IPhone submerged in water - isn't working. Need advice.

[lintriago]

I live in Northern California where we're getting hit hard by rain. A friend in a truck came to pick me up and as I walked to the main road, I was submerged up to my neck in water. I had no idea it was that deep.

So my iphone was in my purse which was filled with water. It doesn't work. It won't even turn on. I tried plugging it into the wire that charges it via my mac. The apple logo would flash for a couple of seconds and then turn off.

Any advice? I am so frustrated. My iphone was my only means of communication and a) it doesn't work and b) I am trapped at home.

 

[thelatinist]

Ouch. There are things you can do that sometimes work, but by plugging it in and trying to turn it on you may have already damaged it beyond hope. I wish you had come here sooner, that is the first thing we would have told you not to do. Electricity and water do not mix, and even if you thoroughly dried the exterior chances are that the interior is still wet.

The usual recommendation is to seal the phone in a ZipLoc bag full of silica gel or, if unavailable, rice and wait at least three days (I wouldn't turn mine on for a week). The silica gel will absorb moisture as it evaporates from inside your phone, hopefully drying it out. As tempting as it might be, do not yield to the desire to turn it on prematurely.

 

[renewed]

1. Don't walk into water! Not being sarcastic. That is severely dangerous. There could be snakes, it could be deeper than you think (as you found out) and there could be a current or under-toe that could take you under.

2. Do not attempt to turn it on! (too late) Electronics and water do NOT mix and allowing currents to flow won't help either.

The thing to do now, which could be futile, is to leave the iPhone off and place it in a bag of rice for a few days. The rice will absorb all the moisture and hopefully dry out the phone. There have been some success stories of this mentioned but I believe the ones that were most successful were the ones that they didn't turn the iPhone on first.

 

[lintriago]

i have put it in rice...

i was desperate which is why i plugged it into my computer. I had no idea the road was that flooded and I needed to get to work. Had i know, I would've left my friggin' iphone at home. I really cannot afford a new one.

Last time I did try to power it up via the computer, I did see the logo for about thirty seconds (longer than before) before it shut off. I am hoping that is a sign.

I keep reading about this water damage mark. It turns red if there is damage? I checked the headphone jack and can't find anything. I have a 3G. There is a circle in the upper left corner of the back of the phone. Is this the water damage detector? If so, it's white.

 

[-aggie-]

After all that doesn't work, get an Out of Warranty replacement due to water damage for $199.

The water damage indicator for the head phone jack can only be seen with a magnifier and light (Apple store employees have them) and you need to look straight down and in the middle of the bottom of the jack. It's still hard to see unless it has a lot of water (which yours has presumably). If you see red or pink it's been triggered. The other water damage indicator is in the middle of the dock connector, towards the bottom with the iPhone facing up. This one is very hard to see. There are two more inside the iPhone,