5 Emergency Tips to Save a Water Damaged iPhone
Water and technology are rarely happy bedfellows, so suddenly seeing your precocious iPhone plummet into the sink, bathtub, or any other body or water can be a heart-stopping moment. But don’t panic, all may not be lost as modern phones are much more robust than those of yesteryear. In this article, we explain the best strategies to deal with a wet or water damaged iPhone.
Is my iPhone waterproof?
If you bought a new iPhone in the last few years, then there’s a good chance it’s waterproof, meaning it should happily survive short submersion and the occasional spilled drink.
Smartphones and other electronic devices can be certified with something called Ingress Protection or IP Rating. This lets you instantly know how waterproof the product is, so you don’t have to freak out if it slips out of your back pocket and falls into the bathroom (it happens!) There are several types of IP ratings, but the main two that apply to iPhones are IP67 and IP68.
This is what they mean:
- IP67 – can survive immersion in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes
- IP68 – can survive immersion in up to 2 meters of water for up to 30 minutes
Since the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple has routinely released its devices with IP68 protection. Here are the latest generations that have lined up:
- iPhone 6s and earlier: Not Rated
- iPhone 7/7 Plus: IP67
- iPhone 8/8 Plus: IP67
- iPhoneX: IP67
- iPhone XR: IP67
- iPhone XS/XS Max: IP68
- iPhone 11 range: IP68
- iPhone 12 range: IP68
- iPhone 13 range: IP68
- iPhone SE 2020: IP67
- iPhone SE 2022: IP67
Of course, things can still go wrong even with a seemingly waterproof iPhone. If there is residual water on or in your device after the incident, you should follow the advice below.
What to do if an iPhone gets wet
- Take the iPhone out of the water immediately.
- Do not connect the iPhone. If it’s already plugged in, unplug it (very carefully).
- Don’t turn it on. This can cause short circuits.
- If the wet iPhone is in a case, take it out. Also remove the SIM card. Water can stay in these nooks and crannies.
- Using a soft towel or cloth, wipe the liquid off everything within reach.
- Turn the iPhone upside down and gently shake it to clear the ports and sockets.
- Turn off the iPhone, but first read the following…
Should you turn off a wet iPhone?
In addition to the above, we recommend that you turn off your iPhone. This should allow you to avoid activating the circuitry inside the iPhone, as this is likely to cause short circuits and long-term damage.
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If the iPhone is already off, leave it off. Don’t be tempted to turn it on to see if it still works. It could, and then quickly stop working forever precisely because you took a look.
If your iPhone is on, you’re looking at two unappealing options: turn it off (but in the process cause the screen and OS to wake up briefly before shutting down), or put the device to sleep and hope it doesn’t. receive notifications.
It’s up to you, but after discussions here at Macworld offices, we’ve decided that the lesser of two evils is to activate the iPhone briefly to turn it off completely.
However, if you were lucky enough to be in airplane mode when you dropped the device or you’re sure nothing will wake your iPhone for the next 48 hours, leaving it alone might be the best option.
How to dry an iPhone with raw rice
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Now we need to remove as much of the inner liquid as possible. Resist the urge to use a hair dryer or other heat treatment, as this can damage the internal components of the iPhone.
To remove moisture from inside the iPhone, you need a desiccant. Many people swear by uncooked rice and advise owners to place their wet iPad or iPhone in a large bowl (cover completely) and leave it there for about 48 hours.
Rice will absorb moisture effectively, and most of us have some uncooked rice in our homes (or can get hold of it quite easily). But you can get dust or even whole grains into the ports. Be careful.
We discuss this method in more detail in our article: Rescue a Soggy iPhone with the Rice Trick.
How to dry an iPhone with silica gel
A better choice than raw rice, if you have it, is silica gel – those little (and inedible) packages you’ll find inside new bags, filled with some electronic components, especially if they’ve been shipped from a country with a humid climate, and more recently COVID-19 test kits (let’s face it, we’ve got a lot of those lying around!)
You need enough to cover the iPhone. You may be able to buy them in bulk at a craft store, but you can easily buy multiple packs on Amazon. Silica gel packets should dry a wet iPhone more efficiently and less messy than rice, but you’ll still need to give the iPhone at least 48 hours to dry completely.
Should you disassemble an iPhone to dry it?
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If you’re really worried about liquid inside your iPhone and you’re confident in doing repairs yourself, then there’s always the option of opening the device up and drying it out. iFixit is a great site that takes you through repairs step by step and lets you know how difficult they can be before you start.
Just be aware that this will likely invalidate any warranty coverage you have, and there’s a risk that your DIY work will cause damage rather than repair it.
Still: The most effective way to get water out of the inside of an iPhone is to get in there and dry it from the inside.
If possible, it might be worth taking the battery out (as it minimizes the chance of shorting), but this can be quite a challenge with the sticky approach Apple usually takes to internals. If you can, apply a soft, dry cloth to all interior surfaces while striving to be as smooth as possible.
To be honest, we wouldn’t recommend this approach, mainly because of its potential to exacerbate the problem, but in some situations it may be the only way to save the day and at least get some of your data back. If nothing else works and it’s out of warranty, you may have nothing to lose.
How to Expel Water from an iPhone Speaker
There is one last thing you can try if you find that there may be water on your device. While most iPhones are waterproof, this doesn’t prevent water from getting into the speaker grills. Apple Watch comes with a built-in feature that can be toggled to “push out” water when playing a specific frequency, cleaning the speaker grills in the process. Why iPhones don’t have a similar option is a mystery, but there’s a relatively easy way to achieve the same results via a free app called Sonic (the tone generator, not the hedgehog).
Just download the app and tap on the water drop icon in the middle of the screen. This should cause the water to “spout” out of the speaker so you can soak it up with a tissue. A paid version also offers other frequency ranges, so if your music or podcasts sound a bit muddy after the iPhone takes a dip, it’s worth a try.
what to do next
Well, your iPhone has been buried in bags of rice or silica gel for a couple of days. Whats Next? If you think the device has dried successfully, you can try to turn it on. If this doesn’t work, you can try returning it to the rice or silica and giving it more time. If that doesn’t do the job, then you’ll want to have the internals checked. Book an appointment with an Apple Genius to see if they can help rescue your device.
One final warning: iPhones can be temporarily resurrected, but then succumb to liquid damage at a later date, so we’d recommend backing up all important files on the device in case it’s repackaged. future. As we said, his recovery may only be temporary – although we hope not. However, if it turns out to be a terminal case, you can always check out our roundup of the best iPhone deals to see if you can find a bargain on a replacement.