Gadgetory

hey guys I'm Sharon Vaknin and today I'll show you my go-to solution for drying out a wet cell phone plus how to prevent these accidents from happening in the future so say you're out enjoying lunch in the Sun when suddenly fill a big glass of iced water all over before you do anything turn your phone off immediately before the water has had a chance to come in contact with the circuit boards and short-circuit when it comes to drying out a wet device I've heard plenty of non solutions you've got the hairdryer the oven the bag of rice and even the microwave well let me set the record straight by telling you that none of those solutions are reliable the first thing you want to do is remove any parts you can such as the back cover the battery and the SIM card and dry them off with a towel then do the same thing with the outside of the phone now here comes the secret ingredient silica gel packets they're desiccants so they're designed to absorb moisture very efficiently collect these as you find them in your packaged products because they'll come in handy for times like these and if you don't have any on hand order some online they're cheap or buy a dedicated product like the beasty bag which is essentially the same thing what these magical packets will do is absorb all of the moisture trapped in your phone without damaging it so grab a handful and put them in a zipper top bag then grab your phone and any other parts like the battery and Nestle it among all of the packets seal the bag and then wait about 72 hours for the phone and any parts to completely dry when you're 72 hours are up grab your phone put it all back together and try to turn it on hopefully if you did everything right it'll be back in working condition but remember two things first your warranty is probably void most phones have a water indicator that let the manufacturer know if your phone came in contact with any liquid on the iPhone 5s for example it's here in the SIM card slot the second thing is that even if your phone goes back to working condition there were parts that were exposed to water and they can corrode over time so if your phone is dying a slow and painful death you know exactly why so that's what you should do if your phone gets wet but if you want to make sure this doesn't happen in the future you have a few options my favorite for the klutzes out there is the lifeproof case it's waterproof shockproof freeze proof you name it it works by fully enclosing your phone so that if you drop it it's safe this is my real phone by the way and that's how much I trust this case a more temporary solution is a waterproof pouch this is something you would use while swimming or doing water sports so that your phone is safe from any splashes plus you can take underwater photos finally keep an eye out for phones that are waterproof and water resistant the Sony Xperia z1s is just one example but there are plenty more to come so just remember that if your phone takes a dip it's not the end of the world and if you know that you're prone to these kinds of accidents now you know how to keep your phone safe if you have any questions or tips of your own hit me up on Twitter and check out how to see Netcom for the written version of this guide for CNET I'm Sharon Vaknin