[HELP] Dropped my Galaxy S3 in the toilet and now the touch screen won't work!!

[Denise93]

I dropped my Galaxy S3 in the toilet yesterday morning (thank god the water was clean) and i immediately scooped it up and dried it with tissue paper. I even dried it with a hair drier before putting it in a bag of rice. My phone was on when i dropped it and the screen was still on after drying it with tissue paper but the touch screen wasn't working and it switched off a little while after. I took out my battery and SIM card and placed the battery and phone into a bag of rice. I took it out 9 hours later and tried turning on, it could turn on and the touch screen was working but the screen was still a little out of focus and there was a sound that sounded abit like a radio when there isnt reception so i put it back into the rice. That was about 8+pm last night. i took it out again this evening (6pm) and the phone is working fine, but the touch screen isnt working! Nothing happens when i try to swipe it (to use it) but everything looks fine!

Somebody please help me, i've tried everything i've known and i didn't back up my phone!

 

[Golfdriver97]

I dropped my Galaxy S3 in the toilet yesterday morning (thank god the water was clean) and i immediately scooped it up and dried it with tissue paper. I even dried it with a hair drier before putting it in a bag of rice. My phone was on when i dropped it and the screen was still on after drying it with tissue paper but the touch screen wasn't working and it switched off a little while after. I took out my battery and SIM card and placed the battery and phone into a bag of rice. I took it out 9 hours later and tried turning on, it could turn on and the touch screen was working but the screen was still a little out of focus and there was a sound that sounded abit like a radio when there isnt reception so i put it back into the rice. That was about 8+pm last night. i took it out again this evening (6pm) and the phone is working fine, but the touch screen isnt working! Nothing happens when i try to swipe it (to use it) but everything looks fine!

Somebody please help me, i've tried everything i've known and i didn't back up my phone!

Welcome to the forums!
Sorry to hear about your device. You did the right thing by getting it dried right away. However, it is highly possible that the screen is damaged by the water.

 

[chirag05]

Sorry for your child (GSIII). I love my GSIII and can't imagine this thing happened to me. gs3 is real beauty. Next time take care of it and i would suggest you to visit Service Centre if the problem still persists.

Sent from my GSIII

 

[GSDer]

Denise93,
If your phone actually boots up normally the first thing you should do is to try making a backup using the Kies software on your PC, assuming, of course, that there's any information on the phone that you care about. The Kies software will allow you to backup your contacts, pictures/videos, SMS/MMS, call logs, etc.

If that goes well then you may want to put the phone back in rice for another 24-48 hours before trying to use it again. If the screen still doesn't respond to touch then it's time for:
- a replacement if you have insurance
- a repair through Samsung
- replacing the LCD/digitizer if you can find a reputable place (or do it yourself)

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Denise93]

It was actually working fine after i took out the battery and put it back in a few times and now, a day later my screen started flickering and it went black and has like pink stripes on it and i can't use it again! Is it too late to put it back in the rice? The thing is i am currently overseas now studying and there is no way i can fix it with my warranty cause it is restricted to my home country only. If the rice doesnt work and i have to repair it, any ideas how much it will roughly cost? Thank you so much for your reply btw!

 

[GSDer]

Unfortunately it sounds like the screen is now shot. Assuming that you don't have a pattern/PIN/password lock you should still be able to backup your information using Kies.

You may be able to get away with just replacing the LCD/digitizer - I think I've seen someone mention ~$200 for the replacement part, but of course since you're overseas it's hard to say.

You may want to contact Samsung directly to find out about their repair charges and how long it would take. That way you can be sure they'll check out the whole phone to be sure nothing else is damaged.
Edit: http://m.repairsuniverse.com/samsung-galaxy-s3-screen-assembly-replacement-white.html

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[mustafaiqbal25]

is there any special way i should cover my phone with rice, PS is it supposed to be cooked or raw.

 

[AxlMyk]

Raw rice. Wrap the phone in a layer of tissue so the rice dust doesn't get in it.

 

[GSDer]

You want the phone and battery (you can leave the plastic back cover out) to be immersed in the rice in a sealed container. Leave it in for at least 48 hours; longer is better.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM 10.2 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Jon Sloan]

Just raised my s3 from dead after a week!! Thought I had no hope but this is what I did after unknowingly bathing with my s3. Take out and remove battery of course and try rice but I have no idea if rice helped since I didnt turn on to assess damage pre-rice. Post rice the problem was what looks to be common was un-responsive touchscreen. Rice a little longer no help. I kept reading digitizer and figured it was fried but I have old s3 with many issues but touchscreen still worked so I put old motherboard in new phone and touchscreen worked which ruled out digitizer. I have no idea what ended up being the culprit but this is how I fixed it. Gave motherboard a dip in 91% alcohol for hour, no change. Tried 3 hours plus light scrub with soft toothbrush and dryed It off with hair dryer to cool and good as new. Very relieved because so much focus on digitizer I thought I was screwed but I was able to fix it ... but what did I fix?

 

[Robert Zumwalt1]

that was a **** move right there