6 Steps for Saving a Wet Cell Phone

By Minyanville, DivineCaroline

It happens. You put your cell phone on a table and someone knocks over a drink. Or you leave it outside on the deck and it rains all night. Or you visit the bathroom, take that must-answer phone call from work and–oops!–there it is, submerged in six inches of flushable water.

Assuming you’re brave enough to retrieve your phone from wherever it lands, what do you do next?

Do you shake it out as best you can and try turning it back on? (Not recommended. The moisture might cause permanent damage). Do you look for the nearest microwave to dry it out? (NO!) Or do you take it back to the T-Mobile, Sprint, or AT&T phone shop and hope water damage is covered by the warranty? (Prepare to be disappointed!)

There is another way to go. If you act quickly, it’s possible the phone can be saved. Here’s what you should do:

1. Immediately remove the battery. (If you own an iPhone, skip this step. The battery is not removable).

2. If you have a removable SIM card, take that out as well. Even if your phone is beyond repair, you should be able to retrieve most of the information–like your phone book–that’s stored on your SIM card.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Patricia H.

1:58AM PDT on May 11, 2012

thanks for sharing

send a green star

J.L. A.

8:48AM PDT on Apr 27, 2012

helpful info.!

Patricia A.

9:25PM PST on Dec 20, 2011

Thanks for this - useful info!

Sarah M.

9:23PM PST on Dec 20, 2011

this is exactly what i did when i accidentally put my phone throw the spin cycle, yes, that's right--don't forget to check your pockets people...i had to leave it for a couple of days in the rice, but it still worked pretty well after that with only slight damage...so this advice works well.

Fred K.

7:48PM PST on Dec 15, 2011

You can usually get some sort of lanyard at the camera store that would prevent most water incidents with small electronics including cellphones and cameras...

rene d.

12:52AM PST on Dec 13, 2011

thanks.

Rasheed A.

11:54PM PDT on Apr 12, 2011

Thanks; God bless

Penelope T.

9:03PM PDT on Apr 11, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Teresa W.

4:35AM PDT on Apr 10, 2011

thank you

JENNIFER H.

7:10AM PDT on Apr 9, 2011

Many blow-dryers have an adjustable temperature- hot, warm, cold. Since the author of this article says not to use a blow-dryer because the heat will damage the delicate electronics, maybe a blow-dryer could be used if you selected the "cold" temperature setting.