How to resurrect a wet smartphone.
It happened with me, I jumped in the swimming pool with my phone in the pocket. Unfortunately, it was not the first time my phone was drenched. Some years ago, the villain was the rain. I was using a smartphone app to monitor my running pace and it started to rain. Not a light refreshing rain, no, a deluge, a heavy rain. My phone was protected, but that was just too much rain.
At that time, I didn’t know what to do and made the wrong decisions. Some modern phones are waterproof, but others aren’t, and an accident involving water can be fatal. I’d like to share these hints with you on what to do if your phone decides to take a bath.
- The first thing you should do NOW is a backup! You've heard this before, but have you done anything about it? It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Your photos, videos and musics, your apps and game data - everything could literally sink in water. We offer a simple, yet easy solution: Avast Mobile Backup protects your data against such accidents. Try the free basic version from Google Play Store.
- TURN YOUR PHONE OFF If your phone was dropped into water, the first thing to do is TURN IT OFF. And not only press the on/off button, but also remove the battery and cards completely. It’s a race against time. Each second is vital to avoid an electric shock and motherboard crash.
- Let all the water flow freely. The best position for the phone is horizontal over a table on a dry piece of cloth. Do not rub, do not use cotton, do nothing… Just let the water drain out.
- Dry the device carefully. After that, take a dry cloth or some absorbent paper to dry the device completely. Hold it with the screen facing up to drain all the water that could stay inside. Try not to shake it.
- Be patient. Have a lot of patience. That’s the keyword here. Keep the phone open for a long time, at least 24 hours. Some technicians recommend to put it into a pot and fill with raw rice or gel silica, cat litter, couscous, instant oatmeal, classic oatmeal, or instant rice to absorb dampness.
- After 24 hours, remove all the rice (or the small pieces of gel silica) and have patience again. Leave it open and exposed to air. Do not use hair dryers. Do not put the phone directly in the sun, because you can do more harm than good (harm to the screen, battery, or even the plastic parts.)
- Only after other 12-24 hours you could try to put battery again and turn it on.
- Of course, if you do not have luck, you’ll have to take it to technical assistance. But we wish you luck and that your phone will work again!
Besides getting wet, your phone can be lost or you could get infected with the ever-increasing malware being written for Android. Protect your phone for free with Avast Mobile Security & Antivirus. Get it on Google Play. Don't be one of these careless people who neglect to protect their phones!
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