What happens if you accidentally just dropped your mobile device in water? You may be panicking and wondering if there’s anything that you can do to save it? Just so you know, there are actually a lot of things you can still do to save your mobile device after it comes in contact with water. Here are some tips on how to save your device if you accidentally dropped it in water.
Take it out of the water asap!
Once you dropped it in water, get your phone out of there as fast as you can!
Don’t turn it on!
No matter what happens, don’t you dare try to turn your phone on after the accident. Stop your urge to check if it’s still working.
Pop the battery off its back.
The next thing to do is to remove the device’s battery (if possible), to avoid a short circuit.
Remove its protective case.
If you are using a protective case for your phone, then you should remove it and let it dry too. Afterwards, never shake or rock your phone. This is to prevent water from running inside your device’s internals.
Remove all the removable parts and accessories.
Take out your SIM cards and memory card (if you have one) from your phone and let them dry too, just to make sure. Take the back cover off your device to help with the drying process of your phone.
Use dry cloth or towel to dry your device.
Use a dry cloth or a towel to dry the outside parts of your phone.
DON’T use a blower.
Blowing air into your phone can actually help spread water or moisture inside your phone. While you think it may help your phone dry, using blowers can actually make the situation become more complicated.
NEVER take the phone apart.
Don’t even try taking your phone apart¾especially if you don’t exactly know how to do it. This will only void your phone’s warranty. Taking the phone apart should be your last resort, and it should be done by an authorized professional only.
Dry the phone properly.
Now there are a couple of ways for you to dry your phone effectively. These will dry the inside of your phone and get rid of any moisture that has seeped in into your device.
- Use a vacuum. You want to suck the moisture out of your phone and the best way to do it, is to use a vacuum. Just be careful when using the vacuum on your phone.
- Submerge your phone in white rice. If you have white rice in your house, use it to dry your phone. Find an airtight container and bury your phone in white rice inside it. The white rice will absorb all the moisture from inside your phone.
- Use silica gel packs. Silica gel packs can actually help dry your phone by sucking out the moisture inside your phone. Just like with white rice, put your phone inside an airtight container along with a couple of silica gel packs and let it sit there for a couple of hours.
- Use phone drying pouch. This is only possible if you have purchased a phone drying pouch already as preparation for whenever your phone gets accidentally wet. You can still get one of these in stores while burying your phone in white rice, and then use it later on.
Dry your phone for at least 24-48 hours.
If you are using any of the methods mentioned above for drying your phone, it’s best to wait for at least 24-48 hours before checking out your device. This will help ensure that your phone is completely free of any water or moisture in its internals.
Check your phone.
After 24-48 hours of letting the phone dry, you must check to see if there’s still moisture inside it. If the moisture is still there, don’t insert the battery just yet. Repeat the steps above to completely get rid of the moisture inside your phone.
Check if the phone is still working.
If your phone is completely free from moisture, you can attempt to power it on by putting the battery back in again. Check if the screen is still working and if it responds to your touch properly. Try to listen to some audio files to check if the speakers are still okay. Also try putting in some earphones to check if the headphone jack is still working.
If the phone is not working.
If the phone doesn’t turn on, try charging it; it might just be that the battery is dead. Charging the phone will let you determine if the battery is the problem or if your phone is no longer working anymore. If the phone is really not working, it’s best if you bring it to an authorized repair service center to have it checked.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably dropped your phone in water. Don’t worry, it’s happened to all of us¾and at BuzzTech repairs we see this all the time. Fortunately though, you now have a list of things to try to hopefully dry your phone and keep it working properly. Did any of these work for you? Are there any other solutions that you know of?
Rhett is the owner of BuzzTech. A leading specialist of phone and tablet repairs in Victoria. With 3 stores and more on the way, the team at Buzztech offers on the spot repairs in 5-15 minutes. With their HQ in Geelong Victoria, Rhett is opening more stores all around Regional Victoria and is dedicated to delivering the best repair service in his industry.