How To Restore Your Phone After Dropping In Water

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Written By Larious

Larious is the Executive Editor of LowkeyTech. He is a tech enthusiast and a content writer. 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated on August 12, 2014 by Larious

water-damageHave you ever been in a situation where you mistakenly dropped your mobile phone in water? And was confused about what to do next? This tutorial is just the perfect article for you. because am going to show you various steps and approaches needed to help you restore your mobile without you having to contact  mobile phone repairers when you could at least give it a trial to get it fixed yourself.

Let’s get started, but first you need to retrieve your mobile phone as soon as possible from the water straight away. It will decrease the risk of getting more damaged. As we know the circuit board is the heart of every electronic device including mobile handsets. So there is more chance for a short-circuit when it meets the water. Kindly follow the various steps below to successfully restore your phone.

First Aid Approach:

NOTE: The extent of liquid damage on your mobile phone will determine the actual solution adopted to get it resolved. But if the actual volume of water on your phone is not too much, then the first step is to remove the battery. Please don’t make any attempt to switch on the phone after dropping in water. The First Aid approach would 100% work for you if it is a minor water contact, or the volume of water contact is not too much.

  • Do not press any buttons, since putting pressure on the keys could shift liquid further into the device.
  • Immediately pull out the battery, thus minimizing power to the device that may cause it to short-circuit. This is very important! Also shake it to dry fast.
  • Remove any peripherals and attachments on your phone, such as cases, porch and stickers.
  • Dry off everything with a towel, including the exterior of your handset, being careful not to let any water drain into openings on the phone.
  • Remove the SIM card and any Micro SD cards, this exposes the phone to free air whereby allowing it dries up faster.
  • Bury the handset in a bowl of dry rice. You can also use silica bags, for greater effect It is better to put it in rice for 1, 2 days or weeks if required.

bury-the-handset-in-a-bowl-of-dry-rice

  • Don’t use hair dryer, microwave, stove or excessive direct sun light, because the water will spread around inside, causing more corrosion along its path and can cause the logic board damages due to the excessive heat caused by any of these methods.
  • You can also place your phone in an air-tight container and completely cover it with any choice of material. Leave the container for 24-48 hours for the material to draw all the moisture out from your handset.
  • When you’re confident it’s dried out, follow the next step below
  • Plug your phone into a charger after the 5 day waiting period or could be lesser. If the charging symbol powers on the screen, then there’s a good chance the phone will likely boot itself back on when a full charge has been reached. Congratulations, you did it!
  • Unplug it from the wall without attempting to turn it on if you don’t see anything on the screen within 5 minutes from when you first plugged it in. Return it to the bag of rice for another 48 hours or more and repeat the plug in process again. If you don’t see anything on the screen to indicate the battery charge process, then you have likely caused permanent damage.

Hope you’ve learnt all the processes involved on getting your phone restored? well if the First Aid approach didn’t work for you, I recommend you contacting  mobile phone repairers to help fix possible issues below:

The water has affected the phone panel, which requires opening up the phone and cleaning it from inside and also flashing/powering the panel to re-ignite operation.

I hope this guide will helps you to fix water-related issues you encounter?

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