Dropped your phone in water? Do this in the first 10 minutes

Water damage is the most survivable phone emergency there is — if the first ten minutes go right. Most drowned phones aren't killed by the water; they're killed by what the owner does next: charging it 'to check it works', blasting it with a hairdryer, or burying it in rice for a weekend while corrosion quietly does its work.

The first ten minutes

One: get it out and power it off immediately — electricity plus water is what destroys circuits, so the single most protective act is cutting the power. Two: don't plug it in, don't wireless-charge it, and don't keep pressing the power button to check. Three: remove the SIM tray and let the port drain downward. Four: dry the outside with a lint-free cloth — nothing inserted into ports.

Then leave it off and get it looked at. Every hour a wet phone spends powered increases the odds of permanent board damage.

The myths that kill phones

Rice does nothing useful — it can't reach moisture inside the frame and its dust and starch add contamination to the ports. Hairdryers push moisture deeper and cook adhesives. 'It still works' is the most dangerous myth of all: minerals left behind as the water dries keep corroding the board for weeks, which is why phones commonly die a month after the swim they appeared to survive.

What IP ratings actually promise

IP68 means the phone survived fresh, still, room-temperature water in a lab — once, when new. It says nothing about pond water, salt water, chlorine, soap or a phone whose seals have aged through two years of charging-port lint and pocket flex. Treat water resistance as crash protection, not an invitation: it exists to survive accidents, not to permit swimming photography.

Professional cleaning: what we actually do

A proper water-damage service opens the phone, disconnects the battery, and runs the board through an ultrasonic bath that strips corrosion and mineral deposits from places no bag of rice will ever reach — then inspects, reassembles and tests everything. Ours costs from £69 depending on model, takes 48–72 hours, and it's no-fix-no-fee: if the phone can't be saved, you don't pay for the attempt, and we'll quote you honestly on a refurbished replacement instead.