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Doh! Dropped iPhone in water...worked for 10 min. then dead...

H

HXGuy

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 25, 2010
1,679
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My wife dropped her iPhone in the outdoor trash bin that had water at the bottom...it was in there for a couple minutes while we tried to dig it out.

To our surprise, it still worked fine after we took it out so we figured it was fine. She used to for about 10 min and then it died, now it won't turn back on.

It's been in a bowl of rice for the last 18 hours and I tried to turn it back on and nothing. :(

Best thing probably would have been to shut it off ASAP so that nothing shorted out and then let it dry out, but since it worked we thought maybe water didn't really get into it.

Any other ideas? Should I take off the back cover and try to blow dry it or something?
 
Dry dry dry.

There is little to zero airflow, and plenty of complicated topography for water to hide in. I'd keep it in the rice - and try to introduce some heat (~100F).

There's a chance it's dead for life - but I'm willing to bet if you leave it to dry longer, you'll get lucky.

Just know that it takes time, and nothing you can do will expedite this process, unless you have access to a vacuum oven, or are willing to open it up.

Try swapping in some dry rice, and letting it go a while longer... Also, quick search on these forums will yield tons of results.
 
I'm thinking since you were using it before letting it dry out that the water already damaged the phone.
 
Jordan921 said:
I'm thinking since you were using it before letting it dry out that the water already damaged the phone.
Click to expand...

That is what I am afraid of too. Had I shut it down right away then I think it could have been saved but using it for 10 minutes probably allowed water to move around all over the inside and probably shorted it. :(
 
Don't count that usage so heavily. The reality is - it's never truly powered off - unless you disconnect the battery. There will ALWAYS be power going through parts of the device when a battery (with charge) is connected.

Granted, you do increase your likelihood of damaging the device with it powered on - but the fact of the matter is even in standby, electrolysis will still be chewing away at the innards.

Odds are good that due to the water, the battery has drained out and needs a recharge. BUT DO NOT CHARGE IT YET - ensure the device is completely dry before doing this.
 
With the back removed and battery out you would be much better off but alas the iPhone is not made for quick removal of either (compared to most phones) especially if it just took a swim.

I would still open it up and keep drying.
 
HXGuy said:
Should I take off the back cover and try to blow dry it or something?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend blow drying it. I spilled some liquid in an old MacBook Pro I had an in an attempt to dry it my wife took a blow dryer to it...and melted several of the keys.
 
It really should stay in rice for at least 3 days before you attempt to power it up again.
 
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My daughter dropped her 3GS in a toilet and was only in there a few seconds. We took the two screws out of the bottom and popped out the screen, let it dry for a few days. We put it back together and to my surprise it still works today. That was 3 months ago! Never give up hope#
 
r.j.s said:
It really should stay in water for at least 3 days before you attempt to power it up again.
Click to expand...

Just put it in the bathtub lol. My 3G was submerged in water, turned it off. used the blow dryer on it for about 30 minutes....good as new after that.

EDIT: Great r.j.s, you edited your post...takes the fun out of my post lol.
 
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I love Apple! :D

My wife and I went into the Apple store today and they replaced it with a new phone free of charge! Now we didn't say that it was dropped in water, just that it won't turn on. The guy looked at the water damage indicators real quick and then gave us a new phone.

I think we got lucky because the bottom connector water indicator did not turn red/pink. The earphone jack one was 1/2 red but really hard to see unless you used a flashlight which he didn't. Really lucked on that one, it would have been $149 to replace it.
 
This Rice Thing....

I've read a lot of post about placing the iPhone in rice if the phone is dropped in water. Does the rice draw moisture out of the case itself? I can't assume one opens the casing and soak the electronics in rice. Sorry for the noob question. This is good to know and valuable information.
 
You killed it by keeping it powered on while it was soaked. If you get a device wet you need to turn it off. Can't have electricity going through the device while it's wet. That shorts out the components.
 
ET iPhone Home said:
This Rice Thing....

I've read a lot of post about placing the iPhone in rice if the phone is dropped in water. Does the rice draw moisture out of the case itself? I can't assume one opens the casing and soak the electronics in rice. Sorry for the noob question. This is good to know and valuable information.
Click to expand...

Here's the best way I've heard of from a very good cell phone repair technician.

Immediately turn it off.

If it's a phone with a removable battery, remove it.

Place the phone in a ziplock plastic bag that contains enough long grain white rice to cover the phone and then some.

On day three open the bag, discard the rice & replace with new rice, seal bag. Do this twice more for a total of nine days.

Remove phone & power up. It will either work or it won't. If you don't have the patience for nine days you're risking the phone.

I keep an old feature phone (dumb phone) just as a spare should I need to dry my phone after just such an accident. No one is perfect :)
 
HXGuy said:
I love Apple! :D

My wife and I went into the Apple store today and they replaced it with a new phone free of charge! Now we didn't say that it was dropped in water, just that it won't turn on. The guy looked at the water damage indicators real quick and then gave us a new phone.

I think we got lucky because the bottom connector water indicator did not turn red/pink. The earphone jack one was 1/2 red but really hard to see unless you used a flashlight which he didn't. Really lucked on that one, it would have been $149 to replace it.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you got a replacement. I think as long as both sensors aren't triggered there is the possible chance they do replace the phone.
 
Yea, crazy that the whole situation actually turned out better than if it has never happened. The phone has some bad scratches on the front screen so now she has a brand new phone.

It's weird how both water damage sensors didn't get triggered. The phone was fully submerged under water for a couple minutes. Hell she wasn't even sure it was in there so we actually called it and heard it ringing wile under water. :eek::p
 
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