iPhone possible water damage?

[reluttr]

Ok basically I purchased a invisible shield type screen protector. You know the kind that involves you basically dipping the screen protector into soapy water and applying it to the device and squeegeeing out the excess.

Well everything was fine and hunky dory until I got to the squeegee part. Alot of water kept getting into the home button and ear piece, of course I was being quite quick about absorbing it with a towel. But I am still worried that a very small amount of water may had seeped in. Also I am a bit worried that water may had somehow seeped into the phone from around the screen and glass back "when applying the back protector" and I suppose water may had gotten slightly onto the side with the volume buttons.

Basically though, after applying the shield I let the phone sit for about two hours, and now about 10 hours later I still haven't noticed anything wrong with the phone. I checked the speaker, mic, front and back camera, display, touchscreen, volume buttons, mute switch, home button, power button, and headphone jack, and all is fine as it was prior to applying the IS.

So is there anything to worry about, such as possible long term corrosion or prolonged failures? I'm sorry for being such a worry wart, but you gotta understand based on how much it costed and the fact I have to keep it for 2 years at least.

 

[Lingham]

Ok basically I purchased a invisible shield type screen protector. You know the kind that involves you basically dipping the screen protector into soapy water and applying it to the device and squeegeeing out the excess.

Well everything was fine and hunky dory until I got to the squeegee part. Alot of water kept getting into the home button and ear piece, of course I was being quite quick about absorbing it with a towel. But I am still worried that a very small amount of water may had seeped in. Also I am a bit worried that water may had somehow seeped into the phone from around the screen and glass back "when applying the back protector" and I suppose water may had gotten slightly onto the side with the volume buttons.

Basically though, after applying the shield I let the phone sit for about two hours, and now about 10 hours later I still haven't noticed anything wrong with the phone. I checked the speaker, mic, front and back camera, display, touchscreen, volume buttons, mute switch, home button, power button, and headphone jack, and all is fine as it was prior to applying the IS.

So is there anything to worry about, such as possible long term corrosion or prolonged failures? I'm sorry for being such a worry wart, but you gotta understand based on how much it costed and the fact I have to keep it for 2 years at least.

Take it to Apple to their genius bar and ask them if the water detection sensor has gone off. If not then job done. It will go a pinky colour if it has

 

[Irish Rose]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Put your iPhone in a bag of dry rice for a day, to absorb some of the moisture. When you turn it on again, and find that there are no problems with your phone, I don't see any reason to take it in to Apple, or worry about it for that matter.

 

[ArmCortexA8]

Take it to Apple to their genius bar and ask them if the water detection sensor has gone off. If not then job done. It will go a pinky colour if it has

Thats because inside the iPhone 4 is a piece of litmus paper which changes colour when water hits it - a very simple way for them to tell if any water damage. It works as water has a certain PH level which causes the paper to change colour.

 

[Jaro65]

I used my iPhone on a recent trip to take photos and as it was drizzling, the iPhone got a little wet. I tried to wipe it as much as I could, but there is only that much I could do. The iPhone works fine and I'm not really worried much about that entire experience. It would be great though if Apple could focus on making their devices a little more weatherproof. A little bit of moisture shouldn't be a matter of concern for us, right?

 

[mikeydeezy]

Just look inside the headphone port and the bottom of the dock port. If it's white, you're alright.

 

[EricNau]

There are two sensors you can check yourself. Here's the corresponding Apple Support article:

iPhone and iPod: Liquid damage is not covered by warranty​

 

[saving107]

I don't mean to hijack this topic, but I have a question regarding the water sensor. Can they be tripped off on their own without moisture?

I have a 3rd generation iPod Shuffle and the sensor has been tripped off, but it has never been in contact with any moisture, and I live in Modesto, Ca were we have been having 90+ degree weather all summer (I've heard condensation can build up in places were it snows).

I only use my shuffle when I go for a jog or when I walk my dog, otherwise it just stays on my desk.

 

[EricNau]

I don't mean to hijack this topic, but I have a question regarding the water sensor. Can they be tripped off on their own without moisture?

I don't think that's ever been observed; moisture is required to trigger these indicators. Sweat and/or humidity could be enough to drip the liquid indicators (as well as damage electronics).

It is unfortunate though.

 

[saving107]

I don't think that's ever been observed; moisture is required to trigger these indicators. Sweat and/or humidity could be enough to drip the liquid indicators (as well as damage electronics).

It is unfortunate though.

Thanks for the reply.

I was just curious, but my iPod shuffle still works just fine and the warranty expires next month anyways, its a non-issue.

 

[saving107]

So I just found an article on Google that says that if your sensor has been tripped off and tuned red, that by applying just one drop of bleach on a sensor will turn it back to white.

I just tried it, and now it is as white as snow and still works just fine.

 

[reluttr]

both of mine are white, but that still doesnt mean water may had crept in through the ear piece, home button, or volume controls.

Although if the controls are working fine then there is nothing to worry about I suppose.

 

[EricNau]

both of mine are white, but that still doesnt mean water may had crept in through the ear piece, home button, or volume controls.

Although if the controls are working fine then there is nothing to worry about I suppose.

As others have suggested, a Genius Bar would have the ability to open the phone and check the internal water sensors for you. However, if they were triggered it wouldn't really help to know.