There are some well-renowned arch nemeses throughout history – the Montagues and the Capulets, Superman and Lex Luther, Kanye West and just about everyone – well, here’s another one for the list, your mobile phone and liquid of any variety!
When it comes to the mobile repair world, there is no combination that is more dreaded than this.
Why?
Well, there are lots of different variables that can affect our success rate in being able to fix this issue. The type of liquid, the amount of time since the accident and what you’ve done to the phone before you’ve given us the call (hello, bag of rice anyone?), can all be factors that can affect whether we are able to fix a water or liquid damaged mobile phone.
One of the most frustrating things for mobile phone owners when it comes to water damage is that it can happen anywhere, anytime, and most often, when you least expect it. Whether you’ve gotten caught in an extremely heavy downpour, you’ve spilled a drink on a night out, or you’ve had an unfortunate encounter with your toilet – many of us have been there, and luckily, there is a way out.
Today, we want to tell you exactly what you should do to give your phone the best chance of survival when it is exposed to liquid. But, before we do that, let us talk about what actually happens when your phone gets water in it, and how we can tell is a phone has liquid damage.
What actually happens when water or liquid gets inside your phone?
So, as you can probably see on your mobile phone, there are lots of different ways that water can get inside it. There are ports and openings that are like invitations for water and other debris (like dust and sand) to enter your phone – you’ve got speakers, charging ports, microphones, buttons, headphone jacks, and if you’ve got a crack on the front or back of your phone, that’s another opening.
While mobile phones have been and are continuing to be developed to be able to handle some liquid exposure, this technology is still not as prevalent as you might like, nor is it advisable that just because your phone can go in water, that it should.
What makes water such a mortal enemy of a mobile phone (or any electronic device for that matter), is that if your mobile phone is on at the time of the water infiltration, this can cause your phone to short circuit, which can damage the phone’s system. The internal components of a mobile phone are very delicate, and when your phone is turned on, electricity passes through these components, which is what allows it to function. If water makes contact with these components when this electricity is passing through, this is what can lead to the phone short circuiting.
How we can tell if your phone has liquid damage
Did you know that most smartphones and mobile phones are fitted with a liquid exposure indicator? This might explain a lot, especially if you’ve ever tried to pull a swift one when trying to get your water damaged phone fixed under the manufacturer’s warranty.
Before there were other mobile phone repair options, a lot of us were at the mercy of the phone manufacturer, and unfortunately, liquid damage is usually not covered by their warranty. So, even the smoothest of operators have probably had no luck with their white lie of how their phone “just suddenly stopped working,” and have had to pay for the repair.
The liquid indicator is fitted into a mobile phone and is actually automatically activated when it’s exposed to liquid. The indicator is essentially a sticker that is white when everything is normal and there has been no liquid in the device. When it comes into contact with liquid, the indicator will turn a reddish pink colour.
Another indication that liquid damage may have occurred in your mobile phone is any signs of corrosion. Corrosion occurs as a result of electrochemical reactions between materials and substances in the environment. Even when your mobile phone is fully dry and there is no more liquid present, there can still be signs of corrosion. Corrosion, if left, can continue to build, and result in permanent damage to the electrical components of your mobile phone.
These two indicators are inside the actual mobile phone and likely will only be seen by the technician repairing the phone. However, if you think that your phone may have liquid in it or liquid damage, some of the following things might occur:
Distorted sounds, whether listening to music or on phone calls
Microphones no longer able to pick up sounds during phone calls
Difficulty charging
Distorted images on screen
So, now you know how we know when a phone has been damaged by liquids, now it’s time for you to find out exactly what you should do if you drop your phone in liquid or drop liquid on your phone!
What you need to do when you drop your phone in liquid
We know that any sort of damage to your mobile phone can be stressful, and there’s nothing like dropping your phone in a swimming pool that will make you spring into action faster.
However, this panic can cause us to make some silly choices in an effort to get the water out of your phone, so stay calm, put down the bag of rice, and follow these steps if your mobile phone gets exposed to liquid.
1. Turn off your phone and do not connect it to a charger
As we mentioned earlier, when water gets into the phone, if it finds its way into circuitry area, this can wreak havoc with your phone’s functioning capabilities. If the water meets up with the electricity this can cause a short circuit and you might end up having to say goodbye to your precious phone. So, turn it off and don’t try to charge it!
2. No shaking
We know that you want to do everything in your power to get the water out, so unlike how you might try to shake your head to get the water out of your ears after a swim, do not shake your phone. You don’t want to risk pushing the water further into your phone and exposing previously dry areas to the liquid.
Come to think of it, we’re not so sure shaking your head is the best way to get the water out of your ears either.
3. Cleanse your phone
This step is dependent on the kind of liquid you spill on your phone – we’re specifically talking about saltwater in this case. If you’ve dropped your phone in saltwater, it needs to be cleansed asap – and when we say cleansed, we don’t mean burn some sage to get rid of the bad juju.
You need to rinse your phone with fresh water or isopropyl alcohol. Now, this might seem counterintuitive, you need to get your phone dry, right? Well, yes, you do, however, saltwater is highly corrosive and can cause far more damage than other kinds of liquid, so we want to get rid of it.
4. Remove the accessories
To give your phone the best chance of being able to dry, you need to allow for maximum drainage. So, take out everything that you can. Remove it from the phone case, open up any ports that are closed. Remove the SIM card, any memory cards, and if your phone has a removable battery, take that out too!
5. Get rid of excess liquid from the phone’s exterior
If your phone has any type of liquid on the outside of it, you need to remove it. You don’t want your phone to soak in anything unnecessary, including a tiny droplet that might still be on your screen. So, using a cloth, very carefully give the phone a wipe down. When you do this, try to be gentle and patient, you don’t want to make fast or brash movements that might cause liquid inside your phone to travel to other areas.
6. Put your phone down and don’t touch it
Now, you need to leave your phone in a safe place where it’s not going to get exposed to any other liquids before it can be repaired. So, find a safe home for it, and keep your mitts off it!
7. Give us a call
Repairing a liquid damaged phone is not simple, but its certainly not impossible either. You just need to work with someone who has extensive experience in doing so, and if you’re in Sydney, we’re those people!
We have many, many years of experience when it comes to repairing smartphones, and we have a success rate of above 90% when it comes to recovering liquid damaged phones.
Dropping your phone in water or spilling liquid on your phone can be extremely distressing and might feel like it’s clearly a death sentence for your phone, but it doesn’t have to be.
You just need to follow our steps and work with a phone repair expert like us here at Fone Teknician.
Bonus: Handy Information that will make your liquid damaged phone repair easier
Like we said earlier, there are a lot of variables at play when a phone is damaged by liquid – the most impactful being the type of liquid that the phone has been exposed to, how long ago the accident occurred, and what you’ve done between the exposure and the repair.
There is some information you can give your phone repairer that will make the whole process easier though. So, if you find yourself needing to get your phone repaired because it’s been exposed to water or any other liquid, here’s what you should tell your technician to give your phone the best chance of survival:
The liquid that the phone has been exposed to – don’t worry, we won’t judge you, we’ve seen it all!
When the accident happened.
Whether you turned the phone off when it happened, or if the phone turned off automatically.
If you’ve tried to turn it back on, how long you waited before you did that.
If you made any attempts to fix it – once again, if you tried your own at home repairs, we won’t judge you, but if you tell us, it gives us more knowledge and a better chance of recovery.
What you did to mitigate any damage, like removing batteries, accessories, etc
The problems, if any, that you’ve experienced since the exposure.
Has the device ever been repaired before this issue, and if so, what was the issue, and when did it happen?
If you can provide this information to your phone repair technician, it can help to make their job significantly easier, and get that phone back to you as soon as possible.
If you’ve damaged your phone
Whether you’ve dropped your phone in the bath, you’ve smashed the screen to smithereens, or you’re experiencing another issue with your phone, get in touch with us here at Fone Teknician.
In addition to our liquid damage repair service, we offer a huge range of repair services for iPhones, iPads, and Samsung Galaxy Smartphones in Sydney. Our service is available within a 15km radius of the Sydney CBD – you can check out all of the suburbs we service right here. And the best part is, besides the fact that our iOS certified technicians are highly experienced, and our services are super affordable, is that we make it so easy to get your phone repaired. That’s because we actually come to you, wherever you are – at home, at work, at the beach – wherever you need us, we can come to you and repair your phone in front of you.
Give us a call today on 1300 806 774 or book your phone repair service here!
And remember, do not put your phone in rice!