When I got a contract 4 months ago from ‘3’ I chose the Nokia E71. I had wanted a top-end phone after years of using very basic devices. I chose it mostly based on comments from Adam Curry and James Whatley. The phone was great – did everything I| wanted and it didn’t make it hard to do it either.
So, when some rum got spilled on the keyboard last night (well technically it was about 2am this morning!) I was a bit concerned. Picked it up and turned it over to let gravity do it’s job… dried it off and left it near a radiator to dry overnight. It was still working then.
I eventually woke up next morning, tested the phone and found some major issues… the space bar was not working or miss-keying, the right scroll was repeating, etc… I was starting to get worried.
Plan ‘A’ – Use good old electronic contact cleaner pressure spray to give those keys a quick degrease. Right? Turn phone off, strip out battery, remove SIM etc. 2-3 second spray…. leave for 4-5 minutes to dry (like it says on the can) and then reload.
Result? No better.
Now I am really getting anxious. I had turned down the insurance at the time I took out the contract (like you do right?), so now I was looking at £300 to get a new unlocked phone 
Plan ‘B’ – Repeat plan ‘A’ with more spray, lots more (maybe it didn’t get to the right places first time). A good 5-10 second inverted spray over all the keys. Leave to dry for 5-10 mins. Reload – MUCH WORSE! Now many keys don’t feel right, all soggy not a firm click. 
((( Unload the phone again leave to dry even longer.
Start to tell contacts about the problem and to switch back to spare mobile account number for now.
One friend tells me she put her phone through a full washing machine cycle and it came back to life after drying for several hours. Advises not to panic – give it time.
But I am thinking… this phone is f*******! The spray probably melted some inner plastic membrane and it is not going to make it… start looking on eBay :-0
Leave phone hanging over radiator for an hour, retest… maybe a little better action but nothing significant…. 3 hours later, retest… small improvement on some keys. 8 hours later it almost feels normal again…
Reload, reboot and BINGO! All back and working.
I am truly relieved and humbled by the resilience of this phone.
Now… do I need to reconsider that insurance? I think it was 23p a day.
Anyone else had similar experiences?
7 comments
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January 5, 2009 at 1:21 pm
whatleydude
Dude!
Happy New Year and well done for getting your little beauty of an E71 working again! Sheesh.. I’ve been there a few times.
So, in answer to your question – a couple of things:
1) I’d seriously consider taking out insurance. The phone’s own warantee covers a LOT of wear and tear but it definitely, definitely does NOT cover any water damage.
How do they know if it has water damage? Open the back, take the battery out and.. see that little white circle? Well.. it *was* white until you had water damage. That’s how they know…. next
2) Check your home contents insurance. Most modern day policies include mobile phones as standard. It all depends on your premium…
Hope that helps and I’m glad you felt you made the right choice too when it came to which handset to get..
Cheers,
J
January 7, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Rob
Just be glad it wasn’t orange juice – kills a lot of keyboards imo. Now, if you’d got an iphone, then you wouldn’t need the keys. I haven’t got an iphone btw.
August 6, 2009 at 7:25 am
David Lawrence
I have experienced this twice with this phone. First time I dropped in the bath, it was under the water for at least 10 seconds before I found it. Came out and didnt work at all, put it over the radiator and after a few hours I was able to turn it on, many keys not working, no camera, the whole right side didnt work. After two days everything working except the camera, the letter K and the letter I. I got quite creative with new words when texting, and had to use a PC to change my email password as it had an I in it. If you look under the battery you will see a white spot, this will turn red when exposed to water, so they know if you send it back. The second time was in the bath again (no I didnt learn, and I STILL use my third phone in the bath now) The steam from the bath this time! I think the gaps between the keys are the problem, small enough to let liquid in, but not big enough to get it back out.
My latest problem is the clock keep going to 1:00am every 20-30minutes. I am working on it, as I really like the phone……
August 11, 2009 at 11:20 pm
jedb
Hey David,
Thanks for sharing. Hope it revives fully again. I love this phone.
August 17, 2009 at 12:56 pm
DM
Did you ever manage to fix the camera David ? Ive got the same problem at the moment, everything else bar the camera is working.
October 11, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Prateek
I can’t live without my E71 and I’m damn scared now.
I feel stupid and sad. I spilled some super glue on the phone. It wouldn’t have been a problem only if I hadn’t panicked and poured acetone to remove it. The keypad all swelled up and won’t press. I ran to the nearest dealer and he told me that it’ll require a new keypad and keypad circuit. He changed it but it won’t light up like earlier. When I went back to him with the problem, he said the circuit he put is fine but said he’ll give me a return if I don’t want it. I got my money back and the old keypad and circuit. It’s working fine except for a few keys. :’( I’m so worried if the chemical has gone inside and damaged it from within. I haven’t been able to study today.
I’m going to the Nokia care centre tomorrow.
All I can do is pray.
October 11, 2009 at 8:26 pm
jedb
Good luck Prateek, I can feel your anxiety.
My E71 took a day or two to fully try out. Leave off and open with the battery out in an airy place to speed it… but you probably have gone past that stage now.