By 
I’d like to believe I have a pretty darn good track record when it comes to my Android devices. Some have taken a few spills, but never to the point where the glass was shattered or they were completely inoperable. This is after 10+ years of countless devices ranging from the original Sidekick to my currently daily driver, the Motorola DROID Turbo.
It all started yesterday when, in an attempt at kicking up the speed on the Turbo (which has yet to receive Lollipop), I decided to change the runtime from Dalvik to ART. I know, any performance gains were probably going to negligible, but it was tough using something as blazing fast as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge while at home (it doesn’t have actual service), only to return to the DROID Turbo when out and about. It sounds crazy, but the difference in raw speed was noticeable.
Anyhow, when a phone is on KitKat and you switch it from the default runtime to ART, the phone will have to optimize all the apps on your device. In fact, some devices will do this each and every time you reboot with a notification that “Android is upgrading…” The DROID Turbo is one of those devices.
Yesterday, some weird app caused my phone to freeze up and a reboot was necessary. With over 300 apps to “upgrade,” my phone started getting hot. Real hot. As I was grabbing some Dino Nuggets out the freezer to prepare an afternoon snack, I decided to set my now nuclear DROID Turbo in the freezer for a quick minute thinking it’d cool things down a bit. I figured I couldn’t possibly forget where I left it as I’d run into it again when placing my bag o’ nuggets back in the freezer. Yeah… that didn’t happen.
It wasn’t until the following day (today), that I began retracing my footsteps and remembered exactly where I left my phone: the mother freakin’ freezer. Upon pulling it out, the phone immediately began building up moisture — even frost — all around it. Underneath the glass, camera lens, pretty much everywhere. Not good.
As for right now, the old DROID Turbs is currently incubating inside a bowl of rice where it will remain for the foreseeable future. Just thought it was more or less a funny story, one that a few of you would get a kick out of. Have a great weekend, everyone!
UPDATE: It’s been 3 days now since the DROID Turbo has been sitting in a bowl of uncooked rice. I finally powered it on and… SUCCESS. The old rice trick worked. Now, I’m not sure if they phone will give me any problems down the line, but as it stands, it looks like it’s been fully revived. Thanks again for listening to my admittedly ridiculous story.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of someone doing such a thing.
switching over the runtime or putting a phone in the freezer? cuz I’m guilty of leaving the phone in the freezer :/
So glad I wasn’t alone in this. XD
we expect you to post if phone survived
Putting a phone in the freezer lol I switched to ART the moment it was available on KK with the Nexus 5
Which “thing” ?
Please ignore my inability to scroll down
A friend of my lost his remote control of the TV. He found it later in the fridge
Never heard of someone doing that either lol I’m missing out on some good “you won’t believe this” stories
I once left a (top of the line for its time, expensive, employer-supplied) laptop in my car on a night that it was below zero farenheit outside. I realized I left it there late that night and brought it inside. I stupidly tried to turn it on. The fans went nuts (as if it was hot not cold) and it wouldn’t boot. I saw the moisture building all over it and quickly turned it off. I let it sit indoors for the rest of night and it was perfectly fine in the morning.
Hahahah. who’s the author of this I can’t find it??
Chris
That’s classic, it might be ok…
I use a small fan when upgrading/after a partition wipe/etc…….
Does the job w/o the condensation build-up inside the phone.
Rice to the rescue!
You will be surprised how resilient moto phones are
Already knew this was Chris lol
Yep!
Gotta give ya props for sharing this w/us.
Most wouldn’t admit to doing such a thing,a sign of good character!
I totally see the events unfolding:
More than one phone in the house/possession,a distraction here & there & next thing ya know,Netflix & a visit by the Sandman,then,WTF is my phone !?!!?!
Funny story. But what happened with the plan? Did you eat all the nuggets and throw away the bag or something?
I put the bag of nuggets on top of the Turbo. Didn’t even see it in there.
-_-
Doh! Best laid plans, man.
Did this once when I left my Nexus 5 in the sun outback once, forgot about and luckily only an hour later it survived with just keeping it warm in my pocket before turning it on.
I did the same with my HTC M9. I played several hours of GoT while charging at the same time and obviously the phone was very hot. So, passing the fridge, I decided to cool it down in the freezer for a few min. 45 min later, I was looking for my phone when horror swept over me. It did the same; frost immediately forming everywhere, but not under the display. It worked flawlessly not even slowing down, but it was like using a smart ice cube.
That really is a pretty funny story. Freaking Dino nuggets. Pfffft.
5.1 update will fix everything..
.2
Defrost it in the fridge, as it has built in mositure control.
Yeah, I realized that was my first mistake upon pulling it out. I only hope someone else will learn from this. Lol
I learned to not put my phone in the freezer and forget about it. Thank you Chris…and I hope your phone works again !
Chris your a baller anyways, you should get the new g4, n6, or use something else until the new nexus is announced ! :)
My 4 year old ask me why I was laughing. So I did let him know. Lol, funny thing… He told me that you was crazy. Lol
That must be a Turbo thing, because after switching my Moto G to ART and my Nexus 7 as well (before the 7 went Lollipop), it didn’t rebuild after each reboot. One switchover and done.
My phone says upgrading every time I turn it on. Lg g3 cm12.1
My G3 doesn’t do that. Unrooted and bootloader hymen intact.
Using the word “hymen”. Interesting analogy to a phone topic.
Is there a way to sew a bootloader hymen back together? I wouldn’t want father to find out.
Then there is something wrong with it, that’s not how it’s supposed to be.
The surest way to defrost a frozen smartphone is to immerse it in boiling olive oil (10 seconds MAX). Remove phone, all the frost will be eliminated by emulsification.
The phone will be like brand new as the first day. Good lucks.
If you believe this I also have a sub-prime mortgage offer for you on your house that’d you’d be crazy to refuse!
Never left a phone in the freezer, have left my keys in it though.
I jumped into the pool with my old iPod Touch 2nd Gen in my pocket… Wasn’t until a 1/2 hour later in the pool, I realized what I had done. Looking back however, I realize that was a good place for it. lol
Lol
Chris..was this experience worse than when you dropped your Nexus 4 in your car from ≈6 inches high and it cracked??
I was recalling the same event when he said he never shattered the glass before. Then again, I guess he didn’t technically shatter the back of his Nexus 4
Too bad you don’t have iOS 7 on it. iOS 7 makes it waterproof. http://www.cnet.com/news/ios-7-makes-your-iphone-waterproof-ad-a-scam-dunk/
Still wouldn’t be worth it haha
Never fails… Android phones show their true Capital P-O-Sness and iPhones the bad guy. how the 2 relate is a mystery wrapped in an enigma coated in a mindfuck swallowed with a ¿ and blasted screaming hot out the backside straight into google kids brains! js.
What?
Then you would have two worthless phones.
Well at least the Turbo would only be worthless AFTER leaving it in the freezer.
True
Lol
Next time you or anyone else leaves a phone in the freezer, or in the fridge, or outside in the cold, put your phone in a water proof baggie before removing it from the freezer, like a Zip-Lock freezer bag, or better yet double bag it. If you have a phone with a removable battery, pull that out of the phone first. Shorting leads or contacts together does absolutely no harm if there is no voltage. If you already pulled the phone out and there is already condensation or frost on the phone the put it in an open baggie and put it back in the fridge or outside in the freezing DRY air. That will evaporate most of the moisture. Once the phone is dry again seal the baggies.
Then let it come to room temperature, I would guess an hour or two. You could probably speed it up by putting it between your legs or under your arms. See it’s not the cold as much as it’s the condensation that is the problem.
You must shop at Costco!
I do! ^_^
Hey man, warm it up in the microwave for good measure.
I was thinking the oven. Could make more nuggets at the same time.
Good lord it is so funny. Lol
Tldnr: guy uses s6. Gets tired of his own phone, kills it.
Out of the freezer it needs to be thawed in warm water.
Just go recharge your iPhone battery in the microwave
Warm SALT water… idiot.
“Anyhow, when a phone is on KitKat and you switch it from the default runtime to ART, the phone will have to optimize all the apps on your device. In fact, it will do this each and every time you reboot with a notification that “Android is upgrading…””
That’s not true and you should change it.
It is true for Moto Droid Turbo XT1254 on Kit Kat. Art is messed up on the Moto Quark phones (XT1254, XT1225, XT1250) on Kitkat.
Luckily the XT1225 have Lollipop, but the XT1254 does not yet.
It was actually like that on my Note 4 before I upgraded to lollipop. Wouldn’t be surprised if his phone did the same thing.
HAAAA GOT EM’!….This is definitely something I would do completely sober.
I might have put it in a zip lock with some rice and then buried it in a bowl filled with ice. That way it would warm up gradually.
I did it too but just enough for ART to finish optimizing apps
Art will have to optimize as the apps built in aren’t entirely made for lollipop, everytime. The difference isn’t enough to do it, so don’t. I definitely wouldn’t do it!
Yeah… I’ve heard people say it makes a big difference but I noticed zero difference in performance. It was kind of disappointing.
I did it once, just to compare results.
But now on Lollipop I don’t have to ^^
Serious question. How high were you when this happened?
he was eating dino nuggets that should answer your question
You sound like my wife
I remember doing this with the PlayStation 1 (not the forgetting part) just so I could get in another hour of soul caliber/insert game!
Can you say hard core gamer ?
Just go get you a moto G for $50. At least Motorola supports that device somewhat.
I’ll use this excuse the next time I want to justifying replacing a perfectly reasonable existing phone that is no longer as nice as new phones ;-). Any update? Did it survive?
It’s been a few days now and I just started charging it. Don’t think I’ll power it on just yet. Wanna take off the back cover and leave it in the rice for 1 more day.
You shouldn’t have plugged it in at all…. Just put it out in the hot sun for a couple of days. The rice thing is an urban legend.
As soon as Kevin leaves Chris starts acting stupid.
Loool
What a cold thing to do to the Turbo, Chris.
I used to rent out paddle boats and would use my phone as a hotspot for my laptop in this little hot-ass boathouse. My phone would legit burn my leg through my pants to I would put it in the freezer all the time while I used the hotspot to keep it from overheating/burning me lol.
Most smartphones stopped working at -20°C
Send me your Phone Chris. I work for a repair facility. CPR-Cell Phone Repair of Sacramento……look us up. We have a high success rate for liquid damage(which freezing your phone is). Msg me if interested, don’t do Assurion. Huge Rip Off!!
I’ll look into, thanks!
I know it involves sending your device away but we get devices(tablets & cell phones) from other CPR’s across the country & also from our competitors lol. Just wanted to help since there is a huge misconception the “Using Insurance” is a good option.
I recently switched from Dalvik to Art on my Verizon note edge, due to NOT having lollipop yet, also to try and speed things up. Anyway I have over 300 apps that needed to be optimized so the phone was in unusable until done. I went for a walk with the kids and put the phone in my pocket. 5 min later myeg started burning. I could not believe how hot the phone had got.
Yeah, it was actually alarming, hence my (bad) freezer idea. Lol
So now we know. If you got 300~ over apps, take most of em off, store on pc, then ugrade to art.
This urban legend “rice” thing cracks me up. People thinking it actually absorbs any water…. Look at it like this, in order to get dry rice to absorb any water you have to boil it. If you just dump some rice in some cold water it will not absorb much at all. And it’s soaking in it! So do you really think that rice is going to absorb any of the tiny little bit of moisture that’s in the phone when you drop it in the water.? No. Best thing to do if your phone is just put it out in the baking Sun.
Actually the rice does absorb water if you put it in cool water, if left long enough it would turn to mush, all heat does is accelerate the process. You can actually shorten the rice cooking time by soaking it first as well. Whether it works for drying out electronics or not, I’m not sure.
Dry rice DOES absorb water… eventually… over the course of a few millenia.
Sun is definitely the quickest easiest way and no big deal if you live out in the country. If you live in a city remember not to put it on your balcony or roof-mounted air conditioning unit or it will get stolen by parkouring hooligans.
Bwahahahaaa!! I don’t know why I find that so hilarious. “Parkouring hooligans”. Because people are parkouring all over the place.
Haha I just stopped watching a parkour video and I’m disappointed that I never get to see people jumping like eXtreme Mario when I’m in town.
Thanks for having a brain!
I’ve done that many times. Froze it for weeks sometimes. It still always works after. Moto knows how to make phones last
If you leave a phone – or any other electronic device – in the freezer, you obviously are not responsible or intelligent enough to even own such a thing. It’s idiots like you that probably came up with the idea to do drop tests. “Hey guys, I wonder if this glass is going to break when I drop it on the floor!?” Grow up.
Uncalled for…
You’re right. Leaving a $500+ device in a freezer is uncalled for. And yes, I’m being a smartass. Better than being a dumbass
Coming on here to insult someone who admitted to making a mistake……
This isn’t a mistake. This is an issue. Would you be defending this kind of carelessness if he or someone else “just forgot” their kids or pets in a freezer? I just find it embarrassing as a human being that people can be so nonchalant about stuff like this. It’s simple common sense. But I guess when you can get a new phone every month there’s no need to be a responsible adult. Yeah, real cool.
Who said anything about putting kids or pets in a freezer? Where did that bullshoy come from? Oh, because your argument was squashed and only one other turd here is agreeing with you, you decide to try and justify your argument with something no one else was discussing.
You too would make a perfect politician. You can criticize someone for voting against your bill by claiming they don’t support provision x while they voted against your bill because of provision y.
Lmao kids in the freezer is hilarious so he’s got to be a troll. If not, then just ignore him… he’s one of those people who never makes mistakes and when bad things happen to them it is because somebody else messed up.
Yeah it’s real hilarious that young children die all the time from being locked in cars in the heat by people just like this.
And I make mistakes all the time. I learn from them though. But I don’t do stupid crap like putting my $600 smartphone in the damn freezer. Do you? Common sense people. Get some.
Wait!! So the issue is he *did* it in the first place and not that he *left* it? Hmm… I was confused before.
Well, yea. It is pretty unwise to do this. But originally, you made it seem as if forgetting was the bigger issue. I can see why people are disagreeing with you.
But I don’t think this is enough to justify that he’ll leave a child in a car. Is he supposed to show that much love for a phone?
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, that was my point and I obviously chose the wrong words. But it’s not a matter of caring for one thing over another. It’s just about thinking before you go and do something like this. A phone doesn’t belong in a freezer. At all. Not for 5 minutes or 5 seconds. I thought that would pretty much be common knowledge. Just like you shouldn’t kick it across a parking lot or give it to your dog as a chew toy. Anyway, thanks for being a civilized human who can have a conversation and be rational.
It’s clear you’re just an argument troll, so I’ll make one last comment to try and get my very simple and logical point across.
I’d like you to take your smartphone, tablet, or laptop and go place it in the freezer/refrigerator.
You’re not going to though, are you? Probably because you have enough sense to know that even the slightest amount of moisture has the potential to ruin any of those devices. So you just don’t do something that stupid.
But if you aren’t smart enough to realize the consequences of your actions, then here’s some great life hacks for you!
1. The next time your vehicle feels a bit warm just go drive it into the middle of a lake for a few minutes.
2. If you’re feet are getting cold simply build a fire on your living room floor and stand in the middle of it.
3. Got a headache? Place the barrel of a loaded .45 magnum against your temple and pull the trigger.
Be sure to let us know the results!
No human has access to their subconscious. This means no human can truly multitask. Your brain will focus on one action at a time.
This is how things like that happen. So while this action is careless, it doesn’t mean this person is careless. You lie one time doesn’t make you the worst human to walk this Earth. Things happen.
Forgetting your car keys or lights on. Now, there are some actions that are a bit more severe. But leaving your phone in the freezer isn’t one of them.
What this teaches your mind is to be more aware of things you do. I would rather someone forget their phone in their freezer because they went to get their child from daycare.
I find it quite odd that you relate this one action to a huge issue.
Look, my response to this was very simple. We all know that water/extreme temperatures and electronic devices don’t mix. So why would you do this in the first place? It’s not about forgetting it in there. I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that this guy and apparently lots of other people (according to the comments) think it is a good idea to do this. Who says “Hey, my phone is hot. I’ll just put it in the freezer!” WTF??? Someone please explain why that sounds like a good idea. Really. I’d like to know.
Dude are you seriously comparing a phone to a human life ? Lmao you are a nut job fr. Some people do use their phones 24 hours a day. So if you’re sitting in you’re house and not using your phone and you forget where you placed it that’s not an issue. Losing your children ? That’s am issue. Those are lives and cannot be replaced, a phone can. Get a grip on life my man
All I can say is that you need a hug. /hug
Show me someone who says they haven’t done anything so careless or had some other bonehead moment and I’ll show you a liar and a hypocrite. Everyone has their brainfart moment, stop being so judgemental.
Yeah, Amazing. You forgot your phone in the freezer overnight. You’ll do anything to write an article. I don’t believe for one second you ‘forgot’ the phone in the freezer. I call BS on this article.
So…. where did the real photos of his frozen/frosty Droid Turbo come from? Would Chris happen to have “mad” photoshop skillz?
Did I say HE DIDN’T DO IT? No, I did not!!!!
But for you, I’ll repeat, that he didn’t forget, but did it on purpose to get an article out of it. Can you read English, or do you just wing it?
I can read English fine. And even comprehend it. Apparently you are one of those who questions something and then when you are questioned in return, you turn around and change your story to fit your narrative.
Calling BS on an article? Yeah, you’re doubting it all. You get called out on it, and you change your motive to fit your argument. You should run for political office as you would fit in perfectly.
Calling BS is the cool thing to do these days, don’t ya know?
There are so many unbelievable and crazy things that occur in science and/or our everyday lives. It’s nuts how quickly some people slap a FAKE sticker on something if it seems even slightly weird or unlikely.
“Just thought it was more or less a funny story, one that a few of you would get a kick out of. Have a great weekend, everyone!”
He explained it! But . . .
Maybe there are elements of the story missing. Like the 12 pack of Dos Equis he had. Or… was that me?
You must be new here, why would Chris need to make up something just for an article?
I used to put my Eris in the freezer all the time. Never had a problem :D
Just saying. Let’s take an IQ test. Just in case. Lol
this could be summarised in a tweet
“just froze my phone, lol”
Someone’s finally changed their profile picture :)
Ha ha. Android user has a chance to use arguably the most advanced new Android phone on the planet. Sometime later his personal phone suffers an unusual and possibly fatal ‘accident’. LOL, your turb’s days are numbered. Clearly your subconscious is gunning for a new Galaxy S6 and it won’t be happy until it gets one…
I thought he already had one.
“out the freezer”
No, you might “out” a homosexual (which would be a really nasty to do), but you take something out OF the freezer.
The most important question is… where are those photos of dino nuggets!?!?!?
My one m8 had survived the freezer a few times… Gets a little hot with heavy gaming
I feel like a techy laughing at this. LoL!!
Reminds me of a joke I read somewhere:
“I don’t know what to do with all these bytes on my arm. I have 8 bit of a problem.”
Maybe every new device should just come with a non-removable warning label on the front…
Warning: Do not put phone in freezer, refrigerator, oven, toaster, microwave, washer, dryer, dishwasher, ocean, gas tank, water tower, furnace, fire place, back of cement truck, etc.
Also, do not attempt to boil, sauté, fry, eat, chop, use as hammer, mix mud pies, use as a car jack, punt, stand on, or play basketball with this device.
Oh, and apparently coffee may be hot and smoking cigarettes is bad for you…who’da thunk it?
My personal favorite is the bag of microwave popcorn. You have to remove the wrapper and unfold the bag to read the instructions. Step 1 is to remove the wrapper.
Hope phone is still working well.
Kit Kats are real good out of the freezer. Not so much lollipops.
Rice is probably a better bet than sticking it in the oven.
Solid-state drives lose data if left without power for just a few days | ZDNet
http://www.zdnet.com/article/solid-state-disks-lose-data-if-left-without-power-for-just-a-few-days/
Will this be this week’s Win for the Podcast?
So you are both attempting to fry your phone for minimal gains, and then when failing to get those minimal gains without obviously causing a memory leak… you try to cause your phone irreparable water damage? Even sitting in the freezer especially with the temperature difference between the components (hot) and the freezer (cold) you were immediately causing condensation on the interior. Basic science classes and a little more common sense might go a long way to safeguarding the future of your phones. You want to cool your phone down? Turn it off. Time will do the rest.
Thanks Bill Nye- The No-Fun Science Guy..