Does Liquipel Really Work?

If you’ve lost a phone to water damage in the past, you might want to consider getting the Liquipel service done to it. They say that they will coat your phone with a nano treatment that makes it so you could technically drop your phone underwater and it would still function when you fish it out. After seeing this in action we just had to see if all of the hype is worth it or not.

Overview
Water and electronics just don’t mix, and it’s always the electronics that are never the same after an encounter. Replacement plans typically don’t include water damage, unless you pay extra for it, and if your phone is under warranty, it definitely won’t cover you getting your phone wet. There are cases you can buy for your phone that will keep it dry, but they usually make your phone heavier and bulkier, and add the extra bit of inconvenience if you have to take your phone out of the case in order to use it.

The Claim
Liquipel claims that their process applies an invisible nano-coating to your phone, both on the inside and outside, so that it can survive a dousing of water and still work just fine for you. They say that it bonds to the phone on a molecular level, which is why when you get your phone back, it looks the same as when you sent it off. They send along a treated tissue so you can get an idea of how the coating works, as well as how well it works. We’re guessing they do this so you’re not tempted to test out your phone’s newfound water repelling nature.

The Hype
The hype comes from watching a phone get submerged in water and still work. If you’ve ever experienced a case of water damage, you know that it’s a phone’s worst enemy, and all of those urban legends of sticking your phone in rice don’t actually work for today’s sophisticated phones like the new iPhone. There’s also a bit of hype when companies talk about nanotechnology

and products that work at the molecular level, but we’ll save that for another day.

The Cost
Standard service is $60 and Priority is $70. The extra $10 gets them to treat your phone within a few hours of receiving it, instead of within days. If you want to speed things up even further, you can opt to have it shipped next day air instead of ground, but this nearly doubles the price.

The Commitment
You have to send your phone away for a day or two for them to treat it, and then wait for it to be delivered back to you, which depending on how dependent you are on your phone can be a big commitment for some. Perhaps you can switch to your old cell phone for a day or two if you still have it handy, or just rely on your home or office phone until you get your baby back.

Evaluation
The Liquipel company shows an iPhone playing a video while being submerged underwater, which is a pretty convincing display. A Liquipel rep has been quoted as saying that it’s not really a way to waterproof your phone, but serves more as a water repellent. He did say that it is good for being submerged in water for 3 feet for up to 30 minutes. You probably wouldn’t want to take it that far and expect your phone to still function like normal afterward.

But for fun in the water like poolside or at the beach, this should be enough protection to combat any errant splashes. It should also be effective at spills, dropping it in a puddle, dropping it in the toilet (gross), or the bathtub. The torture tests people have put their phones through only show how well the coating can work, and aren’t really recommendations for what you should do with your phone once you get it back from Liquipel.

Final Liquipel Review

The part that makes

us recommend Liquipel is that it doesn’t add anything else to your phone, and after a few days of getting it back you’ll forget it has been treated. The luxury of using your phone the same way you did before, without having to worry about water damage is worth the Thumbs Up. Compared to other methods of keeping your phone safe from the perils of water, this one is pretty cutting edge, and definitely gives some peace of mind.

Our Recommendation
Surely this is not the end of the evolution of waterproofing devices, but only the beginning. Somewhere someone is cooking up the next best way to get the job done that doesn’t involve sending your phone away. Also, phone manufacturers will probably start waterproofing things at some point, rendering this service obsolete. But for right now it seems to be the best thing on the market for protecting your phone from incidental water damage.

Official Website: Liquipel.com

What do you think? Does Liquipel work or not?