2FA + Wet Phone

[Syko Nachoman]

Earlier tonight, I spilled a nearly-full glass of water on my phone. I currently have it drying, but I read that you're supposed to let it dry for 48-72 hours before turning it back on, otherwise you could cause severe damage to the phone. (And no, I don't happen to have any rice on hand.)

The problem is that I'm currently working from home, and all of the systems that I need to log in to require two-factor authentication. This means that without my phone, I won't be able to access my email or connect to the company's VPN on my work laptop, meaning I won't be able to get any work done. I just tried accessing my work email, and the only 2FA options were to have a text sent to said phone or call said phone. There were no other options for logging in. This means that without turning on the phone, I won't be able to get done anything work related.

Is it worth the risk of turning the phone on in the morning (by that point, it will have had about 12 hours to dry) and seeing if I can use it to log in? I'm wondering if my case is less severe than most, since most of the articles I read seemed to imply that the phone had been dropped/submerged in liquid for several seconds, whereas all I did was spill some water on top before immediately moving + drying it. I'm thinking that my phone probably took on less water than the average case. But the obvious problem is that if the phone does break, then I won't be able to log into anything at all. The phone is a somewhat old and inexpensive model, so I'm less worried about not having a phone, and more worried about not being able to enter these 2FA codes, which is about 99% of what I use my phone for anyway.

I have considered taking personal days (and using my personal email to contact coworkers to let them know), but there is some important work that I need to get done before the end of the week, and I don't think I will be able to get it finished in time if I take tomorrow off.

What would you do in this situation?

[User 180565 is taking donation]

Lately I've heard that rice isn't that good for phones because it could get stuck inside ports, it would be nice to know what type of phone it is unless I missed it in your post. If it doesn't turn on your best bet is to probably look at a new phone.

I do believe there are services out there that can transfer data from broken phones. I could recommend the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro or if you want a good budget device the galaxy s8 which is waterproof and can be found for under $150.

Worst case scenario I'd just contact your bosses letting them know about the incident and I'm sure they'd be understanding or possibly giving you better advice on what to do about the situation.

[daniel]

Check the phone, see if you can see any water visible in the camera lens or other areas. If you can't then it may be okay to turn on. Avoid charging it, but trying to power it up briefly should be fine.

Alternatively- if you just need a quick SMS based 2FA then an option is to put your SIM card in another phone nearby, a family member or friend's for example. Your phone number is tied to the SIM so the 2FA text should go to the other phone if it has your SIM in it.

You're right that a splash is usually less bad than a submersion. It's probably okay as long as it didn't soak into the phone. Water damage is highly variable so you never know. Hope for the best think about replacement options in case it doesn't come on or seems to have issues.

[Patrick [ASE]]

As said above, rice can get into ports, if you want to try rice, put the rice in something like a sock and wrap the soce around the phone
or put the phone in the socke and put in a bowl of rice

[daniel]

Skip the rice. It's a placebo at best. Usually it just delays drying it out in better ways or seeking a repair.

For a truly wet one, it's better to leave it near moving air and then have the phone opened ASAP.

[Syko Nachoman]

Update: The phone still seems to work fine, so it looks like I was lucky. I went ahead and added an alternate phone number to my 2FA options, and I'm now keeping my phone in a place that is far from my drink coaster instead of right next to it.

Jan 27, 2021 4:37:48 GMT -8 daniel said:

Alternatively- if you just need a quick SMS based 2FA then an option is to put your SIM card in another phone nearby, a family member or friend's for example. Your phone number is tied to the SIM so the 2FA text should go to the other phone if it has your SIM in it.

This is a good backup plan in case the phone ever does stop working (for whatever reason).

Also, I think everyone missed the part of my OP where I said I didn't have any rice on hand, as this has now turned into a rice discussion for some reason.