iphone in pool


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Hey everyone,

So to end 2010 on a good note I decided to jump in the pool with my iPhone 3G in my pocket. (sarcasm)

Anyways, I immediately realized and took it out in about 3 seconds tops. Didn't turn it on or anything, just put it out to dry and then hair-dryed it, and then stuck it in a bowl of rice.

It's been in the bowl of rice for about 20 hours, and I took it out about an hour ago and plugged it into a wall charger, pressed the turn-on button, and to my surprise the Apple Logo came up!

(looked like there was some screen damage from a certain angle)

I'm wondering what you'd recommend I do now. I already kind of accepted it was toast yesterday, but this mornings turn of events give me some hope haha.

Advice needed,

Happy New Year,

Medking

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yea I think I'm just going to keep it in rice for a bit. There's an article which then says to connect to PC and do a restore... perhaps I'll try that as well once I'm a bit more confident that it is dry...

On another note, when living in an incredibly humid environment how does moisture NOT form inside of the phone?

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also, what is the warranty on an iphone 3g? is it just 1 year as provided by apple? (and yea I know it doesn't cover water damage but I'm curious for other reasons)

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It's one year standard. Two years with AppleCare. Take it into the Apple store anyway, they might be able to replace it for a fee. If you're lucky, probably free. Don't Have high hopes though.

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yea I think I'm just going to keep it in rice for a bit. There's an article which then says to connect to PC and do a restore... perhaps I'll try that as well once I'm a bit more confident that it is dry...

On another note, when living in an incredibly humid environment how does moisture NOT form inside of the phone?

Because the inside of your phone is generally warmer than the outside air temp.. Moisture forms where it's cooler..

Apple has been good with people I know who have done stupid **** with their iPhones/Pods and replacing them.. It's one of the reasons they score so high in customer service, even if it costs them a bit to give you a new phone, you'll probably come back because of how well you were treated..

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hmm I shall check it out.... luckily in PTY there's a few Mac stores I can go into.

in response to some of the remarks.... I never thought I'd do it either, and then it happened... wasn't alcohol related though, simply a case of not checking my pockets...

It's been way over a year thought since I got it. My contract with O2 started in September 2009.

I'm also guessing AppleCare for Mac doesn't cover iPhones (I remember at one point the AppleCare covered more than just the Mac but I think that was only for screens purchased with the Mac?)

I've heard of Apple giving discounted prices on buying a new handset.

On that note, could I still buy a 3G from Apple? (Obviously I'd want an iPhone 4, but if I can get a cheap 3G then I'd settle...)

Medking

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May i suggest adding sweet & sour sauce for a bit more flavour :p

I lol'ed!

But seriously, put it in rice for a bit longer.. it couldn't do it any harm :p

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UPDATE:

Ok so I've had it in the box of rice for two days (just over) now...

I got home today and blow dried it again, and have now attached it to the computer. Underneath the screen, (from an angle) there is obviously some damage / discolouration of some sort but I think the moisture is gone.

The water indicators definitely have gone pink... no surprises there.

As it's now plugged into the computer, instead of the Apple logo coming up the low battery meter appeared, and it is indicating right now that it's charging.

Fingers crossed it retains some juice and charges, although I'm not getting my hopes up.

Do you think I should keep it in the rice for longer to ensure all the water is out? what about opening it up and blow drying that way?

The last thing I want right now is for it to short-circuit because obviously it hasn't done so yet and there is still some hope haha.

Medking

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Yea!

So one last update for anyone in a similar situation in the future, or just curious.

I blow dried the phone for a good 15 minutes after the initial dive.

I then stuck it in rice for 4 days, taking it out each day to examine it for any visible water, and then blow drying it for about 5-10 minutes.

I took it out and plugged it in to the wall charger, and an Apple logo came up and then faded out. I couldn't get past the boot screen and it looked like a Code 20 error. (which are pretty much impossible to fix)

I left it charging and miraculously when I returned the phone had charged up full and seemed to be working fine. The only apparent damage is water damage to the screen only visible under certain light. The date and time had registered as just a few minutes after I had dropped it in the pool, so I had to reset all of those.

I then proceeded to do a restore via iTunes and now it seems to be working fine.

I might try and sell it on ebay or something, and use proceeds towards an iPhone 4, just in case there's something wrong inside and it dies on me suddenly. But who knows, I'm just glad that I'm not the owner of an iBrick!

Woop.

Thanks for all the advice and the humour haha

Medking

Oh and the usage had registered that the phone had clocked 47,873 hrs. lol

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