Check if Your iPhone Has Water Damage

This article teaches how to check if your iPhone has water damage by looking for special indicators on the device.

10 Second Version

1. Remove the SIM tray.
2. Shine a light into the SIM slot.
3. Look for a red liquid contact indicator.
4. Check the headphone jack on older iPhones.

Straighten a paper clip or obtain a SIM removal tool. To find the water contact indicator on any iPhone 5, 6, or 7 model, you'll need to open the SIM tray.
Find the SIM tray. You'll see the SIM tray along the right edge of the iPhone, with a small pinhole at the bottom.
Insert the paper clip or SIM tool into the pinhole. This is the SIM tray's eject button.
Apply pressure to pop the SIM tray out. With a little pressure, the SIM tray should pop straight out. Make sure you don't misplace your SIM card while the tray is out.
Shine a light into the SIM tray. You can use a flashlight or just hold the phone up to a desk lamp.
Look for a red water contact indicator. If the iPhone has contacted a liquid near your SIM tray, you'll see a red indicator in the center of the tray opening.
- On iPhone 7 models, the indicator is a strip that takes about half the slot.
- On iPhone 6 models, the indicator is near the center, offset just a little.
- On iPhone 5 models, the indicator is round and in the center of the slot.
Contact your carrier for replacement options. If you have water damage, you can try to repair it yourself, but chances are that you'll need a replacement. Water damage is not covered under AppleCare, but if you have insurance through your carrier you may be able to get a replacement.

Shine a light into your headphone jack. One of the two liquid contact indicators on these models are located in the headphone jack.
Look for the red liquid contact indicator. If you see a hemisphere of red when you look directly into the jack, the liquid contact indicator has been hit.
Shine a light into your charging port. The second indicator can be found at the bottom of the phone, in the charging port.
Look for the red liquid contact indicator. If the indicator has contacted water, you'll see a tiny red strip in the center of the port.
Check into replacement options. If your indicator shows contact, you can |try to repair the damage yourself. There's a good chance, however, that you'll need to get a replacement, especially if the water has sat for some time.
- Water damage is not covered by AppleCare, but you may be able to get a replacement from your carrier.

Liquid Contact Indicators do not turn red quickly. If you do find a red indicator on an iPhone, it means that the device may have been submerged or exposed to water or other forms of liquid over a prolonged period.
Take your iPhone to the nearest service center once you find it to have water damage to prevent serious problems.