Did you get rained on or spilled water on your phone while swiping or dropped it in the water? It could happen to any of us. If you have a phone, it’s evitable that you will get it damaged by water at least once.
Most phones are sold today as water resistant but that doesn’t mean that they are waterproof. Water can still damage your phone components and the tiny electric rods inside the charging port. Getting the water out of the charging port is the most essential step as it directly affects the inner circuitry of the phone.
If you didn’t know how water got into your charging port, you might get an alert on your phone like Liquid Detected. It means that the charging port is wet or moist. It can happen due to a variety of ways like leaving your phone in the bathroom while showing can build up the moisture in the phone. Or getting wet during rain with the phone, swimming with the phone, and spilling liquid on your phone. These are the surest way to get moisture or water in the charging port.
In this case, it’s better to be prepared to save your phone by knowing how to get water out of the charging port.
Quick Access
How to get water out of the charging port of your phone?
1. Immediately remove the phone
Most people take a lot of time to process and leave the phone in water for a long time. You should immediately remove the phone from the water. If it is raining, you should put a wrapper around your phone. Don’t take water into the bathroom as the moisture from the hot shower could build up inside the charging port.
2. Disconnect your phone
You should disconnect all the connections if the phone is charging and remove the plug immediately. Also, remove the earphone jack connected to your phone. This will prevent any short circuits. And also switch off the phone immediately to cut off any electric charge inside.
3. Remove all parts of the phone
After switching off the phone, you should immediately remove all the parts that can be removed. You should first remove the phone case if you use any to remove the excess water trapped inside. iPhone users don’t have many options as they can only remove their SIM cards only whereas Android users can remove the SIM card as well as the SD card if they use any. This will remove any small water droplets trapped inside the nooks.
4. Dry the parts with a lint-free cloth
After removing all the parts of the phone, you should carefully dry them with a lint-free cloth. The lint-free cloth will not leave any particles trapped inside the phone. You should carefully go through all the corners and dry the charging port properly.
5. Leave it aside
After drying the parts and phone, you should leave them in a room that has active air circulation preferably near an open window. You could also keep it near the fan at the slowest speed. Keep the phone with its charging port pointed down to remove the water from the charging port. You should wait at least half an hour before checking or moving the phone excessively.
6. Contact the service center
If you can’t seem to turn on the phone even after going through all the steps, then it’s best to contact customer services. You can look up the service station of your phone brand nearby and take your phone there. Nowadays some local repair shops also provide services to repair water-damaged phones.
Don’t do these when getting water out of a charging port?
There is a lot of advice that is floating around for saving a water-damaged phone. But most of it does more harm than good to your device. So try to not do the following things while getting water out of your charging port.
1. Not doing anything
You might think that keeping your phone aside for a few days will solve your problem, but it’s not true. Drying the phone in the first hour is crucial or it could lock in the moisture inside which could lead to slow corrosion inside.
2. Swing the water out of your phone
You might panic and shake the phone to get the water out of the charging port which is not advisable. Shaking the phone around will not get rid of the moisture inside which is the main cause of damage. But shaking could let the water get across the dry areas as well.
3. Putting tissues, Q Tips, or toothpicks inside to remove the water
Trying to put Q Tips or toothpicks with tissue on will remove the excess water but putting tissue inside can lodge the wet particle inside the charging port. These particles will dry and get stuck there. Likewise using Q tips and toothpicks will only push the water inside and damage the delicate circuitry of the charging port.
4. Blowing the water
You shouldn’t blow air from your mouth inside to remove the water inside. The force of your breath will push the water further inside damaging the device more.
5. Charging your phone
No matter how urgent anything is, you shouldn’t plug your phone into any charger without getting it fully dried. Connecting a wet phone with a power source is dangerous as it could lead to accidents.
6. Using dry rice or silica gel packets
Even if rice and silica gel have absorbing properties, they aren’t made to remove water from the charging port. They are a long-term solution for our clothes and shoes which can be compared to the phone that needs immediate action or would get damaged permanently.
7. Keep it under the sun
Sun has a high temperature and any prolonged exposure to the phone could lead to its overheating. Overheating can damage the battery of the phone leaving it useless. Hence you shouldn’t keep your phone under direct sunlight at all.
8. Using vacuum
The air pressure from the vacuum hose will damage the inner circuitry of the charging port more. And the hot air could also overheat the inner part of your phone.
Tips to prevent getting water in the charging port
The best way to remain away from any problem is to prevent it. The following tips will prevent water from getting into your charging port.
1. Use a waterproof phone case
Waterproof phone cases seal all the exposed openings of a phone including the charging port and earphone jack port. If you are not confident in protecting your phone from phone damage, it’s better to invest in a waterproof case from early on to prevent any damage to your phone
2. Use waterproof bags outside
Waterproof bags wrap around the phone providing an extra layer of protection to your phone. It is difficult to use a phone while they are covered but these bags are most useful during the monsoon or if you are an avid swimmer.
3. Don’t take your phone in the shower or swimming areas
You should keep your phone away from shower areas or any areas with water for that matter. You should keep your phone in lockers if you are swimming or if this is not possible, it is necessary to wrap the phone in a waterproof bag
4. Don’t take your phone to workouts
Most people have habits of listening to music while working out. The sweat and showers from the gym could accumulate moisture up the charging port. It could easily be prevented by keeping phones in lockers or using sweat-proof earbuds.
5. Regular maintenance of phone
You should regularly clean and sanitize your phone. This includes cleaning all the openings of the phone. You can do it at home or get it professionally cleaned each month.
Related FAQS
1. How did the water get into my charging port?
It can happen due to a variety of ways like leaving your phone in the bathroom while showing can build up the moisture in the phone. Or getting wet during rain with the phone, swimming with the phone, and spilling liquid on your phone.
2. Can I shake the water out of my phone?
Excessively shaking the water will not make it dry faster. It will still retain the moisture and hence you shouldn’t shake the water as it might go into other parts inside.
3. Can I keep my phone in the sun to dry it faster?
You might think that the sunlight will evaporate the water from the charging port faster but the truth is that the high temperature of sunlight can permanently damage your phone. Prolonged direct sunlight exposure can overheat the battery and make the screen unresponsive to touch. It can also damage the circuitry and cause the screen to pixelate and crack.
4. Should I use silica gel to dry my phone?
Even if the silica gel is said to have absorbing properties, they are used to absorb moisture from bags, clothes, and shoes for a long duration of time. If you want to dry your charging port, you don’t have days to waste. These silica gel packets take days to start working. Hence they are not good at removing the water from the charging port.
5. Can I dry my phone with a hair dryer?
Using a direct heat source like a hair dryer to dry your phone is not advised. It can overheat the phone, damaging the delicate inside of the charging port. You shouldn’t dry it using a cold setting as it could drive the water further inside the charging port.
6. Should I use rice to dry my phone?
Even if the rice has absorbing properties, it is not made to absorb the liquid out of phones. Rice can even block the circulation of air that is essential to dry the phone. And other particles of rice could get stuck inside the charging port harming it instead. Hence you shouldn’t put your phone in rice.
7. How can I know when my phone is dry?
You will know your phone is dry when you no longer get liquid detection alerts on your phone. Besides if the phone is not dead and the screen has no glitches or any problem with the touch, then it is completely dry.
8. When can I charge my phone again after drying?
You should ideally wait it out for a day before charging your phone again. This will ensure that the phone is completely dry or it could lead to an electric shock if used early. If no warning or alert is shown then you can go ahead and charge it.
9. What to do if the charging port is dry and the phone still shows an alert?
This could happen due to moisture buildup in the charging port. If you take a phone with you to showers or work out it could lead to moisture inside the port. You should keep the phone in a dry place with air circulation. If the alert still is there after a few hours, you should contact customer service on your phone.
10. Can I use a vacuum cleaner to remove water?
You might think that a vacuum hose will help you remove the water out of the charging port, but the air pressure could damage the internal part of your phone. The delicate pins and rods in the charging port won’t be able to handle the air pressure and could come loose damaging the phone more.
Conclusion
You might be confident that phones are water resistant but that doesn’t mean that they are waterproof. Water is still the enemy of electronic devices including your phone. The above-mentioned steps will help you to get the water out of the Charging Port of your phone. But if you have a cordless charger and your phone just has some moisture, you can charge and use it with no problem. The main thing is that prevention is better than cure, hence you should always take care not to use your phone in humidity and while eating or drinking. But if you do get yourself in a pickle then the above steps will help you to get water out of the charging port.