The smartphone has become an almost essential tool for today’s life. It’s not just a phone, it’s an entire office. In it you have your contact list, a way to keep in touch with your loved ones and for work issues, an entertainment center, or a manager of your funds with online banking …
But sometimes, these devices usually suffer accidents that make them inoperable, assuming a significant trouble for some people who have their “life” based on their mobile. And one of the most frequent accidents is usually that it gets wet or falls into the water. Well, if that happens to you you should know some tricks and how to proceed to try to recover your terminal.
RECOVER YOUR SMARTPHONE IF IT FALLS INTO THE WATER
WHAT SHOULD YOU NOT DO IF YOUR SMARTPHONE FALLS INTO THE WATER?
If your mobile has gotten wet or has fallen into the water, if it was ON you should turn it OFF. And if it wasn’t, never try to turn it ON immediately to see if it works. That could cause it to break down and you can’t get it back.
Keep in mind that water will sink into the circuits and can cause contacts that are isolated to short-circuit, which could cause irreparable damage to the hardware.
Therefore, make sure you have followed the proper steps to dry your smartphone before trying to check if it still works.
You also shouldn’t try certain tricks that don’t work or could make the situation worse. For example, here’s a list of things to avoid:
- Call technical service: do not do that, as manufacturers or distributors are not responsible for these types of accidents.
- Use heat: some advise using heat sources to dry the mobile, but you should not do that if you want to recover the smartphone. Heat can damage hardware. In addition, some soft metals and plastic parts could melt…
HOW TO RECOVER YOUR WATER DAMAGED SMARTPHONE?
There are three methods to try to recover a smartphone that has gotten wet or dropped into the water. They are very simple and surely you have everything you need at your fingertips. In addition, they are cheap and can save a mobile of hundreds of dollars …
Among the methods that do work to dry the smartphone (remember, always off) properly are:
- Rice: This traditional cooking ingredient can absorb moisture just by dipping your smartphone in rice. If the mobile has been submerged in salt water, such as that of the sea, then you should immerse it in running water to remove the remains of salt first of all, since salt can corrode the interior in an accelerated way. Then dry the mobile externally and bury it in dry rice and leave it for 2 days to remove the traces of moisture. After that, try turning it ON to see if it has been saved.
- Alcohol: you can use the alcohol you usually have in the 70-95º isopropyl kit. If you immerse the switched off smartphone in it for a moment and take it out, the rapid evaporation of alcohol will cause it to take the water with it. It is a way to quickly dry the circuitry. Once you find that there is no moisture, you can test if it works. Probably the most effective and fastest method of all.
- Silica gel: Another somewhat slow and rice-like method is to put the phone inside an airtight box or bag along with bags of silica gel to absorb all the moisture.
These methods work, although they are not foolproof, especially if a short circuit has occurred before carrying them out…
PREVENT FUTURE ACCIDENTS
So that this does not happen to you again and keep your smartphone and data intact, it is best to prevent this type of accident. If you take your mobile to the beach, a pool, the bathroom, etc., you should know that there are bags or airtight covers in which to insert your device to prevent it from getting wet. Some even admit to submerging to certain depths without water penetrating.
Another way to make sure that the smartphone survives this type of accident with water and other liquids is to acquire a mobile phone with splash protection or submersible. For that you have to look at the IP codes (Ingress Protection) when buying.
These codes are composed of the letters IP followed by two numbers, the first to determine the degree of protection against solids and the second against liquids. Such as IP67 and IP68. The number 6 is the maximum degree of protection for solids, preventing the entry of dust in all circumstances. While 7 indicates that it could be submerged underwater with a complete dive to 1 meter depth for 30 min. The 8 indicates that it could be completely submerged to the depth specified by the manufacturer (usually up to 3m) regardless of the weather…
For example, many Samsung Galaxy models have IP68 protection, while Apple iPhone smartphones have IP67. In addition to these models there are also many other alternative brands with these protections against splashes and dives. If you buy any of them you should not worry about rice, alcohol or any other method of recovery, since no water will enter inside and they will continue to work as if nothing.
Comments