Did you drop your phone in some water? Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us, and just because an electrical device gets wet doesn’t mean it’s damaged for good! You can do a lot to salvage your valuable device – here are five repair tips.
Turn Off The Device Immediately
As you probably know, water is a great conductor. Because of this, running an electrical charge through a wet circuit will cause a lot of costly damage. If you want to salvage your phone, take it out of the water ASAP. Every second of moisture exposure reduces your chances of repairing it!
After removing it from the water, the first thing you should do is turn it off. Getting an off-circuit wet is not nearly as bad as wetting an active one. By turning it off, you can shut down the circuits before the water can cause any damage.
Remember: don’t turn it on, and don’t plug it in!
Remove Anything Removable
If you can, remove the SIM card or micro-SD card (if you have an Android). If you have the kind of phone that allows battery removal, take that out, too. While you’re doing this, try not to tap or shake the phone – this could move the moisture further inside, affecting other components.
Towel Down
Once you have removed all you can, wipe down every part of the phone. You can use a paper towel or cloth, so long as the “towel” is soft and lint-free. Be very careful not to deposit any moisture into cracks, crevices or ports where it wasn’t before. You can also use your towel to dry any parts you were able to remove.
Place It In A Spot To Dry
Next is the hardest stage: waiting. Just leave the phone alone for some time. If you have another phone or one you can borrow, make sure you’ve fully dried out the SIM card before putting it in the working model.
There are many spots you can leave your phone to dry, including on top of a counter, next to a window, or near a fan or AC vent. Places in the home with a lot of moving air and sunlight, such as next to an open window, will speed up the drying process.
Don’t Waste Your Time With Rice!
The age-old debate: to rice, or not to rice? Putting the wet phone in a bowl of dry rice has become the first thing many people do. Despite recommendations on the internet, it likely doesn’t work. You’ll waste valuable time that your phone could spend in a better spot!
While there’s some debate on whether or not this was ever effective, rice probably doesn’t even work on most smartphones now. They don’t have removable backs or batteries. They have fewer cracks and crevices, providing fewer opportunities for rice to reach the moisture inside your phone and absorb it.
If your phone is acting up after it’s fully dried, take it to the experts at Wireless First Aid. We’ll recommend the steps you should take next and see if we can get your phone back in shape!