iPhone fall into water(phone still working but screen isn't lighting up)

[tongteh]

alright... i will try my best to explain my situation to you all and hopefully get some help from you people..

i dropped my iPhone into a basin full of water, because i have a soft cotton pouch with it so the pouch took the water first and therefore i guess my phone is not terribly damaged.. at first after i take it out from the basin there is no mark of water damage(touch screen and everything is working, but just the screen doesn't light up anymore, get it? as in i could still see my screen pictures and application but there isn't light so it's barely visible, or you can say it's the brightness is at the lowest) then i turn my iPhone off and i wasn't able to turn it on again!!! so i took off my sim card and left it dry for 4hours now and now i could turn it on again but the light still doesn't show up and it's dead, i dunno if i should continue to let it dry or charge it now.. from the camera hold i can still see that it's not 100% dry yet.

note: some people may figure out that at the iphone charging dock there i a water damage indicator, mine hasn't turn red at all!!!

 

[tongteh]

update 1: i am using a hair dryer to blow directly into the sim holder, the water vapor in the camera seems to be dissapearing.. i haven't turn it on yet.. i will not charge it for another few hours..

 

[1rottenapple]

You do know that by powering on the system you are killing the phone by causing short circuit right? Leave to dry for a week.

 

[9822679]

your warranty is dead

I would remove the small screws on the bottom and open up your iPhone


Let it dry for a week before using it DO NOT TURN IT ON !!!


worse case scenario the damage you did already killed your phone

best case scenario the water dries

 

[tongteh]

thanks for your input people.. but the thing is i am able to turn it on, it's just the light that is not lighting up.. i dunno how to explain any futher, everything is working, my applications, my games, my data, and everything is working, but the lighthing is showing up...

now no matter how high/low i turn my brightness, there is no changes because the light seems to be dead!!

i can still hear sound, receive mails, sms, and even calls, it's just the screen isn't lighting up!!

update: infact i am actually syncing with itunes at the moment!!

 

[1rottenapple]

well its dead. its not like turning it on and off is gonna fix it. screen's probably fried. I were you i would let it dry but hey its your phone.

 

[richard.mac]

place it in a container full of rice overnight. sounds weird but it works Google it! no guarantees though. dont keep turning it on!

 

[tongteh]

yea. i guess i will just turn it off and leave it dry for a few days..

i am not sure if everyone understand me, i could actually see the screen as in i could see my applications, i could see the word "sync in progress" but light that makes them visible isn't on!! hMmm, i am trying really hard now.. i wish there is someone who understand what i am trying to say...

OMFG!! OMFG!! OMFG!!! OMFG!!!!! JUST OUT OFF ALL SUDDEN WHEN I AM TYPING THIS MESSAGE THE LIGHT CAME BACK UP!!! OMFG!!! OMFG!! I SWEAR THIS IS MIRACLE!!!! JUST WHEN I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE ANOTHER WAY TO EXPLAIN IT THEN THE SCREEN "LIGHT" CAME BACK UP!!!

Note: i still wish there is someone here who understand what i am saying!!! BUT AT LEAST IT"S ALIVE AGAIN!! like i said, i have a cotton material pouch so when it fall into the water, it was the pouch that get the water first instead of the phone(i am sure the phone did too, but not as bad as if the pouch wasn't there).. THANK JESUS/BUDHA/BLACK MAGIC/ALL OTHER RELIGIOUS OUT THERE/ and ALL OTHER SUPER BEING EXIST OUT THERE!! OMFG!!! i CAN"T BELIEVE IT MYSELF!

update/edit: i am looking at my phone now and everything seems to be fine and my gf just gave me a call.. didn't want to talk too long cause i am afraid that the water may not be 100% clear.. but something really strange is that i found that the time and date is totally odd now, it is being set at 2000/1/1 and 8am when it's suppose to be 6pm..

 

[Rayfire]

yea. i guess i will just turn it off and leave it dry for a few days..

i am not sure if everyone understand me, i could actually see the screen as in i could see my applications, i could see the word "sync in progress" but light that makes them visible isn't on!! hMmm, i am trying really hard now.. i wish there is someone who understand what i am trying to say...

OMFG!! OMFG!! OMFG!!! OMFG!!!!! JUST OUT OFF ALL SUDDEN WHEN I AM TYPING THIS MESSAGE THE LIGHT CAME BACK UP!!! OMFG!!! OMFG!! I SWEAR THIS IS MIRACLE!!!! JUST WHEN I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE ANOTHER WAY TO EXPLAIN IT THEN THE SCREEN "LIGHT" CAME BACK UP!!!

Note: i still wish there is someone here who understand what i am saying!!! BUT AT LEAST IT"S ALIVE AGAIN!! like i said, i have a cotton material pouch so when it fall into the water, it was the pouch that get the water first instead of the phone(i am sure the phone did too, but not as bad as if the pouch wasn't there).. THANK JESUS/BUDHA/BLACK MAGIC/ALL OTHER RELIGIOUS OUT THERE/ and ALL OTHER SUPER BEING EXIST OUT THERE!! OMFG!!! i CAN"T BELIEVE IT MYSELF!

update/edit: i am looking at my phone now and everything seems to be fine and my gf just gave me a call.. didn't want to talk too long cause i am afraid that the water may not be 100% clear.. but something really strange is that i found that the time and date is totally odd now, it is being set at 2000/1/1 and 8am when it's suppose to be 6pm..

Good for you then.. lucky guy, or should I say lucky iPhone

 

[tongteh]

thank you!!!!!! My iphone is off again now, won't turn it on for a few hours now.. i really can't believe it myself!! i really think the pouch saved my phone, cause it took most of the water first.. as soon as my phone+pouch drop into the basin i try to get it up as soon as possible(like less than 5secs), then the pouch is completely wet and the phone is wet too but from what i could see is that it's not totally wet... the next thing happened was hat the screen light died while i could still use the phone.. i turned it off straight away and try turning it on again after 2/3hours later.. the rest i have already mention, i tried using hair dryer to blow it dry and etc..

i am very lucky indeed!!

 

[9822679]

STOP USING IT


the chances of it shorting go up the more you use it

seriously do you not have enough restraint not to use it for a week ?


What is the point about asking for advice if you are just going to avoid it

 

[firewood]

forget about the screen until it's bone dry!

Even if it works, turning it on while wet may kill it. You may have killed your screen, or made the problem far worse, by turning it on. Water may be hidden in the internals where you can't see it.

Leave the device in a bag of uncooked rice (or other desiccant) in the sun for a week.

.

 

[firewood]

leave alone or hard shutdown?

Actually I just thought of an interesting issue. The iPhone isn't really off after you drop it just because the display appears to be off. And there's no way, as in other cell phones, to just quickly pop out the battery.

Unless you dropped it in Airplane mode, the radios (cell, wifi and bluetooth) are still on and periodically running in a fairly high power mode. But in order to shut down the radios, one has to temporarily turn on the device in order to get to the "Slide to Power Off" shutdown dialog, and then fully power off.

It potentially looks like a choice between burning out the display logic, and burning out the cell radio.

Maybe popping the SIM card out would help?


.

 

[1rottenapple]

STOP USING IT


the chances of it shorting go up the more you use it

seriously do you not have enough restraint not to use it for a week ?


What is the point about asking for advice if you are just going to avoid it

Seriously, this guys is irritating me when I was reading it.

 

[efice32]

I think what they mean is that the display still works, but the backlighting doesn't...it's like on a macbook when you have the brightness at minimum but you can still see stuff when you put the screen in sunlight, for example.

 

[sergiuria]

I think what they mean is that the display still works, but the backlighting doesn't...it's like on a macbook when you have the brightness at minimum but you can still see stuff when you put the screen in sunlight, for example.

Damn! YOU FIGURED IT OUT!!!

We all obviously understand what he is trying to say, HE doesn't understand that he shouldn't be using it!

 

[efice32]

Damn! YOU FIGURED IT OUT!!!

We all obviously understand what he is trying to say, HE doesn't understand that he shouldn't be using it!

well yeah he shouldn't be using it....that was obvious...as was what he meant, but he didn't seem to think that anyone understood what he meant, so I thought I'd show that we understand what he means

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

The beauty of electrolysis. This phone WILL DIE if he continues to use it.

It likely will still die even if he doesn't - as there is still power in the battery.

The only real way to save it - is to remove power and allow it to dry completely - (no airflow = no evaporation) Powering it down is better than using it - but still iffy.

Save your joy for 2 more days - if it doesn't die by them you're likely okay. Otherwise, you're just setting yourself up for another disappointment tomorrow morning.

 

[9822679]

Seriously, this guys is irritating me when I was reading it.

i know the font size is irritating and for that I apologize to you and the rest of the readers of this thread

but the OP continues to fail to realize that the chances of killing his iPhone go up the more he uses it, until it is 100% dry.

 

[tongteh]

alright alright.. i get it, k? i will turn it off and use the hair dryer again..

yeap, that's what i am trying to explain to everyone about the screen... i wonder why is everyone getting so frustrated about this topic? just chill people..

edit: just curious, why can't my phone be already dry?? don't get furious people..

 

[serdaryilmaztr]

it is not good to use hair dryer for your plastik iphone .
best option is the put iphone in a cup full of rice and leave it for a week in front of the window

 

[9822679]

alright alright.. i get it, k? i will turn it off and use the hair dryer again..

yeap, that's what i am trying to explain to everyone about the screen... i wonder why is everyone getting so frustrated about this topic? just chill people..

edit: just curious, why can't my phone be already dry?? don't get furious people..

water does not easily evaporate , it can take up to a week, especially in an enclosed enclosure, where the water will evaporate and then some of it will recondense

You will speed up the drying process by taking it apart ( which i would recommend since your warranty is dead, now that your water detection stickers have turned red)

 

[synagence]

Exactly as others have said .... leaving it off for a few hours does NOTHING

Water damage will occur because of oxidation but mainly due to people turning a wet device back on and then the water will cause a short and fry some electronics.

Moving the phone around due to use just means the water has a better chance of shorting MORE things ....

Leaving it alone for several days in a dry atmosphere in a bag of rice or silica gel will draw out the moisture but most likely the damage is already done and your iphones display is terminal.

Warranty is most likely done for as there are multiple water detector spots around the iphone so they can tell water damage

 

[tongteh]

alright i get it people.. thanks for your info..

 

[1rottenapple]

i know the font size is irritating and for that I apologize to you and the rest of the readers of this thread

but the OP continues to fail to realize that the chances of killing his iPhone go up the more he uses it, until it is 100% dry.

I meant the OP not you Dr. Cabrera.