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How To Dry Out A Wet Cell Phone
By: David Jones *
UnwiredSignal.com
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Of course, remove the wet cell phone from the water as soon as possible. If
it is soaked, or waterlogged, do not take it out of the water yet. Open the
wet cellphone
and remove the battery while it is still under water. This should eliminate
arcing, which can cause big-time damage.
If the cellphone hasn’t been in the water long
enough to get soaked, take it out immediately and remove the battery.
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If you use ATT, Tmobile, or any other GSM carrier, take the
SIM card, or smart card, out. You valuable contacts and data are stored
there, in addition to what is contained in the phone itself. To some people
this could be more worth saving than the phone itself. The SIM card, and all
the data on it, will likely get through this ordeal just fine.
You can’t miss the SIM card. It
looks like a ˝” X 1” credit card on the side you can see. It was just slid in
and you can slide it right out, though you may need to compress a little
lock-point first.
If your cell phone does not survive
the ordeal, you will need the SIM card for your new cell phone.
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Now take a soft, non-scratchy towel or rag and pat all
surface area of the SIM card dry. Don’t rub or scrub the towel across the
brass colored strips that are located on one side. That’s where your data is
stored.
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Next, sling or shake as much of the remaining water out of
the cell phone itself. Then blot all of the water you can get to with a
soft, non-scratchy towel, or rag.
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Then, get out your trusty vacuum cleaner. Hold the end of
the hose 2”-3” inches away from the cell phone and suck out the remaining
moisture. Twenty to thirty minutes should be enough in most cases to get the
parts you cannot see reasonably dry.
Do not us a hair dryer. Even on
cold, it can put out enough heat to potentially damage your cellphone. It also
can cause static electricity, which is a big no-no for anything that uses
computer chips. So do not use a hair dryer to dry out your wet cell phone, no matter
how exasperated you are.
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Next, use a substance that wicks water away from other
substances. Some good absorbents are said to be "Damp Rid", "Dry Right" and
"DRY-ALL”. Put the cell phone in a bowl, surrounded by liberal amounts of
this stuff. If that stuff is not available, let the cell phone sit on a bowl
of dry rice. Either way, leave it there over night.
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The next morning, do a test to see if all of the moisture is
out. I know, really. But, it takes what it takes. Lay cell phone, one open
side down, on some paper towels. Wait an hour. If you see no evidence of
moisture, do the same thing on the other side. If you get the same results,
you are ready to test it.
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The test. Re-install the dry battery and the dry SIM card.
Turn the cell phone on. If there is no power, plug it into its charger
without the battery. If this works, you need a new battery. If it does not
work, you have two choices. They are:
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Take it to an authorized repair shop. You cannot hide
the fact that it has been wet, so don’t try. There are internal
indicators that prove moisture, or
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If they cannot fix it, take it to an authorized cell
phone disposal store and chalk up the $100 - $500 to experience, because
I know you didn’t just do all this work on a free or cheap cell phone………
* Information in this article was gathered from numerous sources, including
www.Wikihow.com and
www.PopularMechnics.com.
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