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

iPhone X Help. Dropped my iPhone X in water. (Speakers)

AmazingTechGeek

AmazingTechGeek

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 6, 2015
685
304
Los Angeles
I dropped my iPhone X in water a couple days ago. The speakers are fine for the most part, but the bass hasn’t returned to normal all the way. How can normalize the speaker/dry it properly? I don’t believe rice helps.

Any help would be appreciated
 
AmazingTechGeek said:
I dropped my iPhone X in water a couple days ago. The speakers are fine for the most part, but the bass hasn’t returned to normal all the way. How can normalize the speaker/dry it properly? I don’t believe rice helps.

Any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...

Rice primarily is in effective for the most part, which can also take a substantial amount of time to even absorb depending on the situation. Another option you can look at is silica packets that are used in shoeboxes, they can be purchased online and have a higher ratio of absorbing moisture as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: oldhifi
Relentless Power said:
Rice primarily is in effective for the most part, which can also take a substantial amount of time to even absorb depending on the situation. Another option you can look at is silica packets that are used in shoeboxes, they can be purchased online and have a higher ratio of absorbing moisture as well.
Click to expand...

Personally I'd avoid rice like the plague. Between particulates getting inside a device and it's starchy nature potentially causing longer term issues, it's something is never try myself, even as a last resort. It's not even that good a drying mechanism as it only works when in contact with moisture - it doesn't draw moisture out.

Sure people may think it's worked when they pull out what feels like a fully working phone, but the grim reality is that it doesn't. It's a myth. Once water gets inside a device even silica gel is going to have a hard time working.

The problem is that water starts corroding on contact and, unless you get every single last molecule expelled, it'll continue to corrode.

Corrosion takes time so it may not be until weeks later that the true damage is known.

In the OPs case they are concerned just about the speaker so perhaps corrosion isn't an issue - but rice particulates creating starchy bonds inside the speakers... Yup, that'll kill your dynamic range!
 
At this point I doubt that rice is needed. Smart people who use rice do not just toss it in with the rice. They wrap it in paper towels or something to protect it from rice particles. This would have needed to be done right after the event. At this point if it is still working you might be lucky, only time will tell.

The rice or silica packs work best if dried in a warm oven and sealed in an air tight container. If allowed out in the open they will have absorbed moisture from their environment.
 
X is water resistant, so very unlikely there is any lasting damage to the phone. It will probably take a few days to completely dry out. Rice or other stupid things like that don't do anything. What would help is if it was warmed up a bit (I would probably avoid this as you don't want to damage the battery), or place it on a table face up with a small fan blowing over it. The point would be to speed up evaporation of any moisture left inside.
 
orev said:
X is water resistant, so very unlikely there is any lasting damage to the phone. It will probably take a few days to completely dry out. Rice or other stupid things like that don't do anything. What would help is if it was warmed up a bit (I would probably avoid this as you don't want to damage the battery), or place it on a table face up with a small fan blowing over it. The point would be to speed up evaporation of any moisture left inside.
Click to expand...
That said, water resistant isn't the same as water proof.
 
  • Like
Reactions: old-wiz
C DM said:
That said, water resistant isn't the same as water proof.
Click to expand...
Nothing is water "proof", which is why nobody uses that term anymore. The iPhone X is IP67 rated, meaning it is "Dust tight" and "Water Immersion, up to 1 m depth" water resistant. This means that being dropped in a bucket of water (unless a few meters deep) should have no effect on it at all (after it dries out).
 
orev said:
Nothing is water "proof", which is why nobody uses that term anymore. The iPhone X is IP67 rated, meaning it is "Dust tight" and "Water Immersion, up to 1 m depth" water resistant. This means that being dropped in a bucket of water (unless a few meters deep) should have no effect on it at all (after it dries out).
Click to expand...
We've certainly seen threads here where people have dropped or submerged the phone in less than that and have had it damaged. Unfortunately the ratings don't really necessarily mean that much when it comes to real world usage, at least not in plenty of cases.
 
orev said:
X is water resistant, so very unlikely there is any lasting damage to the phone. It will probably take a few days to completely dry out. Rice or other stupid things like that don't do anything. What would help is if it was warmed up a bit (I would probably avoid this as you don't want to damage the battery), or place it on a table face up with a small fan blowing over it. The point would be to speed up evaporation of any moisture left inside.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice.
 
Speakers, especially the top, take 1 to 2 days to dry completely.
I do not know about the iPhone, but my devices I had from Sony in their manual told me not to use the speakers until they are completely dry.
 
A year ago, just for the shiggles, I took an ole Droid Incredible from 2010, and placed it, still powered on, in a bowl of water for about a minute.

After removing it I did nothing special to dry it out and noted it was still working. Unimpressed by my attempts to drown the thing I powered it off abf I threw it back in a drawer.

After reading this thread I came across the phone yesterday, charged it up and...it's still as fully functional as it was before it's bath.

First moral of the story - some you win, some you lose when it comes to water.

My Dinc was by no means special - I got lucky.

Had I placed the phone in a 'drying compound' (rice, silica gel) then today I might be extolling the virtues of said solution.

Second moral of this story: never trust anyone who claims something they tried once is a magical solution.
 
Sorry for the obvious question, but ...

Why is this thing advertised as being "water resistant" when it clearly isn't ?
 
maculateConception said:
It’s a very diverse question, but I’ll try to answer it simply, water resistance is merely a rating, not a guarantee. The FTC has specific ratings for smart phones and watches, but it doesn’t mean the device will survive the rating in which it’s given. obvious question, but ...

Why is this thing advertised as being "water resistant" when it clearly isn't ?
Click to expand...

It’s a very diverse question, but I will try to answer it simply, ‘water resistance is merely a rating, not a guarantee’. The FTC has specific ratings for smart phones and watches with water resistance during testing, but it doesn’t mean the device will survive the rating in which it’s given.

Also, I could likely post more in depth about this, but there’s a really good article that explains different levels of water resistance if you’re interested in reading this link:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinion/what-is-ip68-ip-ratings-explained-2947135
 
  • Like
Reactions: 0002378
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back