Realme has become hugely popular in many countries including India because of its specs and a comparatively low price tag that it offers as it is a subsidiary to Oppo which adds to the lowering price tag. But there are few trade-offs and resistance against water is one of them. Since a majority of Realme smartphones are targeting budget price range, these phones lack water-resistance and that is why GetDroidTips is here to discuss Realme water damaged smartphone if you accidentally drown your phone or spill water on it or vice versa. Although you can always report to a service center, there is a procedure that you can do by your own to bring the phone back to life and here’s everything you need to know about it.
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Realme water damaged smartphone?
Before you can commence with what you should do to get a water damaged smartphone fixed, here’s what you should never do when something like this occurs.
No shaking/wobbling
You accidentally dropped your phone in a puddle or toilet or pool or you spilled water or any other liquid on your phone. In such cases, once you remove the phone, you mustn’t ever shake or wobble the phone much. Since water needs a tiny little push to escape to the internal assembly where all the delicate components are housed, shaking the phone could cause tremendous damaged which is not covered in the warranty.
Similar to how shaking the phone could push the water into the internal assembly, pressing buttons could force tiny droplets of water stuck between the button and the conductor plate could either render the button useless or it can seep towards the components.
No dabbing or pressing on the screen
Dabbing on the screen or pressing on it or any other side of the phone which is a usual response people show if their phone falls in water but it ain’t right. This can force the water into the undamaged internal components where the water can have tremendous destruction.
Do not plug in the phone to a charger
Water and electricity never go hand in hand and it is common sense. In case the water is stuck somewhere around the charging port, the electricity could either cause damage or short circuit the device and that’s something you should avoid.
Do not panic
This is really important. You shouldn’t panic because in such cases, you will waste the useful time that you could have utilized to get the phone out of the water immediately after it slipped, dropped, or fell. The water damage is directly proportional to the duration it stays in the water and hence, do not panic at the first place to eliminate time wastage.
How to fix Realme water damaged smartphone?
Since you have already referred the things you should avoid and things you shouldn’t ever practice with a water damaged smartphone, here is a tested procedure on how you can ‘try’ to fix it since there is no guaranteed Do-It-Yourself (DIY) procedure to make a water damaged smartphone work again.
Step 01: Pick out the phone
It’s crucial that you don’t waste time thinking about the damage water could have done if you accidentally or deliberately dropped your phone in water unless you have a smartphone with a water-resistant rating. So, do not waste time and just pick the phone out of the water and place it on a dry surface.
Step 02: Time to dry it off
Now, you need a paper towel or you can take a clean cloth to gently wipe off water from the exterior of the phone. Remove back panel, SIM cards, memory card, and battery if removable and dry it off separately and keep it idle on a dry surface. Use a paper towel to clean ports, jacks, and sections where you can see the green-colored motherboard but do not force it by shoving it into the openings to clean it.
Step 03: Use a vacuum cleaner
Since you cannot reach every nook and corner, you need a vacuum cleaner to wipe off the excess water both from the exterior and the interior of the device which will add a step towards securing a water damaged smartphone.
Step 04: Rubbing Alcohol (optional)
Note that this particular method is optional and I advise people not to go through with it if you don’t have how to disassemble a phone and reassemble it in perfect working condition as it was before. Also, doing so with end the warranty if any, right away.
Step 05: Use a ziplock bag instead
If you can’t do ‘Step 04’, you can totally do this method which is known to have fixed a lot of devices although that nowhere means that it is 100% guaranteed to fix the issue. So, to go through with it, you’ll need a ziplock bag and rice or silica gel litter which is a great water absorbent. You need to put the phone in the bag, fill it up with rice and keep it packed for at least 2 to 4 days without opening it in-between.
Step 06: Unzip the bag
Depending upon the severity of the water damage, the phone could use two or three days to get rid of any and all moisture trapped within the components and elsewhere in a smartphone thus completely drying it off. But there are various outcomes after this method and here’s what could happen next.
The phone will boot up
Lucky you! Although it is one of the most advised methods to fix water damaged smartphone, it is still away from 100% guarantee so if you have been able to pull it off, you are lucky. Keep in mind that you need to keep a tab on its performance and report the issue to the manufacturer if there’s a deplete in performance.
The phone will not boot up
A million things could go wrong when an electronic device like a smartphone comes in contact with water. It could damage the battery, charging port, display, sockets, internal components like processor, RAM, storage, etc. So, if your phone doesn’t boots up, it could be either completely dead or the battery is totally drained. For this, you need to charge the phone for some time and try it again. This must kickstart the phone to work again but if it didn’t, follow the next step.
Step 07: Report the problem
Water damage will never be counted under warranty unless you have a water-resistant smartphone and the OEM is covering for any damage if not disassembled by a third-party technician. For the rest, you’ll still have to pay for the repair.
What are the ways you can prevent water damage to the phone?
There are a plethora of ways you can prevent the phone from any water damage or even physical damage. You can stay away from water or avoid using the phone where there’s water. Further, you can buy a water-proof or water-resistant case that should provide a layer of safety against water. But if you want to spend more, you can buy a smartphone with IP rating which ranges from splash to water-resistant which is great for those who tend to drop their phones constantly and are clumsy or face the risk of dropping the phone in the water or so. Hope this helps you fix the Realme water damaged smartphone.