DISCLAIMER: YOUR PHONE MIGHT ALREADY BE GORKED. THIS IS JUST AN ATTEMPT TO GIVE YOU THE BEST ADVICE POSSIBLE TO FIX YOUR PHONE. IF THIS DOES NOT FIX YOUR PHONE, IT ISN’T MY FAULT. YOU’RE THE ONE WHO PIDDLED ON IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. NO, I DON’T NEED YOUR STORY ABOUT HOW RICE SAVED YOUR LIFE. I DON’T CARE THAT SOME COINCIDENCE HELPED. THIS IS THE PROPER PROCEDURE. LIVE WITH IT.
Many of us have experienced the dreaded moment where our phone has met H2O up close and personal. Many of us have managed to salvage our devices too, sometimes with luck, sometimes with skill, sometimes purely on accident.
There are many ideas out there on what to do: rice, water, alcohol, desiccant, etc. But the trouble is we don’t know why those reasons have worked for people, or if they have at all.
Many here and all over the internet swear by using rice to draw out the moisture. While people have claimed to have great success with this method, there is no proof it is actually saving their device. How do we know that the phone didn’t just dry out on its own, given the proper time? The prinicipal behind rice is that it “draws” out the moisture. While yes, rice does absorb a great deal of moisture, its drawing power is very limited. There are no rice gnomes that sneak out of the rice and bring the moisture back for the rice gods.
This leads us to Silica Desiccant. These are the little packets found in your shoe boxes, pill bottles, and many other packing materials. Obviously that tiny pack isn’t going to help, but you can get desiccant pouches at gun shops and craft stores sell loose desiccant used to dry flowers(it may just be labeled for such, not as desiccant). Silica desiccants do draw out moisture with great success. Far superior to rice, and best of all can be recharged in the oven on low-slow heat. Trouble is they only adsorb the water–not the crap the water brought with it.
Often I have found that many people recommend rinsing with distilled water. The idea being that you are rinsing the impurities. While this is a good “idea”, you could just force more water into places we don’t want it! I think we forget that even though the phone was submerged water may not have made its way all the way into the phone and main board. You have then made a situation that would have dried out all on its own far worse.
So… It takes a little thought on how to do this best. Despite all of the “this is what worked for me” stories, not ALL situations are the same. This might take a little critical thinking, and if you aren’t capable, just go ahead and call up Assurion and file your insurance claim. (PS, there is no guarantee you CAN salvage your phone, but these steps are your best bet).
Step ONE:
Expose your phone to water/liquid. Could be pee, could be a bottle of beer, could be both.
Step TWO:
Immediately remove battery. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Do yourself a favor, take the battery, put it in a drawer and forget about it for a few days. The battery door can go with it, too.
Step THREE:
Using a soft towel pat the phone face down onto it. The keyboard is the major source for water entry into the phone. Allow gravity to work. Don’t try to turn it on now. Whatever you do, do NOT TRY TO TURN IT ON!
Step FOUR:
Go to the drug store and buy 100% rubbing alcohol(likely 91% might be the best you can find). Go to a well ventilated area with no spark risk. Away from your computer and tv too. Fill a bowl with enough alcohol(do not use liquor. do not use anything with coloring. THink about this… 80 proof liquor is only 40% alc, and has loads of other “stuff” in it. The very stuff we are trying to remove.) Take your phone, place gently in bowl, and lightly swish. Very gently . Remove from the bowl and repeat step THREE. Here it is in case your up arrow is broken:
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Step THREE:
Using a soft towel pat the phone face down onto it. The keyboard is the major source for water entry into the phone. Allow gravity to work. Don’t try to turn it on now. Whatever you do, do NOT TRY TO TURN IT ON!
Step FIVE:
This is the tough one. Wait. Wait until you think it is dry, then wait 2 more days. The alcohol that you rinsed your phone with displaced the water, now it must evaporate. There are risks to long term alcohol exposure for your phone–it can break seals(just like in people…) and break glue bonds. I’ve done this to 5 phones(not all mine, but for family/friends) and never experienced any alcohol related failures(the same can’t be said for their owners). I recommend waiting at least 4 days. 5 is better. I know, you can’t live without your phone for that long… but this is an attempt to save you some cash. Live with it.
Step FIVE 1/2:
Drying location. Some swear by rice. I wouldn’t put my phone it it. Short of a vacuum rice isn’t going to draw from the phone any more than it would the air. I find the best location is NEXT to an air conditioning vent or dehumidifier. Not on top of, not directly in line. We don’t want any forced air action, but the passive effects are great. If you must, you can use desiccant pouches. If you use loose, put it in a sock, and the phone in a sock, then put in the same close ziplock with the air sucked out. I would still allow the phone 24 hours to dry open air before giving it the desiccant treatment.
Step SIX!!!!
Put battery in. Watch closely to see if anything is different that before. Flashing, smoking, flames, and booms are all bad things. Normal is good. If it turns on completely, check EVERY button so you don’t have a surprise. If there is moisture under the screen, use DESICCANT from the gun shop/sporting goods store/craft store to draw it out. Follow instructions in Step Five using a ziplock bag–make sure to suck air out(or even better, a vaccuum packing machine). Test out your salvaged phone. If it works, rejoice!
Alcohol is particularly helpful when the liquid was NOT water. It removes the sticky icky from your phone. That sticky icky really kills your keyboard. There is no guarantee you will save your phone this way, but this is the way I have saved 5 so far. This is also what we used in electronics assembly to clean delicate electronics for THESE signs. Some phones are beyond saving. This is a risk you take when you decide to attempt to save your piddle paddle phone. Live with it.
Good luck. There are a million stories on the web about how to do this, but I promise you I have researched and have the electronics experience to do this the right way.
Good Luck!
