How to Save a Cell Phone
By Cara, age 13, California
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
Hey, Cyberpeeps! It's Cara!
Before I start, I just wanted to say thanks for coming to the Sweet Designs Magazine website! It really means a lot to all of us writers! :]
This month's "How to" will be covering a very important issue. "What issue is that?" you may be asking yourself. Well, this issue is about cell phones and water! Clearly, electronics and water don't mix. But should they ever happen to cross paths, what is a person to do?
Now, before I give you a lesson on saving the life of a cell phone, I think I should rewind a bit. *Ahem* Last week, my sister got a brand spankin' new cell phone. Grrr... So when my dad was using the house phone, and I incidentally had to have a very important gossip fest with my besty, I decided it wouldn't hurt to use the cell for 10 minutes. WRONG!
Not only was I talking on the phone, but I was also doing the dishes. Now you can only imagine the horrors of doing the dishes with a cell phone held to your ear, but when Cara does it mayhem is bound to occur! So when I dropped a pot on the floor and bent down to pick it up, the cell phone slipped from between my shoulder and my ear, and went straight into a sink full of hot soapy water!
Oh no!
After stalling for a few seconds, I grabbed the cell phone out of the water. My mind was racing! I was in an OMG, I'm gonna rip my hair out panic. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to help the cell ... and the poor little guy died a short while later. :[
So, to prevent this from happening to all you out there reading this, I did some research and found out what would be best to do when this type of thing happens. I cannot promise this will always work, but I do hope you'll try it. Trust me, a cell phone losing its life is tragic ... especially when my sister just had cute pink rhinestones put on it.
Here's how to deal with it:
1. Get it out of the water ASAP. Don't sit around looking wide-eyed. Pull it out!2. Take out the battery. This step is vital, so DO NOT ignore. You have to cut the power to the phone. Many circuits inside the phone can survive being drenched in water if there is no power source.
3. Remove your SIM card. If your cell doesn't have a SIM card, then this step obviously doesn't concern you. Most of your peeps' numbers and such are stored on this card. SIM cards are pretty tough, and usually survive water damage. Just pat it dry with a towel and leave it aside.
4. Grab a towel. You need to remove as much water as possible. Get a towel, and work those fingers!
5. Allow the phone to dry. You need to allow the phone to dry unless you want to lose ring tones, graphics, and in some cases contacts. Be patient. Don't try putting the battery back in to see if it works. This could damage the phone with a short circuit. Remember to put it someplace warm, dry, and uncovered so that the water can evaporate.
6. After you have waited about 3 days, making sure everything is clean and dry, you are ready to test your phone. You can then re-attach the battery to the phone and see if it works.
I hope this was useful to all of you readers! Thanks for stopping by!
Love forever,Cara
P.S. I now officially owe my sister $92 ... bummer!
