One of the most frequent reasons our customers bring their phones in for repair at Southlake Mall is due to liquid damage. We’ve all experienced it. You accidentally splashed a drink on your phone, it fell into a puddle or just slipped out of your hands and into a sink (or, unfortunately, a toilet).
We’ve even had people bring their phones in because they went swimming and forgot it was in their pocket. We’ve seen it all when it comes to liquid damage to your phone!
What to Do When Your Phone Gets Wet at Southlake Mall
Stay calm.
There are numerous “home remedies” out there that not only won’t dry out your phone but might damage it more than the liquid itself did.
If your phone has taken an unintentional swim, do the following:
- Remove your phone from the liquid as quickly as possible.
- If your phone is still turned on, turn it off. If it is turned off, DO NOT attempt to turn it on.
- Hold your phone upright and gently tip it from side to side. This will help drain the liquid inside through the bottom.
- Gently use a microfiber cloth to wipe off any visible moisture from the outside of your phone.
At this point, we recommend you bring your phone into Device Zone so our repair experts can safely examine your phone. We have specialized tools designed to safely disassemble your phone without damaging it and can let you know if it can be repaired, rather than needing to be completely replaced.
Repairing a Wet Phone at Home Is Dangerous
The reason we recommend bringing a wet smartphone into Device Zone is that there are serious risks when you try to repair a wet electronic device at home.
Most people don’t have the appropriate tools for delicate electronic repair in their homes, and using the wrong tool can damage the delicate components of your phone.
Rice is a food, not a tool.
Do eat rice whenever you are hungry or crave it but you cannot expect rice to fix your phones. We all have heard this old myth about rice fixing phones. It might dry your phone but if small particles go inside your phone, they can contribute to damage the phone more or sometimes you might get lucky and be able to get it working again.
No Phone Is Waterproof
If you purchased your phone because it claimed to be “waterproof”, you might want to check the fine print on your phone. Even with phones like Samsung’s Galaxy series just showing people using the phones underwater in their advertisements, the devices aren’t waterproof.
For example, Samsung warns in the fine print against “beach or pool use” for its phones, and their warranty won’t cover any water damage. Claims of phones being water-resistant for certain amounts of time in certain water depths can get confusing. The best way to avoid damaging your phone with liquid is to just assume it isn’t waterproof!
How Device Zone Can Help You
If you follow the steps outlined above to gently remove excess water from your phone, by the time you bring it to us at Device Zone, we can better help you.
Once we get your phone, our expert technicians typically take the following steps to dry it out and repair it:
Gently drain your phone to remove as much liquid as possible
- Open your phone and remove the battery. For most phones, the battery will need to be completely replaced after it’s been exposed to liquid.
- Remove the logic board and any other internal parts that appear corroded before cleaning them.
- Gently clean corroded components using a sonic cleaner and electronic clean solution.
- Dry every component before meticulously reassembling your phone and turning it on again.
Device Zone is located in the heart of Southlake Mall, Next to Cinnabon, 1000 Southlake Cir, Morrow, GA 30260. We’re open until 8 pm Monday-Saturday and until 6 pm on Saturday. We love walk-ins and are always here to help!
