Comments on: What not to do when you get your BlackBerry wet

By: BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 9/14/09 | BB Geeks

BlackBerry News From The Wire for the Week of 9/14/09 | BB Geeks — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:22:38 +0000

[...] further info, check out what to do and what not to do if your BlackBerry gets [...]

By: Bill Wright

Bill Wright — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:57:08 +0000

Place it in Silica Gel to begin with, but find a supply of Silica Gel. Silica Gel is the most absorbent products commercially available. It will dry out anything, including your phone. They use this stuff to pull moisture out of flowers to preserve them and you find this stuff in everything you buy from beef jerky to any piece of electronics. They use Silica Gel because it is the most absorbent product on the market and will keep their products dry.

I just got the original iPhone (don’t laugh at me) and got it wet, I only found out while trying to return under warranty they included a moisture sensor and I was screwed. I just covered the phone with Silica Gel and waited 2-3 days and it seemed to work perfectly and the moisture from screen was gone.

Just Google for Silica Gel Packets and you will find plenty of suppliers. I used http://www.SilicaGelPackets.com as they offer expedited shipping options and I got it promptly.

By: Cooper

Cooper — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:19:34 +0000

@Shannon You should have that Bold in a bucket of rice – fight the urge to turn it on until you are sure it is completely dried out

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:45:41 +0000

My BB Bold went through the wash cycle yesterday. It was only a few hours before I couldn’t stand it and had to test it. No response at all. I sure hope time heals it.

By: Greg

Greg — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:48:38 +0000

I have went through 2 bb pearls in as many months.its frustraiting.now I’m getting a 3rd because the media player won’t play mp3,vids,or my pics.they seem to be very problematic and expensive

By: markeee

markeee — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:25:48 +0000

i just got my BB storm not even a month ago and I was at work and spilled water over me at work while doing dishes, i had a plastic cover on and i could get it off. i didnt take the battery out right away and i put it back in and i blow dried it.. but i did but it in rice and i have to wait two daysss =[ lets see what happenssss

By: PB

PB — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:27:05 +0000

i wouldnt want to wait because it is so hard to live without the BB but if it meant living without for 2 days oppose to something potentially longer; I’d force myself to be patient!

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:23:07 +0000

I just dropped my Bold into a 1500 gallon water tank on the job site. I could not get it out right away so I just left it in there till I had time to make up a tool and retrieve it. One hour later I fished my Blackberry from the tank. I took the battery out and left it alone till that night. I know this was not long enough but the Bold came back to life. When I got it out the screen was lit up but totally white. I can’t believe that the phone still works. The clock was wrong for like a day but now is correct. I still cannot believe it is working fine.

By: summer

summer — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:27:11 +0000

i think iphones have the sameprob, too. you can't take them with you even to the gym. :( Summer A Writers Den The Brown Mestizo

By: hiroprotagonist

hiroprotagonist — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:35:32 +0000

The advice isn’t really all that great, and is the same re-hash of a millon other sites.

You need to pull the device apart to get ALL the water out from inside it, and clean some of the sensitive areas with a cue-tip, and even with a cleaning solvent that is safe for electronics. Sunlight on the outer surface is not going to guarantee it is dry on the inside completely. And worse still, corrosion can occur in spots that were not properly swabbed clean.

There are many tutorials on how to safely disassemble a blackberry, including full videos. The devices are remarkably modular and a full tear-down can be done by anyone in a matter of minutes. The bottom anteanna assembly is the only super-sensitive area you need to be careful of. The rest is plug-and-play.

Additionally, it is wise to invest in some spare / backup parts for the blackberry. Many online stores offer them. Any of the major components can be bought as spare parts except for the mainboard. And these are for very reasonable prices. If you do a tear-down of the Blackberry and make sure the mainboard gets clean, you can replace any other part of the device that is fried and restore to brand new condition.

And finally, I would not recommend re-using the battery. Get a new one, they are cheap. It is not worth your own safety to attempt to reuse it. You cannot guarantee that it is perfectly sealed and that water did not seep into the battery. Paranoid? Maybe. But you don’t want one of those things blowing up on you, that’s for sure.