Water Damaged Smart Phone? DIY Tips To Fix It | Traverse City

While many newer smartphones are becoming more and more water-resistant and even waterproof, water continues to be the mortal arch enemy of most electronics. If you happen to drop your phone in water, there are a few things you can do to minimize the potential damage to your phone. Here are 5 tips for fixing a water-damaged smartphone.

1. Remove from water immediately

The sooner you remove the phone from water, the higher the likelihood of being able to recover it without damage. The longer a phone sits in water, the more likely water is to seep deep into the phone’s components through the ports.

2. Turn off immediately

The most sensitive components in your phone are located deep in the phone, away from the ports. The sooner you the phone from water and power it off, the less likely these components are to be damaged.

3. Rinse off

Depending on what kind of water or liquid you dropped it in, the liquids themselves could be more damaging to the phone than water alone. Saltwater is particularly damaging to phones since the salt will continue to eat away at components even when the phone is dry. Once the phone is powered off, it is at a much lower risk of permanent water damage, so giving it a thorough rinsing is unlikely to cause further damage.

4. Remove battery if possible or open case

This is a little tricky because iPhones do not have removable batteries, and if you open the case, you void the warranty. On the other hand, smartphones have sensors that show if the phone has been exposed to water, and doing so voids the warranty anyway. For smartphones that have removable batteries, remove the battery and dry the phone out with the battery cover removed.

4. Dry out

There are a number of great ways to dry out your phone, but you want to be absolutely sure it is fully dried before attempting to power it. The best way to dry out a phone is to place it in a sealed container with a water-absorbent substance. Placing your phone in a sealed bag of rice is one great way to dry it out because the rice will absorb any moisture out of the phone itself. Another great option is the silicone gel packs that are included with many electronics. These gel packs are super-absorbent, which is why they are placed in electronics boxes. They do lose absorbency over time, so you want to use several.

5. Wait

Time is your friend when it comes to drying out a water-damaged phone. While it may be difficult to be without a phone for 3-4 days, it’s best to wait a full 3-4 days before trying to power your phone on.

Hopefully, adhering to these steps will be all you need to recover your phone. If these steps do not work, come see us at Anavon Tech. We offer a wide variety of professional smartphone repair.