Machine Wash Cold: Android Takes a Dip (My RL Micro Dynasty)

[AnalBumCover]

This is a short dynasty of a completely idiotic move on my part and the adventure that follows.

Last night was laundry night at the ABC household. Like every other time, I carried down the hamper full of laundry downstairs where I would separate the loads into different piles on the floor.

In efficient fashion, I run one load. When done, move it to the dryer and run the second load in the wash. Repeat.

While waiting for each cycle I'm in front of the television or on my laptop browsing FOFC. Midway through HIMYM - the "Oh Honey" episode with Katy Perry - both the washer and dryer beckon with their familiar "Beep... Beep... BeepBeepBeep..." I go and empty out the dryer and move the newly washed load over. As I removed the clothes from the washer, I see something shiny in the drum.

Holy shit, it's my phone.

I grabbed the phone and tried to turn it on (big mistake, I later learned). No sign of life. I then opened the back took out the battery, sim card and micro SD card. To my surprise, the battery bay didn't look too soaked. It took a quick dab from a paper towel to remove all visible signs of water. The water indicator on the battery and on the phone were bright red though.

I reinserted the battery and again tried to turn it on. Nothing. Plugged in the charger (probably another big mistake) and pressed power. Nothing.

Learning from the Superbowl commercials, I thought about sprinkling some Doritos to bring my Android back to life. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember which flavor the guy used. Besides, I finished my bag of Doritos the night before.

Crap.

So I did the next best thing: filled a bowl with uncooked rice (does brown rice make a difference?) and submerged the phone and battery in the rice to absorb all the moisture. And it's been there ever since.

Some people say wait 24 hours before trying to turn it back on. Some say 72. One guy even said to wait at least a week. Everyone says to NOT turn it on while it's still wet, as it can short circuit the phone and render it useless.

So lies my Android, in a coma under a bed of rice.

And I wait. I'm here at work and I'm thinking of little Android. I can't wait to get home and see how he's doing. But what to do when I see him? Try to revive him? Wait another day?

All of a sudden, "it" became a "he"?

[AnalBumCover]

If it were any sort of consolation, the washer I have at home is a high efficiency, front-loading washer. This uses much less water and and the chance that my phone was completely submerged for a long period of time is less likely.

Also, the phone wore a rubber case so hopefully it provided a little bit of barrier from the water. Of course, some time during the cycle, the case came off and little Android was naked.

I feel naked without my phone.

And with a baby BumCover due any time now, a phone is the single most important piece of equipment I must have if Mrs BumCover needs to get in touch with me.

[AnalBumCover]

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

And with a baby BumCover due any time now, a phone is the single most important piece of equipment I must have if Mrs BumCover needs to get in touch with me.

On a tangent...when is BabyBum officially due?

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

On a tangent...when is BabyBum officially due?

Officially, Feb 25. But we wouldn't be surprised if baby arrived a week or two early.

[Coffee Warlord]

Ah. I on the other hand, have a due date of...thursday.

[AnalBumCover]

Nice! Good luck to you.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Ah. I on the other hand, have a due date of...thursday.

Holy crap - seriously!?!?

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Holy crap - seriously!?!?

Hoooo yeah. Life in the last few weeks has been me dealing with a miserable & extremely pregnant wife, and putting together 5000 pieces of baby crap. Good times!

[AnalBumCover]

Fo sho. My wife is very uncomfortable now, with baby pushing hard against her insides every couple of hours.

[AnalBumCover]

So it's been almost 23 hours since little Android has been lying in the bowl of rice. Part of me wants to take it out and see if it's back; part of me tells me I should wait it out another day.

What to do? What to do?

I haven't removed it from the bowl yet. But I did give it a light shake to rearrange the grains of rice. I'm gonna need a phone tomorrow (Wednesday) because I have a business dinner to attend in the evening and will be leaving the Mrs. at home by herself. If anything, I'll ask a coworker if they don't mind I give her their cell number.

[AnalBumCover]

One hour later, I couldn't resist. I put in the battery and attempted to power on.

First attempt: Fail.
Second attempt: Plugged in the charger - Fail.
Third attempt: Unplugged charger, inserted SIM card - the soft buttons on the bottom lit up. Screen still blank.

Was that a heartbeat?

Fourth and Fifth attempts: Battery and SIM card inserted - Screen lit up, and the Android was in download mode. However there was heavy banding (horizontal lines) throughout the screen.

At this point, I stopped what I was doing, and decided to rice-dry a few more hours and see what it's like in the morning.

I feel much better about little Android tonight than last night. He's slowly coming out of his coma and showing signs of life.

Crossing my fingers.

[DaddyTorgo]

Good to hear he's showing signs of life - hopefully the banding will go away.

[AnalBumCover]

T+32 hours since lying in the bed of rice.

I woke up this morning and tried to turn on little Andy - my new pet name for my T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant T959 Android Smartphone - and came up with ths same results. Screen came on in Download Mode with heavy banding throughout the screen.

Since the phone was in download mode, I decided to connect him to my laptop to see if it would recognize Andy and allow me to see his insides (files). Laptop responded with something to the effect of "USB Device Unknown".

But something interesting (yet scary) happened to Andy while connected to the laptop. His screen flickered heavily, as if someone was fiddling with the rabbit ears of an old television. I sure hope this wasn't a sign of short circuiting. I immediately unplugged Andy and removed the battery.

Right now he's back in the bed of rice and will be there for the rest of the day. In the meantime, I'm considering a couple of options:

- Open him up and clean out his guts with some alcohol and some Q-Tips. I'm wondering if there is any soapy residue from the wash cycle that may have collected inside.

- Could be a battery issue. I usually wait to recharge overnight, so the battery could be very low since I hadn't charged it for two nights. I'll look into buying a new battery.

[AnalBumCover]

T+49 Hrs

Came home late after my business dinner. It was difficult without any sort of direct communication with my home. Pregnant Mrs. BumCover wasn't too thrilled either, despite my giving her a coworker's cellphone in case something happens.

Back to the operating table. Little Andy's condition has not changed. Since it was late, I didn't get to do anything on him that I wanted to. But I did test out the SIM card on my wife's Blackberry, and it worked, so at least the SIM card wasn't damaged.

On the agenda this afternoon, I plan to open him up and do a thorough cleaning with alcohol.

If this doesn't work, I may have to consider replacing the phone. Suck.

[AnalBumCover]

T+73 Hrs

Armed with Q-Tips and rubbing alcohol, I opened up little Andy and did what I could to clean up the internals. There didn't appear to be any residue buildup on any of the components. So I'm not sure if what I did helped any.

I closed him back up and put him inside in a fresh bag of uncooked rice. I want to let dry overnight before I try anything.

Meantime, I am using an old flip phone as a temporary source of communication. I feel like I've set myself back 8-10 years.

[AnalBumCover]

T+96 Hrs

Well, it looks like I have to put little Andy down. There have been no signs of improvement after 4 days. Time to begin the replacement process.

I'll keep this one as a project phone however. Who knows, maybe I'll do something to it and it'll magically come back to life.

[bbgunn]

Sad, sad story.

[Izulde]

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Sad, sad story.

Totally. The Samsung Vibrant is one tough phone. It could handle anything I threw at it - custom roms, themes, kernels...

There was one scary moment recently when I thought I had bricked my phone after updating the modem, but I was able to take it back to stock and revive it. Invincible, I say. But I was always careful and meticulous when I add something to it.

Then that one fateful day when I did the laundry.