Now that summer’s here, one of us Lovelies is bound to take a dip in the pool with her Droid in her pocket. Or she’ll accidentally drop her Blackberry in the tub when giving the dog a bath. Or her iPhone will fly out of her hands while she’s out sailing the waves of the ocean.
But have no fear, you may be able to save your waterlogged cell!
According to Becky Worley from Yahoo!, these are the steps you should attempt to take if you rescue your phone from a flood:
Step 1: Do NOT turn on the phone – Water shorts out your smartphone’s electrical circuits, so whatever you do, don’t turn it on to check to see if it still works.
Step 2: Pull out the battery and SIM card – Remove anything removeable: battery, SIM card, memory card. Some phones, like the iPhone, don’t have a removable battery. Unfortunately, you’ll just have to skip this step and hope for the best if you dunk one of them.
Step 3: Freshwater rinse – Salt water can corrode your device, so after following Step 2, immerse your phone in fresh water to rinse out the salt.
Step 4: Dry your phone using compressed air – If you have a compressed air can handy — the kind that’s used to clean computers or keyboards — run it full-blast all over your phone, with the back cover taken off if you can. Don’t stick your phone in the oven or the microwave, even on low.
Step 5: Cover your phone with uncooked rice – The idea behind rice is the dry grains absorb moisture. So get a sealable plastic container, and fill it with enough rice to cover your smartphone, then bury your phone in the rice, along with its battery and other parts. Wait at least 24 hours for the rice to do its job
Step 6: Turn your phone back on – After you’ve waited at least 24 hours, it’s time for the moment of truth. Reassemble your phone, charge it and try to power it on.
Ready for the final result of the test? The Blackberry is the only phone which was resurrected from its waterlogged death. The iPhone and the Droid were fatalities, even after two days in the rice and a full battery charge.
Have you ever soaked your phone? What did you do to get it back to life?
guest
I have a blackberry. It hasn’t been completely waterlogged but the keyboard has gotten wet soooo many times. Usually at first it doesn’t work so I just take the battery out and put it face down somewhere for a day and it corrects itself or stays semi-working for week or so and then gets better. The fact that its still alive after that has happened so many times is amazing.
guest
I also hear that using those silica packets that you find in packages can help to suck out moisture as well, so throwing some of those in next to the phone while it’s sitting in rice can help.
I managed to save my phone with rice and lots of time, but it’s not a smartphone. The iPhone and Droid may need more time, but it’s entirely likely that they just are damaged beyond repair. =[
guest
You forgot to include “after you drop your phone in the toilet”
guest
My iPhone was saved by rice (after a nice dip in a toilet) but I realized what was happening as it fell and grabbed it almost immediately.
guest
I’ve spilled water on my phone before, and I just tried to dry it off and power it back on. It was kind of messed up, and kept turning on/off randomly, and it still kind of does that. I know my camera got wet with salt water before and it wasn’t working. I soaked it in rice and luckily it still works now. Couldn’t live without it!
hydrangea / 55 posts
@bittersweetromantic@xanga – you’re right about the silica packets!she actually did mention the silica packets in the video (which is in the link) but i couldn’t embed it into the post for some reason
@makesenseofmadness@xanga - good to know you can use these tips for other electronics too!
guest
I dropped my phone in the toilet. I did the rice thing. It had the “blue” ring of death for a while, but it’s okay now.
lily / 5148 posts
Never did this but knew friends and family that killed their phones in these kinds of ways: my favorite? Letting it fall in milk. Though I think when it hits water, it’s pretty much dead..no matter what you do.
magnolia / 1357 posts
@Hinase@xanga - A friend of mine dropped his cell phone into his water glass… the one he was drinking from. To this date, we still wonder how he managed to have such perfectly good aim for that hahaha
lily / 5148 posts
@not3000@xanga - Yeah my cousin was tossing up her phone over a glass of milk in her lap and then she didn’t catch it and viola! And then her younger brother dropped it in the lake. ;/ Geez. They are both known to do this repeatedly with their phones. It costs lots of money for their mom (my aunt). Yeah, that is interesting to know how he did have perfect aim.
magnolia / 1357 posts
@Hinase@xanga - hahahah that must run in their family! But then again, that’s gotta suck for their mom :s
lily / 5148 posts
@not3000@xanga - It does. My family is just like that…;P
magnolia / 1357 posts
@Hinase@xanga - hahaha aww .. in my house we go through cameras instead of cell phones
lily / 5148 posts
@not3000@xanga - Yeah, they also end up going through cameras as well. A lot of them are misplaced or stolen or broken. So, I totally feel you on that. Luckily, they are able to replace all of that.
guest
My friend’s iPhone was dropped into the toilet and it worked with just the rice thing
My bb’s only subjected to the ground. ):
sunflower / 255 posts
yep spilt a glass of water on my iphone the other day and I couldn’t hear anyone speaking through it or the ipod. But stuck it in a bowl of uncooked rice in front of the heater and after 24 hours it works fine again
guest
Nope! Didn’t work for me ): Unfortunately, after two weeks of getting my blackberry, it got waterlogged at a camping trip (who knew you’re not supposed to put stuff in the corner of the tent…). I was DEVASTATED- I did the whole take out the battery/sim, the rice, etc. Nothing worked :/ I already signed a contract with t-mobile for that blackberry, so no more new phones for another 4 years or so. So now I’m stuck with my little brother’s old 4 year phone- a slim, tiny nokia xpress music phone. Ugh, I hate it- some of the buttons have already cracked, it has trouble recharging, the works. ):
In a funny turn of events, my friend’s samsung gravity got dropped in the ocean and taken by the waves. She retrieved it and somehow it worked again after all that. It’s been working ever since, she’s had it 4 years- including the time she dropped it in the ocean. I had the same samsung gravity, got it around the same time she did 4 years ago, and it got the white screen of death after only 2 years. How does that happen?!
I have shitty luck when it comes to phones.
guest
i have been so careless with my previous phones and all of them ended up with a burn LCD and dead because i tried to turn them on soon after… 3 of my phones are now not among us anymore because i didnt treat them right
…
the funny part is tht now i have an iphone and i never take it to the waahroom with me
peony / 1 posts
While getting a pedicure my friends phone fell in the water. We went to the Chinese restaurant and got a bag of dry rice and the next day it was working fine and is still holding its own to this day.
guest
Yes. I let it air out, and I’ve even tried the rice before.
guest
thanks so much for the tip i still have my iPhone 3gs and i still love, i’ve had it since december 26, 2009, i dont wanna waste my money on it but do you think this method would work for iPhone’s and iPods to