phone fell in water

I have a Motorola Verizon flip phone that I bought a year and a half ago. I was on a dock and it fell in the water and was in for a few minutes before I could get it out.

Is it toast? Or is it fixable? Can I do it myself or do I need to take it to the Verizon guys I got it from?

Thanks for any help,

Don
Bellingham, WA

---

› See More: phone fell in water

Well, I am sure I am answering this too late. Good rule of thumb, pull the battery out asap! The water shorts things out and the electric current corrodes the phone faster. Dry it out fast take off the battery cover and strip it down as much as possible and put it on your cars dash board or a hot dry place to dry out. If it dries out and still doesn't work then you could try bringing it in to a center. If you dropped it in fresh water it can normally be saved. If you dropped it in anything else soda coffee beer salt water chances are not so good. Don't bother taking it in to a direct or company own store they will tell you it can not be fixed.. Take it in to a mom and pop store.. They will be more willing to help. Technically they are right it may never be right again. I do fix about 5 to 10 h2o phones a day and I do see maybe 1 to 2 a week come back to by a new one.

Thanks. I originally took out the battery, but put it back in after it didn't seem to do any good. I've got it out now and will follow your advise about drying it out, and if it doesn't work finding a mom and pop place to take a look at it. The problem is I am on a two year contract, so I assume that means that if it doesn't recover I will have to buy a new Verizon phone with no special deal...oh well.

Ebay is great for low end used phones with out contracts. Just make sure you get a cdma phone for verizon.

same thing happend to me and i did the exact same thing with my old school nokia 3300, and i was able to save it kinda... except now the ringtones wouldn't work, i could only put it on vibrate, only way i could know if someone was calling

i dropped my phone in the water .. and it was ****ed up sick .. screen wise .. everything else functioned ok .. but i just obught a new phone .. didn't want to fix it (it's do able) .. but blah .. not worth my time & money ..

Any luck with the phone???

I had a friend who did a similar thing, and after a few hours it wouldn't work, after a few days it wouldn't, so she just went and got a brand new one, then months later out of interest, it worked! So she sold it - just remember, don't throw it away!

No luck yet. The water drops inside the display are gone now, but it still doesn't do a thing. I'm just letting it sit for now. The part that makes me mad is that I'm paying for verizon service while I'm waiting to see what happens. If I choose to buy a new one it will cost me an arm and a leg at a Verizon outlet, and I don't know enough to buy the right type on Ebay to last out my contract.

I'm kind of new to this...can I purchase a non-verizon phone to use on my verizon account until my two year lease runs out? I still like Verizon best for where I live because it covers more area than the others.

Thanks for the words of encouragement and otherwise,

Don
Bellingham, WA

Originally posted by mighty sc
Well, I am sure I am answering this too late. Good rule of thumb, pull the battery out asap! The water shorts things out and the electric current corrodes the phone faster. Dry it out fast take off the battery cover and strip it down as much as possible and put it on your cars dash board or a hot dry place to dry out. If it dries out and still doesn't work then you could try bringing it in to a center. If you dropped it in fresh water it can normally be saved. If you dropped it in anything else soda coffee beer salt water chances are not so good. Don't bother taking it in to a direct or company own store they will tell you it can not be fixed.. Take it in to a mom and pop store.. They will be more willing to help. Technically they are right it may never be right again. I do fix about 5 to 10 h2o phones a day and I do see maybe 1 to 2 a week come back to by a new one.

This guy know what he is talking about I would suggest listening to him and also not putting your phone in the water it doesn't work like it should after.

FastCPR.com recommends that you REMOVE THE BATTERY and NOT try to power up the phone if it has gotten wet. It can 'arc and spark' inside. DON'T DELAY! Take your phone to your local repair shop for an ultrasonic cleaning as soon as possible or wrap it up and send it to them: www.FastCPR.com

The important thing is to remove the water from the device. First remove your batteryand sim card or other memory cards. Then the best and fastest way to displace the water is by submerging your handset or device in a bag or container filled with rubbing alcohol or isopropanol and swish around to make sure the water is thoroughly removed from the surfaces of the electronics. Then place you phone in a warm dry place to dry, (dirrect sunlight can harm electronics and is not advised.) the best part about alcohol is it leaves no residue and evaporates much faster than water. after 24-48 hrs in a warm dry place replace the battery in the unit and charge fully before turning on. (the heat caused by charging should help dry out any remaining bits of moisture remaining. The thing to remember is that the water in the device may have killed the device the minute it happened. If you carry out the proceedures and it does come back to life its nothing more than a bonus. Just remember the worst thing to ever do is to try and power the device on once it has gotten wet, as this ensures that the device will never work again. Also a point to remember is that you can't fool the companies by telling them you have no idea why it quit working as all electronic devices today are equiped with a moisture dot. The idea of this is that once the dot has gotten wet it changes color forever more, so by claiming stupidity you really prove to them your stupidity so save yourself the humiliation. I hope this will help anyone who reads it for future events although it may not help with ones that have already occurred.