iPhone 3GS down the toilet

[Hack&Lube]

So one of my parents who shall remain unnamed dropped their iPhone 3GS into the toilet.

They frantically called me and asked what to do and I said to shut it off asap and put it into a bag of rice for a week. They did that except they got impatient and tried turning it on again and now the Apple logo just keeps blinking and it can't be shut off. I tried holding the home and power buttons but this behavior just keeps going.

I removed the two bottom screws and used a suction cup to pull off the screen portion and stuck everything back into the rice. I'm pretty sure it's beyond resurrection now though.

Has anybody had any experience with wet iPhones? Any chance of repair anywhere?

Contacts and information should still be in itunes on the laptop right? A new iphone could probably be synced with them again right?

[Mango]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Contacts and information should still be in itunes on the laptop right? A new iphone could probably be synced with them again right?

As long as they recently did a sync/back-up with iTunes everything will transfer to a new iPhone. That includes contacts, calendars, text messages etc. It will also transfer to any: model 3G, 3GS and 4.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Hey Hack & Lube,


I had the same behavior as your parents phone after taking mine out of the rice bucket (i left it in for 5 days).

I was able to get it working again by plugging the iphone into my pc and updating my iphone/restoring firmware.

[Hack&Lube]

The LCD panel looks toast, there's a dark spot in one corner where there is a pool of water. I've pried the panel away from the digitizer and the glass screen and stuck it back in the rice. Hopefully it will suck out the moisture in a day or two. Otherwise if it's just the screen it should be alright as that part is only $30 shipped for a new one. If the motherboard is fried, it's a goner.

[PIMking]

who talks on the phone while they are going to the bathroom?

[SebC]

People do stuff other than talking with their phones these days.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by SebC

People do stuff other than talking with their phones these days.

Still the idea of spreading stuff that goes so close to your mouth while you're doing the business is gross.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by PIMking

Still the idea of spreading stuff that goes so close to your mouth while you're doing the business is gross.

I wash my hands.

[Vulcan]

I had my phone in my shirt pocket, bent down to lift the lid and splash, damn, nothing weird or gross about it.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I had my phone in my shirt pocket, bent down to lift the lid and splash, damn, nothing weird or gross about it.

Yeah, as I'm told, it is this situation but with pants with shallow vertical cut pockets and not horizontal ones (like jeans)

[Regulator75]

HaHa stupid iSheep.

[FanIn80]

If it's still within the first year, it might be worth a shot at visiting an Apple Store. I have a buddy who brought his phone in after he dropped it in his drink, and they replaced it for him.

Just tell them what happened and see what they'd be willing to do. You never know. They're usually pretty good at seeing the value in making a customer happy.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

If it's still within the first year, it might be worth a shot at visiting an Apple Store. I have a buddy who brought his phone in after he dropped it in his drink, and they replaced it for him.

Just tell them what happened and see what they'd be willing to do. You never know. They're usually pretty good at seeing the value in making a customer happy.

My wife actually got them to waive the fee for replacing a water damaged iPhone completely. I suspect it was because she was doing a wack of other Christmas shopping at the time, but I have heard similar stories a few times, even for recently out of warranty phones.