How To Fix Vertex Water Damaged Smartphone [Quick Guide]

What could be someone's motive behind dipping the phone in water? Well, most probably it is an unintentional accident and often, liquid damage is far severe...

Abd Razaaq

Last updated on February 15, 2019

Abd Razaaq

Author

I'm a Tech Content Writer and Full-Time blogger. Since I love Android and Google's device, I started my career in writing for Android OS and their features. This led me to start "GetDroidTips". I have completed Master of Business Administration at Mangalore University, Karnataka.

What you shouldn’t do with a water damaged smartphone?

Before digging into the fact that you can “try” to fix Vertex water damaged smartphone and it might work depending upon the severity, you need to know what you shouldn’t do. It is crucial and imperative to eliminate the obvious that could render the phone completely useless.

First of all, panicking will surely increase the response time and would cause the phone to get more damaged. Thus, don’t panic. Further, once you take the phone out of the water, there must be no chance that you must shake, wobble, flex, the phone or dab or push parts of the display or any other part trying to squeeze out the water because it won’t happen and instead you could lose your phone too.

Then, you mustn’t try to touch, press, or dab on the buttons because doing so could trigger the water to step inside the internal assembly if it hasn’t been already thus, escalating the chances of irreversible water damage which is something you won’t like. One of the most obvious things you shouldn’t do with a water damaged smartphone is to connect it to a charger because you know, electricity and water don’t go hand-in-hand.

How to fix Vertex water damaged smartphone?

Now that you went through the possible “Don’ts” that you mustn’t do ever, perhaps you are ready for a step-by-step troubleshooting guide to fix your Vertex water damaged smartphone.

Step 01: Take the phone out

The moment you realize that the phone is inside the water or either you or someone spilled water or any other liquid on your phone, you need to take out the phone immediately without any further ado. Take it out and keep it idle on a dry surface.

Step 02: Wipe the exterior

Once you out the phone from water, it’s time to wipe off the exterior of the device keeping all the “Don’ts” mentioned above in mind. You’ll need a paper cloth or tissue or microfiber cloth to wipe off excess water and must probably get the exterior soaked out. Also, remember to keep the phone switched off during this procedure if the damage is more than what you can assume dipping just a tip of the phone in water which of course wouldn’t cause any damage.

Step 03: Remove accessories & all

Your phone simply has too many accessories onboard such as the memory card, SIM cards, phone case/cover, battery (if removable). Simply remove it and use a paper cloth to wipe these components and then, proceed with the next step.

Step 04: Take a paper cloth to dry off excess water

Since you have removed all the accessories, take a paper cloth and dab across the device from port to port, screen, back panel, etc to soak excess water. This must work although the water and moisture trapped inside the phone will stay idle.

Step 05: Use a vacuum cleaner to soak out trapped water

A vacuum cleaner can help suck out excess water inside the internal circuitry. You’ll need to set it up on a light setting to prevent it from yanking off the soldered cables within the device by mistakenly.

Alternative: Use Isopropyl alcohol (not recommended)

This method is strictly not for everyone and we don’t sponsor or recommend it either. If you are someone who can dismantle the phone and reassemble it, you can go through with it. You’ll need isopropyl alcohol that you can pour on a piece of tissue and dab across the internal circuitry and other components. Since it is alcohol, it will evaporate without damaging any component while it will also remove any corrosion, dust, or foreign particles that you can extract using a vacuum cleaner.

Step 06: Put the phone in a bag full or rice/silica gel

For others, here’s a handy method which takes a few days but it is capable of reviving the phone in some cases. You’ll need a ziplock bag and place the phone inside it. Now, fill it up with rice or silica gel which are great water absorbent. It will soak all the water and moisture trapped inside the phone. The procedure is recommended for 2 to 3 days and you shouldn’t intervene in-between.

Step 07: Try it out now!!!

Depending on the severity, you can choose either 2 or 3 days in the method explained above. Now, you’ll need to take it out of the bag and try to turn it on. Here, either the phone will turn on or not. If it does turn on, well and good but you need to monitor its performance or any other damage that might have caused.

On the contrary, if the phone doesn’t turn on, it is possible that the battery has drained completely for which, you can simply charge up the device and check if it works or not. Unfortunately, if it doesn’t turn on even after making several attempts, you might have to follow the next method to find a solution.

What if the phone doesn’t turn on ever?

Unfortunately, only a handful of devices if taken from a lot of hundreds of water damaged smartphones survive. Depending on the severity, the damage could be little or more but generally, liquid damage smartphones aren’t usable later. Even if they tend to function properly after repair, there are chances it will give way to new problems in the future.

Since you did all you can to bring the phone back to life but couldn’t get it started, I would suggest you report to a nearby authorized service center and get it analyzed. This is where you’ll know if the technician would be able to revive the phone or not.

What are the measures I can do to prevent further liquid damage?

For starters, if you are looking to buy a new smartphone, I would suggest spending on a smartphone that offers official IP rating for water resistance or at least it is an unofficial water resistance such as OnePlus 6/6T and others. Although these smartphones are slightly expensive, these can really save your day if you compare it to repairing a water damaged smartphone.

If you choose to keep using your Vertex smartphone or take another phone from the same brand but without any water resistance, you can opt for a water-proof phone case and covers that would provide a certain degree of resistance against water that may cause tremendous damage if not taken care of. But the handiest solution is to simply keep the phone away from water as much as you can.