Modern phones are less prone to damage caused by the elements. Most of the flagship phones on the market right now have received IPxx certification, which means they are more than capable of stopping dust from entering the phone and surviving the occasional splash of water.
IP ratings, however, don’t always mean that your phone will not get damaged by water. More importantly, not all phones have sufficient protection to withstand falling into the bathtub, or worse, the toilet!
Taking the correct first steps when dealing with a water-damaged smartphone increases the chances of recovering your phone and its data. Read on to find out more.
Things to Avoid
The first thing you need to know when your phone gets completely wet is a list of things that you need to avoid, starting with trying to turn your phone back on immediately. When the phone is wet, turning it on can trigger a short. This could potentially ruin the phone completely.
You want to unplug the device from any power source. While you are trying to rescue the phone, don’t shake the phone or blow into the handset. In fact, try to handle the phone as carefully as possible. Fewer movements will limit how far water enters your phone.
Last but not least, avoid applying heat to the phone directly. Hair-drying the phone may seem like a good idea at first, but you risk damaging the phone even further when the temperature isn’t controlled properly.
Drying the Phone
Paper towels are your best friend when your phone gets wet. Carefully wipe excess water from the surface of your phone to prevent more from entering the device. Once the exterior is dry, use a fresh towel to wrap the phone in order to absorb excess moisture.
You can also use rice grains to absorb moisture from inside the phone. Since rice grains naturally absorb water, leaving your phone buried under rice grains for a day or so really helps. Alternatively, you can use a vacuum cleaner with a microfiber cloth covering the nozzle to suck up excess water.
Worst Case Scenario
If your phone still won’t turn on after the previous steps, you may have to dry the board directly. Unless you are skilled in disassembling a smartphone and know your way around the necessary tools, this is a task best left to experts.
Recovering your data should be a priority if the phone is completely dead. Fortunately, the majority of your data is already in the cloud. As long as you have automatic sync turned on, you can access contacts, photos, and other information using any web browser.
You can enlist the help of a data recovery company like Secure Data Recovery Services in more severe cases. Data recovery companies like SecureDatacan recover files directly from the storage chip, so you have a much better chance of recovering the essential data than when you do it yourself.
Complete these initial steps correctly, and you should be able to recover from most water damage. It is not always possible to save your phone after an accidental drop in the toilet or sink, but you can at least recover your data under the worst circumstances.