# Dropped Kindle in water



## Hawklight (Mar 26, 2011)

So my wife had the sink full of water and I leaned over it to grab a band-aid out of the cabinet and my 2 week old Kindle 3 slipped out of my inside coat pocket and fell into the sink.  It was submerged up to the top of the keyboard and I pulled it out in a second.  I removed it from the case and powered it off immediately and put it in a ziplock bag of rice.  I really hope it still works and that the keyboard is functional after I try it in a couple days.  I'm so disappointed with myself. lol


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## bwbollom (Jul 30, 2010)

My wife had something similar happen with her cel phone a while back...did the same rice trick and it came out great! Good luck!


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Darn, that is very unfortunate! Sounds like you did everything right, so let us know if it turns out okay or not.


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## stevene9 (Nov 9, 2008)

I dropped my K in the sink under a running fawcet. Dried it out and it was fine. I wouldn't put it in any enclosed bag though, you want the insides to thoroughly dry out. Putting it in a baggie will close off the air and tend to keep the water in.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Unless it works perfectly when you pull it out of the bag, I would call Kindle Customer Service (not Amazon Customer Service) and throw myself on their mercy.  They have been amazingly generous to some people who had Kindles fall victim to bad things.

Incidentally, sounds like you did exactly the right things in response to the disaster.


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## Maria Romana (Jun 7, 2010)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Unless it works perfectly when you pull it out of the bag, I would call Kindle Customer Service (not Amazon Customer Service) and throw myself on their mercy. They have been amazingly generous to some people who had Kindles fall victim to bad things.


The Claw is right. I've heard loads of stories of people who sat on their Kindles, drove over them, or dropped them in the swimming pool, and then had a new one rush-shipped to them for free. Amazon's commitment to CS is a breath of fresh air in a world where you can't get extra pickles on your McBurger without an upcharge and a dirty look.

--Maria


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## Book_Worm (Feb 25, 2011)

meromana said:


> The Claw is right. I've heard loads of stories of people who sat on their Kindles, drove over them, or dropped them in the swimming pool, and then had a new one rush-shipped to them for free. Amazon's commitment to CS is a breath of fresh air in a world where you can't get extra pickles on your McBurger without an upcharge and a dirty look.
> 
> --Maria


Makes complete sense on their part too. They'd much rather you HAVE a Kindle so you can keep buying books from them, then to risk you not having one, or worse yet having a competitors product. I'm sure they look at things like purchase history when making these calls. Still, good for Amazon for putting customers first. It's a very rare thing for any company these days.


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## CoffeeCat (Sep 13, 2010)

Book_Worm said:


> Makes complete sense on their part too. They'd much rather you HAVE a Kindle so you can keep buying books from them, then to risk you not having one, or worse yet having a competitors product. I'm sure they look at things like purchase history when making these calls. Still, good for Amazon for putting customers first. It's a very rare thing for any company these days.


This.

I hope your Kindle is okay! If not, I'm sure Amazon Kindle CS will take good care of you.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

I did not know the "Rice Trick".....interesting and makes perfect sense....hope I will not need it though.

Let us know the outcome !!!


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## TheRiddler (Nov 11, 2010)

As someone who had a nice shiny replacement free of charge from Amazon after I cracked my screen (it was in my pocket....), I have had nothing but great experience from the Kindle customer service.

As it was new, I'm not sure they check order history, as I wouldn't have purchased many books at that time.

Maybe if you'd had it a year, and only bought a couple of books they'd be less inclined to help, but I reckon you'll be ok with them.

Good luck!


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## WayneBowyer (Feb 27, 2011)

This story reminded me of something I routinely did in 1988-1992. I worked pt for a PC repair shop. We would get some really filthy (dirty) pc's in for various repairs. The keyboards would be particularly dirty so we stood them on their ends in the toilet tank (not the bowl!) for an hour or two. We kept one of the standard tank cleaners (the bottles you would open and place upside down) in the tank itself. Would then blow out with compressed air and let dry. Worked great.


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## Hawklight (Mar 26, 2011)

Well, I removed it from the rice today and sprayed it with compressed air.  Everything seems to be working ok except both page forward buttons on the sides turn the page twice instead of once.  Very annoying.  I'm not sure if the water somehow got to something that effects this.


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## WayneBowyer (Feb 27, 2011)

There is probably a trace bit of moisture still within those small switches. Those are very small (with emphasis on small) PCB --printed circuit board--switches soldered directly to the circuit board. More compressed air and possibly sitting in front of a dehumidifier for some hours might do the trick. If you feel really ambitious you might consider trying to pop the back off the Kindle to better expose the switches to air.

Wayne


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## Hawklight (Mar 26, 2011)

WayneBowyer said:


> There is probably a trace bit of moisture still within those small switches. Those are very small (with emphasis on small) PCB --printed circuit board--switches soldered directly to the circuit board. More compressed air and possibly sitting in front of a dehumidifier for some hours might do the trick. If you feel really ambitious you might consider trying to pop the back off the Kindle to better expose the switches to air.
> 
> Wayne


Thanks, I will try some more compressed air. I think I will wait until I talk to Amazon I before I try to remove the case. I'm fairly proficient with electronics, I just took my wife's iPhone apart to install a new battery last week so I'm sure I could disassemble the Kindle but I don't want to risk damaging the case if they might perhaps exchange it for me first. Hopefully it will begin to work normally with some more dry time. At least so far the screen, USB port, and keyboard all seem to be functioning fine.


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## Hawklight (Mar 26, 2011)

Upon further testing, it seems the keyboard is typing random letter when I use it also.


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

I think a call to customer service is in order.  If you are like me, you'd rather keep the device you already have but it might be time give Amazon a shout.


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## Hawklight (Mar 26, 2011)

Update:

I called Amazon and unfortunately all they could offer me is a refurbished unit for $70.    I cant be too disappointed with Amazon because it was my own fault after all but I really wished they would have shown some leniency since I have only had it for 2 weeks and buy a ton of stuff from them.  I read so many stories of Amazon replacing units for free but just didn't get lucky enough I guess .The "honesty is always the best policy" failed me this time. lol  It will be awhile before I can replace it unfortunately.


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

Wait - you only left it in the rice a day?!?!

You should have left it for a few days without trying anything.  

It's hard, but from what i've read it takes a few days to dry stuff out... maybe you can put it back in there and see if it will help?

I'm sorry you dumped it in the water - i live in fear the child i'm buying for will do that (or worse). The $70 isn't bad, but i can relate to it might as well be $700 sometimes.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Did you call Amazon CS, or Kindle CS? Kindle CS tends to be more sympathetic.....

Amazon Kindle customer service: 1-866-321-8851

More CS information: How do I contact customer service?


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## WayneBowyer (Feb 27, 2011)

I agree with the suggestion concerning more "rice time".

Wonder which works better-- Uncle Ben's or Zatarains?


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## Hawklight (Mar 26, 2011)

pidgeon92 said:


> Did you call Amazon CS, or Kindle CS? Kindle CS tends to be more sympathetic.....
> 
> Amazon Kindle customer service: 1-866-321-8851
> 
> More CS information: How do I contact customer service?


I called Kindle CS. The guy was real nice but would only offer me the refurb and since it's my fault I really couldn't argue with him. I'm hoping maybe there is just some moisture effecting the keys that will be resolved with more drying time. I tried going back to paper, not sure if I can do it. lol


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

There are several YouTube clips of K3 teardown. Here is one:


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Hawklight said:


> I called Amazon and unfortunately all they could offer me is a refurbished unit for $70.


Don't be disappointed; this is still incredible service.


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## AlleyGator (Mar 25, 2011)

I've never heard about the "rice in a baggie" for water-logged kindles, cell phones, etc. That good to know that something can be tried before dealing with customer service. I might mention that I have had nothing, but great service from Amazon CS.


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## SamIam (Mar 3, 2011)

Alley Gator said:


> I've never heard about the "rice in a baggie" for water-logged kindles, cell phones, etc. That good to know that something can be tried before dealing with customer service. I might mention that I have had nothing, but great service from Amazon CS.


Same here, thats a nice tip to know!


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## Hawklight (Mar 26, 2011)

I broke it all down last night and removed everything.  I didn't see any visible evidence of water anywhere inside of it.  I used a blow dryer on the keyboard and buttons and let it sit over night and then I put it all back together today and it turns on fine however the page turn keys continue to turn multiple pages on one click and some keys on the keyboard work fine, others type multiple letter and some letters act as the up button on the d-pad.  I cant see how there could be any water left to cause this so I'm guessing I maybe fried the buttons somehow.  It sucks because everything else works fine but reading a book would be a major pain not to mention trying to type in your account setting to be able to download your books from Amazon as well as search for anything.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

My understanding is that even after water evaporates, minerals and solids that were in the water can stay behind (since they don't evaporate) and they are often conductive.  So they mess up the way things are supposed to work, and can even do permanent physical damage to the electronics by letting electricity flow in ways that it shouldn't.

My advice is to go for the $70 refurb.  If this is for a  3G, it is an excellent deal, and it's still pretty darn good for a wifi.


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## labread (Jan 26, 2011)

A few months ago, my husband's iPod Nano went through the washing machine.  One of the tips I read was to first soak it in isopropyl alcohol to dispel the water and then do the rice trick.  I was worried about the alcohol on the plastic, so I just dipped it in for maybe 30 seconds.  I shook it off, stuck it in rice, and put it in the oven, turned it on for a couple of minutes every now and then to try to keep it at about 120 degrees.  After a day and a half, I pulled it out, and it worked just fine!


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## meowzart (Mar 29, 2011)

I tried to bath my iphone, and my hubby - who is in IT - did all the right tricks and it just was dead   Very sad day.  I'm so sorry about your kindle.  Perhaps we could have a memorial?  It may help you let go 

Note: do not carry water bottles and electronic devices in the same bag...they don't play well together!


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