iSplash: Emergency Care Instructions for Wet Electronics
If any of you are trying to get ahold of me, sorry, try again on Tuesday.
iPhone + water = $200 replacement cost. On a phone I've had less than a month. Sigh. At least it's better than the full retail price, but ouch. Still, I use the damn thing all the time and can't really justify being without it-- I'd have to cart a laptop around even more often than I already do.
However, it occurs to me that I should provide advice on what to do in this situation. Keep in mind that this applies for any amount of water, not just submersion.
0. DO NOT CHARGE OR USE THE PHONE.
1. Shut off the phone IMMEDIATELY. If the phone doesn't acknowledge the power button-- this is what happened to me-- you won't be able to do this, and the rest of this becomes extremely important to follow as rapidly as possible.
2. Remove any protective cases and shake out as much water as possible.
3. Using a paperclip or push pin, remove the SIM card (instructions elsewhere). If the SIM card is wet, dry it off-- this is not a good sign.
4. Carry the phone in your pocket to get it warm while you get to a car with a heater and an air conditioner.
5. Close ALL of the vents, except for whichever one you can best fit the phone into. Turn the heat all the way up, turn on the air conditioner, set it to dash vents, and turn the fan all the way up. The air conditioner will dry the air blowing through the phone, and the heater will heat the water in the phone; the combination will raise the vapor pressure of the water relative to the air in the phone and help it evaporate.
6. Put the phone in the vent with the screen side UP, since this side of the case has openings that the water vapor will more easily escape from, instead of just condensing on the inside of the case. Every three minutes, rotate the phone 180 degrees. Check the camera lens and screen for drops or vapor.
7. Go to a store that sells silica gel desiccant. If you don't know how to obtain this, buy silica gel cat litter instead. "Litter Pearls" or "crystal" cat litter is mostly silica gel and that will do the job. Buy some, and a large glass jar with a tight-fitting lid that will easily hold the iPhone.
8. Pour two to three inches of desiccant in the jar. Stand the phone up in this, and pour in the rest of the desiccant SLOWLY, covering the phone completely. Pour slowly to avoid generating any more dust than you can avoid, and don't inhale the dust. Close tightly.
9. Let sit for at least a day, preferably 2-3.
10. CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY remove the phone from the jar. Silica gel can be sharp; use care to avoid scratching the device. Carefully remove all silica gel bits from SIM port, headphone jack, and charging port. Use a DAMP CLOTH ONLY to clean the screen and case or you WILL scratch it worse than you would expect.
11. DO NOT replace the SIM card at this point, but DO place the phone on a charger. As with all untrusted rechargeable batteries, place the phone on something fireproof.
12. If, after thirty minutes, the phone is not taking a charge, you probably need to exchange it. Sorry.
13. If the phone seems to charge okay, shut it off, disconnect it, clean the SIM card carefully and reinsert it.
Good luck. Hope it works out better for you than me. The charging and backlight circuits are particularly prone to damage from water. Apple Stores offer a $199 trade-in for another refurbished unit (which should be fine). Painful, but it could be worse. And yes, iPhones have moisture sensors you wouldn't be able to easily replace (the case damage would show, for most of you).
In a pinch, you can try substituting fresh, dry rice for silica gel; it's a poor-man's desiccant.
My results? The phone sits at 10% charge, blinking, with the backlight off. I'm convinced this is because I screwed around with the phone too much before it dried out, though, and your results may be considerably better.
Let me know if this saves any of you a repair bill.
Cheers,
Breakpoint
iPhone + water = $200 replacement cost. On a phone I've had less than a month. Sigh. At least it's better than the full retail price, but ouch. Still, I use the damn thing all the time and can't really justify being without it-- I'd have to cart a laptop around even more often than I already do.
However, it occurs to me that I should provide advice on what to do in this situation. Keep in mind that this applies for any amount of water, not just submersion.
0. DO NOT CHARGE OR USE THE PHONE.
1. Shut off the phone IMMEDIATELY. If the phone doesn't acknowledge the power button-- this is what happened to me-- you won't be able to do this, and the rest of this becomes extremely important to follow as rapidly as possible.
2. Remove any protective cases and shake out as much water as possible.
3. Using a paperclip or push pin, remove the SIM card (instructions elsewhere). If the SIM card is wet, dry it off-- this is not a good sign.
4. Carry the phone in your pocket to get it warm while you get to a car with a heater and an air conditioner.
5. Close ALL of the vents, except for whichever one you can best fit the phone into. Turn the heat all the way up, turn on the air conditioner, set it to dash vents, and turn the fan all the way up. The air conditioner will dry the air blowing through the phone, and the heater will heat the water in the phone; the combination will raise the vapor pressure of the water relative to the air in the phone and help it evaporate.
6. Put the phone in the vent with the screen side UP, since this side of the case has openings that the water vapor will more easily escape from, instead of just condensing on the inside of the case. Every three minutes, rotate the phone 180 degrees. Check the camera lens and screen for drops or vapor.
7. Go to a store that sells silica gel desiccant. If you don't know how to obtain this, buy silica gel cat litter instead. "Litter Pearls" or "crystal" cat litter is mostly silica gel and that will do the job. Buy some, and a large glass jar with a tight-fitting lid that will easily hold the iPhone.
8. Pour two to three inches of desiccant in the jar. Stand the phone up in this, and pour in the rest of the desiccant SLOWLY, covering the phone completely. Pour slowly to avoid generating any more dust than you can avoid, and don't inhale the dust. Close tightly.
9. Let sit for at least a day, preferably 2-3.
10. CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY remove the phone from the jar. Silica gel can be sharp; use care to avoid scratching the device. Carefully remove all silica gel bits from SIM port, headphone jack, and charging port. Use a DAMP CLOTH ONLY to clean the screen and case or you WILL scratch it worse than you would expect.
11. DO NOT replace the SIM card at this point, but DO place the phone on a charger. As with all untrusted rechargeable batteries, place the phone on something fireproof.
12. If, after thirty minutes, the phone is not taking a charge, you probably need to exchange it. Sorry.
13. If the phone seems to charge okay, shut it off, disconnect it, clean the SIM card carefully and reinsert it.
Good luck. Hope it works out better for you than me. The charging and backlight circuits are particularly prone to damage from water. Apple Stores offer a $199 trade-in for another refurbished unit (which should be fine). Painful, but it could be worse. And yes, iPhones have moisture sensors you wouldn't be able to easily replace (the case damage would show, for most of you).
In a pinch, you can try substituting fresh, dry rice for silica gel; it's a poor-man's desiccant.
My results? The phone sits at 10% charge, blinking, with the backlight off. I'm convinced this is because I screwed around with the phone too much before it dried out, though, and your results may be considerably better.
Let me know if this saves any of you a repair bill.
Cheers,
Breakpoint