Remedies for Wet Cell Phones

Moisture is a common problem with cell phones. Here's some common scenerios (I'm sure you can come up with even more): you forget your phone is in your pocket when you dive into the lake, your phone slips out of your back pocket and into the toilet, you forget your phone is in your pocket when you put your clothes in the washing machine - anyway, you get the picture. Is that phone toast or can it be saved? Here's some pointers from the many editors of a WikiHow article, "How to Save a Wet Cell Phone".

• If the phone is plugged in and in water, take a non-metal stick and disconnect the phone before you do anything. You don't want to be electricuted.
• Phones that have had extended time in water will probably need to be replaced. However, it's worth trying to save them. The most important first step with any phone is to unplug the phone and take out the battery and SIM card (if your phone has one) and dry all parts off thoroughly. Saving your SIM card and all your data will be worth this effort. The phone will have a small white square or circle near the battery location. If this mark is pink or red, your phone has water damage.
• Dry off all parts with a soft cloth or paper towels, being careful not to shake or move the phone too much as that will drive the water deeper into the inner workings. Focus on the small openings in the phone such as the plug sockets. Remove any outer covers or accessories.
• Use a vaccuum cleaner to suck out the moisture but don't put the nozzle too close to the phone. This might create static electricity which is even worse for the phone. Dry each area of the phone focusing again on the openings.
• Don't use a hair dryer even on cool settings as this might drive the moisture deeper into the phone. Don't shake the phone or bang it against your hand as this too might drive the water deeper.
• Put your phone in a bed of absorbant material such as uncooked rice or let it sit on absorbant towels or paper towels overnight. Here is part of this suggestion from the WikiHow article:

1. •  Add a desiccant packet, such as silica gel — often found with new shoes, purses, noodle packets, etc — in with the cell phone. The downside of this method is the packets packed with shoes has usually already reached its absorption capacity. Dessicant for flower drying can usually be purchased at most craft stores. Leave the phone with the dessicant or rice as long as possible (at least overnight) to absorb the moisture.
   • Rotate the phone to a different position every hour until you go to sleep. This will allow any water left inside to run down and hopefully find an opening to escape.

To read the original click here.

• After 24 hours reinstall the battery and test your phone. Don't plug it into power at first.
• If your phone is not working, try removing the battery, plugging it in and powering it up. If it works then you might need to replace the battery.
• Take your phone to an authorized dealer as they might be able to repair it. Tell them it has been in water. Salt water is the worst, by the way. The dealer can take the phone apart to see the damage. It's recommended that you not try this as it is easy to damage the very small connections in a cell phone.

If you are around water a lot, getting a protective cover or keeping it in a plastic bag might be a good idea. However, answering it will take much longer. My parting words: buy a cheap cell phone to take in your boat, and store your data in another place as well as on the phone - maybe "in the cloud".