Phone dropped in water --> vacuum?

[SandersFlor]

Hello

So some time ago I dropped my Moto X 2014 in water. Somehow, water got into the phone without doing to much damage.

Anyway. After drying it, a quick disassembly and blowing some water out using air pressure, I tried starting it up again.

And everything worked! The camera worked, the screen reacted. Even the speakers... After some use it got a little warmer and the phone completely started flipping.

The screen showed deformed images and started glitching. This image I found on the internet somewhat shows what I mean.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/drZc4ZPcuvo/maxresdefault.jpg

Eventually the screen completely turned of and stopped working!

After it had cooled down I was able to recreate the exact same circumstances over.

I even completely wiped my phone to make sure it wasn't a software glitch...

Anyways... Here's my crazy idea.

 

My father has access to a vacuum chamber.

Since the lowering in pressure also lowers the boiling temperature of the water, it will vaporize and the water could flow out. In theory...

Now my question was, what are the extreme circumstances for my smartphone for air pressure. In other words, will it survive this or not?

Could the amoled panel or other components be affected in lasting ways? Are there some things I need to watch?

I tried figuring this out myself, but since information is scarce. I thought it would be safer to ask.

I already pulled out my battery and camera unit to be sure (I know Li-ion batteries can be dangerous and sensitive)

 

I will not insult you if you think it's safe and when I try it out, it breaks.

I am trying this completely at my own risk, knowing that this will totally void my warranty (as did dissassembling my phone and dropping it in water) (warranties on phones suck most of the time).

I want to try alternative methods instead of handing my phone to repair shops, who ask (to my oppinion) way to much money for the repairs (I know parts cost a whole lot of money) (In my country anyway).

 

If you can help me, any information or advise is welcome!

Thanks for your help.

Reds Duty

[Moonzy]

5 minutes ago, SandersFlor said:

 

1) when electronics get wet, remove the battery immediately

2) do not attempt to turn it on even after you have "dried it"

3) a vacuum of a vacuum cleaner probably wont affect the phone much, unless its a strong one then your might have problems

4) alternately, you can place the phone in a bag of pre-cooked rice for the rice to absorb the moisture

 

*) your phone is probably fked the moment you turned it on while its still wet internally

[SandersFlor]

3 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

*) your phone is probably fked the moment you turned it on while its still wet internally

Ye

I thought that too...

But EVERYTHING WORKS everytime I first start it up...

I already put it in rice, I removed the battery as fast as possible...

Thanks for the answer... But then what could be the cause of the phone starting to flip after some time (I have the impression when it gets warmer).

What would you propose

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, SandersFlor said:

Ye

I thought that too...

But EVERYTHING WORKS everytime I first start it up...

I already put it in rice, I removed the battery as fast as possible...

Thanks for the answer... But then what could be the cause of the phone starting to flip after some time (I have the impression when it gets warmer).

What would you propose

water that is shorting out your battery, and as you use your phone the water gets hot and evaporates and condense at elsewhere in your phone thus fking it up

[SandersFlor]

1 minute ago, Moonzy said:

water that is shorting out your battery, and as you use your phone the water gets hot and evaporates and condense at elsewhere in your phone thus fking it up

Again that seems logic, but if it only shorts when it evaporates, and otherwise it still works, isn't there a simple way like a vacuum chamber to get the water restants out and get it back to normal?

What would be the big problems with that.

Also, since the circuit is bare atm, I can see what's happening, and I don't see any form of water evaporation or even corrosion or other water damage...

Also... the phone still reacts when flipping, I still get the buzz signaling my phone is ready to power off when I press the power button...

I just don't get it...

Thanks for your help!

[Moonzy]

Just now, SandersFlor said:

Again that seems logic, but if it only shorts when it evaporates, and otherwise it still works, isn't there a simple way like a vacuum chamber to get the water restants out and get it back to normal?

What would be the big problems with that.

Also, since the circuit is bare atm, I can see what's happening, and I don't see any form of water evaporation or even corrosion or other water damage...

Also... the phone still reacts when flipping, I still get the buzz signaling my phone is ready to power off when I press the power button...

I just don't get it...

Thanks for your help!

vacuum chamber might rekt your phone, especially the LCD panel, if you want to dry it, just use the pack of rice method

problem(s) with vacuum: your phone's LCD might start bursting, your battery might explode, your phone's barometer might stop working, all sort of potential problem

 

your LCD probably got some water in them, or the plug got water in them

or the water shorted out a circuit that provides high voltage to your screen and permanently damaged it

 

electronics sometimes cant resume back to normal because the component is already destroyed by the short, so even if you dry it out, its still broken

 

nonetheless, no harm trying

[DHelios]

Liquid in your electronics may cause issues in three ways (possibly more, so don't quote me on this).

 

It may bridge two components and make power flow where it shouldn't be flowing. Clearing the water will make them not be shorted, and the device will work again. This may be the case if your device works again when it had a chance to dry.

 

It may cause corrosion, which in turn screws up a connection somewhere. This makes no power flow where it should be flowing. This is unlikely to be the case here, as there hasn't been much time for corrosion to set in.

 

It may bridge two components and make power flow where it shouldn't be flowing, causing something to permanently break. No amount of drying will resolve this as whatever was affected, stays broken. This might be the case here.

 

There's some delicate electronics in a phone, and getting the wrong power to the wrong component may damage it in ways that we may not notice right away. Your phone could be working fine until that one function of a damaged chip is called upon, or until a certain temperature is reached that makes something expand or contract to the point where it no longer functions in its damaged state.

 

I think most people who have tried to troubleshoot a PC will agree that just because something still does most of what it's supposed to, or does all it's supposed to most of the time, can still be broken...

[SandersFlor]

11 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

vacuum chamber might rekt your phone, especially the LCD panel, if you want to dry it, just use the pack of rice method

problem(s) with vacuum: your phone's LCD might start bursting, your battery might explode, your phone's barometer might stop working, all sort of potential problem

That was my question. I know there is a chance it will break... But if there's a chance I can fix it on the cheap, I will try. Furthermore, I found this information on an official ebay source --> link

Quote

• Place the phone in a vacuum chamber (found at many high schools and universities) and active the chamber. Typically universities and specific industries will have a vacuum chamber available if you happen to know the right person. Water "boils" at room temperature, given enough time, meaning that it evaporates through bubbles even though it isn't heated. This method should be successful when the vacuum is maintained at room temperature for about 30 minutes. That will dry out parts you can't access as will the tip above regarding a vacuum cleaner if you have no vacuum chamber available.

Also, after some more research, watching youtube videos... I think it should be fine...

I will definitely try this and report back. If my phone completely breaks, this can be a source for other people in the future...

I won't be taking it to the repair shop for a stupid repair like this one. If it breaks, I'll do some more months with my nokia and buy a new phone when one comes out to my liking. (Oneplus 3 maybe)

20 minutes ago, DHelios said:

Liquid in your electronics may cause issues in three ways (possibly more, so don't quote me on this).

 

Thanks for your answer. 

To answer you as good as I can, I will give some more information.

I dropped my phone in a jacuzzi on New Years night, so more than 2 months ago...

It was only in teh water for about 5 seconds, and it worked when I took it out. Stupid as I was, I just put it in a towel when I went to sleep.

The morning after, I dissassembled it, took out the battery and blew out all the water I could with air pressure, possibly blowing the water in deeper I realise now.

Since it always stopped working after some time, I gave up, put it in a closet, and almost forgot I had a smartphone....

Until last week. When my father proposed me this idea after talking to some guys at work. So I began my research, but found no solid answers...

So there has been enough time for corrosion and permanent damage, and it could be one single component that is being called upon. But according to me it's very unlikely, because I've tested EVERYTHING I could think of during the few hours the phone has worked up to now...

 

TL; DR

Even though everyone is saying it's not the best idea to do this, it might be possible and it's my last hope before having to go to the repair center.

I took out my battery and the back camera module.

I am taking the risk, knowing that my warranty is already void and repair shops might not even accept it anymore.

Also by reading some of the super-trustable (sarcasm) of youtube video's, I have become quite curious.

Wish me luck and I will report back as soon as possible!

 

 

Thank you all for your help!

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, SandersFlor said:

 

best of luck

and do report back and quote me on your vacuum chamber results, i would love to be proved wrong

[SandersFlor]

On 3/16/2016 at 6:57 PM, Moonzy said:

best of luck

and do report back and quote me on your vacuum chamber results, i would love to be proved wrong

My phone went in the vacuum chamber wednesday, tomorrow evening I'm getting my phone back and I'll be able to let you know more.

My father received no call of anything exploding, so that's already a good sign I guess :-p ...

[SandersFlor]

21 hours ago, SandersFlor said:

My phone went in the vacuum chamber wednesday, tomorrow evening I'm getting my phone back and I'll be able to let you know more.

My father received no call of anything exploding, so that's already a good sign I guess :-p ...

@Moonzy

@DHelios

So

I finally reassembled my phone, and guess what!

I was able to turn it on! So... The vacuum chamber didn't TOTALLY screw up my phone !

I ran some benchmarks on top of my pc (to get it to warm up), and it didn't crash !!!

It has now been running for about two hours, and it seems to have no problems whatsoever!

The battery is charging (which takes a while). When it's done I'm going to reinstall all of my apps and personalize it again.

 

I guess you'll be happy to know you have been proven wrong (for this instance).

There always remains the chance it will crash after some time, but for now it works!

If it would happen to crash again anyways, I'll let you know!

 

Greetings

Reds Duty

[SandersFlor]

21 hours ago, SandersFlor said:

@Moonzy

@DHelios

So

I finally reassembled my phone, and guess what!

I was able to turn it on! So... The vacuum chamber didn't TOTALLY screw up my phone !

I ran some benchmarks on top of my pc (to get it to warm up), and it didn't crash !!!

It has now been running for about two hours, and it seems to have no problems whatsoever!

The battery is charging (which takes a while). When it's done I'm going to reinstall all of my apps and personalize it again.

 

I guess you'll be happy to know you have been proven wrong (for this instance).

There always remains the chance it will crash after some time, but for now it works!

If it would happen to crash again anyways, I'll let you know!

 

Greetings

Reds Duty

 

On 3/16/2016 at 6:57 PM, Moonzy said:

best of luck

and do report back and quote me on your vacuum chamber results, i would love to be proved wrong

Okay

So... After 14 hours + of working, my phone started acting weird again...

I guess my problems weren't solved at all...

[Moonzy]

5 hours ago, SandersFlor said:

 

Okay

So... After 14 hours + of working, my phone started acting weird again...

I guess my problems weren't solved at all...

i guess corrosion is an issue if your phone have been wet this whole time lol

[SandersFlor]

14 hours ago, Moonzy said:

i guess corrosion is an issue if your phone have been wet this whole time lol

Guess so

[Moonzy]

1 hour ago, SandersFlor said:

Guess so

ah well, worth a shot i guess lol