens for about 5 minutes at about 3 feet deep. My Pixel 4 works fine and hers is dead. They were both in a plastic "protective" phone bag that was fully sealed. Somehow water got inside the bag, maybe a tiny pinhole I couldn't see. It's currently sitting in a bowl of rice as I don't have any silica gels at the moment. It's been in rice for over 12 hours but still won't start and I can still see condensation inside the camera lenses. She is currently using my old Pixel 2XL so we're good there. I am hoping I can bring this back to life. Any ideas?
Hardly would you be able to sort that out. I have managed to get mine out with rice but that was before the damage became irreversible which is your case I guess.
Please keep us updated.
So did drying out the phone work ok?
Forget the rice... voodoo would work better.
You need to take off the rear cover asap and disconnect the battery to avoid permanent damage.
The clock is ticking Mr Wick... tic-tok...
Use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol* to absorb the water. Flush liberally but make it fast. Displace as much as the alcohol as fast as possible next.
Low pressure (10-15 psi) compressed clean air can be used. Best done in a dry room to prevent condensation. Remove as much as possible.
Allow to dry in a warm dry room with a fan on it for at least 2 days before connecting the battery.
You could forego the isopropyl alcohol and just use this last step extended to a week but no water can remain. I reccomend using the isopropyl for large amounts of water. The BGA chipsets have their contacts under them, these must be 100% dry... you can't visually inspect them. All switches and micro connectors must be dry. No water at all in the phone when done.
Next time double bag in zip lock freezer bags... better yet, don't bring phones.
* it is flammable... don't get stupid. Take care not to get it in between the display and glass if this possible to do as it would leave a residue.
Use your best judgment.
Related
Just for the record, I'm not sure if this will consistently work but I thought it good to put this on record for anyone else who is at wits end with a water damaged cellphone. I dropped my phone in a river and it stopped working (Touch Pro 2). Well, actually it went in well I was swimming and forgot it was in my pocket.
I let it dry off with a hair dryer, but it was still squirrelly with the input. It would repeat certain characters. Also it would not charge from USB. It was basically unusable so I figured I would try soaking the main board in Isopropyl Alcohol (perhaps remove whatever it is that is shorting out the mainboard). I let the mainboard (without the screen) soak overnight in a sealed tupperware container (so the Alcohol wouldn't evaporate). Then I took it out to let all the Alcohol evaporate. Put it all back together a few hours ago and, violla, it works perfectly. No repeated inputs, no other problems.
Wow, That was lucky, Congrats
Congrats......
I posted about this last year about water infiltration incidents. It generally goes as follows:
If you drop your phone into water, fruit punch,toilet, etc. First thing to do---
1. Remove battery immediately
2. Open up as much as possible daub dry excess water
3. Submerged in Alcohol (200 proof drinking alcohol is best), Isopropyl or denatured works almost as good. leave 1-2 hours (the alcohol binds to the H20 and prevents the H2O from corroding the metal or electronics)
4. Dry with hair dryer
5. Put in desiccant (enough to submerge) or rice, or millet etc. and leave over night
Hair dry to blow any excess dust.... reassemble and you are done. If it did get water damage that renders the phone unusable then, use white out and white out the water strip back to white and go for replacement.
This method I have used for treating flooding on my underwater cameras for 20+ years and I have been successful 98% of time
Once again, congrats
Very interesting. I've also heard of putting in the fridge as it draws out all moisture?
Sent from Odin on my HTC desire
just fix a water damaged phone by changing the battery
it was a black berry phone soaked in water
Always wondered about that.
Thanks for the tips! I will keep it in mind, though the best way that's working for me right now is paying attention
Nice one, i shall try this on my damaged nokia =D
I can relate. I once jumped in the mediterranean with my phone in my pocket.
The SE k750i was a good phone...
First time I hear about this
what?! that's pretty awesome bro.
Lucky try rice.
That's fascinating. Could've used that info about 6 months ago when I managed to drop my phone into a toilet. Luckily it was unused.
It is nice with some tricks. Ill hope it work for me too xD
This is awesome.. Believe it or not a few years back my GF knocked over a class of water into my open pc.. and yeah it died.. Did a similar method here on the mobo and it worked.. for a while
Shot for the tip, I will keep it in mind
definately adding this to my bag of tricks of fixing electronic devices people bring to me to be fixed.
isopropyl is used for inject printers as well...
I always heard to take the battery out immediately. Rince the phone real good in DISTILLED WATER. Shake out as much water as you can, then put it in the oven on about 150-200 degrees for a couple of hours to dry it out.
I dropped my Nokia 6133 in a puddle of muddy water. Did the above and it worked for another year until I upgraded to a newer phone.
How does this method work for salt water? Dropped my Razor in the ocean a few years ago. Not a good day.
Yes, I said razor! I used to love that phone!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I dropped my phone into the ocean about a week ago. It's been in rice since then. I just took it out and it turns on and shows my home screen and gets data and is receiving texts and stuff, however neither the touch screen nor the four android buttons work. I searched and people were suggesting soaking the phone in alcohol for this. Is your any chance that would fix my problem? Maybe it could be as simple as replacing my phone's screen? Thanks for any help.
What I would do is take the phone apart (remove the backcover, battery and unscrew the screws) locate the digitizer flex cable and blow dry it. There may be water left in the component.
Refer this this video on the disasembly.
Probably a bit late but you want to clean it with de-ionized water or Isopropyl alcohol. To be honest i would have put it in a bowl of either of those instead of rice as soon as i got home. I've personally found the rice trick to be a myth,works just the same as leaving it out to dry. Sea water contains high amounts of salt and drying it will just make the salt crystalise.You need to "Wash" the salt out and the 2 ive suggested wont leave residue on the PCB (info from my mum who is an electronics teacher)
I know there are guides ALL over the internet, but I wanted to let you guys know what worked for me.
I tried the rice thing at first, and while power was restored, I wasn't able to get any audio, and sound in and out of the phone on calls was either non-existent or distorted and popping.
So what I did was take the phone completely apart. Purchase some 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (although 99% is recommended, because 91% has water content, so use 91% AT YOUR OWN RISK) and a generic toothbrush.
I submerged all parts in the alcohol and brushed every connection, board, chip, and plug vigorously in the alcohol.
After that, I removed the parts to a clean towel and use canned air to blow all of the remaining liquid dry, the best I could. The canned air will ice up after prolonged use so you may need to do this is two steps. Also, make sure liquid CO2 does NOT come out the nozzle (e.g. hold the can right side up, not sideways or upside down). The cold CO2 could damage components, possibly.
Once that was all done, I placed all components into a tupperware container in rice, to draw out any remaining moisture. After about 24-36 hours, I reassembled the device and BAM 100% functional. Longer time in rice may be necessary depending on how precise you are with the liquid removal after the alcohol bath and brush.
Once again, this actually worked for me. If you have any questions, feel free ask away.
I've read somewhere on here that rice doesn't help at all and you should just air dry instead. But other than that, thank you for this walkthrough. Very helpful.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
tylerlawhon said:
I've read somewhere on here that rice doesn't help at all and you should just air dry instead. But other than that, thank you for this walkthrough. Very helpful.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an update. yesterday morning when I woke up, my display was dead. Everything else worked including audio, sound, haptic feedback, as far as I could tell.
Phone went back in rice for nearly 36 hours and left in my car, which probably reached over 100 degrees fahrenheit.
Tonight when I got home, display was functional again.
Rice may not be the end all, but it certainly helps wick moisture. The alcohol and scrubbing is necessary for removing the minerals that water leaves behind (which is what conducts and causes shorts); however, I can tell you firsthand, the rice definitely helps.
tylerlawhon said:
I've read somewhere on here that rice doesn't help at all and you should just air dry instead. But other than that, thank you for this walkthrough. Very helpful.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That stems from the fact that if you let the phone actually touch the rice it will gum up the insides but like the op said iso and a soft tooth brush.... as for moisture what you need is is calcium chloride of some kind(Damp Rid is the kind you get at walmart but you can get it cheaper at agriculture supply stores). And then you put your phone in some sealed container with the calcium chloride, though, make sure your phone isn't sitting in the damp rid itself...
Ok, another update: phone went all day with no issues. Camera is still a tiny bit foggy, and pictures aren't crystal clear. But I may just replace the cameras, they're fairly cheap.
Now that the Pixel 2 is water resistant, does anyone get their phone wet or in water often ? I recently took mine hiking which was perfect for the camera, and after the trip it was dusty and oily from use. I took the phone and turned it off and submerged it in warm water and washed it for a few minutes and let it dry. Now it is clean and good to go no problems. I generally don't get my phone wet often, but I'll probably start washing it after trips like these.
Just be careful you don't make the water too warm, and absolutely don't use soap. This sort of waterproofing takes advantage of surface tension, and either of those two things can defeat it and let water seep in.
mikeprius said:
Now that the Pixel 2 is water resistant, does anyone get their phone wet or in water often ? I recently took mine hiking which was perfect for the camera, and after the trip it was dusty and oily from use. I took the phone and turned it off and submerged it in warm water and washed it for a few minutes and let it dry. Now it is clean and good to go no problems. I generally don't get my phone wet often, but I'll probably start washing it after trips like these.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only have one thing to say. You're either braver or crazier than i am. I haven't yet figured out which one it is though.
Just when I turn it on ? But seriously, I feel like I can help you out here. Since I'm an auto detailer for a living I can tell you that water does not clean oil at all. And it's highly unadvisable to get your pixel that wet on purpose. I recommend a high quality microfiber towel and a spritz or two of rinceless wash on the towel. I use Carpro EcH2O but any rinceless wash will do. Nice thing about Carpro EcH2O is that there is ceramic coating properties within it so you're adding a bit of ceramic protection to the screen and enclosure of the phone. This not only adds a protective barrier but also keeps it cleaner and easier to clean in the even it does get dirty. That product must be diluted and will last you a lifetime and you can use it on your car as well. But in a pinch I would use Isopropanol Alcohol on a microfiber and that will do just as good of a job cleaning it up without getting the phone wet. Hope this helps you.
I saw a YouTube video of a guy who took his pixel 2 into the pool and even though it survived, the speaker output was drastically reduced, even after it dried. I wouldn't intentionally submerge any device. The water proofing is for emergency only.
I wash my Pixel 2 phone occasionally. I had an S7 Edge that I washed all the time and used for underwater photography. I've only submerged my Pixel 2 for photos once or twice, and so far so good.
One warning though, your USB cable isn't waterproof. I toasted a couple USB cords with a wet USB port before I realized what was going on. Consider covering up the USB port when you're getting your phone wet, and make sure it's dry before you charge it.
Almost every time both phones got submerged, the speaker was weird for a few hours. Once it dried out it was fine.
But you know, YMMV.
---------- Post added at 12:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:10 AM ----------
Oh also, remember that fast moving water can push it's way into the waterproofing a lot faster than water pressure alone. I always try to avoid water coming straight out of the faucet into a hole or seam.
I have a Samsung galaxy A32.
It went swimming 2 days ago , and now there are areas on the screen that wont register touches or swipes. Scrolling and swiping is janky.
Do I need to replace the screen or some other component? See image from a touchscreen test app.
PS: On the first day, it was unusable (nothing worked) and had ghost touches.
I even unscrewed the back panel and left it out for over 24hrs. Seems permanent.
Pull cover, disconnect battery, now.
Pull as many ribbon connectors as practical.
Get some anhydrous isopropyl alcohol (>96%), 93% if 96% isn't available but not 70/30!!!
Gas dry can be used if it's isopropyl alcohol with zero methanol. Do Not use methanol, it's corrosion.
In a warm, DRY room...
Flush liberally with it. Use best judgment if it get between display and glass it will leave a watermark. Use clean, dry low pressure air if available to gently blow out the alcohol. Otherwise flick as much as possible out by holding and snapping your wrist/arm ie centrificule force.
Allow to dry in a dry warm/hot room for at least 72 hours with a strong fan blowing on it. Reassemble and see watch you got...