Most people think that once an electronic device gets wet, that's it. Chuck it into the garbage, because it'll never work again (unless, of course, it's water-proof or resistant). But this weekend, I was amazed to see a mobile phone come back to life after having been rained on for a full 8-hour night. Here's what happened.
My friend accidentally left her phone out in the rain all night on a patio table. Although it was partially covered by an overhead umbrella, the phone was still considerably drenched when it was retrieved. We removed the battery and SIM and proceeded to sick my blow dryer on the device. At the same time, I did what any sane tech-savvy person does in an emergency like this one: "Google" the situation for some tips. I surfed a few sites, some confirmed to be reputable and others blogs from people around the world who had similar situations (or just knew what to do). Here's what I came up with on what to do in such a situation:
1) Always, always, always remove the SIM (if it's a GSM phone) and the battery
2) NEVER use a blow dryer. Because this simply blows air into the device, it could cause water to seep into hard-to-reach spots, eventually damaging the insides of the phone. It's better to use a vacuum of some sort that will suck the water out.
3) Stick the device in a bag of rice for a few hours. Yes, rice. Apparently it will help to remove moisture. If you want to help keep rice particles out of the insides, you can also add a few bags of silica (that stuff that comes in a jacket or purse pocket when you first buy it).
4) Try the phone first by plugging it into the wall socket without the battery, then with the battery. It might just be the battery that's gone kaput.
Despite the fact that we did initially use a blowdryer in a panic, the phone came back to life by the end of the day, and has been working ever since. Although there's no telling how long it will continue to function, I was amazed that it was even able to power back up after being exposed to a full night of pouring rain.
Nevertheless, if these tips help to save just one device, then I've done my part.
My friend accidentally left her phone out in the rain all night on a patio table. Although it was partially covered by an overhead umbrella, the phone was still considerably drenched when it was retrieved. We removed the battery and SIM and proceeded to sick my blow dryer on the device. At the same time, I did what any sane tech-savvy person does in an emergency like this one: "Google" the situation for some tips. I surfed a few sites, some confirmed to be reputable and others blogs from people around the world who had similar situations (or just knew what to do). Here's what I came up with on what to do in such a situation:
1) Always, always, always remove the SIM (if it's a GSM phone) and the battery
2) NEVER use a blow dryer. Because this simply blows air into the device, it could cause water to seep into hard-to-reach spots, eventually damaging the insides of the phone. It's better to use a vacuum of some sort that will suck the water out.
3) Stick the device in a bag of rice for a few hours. Yes, rice. Apparently it will help to remove moisture. If you want to help keep rice particles out of the insides, you can also add a few bags of silica (that stuff that comes in a jacket or purse pocket when you first buy it).
4) Try the phone first by plugging it into the wall socket without the battery, then with the battery. It might just be the battery that's gone kaput.
Despite the fact that we did initially use a blowdryer in a panic, the phone came back to life by the end of the day, and has been working ever since. Although there's no telling how long it will continue to function, I was amazed that it was even able to power back up after being exposed to a full night of pouring rain.
Nevertheless, if these tips help to save just one device, then I've done my part.
1 comment:
Tip for preventing this in the future: Maybe you shouldn't drink so much on a Saturday night.
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