How to repair your smartphone when dropped inside water

Is your phone not working after dropping it in liquid or exposing it to moisture? Don’t panic just yet there is hope to get your phone working properly again. Here are a few methods that you can do to try to revive your phone and bring it back to life.

Before we proceed with the mobile phone revival process…

IF YOU’RE PHONE WAS JUST DROPPED IN WATER OR LIQUID THEN HURRY AND READ HOW TO SAVE A PHONE DROPPED IN WATER FIRST.

Otherwise if your phone has been dried and is just not functional or is not working properly then try some of these steps.

Try a different battery

If there is no response to a charger and your phone will not power on after being exposed to liquid then the first thing I recommend is to attempt to locate a different battery to try in the phone. If a friend or family member doesn’t have a battery you can barrow for a few minutes to see if it is a battery issue then you can go to a store that sells your type of phone and briefly barrow a battery from their display phone. Just tell a store representative that you want to check your battery with one that you know is working properly and they’ll usually let you try a working battery in your phone.

If you insert the battery and your phone boots up then you’ll know that it was a bad battery and you can go online and buy a nice affordable battery to replace it.

Charging and power issues are some of the most common issues resulting from liquid damage on a cell phone. If your phone simply isn’t charging properly after a liquid accident then remove the battery (and charger) from the phone and clean the charging ports on the phone and the connector leads on the battery with alcohol; the closer to 99% alcohol used the better. Clean areas that you might see any spots or places that might seem like they are not getting a good connection to one another, such as spots of corrosion or areas of calcium buildup.

After everything is dry put the phone back together and try to charge it and power it on, if it works enjoy and if it’s still malfunctioning then proceed with the next step.

Bathing a phone in alcohol can revive a water damaged phone

This is one of the most interesting and successful methods available and is a great option for phones that were exposed to salt water, chlorine water, or just normal fresh water where chemicals, minerals, sediments, and corrosion might exist inside the phone.

Basically what you do is fully submerge your phone in 99% alcohol (isopropyl alcohol). Believe it or not alcohol is a non conductive liquid, so it won’t cause a short, and will get into all the cracks and crevices in your phone and help give it a good cleaning.

Let the phone sit and soak for an hour or two and then remove the phone, let it dry, and try it out.

IMORTANT WARNING – Make sure to check your phones LDI (Liquid Damage Indicator) Sticker before trying this method. If your phone was exposed to liquid then changes are very high that it was activated turning pink or red and your warranty is void. If however it is still white then your phone might still be covered under the manufactures warranty and you should consider trying to file a warranty claim instead.

If your LDI sticker is white and you submerge your phone in alcohol the LDI will activate and void your warranty.

If your LDI is activated then your warranty is void and though water damage is covered under insurance (if you have insurance on your phone) you would have to pay a pretty penny to file an insurance claim so you might as well try to fix it with this method first.

If bathing the phone in alcohol does not fix your phone then you can file an insurance claim. If it does fix your device then you will have saved yourself some money and of course you will get to keep the information stored in your phone.

Enjoy your working phone

Hopefully this has fixed your phone and your device is now up and running properly again. Water damage can be hard to fix sometimes depending on the extent of the damage and is not always repairable. If the methods in this article have not worked in reviving your liquid damaged cell phone then I suggest that you look into these other options available which include possible exchange and or purchasing options.