Now, this is a topic I’m very familiar with. My phone has been accidentally submerged in water at least 3 times. It’s gotten wet…if not daily, then at least weekly. Those paper tabs on the inside that detect whether the phone has gotten wet, voiding your warranty? All the water has made them melt away. There are so many dents in and around all its corners that the back panel doesn’t really like SHUT shut anymore. And, needless to say, the front glass panel is shattered. Bits of glass are actually starting to pop off as well. (It’s a classy life.)

See, once the phone started disintegrating in my careless hands, I just figured I’d run it into the ground before getting/annihilating a new phone. The problem is, that despite all the abuse, she keeps on trucking. (She’s a Samsung Galaxy S4.)

(I do have a new phone in waiting for the eventual day of my phone’s guaranteed demise. It’s a Samsung Galaxy S5, totally waterproof, and will be outfitted with a case meant for a rock climber. Know thyself, etc etc.)

SO! If you’ve ever dropped your phone in water, and now it’s totally not turning on or it turns on but you can’t get it to do anything, worry not. It might not be totally dead (yet). There is hope. This is my routine (yep, I have a “I dropped my phone in water again routine”). I hope it helps.

 
1. Take the battery out. Do not try to see if your phone “still works.”

Look, your phone is dripping water. Water is an electrical conduit. (Why you don’t pick up a running hair dryer that’s fallen into a sink/bath tub.) It may turn on right now because it’s not TOTALLY fried, but if you keep messing with it, you could eventually electrically fry the entire innards due to all the water sloshing about.

So, once you’ve dropped it in enough water, the only thing to do is pull the battery and hope you’ll be able to use your phone again in a couple days. Sorry, but true.

 
2. Take out your SIM card

As I said, your phone won’t be working for a few days, you may want to ask around for someone’s old phone or use an old phone you have lying around. Maybe your old college Motorola Razr will be vintage/hip by now.

 
3.Let your phone rest in a rice bath

Seriously. Pour several cups of rice into a bowl/Tupperware. Submerge all the pieces of your phone, separately, in the rice and cover it up.

The rice will slowly absorb the moisture coming off your phone as it dries.

 
4. Wait. At least 24 hours, even longer if you can stand it

This is the hardest part! Two weeks ago, I popped that phone + rice bath in direct southern light thinking it might dry faster. After a day, it wouldn’t turn on.

So, I let it rest overnight. Then, it’d turn on but the touch screen wasn’t responsive.

So, I let it rest until the next day. Boom, functioning phone.

So, just a little tip from me to you, fellow person who shouldn’t be trusted with several hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise in your pocket. Good luck!