You can survive water damage...

[EdgarO]

Well, if it's fresh water...

I sunk my magic air into about three feet of (clear) river water (smart, huh?). It took me about 30-45 seconds to get it out of the water.

Very first thing: - Try to turn the battery off. Since it didn't in my case, a simpler solution: take it out (see later..)

Then - There's a lot of people on various forums saying the rice trick is a myth. I wonder if they've actually got any experience of this. Here's what I did. Firstly, having already taken the battery out, I got a hair dryer, and set it on its side, pointing at the drone from a reasonable distance. By this, I mean I could hold my hand in the air stream without it being painful in the least. Clearly you do not want to melt your drone. I let it run for half on hour or so on each side in turn. I set the thing upside down, I opened the port for the SD card and USB connector etc etc. After an hour or two of this, I put a fresh battery in and gave it a go. It worked for a short time but the sensor cameras were fogged up. Here's where the rice comes in - I wrapped the drone in a cloth (muslin/cheesecloth kind of thing) and then buried it in a bucket of rice. First put a layer of an inch or so into your container, then the drone, then cover it. The key is patience - 18 hours (for me) later, all that fogging that had been in the sensor lenses was gone. I fired it up, and, after calibrating the IMU, the obstacle sensors, & the compass, everything is fine. Except the battery that was in the machine when it got submerged...

But, I put that battery through the cloth and rice trick (for only about six hours) and it's now fine too.

I think the main things are:
Don't be an idiot like I was.
But, if you do have an accident, act as fast as you can - switch off/remove the battery, get blowing warm air at it/sink it into rice as soon as you can.

And good luck!

ps, I was fairly hopeful about the rice thing since my wife had fixed her iPhone some years ago after a trip into a kitchen sink full of water. Obviously the mavic is a different beast, but for sucking moisture out of confined quarters, rice really does do the job.

 

[zwt100]

Thanks for the advice, hopefully none of us have to use it! Glad your drone is back in working order.

 

[ChrisW81]

Glad that you were able to salvage a bad situation. The rice truck is definitely not a myth. Only key is to make sure it’s “dry.” All rice is dry, but I mean microwaved for a few minutes dry. Let it cool off and use it. The moisture will get sucked out of any electronic.

Happy flying.

 

[CanadaDrone]

I was under the impression that DJI coats the electronics in a hydrophobic and/or waterproof coating, but I am not sure if that only applies to the more expensive Phantoms or all of their drones. I don't have a source for that unfortunately, maybe someone else can confirm.

 

[ChrisW81]

I was under the impression that DJI coats the electronics in a hydrophobic and/or waterproof coating, but I am not sure if that only applies to the more expensive Phantoms or all of their drones. I don't have a source for that unfortunately, maybe someone else can confirm.

I am not sure either, but I am planning on sending my Mavic Air to a company that coats entire bird minus the batteries. It would essentially be rated IP67 once done.

 

[mavicn00b]

Louis Rossman thinks it's a myth.

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Considering he does board level repairs I think he may have a better insight into the matter. Rice doesn't get rid of corrosion.

Quite frankly I'd be too scared to fly a water damaged drone.

 

[ChrisW81]

Louis Rossman thinks it's a myth.

Considering he does board level repairs I think he may have a better insight into the matter. Rice doesn't get rid of corrosion.

Quite frankly I'd be too scared to fly a water damaged drone.

Rice was never meant to get rid of corrosion, just moisture.

 

[mavicn00b]

Rice was never meant to get rid of corrosion, just moisture.

Yeah not sure how that helps the situation - especially having some component failure in-flight.. Unlike a phone or laptop failing, drones can be a little more problematic when things end badly.

 

[ChrisW81]

Yeah not sure how that helps the situation - especially having some component failure in-flight.. Unlike a phone or laptop failing, drones can be a little more problematic when things end badly.

Agreed, but it’s better than doing nothing, short of sending off for repair.
It will cost be about $190 to have the drone Hydrophobic coated. Gimble will be removed prior and not be coated along with battery.
Should I do it? Up for debate. Will I do it? Yes, as I’ve had good results with other electronics I’ve had coated like my iPhone 5.

 

[swooshdave]

Fresh water won’t corrode unless you leave it damp for a while.

To keep my 3D printer filament dry I built a box and would store it with a tub of desiccant. It’s very effective.

DampRid 64 oz. Fragrance Free High Capacity Moisture Absorber-FG50T - The Home Depot

 

[lisadoc]

Rice was never meant to get rid of corrosion, just moisture.

Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone « Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks

Putting Your Waterlogged Phone in Rice Is Dumb and Doesn't Work

 

[swooshdave]

Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone « Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks

Putting Your Waterlogged Phone in Rice Is Dumb and Doesn't Work

Neither one of those articles was useful. In the first one they used so little rice (100g) that it’s not surprising it don’t work that well.

I still have no idea what the second article was about.

 

[jaybird66]

You could also get a big container of silica gel beads used for cat litter. Actually designed to absorb moisture and relatively cheap. There's also a difference in freshwater vs. saltwater immersion.
jay

 

[ChrisW81]

Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone « Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks

Putting Your Waterlogged Phone in Rice Is Dumb and Doesn't Work

So essentially you just went and googled stuff to counter the claim of the effectiveness of rice. Try telling the mass that have actually used rice. I don’t post comments unless I’ve actually used the method or have experience.
You may believe that it won’t work and that’s your prerogative. I think you fully misinterpreted what people use rice for. Think of rice as like a very drunk and half-twit doctor. He’s not what you may want and you could very well die but he’s the best chances you’ve got if he is all that is around.

 

[lisadoc]

So essentially you just went and googled stuff to counter the claim of the effectiveness of rice. Try telling the mass that have actually used rice. I don’t post comments unless I’ve actually used the method or have experience.

Did you read the articles or listen to the podacst? Both were based on experimentation (testing rice vs other methods), experience, and coming from an expert in electronics repair and saving water-damaged phones. "Dennison is one of the very few people in the United States who actually knows how to repair water damaged phones. For the last year, he's been on a personal mission to stop people from ruining perfectly good rice with waterlogged phones."

Basing your opinion on personal anecdote is your prerogative, but I tend to go with science and those with far more experience than a singular instance of sticking their waterlogged electronics into a pile of rice and assuming it was the fact that they did so rather than pure luck that saved their device.

I could have retorted with "It doesn't work" or "it could be detrimental to your Mavic", or "There are lots of other methods that are far superior", but those people already convinced of its efficacy would not have cared at all and simply ignored my "opinion". Instead I provided links to two resources (and there are plenty more) that demonstrated why it was not the correct thing to do, in hopes that people would do a bit of research into the topic and actually learn from the experts (which, on this topic, I am not - so what I would do or personally have done is pretty irrelevant).

 

[lisadoc]

Here's an additional scientific study (not personal anecdote) that actually demonstrated that rice is one of the worst dessicants for water-logged devices:

Rice Myth Busted: New Study Proves Using Rice to Dry a Wet Phone Is Not Effective

“Evaluation of Rice as a Method of Drying Out Waterlogged Cell Phones,” - conducted by DTJ Consulting.

 

[eyedoc]

Sometimes rice works sometimes it doesn't. It depends on what is hit with water at the time, and what sequence. It is always worth a try, and if it works fantastic. There is nothing that says it will always work, and nothing that says it always won't. Congratulations......you got your drone back!

 

[ChrisW81]

Did you read the articles or listen to the podacst? Both were based on experimentation (testing rice vs other methods), experience, and coming from an expert in electronics repair and saving water-damaged phones. "Dennison is one of the very few people in the United States who actually knows how to repair water damaged phones. For the last year, he's been on a personal mission to stop people from ruining perfectly good rice with waterlogged phones."

Basing your opinion on personal anecdote is your prerogative, but I tend to go with science and those with far more experience than a singular instance of sticking their waterlogged electronics into a pile of rice and assuming it was the fact that they did so rather than pure luck that saved their device.

I could have retorted with "It doesn't work" or "it could be detrimental to your Mavic", or "There are lots of other methods that are far superior", but those people already convinced of its efficacy would not have cared at all and simply ignored my "opinion". Instead I provided links to two resources (and there are plenty more) that demonstrated why it was not the correct thing to do, in hopes that people would do a bit of research into the topic and actually learn from the experts (which, on this topic, I am not - so what I would do or personally have done is pretty irrelevant).

Wow oh wow, you must be taking this pretty seriously. It’s just rice bro. It doesn’t bite yet tastes good and this is way off topic from OP. It worked for him and it’s worked for me. Been using the same method since the turn of the century. Can you not just be happy that it works for some... besides, if one bought a LifeProof case for their phone, one wouldn’t have a problem.

 

[Mavflyer]

Wow oh wow, you must be taking this pretty seriously. It’s just rice bro. It doesn’t bite yet tastes good and this is way off topic from OP. It worked for him and it’s worked for me. Been using the same method since the turn of the century. Can you not just be happy that it works for some... besides, if one bought a LifeProof case for their phone, one wouldn’t have a problem.

It has nothing to do with "being happy" for someone. Using rice is a myth, and lisadoc was trying to get you to realize that, even going so far as to provide you with a study that shows as much. If someone truly believes that drinking gasoline cures cancer, would you "be happy" for them or try to convince them otherwise because you know its foolish? Its an extreme example, but I'm just making a point. Many times electronic devices will be fine if allowed to dry naturally. That's basically what you are doing is allowing them to dry naturally, but it's actually worse because you are restricting airflow with the rice and container. The best thing you can do is open the device as much as you can and provide as much airflow as you can. How many times have you seen rice used in dessicant packet?

 

[ChrisW81]

It has nothing to do with "being happy" for someone. Using rice is a myth, and lisadoc was trying to get you to realize that, even going so far as to provide you with a study that shows as much. If someone truly believes that drinking gasoline cures cancer, would you "be happy" for them or try to convince them otherwise because you know its foolish? Its an extreme example, but I'm just making a point. Many times electronic devices will be fine if allowed to dry naturally. That's basically what you are doing is allowing them to dry naturally, but it's actually worse because you are restricting airflow with the rice and container. The best thing you can do is open the device as much as you can and provide as much airflow as you can. How many times have you seen rice used in dessicant packet?

You are absolutely right. Forgive me for stating what has and hasn’t worked for me. Those videos he has shown proves to be the absolute authority in the matter. I’ll never use rice again after watching them. A shame I’ve wasted so much food over my lifetime.
I feel horrible that the OP managed to make it work for himself and get back flying. Someone please tell the OP that rice doesnt work.
I suppose now that I’ve seen the light, I will begin to send off all my water logged electronics to the companies that know what they are doing and pay the premium price. After all, these birds are not cheap.
Thank you guys/gals for pointing me in the right direction.