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I have a phone that fell in the toilet but I don’t know if its fixable or not. It wont turn back on. Update (12/24/2018) i didnt turn it turn it off. it shut off by itself. i dont have any rice. Update (12/24/2018) The phone says caution: don’t remove battery. Voids warranty and could result in injury.
Hi @natbaum1 , As you know water and electronics and electricity are not a good mix. The impurities in the water causes corrosion and provides circuit paths for the electricity which were not in the phone’s operating design and could damage the components. First do not turn on your phone and then you need to remove the battery as soon as possible from the phone to minimize further damage.’’ Then you need to dis-assemble the rest of the phone and clean all the affected parts using Isopropyl Alcohol 90%+ (available from electronics parts stores) to remove all traces of corrosion and water. Do not use “rubbing alcohol” as in some cases this is only 70% IPA or less, can contain scents and is not as effective. If you do check the label to verify the amount of IPA Here is a link that describes the process. Electronics Water Damage As always with electronics, especially surface mounted PCBs be gentle when handling and especially when brushing away the corrosion. You do not want to remove any components from the board. Hopefully after you have done all this the phone might possibly work correctly again. Here is a link to the ifixit guide(s) for repairing your phone. HTC One (M7) Repair If this process seems too daunting, take your phone to a reputable, professional phone repair service, experienced in water damage repair and ask for a quote for a repair. If you decide to do this, do it sooner than later.
The worst thing you can do to a device that’s been in water is to try and turn it on without it drying out. I’m guessing your phone is not one that’s designed to be waterproof. Or as waterproof as it can be that is. You can try putting it in a bag of rice to see if you can draw out the water from the phone. I would keep it in the rice for a few days. If that doesn’t work then your only other option would probably be to disassemble the phone and clean up any corrosion that may be on the logic board as this will cause the phone not to work. Corrosion occurs because of the water. If you are not comfortable taking your phone apart then I suggest taking it to a local repair shop to see if they can help you out.
