Liquid damage is one of the most detrimental things that can happen to your phone unfortunately. The myth is that the water is actually what harms your phone, but it is actually more attributed to the oxidation process that occurs after the water sits on the copper components for a period of time.
When water and air mix on the copper components, a process called oxidation begins. Oxidation is conductive and corrosive, and is the main reason a phone exposed to moisture will short out or the components inside will be corroded and brittle.
The best thing you can do to save your phone after it has been exposed to moisture, is to:
Immediately remove the battery (if possible). Don’t try to power it on!
This removes the source of electricity from the phone and will decrease the chances of it shorting out. There are plenty of instances where people will use their phone after it has been exposed to moisture for several days, months, or years and then one day have it short out. What it really boils down to is where the oxidation is forming inside your phone. Sometimes you get lucky…sometimes you don’t.
So, after you remove the battery the most ideal thing to do would be to bring it immediately into your local Phone Doctors. Typically, we have a much larger success with liquid damaged phones the sooner they are brought in.
If getting the phone to the store is not a readily available option, one of the most common tricks is to leave the phone in a bag of rice or silica gel packs (the little baggies that come in the box of a new pair of shoes or purses). What this does is draw the moisture out of the phone quicker than letting it air-dry. However, even though these things help, the best chance of success is getting the device to a Phone Doctors location (or our national mail in repair) as quick as possible so that the technicians can disassemble it and clean the water and oxidation out before it has a chance to permanently harm your phone.
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8 comments
I put my galaxy mega in rice. I turned it on the touch screen works. the only problem is that there is white spots on the screen and some flickering. what do you think that I need to fix and approx. cost. thanks
Thanks Vanessa,
A liquid damage cleaning is certainly in order here. Worse case scenario, your screen may need replacement after the cleaning, but the cleaning may solve the problem.
Our prices for both services can be found on our repair rates page. Just hover you mouse over "SERVICES", then click on Repair Rates.
I dropped my mega in water and immediately took the battery out and put it in rice. Everything works but now even though the charger is plugged in and it says it's charging, the phone is not charging and will not hold a charge. Is this just a simple battery replacement? Also, the charge cable has been a little loose when it is plugged into the port. Could this be an issue too?
Thanks Jennah,
When a device is touched by liquid, the internal components begin to break down.
This process does not stop, when the liquid is gone, and the only way to get your device back up and running (hopefully) is to do a liquid damage cleaning. A technician will clean every area of your device with a high grade cleaner. Normally, a mobile device will resume full functionality after the cleaning.
Sometimes, parts will be too damaged as a result of the liquid (in this case your battery most likely), and will need replacement afterward. If that is the case, most repair shops (especially ours) will give you a price quote for repair before they fix anything on the device.
If you would like us to clean your device, you can mail in your phone or tablet at: www.phonedoctors.com/mail.
Hi Trent!
You will need to have a Liquid damage cleaning done on your device and that only has a 75% repair rate. We offer this repair as a mail in repair at phonedoctors.com under the service tab. The cost is $60.00 with $30.00 upfront non-refundable if the repair is a success then we will collect the other $30.00
I dropped my Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini in the toilet the other night. I dried it off and put it in a bag of rice overnight. No signs of water damage (sticker on battery is still white, no red/pink dot on inside). It powers on and goes to my home screen, but the touchscreen isn't working? And tricks to try?
Hello Stacey, thanks for your question.
Some phones can take a dip in water and come out relatively unscathed and some phones aren't as lucky. It sounds like this device may have had a component short circuit and possibly damage a part responsible for recognizing touch input. This could also be the result of corrosion on this device.
With the device still powering on and loading to the home screen, it seems like a good candidate for a screen replacement. Any issues with touch input on this device are going to come back to the digitizer. The digitizer, front glass, and LCD of this device are fused, or glued together. So even though it's just the digitizer, the LCD and front glass will be replaced at the same time.
Thanks,
Matthew Jones.
I dropped my Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini in the toilet the other night. I dried it off and put it in a bag of rice overnight. No signs of water damage (sticker on battery is still white, no red/pink dot on inside). It powers on and goes to my home screen, but the touchscreen isn't working? And advice?