It is that time of the year when reports about phones taking a dive are about to go high. But what do you do if your phone falls into water at the pool, beach, or home?
Most smartphones are now built to resist water but the strongest can still develop faults when it stays longer in the water or you failed to get rid of all the water from them within the shortest possible time.
Yes of course your phone can’t swim, and that is why you give it the maximum protection and attention but accidents happen, it can even happen in the latrine ( eww!). Let me show you some quick tips to rescue your phone anytime it falls into water or water spills on or any other liquid.
First and foremost, dump that idea of burying your phone into a bag of rice.
Burying Your Watered Phone Into A Bag Of Rice.
Don’t do it. When you bury your phone into a bag of rice, the rice particles induce dryness by absorbing the water and swelling up in the ports of the phone – the charging port or the headphone port.
And when this happens, you need to risk putting some unprescribed tools into the ports to remove the swollen rice particles and that is another danger. Or you will need to put it in the sun to dry the rice particles out. And that can cause overheating of the phone.
Another reason why you must stop burying your phones into a bag of rice is that it attracts dirt and lint. Yes, and that is why you wash your rice before cooking.
As the rice absorbs water from your phone through the ports, the phone attracts dirt and lint from the rice. And those will go deeper into the phone than you can imagine. Causing your mouthpiece, charging port, and headphone problems shortly.
Now let’s get to the main topic of discussion. What do to when your phone falls into water?
Best Steps To Take When Your Phone Falls Into Water.
1. If your phone takes a plunge or received a spill, be fast to take it from the water. The longer it stays in the water, the deeper it seeps through cracks and over inlets.
2. Remove the phone case if you have one on.
3. Turn off the phone, and remove the SIM, battery, and SD Card.
4. Do not shake the phone, as doing so will push the water in it already further down into it. Some may spill out but the remaining will scatter further into the phone.
5. Don’t rub the phone with your hands or on your body, so doing can also push the liquid into more sensitive parts like the screen and the receiver speaker, or even the main speaker.
6. Use a paper towel or absorbent material cloth to dab your phone dry. Do the same for the SIM, SD Card, and battery.
7. Do not bake your phone in the sun. Keep it in a cool, dry, and airy space.
8. Once again, do not bury your phone in a rice bag. The right thing to do is to use silica gel – the little sachets of silica you see when you buy a new pair of shoes or any new boxed product. This is an alternative step to step 7 above.
9. Whichever of the steps 7 and 8 you use, make sure to allow your phone to dry up – between 12 to 24 hours. That is if the phone was fully submerged in the liquid.
Turn your phone back on, if it powers on, fine but if it does not, try charging it. And also look out for possible faults in a few weeks as certain features may not work the way they use to do.
How To Protect Your Phone At The Beach Or Pool
The traditional way is just to keep far away from the water – in your car or in a towel somewhere the water won’t get in touch. That is if your phone is not waterproof or water-resistant.
But there is some cool waterproof phone pouch by MPOW and JOTO.
How To Tell If Your Phone Has Water Damage.
Sometimes liquid may spill on your phone without you knowing it. These signs below will tell you.
1. Dried area markings behind your phone screen – a visual presence of water behind the screen.
2. Corrosion marks visible at ports.
3. Discolored Liquid Damage Indicator (LDI). The LDI is typically located in the headphone jack, battery compartment, or SIM tray slot. If your phone has water damage, the LDI will appear red or maroon.
How To Remove Water From Phone Charging Port
To clean any liquid from the charging port of your phone. Take the following steps:
1. Turn off your device
2. Remove the case and battery.
3. Dry up the phone with an absorbent towel or cloth.
4. Blow away the excess fluid carefully with compressed air or by carefully blowing on it.
Leave it there to dry out, with open ports facing down.
And these are a few steps to help you rescue your phone when it falls into the water at the beach, pool, or home.
