How to Save a Wet Cell Phone

Source - http://www.wikihow.com/Save-a-Wet-Cell-Phone

How to Save a Wet Cell Phone

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Ever dropped your cell phone in the sink, or even worse the toilet? Did you ever leave it in your pocket and run it through the washer? It usually means you have to replace your phone, but sometimes if you're fast you can save the phone.
Steps

1. Remove the Battery. This is one of the most important steps. Don't take time to think about it, electricity and water do not mix. Cutting power to your phone is a crucial first step in saving it, then remove your SIM card,some or all of your valuable contacts could be stored on your SIM (along with other data). To some people this could be more worth saving than the phone itself. SIM cards survive water damage well but some of the following steps are unnecessary i.e. don't heat it. Just dry it off and leave it aside until you need to connect your phone to your cellular network.
2. Dry your Phone. Obviously you need to remove as much of the water as soon as you can to prevent it from getting into the phone. Use a towel or a paper towel to remove as much of the water as possible.
3. Soak in Alcohol. Alcohol is hygroscopic (attracts water), it will dissolve all the water in the phone, which will then pour out of the phone with the alcohol. Any remaining alcohol will evaporate. Alcohol will not harm your phone but may mess up glue (from stickers and the like). Use 95% alcohol, not the regular 70% rubbing type. Do it outside!. If you use alcohol, do not follow the rest of the advice here, instead leave your phone outside for a day or two to dry.
4. Allow the phone to dry. Since you do not want to ruin your phone or lose all the numbers in your phone book, you need to allow the phone to dry. Don't try putting the battery back on to see if it works as this would risk damaging the phone with a short circuit. Leaving your phone in a bowl of dry rice will help to expedite moisture evaporation.
5. Heat your Phone. Apply enough heat to your phone to cause the water to evaporate without waterlogging your digital screen. One of the best things you can do to save a cell phone is to set it on the back of your computer monitor or TV screen over the heat vents. This is usually the perfect amount of heat to fix your phone. The convection action of the heat vents will help carry away the moisture in your phone. Leave the phone on the heat for at least 2-3 days. Another option is to leave it overnight in the oven on warm (make sure to take off the battery first).
6. Test your Phone. After you have waited 3 days, make sure everything is clean and dry looking and re-attach the battery to the phone and see if it works. If your phone does not work repeat step 4. If it still won't work, try taking your cell phone to an authorized dealer. Sometimes they can fix it.

Tips

• Don't put the battery on for at least 3 days or longer if your digital screen is foggy.
• Place a piece of satin finish scotch tape over your water damage sticker before you drop your cell phone in the water to prevent the water damage sticker from voiding your warranty. This sticker can usually be found under your battery. It's a small round white sticker, possibly with dots on it. If this sticker gets wet it changes color and your phone is marked for water damage.
• Remove the tape if you ever have to return your phone for repairs or warranty. (See the note in the 'Warnings' section about doing this!)
• The best way to dry out your phone is to place it in front of an air conditioner or air conditioning vent. Cold air won't damage your phone (hot air can warp or in extreme cases even melt plastic), and air from an air conditioner is dry, and so will evaporate water faster than you might think (which is why a car air conditioner will de-mist the windshield so effectively, even if the engine hasn't warmed up yet). Warm air from a reverse-cycle air conditioner works even better, of course. If you dry your phone in this way overnight it should be fine by the morning.
• Use a hairdryer set on warm; it won't melt your head so your phone should be safe.
• Use a food dehydrator.
• Use the oven on the warm setting (make sure to take out the battery)

Warnings

• Don't heat the battery or it could leak acid. If you use an oven or hairdryer, make sure to remove the battery first.
• If you use alcohol make sure to do so outside, and do not apply heat in any form, not even the gentle heat of a monitor. Do not hook up the bettery till the alcohol smell dissipates.
• Do not apply heat to your phone other than mentioned above. You don't want to melt or burn your phone.
• Warranty fraud is naughty! If you dropped your phone in the can with your other 'droppings'--are you really going to send it in for a warranty tech to have to open? Yuck!
• FYI, Most modern phones have more than one liquid damage indicator on them, only one visible to you (and sales/technician agents), and chances are, if the sticker under the battery is triggered (or would be, with the scotch tape trick), then the odds are that the internal stickers you can't access are tripped as well. This will still result in you paying a voided-warranty fee in the long run, and it may be best to just learn from your mistake (and not make it more financially severe!).
• Even if all these steps are followed, minerals dissolved in the water can precipitate on solder and component pins, causing corrosion or shorting. Components pins are packed so closely together in a modern cell phone that even a small encrustation can create a short, rendering the phone inoperable.

Yeah it can be a be ify saving fones but I only did it the once!! did'nt save my phone when it happened but lucky it was only a cheapie!

but yeah I have helped friends save their mobile phones but ya gotta get straight onto it do it right or you can kiss it goodbye!


but nice post man, hope its hopeful to some of the users here :)

How long do you soak it in alcohol?

Why not get some dry ice, let it melt, then wash the phone with it. :shifty:

I have done something similar.

I was getting in my car after coming out of my best friend's 10-year class reunion and I had my drink in my cup holder.

I was little tipsy and dropped my cellphone in the drink. I was used to putting my cell in that cup holder in the center console.

I immediately pulled it out, took the battery out, removed the face of it, and dried it off as best as possible.

I didn't use it for a week. When I turned it back on, it worked fine.

I never thought about the alcohol bit but funny enough, that's what I dropped the cellphone in to begin with.:ermm:

I figured that as long as there is no moisture in when there was electrical current then the phone should've been fine. Corrosion was the only thing to worru about and that would've only happened with prolonged exposure to water.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busyman™

I have done something similar.

I was getting in my car after coming out of my best friend's 10-year class reunion and I had my drink in my cup holder.

I was little tipsy and dropped my cellphone in the drink. I was used to putting my cell in that cup holder in the center console.

I immediately pulled it out, took the battery out, removed the face of it, and dried it off as best as possible.

I didn't use it for a week. When I turned it back on, it worked fine.

I never thought about the alcohol bit but funny enough, that's what I dropped the cellphone in to begin with.:ermm:

I figured that as long as there is no moisture in when there was electrical current then the phone should've been fine. Corrosion was the only thing to worru about and that would've only happened with prolonged exposure to water.

---

drinking and driving.:ermm:


My boss lost his phone a few weeks ago and looked around for it eventually finding it outside lying in a puddle of water/mud (must have dropped it when we were carrying ladder into the house).

Wish we knew some of these tips so we could save his phone but i'm guessing if it's been sitting in a puddle of water, turned on, for over an hour there isn't much you can do.:huh:

thanx for the advices

yeah, really good ones

thanks for the tips. i actually had to throw out an old phone bcoz of water damage

never heard soak in alchol , just dont turn it on or else your circuit will get burn and let it dry.

Now this is just what I needed. Here, the other day, I dropped my cell phone in the toilet.

ah dear, wish id known this before ive destroyed 2 phones like this

handily they were £20 models but even so...

thanks for the info

hope i never have to use it heh

this guide is crazy. i never knew about this, and i really wish i had. threw out a chocolate just last month.

I put my phone in the washing machine, and to save it I let it dry and then I turned it on, and good as new.

I've repaired cellphones for a living and we use similar methods.

It's key not to purchase the cheap 70% alcohol... Use 100% if u could (it's illegal i think to buy) other names are "grain alcohol, mineral spirits, denatured alcohol" stuff is expensive... like $30-$50 a gallon.

Also u don't need to soak it in there... just a quick dip in and out for about 20-30 secs should work. Avoid soaking components like LCD's and buzzers (speakers) because alcohol will kill those parts. (some fones have the LCD's attached to the boards so good luck desoldering.

U must have the correct torx screws to undo and must have some knowledge of opening electronics and isolating the circuit board... do not put the whole phone in the alcohol... it will damage the plastic casing.


-Kabz

hmm, wish i saw this guide a couple of weeks ago. Now i'm just using an old phone while saving for Nokia N95:)

ive done it twice to same phone took the battery out shook as much of the water out and then put it on the defroster on hot for a couple of hours works fine still ,i was on the road both times i went under water the phone that is

also alcohol is a netralizer to if you ever have acid problems at least thats what ive been told

thanks for the tips.

me too,thx a lot

I have some old phones... i need to try this... maybe it's working... THX a lot!

Thanks a lot for this!!!
I looked for such a thing for a long time.

Cyberhyper

I've tried pissing on mine...JPaul said it might work.

-bd

doesn't work for salt6 water. I went into the ocean with my phone a few weeks ago and tried something similar. No use, it was a gonner.

nice guide

I was down the beach with a friend and she bent down to pick up a shell or something and her phone fell out her top pocket and dropped into an old tyre on the beach filled with salt water. Bloody funny. It never worked again. Would it be much harder to save a phone thats fallen in salt water?

thanks for the tutorial
i usually just get a new phone though
it's cheap

does this work for ipods

wish i found this earlier. My friend lost 3 phones in 3 months, first in beer, second at the bottum of a lake (this wouldn't help) and he just washed the 3rd the other day. would the alchohol work with camera's too?

nice post, thanks

great tips!

My phone fell in a in the toilet bow once and i just threw it away and bought a new one. i will try your steps if it happens again.

Thanks, have a pool in my house and I did the most stupid thing by swimming with it in my pocket. It fell all the way to the bottom of the pool. I've been able to save it but after awhile the screen went black.