You've dropped your iPhone in water, and correct now you want to dry out information technology out, assess and fix the damage, and recover the data within. You've come to the right place for advice.

Water is the second about mutual type of damage faced by iPhones (later smashed screens, which nosotros hash out in our article on getting a broken iPhone repaired). But a dunk isn't necessarily a death penalty. No guarantees, but with our tips there'southward every chance your phone will survive to fight (and get moisture) another twenty-four hours.

In this article nosotros explain the all-time strategies for dealing with a moisture or water-damaged iPhone.

What to practice if your iPhone gets wet

What to do if your iPhone gets wet

Get the iPhone out of the water right abroad, if y'all oasis't already.

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

Do non turn it on. This tin cause short circuits.

If the wet iPhone is in a instance, take it out. Remove the SIM card too. Water can linger in these nooks and crannies.

With a soft towel or cloth, wipe liquid off everything y'all can reach. Plough the iPhone upside down and give it a gentle milk shake to clear the ports and sockets.

Power off the wet iPhone

Power off the wet iPhone

You desire to avoid activating the circuits within the iPhone, considering this is likely to cause short circuits and long-term damage.

If the iPhone is switched off already, exit it off. Don't be tempted to ability on to see if it still works. It might, and then promptly stop working forever precisely considering you took a wait.

If your iPhone is switched on, you're looking at 2 unappealing options: ability down (merely in the process cause the screen and operating arrangement to wake up briefly earlier switching off) or leave the device in sleep mode and promise you lot don't get any notifications.

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

If you were lucky plenty to be in Aeroplane Mode when you lot dropped the device, however, or are confident that nothing will wake your iPhone in the next 48 hours, leaving it lonely might be the better choice.

Dry out your iPhone with uncooked rice

Dry out your iPhone with uncooked rice

Now we demand to draw as much interior liquid out equally possible. Resist the temptation to employ a hair dryer or other heat handling, as this tin can damage the iPhone'due south internal components.

(A few iPhone users advise the employ of a non-heated fan, which at least shouldn't make things worse, fifty-fifty if we think the beneath techniques are probable to be more effective.)

To get wet out of the iPhone's interior, you need a desiccant. Many people swear by uncooked rice, advising owners to put their clammy iPad or iPhone in a big bowl of the stuff (cover it completely) and leave it at that place for 48 hours or so.

The rice will blot the moisture effectively, and most of u.s. accept some uncooked rice in our homes (or tin get hold of some fairly easily). Merely it may get grit or even entire grains into the ports. Be warned.

Nosotros talk over this method in more detail in our article: rescue a soaked iPhone with the rice trick.

Photo past Steven Depolo; used (unmodified) under Artistic Eatables Licence. It'south an iPod touch on, in fact, but you get the idea.

Dry out your iPhone with silica gel

Dry out your iPhone with silica gel

A ameliorate option than uncooked rice if yous've got information technology 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 humid climate.

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

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

Dismantle your iPhone

Dismantle your iPhone

If y'all're really confident nigh doing DIY repairs on your iPhone, the best way to deal with a wet iPhone is to unscrew the bottom screws (on most models of iPhone this will require a proprietary type of screwdriver head, available as office of some iPhone repair kits sold past unofficial third-political party accessory makers) and admission the interior.

Just deport in mind that this is likely to invalidate whatever warranty coverage you lot've got, and there'south a risk that your DIY work volition crusade damage rather than repair it.

All the same: the virtually effective way to become h2o from the inside of an iPhone is to become right in there and dry information technology out from within.

You lot'll want to take the bombardment out, for case (this also minimises the potential for short circuits), and get water out of all the internal nooks and crannies. Apply a soft dry cloth to all interior surfaces while endeavouring to be every bit gentle as possible.

We're not sure we'd recommend this arroyo, primarily because of its potential to exacerbate the trouble. But in some situations it may be the but manner to save the 24-hour interval - and if nothing else works and yous're out of warranty, you may find yourself with nothing to lose.

What to do next

What to do next

In one case you've waited a couple of days and remember you've successfully dried out your iPhone, you lot can try switching it on. If it still doesn't work, or if yous want to get the internals checked out, you tin can enquire an Apple Genius to accept a look, but bear in mind that iOS devices accept internal liquid detectors, then they will know what happened.

1 final warning: a bad submersion may crusade long-term damage, particularly to the bombardment, that merely becomes apparent months later. In one famous instance, an iPhone 3GS spontaneously overheated more a twelvemonth afterwards beingness dropped in a pool. The possessor had used the rice technique and the iPhone had worked fine afterwards... initially.

Nosotros would therefore suggest that, if yous're lucky enough to be able to get your iPhone to run later on a dip, you should back up all of import files on the device in example it packs up again in the hereafter. Its recovery, nosotros're sorry to say, may only exist temporary - although we hope not.

Waterproof cases & emergency kits

Waterproof cases & emergency kits

Hopefully the steps in a higher place helped you revive the drowned iPhone in your life, but there are way to avoid the situation in future.

Water'due south non expert for iPhones and iPads, penetrating deep within their circuitry and leading to damaging short circuits. So those (extremely mutual) hazards so many iPhone owners risk - taking photos on the beach, browsing the spider web in the bath, even reading email on the loo - are all-time avoided. Almost of us only cotton fiber on to the dangers after our first soaked iPhone.

If you actually desire to read e-books by the pool or in the bath, consider buying a waterproof iPhone case. Another choice to behave in mind is some kind of handle or wrist strap and so you're less likely to drib the device in the start identify.

You might like to buy an emergency package for drying out an electronic device - obviously it's all-time to have it ready in advance, instead of waiting for the crisis to occur then queueing at the shops.

The AF Tech Rescue Kit is an affordable pick bachelor on Amazon.

Which iPhones are water-resistant?

Which iPhones are water-resistant?

If ownership a waterproof instance doesn't entreatment, you lot might consider upgrading the telephone itself. In recent years Apple'southward handsets have got improve and better at water resistance.

Water (and dust) resistance is commonly expressed by the IP rating system. Before 2022 Apple didn't disclose IP ratings for its phones, only that year'south iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were certified as IP67 - an excellent score which indicates they should survive submersion in upwards to 1m of water for thirty minutes.

In 2022 the iPhone XS and XS Max went one step further, scoring IP68. This extends the immersion to 2m, and you lot will very rarely see a consumer production get a higher rating than this.

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

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

Yous can buy a new iPhone handset on Apple'south website, or browse 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 7 and later on are water-resistant, it doesn't stop water from getting into the speaker grille. The Apple tree Spotter Series 2 and later take a similar effect, although they come up with a congenital-in feature that tin be toggled to 'eject' the water by playing a specific frequency.

Why the iPhones don't feature a similar option, we're non quite sure - but there is a relatively easy style for users to squirt h2o from inside an iPhone 7 or afterward speaker, and it's by using a gratuitous app called Sonic.

Only download the app and tap the h2o droplet icon in the heart of the screen. This should cause the h2o to 'jump' from the speaker so you can absorb information technology with a tissue.