How To Save A Wet Mobile Phone ?

1. Get it out of the water as soon as possible.
The plastic covers on cell phones are fairly tight, but water can enter the phone over time.
But this time may be quite short - 20 seconds or less. So grab your phone quickly!

2. Remove the battery.
This is one of the most important steps.
Don't take time to think about it; electricity and water do not mix.
Cutting power to your phone is a crucial first step in saving it.
Many circuits inside the phone will survive immersion in water provided they are not attached to a power source when wet.

3. Remove your SIM card.
Some or all of your valuable contacts (along with other data) could be stored on your SIM.
To some people this could be more worth saving than the phone itself.
SIM cards survive water damage well, but some of the following steps are unnecessary i.e. don't heat it.
Just pat it dry and leave it aside until you need to connect your phone to your cellular network.

4. Dry your phone.
Obviously you need to remove as much of the water as soon as possible, so you can prevent it from getting into the phone.
Use a towel or paper towel to remove as much of the water as possible.

5. Allow the phone to dry.
Since you do not want to ruin your phone or lose all of the numbers in your phone book, you need to allow the phone to dry.
Also, ringtones and graphics stay with the phone - not the SIM.
Don't try putting the battery back on to see if it works as this would risk damaging the phone with a short circuit.

6. Wait.
This is the hardest part - leaving your phone alone, with battery and SIM card out, while it dries slowly.
Tricks like leaving your phone in a bowl of dry rice will help to expedite moisture evaporation.
They might also have side effects like getting rice in your phone.
Just put it someplace reasonably warm and dry, uncovered so water can evaporate, and wait.

7. Test your phone.
After you have waited 3 days, make sure everything is clean and dry looking and re-attach the battery to the phone and see if it works.
If your phone does not work, wait another few days.
If it still won't work, try taking your cell phone to an authorized dealer. Sometimes they can fix it.

Alternate Alcohol Soak Method
(not recommended if u donno wat u are doin)

Dry your phone by soaking it in alcohol or distilled water.
This method is controversial and considered risky by some, but the proponents believe in it strongly.
Using alcohol is more effective than distilled water because not only does it displace the water and sediments,
it also evaporates faster with less residue.
It will not harm a mobile phone. Preferably, use denatured alcohol or a 95% alcohol solution.
Denatured alcohol may be purchased at any hardware store and is used to clean electronics because it evaporates quickly and leaves no residue.
You should check to see what the alcohol is denatured with.
If it is anything other than methanol (some are denatured with very hazardous chemicals such as methyl ethelyne ketone [MEK]) you should not use it, as some denaturants can melt plastics.
Most drugstores or larger retailers carry 91% rubbing alcohol. Regular rubbing alcohol is only 70% and is not recommended.
Distilled water also displaces water and is a viable alternative because it is non-conductive.
Prolonged exposure to other liquids will cause corrosion of the copper traces within the mobile phone, and will most likely cease its operation.


The less risky ways to dry your phone

1. Set it on top of the vent of a cable box, monitor or TV for at least 24 hours (up to 3 days). The low heat emitted is enough to gently dry out the phone.

2. The longer your phone is wet the more likely it is to be damaged. To dry your phone more quickly than room temperature air can manage, immerse it in a can of dry, uncooked rice. The rice will absorb excess moisture, drying your phone from the inside out.

3. An alternate drying technique is to seal the phone (battery, SIM card, SD card all removed) in a plastic bag with a few of the silica packs that come packed with shoes, coats, electronics. Leave the phone in the bag for a day or 2, and the silica packs will absorb the moisture.

4. One other way to assist in the drying process is to put your cell phone in a disposable baby diaper. Works for babies and can work for the cell phone as well.

TIPS

* Don't put the battery in for at least three days, or longer if your digital screen is foggy.

* If your phone falls in the ocean or other salt water, rinse with fresh water before crystals can form after removing battery.

* Try opening your phone if you can. You'll probably need a TORX screwdriver for that, but it's worth it. This may void your warranty, but it is likely the water damage already has.

* It is likely that the dunk in water will kill the battery. The phone itself usually survives.

* Corrosion is a threat. You may want to consider soaking your phone in distilled water to wash away any minerals it picked up from the original water.

WARNINGS

# Don't heat the battery or it could leak or explode.Lithium-ion batteries are sensitive. If you use an oven or hairdryer, make sure to remove the battery first.

# If you use alcohol make sure to do so outside, and do not apply heat in any form, not even the gentle heat of a monitor. Do not hook up the battery till the alcohol smell dissipates.

# Do not apply too much heat to your phone, as mentioned above. You don't want to melt or burn your phone.

# Most modern phones have more than one liquid damage indicator (stickers that change color when wet) on them, only one visible to you (and sales/technician agents), and chances are, if the sticker under the battery is triggered, then the odds are that the internal stickers you can't access are tripped as well. This will still result in you paying a voided-warranty fee in the long run. Warranties don't cover water damage, insurance does. And not all insurance companies or plans will honor water damaged phones.

# Even if all these steps are followed, minerals dissolved in the water can precipitate on solder and component pins, causing corrosion or shorting. Components pins are packed so closely together in a modern cell phone that even a small encrustation can create a short, rendering the phone inoperable.

# Be warned that manufacturers place stickers that will display "void" once peeled and some will change colors in the presence of a liquid (usually turns blue or red). This helps techs know that you have dropped it in the water, as most cell phone insurance coverage policies don't cover water damage. Also note that these stickers have been known to change colors in extreme humidity as well.

# Do not put the phone (or any electronic or metal-containing object) into the microwave. You will destroy electronic components and potentially the microwave.



Thanks to : wikihow

Pin this thread!
Kings of infos!

Useful info mate.

Thread pinned!

Thanks. Glad i can help.
I donno why no one even thought of posting this..
Its like in every 10 person, 1 person drop their phone in toilet

my drop into swimming pool before, wished i have seen this earlier, bye bye to my nokia 8250...my first phone...sighed.

u should try googlin around..theres are loads of info out there that u cant even find it here..

Great thread here! Thanks for the tonnes of information provided by razyrblade. Cheers

thanks..but hope u don need it..

Thank you so much for this superb thread!!!!! muackss!!

i should start creating super thread..

I often bring my E398 to the bathroom when i'm in hostel (afraid of being stealed and to listen to music when i'm bathing in the night. My hostel is so sunyi one) and several times water got inside it.

When it happened, my keypad cannot be used. only the on/off button works.I remove the battery for 24 hours, and it's back to normal,hehe..now my phone is immune to the water

a few drops of water went inside? or u drop the phone into water...got big difference leh..

but anyway..lucky u

a few drops of water inside usually the phone will survive if you do not urn it on for a few days ... happened to me before. though now got watermark.. and its been like a few months already .

p/s:the title don`t panic sounds something that`s out from the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy ...

My question is. Will the phone auto-off once water went it? Or straight away short-circuit?

its wont auto off...u just have to remove the batt immediately

Last time, when i go for parashoot on the beach, the sea water enter my phone and i didn't notice it because the phone's display is still there, but after a few hours when i want to use it, press any button also no response, then take out the battery, can't on already.Then go for repair, cost me RM80 la...

man!! thanx 4 d info..i saved my nokia 6020 already..

i placed it near my PC about 2 days..then OK..till now still working..

btw...

if u want to imerse it in water/alcohol or dry it in a microwave oven..

remember to take out the LCD screen...

the screen will be dead if water enters it

same goes to heat

but it should be able to stand the heat of a hairdryer though...hehe...
[
quote=ne3ro,May 20 2007, 04:11 PM]I often bring my E398 to the bathroom when i'm in hostel (afraid of being stealed and to listen to music when i'm bathing in the night. My hostel is so sunyi one) and several times water got inside it.

When it happened, my keypad cannot be used. only the on/off button works.I remove the battery for 24 hours, and it's back to normal,hehe..now my phone is immune to the water

[/quote]

FYI on the E398,the num pad/menu key/call key are on a diff circuit board than the off/red key...

so if the num pad/green/menu key short at least u can turn on ur phone lol...

the off kley is also important coz the off key is one of the keys to get the phone into bootloader mode...

in other words,the place where u wanna go if u wanna flash ur phone... lol...

glad my post actually saved a "life"

use Thristy Hippo?! it absorbs moisture as well. put your phone on top of it.

yala..no need to buy..just ask ur friend or your brother/sister to take some Calcium Cabonate CaCO3 from chemistry lab..about 100 gram is enough..then wrap with handkerchief..place it neatr so it will absorb water..this method if u scare to dry it by heater that may affect the board..

just eager to ask here... what if the phone sink underneath the water? saveable?

oh.. this info is very useful!!!
especially to those who thier handphone got no plastic case
THANK Q!!

Is there any casings for N91

ARGH! I dropped my w810i into a pile of water on the road today!!!
And my battery was totally damaged... I need to use another battery for that now.
Anyway, every part is dry except for the LCD... foggy!!
I tried to on the phone just now and it works quite fine... Until I read this post and I quickly turn it off... Now I put it in a bowl of rice...
Oh my... Will my phone die in few days time?
I wish not!!!

i wish ur phone well..

great tips,threadstarter!

yea really helps a lot.. =)

Yeap, it's working fine... But with some minor problems.
My camera isn't as clear as it used to be now...
Pictures taken are blur... No longer the quality of 2MP :sad:
Other than that, so far so good~ No other problems found...
Hope so!
Hehe...

my 6630 now can switch on, the screen is litted up but has got no display and no reception at all. do you think it'll be ok after few days? or time to say bye bye??

great thread i've got my phone in the washing machine before

thanks..but hopefully u guys dont need it



sounds serious already..u better be prepared..

hehehhe..
very sad hearing that...
my 3660 have experienced it b4...
due to rainy day,
riding my motorbikes along the way back to home...
at home...
forgot my phone in my pocket...
all full of water...
suddenly wait for it....
and dry it with hair dryer...
luckily it survived~!:)
but camera is faulty...
try to ask whether can be repaired...
but its board problem...
so sad....
so....
sell it~!
by the way..
really2 good info~!

WTS] NOKIA N95 Brand New Set
Zitron Warranty/Avaxx
RM 2500
3sets LEFT!!

pm number:016-342 6552

Ya....hair dryer will most of the time do the magic !!

However, save it in time, and the probability would be higher !!

Keep blowing ............

All the best

Last time i use hair dryer and my keypad spoilt cos too hot and too near
Just carefull and too near unless u want to spoilt ur phone,not save it

hahhahaa...
yeah2~!
sure it is...
use it with love....
hahhahaaahah...
maybe u can use CPR to save ur phone from drowning...
hehehehe:P

Whoa nice tips.

It happened to my K700i last year.Forgot to take it out of my cloth.So it was threw into the washing machine.By the time I found it,it was already soaking wet.


Luckily,my common sense saved the phone.Like what the steps said,remove the battery immediately.I used a hair dryer to dry the phone.Took quite long for it to dry at the circuit.Almost 7 days later only the phone can switch on again

---

Added on June 30, 2007, 4:57 pm


swt,why are you selling N95 in this thread.Izzit water soaked N95 you selling there brother.

HAHA

how many days to conclude the death of a wet hp if left alone undisturbed after it took its swim?3 days?

After taking out batt and sim, immediately take out memory stick also o.O

very detail n helpful way to save a wet phone..
thanks

my phone dropped into my toilet bowl last week.
when im peeing!! oh god, only god knows what i've been through. :lol
after it dropped into, i stunned for awhile before immediately pull it out.
shut down the phone, took out battery and sim card.
and now its still working it shuts down itself the day after,
after i let it to dry, i can turn it back on. thank god!

lol, sounds eww..

Did you rinse your phone and let it try? If no sure weird smell come out

ewww indeed
but what to do, phone or dignity

yup, actually the water didnt even entered
the phone, only just the casings. rinse it with tap water
then spray it with perfumes lolololol!

i drop the phone into a water feature pond and it died. i did try remove the battery and put it in back and it the screen flickers and did that a few times, but now it died. and now removing the batteries and stuff and waited for a few days b4 i tried to put it all back together again, its a samsung U600

Thank you for the information~

Haha lucky that water didn't enter your phone.. only casings.. if no sure headache.



You put your battery back right after?

yea..try be4..my nk8850 drop into the small longkang.. i quickly remove the battery and dry the phone...so happy it still works...

A friend of mine drop his phone into a cooking curry bowl, what can be done ?
Phone is unable to switch "on"

yea using the advise save my phone frm spoild