Mobile phone in the drink

Nautical

Active member
Joined
24 Feb 2005
Messages
3,722
Location
Hamble - SoF
www.outerreefyachts.com
Bought myself one of those fancy camera phone thingys only to drop the pigging thing into the marina yesterday, diver friend recovered it for me yesterday afternoon so its only been in the water for about four hours.

Opened it up and the battery was 'fizzing' believe it or not.

Is it shot, kaput, dead as a dead parrot ? or worth trying to find someone to fix it.

It is divine intervention of course that I dropped it, I was being punished for being a smug B--tard having just moved to a pontoon, brought her alongside ever so gently in a stiff breeze, held her perfectly 12'' off the 'toon' while my crew man gracefully stepped ashore with the warps. A few people were watching as I went for'd to take the lines and I felt ever so professional with that chuffed kinda smirk on my mug, lent forward and plop into the drink it went to a chorus of ' you plonker', what a tit!.
 

tinstaafl

New member
Joined
23 Jun 2004
Messages
296
Location
Leeds, UK, Earth
Visit site
Well, it'll still be under warranty - dry it out and take it back to the shop. Say it just stopped working.

Make sure you practice your "innocent look" before you go.

tinstaafl
 

[2068]

...
Joined
19 Sep 2002
Messages
18,113
Visit site
Proably dead, but if you remove the battery, rinse with fresh water, and dry, then there is a 10% chance of recovery.

Total tally so far: one Nokia 3310 in pocket when falling overboard (battery fizzed and vibrated, phone screamed, then died). Also, don't mention to SWMBO her SonyEriccsson T68i that fell into the wc...

dv.
 

BrendanS

Well-known member
Joined
11 Jun 2002
Messages
64,521
Location
Tesla in Space
Visit site
Have had this twice before (not phone in drink, but waves over windscreen). As Divinell says, take battery out, and flush with fresh water several time (dump phone in water, and replace water several times). Shake out water. Dry in airing cupboard for 2 days.

Wash battery, it's probably buggered and needs replacing, but I got away with it once.

It works sometimes.

If it's shot, it probably isn't repairable, as there are almost no parts in there that don't involve replacing major chunks at huge expense
 

jerryat

Active member
Joined
20 Mar 2004
Messages
3,569
Location
Nr Plymouth
Visit site
My mobile has been underwater (sea) three times in the last 6 years and has stopped working (surprise?!) each time. I drop it into a bucket of fresh water and slosh it around a bit AFTER removal of the battery, then stick it somewhere warm - outside in my case - as we were in the Med (twice) and the Carib the third time.

When I was SURE it was completely dry, I bunged the battery back in, and bingo!! I'm back in business!! Just out of interest, it's a Tri-band Motorola if yours doesn't recover and you need one that doesn't seem averse to the occasional swim!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cheers Jerry
 

BrendanS

Well-known member
Joined
11 Jun 2002
Messages
64,521
Location
Tesla in Space
Visit site
Interesting. Mine that recovered was tri-band motorola. It survived twice! Sony Ericsson tho died a painful death by comparison while on the raggie Cherbourg cruise last year, where it only got a spattering of spray!
 

ccscott49

Active member
Joined
7 Sep 2001
Messages
18,583
Visit site
I've dropped four!! None of them worked again, sent one away under warranty, the opened it, saqid it had got wet, no warranty and I had to pay postage. The onloy phone I know which is splash proof, is the nokia 6350 I think, but no longer made. If anybody knows a water proof/resistant one I dont care if it is brick like, I'm a customer, had all the bag thingys!!
 

hlb

RIP
Joined
16 May 2001
Messages
26,773
Location
Any Pub Lancashire or Wales
Visit site
My best pair of glasses are at the bottom of Alderney harbour if any one would be kind enough to find them, they have been there for about three or four years, number thirteen buoy I think. They were last seen, swimming sort of left and right, just under the bows. But they were then lost to sight because of all the green swerlly stuff at the bottom. Hope you can help!!
 

Ifraser

Member
Joined
10 Feb 2004
Messages
372
Location
Poole Dorset
Visit site
I have a Nokia 5140 which is rubberised and splash proof....not sure it would survive total immersion but it might have a better than average chance......As an aside you can also by a GPS shell for it making it into a hand held GPS which might be handy.....Iain
 

Nautical

Active member
Joined
24 Feb 2005
Messages
3,722
Location
Hamble - SoF
www.outerreefyachts.com
Thanks everyone, I've just been rinsing it in the sink but I think I've left it to late, all the trickery stuff inside has gone black, I am sure it was'nt that colour before, it had lots of shiney bits and a green coloured plasticky thing.

Tried the sim card in the misses phone and ecky thump all my numbers are still there but the rest is poo.

Tomorrow I bury my good friend 'Nokia', may God rest his soul, the poor mite.
 

compie1

Member
Joined
17 Jan 2004
Messages
481
Location
Noto, (SR) Sicilia Italia
Visit site
If you have it ever again take it out of the water imm. open it up as good as you can an keep a torx 0.6 screwdriver in range open up compl. rince with electronic spray not water and let it dry open for 12 hrs then try to put it back together should work again, saved al lot of my cost. phones like that. repairing seems to be more profit. than selling a new one.

or buy a new one !
 

ontheplane

Well-known member
Joined
20 Mar 2004
Messages
1,947
Location
Bristol UK
Visit site
I'm with compie - if you get to it soon enough and get all the salt and water out, then even if it doesn't work again, you should be able to claim on warranty as it won't be obvious what happenned to it.

I once went waterskiing with the key to my 406 in my pocket... by the time I realised it was far far too late....
 

compie1

Member
Joined
17 Jan 2004
Messages
481
Location
Noto, (SR) Sicilia Italia
Visit site
just remember if you have liquid damage manuf. waranty is not valid, they look through magn. glas and they'l see if your phone had liquid damage. even if its a tini wini bit to get yr broken thing back = 15£
 

itsonlymoney

New member
Joined
21 Jun 2003
Messages
4,531
Visit site
Surely your better claiming on the insurance, or have you not got any ? At least you have the sim I dropped my Nokia summat in Winderemere last year and never saw it again, had to ring local dibble to get a crime number before the insurance would deal with it. Two weeks later we had another three dropped in from our pontoon alone.
Ian
 

Nautical

Active member
Joined
24 Feb 2005
Messages
3,722
Location
Hamble - SoF
www.outerreefyachts.com
Would do. only I checked with insurance and I have a £250 excess, phone cost £390 so not really worth it to end up with a claim on my so far spotless policy ( oh pooh, should'nt have said that, probably total the boat tomorrow).

In my experience claiming on insurance is a false economy, the buggers always load you later on to get back what they have paid out, best to leave it for when you need to make a really big claim, even then they'll squirm and wriggle and try and get out if it anyway they can.

Decided now to buy the cheapest nastiest phone you can get, so got a Motorola yesterday for £35, actually looks quite neat and reception etc is just the same. Does exactly what it says on the tin, no more no less. If I drop it again who cares just buy another one.
 
Top