So you’ve dropped your smartphone in a puddle. Or you went swimming with it in your pocket. Or it’s really rainy out. Or you dropped it in beer at the bar.
No matter the reason, you need to fix your phone fast. Today, we’re going to explain the easiest and most effective ways to save a wet smartphone from the brink of destruction.
Before we tell you how to fix your smartphone, however, we’re going to explain some things you absolutely should NOT do.
Do not…
-Turn your smartphone on
-Press any buttons
-Shake the phone or tap it
-Take the phone apart, which would void the warranty (although your warranty will be void if water has reached your liquid damage indicator)
-Blow on it, which seems like a decent way to dry it but might actually blow water deeper into the phone
-Heat or freeze the phone in any way
-Microwave the phone (seriously, people have tried to do this after dropping their phone in water).
Step by step guide to saving your smartphone
Step 1) Turn off your phone if you haven’t already done so
Step 2) Stand the phone upright
Step 3) Remove the phone’s case and take out the battery, microSD, and SIM cards (HTC phones have unremovable batteries, in which case ignore this step)
Step 4) Use a soft, clean cloth to dry your phone. Gently dab the phone and try not to push water into places it hasn’t already spread
Step 5) If you still see water in your phone after dabbing it with a cloth, it’s time to bring out the big guns. Take a vacuum cleaner and move it over your phone, aiming for the cracks and recesses where water has collected
Step 6) Time for rice! Grab a ziplock bag, fill it most of the way with rice, then bury your phone deep inside. It sounds crazy, but it works!
Step 7) Wait for 2 days, then check for any more water. After 2 days in a bag of rice, even the soggiest phones will be dried out. Rice absorbs moisture incredibly well. If you don’t see any water or signs of moisture, then re-insert the battery, SIM card, and microSD card and offer a quick prayer to whatever you believe in, then turn it on.
Step 8) If your phone turned on, great! If it didn’t, then all hope is not lost quite yet. Put your phone on the charger to see if that brings it out of its coma. If that doesn’t work, then your phone may already be in Android heaven.
Turn on some music to test the speakers, which always seem to be the first thing to be destroyed when a phone is dropped in water. You should also test every square inch of your touchscreen and call someone to make sure everything is working okay.
Unfortunately, some phones appear to be working fine after being dropped in water, only to stop working a few days later. Even if your phone appears to be working after you’ve dropped it in a puddle, you should still follow the above tips to protect it.
Other tips for saving an Android from water
The step-by-step guide listed above is an excellent way to save an Android, but it’s not the only way. Here are some other tips that might bring your best friend back from the dead:
-Use a phone drying pouch, like Save-A-Phone, which is specially designed to salvage wet electronics
-If this is the second, third, or fourth time you’ve lost a phone to the water gods, then consider investing in a waterproof smartphone case
-You might be able to see the Water Damage Indicator (WDI) on your phone by taking off the back case. Look near the SIM card or battery for a small white square or circle. If this little patch has red or pink lines, then your phone is officially water damaged and the warranty is likely void.
-Root it. Just kidding. Rooting solves a lot of problems but it definitely won’t solve this one.
You can see the all-red water damage indicator at the top edge of the phone
Fixing a water damaged phone is rarely easy. Your chance of success depends on your phone and the length of time it took you to turn off your phone. If you left your phone on for a long time after water damage occurred, then you may have caused a short circuit. You’re going to need fast action and quite a bit of luck, so good luck!
