[Q] Tab won't turn on-possible water damage. Any hope?! - Galaxy Tab Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi everyone,
My little sister accidentally dropped my 2-week old Galaxy Tab. I bought the Tab from someone on craigslist so I don't have a receipt or anything which I guess means I won't even be able to try getting it replaced or fixed by Samsung.
I searched the web and didn't find any info from anyone with similar problem so I don't even know if there is anything I can try or where to start.
The Tab itself appears fine physically, the screen did not even crack, but I cannot get it to power on.
Any advice, guidance, tips, tricks?! Anything at all will be greatly appreciated.
Keeping my fingers crossed...thanks for your time.

I think your only hope is to open the tab, to see if something get loose (battery etc...)
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

ok so I just pried the tablet open to check if battery was loose as you suggested and found something very interesting - nothing appeared loose but i noticed some small drops of water so i think the kid might have actually spilled something on my tablet (instead of or aside from dropping it)!
Now what?! Any advice on possible water damage? Is this irreparable?

if you're sure its water dmg, you could try putting the tab in a bag of rice for a couple days to dry it out, then try again to turn it on.
Other than that i guess you could look on ebay for a replacement part what you expect was water damaged...

Unfortunately for you a tab can be under water or under warranty but not both, and dropped tab=dropped warranty. The good news there is that you could still probably contact samsung to get a quote for fixing it. Its not a warranty repair so you'd be paying them either way.
edit: and if you've already pried it open and can remove the battery while drying it out - i'd do that. If it shorted it could start bulging or something and cause more damage. I second the let it dry in rice or even air dry for a while. Then if there is no sign of battery damage, charge it for a bit (keeping an eye on it for shorts) and see if you get the charging screen or if it powers on.

I have dropped many phone in water over the years. In fact i dropped my tab in my pets water dish.
If you havent damaged it beyind repair by opening it, my fix is to get a big ziplock bag, fill it with rice, bury the tab in the rice for a day. Leave in cabnet. Rice will suck all the moisture out.
Oh and by the way since you have it open, can you check what kind if internalbsd card it has? Does it look replaceable?
Hit the thanks button if I.have helped.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App

ok I took it apart carefully following a tutorial vid on youtube. I cleaned what i'm assuming is liquid damage residue (white powdery substance?) with electronics cleaner and a qtip. Then buried it a container of rice and put it in a cabinet just as you guys suggested. Do you think 24 hours is enough time to let it sit before trying it?
I'm not sure how long the water was in there because there were only a few drops that hadn't dried and then the white powdery stuff which I assume is from the liquid. All info I came across gave procedures for treating electronics immediately after contact with liquid so not sure if this will work since it seems to have been sitting in there for a bit. I'm crossing my fingers and will post back.
sserpentine: what is an internalbsd? let me know what to look for and I'll take pics and post here for you

Lol, replacing the internal sd would be amazing! I can only imagine the possibilities.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using XDA Premium App

My niece put my tablet in the water what should I do

Related

Help - Tytn II water damage

Hi all,
My little nephew dropped my Tytn II in the toilet and i want to know if anyone has had an issue with water damage and managed to resurect their phone.
I pulled it out within 3 seconds of falling in, i then removed the battery and slid the keyboard out furiously drying with a towel. After about 30 minutes i reinserted the battery and the sacreen showed thin multi colred horizontal lines and then went white.
I removed the battery again and then left it for 24 hours at which time i restarted it and got to the "smart mobility " screen but then the screen did the multi color lines and then went white after about 15 seconds, when i put the phone to my ear i hear like a scratching sound, i contacted the phone company i am with and they sia try drying it with a hair dryer or leaving it out in the sun, also they had a customer who put their phone in the oven and got it to work again. Granted this was not for a Tytn II but i am just wondering if anyone has had any success with getting their pohne to work again after a similar set of circumstances.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Kane
Patience can work wonders - you have to understand that the very intricate insides of your phone have been saturated (from the sound of things) and even the merest hint of any residual damp in the wrong place could effectively kill the phone as you've described. It could also cause more long term damage when it's powered up in that state, so I'd really recommend keeping the battery away from it for as long as possible. Do as the guys on the phone suggest, leave it somewhere warm and dry (your airing cupboard if you have one) and just wait a few days at least, maybe even a week. I wouldn't advise any extremes of heat (the oven etc) as this could damage something in itself - you don't want to go from a damp phone to a melted one! The LCD screen may be quite sensitive to heat, and you wouldn't want to damage that.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2128758_dry-out-wet-cell-phone.html
Well I did the same exact thing about a month ago...I was pissed! I reacted very quickly and pulled out the battery and let the phone sit overnight. In the morning I dissassembled the phone and took a hair dryer to all the circuit boards and pretty much every piece. I put it back together, said a little prayer, and it worked! Just thought I would share my experience.
So my recommendation...take it apart and dry it out nice and good.
rcm_rx7 said:
Well I did the same exact thing about a month ago...I was pissed! I reacted very quickly and pulled out the battery and let the phone sit overnight. In the morning I dissassembled the phone and took a hair dryer to all the circuit boards and pretty much every piece. I put it back together, said a little prayer, and it worked! Just thought I would share my experience.
So my recommendation...take it apart and dry it out nice and good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW!, thats fantastic, i did look at taking it apart but the screws are so tiny and look to be in the star shape (not like a regular screw) can you advise where you got a screw driver set to open it.
PS. I was pissed as well.
Thanks to everyone for your help
rcm_rx7 said:
Well I did the same exact thing about a month ago...I was pissed! I reacted very quickly and pulled out the battery and let the phone sit overnight. In the morning I dissassembled the phone and took a hair dryer to all the circuit boards and pretty much every piece. I put it back together, said a little prayer, and it worked! Just thought I would share my experience.
So my recommendation...take it apart and dry it out nice and good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry one more thing, can you tell me how long you dried it for with the hair dryer? how far away were you holding the hair dryer and have their been any side effects since you got it working.
PS. i found a place that sells the screw drivers,
go to radioshack and buy a T4 or T5 screwdriver. I think it's a 5 but just buy the whole T set. It's for electronics. There's a thread somewhere on this site that shows how to disassemble to the kaiser

Water damage ruins HD screen

I recently dropped my phone in water. It was only submerged for a few seconds, and the litmus paper inside the battery compartment wasn't even tripped. The sliding door on the USB port was open, however, so I suspect water got in either through that or the headphone jack. The screen is readable..barely. Every other horizontal pixel on the screen is a black line. Can anyone tell me if it's possible to recondition the screen, or if there is any way at&t would be able to tell that it's damaged from water as opposed to a fall? Thanks in advance.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Give it a few days to let it dry out. Even take the cover, battery, sim, etc. out. Hit it with a blow dryer. Not super hot, but enough to help drive water out of the internal circuits. My fuze fully recovered after like 4 days. Worth a shot.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
If you haven't already read this thread, I'd suggest you do. Same sort of thing happened here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=807606
Quick story, and then a possible solution.
2 years ago I was sitting on the toilet with my iTouch playing Crash Kart Racing. I stood up to finish my business, put my iTouch in my hoodie pocket and leaned over the toilet to flush. *PLOP* Yupp, iTouch in the toilet. Luckily it was in clean water but it was still damaged.
The screen was effed and everything. So I figured I'd just let it dry out. Here's the solution part. Stick your phone into a back of rice. Not cooked rice, raw, hard, rice. Rice absorbs moisture, it acts like a natural silica gel, you know, those packets you get in your shoe boxes. Let it sit for a few days and hopefully all will be well again.
Epilogue..... I still bought a new iTouch cause my battery wound up not lasting very long after that...

S Pen drop into water !!! Help solve

Hi guy, jusy now my S Pen accidentally drop into water, now the problem is the S Pen is very sensitive, when my S Pen haven't touch and far betwwen 0.3-0.4mm to the screen, the screen auto detect it and written...it is annoying~
Anyone have great solution to solve it?
Very appreciate your helping as well...
Tq
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Premium App
Let the pen dry fully before using it on your Gnote
Try a hair dryer on low heat. I rescued a phone that had dropped in water that way!
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
be lucky that it wasnt the note itself wait and hope, or you need to buy a new one
leong19921992 said:
Hi guy, jusy now my S Pen accidentally drop into water, now the problem is the S Pen is very sensitive, when my S Pen haven't touch and far betwwen 0.3-0.4mm to the screen, the screen auto detect it and written...it is annoying~
Anyone have great solution to solve it?
Very appreciate your helping as well...
Tq
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Grab a container and fill it half way with rice. Dried rice ... then put the pen in the middle of the container and fill it up to the top with dried rice. What happens is dried rice sucks out the moisture out of devices. My buddy fixed his IPhone this way. Hope this helps you. Make sure that the container doesn't have leaks otherwise rice sill absorb moisture out of the air instead of the pen.
Just buy a new one, if can afford to but the Note and Im sure 20 bucks is a bargain.
Colingajewski said:
Try a hair dryer on low heat. I rescued a phone that had dropped in water that way!
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
marlip said:
Grab a container and fill it half way with rice. Dried rice ... then put the pen in the middle of the container and fill it up to the top with dried rice. What happens is dried rice sucks out the moisture out of devices. My buddy fixed his IPhone this way. Hope this helps you. Make sure that the container doesn't have leaks otherwise rice sill absorb moisture out of the air instead of the pen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blue ribbon for colin!!! great job and the right thing to do...a fan will work too in some cases...as long as its moving air it evaporates the liquid faster....
not so much for marlip... rice is 100% a myth.... and no i dont care what you have read, its wrong... if the rice is not touching the liquid it is not absorbing it... sure it picks up some evaporation as it evaporates on its own(no help from the rice i will add again) but it is doing nothing but getting rice dust in areas it doesnt need to be in... moving air people.... whether it is warm or just a fan...moving air will evaporate liquid faster than non moving air.... bag of rice =non moving air.... and again if the rice is not touching the liquid it is not absorbing it...just the normal evaporation that would happen in a container without the rice is all that is happening..
not looking for a fight just trying to help people fix things the right way... ive been repair tech for 20+ years and revived thousands of phones and revived thousands that werent revived by rice... so i do have a clue...
btw if itas a phone just drying it wont fix it...there will be corrosion on the board, and like rust corrosion doesnt stop until you stop it...it may work for a while but it will start getting quirky and issues will arise so it needs cleaned and treated too...
I think i will have to agree... Air circulation will help much more than rice. I look back at my first mobile phones and remember how many of them got soaked and i had to unscrew them apart and just leave them in front of my "ULTIMATE HI-POWER USB FAN" live long nokia 3310
So my opinion bro just look for an s-pen dissasembly guide, follow it carefully, leave your s-pen in front of a fan and forget about rice... Just because ur phones made in asia dosent mean the regions main dish will fix its problems... Will be silly if i poured beer over my BMW's scratches to make em dissapear
Good luck with you s-pen mate!!! Hope to see you drawing in no time
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Leong, I posted a long time ago about how to address a water incident. This is the best tried and true method :
If your phone gets dropped in water immediately remove from the water,
Remove the battery as quickly as possible Then
Dry off the best you can, if you can open the unit up (you have the skill to do so then do so)
Then immerse in 91% Iopropol Alcohol (200proof drinking alcohol is actually better but rarely can find reagent grade drinking alcohol)
The reason for doing this 1st is the water molecules bind to the alcohol which immediately limits the potential damage. Then, after a few minutes (3-15 min depending) then dry off with paper towels and q-tips the best you can and then
Either use a fan (hair dryer) on it for a time and then put in rice or Millet and leave for a day or 2. Then use the Hair dryer to blow off any dust. reassemble and test, most the time you will be successful, it all depends how bad the incident was and how fast you got the battery out of the phone.
This is the standard way of addressing a water incident in underwater photography. I have done this personally more times than I want to admit, I do underwater photography and you can imagine the panic you get when your $3000.00 camera /housing starts to get a leak in the ocean @ 90 feet underwater, worst part is salt water destroys the coating on your lenses, which is insult to injury.
Either way the important thing to to be patient and make sure it is totally dry (ergo 1-2 days) Also storing it in the grain is best @ 75-85 deg F doesn't need more heat just higher than the 60's deg
I know everyone always says OMG putting a electronic in Alcohol..... read up on the science/ chemistry... and you will find this is pretty normal thing as long as there is no battery or power source connected to the item.
Hope you fix it
leong19921992 said:
Hi guy, jusy now my S Pen accidentally drop into water, now the problem is the S Pen is very sensitive, when my S Pen haven't touch and far betwwen 0.3-0.4mm to the screen, the screen auto detect it and written...it is annoying~
Anyone have great solution to solve it?
Very appreciate your helping as well...
Tq
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't we all just get along?
There is no constructive purpose for name calling, folks. kawgirlval69 stated in her post that she was not trying to argue with anyone, she was just trying to help. Nobody really cares what will or will not work in theory. As compelling as that science lesson was I always prefer real-world experience to theory.
Last night my SGN went swimming in the hot tub and my daughter told me to burry it in an airtight can of rice (which I did using silicone sealant). By the way, I was thinking the same thing another poster suggested (if only it was only the S-Pen that fell in!)... Anyway I quickly dove in head first after it (forgetting about the wireless headphones that were around my neck) and eventually emerged with the device, although not until after it had sunk all the way to the bottom! Immediately I ripped off the back and pulled the battery, then shook as much water out of all the ports as I could. I used a hand dryer for once over but knew that wouldn't help with any of the water deep inside the device so I took my daughter's advice and buried it inside a sealed can of rice for 18 hours. I would have disassembled the device immediately but I had time constraints due to work obligations so I hoped that the rice would do it's job.
The first chance I got this afternoon I pulled my phone out of the rice and took it apart. There was water EVERYWHERE inside -- big puddles in every nook and cranny! In fairness I can't say if there would have been more or less water at that point without the rice, but that is all academic considering the fact that leaving ANY standing water on electronic components for that much time is a bad idea due to the corrosion factor that another poster mentioned, corrosion I noticed already developing on a few metal brackets and such.
After complete disassembly and thorough drying (with said hand dryer) of each individual part I cleaned the slightly corroded areas and put the device back together. I fired it up no more than an hour ago and so far everything seems to work fine.
As for the S-pen, if there's a way to disassemble it and thoroughly dry it by hand I would do that, or just wait for it to dry on its own which may take several days. As yet another poster suggested it might be worth it just to buy a new one if you can't get that one working... and just be glad it wasn't your phone you dunked!
Oh, and if any are curious, I may have saved my phone but my wireless headphones didn't make it (sniff).
[edit] Apparently the name-calling post was removed? Anyway I appreciate Oka1's reply -- I didn't even think about using alcohol but that's actually a great idea! A bit too late for me now but I'll have to remember that for next time.
@ oka... good way to do it... just a tip from experience.. you dont need the millet or rice after... air dry or fan or etc... overnite will evaporate everything doing things as you described... just saving a step....
@ajax... thank you for actually reading what i wrote.. thanks for having my back...
kawgirlval69 said:
blue ribbon for colin!!! great job and the right thing to do...a fan will work too in some cases...as long as its moving air it evaporates the liquid faster....
not so much for marlip... rice is 100% a myth.... and no i dont care what you have read, its wrong... if the rice is not touching the liquid it is not absorbing it... sure it picks up some evaporation as it evaporates on its own(no help from the rice i will add again) but it is doing nothing but getting rice dust in areas it doesnt need to be in... moving air people.... whether it is warm or just a fan...moving air will evaporate liquid faster than non moving air.... bag of rice =non moving air.... and again if the rice is not touching the liquid it is not absorbing it...just the normal evaporation that would happen in a container without the rice is all that is happening..
not looking for a fight just trying to help people fix things the right way... ive been repair tech for 20+ years and revived thousands of phones and revived thousands that werent revived by rice... so i do have a clue...
btw if itas a phone just drying it wont fix it...there will be corrosion on the board, and like rust corrosion doesnt stop until you stop it...it may work for a while but it will start getting quirky and issues will arise so it needs cleaned and treated too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that this thread is a little long in the tooth, but I thought I might add this: a mom and pop company called CPR+ (cell phone rescue) uses the following protocol to repair water damaged phones:
1: Place the phone in a hermetically sealed container with long grain brown rice: the atmospherics inside will naturally pull moisture from the device into the drier air in the container.
2: Replace corroded parts and hip joints on the logic board, and glue.
The rice doesn't work because its rice...it works only when placed in a sealed container by transferring moisture from the device to the air in the container. The rice is there to absorb water from the atmosphere...not the device directly. A zip local bag will work too.
A friend of mine is a son of the family who owned the store. He also made a living for two years buying water damaged iPhones and reselling them after using the rice method.
I've saved two of my phones, my fathers phone, and my cousins Droid this way. So far I'm 4-0. Three out of four of those devices, others tried using a hair dryer, a fan, and just leaving them out for 3 days-- 7 in the case of my dads Motorola Tundra. The Tundra wound up with a seeping battery after a hair dryer was brought to it. In most cases I'd just buy a new battery, regardless.
3 days in a zip lock bag--untouched for the whole period, ressurected one phone after the first try, and the other 3 phones after other methods were tried.
As good as anecdotal evidence gets without a double blind test, dontcha think?
The pens are actually very resilient. I had an accident involving my pen and the toilet (don't ask), by necessity I immersed the whole pen in a cup full of regular alcohol, wrapped it in a tissue paper for a while to let it dry, and it works just fine. I had to immerse it several times in alcohol before I felt somewhat comfortable with using it again.
I left my wife's iPhone in a bag of rice on a mildly warm radiator for 2 days. It worked.
However, using a hairdryer seems to make a lot of sense. You want to get rid of the water asap. Not leave it slowly evaporate like I did.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Just buy a new one buddys
I droped an old nokia in water once.
i followed the same procedure of immidiately removing from water and removing the battery as soon as i could.
Then I just took the entire thing apart and wiped it clean with tissues. Then i just kept it in the sum for abot 15 mins (depends on how strong the sun is). once every thing was dry and seems to be properly cleaned. I just took some rubbing alcohol and cleaned it once again. Dats it.
Assembled every thing and voila!! :fingers-crossed: every thing worked. Not sure how advisable it is to keep electronic components in the sun, but it worked well for me.
---------- Post added at 11:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 PM ----------
Hope this helps someone in need :fingers-crossed:
Well, the S-pen from my Note 10.1 in 2014 not only fell in the water, as it was washed along with clothing. Once you find it inside the machine, to shake to get the water with soap and became a wash in running water. After this, I used a blow dryer for a few minutes and let her into the compartment in the Note for 2 days. After this, the pen started functioning normally ... would be lucky? rs
leong19921992 said:
Hi guy, jusy now my S Pen accidentally drop into water, now the problem is the S Pen is very sensitive, when my S Pen haven't touch and far betwwen 0.3-0.4mm to the screen, the screen auto detect it and written...it is annoying~
Anyone have great solution to solve it?
Very appreciate your helping as well...
Tq
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am your first thanker. However, that is weird.
I think that the water causes a short circuit in the pen which lets it think that there is pressure.

Dropped my N7 in the toilet

Kinda embarrassing, but I had the tablet on the water take and when I flushed it just slipped right into the bowl...
Power button isn't really working.. took the back off of it and have it laying glass up hoping the water drains out of it. Not like there is alot of water in it or anything just want to be sure. Hopefully their isn't significant damage, but if there is I hope I can RMA it..
ugh.
The lesson here is to take a newspaper or magazine with you when you need to poop, instead of expensive gadgets.
/or bring some action figures if you are really young at heart
moinster said:
Kinda embarrassing, but I had the tablet on the water take and when I flushed it just slipped right into the bowl...
Power button isn't really working.. took the back off of it and have it laying glass up hoping the water drains out of it. Not like there is alot of water in it or anything just want to be sure. Hopefully their isn't significant damage, but if there is I hope I can RMA it..
ugh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
put it inside a bag of rice overnight. hope that helps.
---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:51 AM ----------
Cryingmoose said:
The lesson here is to take a newspaper or magazine with you when you need to poop, instead of expensive gadgets.
/or bring some action figures if you are really young at heart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aye.
the issue is, i lose count how many times my GI Joes had a little "cyclone adventure".
moinster said:
Kinda embarrassing, but I had the tablet on the water take and when I flushed it just slipped right into the bowl...
Power button isn't really working.. took the back off of it and have it laying glass up hoping the water drains out of it. Not like there is alot of water in it or anything just want to be sure. Hopefully their isn't significant damage, but if there is I hope I can RMA it..
ugh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RMA is for warranty repair only.
In your case, it's accidental damage which would/should not be covered by warranty.
Disconnect the battery immediately and let it sit in a dry area for at least a day. I'd even recommend hitting it with a hair dryer for 5-10 minutes. My daughter left her phone out in the rain, and when we found it, water literally poured out of the case. I took the battery out, disassembled it as much as I could and let to dry for a day. It survived and it working fine now. Keep in mind that most manufacturers place "moisture indicators" inside their devices. It's just a small paper sticker with tiny drops of red dye on it. As soon as water hits it, the dye runs and the sticker turns pink... and your warranty is void.
Sorry dude. Be more careful next time. Not sure what else to say.
ED2O9 said:
Disconnect the battery immediately and let it sit in a dry area for at least a day. I'd even recommend hitting it with a hair dryer for 5-10 minutes. My daughter left her phone out in the rain, and when we found it, water literally poured out of the case. I took the battery out, disassembled it as much as I could and let to dry for a day. It survived and it working fine now. Keep in mind that most manufacturers place "moisture indicators" inside their devices. It's just a small paper sticker with tiny drops of red dye on it. As soon as water hits it, the dye runs and the sticker turns pink... and your warranty is void.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's powered off. Looking online right now how to disconnect the battery, also looking for the water detection sticker.
ED2O9 said:
I'd even recommend hitting it with a hair dryer for 5-10 minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If his warranty wasn't void before...
sinhumane said:
ok, as a professional repair tech i can tell you that rice has a VERY low chance of success... it isnt as marvelous as everyone thinks it is. it wont absorb much of the moisture in the phone. i have seen numerous phones come through my shop after sitting in rice for days... STILL have standing water in them.
your best bet: if you have tools to take it apart, remove the board, and immediately put it in alcohol. if you have any residual corrosion on the board, take a VERY soft bristled brush and gently wipe the corrosion away.
if you dont have tools/a brush... take the battery out, and submerge the entire thing in 91% (nothing less) rubbing alcohol. you may ruin the lcd, but trust me, a new lcd is a far cry cheaper than a new phone.
also, your battery is likely toasted, buy a new one.
just as a caveat to all, unless you drop your phone in clean city tap water, or distilled water... its going to have contaminants in it, and will corrode your phone, rice or no rice. alcohol displaces the moisture, and removes chemicals/minerals on your board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try these tips. This guys a pro and he recently helped someone that dropped his phone in the pool.
Po1soNNN said:
Try these tips. This guys a pro and he recently helped someone that dropped his phone in the pool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I've disconnected the battery and it is sitting in the server room, Dry and Moisture free, yes? I've try some of the tips when I find the alcohol.
putting it in a sealed bag full of silicon gel sachets will also help.
That's a crappy situation.
If you're in the US and paid the full amount on your credit card (not debit card), see if the card offers any buyer's protection. American Express and the higher tier Visa cards offer a 90-day theft and breakage protection.
moinster said:
Thank you. I've disconnected the battery and it is sitting in the server room, Dry and Moisture free, yes? I've try some of the tips when I find the alcohol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the battery dry? If it's wet you'll need a new one and remember this isn't guaranteed to work.
moinster said:
Thank you. I've disconnected the battery and it is sitting in the server room, Dry and Moisture free, yes? I've try some of the tips when I find the alcohol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A server room should dry it out good.
This is going to sound pretty gross, was the toilet flushed? I recently repaired my HTC Hero that I had loaned to a friend, who then proceeded to drop it down an unflushed toilet
I dried it out, only to find it would not power up, not until I remove the pubic hair that was shorting it out
Just Something to look out for.
Just because the battery got wet doesn't mean that it's trashed. Tap water isn't that great of a conductor, so as long as the battery didn't discharge at too high of a rate from a short, it might be okay. If the battery felt very hot when you removed back cover, it's not a good sign.
As for the alcohol, I'd use it to clean the board but I'd hold off on submerging the whole unit. The openings on the Nexis's case are pretty thin, so I doubt much water got inside. I'd just let it dry and see if it works before doing anything drastic.
moinster said:
Kinda embarrassing, but I had the tablet on the water take and when I flushed it just slipped right into the bowl... Power button isn't really working.. took the back off of it and have it laying glass up hoping the water drains out of it. Not like there is alot of water in it or anything just want to be sure. Hopefully their isn't significant damage, but if there is I hope I can RMA it..
ugh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was on when you dropped (probably was) it might have shortened something in the circuit board, and that is why is not turning on, however there is always hope and I would follow the previous advices to disconnect the battery, hair dryer and rice of bag overnight before trying turn on again.
Good luck!!
trevd said:
A server room should dry it out good.
This is going to sound pretty gross, was the toilet flushed? I recently repaired my HTC Hero that I had loaned to a friend, who then proceeded to drop it down an unflushed toilet
I dried it out, only to find it would not power up, not until I remove the pubic hair that was shorting it out
Just Something to look out for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahaha, It was at the end of its flush when it slipped it. When it hit the bowl the case opened a little bit but I grabbed it as fast as I could.
ED2O9 said:
Just because the battery got wet doesn't mean that it's trashed. Tap water isn't that great of a conductor, so as long as the battery didn't discharge at too high of a rate from a short, it might be okay. If the battery felt very hot when you removed back cover, it's not a good sign.
As for the alcohol, I'd use it to clean the board but I'd hold off on submerging the whole unit. The openings on the Nexis's case are pretty thin, so I doubt much water got inside. I'd just let it dry and see if it works before doing anything drastic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The battery was quite cool actually.
It was clean tap water, btw.
Another sad story: I dropped mine 4 feet to a concrete floor about 24 hours after it was delivered, breaking the screen. The display still works, but the digitizer won't respond to touches any more. I found a link to a place that claims to have the screen-digitizer assembly for $130, but haven't pulled the trigger.
No luck with the VISA purchase protection...
UnusualSuspect said:
Another sad story: I dropped mine 4 feet to a concrete floor about 24 hours after it was delivered, breaking the screen. The display still works, but the digitizer won't respond to touches any more. I found a link to a place that claims to have the screen-digitizer assembly for $130, but haven't pulled the trigger.
No luck with the VISA purchase protection...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm pretty damn clumsy :/ and I bought it with a debit card.
If the digitize is $130 I would just spend the extra $70 and sell the unusable one as parts.
trevd said:
A server room should dry it out good.
This is going to sound pretty gross, was the toilet flushed? I recently repaired my HTC Hero that I had loaned to a friend, who then proceeded to drop it down an unflushed toilet
I dried it out, only to find it would not power up, not until I remove the pubic hair that was shorting it out Just Something to look out for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This had me giggling in my little cubicle.

Nexus 5 Water Damage Thread

THIS THREAD IS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE A WATER DAMAGED NEXUS 5, OR HAVE JUST DROPPED THEIR NEXUS 5 INTO WATER. READ NOTE BEFORE REPAIRING
NOTE: The water indicator (shown as the red square in the photos) is located just above the sim card tray. It is only a few millimeters away from the edge of the phone which makes it VERY SENSITIVE to water. It turns from white to pink/red if it has been exposed to water.
My phone dropped into the toilet and was submerged for only 0.5 -1 second. This was enough for the indicator to go off. If you do not want to open up the phone, check the sim card as mine had small pink/red residue on it after I took out the sim card.
The location of the indicator makes it very easy for the indicator to go off. I can easily see how rain, extreme humidity, or even a small pool of tap water could make it go off if the sim tray is not inserted properly, let alone if it was submerged.
Helpful Resources/Guides: Nexus 5 dropped in toilet, recovered: http://www.reddit.com/r/Nexus5/comments/1wf4gu/guess_who_dropped_their_nexus_5_in_the_toilet_a/
Nexus 5 water repair SUCCESS STORY: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2618121
How to open Nexus 5: http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5+Teardown/19016
Opening Nexus 5 (more detailed) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2542873
Repair guide (some steps are controversial, caution) : http://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1npt9v/this_actually_works_if_you_drop_your_phone_in/
REPAIRS:
Read links/stories above for steps to recover Nexus 5, my method has not proved successful thus far. Please read the thread for other methods too.
The general consensus is to:
1. MOST IMPORTANT: Turn the off phone immediately. If your phone is off, don't attempt to turn it on or you will risk damaging the internals.
2. Use a cloth/paper towel to immediately soak up water around phone.
If you do not want to open up the phone for warranty purposes:
3. Place phone in an airtight container with activated silica gels, or with rice for few days.
Note: This is not the best method if the phone was submerged for a relatively long period or if you spilt coffee/soft drink on your phone. There is a high risk of corrosion with this as the water may be trapped inside for a long period of time causing internal parts to corrode. Other methods have proven more successful. Alternatively people have had success (in this thread, please read) by drying out their phones via traditional methods like using blowdryers etc. when the device was exposed to water for a SHORT period of time. Make sure you err on the side of caution when using heating methods as to not damage the internals, never use anything that would make the device too hot.
OR
If you don't mind opening up phone (fairly certain indicator has gone off and want to void warranty). If I could go back in time I would probably use this method:
3. Open up the phone by prying off the back (method in the link above), remove the battery and carefully assess the areas and components that have collected water. Remove the water and dry it out as much as possible. This may be enough if the phone was not fully submerged.
For more serious cases: For coke/coffee/saltwater or if the phone has just been sitting there a long time after water exposure:
- A lot of people have had success by washing the phone with deionised water first and then submerging it in pure ethanol (without battery). This serves to clean the phone of the contaminants and to prevent corrosion. (especially if you dunked in it coffee/soft drink). Theoretically the water/ethanol would not conduct electricity due to the lack of impurities in them.
-If you have left the phone untouched for a while without cleaning it, there may be some build up of corrosion. People suggest scrubbing the white corroded area off using small/light brush strokes of a soft bristled toothbrush either after the wash phase (deionised water) or just after the submerging phase (ethanol)
Many different methods suggested in links above. Make sure you read through the thread, there are various success stories here too.
My case:
As soon as I dropped it into the toilet, I turned it off straight away. I dried it off with a paper towel and stuck it in rice for a few days. Then I moved to a sealed container of silica crystals for about 5 days. Then I let it dry on table for another 2. Then it did not turn on, unresponsive. Did not charge or get recognised via USB. This was probably not an optimal repair method. The methods above may be more useful. But if you know the indicator has gone off, it would be best to open up the case straight away to drain the water out.
Then I opened up my Nexus 5 (after a week of deciding what to do). I could see small amount of corrosion around the sim tray area, usb insert area and others around the phone. Then I dipped the motherboard and into a bowl of isopropyl, enough to submerge it for 5-10 minutes. Then used gentle movements of a toothbrush to focus on corroded areas. I am now just letting it dry.
I will update this thread if the repairs are successful.
Update: Phone is still unresponsive, it may be that the battery is dead or one of the parts do not work at all. Any suggestions?
UPDATE 2: Ended up just buying a new Nexus 5 back in March, old one is just sitting here in the cupboard still unresponsive. I may try to buy a battery to see if it's a battery problem but for now I'll just leave it. Not sure if it would sell much for parts.
Please feel free to post other helpful resources or your own experiences on saving a water damaged nexus 5.
NOTE: I am from Australia. The cost to repair a water damaged Nexus 5 was a fixed cost of $290 AUD (16 or 32gb) if you send the phone to manufacturer (LG). Water damage is not covered under warranty but LG still accepts repairs out of warranty at a fixed price. The lady on the phone said that they would replace the motherboard. Opening up your device will void your warranty so please be aware of this before you try to repair it.
NOTE 2: If you live in the US, google has confirmed it does one time replacements no matter what. Read below: http://gizmodo.com/google-will-apparently-replace-your-nexus-5-no-matter-h-1630258357
You did it wrong. You must pull battery asap, and clean evening with alcohol
I feel this needs to be asked, had you conducted business before your phone went for a swim in the porcelain pool? ;D
GR0S said:
You did it wrong. You must pull battery asap, and clean evening with alcohol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the time I was still considering whether to send it back for repairs. Pulling the battery out requires taking the phone apart and voiding warranty. But looking back I probably should have opened it up straight away.
Phone is still unresponsive, is there any way to check which individual module or part of the phone doesn't work? I have a feeling some are working while others are not. Do electronic repairs shops have tools to test this?
Parts are easy to obtain: http://www.etradesupply.com/lg/android-models/lg-nexus-5.html but it is just a matter of knowing which part to get, that is assuming the main motherboard/CPU is still functioning.
eastpac said:
Phone is still unresponsive, is there any way to check which individual module or part of the phone doesn't work? I have a feeling some are working while others are not. Do electronic repairs shops have tools to test this?
Parts are easy to obtain: http://www.etradesupply.com/lg/android-models/lg-nexus-5.html but it is just a matter of knowing which part to get, that is assuming the main motherboard/CPU is still functioning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say phone is unresponsive do you mean that it won't come on at all?
sent from my neXus 5
OuncE718 said:
When you say phone is unresponsive do you mean that it won't come on at all?
sent from my neXus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it didn't turn on after I took it out from the silica gels. Also after I cleaned/submerged the phone parts in isopropyl and reassembled it doesn't turn on at all. I tried plugging into computer too but it didn't work either.
eastpac said:
Yeah it didn't turn on after I took it out from the silica gels. Also after I cleaned/submerged the phone parts in isopropyl and reassembled it doesn't turn on at all. I tried plugging into computer too but it didn't work either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The computer did not recognize the phone? Most times when a phone is off the computer would at least make a sound once plugged in. How was your battery life before the incident? Was the phone almost dead?
I would probably take the phone back apart, clean it one more time with the alcohol and a soft brush toothbrush, dry it with a blow dryer (on its coolest setting so you don't damage anything) and then put it back together.
Use this site as a guide and do a side by side comparison. Maybe you forgot to plug a cable back in. http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5+Teardown/19016
Good luck!
sent from my neXus 5
OuncE718 said:
The computer did not recognize the phone? Most times when a phone is off the computer would at least make a sound once plugged in. How was your battery life before the incident? Was the phone almost dead?
I would probably take the phone back apart, clean it one more time with the alcohol and a soft brush toothbrush, dry it with a blow dryer (on its coolest setting so you don't damage anything) and then put it back together.
Use this site as a guide and do a side by side comparison. Maybe you forgot to plug a cable back in. http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5+Teardown/19016
Good luck!
sent from my neXus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I tried it on a few computers, didn't manage to make it get a sound or anything. Battery life was normal before I dropped it. I can't remember what percentage it was on exactly when I dropped it, if I had to guess i think it was on 10-30%?
Yeah I'll give it another go with the cleaning. Should I submerge the screen in isopropyl too? I've only done the motherboard, bottom grill and cables so far. I left the battery out.
Also with the brushing I'm scared I'll break something: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QHn3ItE7ME But am i meant to use as much force as this guy in the video? I was way more gentle than that
If its a soft tooth brush and only a soft tooth brush then I'd say go in for the kill. Lol. That's about how much force I used on my Galaxy Nexus when it had water damage and I recovered it with no issues at all! Use your discretion though. Use as much force as your comfortable with and make sure to thoroughly dry it. I'd also clean the battery connector but with a DRY brush. Maybe that's where the issue lay.
sent from my neXus 5
Were there number 2 floaters when you dropped it? Did you soak it in rose water?
Sent from Nexus 5 (?) on Slimkat
yeh found a couple of mars bars on the screen when I took it out and mountain dew dripping from the sides.
haha nah it was clean at the time, just fell in from the towel rack
Phone probably short circuited when powered on
Sent from my Nexus 5
Little bit of trolling, sorry,
Feel really sorry for the guy who lost his nexus 5 coz of water damage, but I couldn't help but giggle at times at the process he was making himself go through trying to save the nexus, all because of a 0.5 to 1 second of water. Here is the process that I went through with my phone.
Dropped my Xperia Z Ultra a few days ago in a bubble bath tub, then spent about 5 - 8 seconds just looking for it, because of the bubbles.
Then I found it, Wiped it off immediately on my chest, it was soaked, then I turned it on. then I got into the bath tub with it, then watched some YouTube, visited xda forums, after that decided to watch some porn, then my wife started banging at the door "what the hell are you watching!?" then I got out, Wiped phone with towel. Then ate some chicken with rice, with my phone next to it not inside it.
Anyway think the nexus 5 is a gorgeous phone, that I would of have definitely wanted it if I hadn't experienced relaxing bath tub times, that all started with the original xperia z.
I still envy people that I had seen using it, I think it's the most beautifully designed phone ever created. With Sony and Htc as close second.
Sent from my C6833 using xda app-developers app
dicecuber said:
Phone probably short circuited when powered on
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are the chances of a short circuit fairly high in circumstances like this? Any way to confirm if all components are dead? I'm assuming that would probably kill off the motherboard/cpu so cleaning it won't do much in that case. But might i'll give it another clean just in case
bucho2004 said:
Wiped it off immediately on my chest, it was soaked, then I turned it on. then I got into the bath tub with it, then watched some YouTube, visited xda forums, after that decided to watch some porn, then my wife started banging at the door "what the hell are you watching!?" then I got out, Wiped phone with towel. Then ate some chicken with rice, with my phone next to it not inside it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL cheers man, i'll be sure to quote that at my nexus's funeral to remind it of the life it could've lived
How about getting wet with Salt Water !
Hi all, great thread, glad I found it. Want to hear another "got wet" story?
My Nexus 5 (and an iphone5) was in an Outdoor Products "dry sack" on an ocean boat ride in Brazil. This one at outdoorproducts.com, their 3-pack-ultimate-dry-sack
Caution! It was properly sealed, but still let saltwater in through the seams from splashes. The phones basically sloshed around in a cup of water before I knew it. Defective or wrong material to trust. In any case, the phone didn't work after, dead. To repeat, neither phone was ever submerged or dunked.
So I didn't have any isopropyl alcohol, but here they have something similar, ethyl alcohol (for cleaning, usually 46% solution). I knew that the rest was "hydrated" so I searched for a more pure form; found a 98% bottle. It is very hard to find (banned from sale because flammable) but I found a source. So I submerged the phones in this ethyl alcohol for 5 min. then let them sit in rice inside one of this company's "dry boxes" (which I should've used instead, kick to rear).
After 2 days, my Nexus 5 turns on! And, charges... and connects to wifi and receives messages. but the phone screen is like a tie-dye t-shirt. "Touches" won't unlock the screen, so I can't access apps to retrieve data. And, the phone won't connect over USB to the Android file manager.
I'm hoping a technician/hacker back in MA can open the phone, take out the 16gb internal storage (Sandisk SDIN8DE4 16 GB NAND flash) and get my valuable photos/videos off !
---------- Post added at 05:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:36 PM ----------
I was just googling... from ifixit's forum a moderator said that it was possible to read data from a NAND chip. He mentioned some sites, and from their I found a data firm, eprovided.com -- fyi this is no endorsement. I'll have to call them Monday to see if they can do chips from wet phones!
@placker have you tried hooking it to a different computer? Have you had the android file manager connected with this device before this incident, or did you install it just now? Have you tried booting to fastboot?
Just curious if it recognizes via fastboot
Sent from Omni Nexus 5
@AndroidSlave
thanks for the reply -- the phone had previously worked fine with the Android File Manager (used on Mac). That was my big hope... but alas no.
I don't know how to do fastboot... I've started/hard-shutdown the thing many times. Believe it or not, the phone's alarm clock just went of at 8pm. No way to shut if off since I can't bypass [what I think is] the lock screen. I can see the wacked video screen changing in response button presses of volume or the 10-second power button press.
I'll google the technique...
placker said:
@AndroidSlave
thanks for the reply -- the phone had previously worked fine with the Android File Manager (used on Mac). That was my big hope... but alas no.
I don't know how to do fastboot... I've started/hard-shutdown the thing many times. Believe it or not, the phone's alarm clock just went of at 8pm. No way to shut if off since I can't bypass [what I think is] the lock screen. I can see the wacked video screen changing in response button presses of volume or the 10-second power button press.
I'll google the technique...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a PC in your home? I am curious to see if anything gets recognized on a PC. My Mac (I am a Mac user) is finicky while my windows device works fine.
If u can get it recognized in fastboot you may be able to pull your data without issue...
If I were you I would first see if I could get it to be recognized on a windows PC
Sent from Omni Nexus 5

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