Iphone 4 Water damage...now showing "Temperature" screen

[Moeblacksmith]

Recently, I had tripped into a pool (don't ask), and unfortunately my iPhone 4 was in my pocket at the time... The day after it wasn't turning on so I put it in rice and on day 2 it did turn on and it was seemed like there was still water showing under the screen so I turned it off and put it back in the rice... Now today, day 4, it seems as if the phone is free of pretty much all the water but is still showing me the Temperature screen like it did on day two... And the screen also dims out after about 5 seconds until I press the home button. Can anybody help me please????

[DevouredDreams]

prob flooded the sensors..

[Moeblacksmith]

prob flooded the sensors..

But what can I do about that?

[thazsar]

I thought you had to do the rice thing for a week...could be wrong but I thought i read that was safest. That's a long time to go without ur iPhone!

[i.Annie]

You can try getting 100% iso alcohol (or as close to, but nothing under 95% to be very safe) and submerging your phone in it for about 15 min. Then set it back in the rice for a night or two. The alcohol won't hurt the phone as long as it's close to 100% (basically the other portions if it isn't 100% is water so you don't want more than a few % of water in that alcohol). It will wash out any left over minerals that the pool water could've left in the phone's crevices that could potentially be causing those problems.

[thazsar]

Nice tip! Never thought of that but it makes total sense!

[i.Annie]

It works great too. Did it myself. I was desperate lol, that's how I found out about iso alcohol and phones

[thazsar]

Sweet! A coworker of mine just water damaged her ip4 and she did the rice thing for 48 hours but when she turned it on, it worked for a few minutes and then went totally black! Hasn't worked since. I'll tell her about the alcohol trick!

[StealthBravo]

alcohol works quite well

[i.Annie]

Yes, do so

I'd recommend after doing the alcohol thing to leave the phone in rice for at least 3-5 days. I left mine in for 7 just for good measure and the phone was almost 100% recovered.

Sometimes a couple days isn't long enough. I'd also recommend silica gel (that's what I used) if possible. It has much better moisture absorbent power than rice. You can find it in an arts and crafts store. But rice will work too, silica gel just gets it done faster. I've seen people have their phones in rice for 3 weeks before it's recovered. I only had mine in silica gel for one week.

[thazsar]

Interesting...I'll let her know! She got a replacement but would like to get her old one up and running so we'll see. Thanx!

[raduga]

What I've done with similar electronics (never watered an iPhone yet)
if they're completely soaked, is

* first: rinse with distilled water (RO *without added minerals*) to try to flush out any trapped water + salts. Water alone isn't going to do that much harm, but tapwater (poolwater, etc) with the usual collection of dissolved junk will fry your gear.

* second: leave it in a space with good air circulation, AND turn on a fan, and keep it running for a couple days. Keep air moving over the device and eventually all the water should get pulled off. It might be slower than rice.

* third: after 3-4 days of this, try powering it on. Whether it worked or not, put it back under the fan and keep it there for another day or two.

If after a week of good airflow it still won't turn on, then it may be time to go shopping for a replacement
_____________

Rice: probably as good or better than a fan. You may want to change the rice daily. Silica gel is probably even better. If you can't find a craft/hobby store, you may want to collect those little "DO NOT EAT" packets you find in packaging with new electronic devices.

Power: if it has a removable battery (iPhones don't, LOL) pulling that out should be done ASAP after you discover the problem. Don't try turning it on until after 3-4 days of drying. BE PATIENT. Impatience will lead to fried toys.

Pre-rinsing: if you're confident in the quality of your Alcohol / Distilled water, go for it. If you're anything less than confident, you're probably better off without. Alcohol should be 99+ percent pure. Don't mess with 90% or any of the lower-grade solutions. Water should be distilled- not tapwater or drinking water.

Sensor: it won't cause the iPhone to "not turn on", generally. IIRC, it's a bit of hydrophillic gunk that turns color when exposed to water, so Apple techs can tell if you're device is waterlogged or not. "Not turning on" means some other electrical fault. "Low battery" warning means some other electrical fault.

__________

If it's been a few days since exposure, and it hasn't turned on yet (and you've tried turning it on) your chances rather drop. The more times you try applying power to a soggy iPhone, the greater the risk of permabrick. The longer it soaks, the greater the risk of permabrick from corrosion. Because you can't disconnect the battery, time is an urgent factor with iDevices, so rice/fan up, keep your fingers off the buttons and good luck.

[BenderRodriguez]

Well since you turned it on after 1 or 2 days you probably screwed the logic board
If there's any water on it it will short out and most other things will too, it was good that you did the rice

Try taking it apart and letting it sit and air dry for 4-6 days then pitt it back together and pray hard, you can still sell it for parts on craigslist

[raduga]

Well since you turned it on after 1 or 2 days you probably screwed the logic board
If there's any water on it it will short out and most other things will too, it was good that you did the rice, DON'T FLUSH IT WITH WATER, stupid last poster

Pure water doesn't conduct electricity. Distilled water, with no added minerals might remove some of the water+dissolved ions that are busy corroding things on your circuitboard. Its chancy; I've had good results with it, but YMMV.

If your iPhone got rained on, or splashed/soaked with tapwater or other reasonably low-ionic-saturation water, soaking in distilled water probably won't do much good and you might as well skip it.

If your iPhone fell into a swimming pool, or something with LOTS of dissolved goodies, the pre-soak with RO (reverse osmosis) or distilled water could help some.

Ignoring the stupid raduga is usually a safe bet.

Try taking it apart and letting it sit and air dry for 4-6 days then pitt it back together and pray hard, you can still sell it for parts on craigslist

Yep.

[sindakit]

Sorry to bring this topic back up but I've had the exact same problem after my phone jumped from my work van into a puddle.

I dried the phone in a tub of rice for a few days until my iso alcohol arrived, placed it in that for 15 mins and am now in the drying process but I'd just liek to get an idea of what my next steps should be if it still refuses to come alive.

Before putting it in alcohol i switched it on and found it was still blocking me out via the temperature error message. The phone seemed to be working ok, touch screen response, vibrating when mute switched on/off, recieivng network signal (even popped up a sms message from my friend but couldn't access it or reply) etc. Its just seems to be blocked out by the temperature message. If the error still remains after drying it for a week or so is there a way to tell which sensor is faulty, and can it be repaired.
what other next steps are available?

Also can the OP update how he got on with his efforts?
thanks

[i.Annie]

There really isn't any next step if the alcohol didnt work. Too much damage has been done if that's the case. I have a feeling it will be fine if the touch function and LCD is working