HELP!! My Droid is water-damaged!!

[akleopard]

Very unfortunate and I know it is my fault, but any advice would help at this point. I was on a kayaking trip yesterday and had my Droid inside my backup. All was good up until the point that I was getting off my kayak to go back home. Right when I stepped off, a big wave soaked my backup and when I looked inside immediately, my Droid was drenched with water (along with my camera, which is also dead).

I hadn't done any research on this before, so I did what everyone here is going to rip me for- I tried to turn the phone on to see if it was still working. Well, to keep things short, it didn't.

I got back from my trip today, did some research, figured out trying to turn the phone on was a stupid idea, and now I have my phone and camera sitting inside a bag of rice.

I haven't tried to turn it on since yesterday, but chances are it's fried. I would just like to ask for any last bit of advice you guys have on what I should do. Try turning it on tonight? Tomorrow? In 2 days? What should I tell Verizon? Be straight up or leave out the details?

And also one last question: the water damage dot next to the battery looks the same as it did when I got the phone(red pluses). Does it actually change if the phone is water damaged?

Thanks in advance for everything.

 

[LtKen]

No no no no. If the phone wasnt dead when it went into the water, turning it on while it might still be wet will make it dead.

Take it apart as best you can (battery, SD card) and put a hair dryer on it in a sunny windowsill for at least 3 days.

 

[hookerdj]

Donottry and turn it on take
batteryout and letdryfora coupledays

 

[ABRoark]

I don't know about the Droid's water detection sticker. But in my old phone, it turned completely red. It also tinted the water red and stained the stickers on the battery and on the inside of the hardware.

 

[ABRoark]

And what's a backup?

 

[akleopard]

Well, I only have the extended warranty, which does not cover water damage. Would Verizon charge me a full $500 for a replacement?

 

[Iryman]

one thing that use to work and i imagine still does is report it that it was stolen. You have to file a report with the police station and then you can claim it on your warranty. They will need some info off of the report though. that is one option.

 

[akleopard]

Yea, I know a lot of people consider the theft option, but I only have the extended warranty, which only replaces the phone if there is a manufacturer's defect. Everything else including accidents, abuse, theft, etc, are all not covered by the warranty

 

[hookerdj]

its just a matter of waiting it out for a coupe days dont get antsy and try it make sure the soonest you try it no matter what else you do is at least three days maybe 4?

 

[hookerdj]

if you look on youtube theres quite a bit of info there on this subject

 

[vedwed]

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-faq/8539-how-deal-droid-thats-gotten-wet-right-way.html
READ HERE ^

 

[keiichi25]

As many have said here... Do not turn it on.

The next thing you should do is look very carefully on the battery and in the phone.

The reason I say this is one of the first things the Verizon and Warranty people ask before they replace any phone is to see a particular sticker on the phone. Usually serious water damage will make the stick show a solid RED versus a white/red mark on the sticker. If you see a solid red sticker... There is a likely chance the damage is done and you might not have much choice.

Definitely air out the phone as much as you can. Hopefully, you can get all the moisture out of it, as some have stated, 3 days, maybe four days, but the important thing is to make sure as much moisture is out.

I would also recommend pulling the SD card out of the phone. That part, you should be able to clean off and using an Micro-SD adapter, you should be able to hook it to your computer and see if the data is there or if it is fried cause the phone was technically 'on' while in your pack that got wet. It is a sure fire way to at least check a few things without actually compromising the phone before you clear it of all water.

 

[jbwiden]

Was it salt or fresh water?

 

[Sam]

Also srearch for the "pilot light" method of drying out electronics. Leave it in the bag of rice for at least three days before you do anything else though.

 

[HermitObserver]

Well, if the sticker still has pluses, they'll replace it as a defect. It's a little deceitful because we all know it wasn't a defect, but sometimes you gotta' do what ya' gotta' do. If it never turns on, I suggest shooting for a warranty replacement.