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Cell Phone Resuscitation (or not)

Recently, my niece dropped her cell phone in a toilet.

Her initial dilemma was whether to reach for it (risking possible serious staff infection) or to let it go (risking a serious plumbing backup). Without regard to bodily infirmity, she dove in to retrieve the phone.

Now her dilemma was how to get it working again. Not being experienced in cell phone resuscitation, she decided to call her dad.

Her dad (my brilliant brother) suggested that she put the phone in an oven at a low temperature for 15-20 minutes to help dry it out. So she turned the oven on to 200 degrees and put the cell phone in for about 20 minutes. DON'T FORGET TO REMOVE THE BATTERY FIRST!

The bad news is that her cell phone could not be revived...:(

The good news is that it turned out more tender and flavorful than the shish-kabobs she cooked a couple of weeks ago!

Posted by Cheryl Powell - ABR, Broker, Realtor - Remax Signature- Concord NC Real Estate on 06/18/2009 10:22 AM

Comments (15)

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15 Comments on Cell Phone Resuscitation (or not)

JUN

LOL, Cheryl, great advice from your brother:)) Just cook the phone until it's crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside:))

My son dropped his cell phone a while back in our driveway when he was running home to escape a huge thunder storm. He did not realize that he dropped it until some time later. By the time the T-storm was over and my son could get his cell, the phone was in a paddle for who knows how long.

First thing - DO NOT turn it on to see if it works.

Put it in a dish with rice for a whole week (really, don't push it to check on it earlier)

Even if it seems dry, it's not. After one week of waiting in anticipation, my son's cell worked just perfect. We did the same thing when my other son left his Ipod in a rain. And both of those things were completely soaked.:)

HAHAHA! That's funny. I've dropped my Blackberry in the river before and the result was the same - DOA - despite my immediate efforts to remove the battery and SIM and dry it out.

Rice, huh? That is a good tip.

Oh no, Cheryl. So, I'm guessing that your niece is not a very good cook, right? I've heard of the rice thing that Joanna suggested before. But, I've never actually had to use this, thank goodness.

Hi Joanna, According to my brother it actually works most of the time... he has had many cell phone incidents. I'll have to tell my niece and brother about the rice tip... thanks for sharing!

Hello Candice, I've been really lucky with my own cell phones until this point (knock on wood), but I've heard many amusing cell phone destruction stories. One of my favorites is leaving the phone on top of your car and driving off! Thanks for commenting...

I have never heard anyone say to put the phone in the oven. Take the battery off and turn the phone upside-down to let it air dry -- yes. Oven -- no.

I have dropped my phone in water multiple times (don't ask) and managed to save at least 2 phones. Take the battery out and let it dry. Soak your phone in distilled water. It turns out, it's not the water that shorts the battery but the minerals in the water. Give the phone a day or two to dry out and away you go. The only left over issue was trouble with the "9", sometimes it sticks but a small price to pay compared to buying a new phone. I've also learned NEVER bring the phone into the rest room!

Hi Liz, Actually my niece (a newlywed) is a really good cook. However, she recently had a little issue when purchasing meat for a shish-kabob meal. She thought that the package said SKEWER Beef... but it actually said STEW Beef, nuf said!

She turned lemons into lemonade by turning the shish-kabob meal into beef stew the next day. The meat was much more tender after cooking it for 5 hours. My husband joked that she came up with a new recipe... BEEF SKEW! hehe

Jim & Maria, The oven idea was new to me too. At least it wasn't the microwave...

Hi Julie, You'll just have to find new friends...friends that don't have a 9 in their phone number!

Thankfully, I have not had the pleasure of trying to flush my phone down the toilet...lord knows, there are days I would like to! We have the Gulf of Mexico just across the street, so that's the more likely spot for it to end up and I've known people who have "lost" their phones out there!

I don't think I would try the oven thing myself...I'd go for the rice!

JUN

OMG Cheryl...that was just too funny!Would this have been a shits-kabob?

Funny, BLR. It's a sad state of affairs when the food from the bathroom tastes better!

Cheryl

Never heard of anyone successfully reviving a phone -- looks like it works sometimes.

Knowing about such incidents, it seems foolish not to secure the phone before entering a rest room. However, it takes all kinds. I attended a recent conference, where one woman kept yakking on the phone, even when she went into a stall. Wonder what the other person must have been thinking to hear sounds of flushing that went on all the time. Really...there's such a thing as privacy!

JUN

Cheryl, that's hilarious. I have a similar story, but doesn't involve an oven. :)

A long, long time, ago, in another life, I had a boss who would not do ANYTHING without his cell phone. NOTHING. So he went into the bathroom, did his business and all the while, the phone dialed me automatically and I was listening to the whole thing, not really knowing what was going on ... until the phone fell in the toilet and he had words with himself, about whether or not to fish it out. LOL :)

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