[ttcole1254]

Hey guys.. Okay so my brother's phone got wet while he was on a trip, and left the battery in it the entire time until he got home (about 2 or 3 days). Anyway, I got the phone to turn on, and works normally through ADB and I can get screenshots of the phone. BUT, the screen does not light up or appear to work whatsoever. When held up to a light, though, you can see the little tv screen animation when you lock and unlock.

What works: Touch, headphone jack, wifi, front buttons, volume buttons, camera and speaker buttons, SD card, power button, accelerometer, GPS, proximity sensor

What doesn't work: Placing/receiving calls (call lost), 3G data (the antenna averages -120 dBm), speaker, camera (cannot connect to camera), LCD screen (i put the screen into my phone, and the backlight worked, but nothing could be seen because mine is the older model.)

When taking it apart, there was a lot of blue-colored residue all over the board underneath the metal shielding. It was around a pool according to him, so it might be chlorine possibly. I doubt it can be saved, but just wondering if anyone would know exactly what has failed.

[LeslieAnn]

Buy a replacement on eBay. Cheapest, fastest and easiest way to fix it.

It could be the backlight, or the board, either will cost more than the phone.

Shouldn't be more than $30

[droidmyme]

Try the rice method. If you dissassemble the parts and let them sit covered in rice for 2 days, the rice will actually absorb excess moisture.

I've seen OVs on Ebay where the mainboard was sparked out, but you could use the screen as a spare. Those are about $15.

[Zhara]

Try the rice method. If you dissassemble the parts and let them sit covered in rice for 2 days, the rice will actually absorb excess moisture.

I've seen OVs on Ebay where the mainboard was sparked out, but you could use the screen as a spare. Those are about $15.

As jacked up as that phone sounds I doubt rice is gonna do any good at this point...

It sounds like some stuff got shorted out from leaving the battery in while it was wet.

[LeslieAnn]

After 3 days, odds are it's pretty dry and should have come back.

The problem changing the board is what if the board is fine and the screen isn't?
If you change the screen, what if the board is bad? Is the risk and hassle worth saving $5 or $10?

You can get a complete working OV for $20-$30 on Ebay. It's not worth the trouble.

[ttcole1254]

Thanks guys for the help. I'm pretty sure the screen is fine because when I take his screen and plug it into my phone, the backlight does work, however you can't see anything because of the difference in screens. His has the hitachi screen while mine has the older one. At this point, he's just going to upgrade to the Optimus Elite. It's already been repaired twice by me, as this is the third time it's had water damage. I was able to fix it the first two times because he gave it to me right after it happened. Guess he wasn't so lucky this time :P For now I have him using a somewhat working also water damaged rumor 2. It was his old phone that I got working after he upgraded, so we use it as a backup phone.

How much better is the Optimus Elite than the OV?

[Zhara]

Third time with water damage?! Methinks he should stay away from water... :what:

Or keep his phone in a Ziploc...lol.

[ttcole1254]

Yeah.. He's destroyed three rumor 2s and one OV.. It's a wonder his iPod Touch still works.. however he doesn't take it out as much as his phone.

[crickie]

My old man's OV fell into a rain puddle and I was able to bring it back to working condition using the "rice method". I took it apart and cleaned all the connections I could using those lens cleaner wipes. Put the whole mess into a zip lock bag of rice for a day. It worked. And it's still running luckily enough! Water can carry a variety of pollutants so that's why I cleaned the sd card, battery & connections. He runs a Sandisk 8G class 6 waterproof sd card. I got it at Best Buys when I got his phone. If you can stand to be without your phone for a few days, try this. If it doesn't work, then it's either Ebay for parts if you're handy. Or Best Buys for another phone if your not! Good Luck!

[crickie]

Thanks guys for the help. I'm pretty sure the screen is fine because when I take his screen and plug it into my phone, the backlight does work, however you can't see anything because of the difference in screens. His has the hitachi screen while mine has the older one. At this point, he's just going to upgrade to the Optimus Elite. It's already been repaired twice by me, as this is the third time it's had water damage. I was able to fix it the first two times because he gave it to me right after it happened. Guess he wasn't so lucky this time :P For now I have him using a somewhat working also water damaged rumor 2. It was his old phone that I got working after he upgraded, so we use it as a backup phone.

How much better is the Optimus Elite than the OV?

There about to release the HTC One V possibly selling for $199. This one may be a better option for you, so research your options. And get a GOOD case. OtterBox makes a really good waterproof one!

[bjzapp]

There about to release the HTC One V possibly selling for $199. This one may be a better option for you, so research your options. And get a GOOD case. OtterBox makes a really good waterproof one!

Or Just carry it around in the above mentioned case & double zip-lock it lol