When Your Phone Failed the Swimming Test

You juggle some household chores and then you receive a call, you lost balance and you accidentally dropped your phone in water. Perhaps your phone got wet in the rain, or you spilled liquid on it. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. According to one research, 30% of smartphone users have had their smartphone damaged by water or some other type of liquid.  

According to Data AI, the average amount of time we spend on our mobile devices is 4.8 hours per day. Considering the fact that everything from personal photos to online banking is stored on these devices, the likelihood of irreversible damage is frightening. The majority of modern Androids can withstand water for short periods of time or at shallow depths, however no smartphone is completely waterproof. 

Sirwiss has teamed up with experts in the field of mobile phone repair to provide the following advice in the event that your phone has been completely submerged in water or another potentially hazardous substance. 

What To Do If You Drop Your Phone in Water 

There are in fact hundreds of scenarios in which your phone might be submerged in water and perish. So, what should you do if your mobile device is unexpectedly submerged in water? Remember that a damp mobile phone may be resurrected before you start lamenting its untimely demise.  

Here’s what to do if you inadvertently drop your phone in water: 

1. Immediately remove your smartphone from the water and carefully dry it with a clean towel. 

The longer your phone is submerged in water, the greater the likelihood that it may be ruined. Hence, if you dropped your phone in water, immediately remove it. Run a towel over your device to dry the outside of the device as quickly as possible If you’re blessed, it’ll be just fine. 

2. If the phone is on, turn it off immediately. Avoid the impulse to unlock it and test its functionality, since doing so might prevent it from functioning in the future. If the device is turned off, leave it off.  

Leaving your phone on after it has been wet can short the circuit board and lead it to collapse. It goes without saying that you must immediately switch it off after removing it from the water. If your phone’s screen was turned off before it fell, immediately see whether it “wakes” up. This will validate if the screen just went blank or the gadget shut down before it came into touch with water. In case your phone suddenly wakes up, shut it off Instantly. If it doesn’t, keep it off. 

3. If possible, remove the back and battery; however, this cannot be done with an iPhone or other high-end cellphones. Remove the SIM card and memory card, if any.  

The worst-case scenario is when your Android phone isn’t built for quick battery replacement and is glitching out when you shut it off. If you don’t have phone repair equipment, the best alternative is to lay the phone flat to deplete the battery before anything shorts out. 

4. Shake your smartphone gently to remove any moisture from the headphone jack, charging port, and other ports.  

Try shaking the water out. What’s more, water may be gently expelled using compressed air. But you should be cautious to avoid blowing it back into the phone. To utilize compressed air, hold the can so that air is blowing over the hole, as opposed to into it. Spray the air, and water should flow from the other side. 

5. Place your smartphone in a bowl of dry rice, completely covering it, and let for at least 48 hours.  

Some individuals use ordinary rice to dry it out, although this is not the most efficient method. Instant rice is somewhat superior, however get rice in the ports. A better alternative is silica gel. Silica gel is what comes in the little sachets that come with many electrical products. It absorbs water better than rice. You may probably collect enough from around your house or buy them from a craft shop. You’ll need enough to surround the phone. A drying pouch designed specifically for this purpose is a last alternative. You may find them online or at electronics shops.  

5.1 If you can’t locate enough silica gel packets, use crystallized kitty litter, which is effectively the same thing.  

5.2 According to some experiments, it may be better to leave the phone out in the open air rather than attempt to submerge it in a drying solution. 

5.3 Check the ports for rice after 48 hours and remove any grains with a tiny pair of tweezers. Now you can turn your phone on. If it works, you should immediately back up all your data in case it stops operating again. 

6. In case your smartphone got soaked in seawater, your phones’ delicate inner workings may be badly damaged by the crystal left behind when seawater evaporates. Hence, if your phone fell into the ocean, you should first dry it off and then flush it with tap water. It’s also a good idea to take the battery out first. 

7. Wait. Let the device at least 48 hours to dry, if possible. After about twenty-four hours, balance the phone upright and tilt it so the USB port faces downward to ensure any leftover moisture drains out of the device. When the phone is wet, avoid jostling or shaking it. 

8. Look for Water Sensors. Little bits of paper or stickers serve as the water sensors in modern smartphones. While dry, they have a pristine white appearance, but once wet, they take on a permanent brilliant red hue. If you take off your phone’s cover and see a bunch of flashing red dots, that’s usually the result of a water sensor being triggered. 

9. Test your device. Try turning on your device when it has dried out. If it does, count your blessings. If not, charge it fully before trying to turn it on again. If it still won’t power on after that, you may have to have it fixed or replaced. Remember that water corrosion of certain internal components is always a possibility, even if your phone turns on. No guarantees that it won’t develop problems at some point.  

Are there Water-resistant Phones? 

If your phone cannot be saved and you need a replacement, try a waterproof model. Waterproofing is becoming more popular on current smartphones, especially at the high end. If you Google “waterproof mobile,” you’ll discover direct links to water resistant and waterproof choices.  

The IP (Ingress Protection) rating of the phone is the most important factor to consider. This will be a two-character number, with the first digit indicating how well the device can tolerate solid particles entering it, such as dust, and the second indicating how effectively it is protected against liquid seeping into it. In each case, bigger numbers are preferable. Therefore, a phone classified at IP67 is dust-tight (the 6) and can tolerate immersion in water to a depth of one meter (the 7). A 0 implies that the phone is not water resistant; a 1 suggests that it can survive drips.