Dry Out a Wet iPhone

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.

Steps

Knowing What to Do Immediately

  1. Take the phone out of the water. While this step is logical, you may start to panic as soon as you drop it in the water. Calm down, and pull it out as quickly as you can.[1]
  2. Unplug it. If the phone happens to be plugged in, unplug it as soon as possible. Be careful when doing so, as you don't want to electrocute yourself.[2]
    • That is, be sure not to get your fingers near the connection. Hold the phone in one hand, and pull out the charger by grasping the cord several inches down. Normally, you don't want to pull from the cord because it ends up fraying it, but in this case, you need to do so to keep yourself from being electrocuted.
  3. Turn the phone off. Ideally, you'd want to remove the battery first. Since you can't do that with an iPhone, the next best thing is to turn off the phone as soon as possible.[3]
  4. Take out the sim card. You'll need a paperclip or the sim card tool.[4]
    • Find the sim card tray on your iPhone. It is usually along the right side of the phone. You'll notice a small hole.[4]
    • Insert the paperclip or tool into the hole. The sim card tray will pop out. Leave the whole tray out for now.[4]
  5. Wipe it down with a towel. Run a towel over your device to dry the outside of the device as quickly as possible.[3]
    • You can also run it over the ports to help draw out the water.

Taking Further Steps

  1. Remove water from the ports. Try shaking out the water.[1] You can also carefully blow out water with compressed air. However, you definitely do not want to blow it back inside the phone, so be careful.[3]
    • To use compressed air, hold the can of air so that it's blowing across the hole rather than into it. Spray the air, and the water should jet out the other side.
  2. Pick a type of drying element. Some people use regular rice to dry it out, but that is not the most effective option. Instant rice is somewhat better, but it an also get rice in the ports.[5] A better option is silica gel. Silica gel is what comes in the little packets along with many electronic items. It absorbs water better than rice. You can try gathering enough from your home or trying purchasing them from a craft store. You'll need enough to surround the phone.[2] A final option is a drying pouch, specifically designed for this purpose. You can find them online or at electronics stores.[3]
    • If you can't find enough silica gel packets, you can try crystallized kitty litter, which is essentially the same thing.[6]
    • Some tests show that it may be best just to leave the phone in open air rather than trying to submerge it in a drying agent.[7]
  3. Submerge the phone. If you use rice, protect your phone from the rice by wrapping it in a paper towel before submerging it.[3] Submerge the phone in a bowl of rice. For the silica gel packets, surround the phone with as many of them as you have.[2] For a drying pouch, simply drop the phone in the bag, and seal the pouch.[3]
  4. Leave it to dry. Let the phone dry for at least 2 days.[2] You want to make sure the inside components are dry. Otherwise, you can short it out when you turn it on.
  5. Replace the sim card. Insert the sim card tray back into the phone. Make sure it goes in the same way it came out.
  6. Try turning it on. After it is completely dry, you can try turning it on again. If you're lucky, it will work, and you can continue using your phone.[2]



Tips

  • If your phone has been submerged in water for more than 20 minutes it most likely won't work.
  • If you can, order a kit for drying out a phone ahead of time and just keep it on hand, in case you need it.
  • Try a waterproof case to protect your phone from these types of situations.

Warnings

  • Don't use a blow dryer or other heat source to try to dry your phone. The heat can damage your phone even more.[3]
  • While phones dry best when you open them up, doing so voids you're warranty. Plus, if you don't know what you are doing, you can damage the phone more by opening it.[2] However, water damage voids your warranty anyway in most cases, so this problem may not be a concern for you.[6]
  • Even if you get your phone to work, the water can cause permanent damage to your phone, especially the battery. It may crater in a few months or even overheat.[2]

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/mobile-phone/3515240/how-dry-out-iphone-fix-water-damaged-smartphone/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/iphone/how-fix-rescue-water-damaged-apple-iphone-3448140/
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 http://www.wired.com/2014/02/thats-deal-wet-phone/
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201337
  5. ↑ http://www.cnet.com/how-to/using-desiccants-to-soak-up-wet-electronics/
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/05/06/gazelles-guide-water-damage-truth-rice-galaxy-everything/
  7. ↑ https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/05/06/gazelles-guide-water-damage-truth-rice-galaxy-everything/
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