In this article, we will tell you what to do if your phone falls into the water. Information on this moment is relevant because for almost all smartphones that do not have an IP67 or IP68 protection class, moisture can cause serious damage. In this case, water starts flowing into the case, damaging the board, processor and causing short circuits.

First steps to rescue your phone

In case your phone has fallen into water, you should not panic, it is better to try to remove it from the liquid as soon as possible. After all, the longer the phone is in the water, the more likely it is to damage the motherboard components. Most people in such a situation will immediately start pressing all sorts of buttons to check the phone's performance, but this absolutely cannot be done in order to avoid a short circuit.

However, if the smartphone has a non-removable battery and remains turned on after a dive, then the first step is to turn it on using the power button, and if the battery is removable, then immediately remove it from the phone. Together with the battery, you also need to remove the SIM card and memory card. Next, wipe the phone and its removable parts with a dry cloth and make sure there are no liquid residues.

Never try to dry your smartphone with a hair dryer, and do not blow or shake the phone, because doing so may cause water to spill onto other components of the device. You can get rid of moisture inside your phone using the following 5 methods.

Isopropyl and ethyl alcohols

Isopropyl and ethyl alcohols have been available and inexpensive for many years for cleaning RF boards. As mentioned earlier, the main reason for the failure of devices is the corrosion of the motherboard elements, and isopropyl alcohol contains chemical elements that help prevent this corrosion and remove moisture. Also, their modern counterparts are water-based cleaning liquids, such liquids are not conductors of electric current, and their evaporation occurs instantly.

The fact is that when water turns into ice, then its molecules have a less conductive effect due to the increase in the distance between the molecules, which prevents short circuits.

If the phone does not turn on the first time, then try repeating the procedure again, and after several attempts your phone will most likely turn on.

However, if you overexpose your smartphone in the refrigerator, you can get the opposite effect and aggravate the situation.

Drying the phone with absorbents

The method is already familiar to many, as it is very popular on the Internet. One of these substances is rice. It's no secret that rice absorbs moisture, and in theory, dipping your phone into an appropriate container of rice should do the same trick.

This method has an indisputable advantage, since it excludes the possibility of inadvertently turning on the device while there is a large amount of moisture inside it. However, this method does not guarantee the complete restoration of the smartphone, because the contained water can cause oxidation of the contacts and elements of the device's motherboard and, as a result, lead to negative consequences.

Compressed air

The main purpose of this method is to try to speed up the drying process. The best option in this case is a compressed air cylinder inside. Such cylinders are often used when cleaning hard-to-reach components, motherboards computers and laptops from dust.

To implement this method, blow air with a balloon through all possible openings of the phone: speakers, microphone, charging connector and audio connector. Cleaning should focus on the charging port as it is closest to the battery compartment, which will give you more room for air to move around.

remember, that this way is rather a preventive measure and will not allow moisture to be eliminated as effectively as possible.

Synthetic desiccants

This solution provides a quick and easy way to get rid of water that gets into your phone. In the vastness of well-known Internet sites, there are many similar accessories for small electronic devices.

Synthetic desiccants are hermetically sealed plastic bags with special granules inside that effectively absorb moisture. The only disadvantage of this method is the cost. In our countries, such accessories are not in great demand, and not everyone will dare to pay 1200 rubles for them.

Also, remember that none of the above methods is a guarantee of complete restoration of your phone. And in case of unsuccessful first aid to your smartphone, contact the repair center. We wish that such troubles do not arise in your life!

Inattention, distraction, forgetfulness, or just a coincidence of circumstances very often confront us with the task of how to dry a phone that has fallen into water. And this can happen not only while relaxing on the pond, but also in your own apartment. Modern telephones accompany us everywhere. On the one hand, it is convenient. On the other hand, they threaten the apparatus, without which the majority can no longer do, with unexpected problems. And one of the most common problems is getting your phone wet.

Imagine that your phone is charging, that is, connected to the electrical network, and at this very moment, a mug of tea, coffee or any other drink is accidentally poured onto it. The first, almost instinctive movement will be to grab the phone and wipe off all the moisture from it. In no case should you do this. You can be easily shocked.

If immediately after the incident the traffic jams did not fly out and the lights did not go out in the apartment, this does not mean that the danger, especially for you, has passed. The first step is to disable Charger from the network, or turn off the electricity altogether, and only then take any action to save the phone itself.

The phone fell into the water: the algorithm of actions

There is a strong opinion, which is actively supported by manufacturers, that if your device falls into water or a sufficient amount of liquid is poured onto it, this at least means that you will have to go to a store that sells spare parts for cell phones, or even buy a new one, but this is not entirely true. If you act quickly, confidently and logically, your phone can often be saved.

• The main rule is as follows: what faster phone taken out of the water, the more likely it will continue to function. There is no time for disgust or fear of getting wet with expensive manicure. Whatever reservoir you have to take your phone out of, your hands can always be washed with soap and water, which is much cheaper.
• If this trouble occurred while the phone was turned on, you must turn it off in any way. The button does not work, which means you should remove the battery. It is also impossible to hesitate with this, and even more so it is not recommended to test it for performance. By trying to press at least some button besides turning off, you risk finally killing the phone.
• Then, you should arm yourself with the necessary tools, sit in a comfortable well-lit place and disassemble the phone. Don't just remove the back cover, take out the battery and SIM card. You need to try to remove everything that is possible and at the same time not forget in what sequence all this was done, in order to put it back together later. If you have touchscreen phone fell into the water and the question arose of how to dry it, you should not get lost. It can also be disassembled, only for this you need a very small screwdriver, maximum attention and accuracy.
• After they were able to unscrew and remove everything that could be and laid out on a clean and dry towel, each detail should be blotted with paper napkins and with them, twisted into flagella, try to get into the most inaccessible places. There is one caveat here. Do not wrap the napkin over a match or toothpick. In this case, the flagellum will become too hard, and the possibility of causing mechanical damage to fragile parts will increase several times.
• It is impossible to collect the field of this operation at once, let alone turn on the phone. No matter how it seems to you that not a single molecule of liquid remains inside the apparatus and on the removed parts, this is not so. The phone should be left unassembled for several days and only after that try it out.

Degree of wetness

Agree that this indicator is quite important and it turns out that many phones and smartphones provide the ability to determine this purely visually. If you remove the battery, you can see a small white circle or square near the charging hole.

This is an indicator showing the very degree of wetness. If it turns from white to pink or even red, then the phone that fell into the water should be dried.

Hairdryer or vacuum cleaner

Another deeply mistaken opinion is that in order to speed up the drying process, you can use a hair dryer to dry your hair. A strong air flow, on the contrary, will drive moisture into places where it will become simply impossible to dry it. And if you also turned on the hair dryer for heating, then this can lead to overheating of some parts.

The vacuum cleaner is much safer in this case. On the contrary, it works for suction and therefore draws out moisture. This is not to say that this is an ideal and highly effective method, but it certainly will not harm you. So before doing anything, you should think carefully about how to dry mobile phone dropped into the water, and do it correctly without causing more damage.

Correct drying

Let us remind you once again: in order to dry the phone so that it continues to work, in no case should you rush. Neither paper napkins nor a vacuum cleaner will ensure a complete absence of moisture - they will only significantly reduce its amount. But even a small drop can be enough for the phone to burn out if it is not turned on in time. Several days in air are simply necessary, but this process can be accelerated by placing the apparatus in an adsorbent medium.

At home, creating it is easiest in three ways:

• Plain rice. Any cereal absorbs moisture very well, but rice is the purest. The disassembled phone should be simply buried separately in rice and literally overnight it will draw out all the moisture from it. Remaining dust can be easily removed with a dry cloth.
• Silicogel. If you recently bought a new pair of shoes and have not thrown out the box yet, then you can use special small balls with which the shoe makers pour over their products, just in order to remove excess moisture. For drying a phone that has fallen into the water, they will also work.
• Cat litter. His purpose is exactly what is necessary. It is better to use fines filler and be careful so that your pet does not confuse the place where you need to go to the toilet.

Other types of liquid

We told how to properly dry a phone or smartphone that fell into water, but it often happens that they fall into other liquids, which, in addition to moisture, also contain sugar, all kinds of sticky substances and even brewer's yeast. In this case, in addition to getting wet, pollution will necessarily follow. The first impulse of many people is the desire to rinse the apparatus under running clean water. Do not do that.

Follow the above procedure, the main purpose of which is to dry the phone. After that, the dirt will need to be thoroughly wiped off with damp wipes and dried again. Of course, this is a little longer, but it eliminates additional damage.

A phone bubbling into the water is a very big nuisance. You can suddenly lose a very necessary and useful thing, not to mention its value. However, you should not despair. If everything is done quickly, but slowly, and correctly, it is quite possible to save him.

You went outside in rainy weather, and suddenly someone called you. One careless movement - and an expensive device was in a puddle. Just don't panic: follow our advice and you can bring your smartphone back to life.
Let's see what happens if the mobile device falls into the water. At best, nothing at all. If you quickly pick it up and shake it off of the water, then the device may be able to endure this trouble without any damage. Anyway, just in case, you can follow the first two steps of our phone rescue operation.

However, problems can arise. The biggest danger is that moisture can penetrate the inside of the case, short-circuit conductive paths and form an electrical connection where it should not be. If, due to a short circuit, some small part burns out, then a smartphone worth 15,000 rubles (5,000 hryvnia) will turn into useless plastic with a set of pieces of iron. There is another danger - damage to the phone caused by corrosion or rust. This is because rust prevents contact and thus disrupts the electrical connection.

So what should you do if your mobile device falls into the water? We offer you a phone rescue operation, which consists of six steps, which you can follow in turn. In some situations, it is not necessary to carry out all the procedures - sometimes it is enough just to disassemble the device and let it dry. If the case is severe, use other measures as well. And one more tip: inside any phone there are several indicators that, in contact with water, change their color. Thanks to this, the workers service center will be able to quickly determine if there was contact with water, and if so, in what place. Therefore, in the case of contacting specialists, do not try to convince employees that the reason for the phone breakdown is different - you will fail.

How to do it?

1) Remove the battery.

First of all, you need to remove the battery - this way you can prevent a possible short circuit. Next, remove the SIM card from the phone. After that, it is necessary to wipe the body of the device dry, and then by shaking the device try to remove the water present inside. Thus, a significant part of the liquid will come out. The problem, however, is that water can be trapped in the corners of the phone and shaking will not help here. Use more effective methods to get rid of any remaining moisture.

2) Dry the apparatus.

Place the phone on a dry towel and, if possible, place it on a warm battery (but never in the oven, as you can damage the parts) to dry the components. The water present on the board and display will simply evaporate and the device will most likely work again.

3) Disassemble the phone.

4) Use a vacuum cleaner.

Our first thought was to use a compressed air cylinder with which we remove dust from the PC. But then we realized a mistake: under the influence of compressed air, moisture can penetrate even deeper. It would be wiser to vacuum the phone. For safety reasons, place the bolts removed from the machine away from the work area. Then take a vacuum cleaner in your hands and gently clean the device from all sides with it.

5) Pulling out moisture.

The next step is to place the phone parts in a bowl of rice overnight and cover them with a lid - small food containers made of plastic are suitable for this purpose. Dry rice will draw moisture out of the machine.

6) Rinse the display.

If after that, moisture remains in the phone, and especially on the screen, you can remove it with isopropyl alcohol. In our case, we separated the display components from each other by inserting a piece of paper between them. Then we poured alcohol inside. It has three advantages: it displaces water, is non-conductive, and evaporates quickly.

You can go the other way. Remove as many parts as possible from the machine. Remove anything that can be removed, while being careful not to damage the device. For these purposes, you can use a screwdriver. Gently blot areas where water is present with a dry cloth. Shake from time to time open phone in hand.

There are a lot of situations when our smartphone can meet water. You can get caught in a heavy downpour, topple a cup of drink on a nearby smartphone, or even drop your phone into the water while taking a hot bath. Recently, smartphone manufacturers have been trying to implement water protection in their devices. Nevertheless, the percentage of such devices is still very small, so our article will be relevant for a long time.

We will tell you about what not to do if your smartphone gets wet, as well as several ways to fix this situation.

1. Remove the smartphone from the water, disconnect and disassemble

As we were taught in OBZH lessons, the first step is to get rid of the source of danger. In our case, we immediately take the device out of the water and turn it off. The smartphone has both slots and headphone / charging jacks through which water will instantly reach the insides and can cause a short circuit. After you take out the phone, you need to wipe it with a dry towel and remove the battery. This will completely de-energize the device and reduce the likelihood of a short circuit to zero. We advise you to remove the SIM card and memory card together with the battery.

IMPORTANT

Do not turn on your smartphone until you have completed all the steps in the instructions.

2.Wipe all parts of the device well

After you have taken out the device, you need to wipe it thoroughly with a dry towel to get rid of all visible moisture. Avoid using regular napkins or paper towels. It's no secret that paper napkins not only absorb moisture very well, but also quickly soak, breaking up into small fibers. These lint will clog into holes and crevices in the device and will only make things worse.

Take a rag or cloth towel and wipe the device dry both outside and inside if water does get there. Do not leave a single drop on the surface, because any small thing can cause corrosion and make the device inoperable.

3. Hair dryer or vacuum cleaner?

For most people, whose phone has been submerged, the following situation occurs. They successfully complete the first two points of our article, but then they start looking for additional solutions, what else can be done for a wet device. The most popular options are a hair dryer and a vacuum cleaner.

REMEMBER! Never use a hair dryer to dry your phone. Contrary to the idea that hot air will quickly dry out all moisture, you need to understand: the air flow will not only drive the water even deeper, but can also melt some parts.

You can use a vacuum cleaner to speed up the drying process. During drying, do not hold the hose too close to the smartphone, carry out the procedure for 7-10 minutes.

4. Put the phone in the sun in a box with absorbent or rice

Finally, when all the basic steps have been completed, you can proceed to the longest stage. The disassembled phone (we took out the battery, SIM card, USB flash drive) must be placed in a container with an absorbent substance. You have probably seen bags of such a substance in shoe boxes.

You can purchase such a substance in the store in advance, in case of such an emergency. But, if the ingress of water caught you off guard, regular rice may work as a “home substitute”. Put the device in the substance for a day and turn it over periodically, allowing water to drain from all crevices. Only after the day has passed, after making sure that all the water has left the phone, you can try to start it.

If the device does not work, feel free to go to the service center.

5. What not to do

Finally, we want to list what categorically cannot be done if your phone fell into the water

• You cannot turn on the device right away. You can turn on the phone only after complete drying, when you have waited a sufficient amount of time for all the moisture to come out of the device. Naturally, in a “wet” state, it is strictly forbidden to connect the device to a power source (charge or connect to a computer).
• Do not disassemble the device. Most likely you are not an expert, and by disassembling the smartphone into parts (more than pulling out the battery), you will only make it worse. The water will get even deeper, and you will break something.

All the best. Take care of yourself and your phones 🙂