Existing users, 
What to do if your iPhone gets wet
Posted 10 January 2008 @ 1pm in Troubleshooting
Whether the culprit is a sink, toilet or rainstorm, getting your iPhone soaked in water or any other liquid is bad news. If the unthinkable happens, and you don’t have insurance, your best bet is to make sure the iPhone is off, swap it down with a dry cloth, then do one of the following immediately:
- Put your iPhone in a tub or bag of uncooked rice and let it sit for several hours (up to 2 days).
- Place your iPhone in a plastic bag with a few silica packets.
- Put your iPhone in a hearing aid dryer for several hours.
The point with all of these methods is to draw all moisture out of the phone as quickly as possible. Just air-drying the unit is an option, but won’t act as quickly as the aforementioned methods.
If none of these tactics prove effective, and your iPhone loses significant or all functionality, an Apple FAQ states that if you own an iPhone and it requires service for any reason other than the battery (which costs $86 total to replace), Apple will repair your iPhone for the service fee listed below, plus $6.95 for shipping and handling:
- 4GB: $199
- 8GB: $249
Presumably this includes liquid damage, though Apple states “Service may not be available if your iPhone has been damaged due to accident or abuse.”
We’ve received reports from some readers who had success having their liquid-damaged iPhones replaced free of charge by geniuses at the Apple Store, but don’t count on it. This type of replacement is likely only if it can be proven that the device was damaged during routine use.
Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.
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7 Comments
Posted by ironknux
10 January 2008 @ 7pm
This is very funny, right after reading this i dropped my iphone in the water filled sink. so i stuck my phone in rice for 37 1/2 hours. Even though i felt as if apart of me was gone, it was the longest wait in my life, and it was my only hope of saving my iphone before i call apple and get another one, re activate it and re install all the apps; guess what, it actually worked. This stupid theory of putting your wet phone in cooked rice sucks 100% of the liquid out. Thanks iphoneatlas.com, but i am sure the japs thought of it first.
Posted by ershler
10 January 2008 @ 8pm
The problem is Apple may refuse to repair it if it has been in water. In the bottom of the headphone jack is a water tattle tail. If you look in the bottom of the jack you will see a white circle. If the iPhone has been immersed in water, the circle turns black.
Posted by themactech
13 January 2008 @ 7am
In November 2007, was driving across country from DC to UT, moving my family to our new home. During the drive a soda I was drinking and leaked into the footwell of the door. Not knowing this, I set my phone in the footwell and after 15 minutes I pulled it out to make a phone call. Soda just poured out of the bottom.
I was clearly upset (according to my wife) and I shook the hell out of the phone to get rid of all the soda. I placed the phone on the dashboard thinking I had lost my phone. A few hours later, I turned it on and the screen’s video was all scrambled and I thought that’s it.. she’s dead.
After 3 days of traveling, I had already resigned to the fact that I was going to buy a new iPhone (this time $200 cheaper :)). I turned on my iPhone for one last time and lo and behold… she came all the way up. Home screen and all. And to this day, works perfectly. I’m not sure what the inside looks like but I haven’t had a single issue with it since.
Posted by adam6price
21 March 2008 @ 10am
A few months ago, after taking out my headphones to take a call my iphone stopped making any sound at all. I was obviously in a total panic to get my phone back to full strength and searched the internet for the next 2 hours to find a solution. After trying everything on every forum i still had no sound and had to make the long trip to the apple store.
At the genius bar that i had to wait 45mins for, i was finally speaking to a so called mac “genius”, after 3 trips to the office he finally came out and said my phone had water damage and they could do nothing. This is where i got very upset and had to try very hard not to make a scene! My phone had not been near any water or excessive moisture to my knowledge. After a long discussion, and being told that my only choice was to buy a new phone, i had to be taken out of the store by my friend before i beat the “genius” out of the guy for being so unhelpful!
Determined that no water had touched my phone, apple tech support was next. 2 months later (only being able to use my £260 phone and £45 per month contract, through a bluetooth headset) and more arguments with various apple techs and managers, i finally have a new phone!!
I know alot of people must try and con Apple into a new phone, this is not what i was after. All i wanted was what i paid alot for, to work.
I have always used Apple and will always buy their products but i think the after sales service was terrible.
Posted by I-Rick
9 May 2008 @ 8am
My wife dropped her new I-Phone in the toilet. Since we were at a Mall, we ran to the nearest beauty salon and asked to use the hair dryer. We tried to remove as much water as we could.
When we got back to the hotel I searched in the Internet and found iphoneatlas.com. I followed one of the suggestions that I found. I inserted the I-Phone in a plastic bag with a couple of silica bags from the nearest shoe store and waited for 24 hours. The next day we got back home and connected the I-Phone to the electricity, he was fully charged and it is working perfectly.
I saved my wife’s I-Phone thanks to iphoneatlas.com suggestions.
Posted by potterdc
24 June 2008 @ 4pm
Wow - dropped my iPhone in a puddle of water yesterday during a sudden thunderstorm. Wrestling with wind and umbrella and grocery bags trying to get to the front door, I didn’t even notice it had slipped out of my pocket. I got inside and discovered it was gone - ran back out and looked in the car - couldn’t find it. My heart sank when I looked down and found it screen side down on the sidewalk in the rain in a puddle. It must have been there two or three or four minutes before I picked it up. I dried it off, opened up my laptop and googled this article. I immediately powered off the iPhone, poured some uncooked brown rice (it’s all I had!) into a tuperware container, placed the iPhone screen side down and covered it with more rice. I then placed the container with the iPhone and rice in the oven with ONLY THE LIGHT turned on, and left it for 24 hours (the light on is enough to dry out the air and increase the temperature just a little).
Tonight, the iPhone is fine and working. I’m amazed!
Posted by iphonesam
8 July 2008 @ 1pm
What a life saver! I dropped my phone getting out of the car and it just happen to be pouring rain and right into a puddle it went. Thing did not work and I ordered some of the Silica Packets as listed above from SilicaGelPackets.com and got them shipped priority shipping. Arrived in 2 days and I placed all the packets around the phone in a zip-lock bag and let it sit overnight. I tried it again in the morning and the thing worked. It was a last ditch effort that I thought had no chance in working, but it sure saved me big time!
I am going to get some of these Silica Packet things to keep just in case from now on!
Thanks a ton iPhone Atlas, I owe you one now!