Did you know?

In 2003, when I first registered my phone number with The National Do Not Call Registry, the registration was supposed to last for 5 years and would then have to be renewed. I recently read an article in a national magazine that suggested as it has been 5 years since the Registry was launched, that anyone who registered then would now need to register again.

When I began writing this article, I thought I would just remind people to register, but then I checked the Registry website. Come to find out that the registrations will not expire! According to Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Lydia Parnes, “the Commission now commits that it will not drop any telephone numbers from the Registry based on the five-year expiration period pending final Congressional or agency action on whether to make registration permanent.” If you want to read the whole statement, you can find it here.

So, you don’t need to register again, at least not at this point. Also, I was reminded while on the website that it was possible to register cell phones as well.

 

Saving a Wet Cell Phone

Have you ever gotten your cell phone wet? The other day I washed mine. Yep, that’s right, it was in the back pocket of my jeans and went through a complete wash cycle!!! Spun dry and all!! After freaking out for a few minutes, I did what any good librarian would do…I went to the Internet and sure enough there is all sorts of information out there to help you save your cell phone.

Two of the websites I looked at are WikiHow and Yahoo Tech. After looking a number of other sites as well, I came up with a plan!

1. Don’t turn on the phone. Dry it off completely and take the back and battery and dry them as well.

2. Let all parts dry for at least 2 days…don’t cheat! One site suggested the back of a computer because it is nice and warm, so that’s what I did. Another site suggested a 250 degree oven for 5 hours. I was a little too chicken to give this a try! However you do it, it is imperative that you let the phone dry completely.

3. Put it back together and turn it on. If it does not turn on immediately, try putting it on the charger. The battery might be dead.

I followed these steps and miracle of miracles, my phone worked! I did have to recharge the battery, but my phone is now working perfectly.

Of course, we are just talking about a cell phone that is wet with plain water….other liquids present other problems.

So, don’t despair if you get your phone wet, just decide on your plan using the above references and be patient….be very patient!