You’re using your cell phone in the bath and it falls in the water. This may have happened to you before. Replace “bath” with “pool,” “beach” or any other place with water (including the street on a rainy day or even a puddle). Although there are many myths online, not all are true. We’re going to tell you how to try and save a phone you’ve dropped in water.
Rice
The method of using rice is shared among users. Despite the myths behind it, the truth is that this trick works. With some exceptions, of course.
Rice absorbs moisture, but you can’t expect a miracle compared to a company’s technical service. To see an effect, it’s ideal to take apart the phone and submerge all the pieces (except the plastic ones) in a bag of rice. Leave them there for about 48 hours, and try to turn it back on to see if you have any luck. (By the way, oatmeal works better than rice.)
Alcohol
Sure, we clean lots of things with rubbing alcohol, so why don’t we do the same with a wet phone? It’s a shame we don’t apply this simple logic when our smartphone is soaked with water. Alcohol that we can find at home, with over 90% purity, is lovely for saving a cell phone. This happens because the alcohol evaporates. It goes away without a trace and takes the water with it.
Our advice is to turn off the phone as soon as it’s wet, take out the battery, and submerge the smartphone in alcohol (not the battery). Leave it for two minutes, wait for the alcohol to dry, and try your luck.
Moisture absorbing pellets
Moisture-absorbing pellets (like silica gel) are often used for clothes and shoes and are great for these cases. Take a handful and put them in an airtight bag. When you have enough, put your cell phone inside.
Big no-nos
We’ve given you three typical tips for drying your cell phone. They work well, but everything depends on the amount of moisture in the device. Now, there are some things you should never do. We’ve listed them below:
- Don’t put your cell phone in the microwave. We don’t know what genius came up with this idea, but the only thing you’ll get is a dead phone.
- Don’t dry it with a coarse cloth. Many people think that you can get rid of water with a cloth, but it will just make the problem worse.
- Your warranty won’t work. Companies don’t accept claims for cell phones that have been damaged by water. Even if it’s in the warranty: if the phone has fallen in the pool, they won’t take responsibility for it (obviously).
