Is There Life For Your BlackBerry After Water?
This week on the CNET website, Ina Fried wrote her story of her ordeal as she dropped her beloved BlackBerry in the commode. She expressed the panic we all feel. And like any good sleuth even googled for information. She also inquired of her carrier as to how often it happens, and also brought up about how phones have a liquid damage indicator which if red, will void the chance of a warranty replacement.
Of course in the event your phone does find itself immersed, the best thing to do is removed the battery as quickly as you can. Dry the phone off as well and the battery. Taking the phone there are various ways as to how to dry it out. Some advise wrapping the phone in paper towels, in silica gel packs, or even uncooked rice (typically this is suggested for 48 hours, not turning the phone on at all during that time). Whatever you do, leave the phone be for a day or two. Of course she had to test here and there and eventually her phone did dry out and it was soon typing normal once again.
What I loved most about the article was that Ina writes about her missing her emails, having to keep entertained with her iPod, and missing her phone. She also tried checking the phone throughout the drying process. That is one thing I would advise against. There is a chance the phone will short circuit which would not be good. Now if the phone is wet, this is a voided warranty. I also liked how she was so happy that her phone began to work again, and sharing her joy. This is equivelent to Dr. Frankenstein bringing life to his creation, “It’s Alive!!!!”
When the phone incurs liquid damage, it becomes an insurance claim and I am hoping that you would have your beloved insured. An insurance claim to process doesn’t take long to receive a phone and may even be in your hands before the drying handset is totally functional. Now here’s the most important thing to remember: the disk that comes with your phone when you purchase it….that disk is very important. The reason for that disk is to install the BlackBerry Desktop Manager so you are able to back up your files and information and to sync your BlackBerry to your pc. Don’t wait till the phone is wet to think about saving your information. If your phone short circuits and meets it’s untimely demise, at this point it’s too late to ask your wireless consultant or representative if they can transfer contacts. So please, if you haven’t already, install that disk and back up your phone, sync it, do those little things on a weekly or every other day basis so you’re prepared for an event such as this. Preparing for the end is highly recommended because trust me, you’re going to feel it’s the end of the world when you are without your BlackBerry for even a few hours, let alone days. Transferring your back up information to a new phone will be as easy as plugging it in to your pc and putting the back up file back onto your BlackBerry.
Have you ever dropped your BlackBerry in water? Did you try it out and did it work again? What method did you use? Please let us know and share your comments.
[via: CNET News]
