How to Fix a Wet iPhone
If your iPhone is broken and won’t turn on because you dropped it in water, got it wet in the rain, or spilled your favorite drink on it, don’t worry it may be repairable. The first thing to try is drying it out. Don’t try to turn it on, don’t plug it into anything, that may only increase the damage, or damage another component, or electrocute yourself. Instead, dry it out with a hairdryer for a while, and then spray compressed air into the earphone hole at the top, and the dock-adapter hole at the bottom. If you’re lucky, at this point it will turn itself on automatically!
If this doesn’t work, follow the instructions here to open the base of the iPhone and proceed to dry out your internals. Note that this is a dangerous procedure and will void your warranty. Please don’t open up your iPhone! It’s probably a better idea to just take into the Apple store and let their geniuses figure things out.
(Note: the iPhone can be “reset” by holding the top power button and the circular “home” button at the same time for a while)
| This entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 9:27 pm and is tagged with dangerous procedure, iphone, apple store, home button, power button, geniuses, hairdryer, warranty, rain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback. |
121 Responses to “How to Fix a Wet iPhone”
Leave a Reply
Take away the “s” from your diagram and you’ve got my strategy: pray. Pray here, and pray there.
I dropped mine in the sink while washing dishes! It was submerge for 3 secs if that and i rushed to turn it off and dry it off! I pull it close to the fire place and then put it in rice! So far im still waiting it out but how long do you think i should wait before trying my luck!
My daughter dropped my in the tub yesterday. I dried it with a hair dryer and it is now in rice. So far, nothing either. My husband said I should have used cold air in the hair dryer bc heat causes the water to rust to the components. Maybe the hair dryer for me and the fireplace for you were a bad idea. I’m still waiting it out for another day though. Did yours ever come back on?
I had the same problem as I dropped my iPhone running in from the car during a storm. I let it air dry for a day but still still did not work. I found a good article via iphoneatlas.com and stated air drying wasn’t enough. The article said you had to place the phone in a zip lock bag with silica packets and linked to: http://www.silicagelpackets.com
I ordered a pack with priority mail and let the iphone air dry until I got them (tough 3 days of my life with no iPhone!!!) and as instructions stated I placed the iPhone in the zip lock bag with packets loosely around them. I tried the phone the next day and it worked, thankfully. Hopefully this can help you as well!
No, sir, is very simple. My grandson drop my iphone in the my washer machine full of water, i got the Iphone, i took the memory card out, i used a towel to dry it, i got the air dryer and blow cool air for like 15 minutes in the holes of the iphone. i got my iphone working great!!!!!
Very simple…
Thank you,
Here is how I fixed my wet phone.
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=416062563&blogID=435512784
Dear god you are a genius!!! I tried the spray thing a whole day after getting it wet and it turned on while spraying. Thanks a lot I thought I was screwed. You're the man, a cadillac of men and a young adonis.
VACUUM VACUUM VACUUM!!!So far after i vacuumed its workin i really tried my best 2 get the speakers the buttons the sim port the headphone jack and where the 2 sides of the phone meet i did the hair dryer then the vacuum now im gonna leave it in a ziploc with silica packets for 3 days.
I had to jump into a swimming pool to save my son from drowning and my iPhone was in my pocket and it got completely sub-merged in the water.
When I got it home, I used a hair dryer and blew warm dry air into both headphone and data connector sockets for about 10 minutes. I then sat my iPhone on my Apple TV, Screen up, over night. Apple TV runs very hot and the warmth of the Apple TV over night will gently dry out all parts of the iPhone. The following morning I connect it to iTunes and iTune thought it was a brand new phone, but game me the option to restore. I did this and my iPhone is now fully recovered. Working 100%.
Left my iPhone in the rain overnight. In the morning I kept shaking it until no water came out. Then I blew into the holes. Kept it in a dry place and after a day or two it returned to full function. The bluetooth didn't work initially, but I re-paired it and I'm fine now. NOTE: the Apple store knows when it's been in water! There's a piece of paper inside one of the ports that turns red when contacted with water.
My iPhone plunged into the toilet for not more than a 3 or 4 seconds and ive done the rice and silica packets and its still not removed all the water. You can see where a patch sits underneath – almost looks like diagonal scratches – but it is the water. This happened 7 days ago and it is still not able to be used. It powers on fine and asks for my passcode – but since the water is still sitting underneath the number area – it wont respond. I have to wait it out until it is 100% dry – just getting it to that point is taking forever. You people that got your dry so fast are super lucky.
i totally think using the vacuum and sucking out the excess water helped in my case.
did you end up getting the water fully out? your situation sounds like mine! i have had it in rice for 3 or so days and it has those scratch marks that are water. it powers, rings, everything but i cant get past the unlock screen. i just put it in cat litter!
omg exact same thing it looks loke diaginal scratches and its been a week of drying out some of us nt so lucky
trust put it in ure airing cuboard it works done it loads xx
did the same as G’s post above. phone wouldn’t unlock – touchpad not reactive. took it to the genius bar – saw both water damage indicators and said they couldn’t do anything. said i could buy a new 3G 16gb iphone for $700. suggested i call a local repair shop who said they’re not touching wet iphones. took it to a repair shop i’ve used in the past for my razr phone and $65 later, my phone is fine!! anyone in northern california with phone problems needs to contact MD Wireless!! genius bar – my ***!
I’m in Napa, CA. Where is MD wireless? My daughter (no really, it wasn’t me) dropped my phone into the toilet. It was on. It is off now and in a bag of rice. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t have to go to Apple store.
oops I meant it cost $80 – still a HECK of a lot cheaper than $700!!!
oops I meant it cost $80 – still a HECK of a lot cheaper than $700!! and it’s an 8gb 3G.
i dropped my ph in the toilet last night. fully submerged i grabed it out and shook the water out as much as i could then grabbed the vacuum cleaner and tried to draw the rest of the water out. By this stage the ph would not turn off it kept turning itself back on which was weird. The circular button at the bottom would not work at all. i could see water in behind the screen. I put in in a sealed plastic bag of rice for the night. Turned it on and made a tester call and everything works fine. THANK GOODNESS
i dropped my iphone 3G in the toilet last night. I tried to blow dry it and it turned back on. However, the home button isn’t working anymore. any help here? i’m freaking out!
GO TO THE APPLE STORE
THEYLL FIX IT
if its wet the apple store wont help you at all =/
same thing happened to me. everything works fine except for the home button so i get stuck anytime i open an application or go away from the home screen. any suggestions?
just dropped my iPhone in the toilet, caught it quickly, but it got wet. Weird thing is now: it tells me that this accessory is not made to work with iPhone. Nothing is attached to it! after powering off the unit, it self restarts immidiately. I placed in the zip bag full of rice, and having my fingers crossed…
I am in the exact same position as OM above me. I just accidentally launched my phone into the toilet (you have NEVER seen a person toilet dive as quickly as I did). It was only in there for all of about 2 – 3 seconds. It started doing some funky stuff, turning on…off…vibrating randomly, lines across the screen, white screen, etc. Now it’s off. Won’t turn on at all. Is sitting immensed in uncooked rice in a baggie. I am effing praying, because that phone is my own personal Jesus.
K—ME TOO! I will pray for you!… someone at my job spilled tea all over me and everything that happened to your phone happened to me.. I hope your phone works.. and i hope mine works : )
Hi K – I would like to challenge you to a toilet diving competition!
Dropped my iPhone down the toilet – performed the fastest retrieval (should be an Olympic sport), became hysterical. Sadly it died on the spot. Took it back to phone shop – no help, got new iPhone 3GS. I am now paying off two phones over the next 24 months. Hope you had a better outcome.
well i did what was said to do, but it is running ultra slow and i can hardly see the screen which stinks but its on and i got my pictures and everything out of it i needed:)
I dropped my I phone in the toilet for 2 sec. (like most of the people here) then the iPhone started blinking, and after 5 sec. it’s gone, power is off. after thirty minutes of searching how to drain the soaked iphone, I found out that the most common answer is; First, remove the SIM card tray and Vacuum the water out from both ends (SIM card slot and the bottom, a good indication to proceed is when there is no more moisture in the camera lens)when you’re sure that theres no more water inside, you’re ready for the next step. Put a NONCOOKED RICE in a ZipLock Bag and leave your iPhone in there for 24 hours ( I know its tough not to have it with you because your so connected with your device, but I guarantee you it works). After 24 hours plug your iPhone on your computer, your iTune will recognize your iPhone, be patient from this point, wait until your battery is full, then try to turn it on and cross your finger that it will come on, but don’t worry, it will. I tried it three times then the screen came on, thank GOD!
Errrrrrrrrgh! Dropped my iphone on the golf course and couldn’t find it anywhere. It rained, of course (twice) before it was found and returned to me. It turns on, and the top 2/3 of the touchscreen works–bottom third, NOTHING, which means that the keyboard doesn’t fully work and I can’t access important functions…like a full keyboard, etc. It now sits in a baggie with 3 silica packets. Hoping beyond hope…..if it works, I’ll let you all know!!
im having the same problem with my phone. Top half works fine, bottom is unresponsive. Did yours ever start working?
I dropped my iphone into a portopotty full of excrement. used the right bag overnight and its good! only problem–its slightly blue and smells like poop whenever i make a call
I dropped my iphone in the toilet
it was there for about 6 seconds…I towel-dried it, then used my hair dryer on it..and then I placed it in a rice baggie and just let it sit overnight..Today I connected it to my computer but just a white screen with thin horizontal lines across it comes on..
Does this mean is dead? or should I give it a little more time to dry? HELP!
I fixed mine by putting a dustbuster right up to the hole for 2 minutes – sucked the moisture right out and now everything seems to be in working order again. Before it would only operate when connected to the charger – otherwise black screen, no functionality.
I just dropped my iPhone into a pool for about 3 minutes, it was on and playing music and although I got it out as quickly as possible, the screen was black from an obvious short-out. I shook the water out of it, and then stuck it immediately in rice and then proceeded to blow it dry for about a half hour. Does anyone think there’s hope, I’m getting silica or Damp-Rid later…Please let me know if anyone has had the same type of situation, longer submersion…
I got in the Chesapeake Bay with my iPhone in my swimshort’s pocket. First day, it was working only for the emergency calls, the second day, everything was totally gone. Apple store asked for $200 for the replacement which I refused to pay. Kept it in a bag of rice over night. Today, I blew air with dust remover, and managed to run the phone finally. However, the home button still does not function.
I just recovered mine after it slipped out of my pocket while sitting rock near a waterfall in N.H. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ooJTkbCn_c
I jumped down the rock and quickly plucked my 3g out of the cold spring water. The screen was flashing and there were blotches on the screen. No matter how often I tried to turn it off, it kept turning itself back on. I thought all was lost.
I dried the phone off as well as I could and a few hours later stopped by a local sporting goods store and asked for any spare silica gel packs they might have. Luckily they where unpacking a bunch of merchandise that had some nice large packets and they gave me a bunch of them!! I also stopped by the local grocery store and picked up a bag of rice.. I put my iphone in a ziplock bag filled with rice and silica gel over night.
The next day, while the phone worked better, the screen had “stains” or blemishes on the behind the glass.
I refreshed the rice and hoped to increase the silica gel effectiveness by taking each packet and crunching it lightly with a hammer to break up the crystals. I put the iphone back in screen up sucked out all the air and placed the bag in direct sunlight for a hour or so..
That did it.. The remaining blemishes were removed and my iphone looks just like new!!
Accidentally washed and dried mine. It started after it cooled down, but had the weird blemishes in the background. Rice the first night, cat litter after that. You can get all silica crystal cat litter at Pet Smart, it’s the same stuff in the packets. The bright blemishes are gone (5 nights in litter), but there is a weird diagonal line hashing ‘inside scratches’ effect that G mentioned. I am not sure that will go away.
great work your advice helped me save my grandfathers iphone he left out side after i was teaching him how to use it
Just got knocked over by my dogs as they made a mad dash out to go to the bathroom. I was knocked to the ground. My iPhone fell out of my hand, took one bounce on the deck and then before I could catch it. IT splashed into our pond. HORROR! I jumped off the deck right behind it..Nearly broke my leg…Got the iphone out..Texted a girlfriend to tell her the horror. She said take the battery out and dry it. (SHE IS NOT AN IPHONE OWNER!) Call my husband. He says get off the phone turn it off and put it in rice. WHY oh WHY am I sitting here praying over my iphone in the container of rice. I then immediately go online to read I have to leave it in for 24 hours. NOW I know why the kids almost die when they get their phones taken away!!!! Come on iphone come back to me PLEASE….I let you all know if it works…(If it doesn’t sadness will over take me and my husband will not be able to leave with me-which means he will have to go to the apple store and buy me the new 3gs!)
Here’s an update to my iphone blues. I left the iPhone in uncooked rice plastic container all night long on top of my cablebox. I watched the rice glow as the iphone turned on and off independently. This morning, I sat the plastic container on its side so that the iPhone was standing upright. (around 7am). At 3pm, I couldn’t take it anymore. I took the iPHONE out of the rice. Placed it on the charger on top of my power adapter for my MacBook. So that it was would still be on some heat! It’s still charging. It turned itself on. Text messages and calls are coming in. (I am not answering them!) As well as the message about this accessory is not…airplane mode yes or no… I am going to let it get a full charge AND then hook it to my iMAC for syncing..Fingers still cross…More updates to come!
iPhone Blues are turned to happiness!
My iPhone is back and running. I thank the invisible shield and hard case that I had on the phone both brought from iFrogz.com.
I am a happy girl. If you want the steps I took check out:
http://www.sharirocks.com/blog.php
Thanks to everyone for posting ideas and encouragement!
EASIEST SOURCE OF SILICA GEL: Kitty Litter
Different brands have different ingredients. Find one that lists silica gel only, such as “Fresh Step Crystals”.
I forgot to mention this, since kitty litter can get kind of powdery..
Either bury your phone in it and don’t move it around
OR
Pour a bunch of it into something that you can seal, like a cooking pot with a tight lid, and put your iPhone on top of something above the silica. The silica will make the air in the pot really dry, and the water in your phone will slowly evaporate and be absorbed. You’re just creating a very dry atmosphere.
My wife’s iPhone got doused by her spilled vitamin water 2 weeks ago. I immediately shook it out, blew it out with hair dryer on LOW HEAT (didn’t want to fry any fragile components), but the screen was still unresponsive. I put it in a food dehydrator at 110 degrees for 24 hours and it works again. There are still spots and scratches on the screen which are most visible when the background is a light color, so I guess it’s not completely dry yet. Going to try rice and/or kitty litter next to get the last bit of water. The spots are annoying but at least the phone works again.
No luck for me seeing whether things are working! I can get itunes and my photo reader to “see” what is in the phone, but all I can see is a faded apple in the middle.
I have tried just about everything but diving back into the pool with it (as I did, to begin with), just so I could sort-of try things over, again, as it were, this time using a new technique. The sad thing is that, just as I was viewing the pool water about to be broken by my hands entering it, I realized that my NEW 3GS was in my left pocket. By the time I splashed, sank due to inertia, and then kicked-off the bottom, with my left hand pulling the phone out of my pocket and thrusting it out of the water on to the deck during this 1.2 second process, it was too late. The phone got hosed.
The nice thing about the phone is that it has a beautiful black body (as opposed to the white body). As such, it pretty much goes with everything. So, and similar to a Seinfeld episode, if it only had some legs, it could be a miniature coffee table! I can also use it as a mirror, for grooming purposes.
Did your phone ever come back to life? I lost my beloved iPhone TWELVE days ago and I’m crushed. I’m thinking of buying a “wet” one on Ebay since it’s all I can hope to afford. Risky, huh? I’d love to hear how yours ended up–especially if the news is good.
ok i realy need help my lil brother spilled the acne clean and clear all ver my iphone well i paniced so i pluged it in and the apple logo and the screen turned a real bright pink and then shut off turned back on with a bright white screen now it wont turn on so i was curious so i goolged iphone wet help and i came across this web sight well i used a hair dryer to try and blow all the water out then i pluged it in and still nothing so i am in progress of the rice solution and it is in a cup of rice hidden in my kitchen its been about 8 hours and ive been checking on it from here and tere and i still got nothing so if u can help me plz do so
p.s i called apple and lied and told them that it was a hardware problem and they still want me to pay 199 to get a replace ment fone and i am not rich so i refuse to pay it so can some one plz help me and if the iphone does end up working ill let ever1 no well im off to work i have to try to gain the money some how
ok thank u the rice thing worked but only one problem it stays on the battery charging dead when i first plug it in i left it for like 2 hours and it steel does the same thing…… is the battery messed up plz someone help me????????????????????????or do i just keep it in the rice for a couple of more days……………….. plz respond
I just dropped my brand new 3GS in the toilet!! I’ve read everything and it’s now in a plastic bag w/ silica gel packets (thank god for my shoe addiction) The thing is, it appears to be working fine- can make/ recieve calls and texts, connects to the internet, no splotches on the screen… but the speakers aren’t working so I can’t hear anything. Will these come back after drying out??
did your phone end up working again ? cos i did that today .. it`s sitting in rice at the moment but my sister went to turn it on for a bit & played games .. but i put it back in rice again & turned it off .. do you think it`ll be okay ??
Dropped one iphone in the toilet and never got it to recognize the SIM card, since I kept turning it off like a dummy.
Went out a bought a new one, and then proceeded to get tons of water on it from the cat’s water fountain.
WHAT WORKED: Leaving the phone *totally, completely* off for 4 days (yes, four, so have a backup phone like some junky thing), setting it in front of the fan, on a hot surface (Gentle!!), and under a light.
WHAT DID NOT WORK: Turning it off and on to see if it worked, blow drying it, leaving it in rice.
The BIGGEST DIFFERENCE: Leave it off for as long as you can possibly stand it. The act of turning it on and off shorts the wires and connectors inside. Stop yourself and have some serious patience.
THING TO REMEMBER: If you purchased your iphone on a credit card, most credit cards (esp. Mastercard) cover accidental damage up to the original purchase price. Might take you some pushing in this economy, but it’s in their contracts (so they have to fulfill their obligations). Also, don’t forget that (at least when my first one would not work) there is a great eBay market for wet iphones, used for parts. Third, check out some of the third party repair places. I didn’t use one since mine was beyond reach, but it seems they would be more helpful than Apple (who says, “um, yeah, buy a new one.”)
Good luck!!!
my phone went into the toliet thanks to my 4 year old. Shook the water out, dried with hair-dryer, then it sounded like an internal fan or motor ran on the phone for about 45 seconds…not getting any response from trying to turn on the home key. Has anyone else had the “motor sound” run before??
Was it my phone dying?
well mine sounded like a electrical wire loose or something wen mine got wet io did the rice thing for like 3 to 4 days and it came on the charging screen but it wont charge??????????? but yea i had what urs sounded like
Well, here’s a little variation on the toilet story. As hurricane bill is approaching our coast, I decided to paddle out this morning. I didn’t realize that my iphone decided to catch a few waves with me. I ended up realizing it was in my board shorts immediately upon entering the water and hopping on my board. I ran out immediately so the phone was barely wet for more than maybe 7-8 seconds.
Ironically, it still works except the screen is white. I have done a hard restart and also restored it. Nothing…still just a white screen and no responsiveness. I can still hear when I get an email and I can call people if I use the voice dial option.
anyway, it’s in some rice now although I am not that hopeful that the rice will correct the white screen issue. Damn…I’ve only had this thing for a month. A victim of Bill, I suppose.
i went out lastnight and for whatever reason decided to put 2 full beers in my purse…. not so smart… they dumped everywhere and my phone was in there… in my drunkeness i didn’t understand why it wouldn’t work… so this morning i realize it is just a white screen… it completely works besides you can’t see anything… trying the rice and hoping it works… if not i guess ill try the kitty litter or the silica packets!!!
ran in ocean with phone. it was dead so nothin should have shorted out. u think it will work if i just wait for it to dry
Similar story to the last 2… I dropped my phone getting out of my car, and didn’t know until the next morning… It had rained and gotten my phone wet… the water sensor is not triggered (unless there is a second one I am not aware of (not in the headphone jack). I can call the phone and answer it with a finger swipe… and I was able to turn it off with a finger swipe… but the screen is all white… I’m going to try the rice and vacuum things… it’s my work phone and they aren’t covering squat… great… looks like I’ll be unavailable for a few days…
Unless you guys have any better luck, the rice or silica thing will NOT work with a white screen. Sorry guys…just reporting back on my situation. Your screen is dead. I actually took my phone to a place around here that fixes damaged iphones and mine is back in working condition again as though nothing was ever wrong. They had to take it apart, replace the screen and the processor as well as a few other parts and because it was in salt water, they had to do a mineral rinse of all electrical parts as we all know salt will eat away at anything electrical. Good news: works again. Bad news: $240 to fix.
Mike: do not think that it will work forever. The salt is in your phone. Even if it dries before you turn it on…the salt will remain and believe me, it will eventually kill your phone. Sorry bro…you need to get that thing clean asap.
Best of luck to you all especially the ones with white screens. My wallet and I feel your pain or the pain you are about to experience.
…called AMEX and it looks like there is a good chance I will get reimbursed for the iphone as my card carries accident insurance. I should know within 2 weeks whether it is covered. Will report back when I have an answer. I guess it’s a good thing it happened after only a month of ownership.
Good news. They decided to cover my expense for the most part. I’m only out about $40. Not too shabby for a fixed iphone that went swimming in the ocean.
Lesson learned: take the ******* blackberry to the beach.
andrew,
my iphone also took a dip in the ocean. what is the name of the company that cleaned it and repaired it. woudl love to mail my iphone there.
Wife put her iPhone in rinse cycle of laundry. I could not find anyone who sold silica, but I found this product DampRid which is meant to remove moisture and musty smell from stored linens. After 3 days phone revived. The only strange thing is that it is showing the battery icon like it’s charging when it’s not. Strange, but not not a huge issue.
my phone went through the wash for about 5 minutes the screen had water in it so i shook it all out and used a blow dryer it is in rice any suggestions o and this phone worked fine after i dropped it into a sink for like 4 seconds
I was driving to pick my wife up from work. I set my Iphone into the cup holder in case she called while I was driving. I didn’t realize there was about 1/3 inch of spilled soda pooled at the bottom of the cup holder. The phone was sitting with the computer connector right in the soda. It’s now spazzing out, app not supported message, turn on airplane mode question, etc. I can make and receive calls but can only get into any app for about five seconds before it kicks me out and spazzes again. I am trying the rice method with fingers crossed.
Update. I gave it three days and it didn’t fix it. The bottom button used to get out of apps doesn’t work. Off to apple store today to buy a new one.
2nd update. Funny thing happened at the apple store. I showed them how the bottom button wasn’t working and….wha la…it worked. So I’m keeping the phone. I still get the “this app not supported message” all the time but just close it. Everything else is working. It did spaz out yesterday for about 2 hours, but then started working again.
phone in shorts poket,jumped in pool swam 400 meters then straight in spa 20 min luxurious soak followed by 2 miniute ice cold power shower and 15 mins in steam room,u gota laugh
oh and just got home found out ive been done by rouge insurance company so not coverd lol, its haveing a rice and silica soak on top of tv at mo
anybody’s iphone 3Gs got wet here and restored? How did you do it?
Thanks.
food dehydrator on lowest setting overnight should work
OK, here’s a new one. I was downstairs working when I heard a thunk upstairs above me. I assumed it was one of the children so ignored it. About 5 mins later this really annoying noise was starting to get to me – I suddenly twigged it was the alarm on my iPhone. Ran upstairs to see that the iphone wasn’t wear I left it on the windowsill. The vibrate alarm had made it go walkabout and it had decided to take a dip in the full bath below the window sill!
The phone seemed to be working fine but I have removed the SIM and am using the old Chinese Rice trick just to be sure. Will keep you posted!
dropped my iphone wrapped in an otterbox in the boat launch for like an hour before i found it. took it home and took it all apart and blow dried it and put it in the bag of rice and it comes on but the only way i get service i have to be right by a tower any help ????
Was walking home during a decent rain with my iPhone in the front pocket of my hoodie.. I was listening to music when all of a sudden it got real loud and the earphone control wouldn’t work.. I took it out of the wet pocket and put it in my dryer pant pocket til I got home about 5 minutes later.. I blow dryed on cool for about 20 minutes (also using the backside ‘exhaust’ of the blowdryer because it creates suction) and I now have it in a bag of rice sitting on a heating pad on low.. I hope this works or I’m going to kill someone.. I don’t think it got too wet, I wasn’t in the rain that long and it was far from full submersion but we’ll see.. *fingers crossed*
so i got a good one…i don’t think that anyone has said this one yet…well..i was play call od duty zomdies der rise…n my two year old daughter decided to use my phone for spongebob on youtube(she always watches it)…so then i hear her saw mama phone….WATER….so i asked her wut did she want…so she repeated it for a few times…but i was so caught up in the game and just ignored it…then wen she finally brings me my phone its flashing on the lock screen n the apple start screen…then i try to turn it off…but it finally does turn off…then wen i finally get off the game…i realized wut she was saying wen i picked up my phone and it was soaking wet with sink water…hen i asked her y she said she got it dirty wid chocolate n gave it a bath…NO JOKE…seriously…now i tried everything blow dryed it…bought the compressed air…now it turns on when plugged in nothing wrong with the screen…but funny thing is that i think the phone died from not charging it in the first place…but not sure…because i know that i didnt charge it since yesterday…but im just prayying to GOD that’s its ok….keep you guys posted…but please can soneone tell me if my phone will be ok…
My second generation iPhone got wet. At first it didn’t even have a screen showing. The screen has come back and there is a warning message “No SIM card installed”. The touch screen does not work. I took it to the Apple Store and the genius looked in the ear plug with a special light said it had been wet and they wouldn’t touch it. I have tried the rice procedure but there has been no change for several days now. Should I just accept that it is ruined and move on with my life. I can get a new 3Gs for $199 from Apple/ATT.
Well, I had mine on my seat and a “lovely” dog decided to jump up in my seat and I told it to get down it wouldn’t. So I pushed it and its big paws sent my iphone flying into a cup of water great!
Anyways so where i’m at right now is…my phone will work but it has now backlight. Has anyone had this issue as well? I’m trying to decide if I should give up on it or not. The only other thing I can’t do is zoom. I’ve had it over the AC, in rice, used the vacuum. I don’t know what else to do any advice…I’m going insane without my phone!
did you have any luck with your phone. mine got wet last night and i think the only issue is the back light. i have it in rice right now, but im wondering if i should give up, try to take it to apple or maybe find a phone repair shop….
going against house rules
Well I hate to say this but you all are making me feel better about drowning my little precious white iphone… My fishing story… I went against my own personal rule about fishing, water and iphone.. one of these things don’t match,, I went fishing with my husband today a cool fall afternoon in the midwest.. I was fishing on a bucket on a slanted rock,I had drank 2 beers and my hands were cold from the beer and the temp outside . I pulled my iphone out of my pocket and fumbled it like a bar of soap and watched it slide down the slanted rock into the water.. I cussed looked up at my husband and drove my hand into the water to retrieve my phone… I rescued it from the lake and handed it straight over to my husband and the screen read.. ” This accessory is not made to work for an iphone” this of course cracked us up! My husband quickly shook out the phone out and put it in his pocket..while in his pocket i receive a couple of text.. it would not go off and I could not hear or talk to anyone.. Not able to get home right away went to friends house she had rice bag full and waiting for the patient (iphone) to come in the door.. when we got home we have put bag of rice wrapped ..(iphone in bag) in a heating pad for it to dry over night.. I am a student energy healer and i actually did some energy work on my phone to give it some good MOJO! it i can heal a iphone I have a new career path to pursue! will let u know outcome!
Well I dropped mine down the toilet, and its completely screwed.
If these idiots who designed this thing allowed people to take the battery out easily, I could have simply done that and dried it out (as ive doen with other phones that got wet)
This phones starting to piss me off… So restrictive. Jailbroken the second the new one comes through the door.
Well i was walking with a friend from school and it was raining pretty hard. It was in my pocket and we decided to have a race so we ran all the way too my house (5 mins) i looked form my iphone,paniced, went outside looking up and down for it found it like 10 mins later, dried it with a napkin and shook out the water, now its in a bag of rice. Am hope it comes back soon. And it works ok but sometimes the screen blanks out and voice command is always going off like (no music is play) (calling *****) but the screen is useable and the apps work but the speakers dont sound as loud, screen blacks out (still on) and the voice controls going crazy.
anything else i can do?
home button doesnt work either that explains the random voice controls
well heres one,yesterday i was taking a shortcut through the forest that i have done almost evrday for the past 3 years, its been raining for the past couple days and the creek i always cross was overflowing, yet i could still cross th same log over it, i cross it in 1 piece and decide to jump.. my iphone slips out of my pocket and falls right into the water. i got it out in about 5seconds, i dried it as much as possible and its sitting in a bag of rice, probbably my 6-7th phone ive had -.-
hopefully it works
i dont want to turn it on because i dont know if its had enough time to dry
My mother just got her iPhone wet during a fishing excursion. She first tried blowing it dry, leaving the drier on cool and facing the phone for approximately 6 hours. This failed utterly, so I finally convinced her to let me try my remedy.
Place the phone in the refrigerator.
Yep.
Just stick it in the fridge.
I have heard cautions issued about the refrigerator method, so if you can I would instead follow the tips found here http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how_to/4269047.html#at. However, the benefit of the refrigerator is that it works very quickly- I’ve never had anything take more than 4 hours to return to at least partial function. As it mentions in the article for which I have provided the URL, the key is to NOT become impatient or turn it on. Don’t even turn it on to test if it works- if you dropped the thing in a foot of water, I promise you everything is NOT ok.
Anyway, just another weapon in your arsenal.
was on the motorbike undertaking the 30 mile journey home frm work,i was wearing a semi-waterproof jacket and it started raining about 5 miles in to the trek.my iphone was in the pocked and now wont work,i plugged it into my laptop to see if i could work it but a message came up on the computer screen saying,”iphone in recovery mode detected”. does this mean my phone will work again or not?
i dropped my phone in the toilet last nightfor not even 5 seconds and it had a white screen with lines on it it wouldn’t turn off so i left it on my desk over night so i think the battery finally ran out and turned it self off cause now it won’t turn on at all, totally unresponsive. i was reading about the rice thing so iam trying it now.
god i hope it works i haven’t even had it for 4 weeks
This method worked for me. My iPhone feel out of my sweatshirt and into my dog’s water bowl. It was fully submerged for less than 5 seconds, and it everything worked but the sound when I recovered it from the dog’s bowl. Hairdryer + compressed air fixed the sound issue…good advice!
phone got wet for about 4 seconds. fully functions except no back light, and it gives me the accessory mode error. i have removed the sim, and have it setting in rice at the moment. HAs anyone had any luck with a non working back light. should i give up and try apple or maybe a phone repair shop, HELP HELP please.
omg i dropped my iphone in the toilet!!! i blowdried it and now its in a bag of rice and silica packets…
hope this workssss
Hey, Jessica!!! Did your phone ever start working? I dropped my iphone in the toilet two and a half days ago and it is still not working. I am freaking out. Thanks!
OH MY GOD! IT WORKED!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! X9578927095829358098525
My iphone fell into a big cup of iced tea and I tried turning it off but it wouldn’t stay off it kept turning on and giving me the choice to put it on airplane mode then it turned off after an hour my bf got the smart idea of pluging into the computer but it worked and it turned off again now it won’t turn on and its been a day even if I plug it in it gives me the apple sign and it turns off can I still save it? I dnt have any rice and I’m going insane and will apple just charge me 200 for the phone help plz!!!!
I just found the rice I will update on wat happens I’m praying hope it works but how long till I see something happening or should I wait? I’m not pacient but for my phone I will leave there a week if I have to. so how long till I take it to apple store?
Dropped in toilet at noon yesterday. Someone at work told me about the rice. But first I also used dust buster to suck out water. Held to car heater on my way home, put in baggie of rice over night. I used minute rice thinking it would absorb faster if it cooks in 5 minutes! (who knows?) Took it out every now and then only to find those streaks of water and funny flickering. This AM took it out of rice, hooked to MacPro and it came right on. Is now syncing, charging and the start button works!! Thank you so much for your advice. And it made me feel better to know that other people drop their iPhone in the toilet!
Drop mine in the toilet.
Tried the rice method after 1 day, but it still not working. How to know if it was completely dry yet ?
Hey!! I can see the White apple Icon after charging it for some time!! still not responding yet, but sure joy to see that apple again… hope it will come back on soon.
mine does the same thing. has yours worked yet?
i droped my phone in chocolate milk! i tried the hair dryer thing and its slowly coming back to life so far it only works on speaker
My one yr old fell into our Koi pond and I jumped in to save her. I slipped while bent over to pick her up and thats how my iphone got wet. Agin like you read above, it was just for a few seconds. The screen got super dark, but was powering off and on. I tried to shut it completely off, but i’ve only had the damn thing for three days and am a bit unfamiliar w/ it. I removed the SIM card and sucked the hell out of it w/ the vacuum for about 15 min and it came on and off twice, each time w/ a bright screen. Then I completely shut it off and now have it baggie w/ rice and an old silica I found. I crushed the beads to try to refresh them. Wish me and my 3 day old Gs luck. I will update tomorrow.
It worked! The screen was dark at first, but when I touched a few buttons it came right back. I went to my down loaded apps and they would not come up. No sweat. I only had the thing for 3 days and only had two apps on it. I didn’t like them any way. The next one I down loaded works fine. it’s like nothing ever happened. SWEET! Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.
I have had success with several handheld electronic devices using this method:
First dry the device, and then remove any user removable covers or preferably, depending on device, the whole case.
Place the device on a heating pad turned on high overnight. The idea is to dry the unit out as rapidly as possible without overheating it. I do not wrap the unit in the pad, only place it on top of the pad. I would expect this would be similar to using silica gel which also sounds like a reasonable idea. I have not tried it but it seems that heat would work faster and therefore might be preferable.
I just found my phone on the side of the highway after it sat for nearly 12 hours. I’m guessing since it was so cold out, the snow didn’t have a chance to melt and my capsule rebel case protected it as well. Everything still worked but to be on the safe side I popped the sim out and used the hairdryer on it, now it’s in a bag of rice. We’ll see what the verdict is when I wake up.
Thank You Thank You Thank You.
I was watching Home Alone with the wife and little lad on Monday (27th) night with my iphone next to me on the couch. You never know when you’ll need it do you. I moved to stand up and nudged my phone which nose dived straight into a glass of white wine. I grabbed it out within three seconds and everything was fine, but then it just turned off and wouldn’t come back on. Anyway, I left it on a radiator overnight and then looked on this site in the morning. I immediately grabbed my phone off the radiator and began the hoovering process, for a good fifteen minutes. I then left it in a little rice filled coffin wrapped in a towel back on the radiator for 24 hours. It was a difficult time, seeing it there and being constantly tempted to try to turn it on. Anyway this morning I took my phone out of the rice and off the radiator and it still wouldn’t turn on. It’s the end, I thought. But then I hooked it up to my PC and a red battery symbol appeared. Next it asked for my PIN number. Now it is back on and fully functioning. Happy new year everybody!!
My iPhone went into the dark cold load this a.m. As I’ve recovered other cell phones from water damage – like my son jumping into the river with it in his pocket – I knew the drying out can be done. For a while, I tried all the drying techniques, then decided I needed to get it open to air it out. The instructions I found were not encouraging, so I took out the sim card only and returned to the forced air drying attempts. Then I reasoned that maybe it was out of charge, since it had lain in my jeans pocket all night before going into the front loading washer (less water) for a clunky spin (I heard it, but didn’t recognize its cries before someone came over and asked why I wasn’t answering my phone) – so I may actually be dealing with more than just water damage. Anyway I plugged it into the charger, and it turned on for the first time since its injury. There were a few quirky things going on, and, yes, I can see the water behind the screen. So I turned it off, I think; it is still blinking the screen apple off and on periodically. My research on the Apple site turned up the option of OOW service, Out-of-Warranty service which does cover water damage, and they send you a refurb or new iPhone for $200. So, I’ll keep trying to revive this one, but that is not a hideous option for worst case. Thanks for your helpful posts. Will try to remember to follow up with my outcome. For right now, a few squirts of air, then back in the silica bag.
FOLLOW-UP: After several days of my iPhone being in the silica/rice bag, and still not drying out, I consulted my Mac guru who suggested putting it in a foil-lined, vented shoebox with a 40W light bulb (on) to accomplish the drying step. I have a gooseneck desk lamp with metal shade vented on top. So, I put that down in to the top of the large ziplock bag with the phone on top of the rice and pricked pinholes all around the bottom. After 2.5 days, no more moisture behind the screen, and everything works, except the home key is still a bit sluggish – sometimes dicey getting back to home screen. All apps work as far as I can tell. One thing I wouldn’t go again is the rice, as I got a kernel in the sim card slot that was the dickens to get out. I first noticed it when I tried to slide the little carrier tray back in there and it didn’t go easily. Then there was a white spot on the screen, I guess right where the rice was inside. It was lodged, but I gently tapped the unit on a leather wallet, and eventually it came out – wasn’t really sure what it was before then, thought it might be a chip of silica. Anyway, watch out for such possibilities; putting a piece of fabric over the rice before laying the phone on it would help prevent introduction of kernels into orifices. Wanted to offer what I could to this forum, as I’m happily back to playing Scrabble with my iPhone. Thanks.
dropped my iphone down the toilet (like a lot of people.. glad im not the only one) its in a bag of rice at the moment and has been for a few hours now. i dryed it with a hair dryer first. ive only had it about 2months. i hope it works!
Let my wife borrow my iphone to play one of the apps. Bad mistake. When she got done she put it on the armrest/middle seat in our car while I was driving. I didn’t see it and when I put on the brakes I heard this kerplunk sound. in front of the armrest is my big blue plastic cup. She had my coat over it so no one saw it in the cup for like 30 minutes. The phone would not turn off and had a screen I had never seen before with a charging symbol. I stupidly took the phone apart and then after drying it out tried to plug it back in – nothing. The phone just vibrated over and over. Found this website and am now trying the rice method. Praying it works.
iphone been in a bag of rice for 5 days. when i plug it into mu computer, itunes does not recognise it.. when i plug it into charge a black screen comes up with a white apple symbol. then screen goes dark then nothing. help!
I dropped my phone in the tub I know stupid right. Anyway once I saw the phone go immediately fished it out n tapped the water out as much as I could. My phone keeps turning off and one and white screen comes on. My screensaver came on once, the plug your phone to Itunes came on once but other than that the phone keeps on powering off and on. Immediately turned to the internet to find a remedy seeing that I ran out of warranty. Now the phone is in a bag with rice and hopefully it works. Did anyone have a problem like mine’s where it keeps on powering on and off and sometimes a white screen comes up? HELP!!!!
I dropped my iphone in a bowl of milk. lol…I know, a little strange. It immediately started talking about airplane mode. I smacked the milk out of it for a good 10 minutes. There was no sound coming out of the phone. When I tried to call someone, you could not hear it ring. When they answered, they could not hear you. I used the dryer on it for about 10 minutes and it seems to be working great for now. I am going to put it on rice just in case. The phone was submerged for a good 10 seconds. I fell asleep on the couch, heard the phone ring, looked at it, and laid it back down on what I thought was the table. Instead of the table, it was my daughters bowl of cereal. Good times!
So I spilled a glass of water on my phone the other night. Woke up and the phone still worked, it didn’t have too much contact with water, but the backlight wouldn’t work. after reading about possibly remedies, I left it in rice for 24 hours. When I turned the phone on again, it worked perfect. Now two days later, the backlight won’t work again. Should I put it back in rice, or will this not cure the backlight issue?
Also dropped mine in toilet for a couple of seconds. Did the rice thing, had it in the sun, used a blow dryer and even put it in the oven (on low) for a while. The phone was dead but now when I plug it in it is recognised by itunes and yesterday did a sync. The only problem – the screen is completely blank. Nothing. Any further ideas?
Thanks so much for this post and all the comments above. I left my phone outside at a friends house, and it got rained on all night, the rain was heavy as well. Phone wouldn’t turn on after I got it back and I was devastated… There seem to be a bit of water in the phone, my boyfriend could suck water out from the hole for docking!
Used hair dryer on cool heat and blew into the docking and headphone hole for a good 10 – 15min each, then I went and got the compressed air spray and sprayed into it for about 5 min each. It still wasn’t turning on at that point, and I was too scared to plug it into anything, so could have just been the battery.
Decided to try the rice trick, put it into a ziplock bag and covered it in uncooked rice, left it for a day, and have just plugged it into my mac, its been recognised by itunes, sync, the screen is fine and seem to be able to send / receive calls, internet without any issue. Cross my fingers that’s all going to go fine from here. I might chuck it back in the rice bag during the night for a week just to make sure that all the moisture is sucked out of it.
Definitely getting phone insurance from now on.
HELP!
So I dropped my phone in a cup of water (random, right?!) for two seconds and the phone shut down.
Now don’t get grossed out… I had dropped my precious iPhone in a puddle before and SUCKED the water out and it worked fine, however it’s a miracle I didn’t catch malaria LOL.
FIRST, what happened was the phone would not turn on, however when you put it on a charger, the itunes connecting to the apple logo came up, however it wouldn’t be recognized on the computer and when you took it out, the phone would shut off.
THEN, after leaving it in rice for 3 days, the phone has magically turned on and almost everything works except one thing.
The phone won’t charge/connect with a computer; it has to be connected using the actual plug. This is good because yes it charges, yes it plays, yes it makes calls, however I can’t update my iPhone at ALL.
Do you guys think this is a temporary effect or permanent? Has this happened to anyone else?
idr0pped my iph0ne in thee t0ilet at w0rk an ish00k thee water 0ut as much as p0ssible and let it air dry fer m0nths and itried it t0day and it w0rks!
My daughter accidentally dropped my i-phone in about 1 1/2 inches of melted ice and a small amount of diluted diet dr. pepper. The phone was only in there for about 2 seconds before I yanked it out. I dried it off, and since I could still see the screen, I thought it was fine. I realized a little later something was wrong when the home screen button wouldn’t work. I went to the AT&T store and they referred me to the Apple store, who told me on the phone that they could do nothing for me – except provide me with a replacement phone for $199. So, after researching, I tried the hairdryer and now have the phone in a bag of rice. I am praying so hard that my phone will be O.K. I got it for Christmas, and it is absolutely the BEST gift I have ever received!
Yeah!!!! My water bottle spilled in my bag. I let it try in rice under my comp for two days while vacuuming it with my hand vac for ten mins here and there. Bugga works like new.
Thanks for the advice, and big alohas and mahalos.
Well, if nothing else, this string has made me feel like less of a moron for dropping my iPhone in the toilet. It’s sitting in a bowl of rice right now and I’ve already tried the vacuum thing.
My condolences to everyone. And now I must return to my ‘PRAY’ position…
I brought my iPhone to the washroom at work, but my arm got caught in the headphone wire and it tumbled into the bowl. I panicked, but managed to pull it out after it had been underwater for about 1.5 seconds. Luckily, nothing else was in the toilet.
I dried it off, sprayed compressed air into the dock connector, speakers, switches and earphone plug and then googled ‘iphone toilet drop’. The recommendation from most people was to cover it in rice to absorb the moisture. I was lucky I found a Thai restaurant that was willing to sell me a bowl of uncooked rice.
Forty-eight hours later, I managed to plug it into my Mac and it was working. The only thing is that there are intermittent hairlines in the display, but otherwise it seems to be fine for now. I’m covering it up again in hopes that it will take away any remaining micro droplets of water.
Thanks internets for the tips. And good luck, because if you’re reading this now, this has probably just happened to you too.
Here’s a new one… was helping my son do his homework at the table, when his hand flew out suddenly knocking his full glass of lemonade over my iphone. In my panic I picked it up and quickly ran it under the tap – probably making it worse! But I figured that water would be better than sugar through it…
Anyway, removed the sim card and blowdried it on “cool setting” which has helped and sat it on top of the external harddrive to dry out for awhile – seems to have helped. Speakers seem to be the only thing now that are not working correctly (initally it was ringtone and screen as well)… we’ll see how it progresses, but thanks for all your tips and advice. Will give it one more blowdry and return to the heat of the external harddrive overnight – hopefully my precious phone will come back to me! Good luck everyone! I’m in Australia, so glad to hear the fixes are universal!!