Nowadays, most of us carry our smartphones with us everywhere we go. But have you ever ended up with a wet phone after dropping it in the washing up, the bath or even down the toilet?
Dropping your phone in water is a pretty bad feeling, but what’s important is what you do next. The most crucial thing to do is to dry it off as quickly as possible and don’t turn it on under any circumstances. If it’s still on, turn it off immediately and leave it off. Here are few tips on how to fix your smartphone after you dropped it in water.
Never Turn It On
If you grab your phone and notice it is turned off then you should never turn it on. Keeping your handset on while its wet is a surefire way to short its circuit board and ruin it for good. If your phone’s screen was off and when it hit the water, but you’re not sure whether the phone powered off or the screen is just blank, see if you can wake it by quickly pressing the power button. Should your phone wake up, shut it down immediately. If it doesn’t wake up, keep it off.
Dry It
Take your smartphone out of the water immediately and dry it thoroughly with a clean cloth. If possible, take the back off and the battery out (not something you can do with an iPhone and other high-end smartphones) Eject the SIM card and memory card if you have one.Gently shake your smartphone to remove any water in the headphone port, charging socket and other ports.
Pop Your Smartphone In A Bowl Of Dry Rice
The rice wicks away the moisture trapped inside your phone, ensuring that it is completely dry inside and out. You can also fill a plastic baggy with silica packets (those little packets that you find in shoe boxes) and drop your phone in into it. Silica is a desiccant that sucks up water moisture, so it’s perfect for drying a wet smartphone.
Whether you choose the rice method or the silica method, you’ll have to leave your phone in the bowl or bag for about 3 days to make sure that all of the moisture has been removed.
Don’t Blow
Do not try to dry your phone with a blow drier. The heat from the drier could damage your handset’s internal components permanently. While we’re at it, don’t put your phone in an oven or freezer, both methods rumored to fix a wet smartphone that do nothing of the sort.
If your phone turns back on, great! Still, keep an eye on it over the next week or so, as sometimes certain features won’t work the way they used to.
