Drying out my iphone

orgoman

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Aug 1, 2005
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If only there was a twelve step program.....

So my iphone5c got wet last week and stopped working. Not incredibly wet - I was walking in a light rain for about an hour with it in my coat pocket, but didn't notice that the pocket cupped outwards and acted as a funnel for the rain. The phone worked through all this (I was listening to podcasts) but once I reached in and tried to turn it on, blammo. The screen lit up with lines through it, then became a brick.

I've tried everything the last week. Rice for a couple of days. DampRid for about 4 more days. Today I replaced the battery (it was old anyway and wasn't holding a charge well). But I'm getting nothing. No recognition of the charger. No screen lighting up. Nothing.

Any of you tech geniuses have any other suggestions? I've been checking out youtube videos and I draw the line at trying to replace the charger - seems a bit beyond my abilities. I might break down and bring it to the apple store, but I'm pretty sure they are just going to tell me to buy a new one.

Thanks in advance

Orgoman
 
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Papelbon's Poutine

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I can’t help at all with repairing it, but I will say I wouldn’t drop any more money or time into a five year old phone. It will be made obsolete within the next couple software upgrades and you’ll need to buy a new one anyway. Honestly I’d just go to eBay or Gazelle and buy at least a 6/6s.
 

orgoman

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I can’t help at all with repairing it, but I will say I wouldn’t drop any more money or time into a five year old phone. It will be made obsolete within the next couple software upgrades and you’ll need to buy a new one anyway. Honestly I’d just go to eBay or Gazelle and buy at least a 6/6s.
Well, I've only dropped $20 on the battery. And it was fun learning how to do it. But I may consider switching to an android phone.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Others may disagree with me, but yeah if you have a 5c that you haven’t missed being able to use in over a week (in a ‘I need my cell phone’ type of way, not ‘gee it’d be nice to have for podcasts, but I can get by without it’) and you don’t care about switching ecosystems, then switching to android is definitely your heaped option. I just wouldn’t pay anyone to fix it and wouldn’t waste the time or money trying to replace the charger, because it will essentially be a brick relatively shortly. I just think it’s probably time to say goodbye to it one way or the other.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)
I wouldn't spend a penny more fixing a 5c. Point of reference: we just got my MiL a NiB iPhone SE for $150. IIRC an iPhone6 would have been $200

If you don't mind going over to Android, Amazon Warehouse is taking another 20% off select Androids this week. (unfortunately, good deals on iPhones are VERY rare in the Warehouse)

BTW, who's your carrier? I've seen some decent prices on past gen new and refurb iPhones at a few carriers.
 

orgoman

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I wouldn't spend a penny more fixing a 5c. Point of reference: we just got my MiL a NiB iPhone SE for $150. IIRC an iPhone6 would have been $200

If you don't mind going over to Android, Amazon Warehouse is taking another 20% off select Androids this week. (unfortunately, good deals on iPhones are VERY rare in the Warehouse)

BTW, who's your carrier? I've seen some decent prices on past gen new and refurb iPhones at a few carriers.
I use Ting. I use my phone extensively for podcasts and COC, but not much else. So as long as I do all that connected to wifi, it ends up being a great deal. I average about $20/month for my bill. That's one of the reasons I'm trying to fix this phone - I really have no need for anything more complicated and I'd like to save the money. But it looks like I'm just about out of ideas for reviving this phone.
 

SinesPointToYes

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Last time we had this issue we went to Staples. They have a vacuum oven that they use for this. You go there, give them your phone, sign a document that says that if this works you will pay them $X, come back in 30 minutes. It didn't work for my wife's phone, do it didn't cost us anything. They only charge you if it works.

Online it looks like they will charge $70 for the service... so not sure if it's worth it for the 5c. If I remember correctly, they would have only charged us $40 for my wife's phone. I think there is some wiggle room with employee discretion.

If you have a staples near you, probably worth stopping by and see how much it costs. Doesn't cost a dime if it doesn't work.
 

orgoman

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Last time we had this issue we went to Staples. They have a vacuum oven that they use for this. You go there, give them your phone, sign a document that says that if this works you will pay them $X, come back in 30 minutes. It didn't work for my wife's phone, do it didn't cost us anything. They only charge you if it works.

Online it looks like they will charge $70 for the service... so not sure if it's worth it for the 5c. If I remember correctly, they would have only charged us $40 for my wife's phone. I think there is some wiggle room with employee discretion.

If you have a staples near you, probably worth stopping by and see how much it costs. Doesn't cost a dime if it doesn't work.
Well, given the fact that I've used rice/dessicant for almost a week now, including a day with the phone opened - so it will dry more effectively, I don't think any more drying is going to work. I bet I fried some internal component.
 

orgoman

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So - update. I went to Staples to check out that option. You were correct - $70 if it works, free if it doesn't. I passed.

So now I'm looking at new phones. For convenience, it would be nice to stick with apple, but the prices compared to android are insane. If I did buy an iPhone, i'd probably go with the 6 or 6s. Is there really any use to buying an earlier model? I don't use siri. I use the phone for calls, podcasts, COC and a few other time-wasters, and a little web-surfing. I got by with the 5 gig iPhone 5c just fine, since I have no music on it, and very few photos. I'm having a hard time justifying dropping $400-$500 on that. What do you really get with the newer phones?
 

dbn

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This 4S user is feeling old.

I wouldn't spend a penny more fixing a 5c. Point of reference: we just got my MiL a NiB iPhone SE for $150. IIRC an iPhone6 would have been $200

If you don't mind going over to Android, Amazon Warehouse is taking another 20% off select Androids this week. (unfortunately, good deals on iPhones are VERY rare in the Warehouse)

BTW, who's your carrier? I've seen some decent prices on past gen new and refurb iPhones at a few carriers.
I can really move up 2 levels for only $200? How? On the Apple site it's $450.
 

mauf

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So - update. I went to Staples to check out that option. You were correct - $70 if it works, free if it doesn't. I passed.

So now I'm looking at new phones. For convenience, it would be nice to stick with apple, but the prices compared to android are insane. If I did buy an iPhone, i'd probably go with the 6 or 6s. Is there really any use to buying an earlier model? I don't use siri. I use the phone for calls, podcasts, COC and a few other time-wasters, and a little web-surfing. I got by with the 5 gig iPhone 5c just fine, since I have no music on it, and very few photos. I'm having a hard time justifying dropping $400-$500 on that. What do you really get with the newer phones?
The chart in this article should be part of your consideration.

https://www.statista.com/chart/5824/ios-iphone-compatibility/

Others may have a more informed opinion than mine, but it seems to me that the 6 or 6S is the sweet spot for keeping cost down without ending up with an unsupported device a year from now. (Apple will probably drop support for the 5S the next time they do a major upgrade.)
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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This 4S user is feeling old.



I can really move up 2 levels for only $200? How? On the Apple site it's $450.
One was TotalWireless. Thought I saw it someplace else as well, tho I can't recall where (chance it was some other MVNO).

As to what Mauf said: I wouldn't go below a 6s either, tho cost might limit a buyer to a 6 (unless it's used just as a glorified iPod). A new 7 is gonna run $550 minimum, might luck out and find one for $500.

EDIT: I just looked around. I guess $200 for a new 6 is a good buy. TotalWireless does have a great price on a phone from time to time (I forget which model of Samsung I saw on TW a couple months back, well below the going price everywhere else), but they won't unlock it until it's been activated on TW for 12 months. Technically that means it's subsidized, but TW's plans aren't all that expensive to begin with (VZW towers), so they don't exactly make it all back on their monthly bill.
 
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ElcaballitoMVP

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I bought a refurbished 6s off of Ebay back when they had a site-wide 20% off. Cost me about $120 and the phone has been working great since I got it. There are a few scratches around the top/bottom of the phone, but the screen is perfect/battery life is good. Or pay a little more to get the 6s plus and step up your CoC gaming! We're getting our asses kicked in this war. Need you back, orgo!
 

glasspusher

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This 4S user is feeling old.
I can really move up 2 levels for only $200? How? On the Apple site it's $450.
The iphone 4 was one of the best designs apple ever made. The iphone 5 is a close second. I switched from my 5 year old 5 to an iphone SE (same form factor) last summer. I bought it unlocked. Fuck AT&T.
 

orgoman

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So I broke down and bought a refurbished 6s on eBay. It should be here by Monday - we will see how it works out. Thanks for all the advice! As always, Sosh rules
 

Bowhemian

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So I broke down and bought a refurbished 6s on eBay. It should be here by Monday - we will see how it works out. Thanks for all the advice! As always, Sosh rules
You made the right call. After you get your new phone up and running, it's time to work some science experiments on the old phone. See if you can get that bad boy dried up and turned on.
 

orgoman

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You made the right call. After you get your new phone up and running, it's time to work some science experiments on the old phone. See if you can get that bad boy dried up and turned on.
There is one experiment that I want to do. One video on youtube says that the problem might be residual salts left behind by the evaporating water. So I want to immerse the phone in isopropyl alcohol to try and dissolve those. But I need to get my hands on anhydrous isopropyl alcohol - not the 50% or 91% sold in drug stores. When I get the results, I'll report back.

I should mention that this does tend to screw up the screen a bit, so I plan on detaching the screen and removing the battery first.
 

Reverend

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I wish you luck, but one way or another, I congratulate you on the liberation one experiences from opening up their own phone and realizing that changing the battery is bullshit easy.

I'm totally serious when I say I commend your pioneering spirit in doing so. And for everyone else: Yeah, you can replace your iPhone battery for like twenty bucks.
 

orgoman

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I wish you luck, but one way or another, I congratulate you on the liberation one experiences from opening up their own phone and realizing that changing the battery is bullshit easy.

I'm totally serious when I say I commend your pioneering spirit in doing so. And for everyone else: Yeah, you can replace your iPhone battery for like twenty bucks.
Thanks Rev. It was very easy and pretty cool to see the inside of the phone. For those of you with a touch of handiness and a do-it-yourself bent, I can't recommend youtube videos enough. It removed the fear of replacing the battery. Now I'm going to try some general maintenance on my car. Flushing the radiator is one of those things I'm going to try once the weather gets a bit better around here.
 

Reverend

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Thanks Rev. It was very easy and pretty cool to see the inside of the phone. For those of you with a touch of handiness and a do-it-yourself bent, I can't recommend youtube videos enough. It removed the fear of replacing the battery. Now I'm going to try some general maintenance on my car. Flushing the radiator is one of those things I'm going to try once the weather gets a bit better around here.
I'm doubling down on @orgoman 's doubling down--if you're concerned, wait until something breaks and try it on, like, a phone (or other thing) and it's just, yeah, very satisfying somehow. Plus it saves a ton of money.

I often wonder how many people know that many keyless car entry fobs have a secret built in physical key for the door in case the fob fails.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Very true but sometimes those are just valet keys so you can lock the glove compartment. My car doesn’t even have a mechanical key slot on the handle or dash for the ignition. If my key fob dies, it actually has an rfid chip in it and you bump the handle button with it to unlock and then push the ignition button with the end of the fob to start it.
 

orgoman

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Very true but sometimes those are just valet keys so you can lock the glove compartment. My car doesn’t even have a mechanical key slot on the handle or dash for the ignition. If my key fob dies, it actually has an rfid chip in it and you bump the handle button with it to unlock and then push the ignition button with the end of the fob to start it.
Along the same lines - a couple of months ago my mother's key fob stopped working. The dealership wanted about $50 to replace the battery.

Youtube video + $5 battery from Walmart = me looking like an awesome son.

The lesson as always - all dealership maintenance departments are scams designed to rip you off.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Along the same lines - a couple of months ago my mother's key fob stopped working. The dealership wanted about $50 to replace the battery.

Youtube video + $5 battery from Walmart = me looking like an awesome son.
It is sick how many things I've diagnosed correctly, then repaired/replaced, thanks to youtube, right down to knowing ahead of time the exact size of the sockets or torx bits you need, how many screws need to be removed, areas of caution, etc.
 

JoePoulson

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Thanks Rev. It was very easy and pretty cool to see the inside of the phone. For those of you with a touch of handiness and a do-it-yourself bent, I can't recommend youtube videos enough. It removed the fear of replacing the battery. Now I'm going to try some general maintenance on my car. Flushing the radiator is one of those things I'm going to try once the weather gets a bit better around here.
Years ago I changed the front brakes on my Tacoma by using only YT videos. It was time, they were noisy and I didn't want to pay someone at the time so I went for it. It was incredibly easy albeit time consuming as it was my first brake job. I was a bit nervous at first but once I got going I realized the video was 100% accurate and thorough and there was nothing to worry about. Confidence, preparation and YT videos are about all that's needed for SO many of our repair needs.
 

orgoman

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Years ago I changed the front brakes on my Tacoma by using only YT videos. It was time, they were noisy and I didn't want to pay someone at the time so I went for it. It was incredibly easy albeit time consuming as it was my first brake job. I was a bit nervous at first but once I got going I realized the video was 100% accurate and thorough and there was nothing to worry about. Confidence, preparation and YT videos are about all that's needed for SO many of our repair needs.
Poulson - I had watched youtube videos for replacing the brakes on my car - after I had them done in the shop - and I wasn't sure if I could do them myself. Nice to hear that someone else took the plunge.

Along those lines, the thing that has kept me from doing more maintenance on my car is getting underneath it. What have you used to lift up tour car? I'm close to taking the plunge and buying a jack and jack stands from Walmart, but I haven't been sure what I need. I figure that two stands - just to prop up the front of the car - is enough. That with two good size rocks under the back wheels.

What have you done?
 

orgoman

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I'm going to start a new thread on this topic in TBLTS - all things youtube
 

Marceline

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Poulson - I had watched youtube videos for replacing the brakes on my car - after I had them done in the shop - and I wasn't sure if I could do them myself. Nice to hear that someone else took the plunge.

Along those lines, the thing that has kept me from doing more maintenance on my car is getting underneath it. What have you used to lift up tour car? I'm close to taking the plunge and buying a jack and jack stands from Walmart, but I haven't been sure what I need. I figure that two stands - just to prop up the front of the car - is enough. That with two good size rocks under the back wheels.

What have you done?
I bought these plastic ramps (can't remember what they were called, but auto zone had them) - you basically just drive the front end of the car up the ramps and you're good to go. Much easier than using a jack.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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It is sick how many things I've diagnosed correctly, then repaired/replaced, thanks to youtube, right down to knowing ahead of time the exact size of the sockets or torx bits you need, how many screws need to be removed, areas of caution, etc.
Yep. About six or seven years ago, I moved back to NH (after living in DC for 14 years) and took about six months off before looking for work or a place; I just took time to be back near my family and see them on a daily basis. Dad and I did all kinds of stuff - we replaced the brakes and shocks on my QX4, replaced the catalytic converter, changed the oil and did a few things on his car as well - neither of us really knew shit about modern cars; we also played around with making our own gin, rodent proofed his garden, fixed a crack in his gunite pool, replaced the cracked screen on my iPhone and a few other things, all pretty much based off youtube videos. It was a lot of fun and certainly rewarding when finished.

I bought these plastic ramps (can't remember what they were called, but auto zone had them) - you basically just drive the front end of the car up the ramps and you're good to go. Much easier than using a jack.
These would have been helpful; we used a hydraulic floor jack and we could have used a little more room under there.

The other thing to keep in mind is most Auto Zones will let you borrow or rent tools to perform these repairs, so you don't need to go buy them. If you need some specific kind of mechanic's tool that you'd never use otherwise, you can still do it without wasting the money you're saving.
 

Seven Costanza

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I wish you luck, but one way or another, I congratulate you on the liberation one experiences from opening up their own phone and realizing that changing the battery is bullshit easy.

I'm totally serious when I say I commend your pioneering spirit in doing so. And for everyone else: Yeah, you can replace your iPhone battery for like twenty bucks.
This is 100% true but folks should know- you crack that phone yourself, Apple will never look at it again. Once you open it up, it's you or a third party shop for repairs from there on out. (which is totally fine, just want people to be aware). iFixit is your friend!
 

Reverend

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This is 100% true but folks should know- you crack that phone yourself, Apple will never look at it again. Once you open it up, it's you or a third party shop for repairs from there on out. (which is totally fine, just want people to be aware). iFixit is your friend!
Word--and a good caveat.

Of course, for some disclosure, 7 is about eleventy billion times more likely to have a newer model phone still under warranty than I am. ;)
 

orgoman

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This is 100% true but folks should know- you crack that phone yourself, Apple will never look at it again. Once you open it up, it's you or a third party shop for repairs from there on out. (which is totally fine, just want people to be aware). iFixit is your friend!
Seven - just out of curiosity, do you have any idea how apple determines if you have opened your iPhone? I mean, other than asking you? When I opened mine, I could identify the water-exposure strip, but I didn't see anything else that would indicate the phone had been opened.

And I'm with the good Reverend - I ain't rich enough to be buying a new iPhone any time soon, so voiding the warranty has no effect on me.
 

SumnerH

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This is 100% true but folks should know- you crack that phone yourself, Apple will never look at it again. Once you open it up, it's you or a third party shop for repairs from there on out. (which is totally fine, just want people to be aware). iFixit is your friend!
It's not totally fine, and if they refuse to honor the warranty because of this you should definitely contact the FTC. The FTC has been making a particular point about this in recent months. It's a Magnuson-Moss violation not to allow the consumer to replace a battery or other component with a third-party part.

As that link says, the following sorts of warranty terms are not allowable (unless you've gotten a public-interest waiver from the FTC under Magnuson-Moss, which Apple hasn't):

  • The use of [company name] parts is required to keep your . . . manufacturer’s warranties and any extended warranties intact.
  • This warranty shall not apply if this product . . . is used with products not sold or licensed by [company name].
  • This warranty does not apply if this product . . . has had the warranty seal on the [product] altered, defaced, or removed.
 

Seven Costanza

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Of course, for some disclosure, 7 is about eleventy billion times more likely to have a newer model phone still under warranty than I am. ;)
This is (unfortunately) not false.

Seven - just out of curiosity, do you have any idea how apple determines if you have opened your iPhone? I mean, other than asking you? When I opened mine, I could identify the water-exposure strip, but I didn't see anything else that would indicate the phone had been opened.
If you were to bring that phone into a store now after you've replaced the battery- they would know. I'm guessing you probably replaced with a third party battery rather than a first party one, the battery pull strips (if replaced) weren't laid on to factory specs, etc.... They just know. I'm just a guy with an odd hobby so take this with a grain of salt- but certainly plausible that someone may be able to crack it and replace something with first party parts without Apple knowing it- I doubt it though.

It's not totally fine, and if they refuse to honor the warranty because of this you should definitely contact the FTC. The FTC has been making a particular point about this in recent months. It's a Magnuson-Moss violation not to allow the consumer to replace a battery or other component with a third-party part.
I meant the user should feel fine about repairing on their own or going the third party route- whoops! With you there, I'm zero fan of what Apple does with their products vis a vis repair- iFixit and the EFF bang on the right to repair pretty frequently. Unfortunately it can get worse- take a gander at what John Deere has been doing in this regard.