It has happened to the best of us… accidentally dropping your phone in the toilet/sink/fish tank, getting pushed in the pool, an unfortunate boating incident… We’ve heard many reasons for water damage, some common and some not so much. Depending on the severity of the damage, you may or may not be able to repair it yourself. Sometimes leaving the device in a bag of rice for a couple days is sufficient. But if the phone has been submersed there is likely some internal damage that needs to be taken care of or parts may need to be replaced. The reality is no matter how it happened, what do you do about a water damaged phone?
1) Remove the phone from the water immediately. This seems like common sense, but seriously the longer it stays underwater the more likely that it will suffer a catastrophic failure as the internal components become waterlogged and start to short out.
2) Turn the phone off. Even if it is still working, there is probably some moisture in there that will cause it to short circuit. DO NOT TRY TO USE IT!
3) Dry it off. Wipe down the outside of the phone, give it a light shake to try and get any water that might be in the keyboard, headphone jack, or other crevices. Remove as much moisture as you possibly can.
4) Take it apart. Remove the battery (if possible), the SIM card, the microSD card and dry them off. You want to remove as much water as possible, you can even try using a wet/dry vacuum to suck moisture our of the tiny crevices. If you really want to dive in and take it completely apart to air dry, you can find instructions on ifixit.com. Don’t worry about your warranty, it was already null and void the minute your phone got soaked.
5) Suck up extra moisture. Put your phone in a bag or container with an absorbent substance such as rice or silica gel. You can move it around every couple of hours to try and coax out water that may be resting deep down. Leave it in there for at least 48-72 hours. There’s a really cool product called a BHEESTIE, the beads contain microscopic, precision-engineered pores that specifically target and trap water molecules. You may not have one on hand in the moment, but if you’re accident prone and this happens to you a lot, you might want to get one of these for potential future use.
Sometimes these steps will be sufficient to save your phone, but if there is corrosion or you’ve fried some of the internal circuitry you may be beyond do-it-yourself help. Don’t despair, luckily we are water damage experts and can get your device fixed up for a reasonable price.
Internal corrosion
Remember, do not use the phone to call us; please use a different phone, or email from a different device. The sooner your phone is treated for water damage, the better the chances are that the phone will have a full recovery.
We offer free estimates for water damage! Every device suffers differently, so there’s no way for us to know what is required to repair your phone without seeing it in the shop. Water damage repairs range from $30.00 – $60.00 for corrosion removal and diagnostics. With all water damage there is the chance that modular parts will require replacing, such as; batteries, screens, and speakers. If this is the case, you will of course be notified before any additional expenses are incurred.
For details specific to you, please don’t hesitate to contact us further.
