How to fix your iPhone

Wet iPhone? Cracked screen? Here's what you can do.

Source URL: http://www.itworld.com/mobile-amp-wireless/108995/how-rescue-mobile-devices-catastrophes

June 02, 2010, 8:00 AM

By Joe Doherty, ITworld.com

Tidy Bowl Man wants to make a call...oops.

One of the most common problems that can negatively affect a mobile device is moisture. Most likely, you're safe if you're in a light rain storm. But what happens when your phone accidentally falls into a puddle? What if your iPhone decides it wants to follow Nemo?

The first thing to do is, obviously, remove it from the water and dry it off quickly. In most cases, this will work just fine. But if you've submerged the phone, then you may have a problem. According to Popular Mechanics, there are a few immediate steps to take:

1) Resist the temptation to turn on the device. This could damage the phone beyond reasonable repair.
2) Remove the battery and SIM card
3) Use compressed air or suck the water out (use your imagination). Do NOT use a hairdryer, as heat may cause damage.
4) Stick your phone in the middle of a large bowl of white rice and wait a few days. The rice will absorb the moisture from the nooks and crannies of the phone. Seriously. No, not kidding.

Next page: Crack in the screen

Crack in the screen

Dropping your phone into the toilet is fairly improbable (if it isn't, then keep that information to yourself). Dropping your phone on the sidewalk? Much more plausible. If you're lucky, a few scuffs and scratches are what you'll have to live with. But what happens if you crack the screen?

You can certainly send your iPhone over to Apple for repair. Dropping the phone is not covered under warranty, however, and you will end up paying several hundred dollars to have your phone fixed. Sometimes, that's all you can do (or buy another new phone). If you have a 2G iPhone, you can go to DirectFix and purchase a replacement screen. They even supply a video to help do the repair yourself:

Next page: Can't replace the iPhone battery. Or can you...?

Can't replace the iPhone battery. Or can you...?

As marvelous as the iPhone is, the biggest drawback for consumers is the fact that you can't replace the battery. The internal battery is sealed up extremely well in the slick casing. When the charge just doesn't hold after a year and a half, you have few options.

But since your warranty is gone anyway, why not try to replace the battery yourself? The tech heads over at RapidRepair.com have the parts and an extremely detailed step-by-step photo montage to walk you through it.

Next page: Accidentally put your iPhone on a rare earth magnet?

Accidentally put your iPhone on a rare earth magnet?

The only way to fix this is to send $20 to me.

Worth a try, right?

The truth is, your iPhone will be fine if run a magnet over it. In the old days of rotary drives, this would be a problem. But the iPhone uses non-magnetic storage (solid state), so there's no need to fret.

Next page: It's not easy being green

It's not easy being green

For a while, reports were coming through of green-tinted photos when using the iPhone camera. This gave the appearance of shooting in night vision. Granted, the iPhone's primary function is not to be a camera. That said, you bought it and it should work until you break it on your own.

The most common cause of the green was the iPhone's automatic white balancing feature. Which means it's pretty simple to fix. You can color-correct the photos on your computer with whatever photo software you prefer. Or, you can turn the auto white balance off.

Wet iPhone? Cracked screen? Here's what you can do.

Joe Doherty

iphone fix, iphone battery, iphone screen

Source URL: http://www.itworld.com/mobile-amp-wireless/108995/how-rescue-mobile-devices-catastrophes