10 Ways to Save a Wet Cellphone
Whether you’ve dropping it in the toilet or your friend shoved you in the pool with your phone in your pocket, getting your phone wet can be a nightmare. Here are ten tips for how to save it.
10. Always pull out the battery immediately. Don’t even wait to power down the phone, just pop it open and pull the battery. This will hopefully save your phone from short-circuiting. If you’ve bought an iPhone and can’t pull the battery, power it down.
9. Remove the SIM card. If your phone is destroyed, most of your information and contacts will be saved on the card. Save it from corrosion by allowing it to air dry on a paper towel.
8. Take off any holders, skins, or protective cases you have on the phone. You want to be able to pull all the moisture out of the phone, so remove anything that can trap water.
7. If you have uncooked, plain rice, immerse the phone in a bowl of it and put it in the refrigerator. The dry rice will pull all the moisture out of the phone, and the refrigerator will dry out the rice.
6. You can also try the freezer. If you don’t have any rice, put the phone on a layer of dry paper towels and put it in the freezer. Leave it in there overnight before replacing the SIM and battery. If your phone was absolutely soaked, you may have to do this several times to evaporate all the water out of it.
5. Try silica packets and a baggie. Silica packets come in the pockets of new clothes, shoe boxes, beef jerky, pill bottles and other consumer goods that need to be kept dry. Collect several from around the house and put them in a sealed baggie with your phone.
4. Use a can of compressed air to force the water out of the phone. Use the straw-like attachment and blow the water out of all the ports and crevices of the phone.
3. You can also use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process, but be aware you cannot use it on a hot setting. Choose the cool-air setting, or else the intense heat will destroy the inner workings of your phone.
2. Give the phone time to dry out. One of the worst things you can do is power it back on too soon. No matter what methods you try, give the phone time. Powering it back on while it’s still wet can short-circuit it.
1. Know that you’re on borrowed time. Unless the liquid was clean water, getting your phone wet has shortened it’s life. This is especially true if the liquid was sugary, such as soda or punch. It may work for a few more months, but corrosion will eventually take its toll.
If you drop your cellphone and get it wet, there are ways to save it. Follow these tips for a higher likelihood of success!
