Articles > Save your mobile / cell phone, MP3 player, PSP, Nintendo DS, etc from water damage
Introduction
Most of us have at some stage in our lives accidentally dropped an electronic device into a liquid of some sort, be it the kitchen/bathroom sink, swimming pool or even the toilet. And we all know that water is the worst enemy to most electronic devices - after all, electricity and water don't mix.
With mobile (cell) phones becoming so prevalent, there are more and more incidents of people damaging and destroying them by accidental immersion in liquid.
Firstly, what causes the immediate damage? Because mobile phones and other handheld electronic devices have a battery of some sort, any water or moisture that seeps in will bridge the electrical circuits, allowing a flow of electrons (electrical current). The unintended current flow causes corrosion in the circuits, which usually cause further short circuits and/or breaks in other parts of the circuit, leading to the malfunction of the phone.
Seawater is worse than fresh or tap water due to its salt content. Salty water is far more conductive than fresh water.
Immediate actions on dropping a cell phone in water
Your first course of action, after retrieving the phone from the immersion and quickly shaking the excess water off, is to remove the battery. Without the battery, the immediate risk of corrosion and circuit board damage is minimised, giving you more time to take further action to dry out the phone. If a battery is left in a soaked phone for more than a couple of minutes, permanent irreversible damage starts to occur. Think of it as like performing CPR on a person who has had an accident - the sooner you do it, the more chances you have of reviving them.
Subsequent actions to restore the waterlogged phone
If your phone has removable covers, then they should be removed. Place the phone in a warm area - in the sun, in a warm car, or in front of a warm air vent of a central heating system. It may take days for all the moisture to evaporate like this.
If the device was immersed in saltwater, rinse it in fresh water as soon as possible. Saltwater leaves salt residue behind after evaporating, which can still cause corrosion.
If you are adventurous or technically minded, you can disassemble the phone down to its bare circuit boards. Compressed air is an effective way to rid the boards of moisture, especially under surface mount components and IC chips. For those who are even more adventurous, the parts of the phone can be placed in a warm oven (no higher than 60 degrees celcius) for about half an hour. Don't place the LCD in the oven because it can be damaged.
If you are not confident with disassembly of your phone, you can also take it to a professional repairer or competent person. We also offer a phone dry-out service, please contact us for more details. But only do so if you have removed the battery as soon as the drenching happens - otherwise repair is not possible for corroded cell phones.
Applies to other devices
This advice also applies to other items - laptop/notebook computers (although many hard disks are not waterproof, and you will lose data in most cases), portable radios / MP3 players (with removable batteries), cordless power tools, etc.
Remember - anything with batteries that gets immersed in water will corrode if action is not taken!
MacGruber, Thu, 30 Dec 2010 07:02 am: Reply