Accidents and repairs
Water, drops, cracked screens, a phone that will not charge or start, and one that has been lost or stolen.
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Water got into your phone: what to do in the first hour
Switch it off, dry the outside, and forget the bag of rice. What actually saves a wet phone.
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You spilled a drink on your laptop
Unplug, switch off, turn it upside down. The next two minutes decide whether this is a cleaning job or a new motherboard.
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Your phone was lost or stolen: the first hour
Block the SIM and the mobile money wallet first, then lock and locate the phone. The order matters.
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Cracked phone screen: what to do before and after the repair
Stop the crack spreading, rescue your data, and know what an original, a copy and a refurbished screen really mean.
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Phone will not charge, or charges very slowly
Most of the time it is the cable, the plug, or fluff packed into the port. Check those before paying for a repair.
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Phone will not turn on
A completely dead battery, a frozen system, or a real fault. How to tell which, and the button combinations that bring most phones back.
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Forgot your phone’s PIN, pattern or password
There is no secret code that unlocks it. There are official ways back in, and they depend on whether your data is backed up.