If your cell phone gets wet, you need to dry it immediately to prevent
the moisture from damaging it. Drying the phone is the only way to fix a
wet cell phone screen, and it takes more than simply wiping the
moisture off. Moisture, whether from rain or the phone being dropped in
water, works its way quickly inside to the electronics. Don't make the
common mistake of trying to dry your phone with a hair dryer, as that
can make matters worse. There's a better way to do it right.
STEP 1:
Immediately open the back of your phone and remove the battery. If your phone uses a SIM card, remove that as well.
STEP 2:
Wipe the surface of the phone dry with a paper towel. Make sure you blot
inside the battery compartment. Make sure that you wipe but do not blot
when drying the phone screen. Pressing on the screen while blotting can
cause damage to it.
STEP 3:
Use a can of compressed air, like the type sold to clean computer
keyboards, to dry any remaining moisture in the phone. Spray the air
over the entire phone until you can no longer see any wet areas.
STEP 4:
Pour a layer of dry rice into the bottom of a bowl. Lay your cell phone
on the rice. Completely cover the phone with more dry rice and leave the
phone in the bowl overnight. The rice will draw out and absorb any
remaining moisture.
STEP 5:
Remove the phone from the rice. Use compressed air to clean the phone of
any rice dust. Put the SIM and battery back in and power the phone on.
If the phone does not work or the screen is not showing the menus
properly, then you did not dry the phone as fast as you needed to and
the phone must be replaced.
Tips & Warnings
If you dropped your phone in the ocean, run tap water over the entire
phone first and then dry it off. This will prevent the sea salt from
remaining inside your phone and causing further damage.
Never dry a phone using heat (such as a hair dryer or by placing it on
top of an oven that has been turned on). Heat can quickly destroy the
delicate electronics and circuit board inside the phone.
