Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

looking4anotebo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 9, 2007
300
47
So I lost my Iphone 5c in the snow, it was under a couple inches, face down, for about 7 hours. Phone looks fine but I immediately turned it off. Good idea or bad idea? Should I stick it in a jar of rice? What's the standard protocol to prevent or limit water damage?
 
Yes, most certainly keep it off for atleast 48 hours if you can. The bag of rice method I heard can work although make sure you use instant rice, it has the best absorbing qualities.

Another thing I heard works is using silica gel (those packets you find in pill bottles) I think you can buy silica in bulk and they sell at hardware stores these things that you can use to pull out moisture (essentially its almost like an icepack filled with silica).

There's also this: http://www.amazon.com/Dry-All-Wet-C...UTF8&qid=1425420274&sr=8-1&keywords=phone+dry

Again, I would keep if off, even if you're just letting it air dry. You might be lucky. Since it was outside in the cold, the snow may have hopefully stayed solid and may not have seeped too much water into the internals.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Thanks for the feedback. I have it in a plastic bag with 2 of those packets. I will try turning it on in a few days.
 
I bet it's going to be fine. It was in snow, not water. iPhones are quite resilient believe it or not.
 
SIM cards are strangely resilient. I had mine submerged in the ocean for 25 minutes (left phone in my pocket), and it worked fine forever.

I wouldn't turn it on in a few days though, unless you live in a really dry climate in addition to having the phone in rice. Water or moisture can take a long time to dry up, and it's really the only thing that shorts the motherboards in electronics. If you don't wait long enough, starting it up again if there is moisture inside could ruin it.

But since you found it in snow and were able to turn it off in the first place, you'll most likely be ok. Wish I had the same story for my MBP. ;'[
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.