Most phones out there are water-resistant, but they are not entirely waterproof. If you leave your phone in water for long enough, it will die. Since the days of the iPhone 7, Apple has made its iPhone water-resistant, providing the ability to survive a dunking or short dips.
If you accidentally drop your iPhone in the water or toilet, there is no need to panic; we are here to help. In this article, we will show you how to deal with a wet or water-damaged iPhone.
Which iPhones Are Water-Resistant?
The water resistance has been given to the Apple iPhone lineup since the launch of the iPhone 7. However, the degree of protection varies depending on which iPhone model you are using. If you have purchased a recent iPhone (iPhone 12 or later), you will get a rating of IP68 that allows your device to survive up to six meters of water for up to 30 minutes. Here are all the iPhone models that carry a rating of IP68 at launch:
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
If you have an older iPhone, you will get a rating of IP67, meaning your device can survive being submerged in water up to 1 meter deep for up to 30 minutes. Here’s the list of the iPhone models that are IP67-rated.
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
According to Apple, a device’s protection rating is not permanent. If you keep submerging your device repeatedly, it may decrease over time. So, it’s best never to let your shiny iPhone anywhere near water.
What To Do If your iPhone is water-damaged
If you happen to get your iPhone water-damaged, rest assured that there are several things you can do to help it stay alive.
First, Switch Off Your iPhone
If your iPhone has not been switched off yet, do it immediately. Turning off a wet iPhone prevents water from entering your device’s hardware, thus causing long-term damage.
To turn off an iPhone, press and hold down on the power button until you see the Power Off screen. Simply slide to turn it off. Please do not turn it back until you dry out all the water. If your iPhone is in AirPlane mode when it’s wet, leave it alone until it’s entirely dried out.
Dry Out Your iPhone
Uncooked Rice
Once you have turned off your device, the next step is to dry it out. The best way is to bury your iPhone in rice and leave it alone for 48 hours. The rice will absorb the moisture effectively, thus keeping your hardware safe from water damage. If you do not have any uncooked rice at home, hold your iPhone upright and tap it gently to get liquid out of your device.
Silica Gel
Another option to dry out your iPhone is using silica gel, but you will need a lot of them to cover your iPhone. Silica gel sachet effectively dries a wet iPhone while not damaging its components. All you need to do is cover your iPhone with silica gel and leave it there for 48 hours until it’s dried out completely.
Should I Dismantle My iPhone to Dry It Out?
If you think there’s liquid inside your device, you can open it up and dry it out. However, we do not recommend this method to all users. Opening up an iPhone requires some DIY repair skills. A wrong step may result in irresistible damage to your iPhone. So make sure you know what you are doing.
If you are not confident about doing DIY repairs, we suggest bringing your device to an authorized repair. Avoid handing your iPhone to a random guy and letting him play with its components. According to Apple, water and other liquid damage to iPhone is not covered by the company’s One-Year Limited Warranty. You will be charged some cash, but at least your iPhone is safe from scammers.
How to Dry Out Your iPhone’s Speaker
Even if your iPhone is water-resistant, the chances are that water still can enter your device’s speakers. To eject water from your iPhone’s speaker grilles, you can rely on a third-party app called Sonic, an excellent tool that causes the water to get out of the speakers.
Download the app from the App Store and hit the droplet icon in the middle. This should eject the water from your speakers. You can upgrade to the Pro version to access many advanced features, including more frequency ranges.
What’s Now?
Once your iPhone has been dried out completely, try switching it on. If your device doesn’t turn on, bring your device to an authorized Apple Store to get the internals checked out.
One last thing: We suggest you always have a backup of your iPhone in the cloud if your device does not power on or data gets corrupted.
