What to do if your phone gets wet

By OneTechPro · Updated November 4, 2026 · General guidance, not a diagnosis

Do this right away

• Take it out of the water and switch it off. Power running through a wet phone does the most damage.
• Don’t charge it, even if it seems fine.
• Take off the case and remove the SIM tray if you can do it without forcing anything.
• Wipe the outside with a soft dry cloth.
• Leave it somewhere dry, with good air around it.

Don’t do these

• Don’t put it in rice. It doesn’t reliably help and can leave dust inside.
• Don’t use a hairdryer, an oven or compressed air. Heat and air pressure can damage parts or push water deeper.
• Don’t shake it or press buttons to “test” it.
• Don’t plug it in to see if it still charges.

Why you should bring it in soon

Water leaves minerals behind, and corrosion builds up on the circuit board over the days after the accident. A phone that’s opened and inspected sooner has a better chance than one left for a week.

Salt water and drinks with sugar are worse than fresh water. Tell the technician what it was in.

Back up as soon as you can

If the phone comes back on, even briefly, back up your photos and data straight away. A phone that works again after getting wet can still fail later.

What we do at OneTechPro

We open the phone, look for water and corrosion, and tell you whether a repair looks possible and what it will cost before any work starts. We can’t promise every water-damaged phone can be saved, and we’ll tell you honestly what we find.