Can a Wet iPhone Be Saved?

[ronandannette]

An "unfortunate series of events" led to my DH going into the drink fully-clothed with his practically new iPhone 6 in his pocket. Any advice on possibilities for salvaging it? I do NOT have access to dry rice, although DH would probably move heaven and earth to get some if it were a sure-fire solution. Ideas? TIA

 

[Christine]

I've heard the only chance you have is several days of the rice solution. We have never had much luck with that.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

My daughter's phone fell in the toilet (a clean one) and we put it in rice for a week and sure enough it worked after. We had to get her a new phone but we kept it as a back up. Later our son dropped his phone and it died and now he is using the phone that was in rice. It needed to be a week. We tested it after a few days and it still didn't work but it did after a week and is still working 1 year later. I hope it works.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Odds are if you don't have dry rice you don't have damp rid or something similar but if you're able to get a product similar to damp rid, put it in a zip lock bag with the phone. It pulls the moisture out better than rice.

 

[elphaba91]

Keep it switched off - water itself won't damage the phone, it's when it is short circuited that it gets ruined. If you've got silica gel packets (like you get with new shoes) they will be just as good, if not better than rice. Otherwise I think a trip to the grocery store and a packet of rice would be worth it to try salvage the phone. Place the phone with the silica gel/rice in a ziplock bag and leave it for at least 24 hours, but preferably 48+ hours. The longer the better!

 

[mom2rtk]

Agreed, the biggest concern is whether it has been turned on yet.

I had an unfortunate series of events last summer that ended with my phone taking a dip in the Gulf of Mexico. The rice did not do the trick, but I reflexively turned it on when I picked it up first. I decided after that to go with a water resistant Galaxy model. (Fortunately I haven't tested that out yet!)

 

[ronandannette]

Thanks all - we will try to get ahold of some rice. We have not touched any buttons on the phone but it was turned on when it got wet - will that make a difference? Also, if it is toast and a new one is required, does anybody know if the data can be recovered?

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks all - we will try to get ahold of some rice. We have not touched any buttons on the phone but it was turned on when it got wet - will that make a difference? Also, if it is toast and a new one is required, does anybody know if the data can be recovered?

I lost everything on my phone. Does that mean he didn't have it backed up to the cloud?

I really did hate losing all my contacts. It took me a while to put it all back together again.

 

[anniemae]

I don't know about the phone, but I would love to hear the "unfortunate series of events!" LOL!

 

[RedAngie]

I don't know about the phone, but I would love to hear the "unfortunate series of events!" LOL!

I wonder if the "unfortunate series of events" falls into the category of "all men are idiots."

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Don't give up yet. My iPhone5 fell out of my pocket and into the (clean) toilet when I was at a conference in a hotel. I flagged down a worker who was able to get me some rice from the kitchen, and kept it in that for a couple of days. Once it was dried, some of the features didn't work. (IIR it was the speaker and ringer, basically it was soundless.) I googled the problem and tried some things that others had had success with. Not sure if it was anything I did, or whether it just took a while to dry, but eventually it began to work again - after maybe a week.

Biggest problem was that, when a problem with the batteries on the iPhone5 was discovered, I took mine in to Apple for replacement, but they were able to see inside that it had water damage (there is a way to tell even without opening it up) and they wouldn't replace the battery on it. I upgraded, but kept the phone, as it was actually working ok except for the battery issue, which wouldn't hold a charge. Anyway, recently I bought a battery replacement kit on Amazon for like $17 and my plan is to replace the battery and give the phone to DS, we just haven't gotten around to actually doing it yet. I would say give it a week or so before making a decision. When I got my new phone I got the $99 service plan with Apple and they'll replace the phone for a relatively small fee if something like that happens again, so I don't have to worry.

 

[mamamary]

Not an iPhone but my sons phone went thru a full cycle in the washing machine. It was in an on position. We kept it in rice. At first I thought it wasn't working but after a week it was fine.

 

[Psychodisney]

Mine survived a swim in a toilet. Keep it off for several days. I know it's so tempting to power it on to see if it is ok. I put mine in rice and I had some silica packaging packets too. Everything eventually worked fine. Good luck!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I would think that dry rice would be available almost anywhere.
If you try the bag and cloth I would also see if you had any of those silica gel packs in shoes, medicines like Tylenol, ETC. probably would not hurt.
Keep in mind even if the phone lights up after waiting few days, don't get overly excited, I think speaker damage is just as big an issue.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Thanks all - we will try to get ahold of some rice. We have not touched any buttons on the phone but it was turned on when it got wet - will that make a difference? Also, if it is toast and a new one is required, does anybody know if the data can be recovered?

My daughters phone was on when it fell into the toilet and I did try to turn it on after 2 days and nothing - then after a week it worked fine with no issues at all. My son is still using it. If you can't turn it on you won't be able to get anything off it.

 

[xlxo]

The newer phones are better for water if you get a replacement. YMMV... lots of youtube water tests...

 

[ronandannette]

I lost everything on my phone. Does that mean he didn't have it backed up to the cloud?

I really did hate losing all my contacts. It took me a while to put it all back together again.

Maybe, probably - I don't really know. I'm a Blackberry person and they have SIM cards...

I don't know about the phone, but I would love to hear the "unfortunate series of events!" LOL!

Moonlight, champagne, a canal and a canoe...you can piece it together from there.

I wonder if the "unfortunate series of events" falls into the category of "all men are idiots."

Oh of course not...l'd never refer to my DH that way...

 

[Albort]

The newer phones are better for water if you get a replacement. YMMV... lots of youtube water tests...

this, iPhone 6 and above are a lot better water resistance. This doesnt mean that you can take it swimming though. Like others have said, stick it in rice for a few days before turning it on. This helps draw the water out of the phone. There is also a possibility of the phone dying quicker due to moisture in the phone causing corrosion so be prepare to replace it earlier than expected.

 

[Shutterbug]

I have used a small container of damp rid in a zip lock bag and it worked great.

 

[ronandannette]

this, iPhone 6 and above are a lot better water resistance. This doesnt mean that you can take it swimming though. Like others have said, stick it in rice for a few days before turning it on. This helps draw the water out of the phone. There is also a possibility of the phone dying quicker due to moisture in the phone causing corrosion so be prepare to replace it earlier than expected.

I've managed (despite my woeful Spanish skills) to procure a bag of raw rice - arroz crudo!!- and am hoping for the best after watching that video...it's a 6s Plus if that ups the odds any. It was submerged for less than 15 seconds and the guy in the video had his under water for 10 minutes .