First reaction to your phone dropping in the water is extreme panic, isn’t it? Some people suggest that you should keep your phone into a bowl of rice, and all will be fine by the morning. Turns out that is more of an urban myth rather than an actual hack.
We picked the brain of tech experts and found that there are a few things you can do to salvage your phone if it falls into water.
First thing to know: Is your phone really water-resistant?
There is a huge difference between water-resistant and waterproof. Waterproof means it won’t be affected by water no matter how long it stays wet – on the other hand, water-resistance can protect your phone only for a short amount of time.
Even though some manufacturers claim so – phones, tablets, and watches are not designed to be waterproof. You need to check the IP ratings on your phone – most phones have a rating that starts with IP6, which means the phone is resistant to dust and every other kind of solid particles.
Most of the flagship phones currently in the market are designed to be IP67/68 water resistant. Devices like iPhone 8 and iPhone X have a water-resistant rating of IP67, while newer devices like iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Note 10, and Google Pixel 4 come with IP68 rating.
IP67 means that your phone can survive being inside one meter of water for 30 minutes, while IP68 rated phones can survive 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.
But since most of the phones belong to the mid-range or lower range of smartphones, they are do not have IP67/68 protection, and that’s why you need to take extra steps to protect them.
What to do if your phone falls into water:
#1. Turn off your phone
Once you get your phone out of water, turn it off immediately so as to avoid any chance of short circuit being caused by water seeping into the electric components.
Then remove the SIM card so that it’s not affected by water getting into the slot. Getting another SIM is not expensive but it’s a lot of trouble.
If your battery is removable then remove it as well.
#2. Do not do these things to dry your phone
Wipe the water using a microfiber cloth, then you can move to the next step of removing the water from the parts where cloth can’t reach.
Do not use a hair dryer or hot air blower on your phone, because the heat might actually destroy the tiny fragile circuits inside.
Also, and we are only saying this because many people have tried it: do not put your phone in a microwave to dry it off. Most likely that your phone will catch fire, possibly melt, and in some cases it might even explode inside.
You might consider keeping your phone out in the sun for a while, so that the water evaporates on its own.
#3. What to do if you fear excessive water damage
People suggest dunking your phone in a bowl of rice, saying that rice absorbs the excess water – but it is not very helpful.
Instead, use silica gel – it comes in packets with most electronic devices to keep the excess moisture at bay. Silica gel is a powerful water absorbent, so that it keeps things around it extremely dry. Keep your phone inside a bowl of silica gel, leave it overnight – and it should be as good as new by morning.
At this point, you can turn your phone on again and check if everything works fine.
A research conducted by Gazelle showed that while rice can restore 6 out of 10 devices which were submerged in water, silica gel was able to dry out 9 out of 10 devices.
What about tablets or laptops?
You should do the same procedure with tablets and laptops as well. Although, it might be difficult to get enough silica gel to dip an entire laptop into unless it is available at your nearest store.
For laptops, probably the most careful thing to do is that you should not try to unplug its charger while the laptop is still wet. First, turn off the laptop, then turn off the socket switch, and then carefully remove the plug. After that, removing the battery, wiping with a cloth, and leaving it out to dry – all procedures are same.
If it still doesn’t work, then you might have to visit a repair shop where they can open up your device, take the components apart, dry them individually and put them back together.
What to do to avoid water damage in the first place?
Get a waterproof case. It doesn’t cost much, and it can save you a lot of trouble and money if your phone ever gets wet.
Back up your data. For iPhone you can save your data to iCloud, while Android users can upload the data to One Drive or Google Drive.
All Featured Images Courtesy: TechRadar
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