How to recover a mobile damaged by water in 10 steps

A couple of years ago I had to throw my phone away because I dropped it down the toilet bowl on one of my nightly visits to the bathroom. Ha! Funny, right? Well, at that moment I didn't exactly want to laugh.

In today's tutorial we are going to see what things we have to do when we drop our mobile down the toilet, in a bucket or any other water container. We will also go over what we don't have to do to avoid making the situation worse.

Things not to do when a mobile gets wet

If your mobile has been soaked in waterBefore you start pulling your hair out, try to avoid any of these actions:

• Don't turn it on.
• Don't press any buttons.
• Don't shake the phone.
• Do not blow (prevents more water from seeping).
• Do not try to dry it by applying heat (hair dryer etc.).

The 10 steps to follow to recover a mobile damaged by water

There are many myths and legends, collected in ancient Egyptian papyri and ancient sayings, that recommend using a hair dryer. Error! The truth is that in these cases skill is better than force:

• Turn off the terminal and turn it upright.
• Remove any protective casing and take out the sim cards and micro SD (if you have them).
• Try to remove the battery. Not all phones have a removable battery, so you may not be able to complete this step.
• Use a cloth or paper towel to dry the device. Be careful not to spread any more water that may remain inside.
• If the terminal is very wet you can also use a vacuum cleaner to absorb water. In this case, be careful not to take any removable components along the way.
• Pick up the phone and put it in a plastic bag with a good handful of rice (enough to cover the entire mobile). Important: close the bag in such a way that no air enters.

• Let the terminal dry for a couple of days. It is important that during this time we do not try to turn it on to see if it works. Time and patience!
• After those couple of days, remove the smartphone from the rice bag, put the battery back in and try to turn it on.
• If the phone does not turn on, try charging the battery. In the event that it still does not work, it may be that the battery is faulty (you can fix it by buying a new battery). In any case, at this point it is advisable to take the phone to a professional to check it and diagnose the problem correctly.
• If the phone turns on and works normally perform some checksPlay music, test the touch screen, and make sure everything is in place.

Mobile drying bags

In addition to the rice trick, we can also use drying bags for mobiles: in principle they are more effective than rice (they have a very powerful and fast desiccant) and can be purchased for a price that does not reach 10 euros on Amazon.

In any case, if the device is already wet and we do not have one of these bags at home, it is best to use the rice method directly. In these cases, every second counts.

Water resistant protective cases

If due to our condition we are in continuous contact with large amounts of water, we can also consider purchasing a waterproof protective case. In this area we have quite a few quality brands such as Otterbox, Griffin Survivor and Catalyst.

Waterproof phones

Another good way to avoid this type of situation is to get a waterproof mobile. We can acquire a rugged phone or off-road phone, terminals specially designed to withstand drops and with a high level of protection against dust and water.

In these cases, what we have to look at is whether the terminal has IP certification and its degree. The IP value is calculated based on the following:

• A score of 1 to 6 for its resistance to dust and dirt.
• A score of 1 to 8 for its water resistance.

Therefore, a mobile with IP68 certification it will have the highest levels of resistance to dust, dirt and water. There are some really well-known mobiles that are waterproof, like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S8, the Sony Xperia Z5, the iPhone 7 or the LG G6.