iphone 4, takes a drink

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › iphone 4, takes a drink

plod

272 posts

Ultimate Geek

#85304 16-Jun-2011 21:44

So I have a iphone4 that has taken a bit of a drink in a sink. It is currently in a bowl of rice in the hot water cupboard. What should my next steps be? Any recommended places in wellington to take it too? I know it still has power to it as the screen lights up at the very top, but apart from that the screen is blank....
Any help appreciated
TIA

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#482043 16-Jun-2011 21:54

Oh, dear - bad luck! From reading a few reports of phone/water conflict it seems to be rather hit & miss as to the eventual outcome. I believe it's best to ensure the phone is switched off (pity the battery can't be removed), and the rice-warming cupboard combo for at least 24 hours seems to be the best thing to do. Fingers crossed you may have a good outcome.

Cheers,
Mike

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Batman

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#482044 16-Jun-2011 21:55

oh dear, probably should stay in the insinkerator now ... (ie i think it's irretrievable)

- the first thing to do normally is to turn it OFF and remove battery ie NOT turn it on until EVERYTHING inside has dried ... (i know iphone is tricky as you can really turn if off by removing the battery ... so i dont really know how best to salvage in the future)

don't turn it on, don't power it don't try anything until someone can open it out and dry it out ... but it's probably irretrievable i'd say ...

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#482046 16-Jun-2011 21:56

don't count on the rice thing to work. water cannot escape a closed compartment! needs to be opened and put in a dehumidifier/non spinning dryer/low heat oven/etc (not the microwave obviously)

plod

272 posts

Ultimate Geek

#482048 16-Jun-2011 22:02

Fortunately insurance will cover if not a cheap fix, but if repair comes close to cost of excess I wont bother making a claim

lxsw20

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#482052 16-Jun-2011 22:15

I'd take the back off to help the drying process.

EDIT: Just noticed my white iphone 4 has star screws, my black one had philips....

rattewisday

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#482058 16-Jun-2011 22:32

Make sure it is switched off! Hold down the lock button on the top for 5 seconds and then swipe to turn off.. if it is still on it shoud hopefully still work

dacraka

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#482061 16-Jun-2011 22:46

My iPhone 3GS got water all over the in-side of the screen, started to say "Incompatible Accessory" etc... messages, tried to turn it off but kept turning back on after half an hour by itself because of short circuiting or something!

I heard about the put in a thing or rice for 24 hours - I though what the hell, better safe than sorry so I wrapped it up in glad wrap with rice in a drawer for an entire week instead of just 24 hours and it now works like a charm! :D

bazzer

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#482156 17-Jun-2011 10:49

Yep, I think it works better if the container with rice is sealed, otherwise it will draw moisture from the air too.

scuwp

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#482160 17-Jun-2011 10:59

Oh dear. I will not be much help beyond that already provided, apart from to support that the package should be sealed to ensure the rice absorbs the moisture from the phone and not the air.

I also wonder about that 'damp-rid' stuff you can buy from the hardware store. I haven't tried it but I could be better than rice.

IME you may get the phone working again, but it is inevitable that its lifespan will be severely shortened...it is only a matter of time before it dies.

If its worth claiming insurance I would do it now and move on.

Maybe a Motorola Defy next time huh?

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SteveON

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#482162 17-Jun-2011 11:01

I would go out an buy a liter of iso Alcohol and let it sit there for a day. It will displace the water and won't affect the electronics. The rusting process is what will kill the phone.

gehenna

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#482190 17-Jun-2011 12:36

Apple have relaxed their policy on water damage so you may just be able to get a replacement for their flat fee, $250 last time I checked. That's at an Apple Store though - not sure about resellers or service centres.

Technofreak

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#482208 17-Jun-2011 13:28

I don't think the rice will help much if you have it in the hot water cupboard. Definitely leave it turned off. Ideally if possible remove the battery and leave the back off while it's drying out and leave it in the hot water cupboard.

Short term water contamination should not be too much of a problem, corrosion (rust) will not usually form with just one dunking. There needs to be prolonged water contamination for this to happen. Water is not the problem, it's the salts etc contained in the water that are the issue. A small amount of water (one dunking) should not introduce to much contamination.

The only caveat here is possible damage caused due to power still being applied to the circuitry while it's still damp. Some things though while switched off, still have power to some parts of the circuitry, hence it being a good idea to remove the battery.

It may take a day or two for it to dry out but I would be very hopeful that it should be ok. As for a reduced life of the phone, if it comes good then, I would expect it to continue to keep working for a normal lifetime.

I had a glass of wine spilt over my laptop, wine is worse than water with the sugars and other chemicals it contains being worse than water. At first I couldn't turn the laptop off and it was doing some queer things. I pulled that battery out, tipped out the wine and put it in the hot water cupboard. A day or two later it was all good, the only issue being a few sticky keys. 3 years later it's still going strong.

I've had experience with other similar items that have had a "swim" and in every case they have have come right by drying out.

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kingjj

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#482218 17-Jun-2011 13:58

My laptop took a swim after the Feb 22 earthquake, a fish tank full of warm water did a great job on it. After drying it for a week, never switching it on and making sure it was dry it died within 1 minute of being switched back on. A normal lifetime's operation after a dunking is the ideal but not guaranteed. Good luck plod.

SteveON

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#482228 17-Jun-2011 14:49

iso Alcohol is the best way to dry it out...

kiwitrc

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#482247 17-Jun-2011 15:37

SteveON: iso Alcohol is the best way to dry it out...

+1 Isopropyl Alcohol wont hurt the unit. I think Chemists will sell it but you might need ID as there is some issue (P Lab related I think)

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