Water Damage
HELP! I Spilled Liquid on my Cell Phone!
It’s as much a part of life as breathing. You’ve either dropped your phone in the rain (or perhaps in the swimming pool), or spilled liquid all over your cell phone, and now you’re in a state of panic. However, contrary to popular belief, it might not be the end of the world for your cell phone if you act quickly. There is a window of opportunity during which it may be possible to save your cell phone from sudden death. I’m going to go over some steps you can take to rescue your cell phone and some steps you shouldn’t take.
Steps You Shouldn’t Take
Here’s a list of steps you shouldn’t take to rescue your cell phone. These steps have either been proven not to work adequately, or can actually cause more damage to your cell phone.
- DON’T use a hair dryer – It can be tempting – the heat from a hair dryer can remove excess moisture. However, it’s a very bad idea because hair dryers can blow the water further into the phone, and mineral deposits from the water can cause corrosion, and can make any damage done to the phone more difficult to fix.
- DON’T use rice – Although rice is technically a desiccant, it has a hull that prevents moisture absorption unless you put it in boiling water, and last time I checked, cell phones don’t stand too well against boiling water. Furthermore, the rice can get stuck inside the jacks, causing more damage.
- DON’T plug the phone in – Even though you THINK you might have removed all the moisture, there can still be a residual amount of water left inside an area of the phone where it couldn’t escape. All it takes is one short circuit, and you could be shelling out money for a new phone.
- DON’T turn the phone on – When power is going to the device, any leftover water that’s still inside the device may cause a short, possibly destroying your phone. In order to be completely sure that every bit of moisture has been evacuated from the inside of the phone, it will be necessary to take the phone to us, as we are qualified technicians that can work on the internals of your phone.
Steps That Could Help Rescue Your Cell Phone
Here are some steps you can take to rescue your cell phone from destruction:
- Do not panic – The most important step in this process is to try to keep from panicking. Panicking can cause you to make mistakes, possibly making the problem worse.
- Remove the phone from the liquid – Of course the first step you should take in this process is to remove the phone from the water as quickly as possible. This prevents the liquid from seeping into the openings of your phone, and could mean the difference between life and death for your phone. The longer your phone stays in the water, the higher the chance of getting a bricked phone out of the deal.
- Turn the phone off immediately – Immediately turn the phone off when you retrieve it. If water makes contact with the internal circuitry while the phone is powered on, it will cause a short, and you can say goodbye to that $500 phone.
- Remove the battery – Remember, the battery is also prone to shorting if water touches the battery’s contacts while the phone is powered on. While not as expensive as the cell phone itself, losing the battery can still put a huge damper on your day.
- Remove the SIM card – Usually, the SIM card is more resistant to shorting, but it’s always good practice to remove the SIM card as well if your phone has one. That’s what keeps you connected to your carrier, holds information such as your contact list, phone settings, etc.
- Disconnect all accessories – You should disconnect all phone accessories such as headsets, earbuds, etc. in order to open the phone’s ports to air drying.
- Seal the phone inside an airtight Ziploc bag with a packet of desiccant – A packet of dessicant such as silica gel is very good at removing excess moisutre, and sealing the phone inside a Ziploc bag creates a vacuum that can suck moisture out of the phone’s ports. Desiccant packets can usually be found inside the packaging for computer peripherals, with new shoes, or inside packages of beef jerky, among other places, and special desiccants for drying flowers can be purchased at craft stores.
- Put your phone inside a sunny window – This draws out excess moisture from small crevices inside your cell phone.
- Bring the phone to us – Once all the moisture has been evacuated from the phone, bring it in to us, and we will repair any damage that was done to the phone.
Contact Us for Your Wet Cell Phone Repair Needs
Bring your water-damaged phone to us to fix! Contact us at 403-394-1900, and we will do our utmost to get your phone back in perfect working order!
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