[NewfieDude]

Ok, so I left my playbook out in the rain. When I woke up and realized, I immediately turned it off (it was still on/working) and left it in rice for a week.

After assuming that the battery would be dead/damaged/etc, I was trying the charge stacking method. I have two playbooks. The other one I have had to use this method on as the battery was ran flat dead. Anyway, so I'm attempting to stack charge and not really seeing the proper lights, but it is getting warm / charging. At first it was 10 - 13 second red light (solid), I tried the hard reset a few times. Once it was even blinking red while plugged in. So onto the real info/issue.... as I'm trying a hard reset again, I hold the vol+/vol- and I hear the screen shot sound? WTF?

I hook it to my computer and to my amazement, it was on the whole time that I have been trying to stack charge. It was obviously off this last week as I saw it shut down. I can browse my files no problem. So I immediately backup the pictures/movies of my daughter. Then I plug it into my LED using hdmi. Boom, it works perfect. I connect via bluetooth to my curve and check out everything. Everything is working great, EXCEPT the actual screen on the playbook.

So long story short, pb left in rain. I assume it's dead battery after a week/left on all night in rain. Screen is and still remains black. Try stack charging / hard resetting only to hear screen shot sound. Connect to computer, everything works normal. Use bluetooth / remote to phone (via screenshots and guessing where to press on screen) and can use pb fine as long as connected using HDMI. Connected to HDMI works fine, but still black screen.

Has this happened to anyone else? For now I have just turned it back off and tossed back in the rice for now. Everything is working great except no screen unless plugged into HDMI. Even though the main screen is black, the screen is still 'touch' sensitive and that works. Any advice?

And yes, I know it was stupid to leave it out.... please don't remind me


Oh, Edit to add I have tried a power / vol + (hard reset) from on. Didn't work...

[joshua_sx1]

Since you already mentioned not to remind you, I wouldn't...

[FF22]

Did you change the rice? Maybe it needs fresh rice to absorb more dampness.

Was it screen side up in the (won't mention word), ahem, weather? Might have blown its screen circuits. When you take a screen shot, what is captured? Probably what is suppose to be on the black screen. I have a feeling replacing the screen would not fix it unless its image-circuitry is on the screen component.

Good luck

[mikeplus1]

You really should move indoors Dude!

[Gatmyer]

You really should move indoors Dude!

I had a similar problem (and yes I live indoors). Turns out it was the roof of my ice cave melting in this extream heat!

[mikeplus1]

I had a similar problem (and yes I live indoors). Turns out it was the roof of my ice cave melting in this extream heat!

I recommend the new waterproof PolarBear Case from OtterBox, it "seals" out all water and moisture while keeping your PlayBook warm and snug during those cold winters in the ice caves of the great white north! Your PlayBook stays dry and cool during those warm thawing seasons as well.

[anon(3641385)]

Ok, so I left my playbook out in the rain. When I woke up and realized, I immediately turned it off (it was still on/working) and left it in rice for a week.

After assuming that the battery would be dead/damaged/etc, I was trying the charge stacking method. I have two playbooks. The other one I have had to use this method on as the battery was ran flat dead. Anyway, so I'm attempting to stack charge and not really seeing the proper lights, but it is getting warm / charging. At first it was 10 - 13 second red light (solid), I tried the hard reset a few times. Once it was even blinking red while plugged in. So onto the real info/issue.... as I'm trying a hard reset again, I hold the vol+/vol- and I hear the screen shot sound? WTF?

I hook it to my computer and to my amazement, it was on the whole time that I have been trying to stack charge. It was obviously off this last week as I saw it shut down. I can browse my files no problem. So I immediately backup the pictures/movies of my daughter. Then I plug it into my LED using hdmi. Boom, it works perfect. I connect via bluetooth to my curve and check out everything. Everything is working great, EXCEPT the actual screen on the playbook.

So long story short, pb left in rain. I assume it's dead battery after a week/left on all night in rain. Screen is and still remains black. Try stack charging / hard resetting only to hear screen shot sound. Connect to computer, everything works normal. Use bluetooth / remote to phone (via screenshots and guessing where to press on screen) and can use pb fine as long as connected using HDMI. Connected to HDMI works fine, but still black screen.

Has this happened to anyone else? For now I have just turned it back off and tossed back in the rice for now. Everything is working great except no screen unless plugged into HDMI. Even though the main screen is black, the screen is still 'touch' sensitive and that works. Any advice?

And yes, I know it was stupid to leave it out.... please don't remind me


Oh, Edit to add I have tried a power / vol + (hard reset) from on. Didn't work...

I reckon you've gotta tell BB Support about this experience ..... they need to know how the PB still works under extreme conditions!!!

[kill_9]

Ok, so I left my playbook out in the rain. When I woke up and realized, I immediately turned it off (it was still on/working) and left it in rice for a week.

And yes, I know it was stupid to leave it out.... please don't remind me

You should have bought the third-party insurance which covers water damage unlike the manufacturer's warranty from Research In Motion. At least at the low prices available today you could buy a new BlackBerry PlayBook and relegate your damaged tablet for use with your HDTV using the BlackBerry smartphone remote control feature to navigate. Oh, next time you take the tablet outdoors please dress it in a raincoat and maybe stick an umbrella from a tall cool drink in the headphone port for added protection from the sun and rain.

[jwn66]

Wouldn't expect anything less from a Newfie.










LOL I JOKE I JOKE

[NewfieDude]

When I take the screenshot everything is fine. I wish it had been face down as I had a rubber protector over the playbook which covers the entire back, minus the camera lens. (so I guess it did have a raincoat on "eh" bb9700ca?). When I picked it up I expected it to be already fried. It was much heavier (due to rain water) and I immediately pressed the battery icon to turn it off.

It literally poured out water from the speaker cutaway holes.

I just fired it up again. I can't find anything that does not work except the obvious black screen. I agree F2, I'm assuming I have fried some circuitry for the video in the shut down process when it was wet perhaps. I'm guessing its a chip inside, but not sure of which. I'm going to take it all apart soon for fun anyway. Bluetooth/wifi work, front/back cameras, the touch screen, the hdmi output, the battery, accelerometer. Can anyone think of anything else I can ensure is working? I'll head out side soon to test the gps.

[FF22]

As suggested, you could just relegate it to an hdmi output device and use a bb phone (or spend more on their or other bt keyboard/mouse) and not dissect it.

But good luck in whatever endeavor................

[Vorkosigan]

I accidently threw my nokia slide phone into the laundry - realised what i had done and grabbed it out. Pulled the battery and put everything into a bowl of rice for a week.

I had the same problem though - everything seemed to work except the screen. If i was in bright sunlight i could make out things on the screen. I assumed that the water had caused some kind of short that couldn't be fixed by drying out. I think the same sort of thing has happened to your pb.

[jeroen_13]

Playbook survival.. You wouldn't find that kind of quality on todays market

[Rimfun]

Playbook survival.. You wouldn't find that kind of quality on todays market

Except this..

CNET TV | Video Product Reviews, CNET Podcasts, Tech Shows, Live CNET Video - CNET TV

[NewfieDude]

Hmmmmm... So I turned it on today and guess what? I could see 'Blackberry Playbook' as it was booting. The wording is VERY faint. This was definitely not there the other day. I can also now see the icons, but the same, very, VERY faint.

So I just put it back into new rice and decided to leave it. I should listen to F2... before I put back in rice, I was going to take it apart so that it might dry better and cracked a little tiny bit of the corner glass. Stopped there so I didn't make it worse. It's only a very small chip out of one corner. So yeah... the screen is somewhat working.... albeit, very, very faint. I'm going to just leave it for a month or so and then try again.

*Crying in the rain....*

[FF22]

Well, best of luck with the long term drying. You might find a source of constant low heat and a fan to speed the process.

[dbmalloy]

Had similar incident with my Playbook... Dropped it in a mud puddle in the spring... when I rescued it... it was non functioning.... One of the tricks I learned from fixing water damaged laptops is is wait about 2 days... make sure your Playbook is standing up with the HDMI connectors to the ground...... to take a hair dryer to the unit... in laptops this includes the baterry for about an hour...... Heat the back of the unit...... wait another day and see what happens.... seen it work many times.... will not fix already damaged unit.... but if you lucked out like I did... my Playbook came out of it all unscathed... but stopped working about six months later... probably due to mud.....

[fs9]

You might want to try direct exposure to the dry air coming from an air conditioner.

Years ago, I dropped my Nokia E61 into a wet curb while getting out of the car. It didn't soak up, but got a little wet. After swearing a little, I managed to hang it on a dashboard vent and closed all others. It turned out fine.