How to Dry Out a Phone in the Oven

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A wet cell phone can be repaired by drying it out.

You receive a phone call while shaving and while reaching for your cell phone, it drops in the toilet. You start to throw it in the trash immediately, assuming it is ruined. Before giving up on your cell phone, quickly try some remedies to remove the water first and then see if it still works. Take special precautions to avoid damaging your phone with the many remedies that may cause more harm than help.

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Step 1

Remove the battery from the phone. Avoid turning on the phone to see if it still works. Turning it on after it gets wet can short out the phone's circuits. Remove the SIM card as well if your phone has one.

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Step 2

Blow or suck as much air out of the phone as possible using a can of compressed air, an air compressor or a vacuum cleaner. Remove moisture through the same channels that the water entered.

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Step 3

Place the cell phone minus the battery on a baking sheet. Set in the oven and put only on warm and leave overnight. Do not use too much heat in drying out the phone. Hair dryers, microwaves and ovens at high temperatures can dry the phone, but they also can warp components and melt adhesives.

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Step 4

Consider a safer solution than leaving the phone in the oven, even on warm. Place the phone and disconnected battery in a bowl of uncooked rice. This helps safely pull remaining moisture out of the phone and battery. Leave in the rice overnight.

Step 5

Plug the battery back into the phone after leaving it in rice overnight. Power up the phone. If it doesn't work, then try leaving it in rice for another day. If it still doesn't work after that, then get a new phone.

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