You've dropped your iPhone in water, and right now you desire to dry it out, assess and fix the impairment, and recover the information inside. You've come to the right place for advice.

H2o is the second almost common type of damage faced by iPhones (after smashed screens, which we hash out in our article on getting a broken iPhone repaired). Just a dunk isn't necessarily a decease sentence. No guarantees, simply with our tips in that location'south every chance your phone volition survive to fight (and become moisture) another day.

In this article we explicate the best strategies for dealing with a moisture or water-damaged iPhone.

What to do if your iPhone gets wet

What to do if your iPhone gets wet

Go the iPhone out of the water right away, if you haven't already.

Do not plug in the iPhone. If it's plugged in already, unplug it (very carefully).

Practice non plough information technology on. This tin cause short circuits.

If the wet iPhone is in a case, take information technology out. Remove the SIM card likewise. Water tin can linger in these nooks and crannies.

With a soft towel or cloth, wipe liquid off everything yous tin achieve. Turn the iPhone upside down and requite information technology a gentle milkshake to articulate the ports and sockets.

Power off the moisture iPhone

Power off the wet iPhone

You want to avert activating the circuits inside the iPhone, because this is probable to crusade short circuits and long-term damage.

If the iPhone is switched off already, go out it off. Don't be tempted to power on to see if it however works. It might, and then promptly stop working forever precisely because y'all took a look.

If your iPhone is switched on, you're looking at ii unappealing options: power down (merely in the process cause the screen and operating system to wake up briefly before switching off) or get out the device in sleep mode and hope you lot don't get whatsoever notifications.

It'due south your decision, but after discussions hither in the Macworld offices nosotros've decided that the lesser of two evils is to wake the iPhone briefly in guild to do a full ability off - and that'due south what we suggest in the video at the top of this article.

If you were lucky enough to be in Airplane Mode when you dropped the device, nonetheless, or are confident that zip will wake your iPhone in the next 48 hours, leaving it alone might exist the better selection.

Dry out your iPhone with uncooked rice

Dry out your iPhone with uncooked rice

Now we demand to draw as much interior liquid out every bit possible. Resist the temptation to utilize a hair dryer or other heat handling, as this can impairment the iPhone'south internal components.

(A few iPhone users advise the apply of a non-heated fan, which at least shouldn't make things worse, even if we think the below techniques are likely to be more constructive.)

To get moisture out of the iPhone's interior, you lot need a desiccant. Many people swear by uncooked rice, advising owners to put their damp iPad or iPhone in a big bowl of the stuff (encompass information technology completely) and leave information technology there for 48 hours or so.

The rice volition blot the wet finer, and nearly of us have some uncooked rice in our homes (or can get hold of some adequately easily). Simply it may get grit or even entire grains into the ports. Be warned.

We discuss this method in more detail in our article: rescue a soaked iPhone with the rice flim-flam.

Photo by Steven Depolo; used (unmodified) under Creative Commons Licence. It's an iPod touch on, in fact, but y'all go the idea.

Dry out your iPhone with silica gel

Dry out your iPhone with silica gel

A ameliorate option than uncooked rice if you've got it is silica gel - those little (and inedible) packets that come up with some electronic components, particularly if they've been shipped from a country with a boiling climate.

You lot need enough of them to cover the iPhone. You lot may be able to buy them en masse from a craft shop, and purse shops are a great source - ask the staff if they mind you lot angling out the sachet that you lot'll probably find zipped into each handbag's interior pocket.

Silica gel sachets should dry a moisture iPhone out more efficiently and less messily than rice. Y'all should withal give the iPhone at least 48 hours to dry out completely, even so.

Dismantle your iPhone

Dismantle your iPhone

If you're really confident about doing DIY repairs on your iPhone, the best way to bargain with a wet iPhone is to unscrew the bottom screws (on well-nigh models of iPhone this will require a proprietary type of screwdriver head, available as part of some iPhone repair kits sold by unofficial third-political party accompaniment makers) and access the interior.

Merely bear in heed that this is likely to invalidate any warranty coverage y'all've got, and there's a risk that your DIY piece of work will cause damage rather than repair information technology.

Still: the most effective way to become water from the inside of an iPhone is to go right in there and dry it out from inside.

You lot'll want to have the battery out, for instance (this also minimises the potential for short circuits), and get water out of all the internal nooks and crannies. Utilize a soft dry textile to all interior surfaces while endeavouring to be as gentle equally possible.

We're not certain we'd recommend this approach, primarily because of its potential to exacerbate the trouble. Simply in some situations it may be the only manner to save the day - and if cipher else works and you lot're out of warranty, you may find yourself with null to lose.

What to do side by side

What to do next

Once you've waited a couple of days and remember you've successfully dried out your iPhone, yous can try switching it on. If it still doesn't work, or if yous desire to become the internals checked out, you can ask an Apple Genius to have a look, but bear in mind that iOS devices take internal liquid detectors, so they will know what happened.

I final warning: a bad submersion may cause long-term impairment, particularly to the battery, that merely becomes apparent months later. In one famous example, an iPhone 3GS spontaneously overheated more than a yr after being dropped in a pool. The owner had used the rice technique and the iPhone had worked fine afterwards... initially.

We would therefore advise that, if y'all're lucky enough to be able to become your iPhone to run afterward a dip, you should back up all important files on the device in case information technology packs up again in the future. Its recovery, we're sorry to say, may only be temporary - although we hope not.

Waterproof cases & emergency kits

Waterproof cases & emergency kits

Hopefully the steps above helped you revive the drowned iPhone in your life, but at that place are mode to avoid the situation in time to come.

Water'due south not good for iPhones and iPads, penetrating deep within their circuitry and leading to damaging short circuits. So those (extremely mutual) hazards so many iPhone owners adventure - taking photos on the beach, browsing the web in the bath, even reading electronic mail on the loo - are all-time avoided. Most of the states only cotton on to the dangers afterward our start soaked iPhone.

If yous really desire to read due east-books by the pool or in the bath, consider buying a waterproof iPhone instance. Some other option to bear in mind is some kind of handle or wrist strap so you're less probable to drop the device in the first place.

You might like to purchase an emergency package for drying out an electronic device - obviously it's best to have information technology prepare in advance, instead of waiting for the crisis to occur and so queueing at the shops.

The AF Tech Rescue Kit is an affordable option available on Amazon.

Which iPhones are water-resistant?

Which iPhones are water-resistant?

If ownership a waterproof case doesn't appeal, you lot might consider upgrading the phone itself. In recent years Apple tree'due south handsets have got meliorate and amend at h2o resistance.

Water (and dust) resistance is commonly expressed past the IP rating system. Before 2016 Apple didn't disembalm IP ratings for its phones, simply that twelvemonth'south iPhone seven and seven Plus were certified every bit IP67 - an splendid score which indicates they should survive submersion in up to 1m of h2o for 30 minutes.

In 2018 the iPhone XS and XS Max went one step further, scoring IP68. This extends the immersion to 2m, and you will very rarely run into a consumer product get a higher rating than this.

Here are the IP ratings of Apple's phone range:

  • iPhone 6s and before: not rated
  • iPhone vii: IP67
  • iPhone 7 Plus: IP67
  • iPhone 8: IP67
  • iPhone 8 Plus: IP67
  • iPhone 10: IP67
  • iPhone XR: IP67
  • iPhone XS: IP68
  • iPhone XS Max: IP68
  • iPhone 11: IP68
  • iPhone 11 Pro: IP68
  • iPhone xi Pro Max: IP68

Y'all can buy a new iPhone handset on Apple tree's website, or scan our roundup of the best iPhone deals.

How to eject water from an iPhone speaker

How to eject water from an iPhone speaker

While the iPhone vii and later are water-resistant, information technology doesn't stop water from getting into the speaker grille. The Apple Watch Serial ii and later on have a like upshot, although they come with a built-in characteristic that tin can be toggled to 'eject' the h2o by playing a specific frequency.

Why the iPhones don't feature a similar pick, we're non quite certain - but there is a relatively easy way for users to eject water from within an iPhone 7 or later speaker, and it's by using a free app called Sonic.

Simply download the app and tap the water droplet icon in the middle of the screen. This should cause the water to 'bound' from the speaker so yous can absorb it with a tissue.