SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The rainy season is here, and wet weather and gadgets do not mix. So, here’s what to do if your smartphone gets wet!
Warranty companies report a rise in water-damaged smartphones in the fall and winter months.
The first thing you should do — turn it off immediately, the sooner the better. The longer it’s wet and on, the better the chance water can seep down to an active circuit board, and that is not good.
Do not shake the phone. Do not use a hair dryer, oven, microwave, or bag of rice. Those do not work.
If you have a phone you cannot open, like an iPhone, use a straw to suck out water from the device and spit it out. Place the straw on the external openings, like the mic, earphone port, speaker, headphone jack, charger port.
Although it might sound a bit odd it really works. Instead of a straw, you could use a small vacuum attachment nozzle.
If you have an Android or a phone you can open, open it. And take out all the parts you can, like the battery, sim card, mini SD card.
Dry those inside parts and the external parts of the phone with a cotton cloth towel.
Then for the secret ingredient, magical little bags that you have thrown away with a second thought. The silica gel packets come in every shoe box, purse, bag, packaged goods, etc. People usually toss them, but they are the key to drying a phone.
Put the phone and its parts in a baggie that seals, with as many silica gel packets as you can. If you threw them all away, you can buy them online. You can get dozens for under $10 on amazon.
Silica is a desiccant, a drying agent. It sucks up water moisture, so it’s perfect for drying a wet smartphone.
But there is one hard part. You have to leave the phone in the bag with the silica for 72 hours. Consider it a chance to unplug and go out and play in the rain.
One other thing to consider, squaretrade.com is an online warranty company. They offer good deals for covering your phone for as low as $4 a month. If you sign up with them and have liquid damage, or any kind of damage, they will fix it. If they can’t, you will get a new one.
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