Wet cell phone

[Farley]

My brand new blackberry was in my pocket when I got pushed off the boat last weekend. Anyone ever revive a phone after soaking it?? How did you do it? I pulled the battery right away and left it out overnight, tried it in the morning and it loaded but the screen was a weird shade of green. took the battery back out and put it in a bag of rice for a couple days, tried it again and nothing.

And no I didnt get the insurance.

Am I screwed?

[DTro]

2 things you can try

~put in in a ziplock with rice (you tried that already)

~turn your oven on the lowest setting and bake it

If that doesn't work, you might be SOL

[solbes]

I've had 2 of them go through the washing machine. Each time I was able to dry it out next to our gas firelplace with fan. I removed the battery and removed all of the decorative covers to allow airflow. Each phone worked fine after that.

My Mom left hers on the patio during a rainstorm. This process did not help hers at all, so it's somewhat dependent on the phone.

[LMITOUT]

With the bag of rice trick.....put it on the dash of your car/truck and let it bake in the sun. Just make sure the phone is completely covered with rice. The rice should capture the moisture as it evaporates and speed things up a bit.

In the meantime I would start shopping for a new phone.

[Farley]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've never got insurance on a phone because I usually go for the free one, and I've never wrecked a free phone. I guess cell phones are like sungelasses for me, the more expensive ones I buy the faster they get wrecked.

[Nick Kuhn]

Even with insurance there are plans that do not cover water damage. Most phones have a sticker in them that will indicate whether or not the phone has seen water, voiding the insurance/warranty.

[nofishfisherman]

So your phone is toast after getting pushed off a boat? Any chance the guy or girl who pushed you feels at all responsible for the damage?

[GatorBait]

Yep, your probably sol. Had my lil one throw my razor in the pool which was submerged for less than 30secs and that's all it took. had to outright buy a new one which isn't any fun. Hope things pan out for ya though.

[PierBridge]

Even with insurance there are plans that do not cover water damage. Most phones have a sticker in them that will indicate whether or not the phone has seen water, voiding the insurance/warranty.

Biggest Scam ever I had them tell me my phone was water damaged because the tab was pink. Sorry no it wasn't water damaged....for future insurance purposes your phone was lost.

[deadeye]

Most insurance covers loss or heavy damage though. A hammer can fix that and so can taking the battery out and throwing it (the phone) away or forgetting where you put it.

I guess it depends on who you got but water damage has been covered for me. They didn't seem the least bit concerned about it the last time I needed to use my insurance.

The rice trick works pretty good for reviving a wet phone as stated. Lots of rice and putting the bag in a sunny window for a few days should help. Don't get too antsy about turning it on either, it will take a couple days to get it fully dry.

[SledNeck]

rice does work great

my friend found an iphone in the sand under 4 feet of water on lake vermilion that had been there for 3 days. He dried it out for a day in rice and we plugged it in and it worked flawlessly and we were able to return it to the rightful owner

[Finns]

Wondering if those silica gel packets would work? They work well in my tackle boxes.

[pushbutton]

i have had luck with the baking method, but never tried with touch screen/high end phones.....think you may be buying a new phone soon.

[Nick Kuhn]

I think it varies from incident to incident. My cousin dropped his touchscreen phone in our boats spill pan. It came back with the rice trick, but for a while it acted a bit goofy (would randomly power off and on). It's back to working just fine now though.

[Farley]

So your phone is toast after getting pushed off a boat? Any chance the guy or girl who pushed you feels at all responsible for the damage?

Naw, we were wrestling around and he caught me off balance. I started it.

When I bought the phone they said that the insurance covers water damage. I told them I've never had to use it before and I was tryin to get my bill as low as possible since I didnt know what it was going to be yet. I've gotten other phones wet and have just taken the battery out and they worked fine. Dropped a phone in a windsor coke one time and it worked fine, the keys were sticky though.

[Scott K]

My iphone got drenched, and I put it in front of a fan for a week, then it worked great. I like the rice in a bag on the dash, that sounds like a great idea. I just hope I never need to use it.

One would think, they could make these things water proof, with all of the technologies of today!

[Loose]

Biggest Scam ever I had them tell me my phone was water damaged because the tab was pink. Sorry no it wasn't water damaged....for future insurance purposes your phone was lost.

Insurance is a scam regardless, all the new phones the wife has got after six months of paying for the insurance and the deductible you could buy a new one off the bay.

It kind of hit and miss with phones that have got wet, I currently have a the wifes old blackberry that the kid threw in the tub and it works good stil and that was over a year ago. Had a old nokia that fell in the water jumping out of a boat that worked for about 3 days after baking it in the oven on low, but that was down there for a while before I finally was able to net it.

[LwnmwnMan2]

My iphone got drenched, and I put it in front of a fan for a week, then it worked great. I like the rice in a bag on the dash, that sounds like a great idea. I just hope I never need to use it.

One would think, they could make these things water proof, with all of the technologies of today!

Casio Rock is waterproof.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I got caught in a rain storm on Winnie last spring and forgot to put my Blackberry inside my rain suit. It was sitting in my hat, which formed a nice "bowl" to fill up with rain. It was probably totally submerged for 15 minutes or so. As soon as I realized it, I took the battery out, and noticed all the water sensors were red and the screen was funny colors. At the end of the day on the drive back, I set the phone without the battery and cover on my dash, and put the defrost on high. After 3 hours the phone worked perfectly and lasted for quite awhile after.

[SledNeck]

Lost my iphone 4 in 6 feet of water for about 10 mins before I found it this weekend. (phone was still on when I pulled it out) Took it apart, dried it with a hairdryer (didnt get very wet AT all inside)...then let it sit out all night with no cover. Put it back together and now it works flawlessly!

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Ouch! Glad you were able to save your oh [PoorWordUsage] moment!

[pureinsanity]

I heard if you put them in the freezer it makes them work again. I don't know if I would do that though????????

[upnorth]

I heard if you put them in the freezer it makes them work again. I don't know if I would do that though????????

Defroster pulls moisture out of the air.

[pureinsanity]

start by taking out the battery.

Place the phone on two or three layers of paper towel to prevent frost damage.

Leave it in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes and take it out to test it, if it still doesn't work, leave it out for about 5 to 10 minutes then try again. Electrical components are fairly tolerant to cold, however depending on your screen, it is best to play it safe and just leave it out of the freezer for a bit to keep from damaging it. I haven't researched LCD or Plasma screens, so if anyone knows what temperatures they hold up to, let me know!

Freezing the phone works a little differently on a technical level than heating it up does.

When the water molecules inside become Ice or frost, they are less conductive thus preventing the phone from "shorting out.

[PEATMOSS]

Since no one has asked the question, I will.

If they can make a $5 watch waterproof, why can't they make at least water resistant phones?