The Most Dangerous Time Of Year For Your Phone!

Summer is here, and for many that means pool days, popsicles and fireworks. Summer is known for something else: a surge in phone accidents.

A large phone company in the US looked at repair data as well as claims from it’s phone protection plans and saw an 80% swell in water-related phone issues last summer, plus a 10% “bump” in cracked screens and a 65% surge in unrecoverable phones – those lost where they cannot be retrieved (think the bottom of a lake or dropped off a cliff). 

Beyond phones, the stores also see waterlogged tablets, e-readers and even laptops in the summer months as people take their work poolside.

The summer surge in tech accidents peaks the first long weekend of summer!  July 1st is potentially the most dangerous day for your phone, followed by the civic holiday and labour day.

No one wants to be without their phone – in fact, people now check their phones 352 times a day on average, and 60% said they could only go a day or less without their phones.

To Keep Your Phone Safe This Summer Experts Recommend the Following:

1. Remember, no phone is waterproof. Many of today’s phones are water resistant, meaning they can resist water penetration to some degree, but you shouldn’t take them swimming. Instead of trusting a plastic sandwich baggie to protect your phone, get a plastic phone pouch – they’re just as easy and much more effective. They even make floating versions so you can quickly retrieve your phone if it goes overboard.
   
2. If your phone does take a plunge, skip the rice. While rice can draw out some of the water, it leaves behind water vapour, which can cause the internal components to corrode over time, leading to more issues down the road. Silica gel packets tend to work better, but they’re still a short-term solution. The best thing you can do is bring the device to an a Tech Repair store, where an expert repair technician will fully disassemble the phone, clean and dry each component and reassemble the device, giving you the best chance at a long-term fix.
   
3. The type of water matters. Salt and chlorine accelerate corrosion, so if you drop your phone in the ocean or pool, it’s even more important to get the device properly cleaned and dried as soon as possible.
   
4. Fix your broken phone screen. A cracked screen makes your phone more vulnerable to liquid damage, even from summer humidity, which can seep through the cracks and slowly damage the phone.
   
5. Take added precautions on the long weekend. Add alternate contact information to your lock screen to triple your chances of having a lost phone returned to you.
   
6. Always backup your data. Schedule regular backups for added peace of mind in case your phone is lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair.