Can I save phone that fell in water?

I dropped my Nokia 7373 in a bucket of water. Is there any hope of it being revived? Ikamar Ekessa, Nairobi (via e-mail)

Not all phones get damaged the same way and sometimes it depends on what phone you have.

First, get a towel and remove the moisture on the outside of the phone. Then remove the battery and SIM card, wipe them and put them somewhere cool to dry. Do not put them outside in the sun.

Then get a hair dryer and dry the inside of the phone, taking care to keep the dryer a safe distance from the phone.

This should remove any moisture that may have collected inside, especially in the SIM card slot and the battery terminals.

One mistake you are likely to have made may have been to leave the phone on, or switch it on before drying it.

This can short-circuit the motherboard and destroy the phone, which is probably what happened to your handset.

The survival of the phone depends on how long it stayed wet, and whether you acted quickly enough to follow the correct procedures.

Bigger phones tend to take more damage well than smaller ones, but are not popular because of their size.

Remember water and electronic gadgets can mix without any harm, as long as the source of power or current is not active.

I have a Nokia E61, whose motherboard has a problem. Is it possible for me to get a new board for my phone, please advise. Vincent Ukhabi, Embakasi (via e-mail)

The motherboard contains all the phone’s electronic devices with the connectors at the back.

The front of the motherboard (above) houses all the communications devices with their connections at the back. This means that the main board is actually a pair of motherboards sandwitched together. Mobile phones, in most cases, have one motherboard.

This makes it impossible for any person who wishes to import these parts because the cost can be equal or close to the price of a new phone. I’m not yet aware of any shops that sell motherboards, but I would advise you to simply replace your phone.

My Nokia 6300 cannot access the web since installing Internet connection. What could be the problem? Brenda Kim, Nairobi (via e-mail)

I understand your frustration, and if it offers you some comfort, let me assure you that you are not alone. The data services offered by mobile phone companies are far from satisfactory.

Interruptions to services, even the Blackberry service, have become numerous, and the customer service departments in these companies are often either too slow, rude, or simply cannot be reached.

The Communications Commission of Kenya has set very low thresholds for such companies to meet in terms of service, yet they are not even meeting this. My suspicion is that their capacities are already overstretched. I suggest you go to your network service provider’s customer service centre.

The writer is an electronics technician. [e-mail]