My younger brother was using my Android device on a Monday morning, mistakenly he drop it and unfortunately inside a bucket full of water.
A lot of people are confused on what to do when there phone fell off into a water bucket or in a pool because it happens to me too and doing the necessary things will easily revive your phone back and making a small mistake can cost you your device easily.
And it mostly happens with girls/women who are always doing one thing or the other near or beside water, which will finally result in risking your phone to fall on water or even terminate the life expectancy of your phone.
Ability to calm down yourself and do what is necessary will yield to success in reviving your phone but contrary will permanently damage your device. This post is intended to raise awareness on what to do (and not to do) after a device has been soaked in water or liquid.
So you got your Android phone wet and now it’s not working normally, or may not even be turning on. Well, that’s unfortunate but frankly speaking, there’s only so much that you can do about it.
Unless you are electronics savvy or have a knack for things electronics, fixing a liquid-damaged Android phone is beyond you. If your phone has already stopped responding after attempts to power it on (which you must never do after soaking the device in water!), it may be too late.
What to do when your device has been soaked in water
Turn it off
It may be your first instinct to test whether your gadget actually works. But just a few seconds could make a difference in whether it survives. As soon as it plunges into that toilet, fish it out and turn it off.
DON’T: Don’t turn it on to check to see if it still works. Putting pressure on the keys could shift liquid farther into the device.
Remove Sim Card and Peripherals
Take off those covers, remove the SD Cards and SIM Cards — any possible thing that can be removed to dry on its own. The more areas of the phone that can air out, the better. Some phones, like the iPhone, don’t have a removable battery. Unfortunately, you’ll just have to skip this step and hope for the best if you dunk one of them.
DON’T: SIM cards can survive a bath, but definitely not heat. Don’t stick your phone in the oven, even on low. The heat can warp your phone’s circuits and melt its internal components. You shouldn’t use a blow dryer either. A fan might help, but a microwave is out of the question.
Suck out the Liquid
If you have a vacuum cleaner with small nozzle attachments you can use that, or use a straw to perform reverse CPR on your phone’s orifices. Get an empty bowl and set it down next to you. If we’re talking about an iPhone, you’re going to want to focus on the earphone port, the earpiece, the microphone port and the charger area. Every time you suck in some liquid, spit it into the bowl to avoid swallowing any sort of weird mechanical chemicals. If the phone fell in the toilet, this is not a good idea, please, skip this is to overcharge the handset so that the build-up of heat is gradual and not excessive, but this carries all the risks you’d expect with running a current through wet circuitry.
DON’T: Don’t try shaking your phone to expel water. Instead, use a dry cotton cloth or towel to dry off the external portions of your phone a much as you can. It only increases the possibility of water getting inside the circuits.
Rice and Silica
Just because your phone is dry on the outside, doesn’t mean it’s dry on the inside. To take care of that, fill a bowl with uncooked rice and bury your phone in it. The rice wicks away the moisture trapped inside your phone, ensuring that it is completely dry inside and out.
You can also fill a plastic baggy with silica packets (those little packets that you find in shoe boxes) and drop your phone in into it. Silica is a desiccant that sucks up water moisture, so it’s perfect for drying a wet smartphone.
Another simple method is to place the phone in front of an air conditioner. The cold air won’t damage the phone and the dry air from the air conditioner makes the water to evaporate quickly.
Whether you choose the rice method or the silica method, you’ll have to leave your phone in the bowl or bag for about three days to make sure that all of the moisture has been removed.
Turn your phone back on
After you’ve waited at least 24 hours, it’s time for the moment of truth. Reassemble your phone, charge it and try to power it on. Bending a pipe cleaner to brush against the edges of your gadget ports is also helpful to gauge the amount of moisture remaining. If it still looks wet, put it back in the bowl and wait another day. If it’s totally dry, turn it on and see how it works.
Is your warranty still valid?
Check to see if the liquid contact indicator (LCI), a small white sticker, turned red when it came into contact with water. Manufacturers place LCIs on their products to use as a litmus test when deciding warranty claims. In most cases, they can refuse to fix or replace your handset if the LCI has been triggered.
Final Verdict
After utilising the above tips on a soaked device but still your device is not normal either it doesn't boot up or some function has stop working, then you need to visit a professional repairer for extensive repairing and maintenance because this water stuff can easily damage your device so easily.
