HELP! Water Damage? on T720

[Garth]

I got dowsed with water while my phone was in my pocket. It was on at the time, after getting wet, it was off.

I took the battery out, removed all covers and dried it with a paper towel and swabs. I then used a hairdryer on LOW to get all the condensation out of the LCD and screen. I did this for about half an hour, not keeping the dryer on the phone too long in order not to get it too hot. I then let the phone sit in this state for about 24 hrs.

Plugging it in, I got the familiar 'charging' message on the LCD. I let it cycle to a complete charge and then turned it on. The phone boots up fine. Screen works. I've got my phone book and everything. One problem. Phone searches for network and can't find it. "No Service" is then displayed.

Alltel says the phone is toast. I'm finding it hard to believe. Are they right? Is there anything I can do??? My company did not have insurance on this phone so I don't want to have to buy them a new one (I was not at work when I got dowsed with the water -- lake water BTW)

Any help would be appreciated!

[dtab232]

Same problem. Phone is a week old and my son gets pushed in a pool while it was on. Pulled the battery imediately and tried the hairdrier. New battery the next day. No good. Still getting all options but no signal. Today I took it apart and will leave it open, under a light, for a few days. I read alot of advice on what to do, most say dry for days WITHOUT powering. ANY other advice would be appriciated.

[rich6880]

I will share the little that I know, and I am sure others will contribute more information.

One piece of good news is that salt water is much worse for the phone.

The bad news is, if you tried to use the phone and it did not work, you may have tried too soon after wetting it. Usually that does mean the phone is toast.

What you may want to try, is putting in a new battery, let the phone dry a few more days; the hair dryer may also help.

Then try the phone.

If it does not work, bring it back. Answer only what the salesperson asks, but DO NOT LIE. If he says, what happened, I would say it stopped working (not a lie). However, I understand there is a piece in the phone that changes color if it gets wet.

The phone is not covered for water damage, if you are lucky and have total equipment coverage (insurance), you can get another phone (may not even be a refurb, they may not have any yet). I am sorry, I know how bad a person feels when excitement, quickly turns to disappointment.

Most important, do not lie about what happened. Your self respect, is worth more than the few dollars you probably will have to spend.

[Etorres777]

Oil got into one of my parent's Nokia (old brick one). 4 months later it wouldn't turn on anymore. Maybe you can buy one off of eBay if it's toast. It'll be a lot cheaper no?

[smokey_100]

I got dowsed with water while my phone was in my pocket. It was on at the time, after getting wet, it was off.

I took the battery out, removed all covers and dried it with a paper towel and swabs. I then used a hairdryer on LOW to get all the condensation out of the LCD and screen. I did this for about half an hour, not keeping the dryer on the phone too long in order not to get it too hot. I then let the phone sit in this state for about 24 hrs.

Plugging it in, I got the familiar 'charging' message on the LCD. I let it cycle to a complete charge and then turned it on. The phone boots up fine. Screen works. I've got my phone book and everything. One problem. Phone searches for network and can't find it. "No Service" is then displayed.

Alltel says the phone is toast. I'm finding it hard to believe. Are they right? Is there anything I can do??? My company did not have insurance on this phone so I don't want to have to buy them a new one (I was not at work when I got dowsed with the water -- lake water BTW)

Any help would be appreciated!

Garth,

Based on my experience in the business, you're better off to just pony up and buy yourself another phone. Once you get water of any type into a handset its a ticking timebomb. I've seen that sometimes after a phone drys out it may work well for while but eventually its gonna go on you. When you take a phone back corrosion/moisture damage is the first thing that's looked for. Save yourself the aggravation and look for another phone. Full retail is expensive, you may want to check out EBAY for a reasonable replacement. Also, check with your carrier...this is a long shot these days but they might have something refurbished. Good luck.