iPhone went swimming and survived, but now overheating!

[leetskeetkris]

Hey,

So last night I was trying to reach for a beer pong ball that was in my pool and my iphone slid out of my hoodie and into the pool. I grabbed it almost instantly and pulled it out (it was in the water for like 2 seconds).

I turned it off immediately and opened it up to dry it out a bit. I didnt touch it overnight, just let it sit there.
I passed out and woke up today in the late afternoon and tried to turn it on, but nothing.

I searched online to find if there were any suggestions, and read about putting ure iPhone in rice and letting it sit there.

I let it sit all day and tried turning it on again, and it turned on. I was so happy, but then when i tried to unlock the phone (slide to unlock) noticed the touch screen wasnt working. Turned it off again, opened it up again and made sure the cables were placed right, since i opened it when i was drunk as **** the first time. Everything looked fine. I read only that sometimes you have to reboot it a few times till the screen works again, and so I did. and what do you know, the touch screen started working again.

I was so happy, I started using my phone for a while. after a while, i started noticing that the top half of the phone on the front was getting noticeably warmer. then it got really hot. I turned it off and put it in rice for the rest of the day.

I tried turning it back on like 10 mins ago, been almost a full 24hrs since the phone fell in the water, and it turns on and works fine, but gets really warm really fast.

Any advice as to what I can do to maybe fix the problem?

I have not restored, dont think it will do anything, because im scared of loosing my jailbreak.

I also looked at the moisture indicators.. the one in the headphone jack didnt go off, but the one on the bottom dock thing did. and only 1 of the 2 inside the phone went off also.

Ive read that you can put a drop of bleach on the indicators and they will turn white again and then you can take it to apple and they will swap it out, but I feel like that might not really work... idk

I dont really have $250 or however much it is to get a replacement atm, so I would like to save my phone some how.

I have an iPhone 3gs 32gb black btw.

any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advanced

P.S phone is sitting in a rice container atm

 

[pcs are junk]

hmm...i think its just that youve turned it on while it was still wet, because you didnt do the rice trick. theres something in there thats screwed up, but maybe getting a new battery will make a difference, because thats what normally gets hot. you should research common water damage problems.

 

[GeekGirl*]

you need to dry it for a few days, not just a day.

 

[leetskeetkris]

Yeah i guess.. maybe I messed it up :/

Ive been researching all day and havent really found anything..

Any idea as to a legit place to get a new battery? or do you think if I call apple and tell them whats wrong they will tell me if its even the battery that is getting warm?

I feel like maybe i should take it apart again and see if theres anything in there that might be causing the problem..

I really dont know.. it sucks. This phone is like my life lol.

any other suggestions?

and thanks for your reply!

 

[pcs are junk]

ask them about the battery but tell them its your friends phone. dont call from the iphone, and use a fake name. tell them you dont have a serial number, but you're asking a general question. tell them that your friend dropped it in water, and ask how much a battery would be if it was the problem. dont let them know who you are.

 

[leetskeetkris]

very good idea. THANKS!

 

[pcs are junk]

your welcome.

 

[kernkraft]

Never admit blame!

It's never a wise thing to switch on devices while they are still wet. A few days should have been enough for it to dry out and then I would just take it to an Apple Store or to the place that you purchased it from.

Anyway, Apple has a program, whereby they replace water-damaged iPhones. I cannot remember how much they charge you for it, but it's less than the original price. Otherwise, I would not even mention the water, just the overheating.

 

[-aggie-]

You only have one choice. You take it to Apple and pay $199 for an out of warranty replacement.

You dropped your phone in liquid.

You turned it on, when you shouldn't have.

Take this as a life lesson and do the right thing. Or don't. I really don't care. The odds of you getting away with committing fraud are slim, and if you're caught, well the best thing that'll happen is that Apple won't deal with you further.

BTW, why is doing what pcs are junk said to do a good idea? Are you both kids? You can go to the Apple site to find out what this costs. $199!! There's no need to be all mysterious. Okay, 007?

 

[pcs are junk]

really? so. give me the link for the battery.

 

[ngenerator]

Make sure that once you leave the apple store w/ your new iPhone, you go back take all the Geniuses out. You know what I mean. You might as well go into the backroom too, since that's where you have to steal the videotapes (or hard drives) so nobody knows you were there.

Oh, you should also get one of those cool MiB-style amnesia-givers. That'll make sure you're double covered in case someone might recognize your face.

And a ski mask

 

[-aggie-]

really? so. give me the link for the battery.

Yeah, I forgot about the fraud. $0 then.

http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/faq/#warranty7

Make sure that once you leave the apple store w/ your new iPhone, you go back take all the Geniuses out. You know what I mean. You might as well go into the backroom too, since that's where you have to steal the videotapes (or hard drives) so nobody knows you were there.

Oh, you should also get one of those cool MiB-style amnesia-givers. That'll make sure you're double covered in case someone might recognize your face.

And a ski mask

Hilarious!

 

[leetskeetkris]

aggie,
thanks for the reply, but is that attitude really needed?

I know i messed up, even though the phone didnt even turn on and still works..
just gets really hot.

I think im going to unjailbreak it and take it into apple.. hope i get a nice genius and tell him what happened and hope he just swaps it out.

Has anyone ever heard of this problem btw?

 

[ngenerator]

Hopefully he doesn't go the the Los Alamos store, I hear they've been on lockdown ever since paj's friend hacked into the city's missile defense, etc, blah blah blah

Sorry, but back on topic. Dude, you realize they're gonna check the water sensors, right? I've been in a store, got a phone replaced, walked to the accessories wall (to look for more screen protectors) all while connecting to Apple's wifi. It didn't connect, well it did, it just fluctuated so much that I turned right back around to the Genius Bar. The guy knew I didn't leave the store, but when he looked at the new phone to see what was wrong and eventually swap it out again, he STILL looked at the sensors.

They go to Genius School for that kind of stuff

$200 is cheaper than $600, in my books at least

 

[-aggie-]

aggie,
thanks for the reply, but is that attitude really needed?

I know i messed up, even though the phone didnt even turn on and still works..
just gets really hot.

I think im going to unjailbreak it and take it into apple.. hope i get a nice genius and tell him what happened and hope he just swaps it out.

Has anyone ever heard of this problem btw?

What attitude are you referring to? The only attitude I see in this thread is someone telling you to try to cheat the system. Oh, and you're attitude that is totally okay. Like I said, I don't care what you do. I was just letting you know what might happen, should you go that course.

Your battery is overheating because you dropped your iPhone in the pool.

 

[leetskeetkris]

yeah i figured..

I was going to tell the guy that I had the phone in my pocket when it was raining and thats when the overheating problems started.. since only the bottom sensor went off.

hopefully he'll be nice and swap it out. but i doubt it.

if not, $199 isnt too bad for a 32gb 3gs, just sucks cuz I really shouldnt be spending that money :/

 

[leetskeetkris]

your right aggie, sorry.
I just assumed the little remark about being kids and stuff was in a different tone.

my bad,

Thanks for the replies

 

[TSX]

I think you can by batteries for $89.00 online. Buy one and install it.

 

[-aggie-]

I think you can by batteries for $89.00 online. Buy one and install it.

He could do that, but I'm sure more is wrong with it than that. I was going to say he could damage it by taking it apart, but I guess he's already done that. Anyway, your advice may work, but he could end up wasting his money if that's not all there is.

 

[Shenaniganz08]

aggie,
thanks for the reply, but is that attitude really needed?

I know i messed up, even though the phone didnt even turn on and still works..
just gets really hot.

I think im going to unjailbreak it and take it into apple.. hope i get a nice genius and tell him what happened and hope he just swaps it out.

Has anyone ever heard of this problem btw?

what attitude ?

You're the one trying to commit fraud

Ive read that you can put a drop of bleach on the indicators and they will turn white again and then you can take it to apple and they will swap it out, but I feel like that might not really work... idk

he's right, you messed up, just pay the money and move on

why is everyone in this forum so easily offended, even when they are clearly in the wrong >__<

 

[brimill68]

Mine went swimming today too...

About 6 hours ago, I did a stupid thing and dropped my iPhone in the toilet, but snatched it out about 1/2 second after it hit the water. It barely had time to splash, and descend maybe 1 inch into the water... Wet nonetheless.

I powered it off immediately and blew any excess water out the various holes, earphone jack, speaker holes, etc. The bottom indicator is red, but the one in the earphone jack is still white. More promising, I popped out the sim card and it was dry as a bone and almost dusty. I suspect very little water got on the actual inside of the unit, but have not yet opened it. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I have not yet powered it back on, and wanted to wait until it was good and dry before I did that. I figure I will give it a try tomorrow.

That said, if the warranty is shot on this think anyway, should I just crack the case open and take a blow drier to it to be sure before powering it on?

I've also heard a little about putting it in a bowl or bag of rice (which I guess acts as a dehumidifier?). I will do that now and can leave it there overnight.

Any advice will be appreciated...

 

[anjinha]

^^ Put it in a bowl of rice. Don't use the hairdryer, the heat can damage the phone.

 

[pcs are junk]

IT IS SO FREAKING WEIRD THAT EVERY WATER INCIDENT I HAVE HEARD OF WITH THE 3GS HAS NOT HAD THE HEADPHONE JACK WATER SENSOR NOT TRIGGERED! is this just something apple did to make us go back and void our warranty because thats the number one place we check, and some of us dont know about the bottom one?

 

[Shenaniganz08]

no I've heard of just the headphone one going red

I feel bad for people who drop their phone's and crack their glass

I have zero mercy for the geniuses who drop their phones in the toilet

The only thing I've ever dropped in the toilet is a deuce

 

[brimill68]

Saving my iPhone...

@ Shenaniganz08 - No need to judge... It got wet, simple as that. In old homes like ours (1917), the bathrooms are tiny. Turn around from the sink and you bump the toilet. I was putting the phone away, but it missed the pocket, bounced off the seat, and splash. I'm just trying to save the phone at this point.

That said, I still have not turned it on and don't plan to until tonight or tomorrow morning... 24-36 hours from the incident. I've got it sitting in a bag full of rice now. Again, it was functioning well enough for me to turn it off, so I'm hopeful.

I don't have one, but I wonder how well a dehydrator would work? Like the kind you dry fruit and veggies with. They have a very low temp and just cycle air to pull the moisture out. Hmmmm... Point is moot since I don't have one, but...

Any other thoughts are welcome...