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iPhone went for an inadvertent swim - any advice please?!

XIII

XIII

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 15, 2004
3,449
0
England
Hey there.

Yesterday I was at a pool party and was pushing a friend in along with some others, and was dragged in myself. I jumped out right away, but my iPhone was in my pocket and wouldn't turn on. I've had it on top of the Aga or in the airing cupboard since - just wondering what else I should do? I have read about rice, but everyone has also said keep it in the airing cupboard - which one?! Also, some places they talk about washing the whole thing through with distilled water or 99% alcohol fluid - just to wash the insides of the phone, where the chlorine may have accumulated, which will do no good to the phone. Good plan? I feel pretty bad about chucking it in a glass of alcohol fluid if I've just managed to dry it in the first place, but maybe I have to do that?

Basically I'm just looking for a plan of action!

If it is broken, I also have a couple of options - Apple will now replace it for £146 they seem to say, with a refurb or new one. Or it seems like it's covered under our home insurance, but with an excess or £100 - maybe a better one.

Any advice would be brilliant, I'm still a bit shocked at my stupidity! Thanks.
 
Wait for it to dry out before trying to switch it on.

If its really broken, maybe you can claim it on either your house insurance or your friends...
 
You're not alone in your stupidity. Search the boards, tons of similar posts.
 
Do NOT plug it in to charge or switch it on. There is a distinct chance you will worsen any damage if not fry yourself.

Go and get a tupperware box and some ordinary dry rice.

1. Mop up as much moisture as you can with kitchen roll etc.
2. Get a teeny bit of kitchen roll, wad it up and pop it into the headphone socket.
3. Pour half the rice into the tupperware box, up to about halfway.
4. Put your iPhone in the rice.
5. Pour the rest of the rice over the iPhone.
6. Seal the box.
7. Wait, if you can, about a week but at least several days.

The wadded-up kitchen roll in the headphone socked is to avoid grains of rice getting stuck down there. It's a PITA.

Oh yes, and I know this works because I brought a dunked iPhone back to life with no visible side effects by doing this.

Regards,

John
 
I did the same and dropped mine in a pond. It was compleatly submerged.

It's now fine. This is what I did.

Mop it with a tissue as best you can.

Avoid temptation to switch on, just leave it. Yes you can try rice but proper dessicant is far better as it is far more effective at drawing out moisture quickly. You want to
minimise chance of corrosion by getting the water out fast.

Get some dessicant such as damp rid ( the stuff to take moisture from the air)

find an iPhone sizeish plastic Tupperware type container with a lid and place as much dessicant on the bottom. I put some supports to lift the iPhone off the dessicant just in case it effected the case plastic but you can probably put the iPhone directly on it. Seal the lid and leave for 12-48 hours.

My screen was compleatly wet underneath the glass but it was amazing . All the water was drawn out. Best leave as long as possible and resist turning on for as long as possible.

Mine is fine. It really works.
 
That's terrible. My wife dropped her 2G in a glass of tea. It was only for a moment and I followed the advise the other posters gave you. It worked except plugging the charge cord in it gave the "This accessory is not made to work..." error. Since it was a pool I don't think there is any residue (that you need to worry about). A buddy recommended a distilled water rinse for mine since the tea most likely left some residue in there. I was not willing to dunk it again.
 
I used rice, because I was in a foul mood and not inclined to go searching Switzerland for dessicant...

But either way, my old 3G iPhone now works fine - my daughter has it.
 
Thank you everyone for your advice - very very helpful, and I am reassured by the stories of success! I will not bother washing it through, but do the rice/proper dessicant method instead.

This is the only visible problem at the moment - you see the white marks in the corners of the screen? I presume that's water or condensation or something? Hopefully this method will help remove that.

photo7n.jpg


I did search, but there were lots of different methods, and contradicting views. Just wanted some clarification, and everyone has provided it - thank you.

I'll keep you updated with my success/lack of success.

EDIT:

Get some dessicant such as damp rid ( the stuff to take moisture from the air)
Click to expand...

Can you explain this any more, I don't quite know what to look for or where to get it from?! All I know of is dessicated coconut!
 
one thing to try

I had a coworker who dropped his Nano into the lets go wih bathroom sink, I was able to get it working again for him by plaicing it on a space heater for an hour or so. being this is a lot more sensative equipment I would place something under it to sheild it from direct contact with a hot surface
 
Maverick713 said:
I had a coworker who dropped his Nano into the lets go wih bathroom sink, I was able to get it working again for him by plaicing it on a space heater for an hour or so. being this is a lot more sensative equipment I would place something under it to sheild it from direct contact with a hot surface
Click to expand...

LOL at the bathroom sink...

But heating or otherwise drying your gadget/iPhone is not a great idea as it will ensure residue is "baked" on to the circuitry. There is normally a maximum operating and/or storage temperature listed for all devices, for the iPhone the storage max is 133 F / 45 C which is easily exceeded by even the most indirect heat source. All sorts of things inside a gadget can get warped/damaged by heat.

Let it dry slowly with rice/dessicants.
 
jsamuelson said:
LOL at the bathroom sink...

But heating or otherwise drying your gadget/iPhone is not a great idea as it will ensure residue is "baked" on to the circuitry. There is normally a maximum operating and/or storage temperature listed for all devices, for the iPhone the storage max is 133 F / 45 C which is easily exceeded by even the most indirect heat source. All sorts of things inside a gadget can get warped/damaged by heat.

Let it dry slowly with rice/dessicants.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying set it on fire just don't go too crazy with warming it up
 
jsamuelson said:
Do NOT plug it in to charge or switch it on. There is a distinct chance you will worsen any damage if not fry yourself.

Go and get a tupperware box and some ordinary dry rice.

1. Mop up as much moisture as you can with kitchen roll etc.
2. Get a teeny bit of kitchen roll, wad it up and pop it into the headphone socket.
3. Pour half the rice into the tupperware box, up to about halfway.
4. Put your iPhone in the rice.
5. Pour the rest of the rice over the iPhone.
6. Seal the box.
7. Wait, if you can, about a week but at least several days.

The wadded-up kitchen roll in the headphone socked is to avoid grains of rice getting stuck down there. It's a PITA.

Oh yes, and I know this works because I brought a dunked iPhone back to life with no visible side effects by doing this.

Regards,

John
Click to expand...

Just done exactly this. Interestingly, taking it out of the airing cupboard, the water marks I showed a picture of above have all but gone in the last few hours.

If I can find a suitable dessicate I will replace the rice tomorrow, and I'll try and leave it for 3 days - that should give it every chance to dry out. Then to test, I guess just plug it into the Mac and cross my fingers!
 
The 7 steps in the earlier posting sound about right.

The only thing I would add is that if the phone is still dripping wet, and you have distilled or deionized water handy, you might want to redunk the phone in distilled water to help rinse out the chlorine (and anything else!) dissolved in the pool water.

Then leave off and desiccate for several days.

If you can put the sealed dessication bag or box in a warm (not hot) place, it might speed up the process just a bit. Window sill in direct sunlight, etc., as long as it doesn't exceed the max storage temperature (which could degrade the battery, at minimum).

ymmv.
 
Left it nearly 5 days now in rice, just taken it out. Plugged in for 20 mins now - no signs of life.
 
I guess the final post.

After it didn't turn on, I submerged it in distilled water and washed it all the way through, then put it in the rice bag again for 6 days. It's plugged into my computer now, no signs of life at all - absolutely nothing. I guess it's dead :(
 
XIII said:
I guess the final post.

After it didn't turn on, I submerged it in distilled water and washed it all the way through, then put it in the rice bag again for 6 days. It's plugged into my computer now, no signs of life at all - absolutely nothing. I guess it's dead :(
Click to expand...

Mine went for a swim in the toilet at Denver Airport in April, it took over 6-8 weeks for it to dry out. I had it replaced on insurance, and out of curiosity I turned it on about two weeks ago and it came on, no visible signs of damage. Still didn't work at the beginning of June so believe it or not, it may just take a long time!!
 
XIII said:
I guess the final post.

After it didn't turn on, I submerged it in distilled water and washed it all the way through, then put it in the rice bag again for 6 days. It's plugged into my computer now, no signs of life at all - absolutely nothing. I guess it's dead :(
Click to expand...

R.I.P. poor iphone. :(

i'm sorry to hear that. Guess it's time to buy a new iphone. Next time, keep your iphone far far far away from the pool. :)
 
pelicanflip said:
R.I.P. poor iphone. :(

i'm sorry to hear that. Guess it's time to buy a new iphone. Next time, keep your iphone far far far away from the pool. :)
Click to expand...

Don't be an idiot and push people into a pool with an expensive electronic device in your pocket. You got what you deserve with being pulled in with your 'friend', unfortunately you choose to make your action with your device. CFS
 
ericvmazzone said:
Don't be an idiot and push people into a pool with an expensive electronic device in your pocket. You got what you deserve with being pulled in with your 'friend', unfortunately you choose to make your action with your device. CFS
Click to expand...

What's it like to be so perfect to have never made a mistake before? Must be nice.
 
ericvmazzone said:
Don't be an idiot and push people into a pool with an expensive electronic device in your pocket. You got what you deserve with being pulled in with your 'friend', unfortunately you choose to make your action with your device. CFS
Click to expand...

That's harsh, man.

Were the dunked iphones actually turned off when they hit the water, or just asleep. If sleep mode, I'd think the circuitry was "live" and would be fried whether or not it was then woken up by pressing the home button. If the phone was powered off, then I'd think the method might work better (to not turn it on before trying the rice or some other desiccant method.)
 
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