Dropped It, Dunked It: What to Check on a Damaged Vape
A vape dropped on concrete, sat on, crushed in a bag or fished out of a pool is a different problem from one that simply stopped working. If yours never took a knock and just won't fire, start with our quick fixes guide. This one is for the device that had an accident.
Check it before you puff it
The instinct after a drop is to take a draw and see if it still works. Do the opposite. Inside a sealed disposable, a lithium cell sits alongside the liquid reservoir and coil (see what's inside a disposable) — and a stressed cell warns you first.
1. Look at the whole body, not just the screen
Turn it under a light. Scuffs and paint transfer are cosmetic. You're hunting for a crack, dent, puncture, split seam, or a body that has changed shape — any bulge, swelling or blistering. Fire and Rescue NSW lists swelling or bulging, leaking, cracks, dents, punctures and crushing among the conditions that make a battery damaged, and its advice is blunt: never use or charge one.
2. Smell it, listen to it, feel it
Smell the body and seams, not the mouthpiece: both Fire and Rescue NSW and the Queensland Fire Department flag an unusual or pungent odour, and a venting cell smells sharp and chemical. Queensland Fire Department names popping and hissing explicitly — that comes from a cell, not a knocked-about shell; a soft rattle is just a loose internal part. Then feel it: warm or hot while idle, not puffed and not on charge, is on both services' do-not-use list.
3. Check for liquid, then take one draw
Condensation in the mouthpiece is normal. Liquid weeping from a seam, airflow slot or charging port means a seal or the reservoir has cracked — not the same as everyday leaking and spitting. If everything above is clean, take one draw and stop. Burnt or flat flavour after an impact usually means the wick has shifted off the coil, and it rarely comes back (see burnt taste).
What it means, and what to do
| What you see | What it usually means | Keep using it? | Next step |
| Scuffs, scratches, chipped paint | Cosmetic only | Yes | Carry on |
| Cracked shell or split seam | Casing no longer protects the cell | No | Retire it, council e-waste |
| Soft rattle inside | Something internal came loose | Not really | Retire it; don't pocket it |
| Mouthpiece bent or pushed in | Usually cosmetic; sometimes a blocked airway | Yes, if it draws normally | Watch for leaking |
| Screen or LED dead, still fires | Display fault, not the cell | Yes, with attention | No readout — expect it to cut out unannounced |
| Hissing or popping | Cell venting | Stop now | Outside, clear of anything that burns; 000 if it vents |
| Swelling, bulging, blistering | Cell failure | Stop now | Same, and handle it as little as possible |
| Hot to touch while idle | Cell failure | Stop now | Same |
| Odd chemical smell | Possible venting | Stop now | Same |
| Liquid leaking from the body | Reservoir or seal cracked | No | Retire it |
| Went in water, now won't fire | Water in the electronics | No | Retire it; don't dry and charge |
| Wet USB-C port | Water path to the board | No | Never plug it in wet |
Water is its own category
Fire and Rescue NSW counts a battery that has been wet or in water as damaged in its own right, and Queensland Fire Department singles out submersion — salt water especially — as reason to treat a battery as dangerous even if it looks fine. So a device that went in the sink, pool, surf or wash is done, whether or not it powers on afterwards.
Forget the rice trick: drying a soaked device out and then charging it is the sequence that turns a wet cell into a fire. Know your device, too. The IGET ONE, GROO MAX and G.T. charge over USB-C, and that port is an open path to the board — a wet port must never see a cable, and if it won't charge afterwards that isn't ordinary charging troubleshooting. The IGET Bar and Bar Pro have no charging port and the IGET Moon isn't rechargeable on our listing, so those have one fewer way in. But no manufacturer in our range publishes a water resistance rating, so treat none of them as sealed against water — GODFATHER 9 included.
Where a damaged unit goes
Not the kerbside bin, not the recycling bin. Queensland Fire Department says lithium-ion batteries and devices should never go into general household, recycling or industrial bins, and Fire and Rescue NSW says a damaged battery belongs outside in a well-ventilated spot, at least three metres from structures and anything combustible, until drop-off. Planet Ark notes vapes aren't covered by schemes like B-cycle, because the battery is embedded — so the route is your council: see how to dispose of a vape. And never prise the shell open or pull the cell out. Our battery safety guide covers day-to-day storage.
Is a dropped vape a returns case?
Honestly, no. We don't take change-of-mind returns, and accidental damage after delivery isn't a transit fault. What we do want to hear about is a device that arrived damaged or wrong: report it within 48 hours with your order number and photos. A unit faulty out of the box, with no impact behind it, is worth checking against what's normal in the first week; one that went quiet on its own may just be finished (see battery vs liquid).
Replacing it
If the triage says retire it, a spare in the drawer means the next drop isn't a scramble. Everything we list is 100% original stock, shipped fast and discreetly Australia-wide, and orders of ten or more ship free. For pocket carry, a sealed device with no charging port is the simplest thing to own.
Shop IGET Bar 12-Flavour Box →
For adults 21+ only.