Moto X Shorted Out?

[Oranges]

So today I dropped my 10-month old Moto X into my toilet (don't ask how), but I immediately removed the phone from the toilet, and dried it off. About half an hour later I put it in a bag of rice, and after 5 hours of letting it sit I decided to see if I could plug it in. I have no idea if that was a really bad idea or not, but from what my friends told me, I shorted out my phone. They say this because when I plug it in, it will charge for about 10 seconds, then stop charging for 10 seconds, and repeat continuously. I really don't have the money to replace the phone, and I don't have phone insurance, so it'd be great if somebody could tell me that my phone still works, and that it just needs to sit in rice for a few days. But if that is not true, please inform me so I can plan on how to get the money for a replacement. All help is appreciated!

[Taswell]

you did worst thing you could possibly do....plug it in

 

 

 

i would've left it in the rice for 24 hours since its a "sealed" (not nice to open) phone or if i could find a guide take the thing apart and air dry it 

 

its probably dead, there's a pretty good chance.

[W-L]

So today I dropped my 10-month old Moto X into my toilet (don't ask how), but I immediately removed the phone from the toilet, and dried it off. About half an hour later I put it in a bag of rice, and after 5 hours of letting it sit I decided to see if I could plug it in. I have no idea if that was a really bad idea or not, but from what my friends told me, I shorted out my phone. They say this because when I plug it in, it will charge for about 10 seconds, then stop charging for 10 seconds, and repeat continuously. I really don't have the money to replace the phone, and I don't have phone insurance, so it'd be great if somebody could tell me that my phone still works, and that it just needs to sit in rice for a few days. But if that is not true, please inform me so I can plan on how to get the money for a replacement. All help is appreciated!

 

It could have died by plugging it in. Let it dry for a day or two first and see what happens if it's not working then you can try a bath of isopropyl alcohol to clean any contaminates on the PCB or surfaces to see if it was shorted out or displace the rest of the water.. 

[Oranges]

It could have died by plugging it in. Let it dry for a day or two first and see what happens if it's not working then you can try a bath of isopropyl alcohol to clean any contaminates on the PCB or surfaces to see if it was shorted out or displace the rest of the water.. 

 

So after 2 days, I soak it in alcohol? Would I have to let it sit in rice again?

[Oranges]

you did worst thing you could possibly do....plug it in

 

 

 

i would've left it in the rice for 24 hours since its a "sealed" (not nice to open) phone or if i could find a guide take the thing apart and air dry it 

 

its probably dead, there's a pretty good chance.

 

Well it wasn't until my friends told me that doing that was a bad idea, since I know almost nothing about phones and how long it takes rice to dry them. The only place water got into my phone were through the power port and a little in the speaker, which came out when I dried the back (after taking it out of the case)

[W-L]

So after 2 days, I soak it in alcohol? Would I have to let it sit in rice again?

 

For isopropyl alcohol it's non-conductive and evaporates very quick so I would soak it for about 10 mins but after looking at the phone it looks like it uses adhesive to hold on the back cover which can dissolve or loose it's stickiness.

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fidHKn-J-0M-

 

If you do soak it let it dry for a few hours and see if it will work then, if not then I think you might be out of luck since the alcohol bath is really the last thing you can do.

[Oranges]

For isopropyl alcohol it's non-conductive and evaporates very quick so I would soak it for about 10 mins but after looking at the phone it looks like it uses adhesive to hold on the back cover which can dissolve or loose it's stickiness.

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fidHKn-J-0M-

 

If you do soak it let it dry for a few hours and see if it will work then, if not then I think you might be out of luck since the alcohol bath is really the last thing you can do.

 

I don't really care if the back comes off, since I always have a case on it. And if that doesn't work, should I look into buying a dirt cheap used phone to hold me over until my upgrade?

[W-L]

I don't really care if the back comes off, since I always have a case on it. And if that doesn't work, should I look into buying a dirt cheap used phone to hold me over until my upgrade?

 

I'd let it sit for another night in the rice to see if it works in the morning but if it doesn't then try the isopropyl alcohol bath as a last resort.

 

For the phone if you need a replacement you can hit up local sellers to see if they have a deal on phones or need to sell theirs, it just depends on your budget and how long until your upgrade.

[Oranges]

I'd let it sit for another night in the rice to see if it works in the morning but if it doesn't then try the isopropyl alcohol bath as a last resort.

 

For the phone if you need a replacement you can hit up local sellers to see if they have a deal on phones or need to sell theirs, it just depends on your budget and how long until your upgrade.

 

My budget is at most $150, and my upgrade is 14 months away

[EpicGeekonFire]

My budget is at most $150, and my upgrade is 14 months away

 

You can buy a used phone with a clean IMEI off of eBay. A Galaxy s4 maybe?

 

I'd say its probably dead. In the world of phone repair, the ones that make it as water damaged are the ones that were left in rice for like a week. \

[Oranges]

you did worst thing you could possibly do....plug it in

 

 

 

i would've left it in the rice for 24 hours since its a "sealed" (not nice to open) phone or if i could find a guide take the thing apart and air dry it 

 

its probably dead, there's a pretty good chance.

It could have died by plugging it in. Let it dry for a day or two first and see what happens if it's not working then you can try a bath of isopropyl alcohol to clean any contaminates on the PCB or surfaces to see if it was shorted out or displace the rest of the water.. 

You can buy a used phone with a clean IMEI off of eBay. A Galaxy s4 maybe?

 

I'd say its probably dead. In the world of phone repair, the ones that make it as water damaged are the ones that were left in rice for like a week. \

 

Thanks for the help. Looks like that's the last time I use a phone on the toilet

[EpicGeekonFire]

Thanks for the help. Looks like that's the last time I use a phone on the toilet

 

Just a tip, someone out there might give you like $35 bucks for it. That can increase your budget enough to get like a Nexus 5 used. 

[Oranges]

Just a tip, someone out there might give you like $35 bucks for it. That can increase your budget enough to get like a Nexus 5 used. 

 

I have verizon, so sadly I can't get a glorious Nexus 5. I found a $65 droid razr maxx, so I might end up buying that

[Oranges]

I'd let it sit for another night in the rice to see if it works in the morning but if it doesn't then try the isopropyl alcohol bath as a last resort.

 

For the phone if you need a replacement you can hit up local sellers to see if they have a deal on phones or need to sell theirs, it just depends on your budget and how long until your upgrade.

 

So I decided not to soak it, but instead I removed the back cover. Should I just replace the battery, or would there be other parts that were damaged? No water got on the inside of the phone, so I think I only shorted out the battery

[W-L]

So I decided not to soak it, but instead I removed the back cover. Should I just replace the battery, or would there be other parts that were damaged? No water got on the inside of the phone, so I think I only shorted out the battery

 

I'd test the battery with a multimeter to see if it's giving the correct voltages and give it a test, sometimes the battery dies or a component can short out on the PCB inside the phone so it's hard to say what exactly.

[Oranges]

I'd test the battery with a multimeter to see if it's giving the correct voltages and give it a test, sometimes the battery dies or a component can short out on the PCB inside the phone so it's hard to say what exactly.

 

 

Would I need an analog or digital multimeter? And if the battery is showing that it's all fine, would that mean the PCB is the problem?

[W-L]

Would I need an analog or digital multimeter? And if the battery is showing that it's all fine, would that mean the PCB is the problem?

 

It's just be a good indicator that the battery is most likely not damaged by the water but it's never easy to tell until a load is applied to it. 

 

For a multimeter is doesn't have to be anything fancy as long as you can get a voltage reading and one thing never short out the battery, bad things happen.