What to do if you think your Samsung Galaxy Note is water damaged

Have you dropped your prized smartphone into some kind of liquid? If you’ve managed to drop your Samsung Galaxy Note down the loo, into your pint or, for some strange reason, you’ve taken it swimming with you (don’t laugh, it has been done) you would be forgiven for thinking that it’s the end of the line. However bad the situation may seem, it is possible to save water-damaged phones, as long as you act quickly.

So the next time your Samsung Galaxy Note suffers water damage, follow our quick tips to get it dried out as quickly and as safely as possible:

  1. Retrieve it from the liquid as quickly as you can. If it’s turned off, don’t turn it back on because doing so is likely to cause a short circuit. If it’s on or in sleep mode, you’ll have to choose between two options; neither of which is very satisfactory. Either power down or leave it in sleep mode, and hope that you don’t receive any notifications.
  2. Remove any cases, and take out the SIM card. If you’re able to remove the battery, then do so. Limit the places where the liquid can linger to avoid the possibility of further damage.
  3. Use a soft cloth to dry off your phone. Turn it upside down and give it a gentle shake to remove liquid from sockets and ports.
  4. Now for the fun bit – rice and silica gel sachets (you know those little bags of gel you get with your new shoes) can help to draw liquid from your phone’s interior so stick your Galaxy Note in a bowl of rice, or in a plastic bag filled with silica gel sachets and leave it there for 48 hours. Never use a hairdryer, microwave or oven as heat may cause more damage to the internal components.
  5. For those of you who have a bit of techie knowhow, you can unscrew the bottom screws to access the interior, remove the battery and then use a soft cloth to absorb any liquid in there. However, do be aware that accessing the interior will invalidate your phone’s warranty.

Of course, to be on the safe side, if your Samsung Galaxy Note has water damage, simply bring it to the iPhone Repair Centre in Preston and let us wave our magic wand over it. We’ll do our best to get it all dried out and back to you as quickly as we possibly can.