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iPhone XS Max Moisture in XS Max front camera lens

R

Rahim92

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 3, 2019
7
0
Guys, I made a huge mistake and washed my phone yesterday with water as it got real dirty. A few hours later I found moisture in the front camera lens, everything else is fine and the phone works fine with liquid damage indicator also intact (still white).
Now I just want to know whether the moisture will go away if I let my phone sit idle without using it for a few days and whether it should stay in cold or warm temperature?
I also have Apple Care+ but I don't wanna take it to Apple just yet.
Please help me out with this.
 
Apple Care doesn't cover water ingress anyway (I think). If the phone is allowed to get really warm, (leaving it in the sun) the moisture inside the phone will vaporize...but also will likely condense somewhere else when it cools down.
You screwed up - but I think you knew that. Depending on how much water got in there, the moisture could be a ticking time bomb potentially ruining components farther down the line.
 
Personally, I'd open it up, disconnect the battery, and wipe away any moisture using a cotton swab and alcohol. Letting water dry still leaves minerals and other residue, potentially causing corrosion. That's why you need to clean it using 90% alcohol and not just let it dry.

There are several liquid contact indicators inside the iPhone and it's likely one of them has turned.
 
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I7guy said:
Personally, I wouldn’t open it up. I’d let it dry out and see what happens. Even though water damage is t covered, unless you washed the phone in a car wash, I’m surprised that water got inside the lens.
Click to expand...

Some people wash their phones not knowing the water resistance rating is based on submersion only. This means water pressure from a tap will force water into the device. Other people use soap or detergents, which is worse. The earpiece and speakers have a fine mesh that relies on water surface tension to hold back water. Soap destroys the surface tension of water allowing water to pass through the mesh.
 
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What concerns me the most though is whether Face ID will work after the moisture is gone as it isn’t working currently.
 
Rahim92 said:
What concerns me the most though is whether Face ID will work after the moisture is gone as it isn’t working currently.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your issues, but I think it's best to contact Apple. They'd be able give you the help in this matter.
 
If it was moisture behind their back camera lens cover on the iPhone, they can disassemble the iPhone and clean behind the lens cover. But in the instance that this is on the front facing camera, that’s a lot more intricate, where it can be repaired, but at the stores discretion, they handle every situation slightly different.

[OP: There’s nothing you can do about the moisture in the front facing camera, it’s trapped inside and there’s no air allowing it to dissipate. Your only option is to take it to Apple, and I certainly wouldn’t attempt to dissemble it myself.]
 
JPack said:
Some people wash their phones not knowing the water resistance rating is based on submersion only. This means water pressure from a tap will force water into the device. Other people use soap or detergents, which is worse. The earpiece and speakers have a fine mesh that relies on water surface tension to hold back water. Soap destroys the surface tension of water allowing water to pass through the mesh.
Click to expand...
Behind the earpiece speaker though, Apple should have engineered water resistance. Theoretically Apple could seal the whole up tightly. (They may have and I don’t know if they did or didn’t)
 
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