Cell phone in the toilet. Cell phone accidentally left in your swim trunks pocket. Cell phone securely placed on your desk, but some psycho-maniac coworker walks by and pours a can of Coke on it. Surprisingly, the wet cell phone dilemma is more common than you might think.
I can still recall the horror that came over me when my cell phone decided to take a leisurely swim down Commode Lane. Or when I left it on the front seat of my car and forgot to roll up the windows before a torrential downpour moved through. Not cool. But these things happen.
And if they haven't happened to you - yet - then allow me to offer some advice if, by chance, it does ever happen to you, or you hear the tragic shrieking of your teenager who fears they've just lost their only connection to the outside world.
- First, don't panic. As much as you want to start blurting out words you've never used before, try to remain calm. There may be a way to salvage your waterlogged phone.
- Next, get your cell phone out of the water. Duh.
- Because you're probably not taking my first piece of advice about not panicking, you may have the urge to turn your phone on right away to see if it's still working. BUT DO NOT DO THIS!!! Do not turn it on or plug it into an outlet. You'll definitely fry it then.
- Again, stop panicking.
- Remove the battery from the phone and the SIM card right away. Usually these are what get damaged first. Take a paper towel and dab them dry.
- Once you've wiped them down, set your phone, battery, and SIM card in a warm place to dry (but not the oven, or under a hair dryer, or on the blazing hot dash of your car). This is too hot and will certainly cause it to fry. Instead, use a desk lamp set 12 inches or so from the phone so that the heat from the bulb will help the phone dry sooner.
- After about a day, I would then feel comfortable turning it on to see if it works again.
Please, bear in mind, my advice is not guaranteed to work, but hopefully it does. Just sharing from my own personal experience.
