Do you know what’s more damaging to a smartphone than a physical fall from a few feets which is ideally the situation when something is using it or if it’s in the pocket? It’s probably a water damaged smartphone or in simple terms, water or liquid damage. It renders the phone unusable at once if not taken measures to reduce the impact of water and fix it so that no more damage is done. Note that the probability of a water damaged smartphone is always slim thanks to the nature of an electronic device i.e. your phone and water. This is where a DIY method comes into play that can potentially save you hundreds of bucks that would otherwise be charged as repair cost but there’s no guarantee here so you can go through this DIY troubleshooting guide to fix it but with a pinch of salt.
What you shouldn’t do with a water damaged smartphone?
Ahead of learning what needs to be done to a water damaged smartphone to fix it, here’s what you must avoid and restrain from at the first place.
The first thing you should keep in mind is to avoid panicking as this will definitely increase reaction time which is directly proportional to further liquid damage which is something you should avoid at first. Next thing to keep in mind is to avoid using an air blower or vacuum cleaner at this moment and to avoid shaking, wobbling, or moving the phone much that would force droplet of water into the internal assembly where all sensitive components are lined up. Note that even if the phone is recovered after water damage, it might still suffer from a certain degree of deformity such as a section or region of the display not active or any sensor might not work and so on. This is where you need to be quick here.
Next thing you must remember that you shouldn’t press any buttons or any part of the device such as the display where it could again force traces of water into the internal assembly thus rendering it incompetent and inefficient. You mustn’t plug in the phone to a charger as well which is something you must know by common sense that water and electronic device aren’t much of a friend.
How To Fix Symphony Water Damaged Smartphone?
Here’s is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) troubleshooting method to fix Symphony water damaged smartphone.
Step 01: Take the phone out of the water
Accidentally or intentionally drop water on the phone or the phone in water, sink, pool, or anywhere else, it’s time to take the phone out of the water as soon as you can. This is because the more time you take to respond, the more damage it suffers.
Step 02: Wipe out the exterior
Next thing is to take the phone and a paper towel or cotton swab that you can use to wipe off the exterior of the device. This includes dabbing on the display and elsewhere with a very light pressure since you shouldn’t press or force the paper towel to soak any traces of water.
Step 03: Remove and wipe
This step removing the phone case or cover, SIM cards, memory card, and all other removable accessories so that you can keep it aside. Next, use a paper towel, roll it and put it in the headphone jack and other openings so that you can get rid of excess traces of water.
Step 04: Vacuum cleaner to dry off the device
Now take a vacuum cleaner and adjust it to its lightest settings. Take the hose or pipe and suction off by pointing it across the display, holes, orifices, openings, and elsewhere ensuring that the pressure is not great in order to rip the soldering done on the motherboard which actually runs the device.
Step 05: Traditional Ziplock bag & uncooked rice method
This is a traditional method which although doesn’t have a full-on success rate but it is indeed helpful in fixing a water damaged smartphone using DIY troubleshooting guide. For this method to work out, you need a ziplock bag and a bag full of uncooked rice or you can use silica gel litter as a substitute as well. You need to put the phone inside the bag, fill it up with the water absorbing substance (rice or silica gel) and zip it for a few days (preferably 2 to 3 days). Jump to Step 06 for the resolution.
OR
Rubbing Alcohol
Note that this method is not for everyone and reserved only for a handful of people who actually know to dismantle the device in pieces and assemble it again in a working condition. You’ll need rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, smear it on a cotton swab or a paper towel and dab across all components on and off the motherboard which is a greenish circuit that carries all major components including memory, processor, etc. After you are done, the method should remove any debris and corrosion as well as agents that might cause corrosion in the later stage.
Step 06: Time for the big reveal
If you did the first method explained in Step 05 that is a traditional method, you need to wait for 2 to 3 days before you can unzip the bag and remove the phone. Here, you can try to turn on the phone and if it does, you are well and good. If the phone doesn’t turn on, charge the battery for a couple of minutes and try it again. If it doesn’t turn on then too, you will have to take the last resort.
The final frontier
What would you do if you can’t get the Symphony water damaged smartphone fixed using a DIY troubleshooting method? The last resort is to visit an authorized or third-party service center based on your preference where the professionals might be able to look after the phone to scrutinize if it can be recovered or not. This is where you will come to know if indeed the phone is able to be recovered or you will have to buy another phone and avoid risking it against water anytime soon.
What are the possible measures to prevent water damaged smartphone?
Now that you have asked, here’s how you can prevent the phone from getting liquid damaged. At first, let’s consider the fact that you were able to revive the device, here, you must take care of it and check for its performance and report if there’s any significant dip in the performance. On the other hand, if you were not able to revive the device, there are several methods you can utilize to workaround it.
First up, you can either buy a smartphone with certified or at least uncertified water resistance rating. On the other hand, if you don’t have a budget to buy something like that, you can still buy a decent smartphone that fits your bill and adds a waterproof phone case or cover on it so that it can repel water at least into some degrees such as splashes or light rain, etc. Note that the phone case might not able to survive for a long time in water depending upon the type of case you pick so beware. Finally, the most crucial tip to follow if you are dubious about getting your phone water damaged at any cost, prevent taking it near water and don’t use it when drinking water or any liquid and that must be able to save it from a miserable fate.
