Cell phones have become a part of our everyday lives and there are not too many people these days who do not have one at their disposal almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Whether you have one or not, though, you probably understand that letting these crucial items come into contact with water is not a good idea, but what some people do not understand is that their phone’s warranty does not cover this kind of damage.
In recent years, there have been a number of cell phone manufacturers putting water damage stickers inside the phones to determine whether a phone has been in contact with water. This solves the problem of people making false claims to the manufacturer and getting a free phone supposedly due to a defect in the phone itself, but for the honest consumer, this can be a problem for those who live in areas that are subject to high amounts of humidity.
It has been discovered that humidity alone can set these stickers off. A powdered dye is placed underneath the sticker and when it gets wet, it changes the sticker’s color from white to red. This makes it easy for a technician to reject a warranty claim on the grounds of water damage, even if no other signs of water damage are available.
If you are confident in your ability to take apart electronics and put them back together, you should be able to locate these stickers inside your phone and cover them with a piece of satin-backed scotch tape. You would want to do this if you have very humid summers where you live and you do not want to have to purchase a new phone if it stops working for some un-water related reason.
The first sticker should be located near the battery pack, but the second one is deeper inside the phone and probably located on the circuit board itself.
If you do drop your cell phone in water, get it out immediately and remove the battery. If it is attached to the AC adapter and plugged into the wall, unplug the adapter FIRST and do not put your hand in the water. Remove the battery, SIM card (if your phone has one), and dry the exterior off as quickly as you can.
To get the inside of the phone dried as quickly as possible, put it in a bowl of uncooked rice at least overnight. Do not try to power on the phone until you are absolutely certain the inside is dry. Electricity running through the item while it is wet will be what does the damage, not the water itself.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Florida water damage restoration companies and
Miami Water Damage Restoration. contractors