How To Fix A Water Damaged Phone After A Week

I f you lot've ever gotten your phone moisture in the rain, dropped it in water or spilt liquid over it, you're non alone. One study suggests 25% of smartphone users have damaged their smartphone with water or some other kind of liquid.

Liquid penetrating a smartphone tin bear upon the device in several ways. Information technology could lead to:

blurry photos, if moisture gets trapped in the camera lens
ruffled audio, or no audio
liquid droplets under the screen
an disability to charge
the rusting of internal parts, or
a total finish to all functionality.

While new phones are advertised as "water resistant", this doesn't mean they are waterproof, or totally immune to h2o. Water resistance merely implies the device tin handle some exposure to water before substantial damage occurs.

Samsung Australia has long dedicated itself against claims it misrepresents the water resistance of its smartphones.

In 2019, the Australian Contest and Consumer Committee (ACCC) took Samsung to the federal court, alleging false and misleading advertisements had led customers to believe their Galaxy phones would be suitable for:

Use in, or exposure to, all types of water (including, for example, oceans and swimming pools).

Samsung Australia afterwards denied warranty claims from customers for impairment caused to phones past apply in, or exposure to, liquid.

Similarly, last twelvemonth Apple was fined €10m (A$15.5m) by Italia's antitrust authority for misleading claims about the water resistance of its phones, and for not covering liquid impairment under warranty, despite these claims.

How resistant is your telephone?

The h2o resistance of phones is rated past an "ingress protection" code, ordinarily chosen an IP rating. Merely, an electric device's IP rating refers to its effectiveness against intrusions from solids and liquids.

The rating includes two numbers. The first demonstrates protection confronting solids such equally dust, while the second indicates resistance to liquids, specifically water.

Here are the various Ingress Protection ratings. The numbering changes based on the level of protection. — Here are the diverse ingress protection ratings. The numbering changes based on the level of protection. Photograph: Element Materials Engineering

A phone that has a rating of IP68 has a solid object protection of 6 (full protection from dust, dirt and sand) and a liquid protection of 8 (protected from immersion in water to a depth of more than than i metre).

Although, for the latter, manufacturers are responsible for defining the exact depth and time.

The pop iPhone 12 and Samsung Milky way S21 phones both take a rating of IP68. However, regarding exposure to water, the iPhone 12 has a permissible immersion depth of a maximum of 6m for 30 minutes, whereas the Galaxy 21's immersion limit is upwards to 1.5m, also for xxx minutes.

While IP ratings bespeak the water-repellent nature of phones, taking most phones for a swim will state you in deep trouble. The salt content in oceans and swimming pools tin corrode your device and toll you a hefty replacement.

Moreover, phone manufacturers acquit out their IP testing in fresh water and Apple recommends devices non be submerged in liquids of whatever kind.

Luckily, water-resistant phones are generally able to survive smaller liquid volumes, such as from a glass tipping over.

Checking for liquid damage

Exposure to h2o is something manufacturers have in mind when designing phones. Well-nigh Apple tree and Samsung phones come with a liquid contact/damage indicator strip located inside the SIM card tray.

This is used to check for liquid damage that may be causing a device to malfunction. An indicator strip that comes in contact with liquid loses its usual colour and becomes discoloured and smudgy.

Samsung and Apple phones have Liquid Contact/Damage Indicators. — Samsung and Apple tree phones have liquid contact/impairment indicators. Photograph: Samsung/Apple

A discoloured strip ordinarily renders your phone ineligible for a standard manufacturer warranty.

If you lot accept whatever of the more recent smartphones from Apple or Samsung, then your device will be able to discover liquid or wet in its charging port and volition warn yous with an alert. This notification only goes away once the port is dry.

New generation Samsung and Apple phones have a moisture/liquid alert notification. Samsung/Apple — New-generation Samsung and Apple phones have a wet/liquid alert notification. Photo: Samsung/Apple tree

Only what should you do if this dreadful pop-upwards presents itself?

Fixing a water-logged telephone

Firstly, do not put your phone in a container of rice. Information technology's a myth that rice helps in drying out your phone. Instead, follow these steps:

Putting your phone in an airtight container with silica gel may help if it gets wet. — Putting your telephone in an airtight container with silica gel may help if it gets wet. Photograph: bbbrrn/Getty Images/iStockphoto

1. Turn off the device immediately and don't press any buttons.
2. If your phone is h2o resistant and you've spilt or submerged information technology in a liquid other than h2o, both Apple and Samsung recommend rinsing it off by submerging it in still tap water (but not under a running tap, which could cause impairment).
3. Wipe the phone dry out with newspaper towels or a soft material.
4. Gently milk shake the device to remove water from the charging ports, simply avoid vigorous shaking equally this could further spread the liquid inside.
5. Remove the SIM card.
6. Apply a compressed aerosol air duster to blow the water out if you accept one. Avoid using a hot blow dryer as the rut can wreck the rubber seals and damage the screen.
7. Dry the phone (and especially the ports) in forepart of a fan.
8. Exit your phone in an closed container full of silica gel packets (those modest packets you get inside new shoes and numberless), or another drying agent. These help absorb the moisture.
9. Do not charge the phone until yous are certain it'southward dry. Charging a device with liquid however within it, or in the ports, tin cause further damage. Apple suggests waiting at least five hours in one case a phone appears dry before charging it (or until the alert disappears).

If the above steps don't assistance and you're nonetheless stuck with a seemingly dead device, don't try opening the phone yourself. You're meliorate off taking it to a professional.

Ritesh Chugh is a senior lecturer in data systems and analysis at CQUniversity Australia
This article originally appeared in the Conversation