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How can my iPhone still work after being dropped in water
- Thread starter aliensarecool
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Water itself doesn't actually hurt electronics. What hurts them is shorts caused by the electricity jumping circuits and ending up in places it shouldn't be.
So while that certainly can happen, it's also possible that the phone got the "uh oh, something's wrong" message quickly and shut itself off before harm was done. If that happens it doesn't matter how long the phone is under water. Nothing's going to happen.
No doubt about it, you got lucky. But it's not impossible for a phone to survive submersion.
What you have to worry about now is if the water left impurities on the circuit board. It's possible that something in the water that conducts electricity was left behind when the water dried. This is why Apple won't cover such phones under warranty. Even though it's fine now it could still break next week because of what happened.
But if works ok I'd say your chances are good that you'll be fine.
So while that certainly can happen, it's also possible that the phone got the "uh oh, something's wrong" message quickly and shut itself off before harm was done. If that happens it doesn't matter how long the phone is under water. Nothing's going to happen.
No doubt about it, you got lucky. But it's not impossible for a phone to survive submersion.
What you have to worry about now is if the water left impurities on the circuit board. It's possible that something in the water that conducts electricity was left behind when the water dried. This is why Apple won't cover such phones under warranty. Even though it's fine now it could still break next week because of what happened.
But if works ok I'd say your chances are good that you'll be fine.
My friend was extremely lucky with water and his iPhone. He actually smashed his screen (intentionally, out of anger), so that there were missing pieces of glass and you could actually see the circuit board. He was bringing in a salmon and was cleaning the fish and noticed his phone light up. In the water. He said it was in there for at least two minutes before he noticed. He shut it off for a day and then used it for a good couple of months before he upgraded.
This.
Unfortunately for me I wasn't so lucky :/ Mine went snorkeling with me in Maui (it was an amazing time for both of us
) Sadly, the iPhone 4 didn't survive.I have had success with plenty of other submersed electronics though. As The White Car said, if it dries before its turned on theres a good chance it can be saved.
My phone was on when I entered the water
I guess if there was no electricity flowing while the phone was it the water and it was dried out before it was turned on again it'd be fine.
Pure water is less of a conductor than, say, saltwater.
However, I daresay that the problem here is going to be the eventual rusting that happens. I had a couple of devices that initially survived quick & partial dunkings but then gave up the ghost 10-12 days later. I wasn't anywhere where I could do the rice trick to dry them out.
Note, there's always *some* current flowing in a battery-powered device unless the battery is totally removed.
However, I daresay that the problem here is going to be the eventual rusting that happens. I had a couple of devices that initially survived quick & partial dunkings but then gave up the ghost 10-12 days later. I wasn't anywhere where I could do the rice trick to dry them out.
Note, there's always *some* current flowing in a battery-powered device unless the battery is totally removed.