How to save a wet mobile phone - and what not to do
Washing machines, toilets, cups of tea, the British weather... these are a few of our favourite things. That is, until they fill the lungs of our cherished mobile phone, leaving us weeping over a soggy, lifeless metal carcass.
Dropped your handset in the bath? Fumbled your phone and plopped it in the loo? Don't panic -- just follow these steps and you'll have a good chance of breathing life back into your drowned smart phone. And check out the 'What not to do' section for some useful mythbusting.
3. In all cases, the best thing to do is immediately pull out the battery, thus minimising power to the device that may cause it to short circuit.
What to do
While dismantling your phone completely would help it to dry out more effectively, doing so will void your warranty. It usually requires specialist tools and may jeopardise your phone if you're not careful, so I don't recommend it. Instead, follow these steps:
1. Firstly, retrieve your handset from the drink straight away. A prolonged plunge will increase the risk of damage.
2. Resist the urge to check if it still works or press any buttons, since putting pressure on the keys could shift liquid further into the device.
4. If you own a handset with a non-replaceable battery, like an iPhone or Nokia Lumia, then pulling the battery isn't an option. You'll have to risk pressing a few buttons to check if it's still on and to swiftly turn it off if it is. Take care when handling the phone in this case.
5. Remove any peripherals and attachments on your phone, such as cases.
6. Extract the SIM card and any SD cards it carries, leaving ports or covers on your handset open to aid ventilation.
7. Dry off everything with a towel, including the exterior of your handset, being careful not to let any water drain into openings on the phone.
8. Even when everything's dry, it's very likely there's latent moisture within the device that you'll want to get out before turning it on. The most oft-reported fix for a sodden phone is to bury the handset in a bowl of dry rice. Desiccant materials, such as rice, have hygroscopic properties that can attract and absorb moisture. You can also use silica gel packs -- the kind used in shoeboxes -- to greater effect. If you don't have any lying around, uncooked rice will do nicely.
Place your phone in an airtight container and completely cover it with your choice of desiccant. Leave the container for 24-48 hours for the material to draw all the moisture out of your handset. If you feel like splashing out, you can buy silica-lined, hermetically-sealed pouches that are specifically designed for the task.
9. When you're confident it's dried out, replace the battery and try switching it on. Good luck!
What not to do
A purported fast-track method of drying out a wet phone is to use a hairdryer, or applying heat to the device in other ways. While this would successfully evaporate all the moisture still sitting within the handset, it risks becoming too hot and causing damage to the components.
In cases of severe waterlogging, the steam created may not be able to fully ventilate and would simply condense again elsewhere in the phone. You may get away with it, but it seems rather perilous, so my recommendation is to avoid this method.
Another recurring recommendation is to stick your phone in a freezer, wrapped in paper towel to prevent frost damage. Supposedly, the reduced conductivity of water when close to freezing temperatures will stop your phone from short circuiting when in use.
This is definitely not a long-term solution, however, since as soon as the ice begins to thaw, you're left with the same, if not exacerbated, problem. In the process you'll probably mess up your phone's very fragile screen, which hardly seems worth risking for a short-term fix of dubious effectiveness.
For less severe dunkings, you may get away with drying your phone thoroughly on the exterior alone, paying special attention to openings like the headphone jack and USB port. To this end, a few have suggested gently poking into them with a toothpick wrapped in paper towel. While jabbing into your phone with a stick is always a bit iffy, the biggest risk is that rags of sodden paper will get stuck inside your phone and play havoc with its innards.
One suggestion 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.
Inevitably, someone reading this will wonder if it's possible to dry out a phone by putting it in the microwave.
Beware corrosion
If you succeed in reviving your phone, then congratulations, but you may not have yet won the war with the Grim Reaper of gadgetry. The metal within your phone coming into contact with water and oxygen may create rust that will corrode over time.
While a professional phone fixer may be able to clear out any corrosion by swabbing the circuitry with rubbing alcohol -- again, don't try this at home, kids -- in many cases, the eventual demise of your phone is only a matter of time. Sorry.
Is your warranty still valid?
Seek out the liquid contact indicator (LCI). It's a small white sticker that turns red when it comes 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.
Their location varies from phone to phone, and increasingly manufacturers have taken to hiding them out of reach of Tipp-Ex-wielding customers.
Irrespective of the LCI's state, you should contact the manufacturer to see if they can help. That's a long-term solution, but if you need a phone (or the data it holds) right away, you'll need to dry out your phone before you try to use it, as outlined above.
What to Do if a Phone Is Dropped in Water
The way a mobile phone is constructed means that the device will be relatively water tight, allowing use in humid, damp, or rainy conditions. Large amounts of water, however, will damage the phone, so if it is dropped in a puddle, a glass, a toilet, or is drenched by a spilled drink, follow these steps:
Quickly remove the phone from the water
As has been mentioned, phone cases are tight to protect the innards from the elements, but this does mean that it is difficult to remove moisture once it has invaded the seals. The faster the phone is out of the liquid, the greater the chance of salvage.
Make sure it is off
The most damage is due to electrical short, so resist the urge to turn the phone on to check if it still works.
Remove the battery
This is a vital step. Many circuits will survive immersion as long as there is no power source, so to ensure this, take out the battery.
Remove the SIM
Often it is the data stored on the phone that is more valuable than the phone itself, so remove the SIM and pat it dry. SIMs, due to their construction, can survive water damage without anything more than a removal of surface liquid.
Gently hand dry the phone
Get as much liquid off the phone as possible by shaking it, using a soft tissue or paper towel to soak up and gently remove excess moisture by hand.
Take it apart
Separate all covers and removable components to open up as many slots, gaps, and crevices as possible – the more areas that can be dried, the more likely it is that the phone can be saved.
Use a vacuum cleaner
Delicately hoovering the phone with a small vacuum nozzle will lift the moisture away from the device. Do not hold the nozzle too close to the phone as it may create static electricity, but instead hold it steadily, a few inches away, for at least 10 minutes for each area.
Draw out the remaining moisture
A substance with a high absorption affinity should be used to help draw out the moisture. Something usually present in every household would be a bag of uncooked rice. Therefore, drop the phone and parts into a bowl of dry rice, making sure they are covered, and leave it overnight. Be patient and leave it as long as possible to fully extract all trace of liquid.
Emergency triage
If it is not possible to use a desiccant, place all the parts on an absorbent material. Check the material every few hours, and replace it if there is any sign of moisture.
Dealing with Corrosive Liquid Incursion
Salted or treated water, such as pool water or hot tub water, will very quickly corrode the electronic components of the phone.
Sea water or pool water accidents
Counter intuitively, if a phone falls in salted or chemically treated water, use more water to rinse it off. If salt crystals form, they will cause further, and possibly irreparable, damage to the device, so use tap or bottled water to sluice out the salt.
Follow the same steps as for fresh water
As the phone has now had any salt or corrosive liquid washed away, it would now be appropriate to follow the steps as were mentioned in the section dealing with what to do if a phone is dropped in water.
Tap it gently
If the phone has suffered from salt water crystallisation, gently tapping the board and chips with a plastic object will cause small vibrations which should detach some of the particles. In order to minimise the danger of cracking any of the components, tap very gently, repetitively, in multiple locations. Pay particular attention to the areas around the chips, and clean off any oxidisation with an appropriate solvent.
What Not to Do
Although removing any liquid is vital to salvaging a phone, there are certain actions which will only further damage a phone's components and functions.
Do not heat
Most mobile phones come with instruction manuals warning against excessive heat exposure – this also applies to drying them out.
Do not turn it on
Do not, under any circumstances, switch the phone on until it is fully dried. It may cause the phone to short circuit and will render the phone unsalvageable; to remove temptation, take out the battery.
Don't heat the battery
Do not try and dry the battery in an oven, with a hairdryer, or in a microwave. Heat could actually cause the battery to leak or explode.
Don't use a hair dryer
Do not be tempted to use a hair dryer on the phone as this will not only warm up the component parts, but will also push the moisture further into its innards.
Don't use a microwave
Do not put the phone – or, indeed any electronic device or unit constructed with any metal parts – into a microwave as not only will it destroy the phone circuits, but it could potentially cause the microwave to explode.
Replacement Parts and Tools
Given the ubiquitous presence of mobile phones in modern lives, there is a high risk of accidental liquid damage in even the most banal of circumstances. It would therefore be advisable to have a few tools and parts to hand in case of need, particularly as only rapid action can hope to salvage a phone from liquid damage.
Precision screwdriver set
A set of precision screw drivers is always useful. With a variety of fittings, they are invaluable for taking a wide range of electronic devices apart for repair or salvage.
Desiccant
Although a bag of uncooked rice is most commonly used, a bag of silica gel is arguably more effective. Unfortunately, as they are most often found in tiny pouches with new leather goods, sourcing enough gel at short notice is unlikely.
Spare battery
As a damp electrical source is dangerous as well as useless, a spare battery – as well as being useful for emergency re-powering – could also be handy when there has been liquid damage.
Vacuum cleaner
Pushing moisture further into a phone with a hair dryer has already been mentioned as a bad idea – a vacuum cleaner with a set of small nozzles and delicate attachments will always have its uses.
Compressed air
Making sure that the can is absolutely vertical, using a can of compressed air to direct, via the nozzle, into crevices of the keypad, speaker and microphone can help to remove any excess moisture. Do not hold the can at an angle as it will produce freezing liquid, as will a can held upside down or sideways. Move the phone rather than the can to reach the desired nooks and crannies. Also, if the can becomes very cold, put it to one side and wait until it returns to room temperature as, just like heat, cold air can be damaging. Compressed air will remove surface moisture – deeper residual moisture will need to be tackled with a vacuum cleaner and desiccant.
Conclusion
The chance of salvaging a mobile phone from liquid damage is often a matter of speed. If the phone has been dropped in salt water or chemically treated pool water, it is important to sluice off the corrosive liquid with fresh or bottled water. A SIM card tends to recover well from liquid damage. A battery, however, if activated, will cause a short circuit in the electronics and may short out and permanently destroy all component parts, so it is vital to remove both the SIM and the battery immediately when attempting to salvage a phone. A hair dryer, or indeed any heat, should never be used to dry a wet phone, but a hoover and a bowl of uncooked rice, utilised in turn, will draw water away from the circuit board rather than sending it further in or baking the components.
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