Panic. It’s the first emotion you’ll feel if you ever see your BlackBerry immersed in water — or worse, soda or another sugary liquid. If it’s the latter, well, you might be out of luck. I’ll give a suggestion later on, but it’s really for the device-savvy only. For now, let’s stick with the problem at hand.
The first thing to do, obviously, is to get your BlackBerry out of the water as soon as possible. Next, pull the battery and wipe it dry. Make sure to store it in a cool, dry place. Then it’s on to your device. I would suggest taking out a dish towel and laying the BlackBerry on it, screen up. After 10 or so minutes, flip it over. This will drain some of the water out of the device. It won’t get it dry, but it’s a start.
At this point, many are tempted to take a blowdryer to the device. I would caution against this. Not only will it cause the device to become very hot, but it also causes condensation while it blows. You might, for instance, see the inside of your screen fog up. This happened to me when I tried to blowdry an old cell phone. While your BlackBerry might work later on, this is still not ideal.
What I would recommend is — and you might think I’m nuts:
Yup. Stick that baby in a container of rice. The theory behind it is simple. Rice absorbs moisture. The idea is that this will suck the moisture out of your wet phone, eventually rendering it operable. However, and I cannot state this strongly enough, wait 48 hours before inserting the battery! I’ve jumped the gun before and my device has worked, but this comes as a strong caution from the tech people I know. There’s a chance, albeit small, that you short circuit the thing.
Note, too, that your warranty does not cover water damage. If you try to get a warranty replacement, your BlackBerry will indicate that there has in fact been water damage, and your claim will be denied. Those who have insurance — which should be everyone, considering how expensive BlackBerry devices are — should still be able to file a claim.
If it’s something other than water that drowned your BlackBerry, cleaning it might be a bit trickier. Of course, pull the battery first. Then, you’ll have to clean it with demineralized water. For instructions on how to disassemble your BlackBerry, check out BlackBerry FAQ. That’s for the 8800 series, but they have them up for most BlackBerry models. Warning! Do not do this unless you’re confident of your ability to disassemble, clean, and reassemble your BlackBerry.
