First Aid Tips for a Dying Smartphone
It’s a sad day when you realize that a smartphone is nearing the end of its life. It could happen suddenly, or it could happen so quickly that you fail to realize that you probably could have saved it if you only knew what to do. Well, today’s your lucky day. I will share some things you could probably do to save a dying smartphone during some emergencies or some end of life scenarios.
A Deep Sea Swim
One of the most devastating days in a smartphone’s life is the big dip into a body of water. Unfortunately, it can happen to anybody. Sure, a smartphone could probably survive a splash or two, but a dip is a sure kill… or is it? It happened to me once, and I sure wish I knew of these things you could do to save a smartphone.
- Take off the Battery – Taking off the battery is the first emergency measure you should do. It cuts off all the electricity going through your device, preventing a massive short circuit breakdown. Sure, it may not work for everyone, but many phones were saved from sure death by this fast thinking solution. Oh, make sure to take it out of the water first.
- Keep it Off and Separated – I managed to do the first step right away, but my big mistake was putting it back in before everything was high and dry. I ended up continuing the short circuit process. So make sure to that the phone is completely, utterly, and irrevocably dry before you try to power it back up. Wait if you have to. It’ll be better than having a dead smartphone on your hands.
- Get some Rice – Okay, this may sound weird to you, but rice is a wet smartphone’s friend. You see, rice is highly water absorbent. By dropping and covering your smartphone in rice, the rice would absorb all the moisture from the smartphone and dry it all up. The rice attracts the water away from the phone, preventing it from being short circuited.
A Loop De Loop
Many would say that the end of a smartphone’s life is best hinted by a horrific case of boot loops. When a phone keeps turning off and getting stuck at getting back on, you will most definitely feel rather scared. This is not normal, and this could be a hint of a dying phone. This was certainly the case with many Samsung Galaxy S III smartphones which began with boot loops before dying out completely.
Fortunately for you, this might not be the case right away. While a boot loop can certainly end up damaging your phone, it is not the end of everything. You can still save your phone from certain death by simply flashing a ROM. You could reinstall your current ROM or install a totally different one. You need to make sure you wipe the phone clean before you install the ROM, giving you a clean slate. This is likely to remove whatever is corrupted or broken from the previous installation.
