What You Shouldnt Do: Water Damage Myths
There are a lot of at-home quick fixes and miracle cures others may recommend. However, we strongly recommend not listening to myths about miracles cures.
A lot of the time, those cures can do more harm than good to your iPhone. In some cases, the at-home fixes can cause irreversible damage to your iPhone.
How To Save A Wet iPhone: Disconnect From The Power Source And Power Off
If your phone was plugged in while taking the dive, unplug it. If its turned on, turn it off. Even if your iPhone is in sleep mode, wake it up just to turn it off. Once your iPhone is off, dont be tempted to restart it. At this point, were trying to stop electricity from flowing through your iPhone. We do this to avoid long-term damage that your phone could suffer due to short circuits.
Water turns your phones electrical components into one big conductor, meaning currents can travel along unintended paths within your phone. Short circuits occur when currents travel down unwarranted paths, causing long-term damage to your wet iPhone. Water in itself does not conduct electricity, meaning that in a pure, theoretical state water is not the culprit.
But in real life, water never appears in its pure form. Salts and minerals dissolved in the liquid enable it to conduct electricity. There are even more salts and minerals in liquids such as coffee, beer, milk, ocean, and pool water etc., but the principle is the same for all liquids. If you want to know how to save a wet iPhone, remember that turning it off and unplugging it from any power source can prevent long-term damage.
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What Should I Do If I Dropped My Phone In The Ocean
If your smartphone gets wet from seawater. After the salt water has evaporated, the remaining crystals can seriously damage the fragile interior of your phone. So if your phone gets wet in the ocean, they recommend rinsing it with tap water before drying. Also make sure to remove the battery before doing this.
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How To Dry Out A Wet iPhone
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If you dropped your iPhone in the sink or pool, you know the immediate panic that sets in. Saving a wet cell phone can be hit or miss, but a few tricks can help. With any luck, you’ll be able to dry out your phone and get it back in working order.
Putting Wet iPhone In Rice Wont Fix It These Are The Things You Should Be Doing
- Sean Keach, Digital Technology and Science Editor
- 9:06, 23 Feb 2020
GOT a wet iPhone? You’ve probably heard that it should go straight in a bowl of rice but that’s not true.
Putting your iPhone in rice isn’t very effective, can damage your mobile, and means you’ll miss out on much better drying methods.
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Will My iPhone Be Covered Under Warranty If Its Lci Is Still White
If the LCI is white or silver, the issue your iPhone is experiencing may not be liquid-related. If you dropped your iPhone in the pool before it stopped working, it probably is. The good news is that if Apple cant prove your iPhone was liquid damaged, your warranty might still be valid.
However, just because a LCI isnt red doesnt mean that Apple will cover the iPhone under warranty. If there is any evidence of liquid or corrosion inside an iPhone, Apple techs may deny warranty coverage even if the LCI is still white.
Dont Turn On Your iPhone
This is the most important thing that you should keep in mind if you have dropped your iPhone in water. Chances are that your Apple device would turn off after being damaged by liquid. If your iPhone wet wonât turn on, then donât panic or try to turn it on manually at this stage. If the water has reached inside the device, then it might cause more damage to your iPhone than good. To start with, keep it ideal and try not to turn it on.
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Myth : Put Your iPhone In The Freezer
The second myth wed like to address is whether or not its a good idea to put your water-damaged iPhone in the freezer. We believe people try putting their iPhone in the freezer to prevent the water from spreading all over the place. However, as soon as you take your iPhone out of the freezer, the water will just melt and spread throughout your iPhone anyway.
When dealing with iPhone water damage, we want to get the water out as soon as possible. Putting your iPhone in the freezer does the opposite of this. It freezes the water inside your iPhone, trapping it and preventing it from escaping.
Water is one of the only liquids that expands as approaches freezing. This means that freezing your iPhone will increase the volume of the water trapped inside, and possibly bring it into contact with previously undamaged components.
Theres yet another reason why you probably shouldnt put your iPhone in the freezer. iPhones have a standard operating temperature between 3295° F. Their non-operating temperature only goes as low as -4° F, so it would be unsafe to put on in an environment colder than that.
The standard freezer operates at 0° F, but they can sometimes be made colder. If you put your iPhone in a freezer at -5° F or colder, you run the risk of causing additional damage to your iPhone.
If Your iPhone Flashlight Is Stuck On
Dont be surprised if your iPhones flashlight appears stuck after getting exposed to water. A simple way to try and fix this problem is to perform a hard reset, which will force your iPhone to turn off and back on. Oftentimes, this will successfully get the flashlight component of your iPhone unstuck, assuming that there isnt any significant water damage.
If everything else is working, or if you dont want to blind your friends, a piece of black electrical tape can be an effective temporary fix.
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Dry It With Silica Gel Packets
Even after wiping off all the liquid from the surface of your iPhone, the moisture can still be there in the inside of your device.
There are times when to resolve the iPhone liquid damage, users take extreme measures that backfire in the long run. One of the safest solutions to dry your phone is by using silica gel packets. While buying electronic items, users get extra packets of silica gel. You can also buy them readily from any major store.
They absorb moisture in a superior manner simply by making minimum contact with the phoneâs body. Place a few silica gel packets over and under your phone. Let them absorb the water content that is inside the device.
What Happens If My Lci Is Red
A red LCI indicates that your iPhone has come into contact with liquid, and unfortunately, that means youll have to pay. Youll pay less if you have AppleCare+ or carrier insurance than if you have no coverage at all.
Well get into prices and how to decide whether to repair or replace a water damaged iPhone below. But dont lose hope. Just because an LCI is read doesnt mean an iPhone wont come back to life.
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Place It In Uncooked Rice
You might have already heard of this foolproof solution to repair a dropped iPhone in water. Place your iPhone in a bowl or bag of rice in such a way that it would submerge in it. Make sure that it is uncooked rice else your phone might get unwanted dirt. Leave your phone in rice for at least a day to ensure that the water content would be absorbed entirely. Afterward, all you got to do is take your phone out and remove the pieces of rice from it.
Warning: Your Warranty Will Sink Like A Stone
We strongly recommend not to open your phones infrastructure if you have any kind of warranty, as it will likely end the moment your phone is opened. You could also end up making the problem worse. Another word of advice while were at it: iOS devices are equipped with internal liquid detectors, so dont bother pretending you dont know whats wrong with your phone. Any lab or technician will be able to tell that your iPhone got wet.
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Use A Distilled Water
Fill a glass with distilled water also called de-ionized water and place the device on it. I know you might be wondering why use distilled water on the wet earphone. But dont worry distilled water wont cause any damage. De-ionized water is safe for electronics.
How to use distilled water?
- Take your earphone that is wet and put them in a glass filled with distilled water and shake it properly while the earphone is still there.
- The reason you are doing this is to mix the water inside of the earbud with the distilled water, and by continuously shaking it there will be only distilled water inside hopefully. If you dont have de-ionized water at home, you can just skip this test.
Step 4
Shake the device to remove much water as possible.
How to do this:
- Hold the two earbuds driver tightly with their component with your hands shake them several times to remove water droplets as much as possible to enhance the drying process.
- Please do not accelerate the drying process by using a hairdryer as I have said earlier, this can greatly reduce the lifespan of the earphone.
- Also do not expose them to the sun directly
Step 5
What Should I Do If The Lci Is Yellow
Although it doesnt happen very often, dont be surprised if your LCI appears yellow. The good news is that yellow isnt red, which means your iPhone hasnt been damaged by liquid.
Some other substance may have discolored your iPhones LCI. We recommend trying to clean out the SIM card slot, headphone jack, or charging port using an anti-static brush or brand new toothbrush.
If the LCI remains yellow, it wouldnt hurt to take your iPhone into the Apple Store! However, if nothing is wrong with your iPhone, there isnt much for an Apple tech to do.
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What Should I Do If My iPhone Gets Wet
Make sure that your iPhone is dry before opening the SIM tray.
To dry your iPhone, tap it gently against your hand with the Lightning connector facing down to remove excess liquid. Leave your iPhone in a dry area with some airflow. Placing your iPhone in front of a fan blowing cool air directly into the Lightning connector might help the drying process.
Don’t dry your iPhone using an external heat source or insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the Lightning connector.
Loss Of Function Of Your Earphone:
Most times when your earphone dropped into water or mistakenly washed it a washing machine with your clothes, and then you tried to use them after a day or two, then you just realize they are not functioning properly anymore. A single earbud or both might stop working and producing a lot of echoes. If you follow the tips and steps below you can just save your newly washed earphones or water damaged earphones.
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About Splash Water And Dust Resistance Of iPhone 7 And Later
Learn about splash, water, and dust resistance on your iPhone. And learn what to do if your iPhone gets wet accidentally.
These iPhone models are splash, water, and dust resistant and were tested under controlled laboratory conditions:
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max have a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 . iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 . iPhone 11 has a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 . iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529 . iPhone SE , iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus have a rating of IP67 under IEC standard 60529 . Splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear. Liquid damage is not covered under warranty, but you might have rights under consumer law.
iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone SE , iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR are resistant to accidental spills from common liquids, such as soda, beer, coffee, tea, and juice. In the event of a spill, rinse the affected area with tap water, then wipe your iPhone off and dry it.
To prevent liquid damage, avoid these:
Myth : Use Isopropyl Alcohol To Dry Your iPhone
Isopropyl alcohol is a less-commonly used home solution for fixing iPhone water damage. There are three big concerns when putting your iPhone in isopropyl alcohol.
First, alcohol can wear down the oleophobic coating on your iPhones display. The oleophobic coating is what makes your the display fingerprint-resistant. You run the risk of really degrading the quality of the display by putting your iPhone in alcohol.
Second, isopropyl alcohol is always diluted with some amount of another liquid. Usually, its water. By exposing your iPhone to isopropyl alcohol, youre also exposing it to even more liquid.
Third, isopropyl alcohol is a polar solvent. This means its extremely conductive. One of the biggest problems with water damage is that it creates electric charges in places where its not supposed to.
Youd have to disconnect everything from your iPhones battery before you could even begin to consider using isopropyl alcohol. Disassembling an iPhone is a challenging task, requires a specialized toolkit, and can completely void your warranty.
For these reasons, we strongly advise against try to fix your water-damaged iPhone using isopropyl alcohol.
If youve taken the steps above and youre still having issues, its time to make a decision about how to proceed. There are a lot of options, from buying a new phone to repairing a single component. Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to make the best decision for you and your water-damaged iPhone.
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How To Check If The Device Is Water Damaged
There is a water damage indicator in the iPhone SIM slot. It’s a piece of plastic that turns from white to red when it comes into contact with too much water. Use a flashlight to peek inside the SIM slot to see if you can see the red indicator. If you don’t see any red, then you’re probably still covered in the warranty, but other undetected components in your phone may still be damaged by water.
If you find the indicator is red, try turning your iPhone on after several days. If it works, great, you fixed your wet device. The indicator was tripped, but your phone still works.
Try To Dry It With A Hair Dryer
Air dryers are great devices for drying hair, but not for drying water from a mobile device. Precisely the fact that they are air is the origin and cause that the problem can go further. If you use it to dry the water port, you will be spreading all the water, causing it to even seep inside, with similar effects to if you are shaking it as we mentioned in the first point of this section of things you should not do.
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How To Dry Out And Fix A Wet iPhone
Follow these steps to try to save your wet iPhone:
Remove the case. If your iPhone is in a case, take it out. The phone will dry faster and more completely without the case retaining hidden droplets of water.
Shake the water out. Depending on how soaked it got, you may be able to see water in the iPhone headphone jack or Lightning port. Shake the water out as much as possible.
Wipe it down. With the water shaken out, use a soft cloth to wipe the iPhone and remove all visible water. Paper towel works in a pinch, but a cloth that doesn’t leave residue behind is better.
Remove the SIM card. The more drying air that gets inside the wet iPhone, the better. You can’t remove the battery and there aren’t many other openings, but you can remove the SIM card. The SIM slot isn’t large, but every little bit helps. Just don’t lose your SIM card!
Leave it in a warm place. Once you’ve gotten as much water as possible out of the phone, keep your device off and leave it somewhere warm to dry. Some people leave wet iPods or iPhones on the top of a TV, where the heat from the TV helps dry the device. Others prefer a sunny windowsill. Choose whatever tactic you like. Let it dry a day or two.