If you happen to drown your cell phone.....

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Old 06-05-2011, 04:04 PM
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Default If you happen to drown your cell phone.....

.........as I did the other day (forgot it was in my swim shorts' pocket when I hopped in the pool - I HATE it when that happens!), here's the fix:

- Drain, shake, whatever the excess water from the drowned phone. Don't forget to pop caps/covers off of any ports or jack connections, too.

- Towel dry exterior.

- Pop back of the case off and remove battery, SIM card, etc. - anything that's intended for the user to be able to remove.

- Fill a small ziploc bag nearly full with dry, uncooked rice.

- Insert said gurgling phone into the ziploc bag, seal it up........then wait for a day or two or three.

A friend suggested I do this as it resolved his wife's similar phone issue. I thought, "There's no way in the world this is going to work". I was in the pool floating around for more than just a few minutes when I realized my lapse in memory/stupidity. The displays were messed up from water getting inside them, I couldn't get the phone to come on, etc. But the logic made sense - that's why you'll sometimes see a few grains of rice in some restaurant salt shakers......the rice absorbs moisture very well. Sandy felt it was worth a try so we bought some rice to give it a shot. I figured the phone had to be toast, though!

"Au contraire, mon frere"! Two days of the phone in the "rice bag"......and it's back to normal!! Unbelievable! I would've lost money on the bet.

So if it ever happens to you, give the rice-and-the-ziploc-bag thing a try!

Bill
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Old 06-05-2011, 04:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo View Post
.........as I did the other day (forgot it was in my swim shorts' pocket when I hopped in the pool - I HATE it when that happens!), here's the fix:

- Drain, shake, whatever the excess water from the drowned phone. Don't forget to pop caps/covers off of any ports or jack connections, too.

- Towel dry exterior.

- Pop back of the case off and remove battery, SIM card, etc. - anything that's intended for the user to be able to remove.

- Fill a small ziploc bag nearly full with dry, uncooked rice.

- Insert said gurgling phone into the ziploc bag, seal it up........then wait for a day or two or three.

A friend suggested I do this as it resolved his wife's similar phone issue. I thought, "There's no way in the world this is going to work". I was in the pool floating around for more than just a few minutes when I realized my lapse in memory/stupidity. The displays were messed up from water getting inside them, I couldn't get the phone to come on, etc. But the logic made sense - that's why you'll sometimes see a few grains of rice in some restaurant salt shakers......the rice absorbs moisture very well. Sandy felt it was worth a try so we bought some rice to give it a shot. I figured the phone had to be toast, though!

"Au contraire, mon frere"! Two days of the phone in the "rice bag"......and it's back to normal!! Unbelievable! I would've lost money on the bet.

So if it ever happens to you, give the rice-and-the-ziploc-bag thing a try!

Bill
he's right. it works.i've did it twice
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Old 06-05-2011, 04:13 PM
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The key is to get the battery out as soon as possible and to give the phone a few days to dry out. You do not want to activate the phone with any moisture in it.
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Old 06-05-2011, 04:20 PM
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I am wondering how long the "cure" will last.
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Old 06-05-2011, 04:22 PM
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The real question is this:

Is the rice still edible after using it this way?
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Old 06-05-2011, 04:46 PM
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My son had his go through the washing machine. We popped the sim card, opened it up and let it sit out for two days till it was dried. Put sim card back in and it's still working today.
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Old 06-05-2011, 04:51 PM
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The real question is this:

Is the rice still edible after using it this way?
use broth instead of water and its great !!!
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Old 06-05-2011, 05:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo View Post
.........as I did the other day (forgot it was in my swim shorts' pocket when I hopped in the pool - I HATE it when that happens!), here's the fix:

- Drain, shake, whatever the excess water from the drowned phone. Don't forget to pop caps/covers off of any ports or jack connections, too.

- Towel dry exterior.

- Pop back of the case off and remove battery, SIM card, etc. - anything that's intended for the user to be able to remove.

- Fill a small ziploc bag nearly full with dry, uncooked rice.

- Insert said gurgling phone into the ziploc bag, seal it up........then wait for a day or two or three.

A friend suggested I do this as it resolved his wife's similar phone issue. I thought, "There's no way in the world this is going to work". I was in the pool floating around for more than just a few minutes when I realized my lapse in memory/stupidity. The displays were messed up from water getting inside them, I couldn't get the phone to come on, etc. But the logic made sense - that's why you'll sometimes see a few grains of rice in some restaurant salt shakers......the rice absorbs moisture very well. Sandy felt it was worth a try so we bought some rice to give it a shot. I figured the phone had to be toast, though!

"Au contraire, mon frere"! Two days of the phone in the "rice bag"......and it's back to normal!! Unbelievable! I would've lost money on the bet.

So if it ever happens to you, give the rice-and-the-ziploc-bag thing a try!

Bill
I did almost the same thing - jumped right into the spa. NOT MY FAULT! Who in their right mind would put pockets in a swim suit? Anyway, did a similar routine - popped the battery, turned a hair dryer on it for a bit, and found it still didn't work. Reached in the desk drawer and pulled out an old phone, called Verizon and activated it with my cell number. Threw the wet phone in the drawer. After a trip north, came home, opened the drawer, put the battery in the phone and it worked just fine. Reactivated it and it worked perfectly until I got a new phone about 18 months later. I'll try the rice next time - makes sense.

Xavier
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Old 06-05-2011, 05:04 PM
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The key is to get the battery out as soon as possible and to give the phone a few days to dry out. You do not want to activate the phone with any moisture in it.
Being more than a bit impatient with myself, this was why I pretty much figured I'd fried my phone - I was trying a bunch of stuff immediately to see if there was any life in the phone. I AM the "Village(s) Idiot" at times.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by memason View Post
The real question is this:

Is the rice still edible after using it this way?
Dunno - I'll package it up and send it to you for a "taste test", Mike......

Bill
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Old 06-05-2011, 05:21 PM
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The real question is this:

Is the rice still edible after using it this way?
Yes, but instead of growling, you stomach will ring.
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Old 06-05-2011, 06:30 PM
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Yes, but instead of growling, you stomach will ring.
Ha ha.... One ringy dingy... Two ringy dingy.
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Old 06-05-2011, 06:54 PM
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Ha ha.... One ringy dingy... Two ringy dingy.
... if you don't want your stomach to ring, you can always save the rice for a wedding.
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Old 06-05-2011, 07:54 PM
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memason/pturner - There's a line in there somewhere about "Talking out of your........" - oh, never mind!!

Bill
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Old 06-05-2011, 10:12 PM
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Been there, done that Bill exactly the way you described... jumped into the pool with the cell. Too bad I didn't know what you've indicated then. Had fried cell for dinner after a 3 day wait and didn't get another cell until the current contract was up in about a year to two! Guess I couldn't be trusted with one!
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Old 06-05-2011, 10:35 PM
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memason/pturner - There's a line in there somewhere about "Talking out of your........" - oh, never mind!!

Bill
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