Did your phone get trapped in a humid environment, and there's moisture in its screen, charging port, camera lens, or anywhere? Is your phone not charging because of the fog formed in its charging port? Do you find it hard to read the content displayed on your screen, or the touchscreen is malfunctioning because of moisture built up under the screen? We've come to your rescue. Here are several tips and tricks on how to remove moisture from phones.
How to Remove Moisture From Phones
While we usually hear about water-damaged devices, moisture is another agent that can damage your smartphone if care is not taken. The most common places where you’ll notice wetness on your phone are inside the charging ports, under the screen, inside the headphone jack, and under the camera lenses.
Meanwhile, the scary thing is that your phone doesn't have to drop the device into a water body or splash liquid on it to get moisturized. Your mobile phone can get damped while in a humid place, inside a steamy pocket/bag, inside a plastic bag, after rain splashes, after dropping your phone into a water body, or if you mistakenly forgot it inside your refrigerator.
That aside, is it possible to dry out your phone without visiting the repair center? Yes, it is. Here’s how to remove moisture from phone components.
Disconnect the Phone From the Power Source
Powering down your phone is the first step to take, as water/moisture and smartphone components don’t play along. Do not plug in the phone to any power source, and, if possible, you can remove the battery. We're only doing this to prevent the moisturized components from damaging. Once your phone is dried up, you can keep using it again. But before powering it on, complete these guides on how to remove moisture from the phone first.
Detach Your Stuff
Once you've disconnected the phone from power, what's next is to remove your stuff. Doing so ensures that they'll not get damaged. It'll also expose your phone to fresh air, allowing the moisture to evaporate faster. So, go ahead and remove the phone cover, your SIM cards, memory card, headphones, embedded stylus pen, and everything removable. If there’s moisture on these parts already, clean them with a clean cloth and keep them lint-free
Start the Drying Process.
A) Leave Your Phone to Evaporate.
Since your phone isn't waterlogged, the most efficient way to dry up the moisture is to let it evaporate. Just leave the phone somewhere for 1 – 2 hours to let it dry up.
Moisture will naturally evaporate within a few hours when you place your phone in an open room with a warm temperature. If you're on a typical warm day, put your phone by the window to catalyze the drying process. If the outer part of the phone is wet, you can use a microfiber cloth or some paper towels to clean it before you put it where it can dry naturally.
Meanwhile, avoid placing the phone under direct sunlight or in a room with a high temperature, trying to make it dry faster. You'll only introduce more problems.
B) Use a Vacuum Cleaner.
If you don’t have the luxury of time to let the moisture evaporate, you’ll be able to suck out a good volume of the fog with a vacuum cleaner. Use a compact vacuum to suction excess mist out of all the holes on your phone – the charging port, headphone jack, SIM card slot, and anywhere the liquid or moisture may be hiding.
Meanwhile, adhere to only using a compact vacuum and no hairdryers or anything that can inflict more problems.
C) Try Some Silica Gel Packets.
If you've got some silica gel packets, it could also serve as an agent to rescue your wet cell phone. They’re a good drying agent that is affordable, especially if you have them in possession. If not, you can also get some packets of silica gels online, but ensure it'll not be too late before they arrive.
Once the silica gel is available, put it inside the same plastic bag with your phone. It should absorb the moisture in no time.
D) Maybe to Put Your Phone in Uncooked Rice?
Raw rice, also known as instant rice, is another method of drying up a wet cell phone, although not as effective as most of the methods mentioned earlier. If possible you have no access to silica gel packets to help absorb moisture from your phone, you can put it in rice.
However, that's usually a long process since you'll have to power down the device and leave it inside the bag of rice for 2-3 days to allow it to dry completely.
The Right Ways to Dry Out Your Phone
You might be tempted to place your phone inside an oven or under direct sunlight to dry it up quickly, but don’t do that if you still need the phone. Instead, here are the right ways to dry out your phone:
- If the moisture is only outside the phone, you can clean it with a microfiber cloth.
- With a moisturized phone, you can detach all your accessories from it and leave it inside a warm room or by the window to dry out naturally. Moisture in your phone screen, charging port, camera lens, the headphone jack will dry out naturally if you can wait patiently.
- If not, use a vacuum cleaner to suction out the moisture or water from the phone.
- You may also seal your phone in a plastic bag with some packs of silica gel since it's a good water absorber.
What Not to Try While Drying up a Wet Phone:
- Do not place it under direct sunlight. The high temperature from the sun may damage some components of your phone.
- Do not use dryers with high temperatures. You'll only inflict more damage on the phone.
- Do not turn on or keep using the wet phone. You may want to reply to a text or two after detecting water or moisture in your phone, but do not do that. The proper way to save the electrical components of your phone is to power off the phone as quickly as possible.
How to Remove Condensation in Camera Phone Lenses
If any of your phone's cameras are foggy because of the moisture content formed inside its lens, here are a few ways you can dry it out.
- The first way is to power off the phone and place it where the moisture can dry up for several hours. You can leave it in a warm environment to speed up the drying process. However, do not put your phone in an oven, under direct sunlight, or in a coal room.
- If you can’t wait for it to dry naturally, try using a vacuum cleaner, a can of compressed air, or a hairdryer set to low temperature. Be careful while doing that, though, so you don't end up damaging the camera lens.
Request Phone Repair Service at Carlcare Service Center
If you’re still unable to remove moisture from your phone, or it has affected it, you may need to visit the repair center. Moisture and water damage may affect smartphone components such as charging ports, camera lenses, headphone jacks, motherboards, screens, and just anything that comes in the way.
If your TECNO, Infinix, or itel smartphone got damaged by moisture or water, you don't have to stress yourself looking around for reliable repair service. Carlcare Service is always ready to help you.
As the official after-sales service provider for TECNO, Infinix, itel smartphone users, Carlcare offers top-notch, affordable, and high-quality repair service. Placing phones in rice might not fix your water-damaged phone, but we can in the shortest possible time. Start by booking a repair reservation with us, then come, and let’s handle the rest.
How to Locate Carlcare Service Center
Ready to fix your moisture or water-damaged smartphone? We’re somewhere around you! You don't have to walk miles to get to the official service center. You can find us near you with the steps below:
- Visit our Service Centre Locator
- Provide your area
- Get a list of service centers near you and pick your preferred center to get their contact details
Meanwhile, it’s far easier to locate us using our mobile app:
- Launch the Carlcare app on your phone or get it from the Play Store
- Sign in to your account
- Tap Location below the screen.
- Grant the requested location permission
- That's it. You'll see a list of our certified service centers near you with their contact details.
Final Thoughts
Moisture content in your cell phone might not be as severe as water damage, but you also need to act fast to make that true. Once you detect fog forming anywhere on your phone, use any of the methods mentioned in this article to dry up the phone.
Meanwhile, if your phone got damaged as a result of the moisture content, you’ll need to visit the repair center for professional assistance. Start by booking a repair appointment with Carlcare if you use a TECNO, Infinix, or itel smartphone.
