Hi everybody on maemo forum! Unfortunately, the other night i was at a mini birthday celebration party. At one point for the first time that night, i took my N900 out to check if i have any messages, to my suprise, somebody popped a bottle of champagne, and a little bit went behind the screen (the visible metal bit behind when the screen is pushed up so the qwerty keyboard can be used)

At first things were ok except that when i tryed pressing a few things on my desktop screen, it didnt press it properly, i thought this could be because my finger was sticky a little bit, and so was the screen of the phone. I was still very worried.

5 minutes later my screen started flashing and immedietly i turned it off and took the battery out. The next day when i turned my phone on, to my suprise, everything comes on properly i can see the Nokia logo, the little bars going left and right, except the backlight does not work, and the touchscreen is unresponsive.

I can see the Nokia screen come up, but when i come upto the bit to enter my code, i cannot do this as the touchscreen isnt working.

I tried plugging my phone onto my tv with TV out, everything still works perfectly. When i push my screen up, the lights on the keys light up as they are supposed to. So im guessing the only problem is the backlight and the unresponsive touchscreen.

What can i do? How can i get this fixed? I have only had this phone for a week and i am so dissapointed/upset/angry that this has happened already because i have been looking after this phone so well.

My insurance company does cover accidental damage but i dont know if this particular incident will be covered, and also i will be charged £60 for this repair/replacement.

Oh and another slight problem is that there is a bit of sticky champagne on the screen sliders, and this makes it harder to push the screen upwards SOMETIMES only. < -- (Note: this isnt my main problem right now, as long as my screen is fully fixed and i can use my N900 fully again)

If anybody can help and suggest what i should do, i would be very greatful, thanks

Bummer.

I think sending it back is probably best.

Unless someone can give you a walkthrough on how to disassemble it AND clean it and put it back together. tehkseven on youtube took it apart and splashed water on it till it stopped working, but it was more for sadistic humour.

Or you can find a tank of CFCs, they can clean electronics no problem (but not friendly for the environment at all).

you should have leave the phone in the rice for a few day before turn it back on. now it should be water damaged

First thing to do after water contact is leaving the battery from the phone. Then you can put it in the rice.

I've had similar problems while installing the ZAGG Invisible Shield, read here how I solved.

My problem was a little different, because I left my battery out and, when I insert it (after 24h) the phone worked normally, just with water under the screen.

Hi everybody, thanks for all the replies, i tried the rice method, for 48 hours (i checked when it was 24 hours and put it back in, due to a dissapointing result)

When i took it out after 48 hours, it still made NO difference and my phones backlight still doesnt work (not really suprised about that one)
and the screen turns on but the touch sensors are still not working.. i cannot get past the "Enter Your Device Lock Code" screen due to unresponsive touchscreen..

On the 3rd Wednesday, I took it back to my local Carphone Warehouse branch and gave my phone in for repair, they said it will take 1-2 weeks and i have to pay £60 aswell on top which is quite frustrating considering im already paying £14 a month for my insurance.

They do not know if they can repair it, but if they cant, ill get a replacement, and if they do repair it, they said they might format my phone. Whatever they do, I hope i can get my N900 or a new n900 in a working state as soon as possible! I dont really care if i loose all my data as long as i have my baby back

I can track my repair online, and my phone still seems to be sitting at my local carphone warehouse branch waiting to get dispatched to the main repair centre, and they dont seem to be wanting to dispatch it because since day 1, it still says:

"Status: Repair Received in Store

Reported fault: Dripping wet obvious water damage | Repair Type: Insurance

Your handset is awaiting collection for a delivery to our main repair centre"

The Bold and Underlined sentence is what annoys me the most! Its been 3 days, i pay all that money and they are not even doing anything about it!

That just goes to say that wasting money on insurance for small (and even large) things is just that - wasting money. Any Nokia Care center would probably fix it for the same price, and faster than going through a retailer.

News! I have received a call from Carphone Warehouse today telling me my phone is ready, however not fixed.. i went to the store today and i got my unrepaired phone back.. i will go in tomorrow and get my BRAND new replacement.. but something really caught my attention.. CPW and their repair team, has NO idea what theyre talking about.. i noticed the damage description said that the phone doesnt even turn on etc, and it is totally dead from water damage (Which is obviously wrong because even now after getting my phone back, i can see the "Enter Lock Code" screen.. i also noticed that they have not even tryed dissembling the phone in any way, they just turned it on and off and told me they are going to replace it for me..

i get to keep this old n900 which is "unrepairable" but is there anyway i can fix it and keep it?

i noticed there are some nokia approved repair teams on ebay that change the screen and the touch screen stuff for £90 etc.. do you think i should give them a go? they told me that if it doesnt work, i will not be charged..

or somehow if someone online comes up with a DIY fixing method, then i can apply that method and fix it myself with instructions..

Any ideas?