How to Save your Wet, Water Damaged Smartphone

We all try to be as careful with our phones as possible, but accidents happen, and sometimes we drop our phones on the floor or, even worse, in water. And if dropping old feature phones or super-resistant ones like Sony’s Xperia Go isn’t a big deal, everything is different with modern high-end smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S3 or the iPhone 5 – even several water drops can kill some of them. What should you do if you’ve dropped your smartphone in water? Is it time to say goodbye to it and buy a new one? Or can it be saved?

First of all, let me disappoint you: manufacturers’ service centers won’t help you, in case you counted on them, since water damage isn’t included in warranty cases. So from now on only you can save your beloved smartphone. With any luck you have all the chances to revive it if you do everything quickly. Just follow the steps below and try not to waste even a minute:

**Take your smartphone out of water, don’t let it stay there for a long time (I hope you haven’t dropped it in a pool and you won’t need a professional diver to help reach it).

**If your phone has turned off after falling into water, it’s a good sign – it means the chances are high water hasn’t damaged its electric parts for good, and you’ll be able to save it. Just DON’T switch it on no matter what!

**If your phone is still on, turn it off immediately, since water and electricity aren’t the best friends you can imagine.

**Take out the SIM card and the battery (if your phone’s battery is removable, of course; Apple’s iPhones, for example, have non-removable batteries, which reduces their chances to stay alive after a good swim). If your phone has any other removable things, don’t hesitate and remove them, too.

**Shake the phone gently to remove as much water as possible, and then use towels to dry it (dry the SIM card and the battery separately).

**Some people try to dry their wet phones in the microwaves. DON’T do it! Or there’ll probably be a big BOOM.

**Some experts advise using a hair dryer to dry up wet smartphones, but it won’t work with those with non-removable batteries, plus you can overheat your device and spoil everything. So better leave the hair dryer alone.

**What you’ll need now is a bowl of uncooked rice – bury your smartphone in it, and it’ll absorb the moisture. The only bad thing is that you’ll have to leave your phone like that for at least 72 hours, which is rather much. If your phone’s battery is removable, you can put the battery in rice, too.

**After 3 days / 72 hours, take the phone and see if it’s completely dry. If you’re not sure, leave it in the bowl of rice for another 24 hours.

**When you’re sure the phone is dry, put the SIM card and the battery back and try to switch it on.

Does it work now? Good job!!!

About Jakk: Jakk Ogden is a professional self-employed blogger and the founder / owner of Technology Blogged. 22, with a love for good writing, you'll find me playing 'Drag Racing' on my HTC One X and rocking a pair of Grado headphones. If you love technology, be sure to subscribe to my feed for unique editorials. Find me on Google+. View author profile.