Dropped my phone in paint

There is no magic that is going to help your phone if you dropped it in paint.

Use some common sense here, go to the Apple store and buy an out of warranty iphone.

So so sorry to hear of your phone's misfortune. These things do happen though. I'm a mixed media artist (have been for 50+ years), so I know what I'm talking about when it comes to paints, inks, stains, dyes, chemical substances removers, etc..

⚠⚠⚠ Using ANY chemicals on a phone can damage it, and will void the warranty, if it still has one ⚠⚠⚠

Chemicals that remove paint, including water, will most likely damage the phone some way(s), which is why the warranty would become void. However, a little water on or in the phone won't necessarily harm it too much (say dropping a phone in the sink and quickly removing it), and it can usually be dried out using a bowl of uncooked rice. You bury the phone in the bowl of uncooked rice overnight, or longer - if need be. I've never done this personally, as my cell phones have always been in a quality case of some sort, presently using an Otterbox case, and I've never dropped any of them into anything other than a purse, bag or pocket. However, my younger daughter (age 26) used the rice bowl trick when she dropped her phone in a rain puddle last week. I saw the bowl of rice on the kitchen counter the next morning and asked her about it. She said it works to pull the mositure out of the phone. She said she has done it before when she was in college. She found the trick on a YouTube video. Always good to know these things. The rice did exactly what was needed and the phone works perfectly, at least so far. Her phone is not an iPhone and not in a protective case either.

Paint remover chemicals, other than water, might damage the glass too, not just the electronics, or the metal or plastic outter case, causing etching and/or fogging. I've used some chemicals to do this on purpose for art projects.

So, what kind of paint was it the phone fell into?

Acrylic, oil, watercolor, house paint or fine artist paint (oil or Acrylic), etc.?

Acrylic and watercolor paints are water based. Watercolor paints can be cleaned up with a little water and a clean rag. Once Acrylic paint dries, which is normally pretty fast 1-3 hours, you should be able to just peel it off the phone, or scraped it off. However, if the paint is inside the openeings where the speakers are, where the charging cord port is, and/or the earphone/external speaker port is, you might, VERY carefully, need to pick it out with a sewing needle or safety pin. I had to do this when my speaker and earphone ports got clogged with some lint from a coat pocket.

If any of those methods I listed above don't help, and you still have muffled sound, you will likely have to take the phone to a pro repair shop to have it opened up to see what else is going on. It might be there is further damage inside which may or may not be worth repairing, or may or may not be able to be repaired.

Hope this helps. If not, you can buy a new one, or you have 3 nights of Hanukkah left to ask for a new iPhone 😉. Or if you celebrate Christmas or Kwanza, drop the hint now and get a cheapy temporary phone or a used one to tie you over. If you don't celebrate anything in December, or you are opposed to asking for such an expensive gift from anyone or a group of friends and/or family, then you'll have to make a choice for yourself in terms of a replacement.

I the phone working otherwise? Have you tried it with headphones?

Put it on vibrate mode & place in pocket.

If it works other than the speakers, I'd say the repair cost would be reasonable. Still on warranty, you would need an authorized repair shop.

The idea of picking out the paint may be a good one. The phone speaker seems to be rather solid. I thought there was a metal screen above my speaker on my iPhone 4, but I'm no longer sure. Could be the speaker is exposed through the glass.

4:48

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3w1Wtk1-_Y

Seems possible for self repair. BUY a non-working 5s for parts so you can experiment around.

R

Malcolm J. Rayfield wrote:

You need to clear the holes in the speaker grill. Paint remover, solvent, and a sharp pin may help.

Paint remover and other solvents are not a good mix with electronics. Although it could be argued the OP has nothing left to lose, Apple does, on occasion, refuse an out-of-warranty replacement if the original phone is too badly damaged.

You need to clear the holes in the speaker grill. Paint remover, solvent, and a sharp pin may help.