Tech Minute: How To Deal With A Wet Smart Phone
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The more we use our smartphones, the more likely it is they can be damaged. But if you accidentally drop your phone in water, you may not have to shell out a lot of money to have it fixed.
The first thing you should do after your phone gets wet is to remove the battery, according to Best Buy Geek Squad Agents.
"That way there's no chance of any more electrical shorts or any more damage to the phone," said Joey Diaz, deputy of counter intelligence with Geek Squad at Best Buy in Eden Prairie.
If you're not sure if the inside of the phone is wet, most phones have a white dot visible when the battery or battery cover is removed. If the white dot is pink or patterned, it's been exposed to moisture.
The next step is to take components out of the phone such as a SIM card or memory card and then dry the phone with a dry cloth. Diaz says the components should dry out by themselves if left out.
From here, you'll need to find a couple silica gel packets, which can be found in packages of Beef Jerky, and an airtight container. Rice can also be used instead of silica gel packets.
The Geek Squad then suggests placing your phone and battery, but not the cards, in the air-tight container with the silica packets or rice for about two days.
After the phone is dry, Diaz says, "Take it out, power it back up and you should be in business."
If these steps don't work, you'll want to take it into a professional.
You may have noticed it's not so easy to access the battery and memory cards on iPhones. If you take it into a Best Buy or Apple store, they can take those out for you.
