FixMyPod Guides: Part 3
By: FixMyPod.ca
So you’ve just dropped your Cell Phone in the toilet, or the pool or off the end of the dock at a friend’s cottage and you worry it might be dead? Don’t panic, you may still be able to resuscitate it!
Act Fast!
The longer an electronic device is exposed to water the less likely it is you will be able to save it. Act quickly and follow these instructions.
1) Cut the power by removing the battery (if possible) – DO NOT TURN IT ON (this could really fry some circuits.
2) Remove the SIM card (if you have a GSM phone) – this contains a lot of information on your phone (in some cases this is where your Contacts are stored)
3) DRY YOUR PHONE IMMEDIATELY. You can’t wait for the water to evaporate naturally, the damage will be lessened if you can get the moisture out of the phone quickly. Blow or suck the water out with compressed air, and air compressor (set to low psi) or a vacuum cleaner (or wet/dry vac). It might be tempting to use a hair drier but resist the urge, the heat can do more harm than good. Only use a hair drier if it has a cooling or “no heat” option.
4) Use uncooked rice – there will be left over liquid still in the device and rice is the most available, most effective option to get it dry. Leave the phone (minus battery) in a bowl (or bag) of rice over-night. If you are concerned about using rice an alternative would be packets of silica gel (those small packets found in beef jerky). In most cases you should use the rice, speed is very important, unless you are an avid silica gel collector with a display case full of the stuff you can’t waste time heading to the store to buy some.
Remember, avoid heat (ovens, hot hair driers, microwaves, sunlight, blow torches, napalm, etc), while it might seem like a good idea to use heat to evaporate moisture you are really playing with fire (hopefully not literally).
Note: If you dropped your phone in the ocean (salt water) you should remove the battery and rinse it off with fresh water before drying it. On the surface this is counter-intuitive, but the salt crystals are very damaging so they need to be washed away before you can properly attempt to revive the device.
If you have a water damaged device and you want to have it diagnosed by a professional FixMyPod offers just that. Our Water Damage diagnostic is $25 and in many cases we can bring a phone back from the dead.
FixMyPod is an established Kingston repair shop specializing in Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod repairs, as well as Tablets and SmartPhones from RIM/BlackBerry and devices powered by Google Android. You can reach us by phone Monday to Friday 8:30AM to 5PM at 613.634.3100 – email us any time at Info@FixMyPod.ca or visit FixMyPod.ca.
See also: Guide 1: How To Clean Your Cell Phone or Tablet
See also: Guide 2: Tips to Extend Your Smart Phone & Tablet Battery Life
