Jumped with my Z10 into a swimming pool

**zikal** · 03-05-2013, 07:56 AM

Jumped into a swimming pool without realizing that my Z10 was in my pocket. After swimming for about 3 or 4 minutes I realized that I was carrying my cellphone. I immediately took it out and removed the battery. Tried to dry as much as I could with a towel and then used a hair dryer for several hours (without unmounting it). After 48 hours I put the battery and turned it on. Everything was working except the screen (absolute black). I can hear the beeps when I receive emails and I can even answer calls by figuring out where that pull down arrow is ... Called BB and was told that they don't give any support for water damage. Didn't buy an insurance with the provider. Anyone knows if there are people who can fix z10 screens? Too bad BB don't offer any (even fee-based) service to repair hardware!

**sonicwheeler** · 03-05-2013, 07:58 AM

you should have never used a hair dryer to dry your z10 or any phone. that's what most likely killed your screen. you should take out battery and put it directly into rice.

**bbaleno** · 03-05-2013, 08:06 AM

since the damage is done. put it a bucket of rice for a few days, see if it will revive it. if not im sure you can get the screen replaced by a repair shop.

**QuIcKsIlV3r** · 03-05-2013, 08:12 AM

eeek not good, what you should have done is put your phone in rice for 24-48hrs and then put the battery in, in a lot of cases, this will fix your phone to the point of a working condition phone

**bintheredundat** · 03-05-2013, 08:16 AM

Def rice. Fixed my iphone5 after it ended up in the pool. It's fuly functional now. Maybe give that a whirl. If there is any moisture the rice will find it.

Posted via CB10 on my Z10 Oreo

**zikal** · 03-05-2013, 08:17 AM

Without unmounting the phone? How does that work? Pretty sure no single drop of water is still there

**bintheredundat** · 03-05-2013, 08:20 AM

Submerge it in a bowl, deep dish of rice for a few hours (overnight) without using it. I turned mine off and just let it be.

- there could def be moisture in there still. Rice loves water. It will draw every ounce of it from the device. Hopefully the hair dryer didn't do more damage.

Posted via CB10 on my Z10 Oreo

**world saviour** · 03-05-2013, 08:23 AM

My wife's 9930 has a tendency of finding water at least every 6 months, about a year ago I keep a bag of rice just for cell phones. Come to think of it, it's just about that time again. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

**zikal** · 03-05-2013, 08:29 AM

Thanks; will do it, and keep you guys posted. Much appreciated.

**pmccartney** · 03-05-2013, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by zikal

Jumped into a swimming pool without realizing that my Z10 was in my pocket. After swimming for about 3 or 4 minutes I realized that I was carrying my cellphone. I immediately took it out and removed the battery. Tried to dry as much as I could with a towel and then used a hair dryer for several hours (without unmounting it). After 48 hours I put the battery and turned it on. Everything was working except the screen (absolute black). I can hear the beeps when I receive emails and I can even answer calls by figuring out where that pull down arrow is ... Called BB and was told that they don't give any support for water damage. Didn't buy an insurance with the provider. Anyone knows if there are people who can fix z10 screens? Too bad BB don't offer any (even fee-based) service to repair hardware!

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Now that you know about the rice lets move on to your question.
If you tell us your general location, on this big shiny ball we call planet Earth, someone might be able to direct you to a good local repair shop and you can get back to swiping and peeking ASAP

**zikal** · 03-05-2013, 09:10 AM

Quebec city, QC, CA

**RelicAte** · 03-05-2013, 09:19 AM

Man, sure hope it was an indoor pool

Posted via CB10

**Hardy99si** · 03-05-2013, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by zikal

Quebec city, QC, CA

what were you doing in a swimming pool this time of the year ! :P it's cold in here ! Sorry to hear that your Z10 is not working, hope for you that the rice will do the trick! I did not find any shop that can help you in quebec city as of now ! You can still try and return you z10... 30days no hassle return ends tomorrow i think.. if you bought it on the day of release !

**greggebhardt** · 03-05-2013, 09:26 AM

The rice needs to come from a sealed package as open rice will have the same humidity as ambient room humidity. I keep rice that was dried in an oven in a 1 gallon heavy duty zip lock, in the kitchen, just in case.

Finding parts for the Z10 would be next to impossible at this early date. If the screen does not work in a few days, it is a goner!

**MattUK** · 03-05-2013, 09:29 AM

Couple of other routes I would recommend.

1. How did you pay for the device? If it was by credit card, check your card terms and conditions, some offer accidental damage / loss insurance for upto 90 days from date of purchase.
2. Check your bank account, some accounts offer mobile device insurance.
3. Last resort, tweet to BlackBerry with your story and see if they will be kind to you.. with it having just launched, you may find a loving ear to help you out

Hopefully the rice will work, as that would have been my first option as others have mentioned.

Good luck!

**zikal** · 03-05-2013, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Hardy99si

what were you doing in a swimming pool this time of the year ! :P it's cold in here ! Sorry to hear that your Z10 is not working, hope for you that the rice will do the trick! I did not find any shop that can help you in quebec city as of now ! You can still try and return you z10... 30days no hassle return ends tomorrow i think.. if you bought it on the day of release !

Indoor

; outdoor swimming pools are still used as arenas for ice skating!
Yes, got my z10 on Feb 5th. Not 30 days actually; the return policy with rogers was 2 weeks or 30 minutes of phone calls (hate them).

**zikal** · 03-05-2013, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by MattUK

Couple of other routes I would recommend.

1. How did you pay for the device? If it was by credit card, check your card terms and conditions, some offer accidental damage / loss insurance for upto 90 days from date of purchase.
2. Check your bank account, some accounts offer mobile device insurance.
3. Last resort, tweet to BlackBerry with your story and see if they will be kind to you.. with it having just launched, you may find a loving ear to help you out

Hopefully the rice will work, as that would have been my first option as others have mentioned.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tricks. Yes called my credit card provider. Was told that I need to get a kind of report from an expert that says that my cell phone was damaged due to whatever reason. They don't even dare directing you to a repair shop or whatsoever.

**zikal** · 03-05-2013, 09:50 AM

I'm so depressed! Going back to my android phone seems like travelling back to stone age!

**torpesco** · 03-05-2013, 10:20 AM

BlackBerry has a repair shop in Kitchener. I don't know if it's just meant for warranty repairs, though. You could try asking if you can mail it in and pay for the repair. I also don't know if they accept that or in person drop off only. Water damage can be pretty bad. They weren't able to save my 9100 - but it wouldn't even power on.

Posted via CB10

**bbz10indo** · 03-05-2013, 10:39 AM

Wow how could you be so careless?

**vbittersweet** · 03-05-2013, 11:04 AM

I've always found that dessicant works better than rice. In our house, we save all of the little "DO NOT EAT" bags and plastic containers out of our shoe boxes, electronics packaging, pill bottles, etc. Had an 8320 that sat in a sealed bag of rice (baked in the oven ahead of time to remove moisture) for three days but still wouldn't work. I moved that same device over to a Ziploc bag filled with dessicant packages, removed as much of the air from the bag as possible and left it sit for another 2 days - Voila'! All features worked and I carried it for another 9 months after that.

You can also buy loose dessicant powder at most sporting good stores just make sure you put it into a cloth bag, old sock, etc. before putting your phone in there because the fine crystals will get into every nook and cranny of the phone otherwise.

**Highbeta** · 03-05-2013, 11:08 AM

Sorry but all these ideas about submerging the device into rice are wishful thinking; there is ONE way to properly deal with a completely submerged device and that is to disassemble it, clean it and dry it with a safe solution. If you aren't comfortable with this, you can try buying something actually designed to pull moisture from the air at ambient temperature - plenty of products out there do this, easiest to find will probably be those that keep moisture out of gun safes. Raw rice, at room temperature, isn't going help you.

If you try to turn the device on while moisture remains inside, the odds are high you will short / fry something. Even a couple of days later.. water can easily still be inside the device.

How do I know all this? Well, TWO DAYS after I got my Bold 9700 I was fishing, hooked up with a nice trout and promptly slipped down a rock face and into the lake.. neck deep, with my phone in my pocket. I removed the battery as quickly as possible, shook out the water that I could and headed home (lost the fish too!).

I had the phone on a window sill in the warm sun for a couple of days.. hoping it would dry out. Finally sucked it up and took the whole thing apart - there was water still inside.

I cleaned and dried everything up, put it back together and the phone worked 100% for the next 2.5 years until I traded it in for my z10.

This doesn't help you now, given that you have probably shorted your screen already, either by turning it on or simply by being into the pool. But perhaps someone else might benefit from my experience in the future!

Good luck in finding a replacement screen - when I replaced my gf's iphone screen, parts were cheap and easy to find and tutorials abundant on youtube. Probably not as straightforward for a new z10.

I feel for you bud.

**Cap_172R** · 03-05-2013, 11:10 AM

Sorry to hear that, hope you find a way to get the screen replaced. Hopefully the internals are not beyond saving (putting it in rice should help this!) The screen, once the parts become available, should not be a problem to replace... Hang tight, surely something will work out. I`m paranoid about water around my Z10 - no idea why. When i had my 9900, i used to wash my car and have the device with me even getting soaked sometimes and no issues (i was pretty amazed)

**Wbrian** · 03-05-2013, 11:17 AM

You can also use "Exquisicat" cat litter, unscented (and hopefully unused!). It's a silica crystal litter that absorbs liquid beautifully. I use it to maintain the humidity in my humidors. I'd put the phone inside a lady's stocking, tied with a knot, and the pour some litter in a ziplock, place the stocking-clad phone in the bag and fill the bag with more litter. Give it a few days. But I bet you screwed the screen with the heat from the dryer, though...
Good luck!
B.