9 Signs Your Laptop Has Water Damage & What You Should Do Next

Electronics and h2o don't operation well, and laptops are nary exception. Water harm tin wreak havoc connected your beloved device, whether it's an accidental spill, a bathtub drop, aliases rainfall exposure.

Usually, h2o harm connected a laptop is easy to spot, but this isn't ever nan case. Knowing nan signs of h2o harm is captious to cognize what to do adjacent successful nan dream you tin prevention your laptop.

9 Signs of Laptop Water Damage

You tin look for respective telltale signs erstwhile you fishy your laptop has h2o damage. Of course, only a technician tin afloat ascertain nan grade of nan damages, but knowing what to look for doesn't hurt.

1. Leaking aliases Dripping Water from nan Laptop

If you tin spot h2o dripping from nan ports of your laptop, it's a no-brainer—there's decidedly h2o damage.

However, nan grade of nan harm depends connected nan magnitude of water. If it's conscionable mini bits of wetness, it could beryllium condensation owed to humid conditions. If ample amounts of h2o are flowing from nan ports, your instrumentality astir apt came successful adjacent interaction pinch a h2o source.

No matter nan case, rescue your laptop from nan liquid root first—probably from a excavation aliases your toddler and nan bathtub. Get nan laptop distant from nan ample assemblage of h2o and drain it arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable without turning it on.

2. The Keyboard Stops Working aliases Malfunctions

Water harm tin beryllium sneaky, sometimes manifesting arsenic keyboard malfunction. This is particularly communal successful areas pinch precocious humidity.

Weeks and weeks of humidity settee into nan laptop, and suddenly, your keyboard doesn't respond to commands. As agelong arsenic your laptop didn't autumn aliases get deed pinch a batch of force, you should see it h2o damage.

3. Touchpad Stops Working

Water connected a touchpad usually leads to stickiness and reduces responsiveness. Water harm to nan motherboard tin besides origin nan touchpad to cease functioning aliases usability haphazardly. Though location mightiness beryllium other causes for a faulty touchpad, if your instrumentality has been adjacent water, you mightiness person nan problem narrowed.

4. Muffled aliases Distorted Laptop Speakers

If your speakers make crackling aliases muffled sounds, h2o whitethorn person damaged your device. Water tin origin corrosion and rust successful nan speakers' soul components, starring to mediocre sound quality.

Rusting occurs erstwhile nan h2o stays successful nan speakers for a agelong time. Moreover, nan membrane of laptop speakers is made of insubstantial that is easy damaged by liquid. This tin besides lend to mediocre sound quality.

5. Unexplained Network Connectivity Issues

If your instrumentality starts having web issues aliases getting web relationship correction messages, it's imaginable that h2o seeped into nan web paper and damaged nan hardware completely.

Water tin besides harm nan Wi-Fi module, a mini spot connected nan motherboard responsible for your PC's wireless web connections. Depending connected nan make of your PC, nan module is usually located adjacent nan separator of nan motherboard and adjacent to nan laptop's hinge.

This position makes it susceptible to h2o damage, considering that this laptop portion usually receives nan brunt of java spills.

6. Random Restarts aliases Shut Down

When h2o gets into your laptop, it tin create caller circuit paths (short circuits) connected nan circuit board, causing a sudden random restart aliases shutdown of your laptop. This happens because nan artillery was connected erstwhile it came into interaction pinch water.

Short circuits tin harm nan powerfulness rails, starring to nan uncontrolled restarts and shutdowns you mightiness beryllium experiencing.

7. Blurry aliases Distorted Screen

A blurry aliases distorted surface connected your laptop could beryllium a denotation of respective issues, 1 being liquid damage. Water tin harm a laptop's show and schematic cards, starring to a malfunctioning show unit.

8. Blue Screen of Death

The blue surface of death, popularly referred to arsenic BSOD, is simply a motion of a superior problem pinch your laptop's operating system. A BSOD could mean your laptop requires a lengthy repair aliases replacement.

Water harm to nan difficult thrust aliases processor tin consequence successful corrosion and short-circuiting. It tin besides make nan operating strategy unstable, resulting successful a BSOD.

9. Your Laptop Does Not Power On, Even With a Charger

It's a immense correction to plug your laptop into a powerfulness root if you fishy h2o damage. The laptop will apt not boot.

After nan spill aliases pour, location are apt short circuits connected your laptop's board, and charging it soon aft nan h2o harm will only make it worse.

What to Do When Your Laptop Gets Wet

Water successful your laptop needn't beryllium a decease sentence, but imperishable harm looms if nan correct steps aren't taken. Once you fishy h2o has entered your device, return nan pursuing steps to minimize imaginable damage.

Unplug First, Ask Questions Later

Unplugging your laptop is nan first measurement to forestall your instrumentality from heading to a watery grave. Water damages electrical components instantly, and nan harm is often irreparable.

If nan laptop stays connected aft nan spill, move it disconnected immediately. Then, unplug it from nan powerfulness source. If nan laptop turns disconnected connected its own, only effort to move it connected erstwhile you're definite nan h2o has dried.

Remove nan Battery, If You Can

Another measurement to return is to region nan battery. The artillery is your laptop's powerfulness source, truthful it should beryllium protected immediately. Other removable parts should follow, including nan difficult thrust and RAM. Before rubbing nan laptop components, crushed yourself, arsenic static energy discharge tin destruct circuitry.

Unfortunately, immoderate laptop models only let artillery removal pinch unscrewing. Turning your laptop upside down and sliding unfastened nan bottommost sheet holding nan artillery should activity for astir models. But for a MacBook and immoderate different laptops, you'll request to find a screwdriver.

Wipe and Dry

After pursuing nan preceding steps, you tin thoroughly cleanable your device. First, swipe its exterior pinch a barren cloth, including nan keyboard and screen. Wipe and barren thoroughly to destruct nan consequence of an electrical shock. Also, cleanable and barren thoroughly because bedewed outer components tin short nan soul components.

Once you've done nan above, time off your laptop to barren for astatine slightest 24 hours, but arsenic agelong arsenic you tin perchance time off it will springiness your laptop nan champion chance of turning connected again. It's champion to spot it upside down pinch nan surface open. You tin besides spot it nether a instrumentality to velocity up drying.

Reach for (Isopropyl) Alcohol

If you want to debar splurging astatine a repair shop, intoxicant is your champion bet. Isopropyl intoxicant pinch complete 90% attraction comes successful handy. In addition, you tin usage a toothbrush to swipe down nan components aft drying. It removes excess h2o and tin thief region and protect against corrosion.

Be observant erstwhile wiping down pinch your brushwood truthful mini committee components don't break off.

2 Water Damage Fix Myths to Avoid

Trying to DIY your laptop aft h2o harm tin beryllium disastrous, considering nan number of ways it could spell wrong. The net is besides rife pinch various ways to thief pinch this problem. Below are 2 celebrated opinions you shouldn't see if you person a water-damaged laptop.

1. Dry Out Your Wet Laptop With a Hairdryer

The hairdryer's power whitethorn sound for illustration a bully idea, arsenic nan 24-hour waiting play seems excessively long. But nan aggravated power is beardown capable to harm your laptop's components.

Blasting your laptop pinch a hairdryer will origin much harm than good. Take nan agelong way and fto your laptop barren connected its ain aliases nether a fan.

2. Rice Does Not Fix a Water-Damaged Laptop

Do not put your laptop successful rice. The atom story is widespread, and galore person reported occurrence pinch this method. But putting your instrumentality successful atom does not help. Instead, it mightiness worsen your laptop's condition.

Rice is mini capable to get into your laptop ports and enactment location for a agelong time. And atom is harder to get free of than water.

Prevent a Watery Grave

Most times, erstwhile h2o harm isn't extensive, drying useful immediately, and your laptop will beryllium backmost to afloat moving conditions. If not, a repair is connected nan horizon.

Because h2o tin destruct electrical components, a repair aft h2o harm typically intends hardware replacement. However, immoderate warranties screen h2o damage. But you must interaction your laptop's manufacturer.