How to Fix or Repair a Wet or Liquid Damaged Smartphone

This happens to everyone at some point in their lives: their wonderful and precious phone slips out of their hands into the toilet, sink or other unforgiving liquid!

I once dropped my phone in the pool and tried to dry it by shaking it vigorously and then using a hairdryer. It didn’t work out and the phone was dead! You think some of the tips I mentioned in this post would be common sense, but I didn’t think about it then.

Luckily, if your phone hasn’t been underwater for a long time, there are a few things you can do to fix it and possibly save money on a replacement.

Obviously, if you have the very latest iPhones or Samsung devices, they are all waterproof or waterproof. So if you haven’t used your old phone for a long time, it might be worth updating it.

The most important things come first

Before we get into how to dry your phone, there are a few things you need to do immediately after removing the phone from the liquid.

1. Don’t forget to turn off your phone. We want to prevent the phone from short-circuiting.
2. If you can, remove the battery. This is not possible on many phones, such as the iPhone, but if possible, uninstall it immediately.
3. Remove the SIM card if you can. It doesn’t really matter, but if you have important data stored there, especially for Android users, you can save all this data by removing the card.

Now let’s talk about drying your phone. First, keep it turned off for at least two days and remove all covers and covers from the device.

Initial drying

Initially I made one mistake – shaking my phone hard. I thought it would help remove water, but later I found out that it just helps water to penetrate other parts of the phone.

In addition to not shaking your phone, wipe off all visible water from the surface of the device. If you can open the phone, gently wipe off all internal parts.

Drying techniques

Hair dryer

drier

There are many different things you can do at this stage. Another big mistake I made was using the hair dryer incorrectly. It seems like the perfect choice for drying something out, right? Wrong! You can use a hair dryer, but only a fan or cooling. Do not use any heating function for the hair dryer.

Vacuum cleaners

Brooms

You should also avoid using vacuum cleaners as they can do more harm than help. If you have a small computer vacuum cleaner and have a nozzle that fits snugly on your phone, then give it a try.

Otherwise, I do not recommend using a home vacuum cleaner, as static electricity can damage the circulation in the device.

Raw Rice

Uncooked rice

It’s best to put your phone in a plastic bag, fill it with rice or quinoa, close the bag, and leave it for a few days.

The downside is that you have to wait a long time, but it’s definitely worth it. This method works well and many people use it.

One other thing to note about rice: you should try using sealed bag rice. Open rice won’t absorb that much water, and you’re wasting your time.

Dryers

Dryers

What are desiccants? I didn’t know for sure either, but we see them all the time. Obviously, these are those little bags of silica that you find all the time in shoes, clothes, and even in food.

You can buy them cheap on Amazon and just put your phone and a few more in a tightly sealed bag. You can also buy other desiccants like drierite and use them in the same way. This method is much faster than rice because it does absorb moisture.

The main thing here is to create a tight seal. Once you’ve done this, leave it on for as long as possible. Again, the longer the time, the drier your phone will become. The water takes a very long time to dry, so be prepared to wait 2-3 days.

Other methods

There are other drying methods that should be avoided, such as placing your phone in the sun, using a microwave or oven. All bad ideas. The sun may be normal, but you have to do it right. For example, lay it on a towel to avoid excessive heat from the ground, and leave it on for no more than 15–20 minutes.

Vacuum chambers are another great way to dry your phone, but it won’t be at home. Fortunately, there is a company called Redux that partners with cell phone repair shops across the country, so you can use them.

Finally, if you drop your phone in a liquid that is not water, you may have to try “washing” the phone first. For example, if it fell into the sea or was soaked in baking soda, the residue left after the liquid dries can damage the phone.

In these cases, the only way out is an alcohol bath, but drinking alcohol can damage the screen. This is not ideal, but at least you can end up with a phone that turns on. Hope some of these tips will help your phone dry up and get it working again. Enjoy!

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