How to Get Water Out of a Charging Port

by Himanshu Saxena

If you have dropped your smartphone in water or somehow managed to remove water from your phone, the first thing to do is to see if the water has gone anywhere near the charging port. If that is correct, you should read this article instead of panicking.

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This article will discuss various methods to remove water from your smartphone’s charging port. Also, you will learn what you should not do if the charging port has gotten wet.

How to Dry Your Charging Port – Quick, Easy Way

To remove water from your smartphone’s charging port, you can follow the steps below to ensure the smartphone does not get damaged and is dried thoroughly.

Dry Your Wet Phone using a towel

First, you should dry the smartphone using a towel or fabric that can absorb liquid quickly. It will help you avoid any physical or liquid damage from happening.

Make sure that you have cleaned the entire surface of the phone and dried it properly. Any remains of the water on your phone can cause much damage if not dried correctly.

Turn your Phone OFF

Now, switch off your smartphone to ensure no short circuit happens when the device is switched on. A short circuit may occur when the phone is switched on since there are electric charges present in the device.

Remove the Moisture

Let’s assume that the water has not entered the phone, and it is just a little moisture that your smartphone was exposed to, and you can dry it off using a microfiber or cotton cloth. All you need to do is to roll the cloth or cotton piece and put it inside the charging port. Remember to use a little bit of pressure when doing this and gently clean the port.

Use Sound to Remove Water

Although the latest technology smartphones have safety from any water damage with the Speaker Cleaner feature, you can look for the speaker cleaning feature in the Settings menu under the Additional Settings option.

If your smartphone does not have this feature, try using high-pitch sound vibrations to clean water from the charging port. You can go to the app or play store to find a speaker cleaning app (Speaker Cleaner- Remove water and boost sound).

Now, here is how you can remove water from your smartphone’s charging port or speaker:

Install the speaker cleaning app on your smartphone.
If you are using earphones or speakers, disconnect the device.
Go to the app, and switch on the Ear Speaker option to create sound waves.
Once the sound is on, put your phone in a position where the charging port is facing downwards.

Within 60 seconds or so, any water droplets inside the port should be out. You can repeat the process two to three times more to make sure there is no water inside the smartphone.

Remove the SIM and Battery

Now, the next step is to remove the SIM and battery of the smartphone to ensure that these two are not affected by water spillage or moisture. Your SIM card is crucial and contains all vital information. Even a little water can cause damage to your SIM card. You can open the SIM card by using a pin to unlock the small hole on the tray. Once the tray is out, remove the SIM and check that there is no water on the tray.

Also, if the charging port is affected by water, it can damage the battery, so it is crucial to remove it too.

Leave for Evaporation

After you have cleaned the charging port, let your smartphone out and wait for it to dry. It can take hours before your phone is dried. However, it would be best if you did not keep it under the direct sun to evaporate the water. Give it at least 30 minutes before you recheck the phone.

Put your phone in a sock and blow COOL air into it

For those who have a vacuum cleaner machine, please remove the hose from the suction end, and place it over the other end so that the hose blows the air out.

However, if you don’t have a vacuum machine, try using your hair dryer. Make sure that the hair dryer is in cool mode. Only use it if the dryer has a cold function.

Now, take a sock and put your smartphone in it and place the hose end of the vacuum or the dryer’s front in the sock and then both are taped together. After this, turn on the hose/dryer to dry your phone for a few minutes. Now, wait for around 3 hours before you use the smartphone again.

Don’t do this when Charging Port is Wet

While following the above steps in the given sequence, you must remember what not to do when trying to dry your smartphone’s charging port. Here are some essential things to remember and avoid when drying your smartphone’s charging port.

Blow Air Into the Charging Port

Blowing air with the help of your hair dryer or from your mouth into a smartphone’s charging or USB port when it’s still wet will only cause more problems. It is because if there’s water inside the charging port, it can move further inside the phone. Moreover, if you plug your phone into a charger, it may trigger electric charges and damage your phone further.

Use Heat on Your Device

Smartphones are not resistant to direct heat, and using the hair dryer or oven or putting it under the direct sun can damage the battery, seal, and even phone screen. Further, if you use direct heat near the charging port, the port can get damaged permanently.

Putting Your Phone in Uncooked Rice

Many people use a home remedy for the water in charging port problems. And putting your smartphone in a bag full of uncooked rice is the most common option suggested by people. Even though it may work, this is not advisable. While uncooked rice may help absorb moisture from your phone, it can also lead rice debris to get inside your phone’s USB port and charging port, creating functionality issues or damaging the device altogether.

Sticking Stuff Into the Port

Even though using cloth or cotton to remove moisture from your USB port or charging port is suggested, you must keep it from the ports. If a piece of fabric or cotton stays anywhere inside the port, it can disrupt your phone’s functioning.

Use Isopropyl Alcohol

Using isopropyl alcohol to clean your phone is a strict no-no since it consists of water components too. Hence, using this product for your already-wet phone will only worsen the problem. Also, isopropyl alcohol can efficiently conduct electric charges on your phone and damage the charging port.

Check your Waterproof IP Ratings

It is also crucial to check the waterproof IP ratings for your smartphone. If your phone has a 67 or above waterproof IP rating, your phone has a high dust tightness level and can survive even if dropped underwater. IP69 is the highest level of waterproof rating, allowing your phone to submerge and stay more than two meters deep in water, lasting 30 minutes without any damage. IP69 phones can also survive at 80 degree Celsius.

What to do if your phone is water resistant

While almost every smartphone today has water resistance written on it, it does not mean it is waterproof. Hence, even if the water resistance does not cause any direct damage, the presence of water inside the phone can damage the metal and connector strip, making the device stop working.

However, you can avoid possible damage if the phone is not charging.

And that is the reason behind smartphones’ feature wherein the charging stops if the system detects the presence of liquid.

When to override the water detection alert

Although it is not advisable, if, for some reason, you need to avoid the water detection alert on your phone, be aware that the phone is at high risk of getting damaged permanently. Now, if you want to override liquid detection notification, dry the outer side of the phone and use a wireless charger instead of a standard one.

After you receive the water detection alert again, remember to connect the device only when it has dried completely and then connect the wireless charger to the phone. Select the feature – Emergency Override – if the warning appears on the screen again.

What if my phone detects water when it’s dry

Even though your phone has not been in contact with water or any liquid, the detection alert appears on the screen. If so, use a torch light and check the charging or USB port for any dust particles or debris inside the port. If there is any debris, it may be why you are receiving the alert pop-up. Smartphone alerts sometimes mistake debris for liquid and send an alert on your screen.

However, if there is no debris, or if you have already cleared whatever was stuck in the port and are still getting the alert notification, the problem can be with the charging port itself or the charger is faulty. In either case, you should contact the technical team.

Contact Support

If there is no water inside the phone, but you still receive liquid detection errors, you should contact the support team. However, if water has led to this problem, you should know that liquid damage issue is not covered under the company warranty and may not be repairable. You can request a paid service, but it will only be helpful if the phone has not been damaged completely.

Conclusion

To wrap this up, if your smartphone gets water inside the charging port, you should consider the following steps:

Dry your wet phone using a towel or a cotton swab
Switch off your phone to avoid any damages
Remove the moisture from the charging port and USB port
Use speaker cleaning sound app to remove water residues
Remove your ‘phone’s SIM card as well as the battery
Leave the phone out for water to evaporate completely
Put your smartphone in a sock and blow cold air with the help of hair dryer

I hope the above steps prove helpful in resolving the issue with your smartphone. You should also check its waterproof IP rating to see how much damage can happen to your smartphone. If the above steps could have done the job, try to reach out to the official support team for your smartphone’s brand to get the appropriate assistance.