What to do if your phone falls in the water?

Water is the enemy of all electronics, and it destroys any circuit in comes in contact with. The most vulnerable of electronics is our smartphone! Though many smartphones today are water resistant many people still don't have phones that are not water-resistant!

Why does water damage electronics?

The main reason water often tends to damage electronics is because it is somewhat electrically conductive, and so when electricity passes through it there is a high chance that it may short out the electrical components.

The way water resistant phones can hold up to water is by preventing the water from getting into the phone. They have seals on every place where there is a possibility for water to get in (charging port, headphone jack, etc).

Video By GreatScott on waterproofing electronics

Another way circuit boards are protected from water is by coating the circuit with a chemical like nail polish.

So what to do if your phone falls in the water?

1. This is a very obvious step, quickly go ahead and dry your phone out using a towel or anything really! You might also want to cut the power to the phone (by removing the battery) so electricity doesn't flow and short things up.

2. The next step is to put it in a container filled with rice. This is a pretty effective and useful tip. The rice in the container absorbs up the liquid that you might have not dried in the first step. If you don't plan on going to the repair shop to get it fixed then keep it in the container for at least 3 to 4 hours

3. While your phone is in the container of rice it is best to quickly run up to the service shop and get it open and repaired (even though you have most probably voided your warranty). Most repair shops or service centers can tell that your phone has been in contact with water as there are water indicators that change color upon coming in contact with water.

4. If you're the person who repairs things himself then well you can go ahead and open up your phone and make sure its fine yourself! Here's how:

Firstly you'll have to open up your phone, different phones have different ways to be opened, so I recommend checking out a guide on iFixit on how to open up your phone.

Once you're in your phone make sure to remove any moisture you see on the circuit boards. And then try to remove more moisture by either putting it in a container of rice or try a different way of drying things out.

Before assembling make sure that there is no salt remains left on connectors and stuff.

If you fail to get your phone working up again then your best bet would be to actually go to a repair person or to the service center, because there is a possibility that a chip or something has malfunctioned.