Posted on 08 December 2009.
by Reese Grey
Water is the single biggest reason customers return damaged electronic devices. A top insurer which covers cell phones for loss or damage not covered by warranties, says water damage is the major cause of claims, behind mechanical damage and loss.
Many consumers show up at stores demanding replacements for their water-damaged phones, so a most carriers now require manufacturers to place a moisture indicator on the batteries and inside the phones to provide clear evidence of “contact with liquid.” The meters, which are simple white stickers, change color when wet, which invalidates the warranty.
One manufacturer tests their phones for day to day conditions, recognizing that sweaty hands, a day at the beach and sultry conditions may be in the life of the phone. But if you take a dip and realize your phone dipped with you, that is another story.
Water infiltration can easily become fatal for a phone because water and electricity simply do not mix: Turning on a wet cell phone can zap the circuitry. Secondary is the issue of eventual corrosion because the finally dried liquid was not clean and causes residue, which can cause failure later in the operation life. It doesn’t help that most phones these days come with holes for headsets, speakers and camera lenses – these are just more places for water to seep in.
Many ingenious customers have found methods to nurse water-saturated phones back to ringier days — a big topic of conversation on web bulletin boards. “The most important thing to remember with a wet phone is don’t turn it on”, says Aaron Vronko, a service manager at Rapid Repair, Kalamazoo, Mich., which specializes in repairing iPhones and other smart phones. Furthermore, he recommends taking out the battery and wiping it off, shaking out any excess moisture, unfastening the screws of the phone to open up the device, and then using an electrical-contact cleaning spray or rubbing alcohol to displace the corrosive moisture. “Once you think it’s 100% dry, give it another day”,
Mr. Lazaridis of RIM has a tip for people whose phones fall into less-than-pristine waters: Rinse the device immediately with distilled water, doing so helps wash away chemicals that could alter the electrical charge and cause fatal shorts. While some of the Common Joe techniques are taunted as just as successful; the oven approach employed by a lady who dropped her phone into the toilet, she removed the battery, wrapped the device in a dry washcloth and aluminum foil, and baked it in the oven for several hours at a low setting. She claims it worked great…until she dropped it, still again, in the toilet sometime later.
Others recommend using a hair dryer set on “cool” and still others seal the phone in a jar with uncooked rice in hopes the grains will absorb the moisture before it corrodes circuitry deep inside the phone.
The key to any of these techniques is to dry out the phone as quickly as possible.
