Cell phone got wet

[REDVAN]

I accidentally got my cell phone wet yesterday (my soft shelled cooler leaked...) and now it doesn't seem to be working very well. Specifically some of the buttons don't work, everything else seems to be fine after it dried out and was recharged. It is a motorola razr V3i. I got it just over a year ago from Wireless Wave in the mall.

I am wondering if anyone else has had to send their cell phone away for repairsever? It seems to me that it's not all that broken, but because I can't use about half the buttons, I would like it fixed. Has anyone ever gotten their phone wet, and what did you end up having to endure???

[Burninator]

Most phones these days have a little circle under the back cover or battery that changes colour when the phone gets wet. My Razr V3 has it underneath the battery. And that pretty much throws out the window any chance of getting repaired under warranty, if you were trying to. Not sure how that effects getting it repaired otherwise.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

I accidentally got my cell phone wet yesterday (my soft shelled cooler leaked...) and now it doesn't seem to be working very well. Specifically some of the buttons don't work, everything else seems to be fine after it dried out and was recharged. It is a motorola razr V3i. I got it just over a year ago from Wireless Wave in the mall.

I am wondering if anyone else has had to send their cell phone away for repairsever? It seems to me that it's not all that broken, but because I can't use about half the buttons, I would like it fixed. Has anyone ever gotten their phone wet, and what did you end up having to endure???

Whenever I've gotten my phone wet, I just put it in the dessicator in the lab (vacuum drying apparatus). It seems to work ok but I'm not sure what you could use to duplicate it. . .

[REDVAN]

Yeah I think it is dry... but just some of the buttons won't work. I suppose that could mean water is still in there and is shorting the buttons but I also don't want to take the phone appart for fear of not being able to get it back together.

And no I am not trying to get it repaired under warranty, because it's been more than a year and also I did leave it in water, despite it being an accident.
What colours is the circle supposed to be? Mine is white.

[GreenLantern]

I have heard of people drying it in the oven.. however I am not sure on the temperature that you should use. Maybe somebody else could tell us? If I was to venture a guess I would say low heat, maybe 200 C.

[MoneyGuy]

Microwave it and report back to us whether it worked.

[BlackArcher101]

Rinse in distilled water, then let air dry. Sometimes it's the residual minerals that are actually shorting things out.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

ack, I once dropped my cell phone in a cup of coffee, never worked the same again. I had to buy a new phone to replace it.

You might be able to get away with replacing the keypad, however I don't know enough about their technical repairs to say for certain.

[FlamesAddiction]

Before you let it dry, you should have taken it apart and sprayed it down with deionized water.

If you didn't do that, then when it dried, it probably left deposits.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I have heard of people drying it in the oven.. If I was to venture a guess I would say low heat, maybe 200 C.

That is like 400 degrees F! Not exactly what I would call "low heat."

For other electronic components, I have seen the previously mentioned rinse with distilled water and then drying out work. The key is patience- don't try it too soon to see if has dried. If air drying, give it 2 weeks to dry.

[HOOT]

Throw it away! They will never repair it, once they open it up they can tell it has been wet.

Just phone your cell phone provider, ask them if you are eligible for a hardware upgrade credit, if not go look on places like ebay or usedcalgary for a cheap replacement until you are eligable.

Or if you have the money just go to the store and buy another one at retail.

edit: I use to work in the cell phone industry.

[Robbob]

Yeah they can tell if it has gotten wet. There is a little white dot that turns pink when wet under the battery in most cell phones. If they take off the battery and see a pink dot then they won't touch it.

[REDVAN]

Yeah my dot is white.

I didn't immerse it in water, it just got a little wet... I'll take it for repair.

[droopydrew19]

My phone got put in the washing machine about a year ago. What I did was put it inside a paper towel roll with the battery and back off and used a hair dryer to blow warm air in the tube for about an hour. It dried it out well and brought it back to functionality.

[REDVAN]

I think the hair dryer trick is safe enough, so I will do that tomorrow.

[Vulcan]

I dropped mine in the toilet when I bent to lift the lid. Tried drying it with a hairdryer but it never worked properly and couldn't be fixed. Used a crappy one until Telus came out with their first digital phone. I guess that was a few years ago.

[Neeper]

Blow dryer works wonders on a wet phone. I suggest you try that.

[GreenLantern]

A girlfriend of mine, a girl who is a friend, was busy telling a few of us a story when all of a sudden she dropped her cell phone- into her beer mug which she was holding against her chest while sitting on the couch- and fried it.

Of all the places.. not sure how this helps, but I thought a story that was worse off than yourself might help the situation.

[CrusaderPi]

I put my cell through the washer a while back. I had the same thing happen where a few buttons wouldn't work (the 7).

Take the battery off, dry it as best you can with a towel, and leave it alone for a few days.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

What colours is the circle supposed to be? Mine is white.

Mine is white as well. So it looks like you didn't get that part wet, which I would think is good.