Revive your Cell Phone or Electronic Devices from Water Damage

This technique is my go to for waterlogged devices.

1. Remove the battery from the device. This is critical,
and do it as soon as possible, even if you are not going to
follow this technique, this is your best chance for device
survival.
2. Find a container slightly larger than the device that
will hold liquid.
3. Remove battery covers and other compartments so you can
be sure to get into all areas of the device.
4. Place the device in the container and fill with Alcohol
completely submerging the device. The alcohol will displace
any water left in your device. Jiggle the container around
a bit to make sure the alcohol is able to drive out the water
droplets in your device. You may need to weight your device
to keep it under the water. I would suggest a 5 minute
period of soaking, you can vary the time based on your
results and optionally repeat this step if you are not
successful.
5. Remove the device and put it somewhere to dry for
an hour or two. The alcohol will evaporate very quickly but
be sure it’s really dry. Q-tips are helpful as well to make
sure you’ve got the item clean.
6. Reassemble your device and hopefully you are good to go.
If not you can repeat this step or try the Alternate Fix.

Alternate Fixes

These are longer term fixes that take some time but also have
been used successfully by many people me included in a pinch. Give any or all of these a try if you are unsuccessful with the Alcohol Fix.

1. You can use a commercial product like the Bheestie Bag
to remove the moisture. It might be $20 well spent.
2. Put the electronic device in a large Ziploc bag filled
with dry rice. The rice acts as a desiccant to remove water
from the air and aids in drying your device out quicker.
The timeframe for this would be more like overnight than
a few minutes.
3. Put the electronic device in a sealed container with
a Dri-Z-Air unit. These are used often in RV’s and damp
areas and are available at the hardware store. They are
essentially a plastic container that holds their special
desiccant. It will remove a tremendous amount of moisture.
4. The old hair dryer technique, just be sure not to get
it to close and melt any components.
5. Smash it with a hammer and buy a new device. This one
works every time.