Huawei Y6 Elite - Wet, Can Charge But Not Booting

[Tom Joney]

(If this is the wrong place to ask this question please tell me.)

I am in a bit of pickle right now.

It was quite rainy where I live, so when I took my phone (Huawei Y6 Elite Android 5.1) outside it fell in some water. It worked initially - I dried it and all.

Then, at the end of the day I powered it off.

I was trying to watch some YouTube, but then I couldn't power it on. I am 15 years old, and my dad gave me the phone (which used to be his) so I just said I'm going to charge it to him so he wouldn't be suspicious.

OK, so GOOD NEWS incoming.

Whenever I charge it, it shows up with the 'charging' screen.

I tried charging it for 1 hour and it wouldn't boot although it would show the charging screen.

Tried to put it in a bowl of rice for 1.6 days - took it out and still nothing.

I'm panicking right now as my dad would absolutely kill me if he finds out what I did to my phone, I need help ASAP.

Some of my ideas is to try to charge it for some more time and pray to G-d that it boots.

Another idea would be to tinker inside the components and dry them.

I need other ideas immediately. I am quite worried.

Thank you StackExchange - you have helped me with many issues at StackOverflow and I'm sure you can help a good friend out with this too.

 

[lunatic59]

I'm sorry to say much of what you did was potentially more damaging.

When a phone gets wet, the safest thing to do is to shut it off immediately. Then dry it as best you can and let it sit in the rice (or some other desiccant) for 48 to 72 hours. Hopefully you can get the water to evaporate before it does any damage.

Water will do one of three things. First, it can short circuit sensitive electronic components. If that happens -- especially with surface mount components -- you'll need professional repair to recover the device. By charging it while it still potentially has not completely dried, you risk applying a strong voltage across a short circuit with greater chance of damage.

Second it can corrode electrical connections. Even after the water dries, it can leave behind sediments that were dissolved in the water. Sea water is the worst because of the salt.

Finally, it can trigger protective circuitry in the phone to prevent catastrophic damage, but you'll still need professional repair to fix it.

Charging it more won't help. I would assume that the battery is fully charged by now. I would recommend going back to the rice for at least another 48 hours. And then, once you are absolutely sure there is no water left in it, try to see if it will boot into recovery. Hold the volume up and power button at the same time for up to 10 seconds, until the Huawei logo appears and then let go. You could also try simply holding the power button for 20 seconds to simulate a battery pull.

The fact that you see anything on the screen is encouraging, but don't rush it. Please be absolutely certain hat the phone is bone dry before trying anything else.

 

[Tom Joney]

I'm sorry to say much of what you did was potentially more damaging.

When a phone gets wet, the safest thing to do is to shut it off immediately. Then dry it as best you can and let it sit in the rice (or some other desiccant) for 48 to 72 hours. Hopefully you can get the water to evaporate before it does any damage.

Water will do one of three things. First, it can short circuit sensitive electronic components. If that happens -- especially with surface mount components -- you'll need professional repair to recover the device. By charging it while it still potentially has not completely dried, you risk applying a strong voltage across a short circuit with greater chance of damage.

Second it can corrode electrical connections. Even after the water dries, it can leave behind sediments that were dissolved in the water. Sea water is the worst because of the salt.

Finally, it can trigger protective circuitry in the phone to prevent catastrophic damage, but you'll still need professional repair to fix it.

Charging it more won't help. I would assume that the battery is fully charged by now. I would recommend going back to the rice for at least another 48 hours. And then, once you are absolutely sure there is no water left in it, try to see if it will boot into recovery. Hold the volume up and power button at the same time for up to 10 seconds, until the Huawei logo appears and then let go. You could also try simply holding the power button for 20 seconds to simulate a battery pull.

The fact that you see anything on the screen is encouraging, but don't rush it. Please be absolutely certain hat the phone is bone dry before trying anything else.

Oh yeah I put it in rice for 1.6 days - I may try to put it for 3 more days or so. Thanks for the tips.

 

[lunatic59]

Oh yeah I put it in rice for 1.6 days - I may try to put it for 3 more days or so. Thanks for the tips.

1.6 days is really not long enough with rice. It takes a long time for uncooked rice to absorb ambient moisture. Silica gel packs might work faster, but you will need to also factor in the relative humidity in your environment. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[steiny180]

Remove the battery and put the wet device in the refrigerator overnight...