That moment where you drop your prized possession into the toilet, bath or sink (really any receptacle that holds water) is cringe inducing. This phone, the one you have been coveting for nearly a year and have spent the best part of your wage check to buy has now been reduced to a drippy, soggy mess that is good for nothing apart from the bin. What do you do? Reach for the Uncle Ben’s whilst shouting at your spouse that we don’t need to eat tonight, as your phone needs to live to fight another day? Or even worse, dig out the old contract/home insurance policy to then find out that your excess is nearly the same cost of your phone!
Well the clever little boffins at Reviveaphone have been working away in their kitchens to find out what it actually is that causes water damage – and how they can try and fix it. Lo and behold, they claim to have found the answer in the form of some potent industrial chemicals!
Whilst us the common man/woman doesn’t have access to these chemicals we can go down to our local supermarket and pick up the Reviveaphone Kit to be kept in the just-in-case pile. The real question is should you buy one in the event that the worst happens? Join me as we find out.
I have been doing some experiments with waterproofing my phones and generally doing things that would make a warrenty proof reader blush. This is spectacularly demonstrated in my most recent test with Reviveaphones Splash product test that I did the other day. I may have pushed that one too far and as result I now have a water damaged Lumia 520 that either needs rescuing or melting down for scrap.
What does it do?
Reviveaphone will allow you to stripout all the nasty bits from your phone that were exposed to that liquidy death. It is not the liquid that causes the issue, it is all the other bits that make the phone not play ball. The magic liquid is 70% proof Isopropyl alchohol and it will actually break down the impurities in the liquid resulting in a pure fast evaporating liquid. It is the fast evaporating bit that is helpful here. The idea is that after the bad liquid gets on and into the phone, then you immerse the phone into the good Reviveaphone liquid. After this, the phone is left for 24 hours to “dry out”. Once this is complete your phone should work again allowing you to keep using it until you are able to fund/find its replacement or get it fixed professionally.
How do you do it?
I have created a video starring the ailing hero, my Lumia 520 which as we know, has a non-responsive screen. The phone did not have any liquid ingress indicators on the outer body so it was difficult to see what the level of ingression was, but there was definitely water in the headphones jack so it must be elsewhere as well. Check the video for the full run down. Let’s dunk it back in some water!
Yes, but does it work?
After waiting the required 24hrs, I was keen to see if the Reviveaphone product had done its job and fixed my phone. Roll the VT!
Woohoo!! The phone is alive again but it is not pretty. Oh well, at least I am able to back up my pictures of my dog and all the dog barking songs that he listened to whilst choosing his bowl at the pet shop! I am going to leave the phone for another 24 hrs to let the moisture fully work put of the phone. If I do decide that I want it to be fully repaired instead of revived, then the aforementioned boffins at Reviveaphone are again able to help, as they also now offer a send-in to repair service. If the Lumia 520 was my main phone I would consider getting the screen replaced once I have got any and all data off. Here are some more pics of the phone.
Conclusion
This is where I see the Reviveaphone solution having its biggest wins; in those situations were just getting the phone working again will suffice. Although it does seem like magic, the kit is not going to bring your phone back to a pristine state – but it will bring it back, and that is the really important part here. Not bad for the small price of £14.99. I for one will be keeping one of the kits in my house in case the worst were to happen to any of our phones in the future. So if you are want to follow the Scouts mantra and “be prepared”, then go out and pick up one of these kits now.
Link- Reviveaphone