Got water in your phone? Here’s how to save your device
Smartphones and water don’t mix. According to a recent U.S. Cellular Smartphone Trends Survey, 35 percent of people have dropped their phone in the toilet and 16 percent jumped into a pool, lake, or ocean with their phone in their pocket. how to get water out of your phone
There’s a lot of advice online around this topic, and the abundance of articles may make it seem like saving your phone in this situation is a sure thing. Unfortunately, it’s not. Every phone is different, every spill is different.
And what’s more, most phones these days don’t come with removable parts like batteries, which makes them harder to dry out than they used to be.
This guide won’t be able to save every phone. But read on, we really hope it can save yours.
What should you do if you drop your phone in water?
Take your smartphone out of the water immediately and dry it thoroughly with a clean cloth. If the phone is on, switch it off straight away. Resist the urge to unlock it and check it’s working as this could stop it from working further down the line.
If you’re lucky, your phone could have been shut off before any major damage was caused.
For salt water, beer, and other liquids: Wash the phone with a damp cloth
Yes, this means getting your phone wet again. But salt water is corrosive and will definitely damage your phone if not removed. Most smartphones these days should be able to cope with a damp cloth. Just dry it off again immediately.
Take out removable parts
If you can, remove the SIM card and the micro-SD card. And if you have the kind of phone that allows battery removal, do that too. While you’re doing this, be careful not to tap or shake your phone as you could be moving liquid around inside it.
Dry it with a soft towel how to get water out of your phone
You can also use a paper towel or cloth but make sure it’s gentle and lint-free. Be very careful not to move any water into cracks, crevices or ports. You can also use your towel to dry any parts you were able to remove like the SIM-card, micro-SD card and battery.
Place your phone on a towel in a dry area
You’ve reached the ‘wait and see’ part of this journey. The most important thing now is to leave your phone alone to get dry.
Emergency drying how to get water out of your phone
Now comes the emergency drying.
For this you will need:
- A plastic bag (any will do, but a Ziploc-style bag is best)
- Moisture-absorbing substance
The moisture-absorbing substance that many recommend is rice. Unfortunately, it isn’t really that good, but it’s something that many people have handy, so if you have nothing else, use the rice while you get something better.
What’s better than rice?
Here are some other common household things that are great moisture absorbers:
- Silica gel packets. Loose crystals will do in a pinch. Just pop them into an envelope to stop them from going everywhere.
- Dehumidifying crystals. A common brand is DampRid (fragrance-free is best), but they’re basically all the same and contain a chemical called anhydrous calcium chloride. Again, the sort that comes in bags is best, but loose crystals work if you put them into an envelope to stop them from going everywhere.
- If all you have is rice, then use the rice first while you head out to the store to find silica gel or dehumidifying crystals. You can then swap out the rice for a better moisture-absorber and continue the drying from there.
Monitor your smartphone for quirks
With a bit of luck, once your phone is dry it could go on working just fine. Or it might go on working, but with some strange new glitches. Keep a watchful eye over the next few days and test its performance on key tasks like playing music, taking photos, etc. If you do notice problems, you may have to get it repaired or replaced.
Wait 2-3 days before turning your phone back on.
Alternatively, you can seek out a professional smartphone drying service such as DryBox or Redux, which claims a high success rate when it comes to reviving soaked smartphones. Redux said it has a success rate of 84 percent, and it has revived phones damaged by beer, mud, and even soup! how to get water out of your phone
And good luck.
