iPhone 5s got wet, unsure of what to do next

[emmak12]

So I was kayaking today and quite a bit of water got into the boat where I had my phone between my legs. I snatched my phone out of the way almost right away but it did get pretty wet. I dried off the exterior of the phone and it seemed to be working fine. I didn't know what to do so I turned it off for the rest of the kayak trip. When I was finished, I turned it back on and it booted up fine. The only issues I noticed were some spots on the screen that looked like water under the screen's surface, and that the phone seemed to be stuck in headphone mode. When I got back home, I turned it off again, checked the water indicator in the SIM card slot (didn't see any red or pink dot), and it's been sitting in front of a fan for 3 hours now. Should I do anything else? Will it be okay? I'm scared to turn it back on again in case it short circuits. Any tips would be appreciated!

 

[C DM]

Let it dry for a day or two (perhaps in a bag of uncooked rice or something like that) and then try powering it on and see how it's working after that. No way to really tell how it will work at that point or how it will behave down the line as each case is different--everything could be just fine and stay that way down the line, or some things might not work properly or perhaps start not working properly down the line.

 

[Willo34]

Rice thing is an urban legend, IT DOES NOT WORK.
Leave the phone off and go to a good repairshop and have them do a liquid damage treatment.
Usually you dont notice liquid damage until later, at which point the damage is already done.....

 

[nebo1ss]

Rice thing is an urban legend, IT DOES NOT WORK.
Leave the phone off and go to a good repairshop and have them do a liquid damage treatment.
Usually you dont notice liquid damage until later, at which point the damage is already done.....

Disagree. Rice is a desiccant and does work. It is not necessarily the best solution, Silica Gel would be much better.

 

[C DM]

Rice thing is an urban legend, IT DOES NOT WORK.
Leave the phone off and go to a good repairshop and have them do a liquid damage treatment.
Usually you dont notice liquid damage until later, at which point the damage is already done.....

It's not a cure-all or the best thing out there or even something that is guaranteed to work or anything like that, but it can certainly be helpful more often than not.

 

[addamas]

Well, if indicator is not colored there is no much to be worried about. Keeping in closed box with tons of uncooked rice will be the best in-home option now.
Better than this is Silica Gel (these little things added to boxes of boots ).
My fiancée have a Yellow Submarine (yellow iPhone 5C ) which fall into dirty water with chemicals so only way to keep it alive was going to phone technicians (service ) where it was disassembled and cleaned in ultrasonic "shower". Working fine

But in your case rice would be the best but not necessary. If you put it inside box get it out of any case and remove sim tray (leave space there ). Of course you have it turned off.

 

[flyinmac]

The "S" isn't for submerge. Lol.

But they do make small crystals / beads that you can put in a jar that suck water out of the air.

I used them when living in an RV during the winter. There was a lot of condensation. I put several trays and jars around the RV on shelves, tables, etc. and my condensation problem was cured.

They might have been silica. Not sure.

But I'd find something like that and set the phone in them. Like submerged in them. And let it sit a day or two.

Should suck it dry.