# Wet Cellphone?



## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Anybody in here ever have any luck fixing a wet cellphone? My 18 month old dropped mine in the toilet. I have the insurance policy but, I thought that I would try to dry it anyways to save being without a phone till tuesday when that could get me the new one. Any ideas?


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## mazter (Jul 4, 2006)

Put your phone in a tub of white rice for 24 hrs and let the rice absorb the moisture. Hope for the best.


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## barryb (Aug 27, 2007)

mazter said:


> Put your phone in a tub of white rice for 24 hrs and let the rice absorb the moisture. Hope for the best.


I agree. Rice is the best fix for toilet laden cell phones.


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## kevinwmsn (Aug 19, 2006)

Be sure to disconnect the battery while it is drying out.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Here's what I did: opened it up, shook out excess H2O, put it on charge -- the heat generated from the charging helped to dry it out. Still works after three years.


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## Grentz (Jan 10, 2007)

Nick said:


> Here's what I did: opened it up, shook out excess H2O, put it on charge -- the heat generated from the charging helped to dry it out. Still works after three years.


I would put it in rice first without trying to power it up or charge it.

If water made a path between the charging pins and anything else you could have easily blown something else up in the phone.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

jclewter79 said:


> Anybody in here ever have any luck fixing a wet cellphone? My 18 month old dropped mine in the toilet. I have the insurance policy but, I thought that I would try to dry it anyways to save being without a phone till tuesday when that could get me the new one. Any ideas?


Depending on the policy and company, they might not cover water damage. Some phones have a sticker that turns colors if the phone gets wet, and they won't cover the phone if that's the case.

An even better desiccant is silica gel, which comes in those little packets that say "Don't Eat". But a more convenient way to get it is "crystal" type cat litter. Silica gel is used to dry flowers, for example.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

A friend dropped his in the toilet also. He dried it out for a couple of days and it worked like new when he turned it back on. I had a computer that had and inch of water in the bottom of the case after Hurricane Jeanne tore the roof off my office at my business. I let it dry out for a week, turned it on and it worked just fine. I suspect a cell phone would come through better than a computer and hard drive. The computer was still in use last month (with another owner after I sold the business).


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## Hansen (Jan 1, 2006)

My Blackberry got wet when I jumped in a pool to save a drowning dog. Later, I took off the cover, pulled the battery and left the cover off for 3 days to get it dried out. Put battery back in and it worked again and is still working. The rice idea is a good one and might have sped things along in terms of drying it quicker.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

Uncooked rice works, so does all-crystal cat litter. Silica gel is best. You can also put it in the oven at a temp not to exceed 130F. Removing the battery quickly is the key.


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## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

IIP said:


> Depending on the policy and company, they might not cover water damage. Some phones have a sticker that turns colors if the phone gets wet, and they won't cover the phone if that's the case.
> 
> An even better desiccant is silica gel, which comes in those little packets that say "Don't Eat". But a more convenient way to get it is "crystal" type cat litter. Silica gel is used to dry flowers, for example.


Yeah I already checked the phone is under warranty since it is lees than a year old. Warranty does not cover water damage but the supplemental insurace that I carry for $5.99 a month does. Only thing about it is that insurance is that it has a $50 dollar deductable I would like to save that but, I can't be without a phone so I guess it is whatever. I have tried the freezer method. It seems to work until the phone warms up. I am gonna put it in some rice overnight and see what happens.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Add two cups of water for each cup of
uncooked rice, season to taste and
bring to a boil. Let simmer until you
can fluff with a fork. Be sure to remove
cellphone before serving.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I forgot to mention, I ran my Sony Clie Palm device through the washing machine (permanent press cycle of course) a while back. I let it dry out for a few days and it is still working fine (knocking on wood).


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## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

Well, the thing is still acting a little funny but as it gets drier it seems to work better. Looks like I have saved 50 bucks. That rice really works I would have never thought of that myself.


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## intelisevil (Aug 1, 2008)

It would be best to keep the battery out until you're sure it's completely dry. If you're phone has any removable covers, take them off also.


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## turey22 (Jul 30, 2007)

What kind of phone you have?


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## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

turey22 said:


> What kind of phone you have?


It is the verizion samsung phone that flips open both ways for talking or texting. I am not sure of the model number.


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## jclewter79 (Jan 8, 2008)

intelisevil said:


> It would be best to keep the battery out until you're sure it's completely dry. If you're phone has any removable covers, take them off also.


Yeah, I know but I needed to use it yesterday. I left it in the rice without they battery again last night. It is working normal now I guess I dodged a bullet. Good thing about having the insurance plan if it did fry I would not be out hundreds.


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## TSR (Feb 7, 2009)

Never heard of most of these methods, but have had several phones go thru the washer or pool, or fall into the drainage gutter outside the house. I just take out the battery and dry it out with a hairdryer and leave it alone for a few days, it worked for the phone that fell into the drainage gutter. It was in there for a (submersed) total of 20 minutes until I was able to get it out with a shovel.

Fun times...


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## Jimmy 440 (Nov 17, 2007)

The uncooked rice and silica gel method works.They will soak up the moisture.I lost one off a boat in a lake once & mine worked a few days later for almost a year before it came time to replace it with an upgrade.You can also use a hair dryer set on low.My g/f used that method and it worked fine after hers went in the drink.I did that with a computer keyboard once and the hair dryer saved me from explaining that "UT OH" to my boss before he found out.


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## wingrider01 (Sep 9, 2005)

Jimmy 440 said:


> The uncooked rice and silica gel method works.They will soak up the moisture.I lost one off a boat in a lake once & mine worked a few days later for almost a year before it came time to replace it with an upgrade.You can also use a hair dryer set on low.My g/f used that method and it worked fine after hers went in the drink.I did that with a computer keyboard once and the hair dryer saved me from explaining that "UT OH" to my boss before he found out.


Wonder if this will work for my in-laws phone, mother-in-law dropped her phone in a Porta-Potty the other day - thankfully the Porta-Potty had not been used yet and they where able to retrieve the phone.

The phone powers up but the lcd screen is a hash of colors. Going to have my wife pick up a box of uncooked white rice and put the phone in there for a few days.

They don;t have added insurance and it is a new contract Was lucky with talking to a rep at the location they got it from and was told that they could pick up certain GO phones and put the sim card in them and it will work


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## dmspen (Dec 1, 2006)

My daughter dropped hers in her aquarium. She 'fished' it out and immediately removed the battery. We left it open and sitting out on the balcony during the sunny days - for almost a week. Put the battery in and it's worked fine.


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