Wet cell phone. Halp.

DasUberEdward

So after an unfortunate boating incident my Nokia 6133 ended up getting soaked. Oddly enough everything seems to work perfectly aside from the screen becoming a bit blurry. My problem is that I keep receiving an error messages that says "charger not supported". So although the phone seems to work I can't keep it on longer than ten seconds before I get the low battery signal and the phone dies.

Any idea if the problem could be the actual battery or the charging apparatus on the phone?

DasUberEdward

No one has encountered this error message before?

PhilthePill

Tried other wall plugs/phones/charger? No chance your charger has (somehow) fucked up?

But I'd probably say something important has been corroded on the board though...

romanqwerty

Could the screen blurryness be condensation of the water? I had that happen to an old gameboy.

Blake T

I've sent two phones through the wash, both worked perfectly afterwards.

What I did.

1. Dismantled it
2. Left in the Sun for two days.
3. Prayed to inca gods.

It could be that there is still water where the charger plugs in so it's tripping something and refusing to let it charge.

Otherwise it could be the battery refusing to hold a charge.

Charles Kinbote

In the future, it's very, very, very important to, as soon as it gets that wet, remove the battery from the cell phone and let them dry separately. That's only forewarning, though...my expertise ends there =P.

The Cat

No no no don't keep the phone turned on after its gotten wet or everything inside gets fried and/or corroded

take everything apart and dry it as best you can. I can guarantee there's rust appearing on the innards already. The SIM is highly vulnerable to this. Take the phone to a repair dude and get them to clean it and check all the bits. you'll probably need a new screen and I wouldn't be surprised if the keypad goes too. Doesn't matter who you go to since the warranty's broken the second the phone gets wet, but a certified repairer of your brand will be more experienced. Go to the Nokia website, they should list the certified dudes in your area.

Veevee

The Cat wrote: »

No no no don't keep the phone turned on after its gotten wet or everything inside gets fried and/or corroded

take everything apart and dry it as best you can. I can guarantee there's rust appearing on the innards already. The SIM is highly vulnerable to this. Take the phone to a repair dude and get them to clean it and check all the bits. you'll probably need a new screen and I wouldn't be surprised if the keypad goes too. Doesn't matter who you go to since the warranty's broken the second the phone gets wet, but a certified repairer of your brand will be more experienced. Go to the Nokia website, they should list the certified dudes in your area.

And make sure you get a quote from the repair dude before actually having him repair it as the bill could be higher than purchasing a new phone.

The Cat

If you can. Most of the people around here charge a flat fee for the cleaning and then list which parts are stuffed, how much each will cost to replace, and ask which ones you want to bother with (ie, I got the essential bits fixed but didn't bother about the LED torch thingy). Oh, and make sure to specify that they not fiddle with the firmware without asking you. Mine got updated without me asking and it caused all sorts of problems because they used the wrong region's 'ware by mistake.

Fristle

Something FYI -- I don't know if it is common, but I have heard cell phones have a sticker inside them somewhere that changes color if it has come in contact with water. The service technician uses this to visually determine whether or not a phone has gone for a swim, and refuse a warranty service.

As for your battery, almost assuredly the water killed it by forming a short circuit. You'll have to get a new battery.

wunderbar

my cell phone went for a swim once, but the most important thing is to turn it off as quickly as possible. leaving it on was what wrecked it. go get it quoted for a repair, but be careful, as oftentimes repairing a phone out of warranty costs more than a new phone.

DasUberEdward

Well quick update. I'm rather amazed as the phone did spend a good amount of time underwater it functions perfectly. Except it can not retain a charge. My screen is totally functional, my keypad, and audio. It's a bit amazing but whenever I turn the phone on I'm given a low battery message followed by the dreaded "charger not supported"

I'll be baking the phone and battery a bit in the sun again tomorrow and taking it somewhere to see what exactly that message means. Thanks everyone.