I’m happy to answer your questions, but unfortunately I can’t predict if a water damaged iPhone will work again. I empathize, but please don’t leave comments asking for what amounts to psychic advice. I emphatically don’t know if your iPhone will work again.
Your best bet is to bring your iPhone to Apple or an Apple certified third-party repair center and let them take a look at it.
It’s already happened… so stop agonizing over how you could have stopped it. In two-weeks this will be a terrific story you can tell people at parties.
A few quick safety tips:
- As your iPhone is dripping wet… don’t try to use it to call anyone for help.
- This is not a good time to attempt a backup.
- I doesn’t matter if the phone has only a few minutes of talk time left. Stay away from electrical outlets.
I’d also advise not telling anyone who doesn’t own an iPhone 5. People with an iPhone 4S or lower will show little empathy for your plight.
So… what can you do?
- Power the iPhone off. Hold down the power button until you see the red slide to power off slider.
- If the phone is in a case… take it out. If it has a dust shield that’s easy to remove, take that off too.
- Standing over the bath, shake as much water from the phone as you can.
- Dry off your phone with a towel. Lint free if possible.
- If you have a cotton bud, do your best to mop any water from the headphone and charging port.
- Fill a sealable plastic bag or Tupperware container with plain, uncooked rice. Avoid enriched rice as it leaves a residue.
- Add the iPhone. Completely cover it with rice.
- Seal the bag or container.
It’s okay to put the bowl in a room that’s warm, but do not put it in the oven, use a hair-dryer, or apply an acetylene torch. To much heat will ruin your phone.
It will take 24 to 48 hours for the rice to draw out all the moisture. When the time is up, try to power your phone back on. Just hold down the power button until you get a white apple and it starts to boot up.
If all goes well, your phone will work.
If your phone won’t power up, you’ll need to get it repaired, but take some solace in the fact that you’ve done all the right things to minimize water damage.
Oh… and don’t forget to throw out the rice.
Update
If you do need to replace your iPhone, you should be aware of Apple’s Out-Of-Warranty service.
Apple considers “liquid damage” to be outside the terms of their warranty, but may, at their discretion, provide Out-Of-Warranty coverage.
They will replace your iPhone with a refurbished iPhone at the prices listed below:
- iPhone 5 – $269.00
- iPhone 4S – $199.00
- iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G and original iPhone – $149.00
This does not include shipping costs and any other applicable taxes. For more information, click the Warranty and Service button on this page.
Thank you for all your comments.
I’m happy to answer your questions, but unfortunately I can’t predict if a water damaged iPhone will work again. I empathize, but please don’t leave comments asking for what amounts to psychic advice. I emphatically don’t know if your iPhone will work again.
Your best bet is to bring your iPhone to Apple or an Apple certified third-party repair center and let them take a look at it.
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I didn’t know to power down my phone at the time and now it won’t do anything. Is it too late to do the rice thing? Thanks.
Hi Deborah
I would still try the rice method. My guess is that your phone won’t work simply because it’s wet. No real way to know until you dry it out.
Good luck.
Hi , I dropped my I phone 5 in the toilet and followed your steps , the phone works but the screen flickers on and off ….. Do u think I should beagle to just change the screen ?
Thanks
It may not be the screen. A repair place won’t know until they open it up. It’s probably worth getting a quote.
Contact your carrier and find out when you are eligible for a new phone.
If you need a new iPhone and are not eligible, I would look at buying a used one as new ones are very expensive.
Fingers crossed. It will all work out.
Its been 24 hrs since my phone got “toiletised” hehe. have put it in rice do you think in 48 hrs it will be all good? am i too late?
If nothing happens at whjat price will APPLE replace it, i am under 1 yr warranty as we speak, my phone is 6 months old
I’d definitely give the iPhone 48 hours. Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict if the process will work or not. Apple classify liquid damage to an iPhone as Out Of Warranty, but they may replace the unit. Out of Warranty costs are detailed on the Apple site under the section – Warranty and Service Pricing – Out of Warranty Service – The cost (not incl. shipping) for an iPhone 5 is $229.00. Not too bad considering what they retail for. Hopefully, you won’t need it. Thanks for reading the blog.
Hi I dropped my iphone5 in the toilet I removed it immediately, sadly I was drunk -__- and i didnt think to dry it with a towel fully I just threw it in some rice with a very thin crappy case still on it. the next day i totally forgot the case was still on & quickly took it off & put it back i nthe rice. I didnt know it was supposed to be off so it sat in the rice on and it eventually died because I took it out the next day & pressed the power button & it said to charge it, so Im hoping this is a good sign its still working? It had some glitchy ness to it its been in the rice since 2am friday night till now (sunday) when should I take it out? Is there any hope?
I might be okay. It’s certainly been in long enough. Just be careful when you recharge it. I wouldn’t plug it in and leave it alone… jut to be safe 🙂
Hey I dropped my iPhone 5 in the ocean yesterday. I immediately removed it, and put used the rice trick. It’s been about 24 hours but I’m planning on leaving it in for another 24 hours. Do you think this trick will still work, even though it’s saltwater? I’ve heard that saltwater tends to kill iPhones:/
Hi Lisa
You’re doing the right thing. There’s no way to predict if it will work. Saltwater is highly corrosive. Even if the iPhone dries out any residual salt crystals could cause damage. If you’re left with a non-working phone bring it to the Apple store. Liquid damage to an iPhone is considered Out Of Warranty, but Apple may replace the unit.
Costs are detailed on the Apple site under the section – Warranty and Service Pricing – Out of Warranty Service – The cost for an iPhone 5 is $229.00.
If you’ve time, let me know how it worked out. Good luck.
Hi John,
Yep, toilet bowl. I took it out quickly, got the case off and dried it off with paper towels. It’s working fine. I powered off, powered back on and had no problems. Do you think I’m in the clear, or should I also try the rice trick?
The case probably saved it. There’s no real way to know unless it’s opened up. If you can do without the phone for a day the rice is a nice safety net, but most likely it’s fine.
Hi there,
Dropped my iphone 5 in a drain about 55 hours ago – managed to retrieve it after half an hour the phone was working and on – stupidly used it and then suddenly went off – wont take a charge and so left it in rice – not for whole time took it out or rice for 12 hours and have now put it back in. Do you think it’s salvageable or do you think I should get it replaced? Apple have advised me this and said water damage cannot be repaired? thanks
Hey Louise
All you can do is try every option, before shelling out for a new iPhone.
If the rice doesn’t work, try taking it to a third-party repair shop and asking if they can fix it. They may charge for an estimate.
There’s no other way to know if it can be saved. It’s a question of weighing the cost of all this against the cost of replacement.
Good luck. Hopefully it can be fixed.
what if my button doesnt even work?>
Hey Rachel – It seems obvious, but make sure it’s not just out of power. And of course… if you haven’t dried it out fully, don’t plug it in.
After that, with a button problem, your best bet is to take it to Apple (see other posts below) or a third-party repair shop.
what if i had already plugged it in cause it was dead
Is there any onscreen indication that it has power or is the screen completely black?
the phone has been on and it seems to work fine , the button just isnt working i have it sitting in rice right now but will that help?
It can’t hurt, but you’ll probably have to get the button repaired. I can’t imagine it being that expensive as it’s a pretty small issue.
Hello, I dropped my phone in the toilet this morning. I didn’t do the rice thing, but I have needed my phone for school. Would it be too late to do the rice trick when I got home today? Figure, it will have been around 8-10 hours after the incident to when I put it in a rice bowl. Any advice would be awesome! By the way, the phone works, the only problem I have is that I can’t hear people when they talk to me on the phone besides on speaker or with my headphones plugged in and my speakers won’t play music out loud:( Thanks a ton!
-Anthony
Hey Anthony
8 – 10 hours is a long time, but it’s still worth trying the rice trick. There’s no way to know. You just have to give it a shot.
Also… It may help to clean out the headphone jack. If a piece of dirt may be lodged in the headphone slot and the iPhone thinks headphones are plugged in, so it ignores the speakers and only sends sound through the headphone jack. If you can hear your speakers, this probably won’t work… but it’s worth trying.
The clean out the iPhone headphone jack:
Cut most of the end off a Q-Tip. Roll this end between your fingertips to tamp down the remaining cotton. Insert the Q-tip into the headphone jack and slowly turn it around. If you’re lucky you’ll remove the piece of dirt and the other speakers will function again.
I wish I had more advice. You may just need to take it to the Apple Store.
Costs for repair are listed on Apples website here, under Warranty and Service Pricing – Out of Warranty Service –
Good luck.
I dropped my phone in the loo. its workming fine, but cant seem to get the charger in, it as if somethings blocking it? ive checked it there is nothing in the phone.
I would examine the charger socket using a high powered Maglite. With a good light source you might see something that you’d miss under normal circumstances. Remove any debris with a toothpick.
Also… make sure the cable isn’t damaged. Try using a friends cable.
If that doesn’t work, your only option is to take it to the Genius Bar. Hopefully it won’t come to that.
Thanks for reading, Amanda.
I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet and quickly pulled it out only to see, to my dismay, it was restarting. When it finally rebooted its touchscreen was intact and all the external buttons were working i.e. home button, lock button, etc. The touch function, however, got disabled so now I can’t even turn my phone off because I have to use the slider.
Hi Melvin – It’s still worth trying to dry the iPhone out. If it still doesn’t work, then your only option is a trip to the Apple Store.
You can power off an iPhone using the following steps, but it’s less than ideal as each time you power up the iPhone has to go through the entire boot cycle.
1. Hold down the Home and Power buttons for approximately 7 – 10 seconds.
2. Release them the moment the screen goes black.
3. To turn the iPhone back on, hold down the Power button for a few seconds. A white Apple will appear and the iPhone will reboot.
Good luck.
Dropped my iphone5 in water. Everything works fine except that I can’t access half of the touch screen. help?
Hi Daphne
If you’ve used the tips in the post to dry the iPhone out and the touch screen is still giving you problems, your only options are the Apple Store or a third-party Apple repair facility. Have a look at the other comments for details on Apple’s out-of-warranty costs for water damaged iPhone replacements.
Hi i dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet about 8-10 hours ago, i was at my boyfriends house and they didn’t have rice, and when i came home we didn’t have rice either… and its the time is 11 at night.. i shaked out most of the water and towel dried it, it worked fine for a while, then the screen got all weird, some of the screen is working, but not all, and if i touch like in the right corner, it responds another place….so i turned it off. I don’t know what to do, since we don’t have rice… help me D:(sorry about my bad english, im not native and really tired and stressed out)
Hi Leah
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. If you don’t have rice, the only option is to let it air dry until you can get to the store and get some. I would stop using it, if possible, as that will only make it worse.
There’s information in the comments here on Apple’s Out Of Warranty coverage for water damed iPhones. Hopefully you won’t need it, but it’s good to know you have this option.
Good luck and thanks for writing.
John
Hi okay so this is what happened: I went down the stairs of a pool with my phone in my pocket, I was in for like 10 seconds but only about half the phone was in the water. I got out right away and took off the case and left it in the hot sun for a couple of hours. About 5 hours after the incident I tried plugging it into the charger bc the device had immediately shut off upon water contact. The phone started spazzing and flashing then these gray cubes appeared and the phone shut off. I then put it into rice for the night, I tried charging the phone again this morning and nothing happened. I’m going to leave it for a couple of days in the rice and see what happens. I’m afraid I fried the circuitry, maybe not. What do you think?
I also dried the phone with a towel right away
I doesn’t sound good. Besides water damage, you have to contend with the effect of chlorine. The only thing worse is a dip in the ocean.
I would bring the phone to the Apple store, explain what happened, and have them test it.
I would advise against plugging it in to a charger or electrical outlet. If the phone is damaged, it may not be safe.
I’d be happy for you to write back and tell me I was wrong and you saved the phone. Good luck.
Hello, my sister dropped her phone down the toilet last night, dried it with a towel and put it in rice. It has been in the rice for over 12 hours, and is still vibrating and giving notifications. There was a bright light on the back, which has gone now, and is now on charge. Everything seems to be working fine now, except the camera seems to have drops on it that you can see- as does the flash. It is still charging and in the rice- what else do you think she can do? Thank you!
I wouldn’t charge the device while it’s in the rice. Wait until it is completely dried out, before you attempt to put a charge through it.
Other than that, it sounds like you’re doing all the right things. Hopefully it will be fine.
I dropped my iPhone in the toilet last night so I did everything you suggested in your article and it worked! I let it sit in the rice for 24hrs and it’s fully functional. Just wanted to say thanks, awesome advice!
Nice to hear good news 🙂 Thanks for writing.
I dropped my iPhone in the toilet as well. I quickly removed it & dried it off. I pressed the right top button and it worked- my screen backround came on. I went to swipe it, but the touchpad is not working. I am recieveing text, and noise is fine. But the touchpad is not working. I see water specs in the phone. I did put it in rice, compeltely covered but I am not able to power down the phone- because I can not ” swipe ” the power button. Do you think its okay that my phone is ON- but in rice? Thanks for any input.
Hi Corin
It’s not ideal, but your options are limited. You could try to do a hard boot on the phone without restarting it.
Just hold down the home and the power buttons together. You will see the power off screen and then the screen will turn black. Immediately release both buttons.
Later, just tap the power button and the phone should boot up.
I would avoid any use until the phone has had a chance to completely dry out.
Good luck.
John
i dropped my phone in the toilet at school around 2 o’clock 2 days ago, i tried the rice method for about a little over 24 hours, everything works but the screen wont turn it seems like the screen is dead. PLEASE HELP!
Hi Melinda
With a dead screen, it’s best to bring it to the Apple store and let them assess the damage. It sounds like you’ve done all you can.
John
covered my iphone 5 with a towel while taking a shower forgot about the humid weather and how the absorbs the water especially inside a humid place which made my phone wet. checked my phone when i got out of the shower saw almost half of the screen had water inside it but all the functions still seemed to work. i used it google about a solution for about 5 minutes. hahaha. did the rice trick but checked the phone about 7 hours later since it wasn’t submerged in water but i saw no improvement at all. i guess i’ll leave it or 24 hours. will the trick still work even though i turned it on?
A good question… and one that’s hard to answer. It’s generally better if you don’t turn something on once it’s wet, but you might be okay. Do the 24 hours with it off and hopefully it’ll be okay.
John
Hey,
So I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet this morning and got it out right away and pulled the case off wiped it down used a cue tip inside the phone headphone jack and stuck it in rice right away…I powered it down and let it sit for about 9 hours but I wanted to check on the progress since everything was still working except for the camera and its stuck in (headphone) mode but when I call my phone there’s sound! It doesn’t make sense to me! What should I do?! Leave it in rice for the full 24 hours or should I just take it to a local repair shop since it isn’t major problems.
Leave it in the full 24 hours. Clean the headphone socket like you did before. Clean it a few times. If it still doesn’t work, then take it to the repair shop.
Hi, I dropped my iPhone in the toilet and quickly dried it off with a towel and its now been Sitting in rice. Everything works fine except there is horizontal white lines across the screen and the camera was working fine and now it’s gone all blurry.. What do I do?!
Take it to Apple or a repair center. This post provides basic “go to” information on how to dry out a wet phone. That’s it. I wish I could help more, but with problems like you describe you need a hands on evaluation.
I was on my phone via Bluetooth almond to my
Husband, as I was cleaning out the pool.(yea stupid )
Well I took a wrong step and ended up in the shallow
End of the pool jumped up jerked phone out of pocket
Ripped the otter box defender off and to my
Surprise very little water in the case. Well phone apparently
Shut down once it hit the water. I shook it and placed it in
Water. It had a full battery before water but I assume the water
Prob shorted the phone Batt out. It’s in rice and I’m
Very scared to turn it on. Worse part is my husband
Said the call just ended when I hit the water so yea
You thinking the same? In use in water = I’m hosed!!
I meant to also say I know the water had to
Enter thru the speakers and ear piece everything
Else was plugged up by the otter box. . I pray for
The god of phones to save this one.
I’d keep it in the rice for at least 24 hours if not more. Don’t turn it on until at least that much time has passed. If it was in an Otterbox, it may be okay.
My phone is on but the screen I black.
So I’m thinking its trash. It rings, dings
Etc. I just can’t see crap on the screen.
Take it to Apple. What have you got to lose.
hi, yesterday i dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet i dried it with the towel and put it in the rice. after 24 hours i tried to operate it but unfortunately it didnt work at all. shall i put it back in the rice? please let me know.
Another 24 hours can’t hurt. Go ahead and give it a try.
if it didnt work what is the next step i have pictures with no back up. how will i be able to retreive them from the album?
You have to take it to Apple. There’s nothing else you can do that I am awate of.
I just dropped my Iphone5 in the toilet. I pulled it out immediately. I was still working then there was black lines and white lines in my screen. So I shut it off and put in a bowl of rice. My fingers are crossed. I hope it will recover. 🙁
Fingers crossed here too 🙂
Hi, I dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet, put it in rice for 30+ hours and tried turning it on. Everything is working except it won’t connect to my network? It just keeps searching for signal, I can’t call or message but everything else (WiFi, touch screen etc) work fine. Do you have any advice? I checked my SIM in a different iphone 5 and it worked so must be the phone?
Thanks, Haley
Hi Haley
I would bring it to a third-party repair shop and get them to assess the damage. It may be something simple that can be easily fixed.
In the meantime, download Skype so you have an inexpensive way to make calls. This will also test the speaker and mike on the phone.
Try iMessage for texting over Wi-Fi.
Not ideal solutions, but maybe enough to get you by until the phone is fixed.
Good luck.
John
i dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet and took it out right away. barely 2 seconds after probably. dried it off and took the case off and put it in rice. turned it off after an hour or so that it was in there, and it was working just fine i was still texting on it. since it was working fine should i turn it back on and use it or should i just leave it in rice and for how long?
If you stick it back in the rice for 12 hours you’re playing it safe. If you didn’t do that and it’s still working, I’d say you’re in the clear.
Wow.. when I wrote this post I had no idea so many people drop their iPhones in the toilet. I mean… it’s like a national sport 🙂
I dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet, i immediately grabbed it. I was playing music as i dropped the phone, when i took it out the sound was still working but alot softer. i dried it off and shook it. Even though it is still working, i turned it off and put it in rice. Is there anything else i need to do? and will the sound ever be back to normal?
Hi James
There’s not much else that you can do. There’s no way of knowing if the speakers are damaged until it dries out. Hopefully it should be okay.
John
hi my daughter dropped my iphone into the toilet it had no case on it and it was submerged for about 3 minutes. i powered it off and put it in rice but then my friend said that i had to remove the back so he unscrewed it and we wiped the water out (this was 4 hours later) then this morning i put it back in rice. its been in rice for about 10-12 hours. do you think it will power back on after all this?
There’s no way to tell. Three minutes of submersion would pretty much kill most phones.
I’d be very careful. You can try powering it on to see if it works. Don’t plug it into an electrical outlet until Apple have had a look at it and said it’s safe.
You’ve nothing to lose. They will know right away that it’s been wet and that it’s been opened.
John
Hi,
I dropped my phone into a river a few weeks ago, well actually I fell into the water and the phone came with me! I did the rice thing and it all worked OK but my battery now only lasts for about half a day. Can the battery be changed? Regards, Tim.
Hi Tim
Best thing is to get the battery replaced. Cost is $79.00 + $6.99 S/H. Details on the Apple site are here –
Hi my 1 yr old got my phone and i guessing he put it in the toilet and took it out because by the time i walked in the bathroom probably a minute he still had it in his hand i was trying to turn it off but the screen just started to fade to black very fast so i dried it up really quick took the otter defender case off and put in the bag of rice and then my mind clicked took it out quickly to remove the sim card and then put it back it in…you think it will work?
Hi Julie
It helps that it was in an Otter case, but there’s no way to know until you give it a try If you leave it in the rice from 24 – 48 hours you’ve done all you can.
John C
Hi,
I dropped my iphone 4 in water yesterday and immediately took it out, dried it quickly and put it in rice but I realized afterwards that in all the mini panic I didn’t turn it off. Is my phone completely ruined or is there a possibility of it being saved? It is still submerged in the rice right now. I’m giving it another day.
Hi Alyssa
Don’t worry about powering down the phone. You can’t do anything now and i would say 80% of people forget this step as they desperately try to save their phone.
You’re doing the right things. Hopefully it’ll be fine.
John
Hello again,
so my iPhone is still working after leaving it in rice. It charges, it can receive calls, I can hear when I gets texts and emails but the downside is that the screen is black. Anything I can do to fix this? or am I going to have to replace it?
Hey Alyssa
With a black screen, there’s not much else you can do. Have a look at the other comments below as they include information on Apple’s Out Of Warranty repair cost for water damaged iPhones.
Hey John!
I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet, pulled it out immediately, wiped it off, switched it off, and placed it in rice overnight. I read somewhere 12 hours, now I know I should have left it in longer – I did take it out and it works fine HOWEVER the sound is shot in some ways – It rings when I receive a call, but when I make one I don’t hear anything. When I went to setting and pushed the sound button along the volume line, I could hear the sound decrease/increase, just as it should. But I could not hear when I recorded on voice memo.
Also I made a call and my friend’s voice came in and out; they said mine was crackly. I’ve researched and seems like there’s a couple different sound sections that could be fixed.
In the meantime I’ve placed it back in rice – finally my QUESTION to you is – since I have put it back in rice to try and drain any more moisture that could be there AFTER I switched back on after the first 12 hours of rice-age, do you think I still have a chance? Or should I just switch the phone on now, and go and get it fixed.
Btw, do you know if the sound on an iPhone 5 CAN be fixed at all? Or might I have to get a whole new phone?
Thank You so very much!
~ Kayla
Hey Kayla
If you’ve waited this far I’d wait at least another 12 hours. You’ve nothing to lose. I does sound like you’ve got microphone/speaker damage.
Apple classify liquid damage to an iPhone as Out Of Warranty, but they may replace the unit. Out of Warranty costs are detailed on the Apple site under the section – Warranty and Service Pricing – Out of Warranty Service – The cost (not incl. shipping) for an iPhone 5 is $229.00.
You could have the sound specific issues diagnosed and repaired. I would get an estimate, then look at the price difference for an Apple replacement.
Considering the fact that Apple’s fix is a complete fix it may be worth the extra cost.
Thanks for reading the blog.
John
HI John..
So i dropped my iphone 4 in the toilet while i was receiving a call. the ring immediately went off and i took out my phone wiped it…took out the case. and used a hair dryer and ear bud to take out whatever water remaining..Everything seems to be working fine. i even charged it. its been !2 hours or so and my ringer and speaker still isnt working. I read about the rice thing just now so its sitting in the rice. Is there any hope my ringer o speaker will work? the other person can hear me…
Hi Val
Unfortunately there’s no way to know. It’s just one of those things where you give it a try and hope for the best.
As others read these comments, I think it’s important to mention that I would not recommend the use of a hairdryer. At close range hairdryers produce extreme heat that may damage the iPhone.
If you’re careful with a hairdryer, you may be fine, but most people are panicked after their phone gets wet and not thinking all that clearly.
Thanks for your question.
John
Hi I’ve dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet but quickly took it out I’ve got the excess water out hopefully and have covered it in rice what are the chances of it working again
Hey Charlotte
I know a lot of folks have tried this and it worked for them.I don’t think anyone’s calculated the odds of the rice method.
It’s about the best thing you can do. All I could say for certain, is that if you don’t try to dry the iPhone out the chances of it being damaged are way higher.
With a little luck it’ll be okay.
John
Hey,
I dropped my iPhone 5 in water and i retrieved it within seconds after. I dried it with a towel but didn’t put it in rice until 2 hours after because I was no where near any uncooked rice. I left it in over night and it turned on by itself after 6 hours. The touchscreen was not working so i turned it off and blow dried it. After 3 hours I tried turning my phone back on but it’s not working. Help?
At this point, you really have to take it to Apple. Take a look at the other comments and you’ll find information on Apples Out of Warranty policy for water damaged iPhones.
Sorry, I can’t be of more help.
John
Hi i dropped my iphone 5 down the toilet last week! Ive done the rice thing and my phones completly fine well exept that it wont read my sim card 🙁
It might be worth bringing into your carrier. Maybe the card is damaged and not the bay.
John
I was on holiday and lost my phone in the toilet and I didn’t know all this so what I did was just to take it out of the water and try to dry it as much as possible and sat it in the window so the wind could maybe dry it a little. At first the sound was very bad because of all the water in the speakers ,but my sim doesn’t work yet
Hi Sandra
I just answered a question about this. I might be that the sim card is damaged and not the sim bay on the phone. Take the phone to your carrier and ask them to test out another sim card.
If you can, let me know how it goes.
John
Hi ,
I dropped my iPhone5 down the loo ,
Dried it out now I just have a black screen with the apple logo ,
Is this fixable , or is it officially dead
Hi Alison
There’s no way to tell at this point. Any technician would have to look at it first.
Your best option is to try the method listed above. If that fails, then take it to the Apple store.
John
My phone was in my back pocket and fell in the toilet for 2 second before I took it out, after taking it out I shook out water dried it with a towel and blow dried it for a little bit. The screen turned off slowly after showing green lines through the middle. I plugged it into the charger and computer 10 mins after it turned off and at one point the apple logo came on went to my text messages but after 5 seconds slowly turned off again completely. I plugged I in my computer and it said it was “on recovery mode and needed to b restored to work with iTunes” but I have pictures in there I haven’t backed up. I’ve had it in rice for 24 hours and it doesn’t turn on at all and when plugged into the computer nothing happens anymore. I’m leaving in rice for a few more days but what is your input on everything so far? Do u think I have a chance at a working phone again?
Hey Bella
There’s no way to diagnose the condition of the iPhone without seeing it.
I would call a few Apple certified repair stores and get a quote on a diagnostic and data retrieval costs.
If the iPhone is completely dead, your best bet is just to take it to the Apple Store. You’ll find information on Apple’s Out of Warranty coverage in the posts below.
John
Last question, is there actually any way to get my pics that were in there if I go to the apple store?
I would call the Apple store first and ask.
My understanding is that when Apple replace a product they take the old one and they do not offer data retrieval.
I could be wrong, so please don’t take my word for it.
John
my phone got slightly wet in the rain yesterday. My speakers werent working correctly or the volume when I tried listening to music or videos on apps. Everything worked fine except what i just mentioned. i dried it, took the case off, set it in rice and its been in the rice for over 24 hours (27 to be exact). I tried turning it off but it kept rebooting so I left on while it sat in the rice and it ended up dying overnight. I checked this morning to see if the headphone jack or the charging area had the red mark to show water damage and the mark isn’t there, so is it safe to charge it up or should I wait until tonight or tomorrow to charge it? Please help me!
Hi Kalyn
There’s no way to tell if it’s safe without seeing it. You’d have to bring it into Apple or a certified third-party repair shop and get their opinion.
If you can wait until tomorrow night I would. At least then you can be pretty certain the moisture has been pulled out.
If you decide to charge it, don’t leave it alone until you’re sure it’s functioning properly again.
John
I dropped my iphone 5 in the tub last night. put it in rice immediately tried it a little while later and the screen was all crazy, turned it off. Now today screen is fine, it powers on fine the only thing that is happening is the home button is not working. Last night I couldn’t swipe to turn off but today I can I can answer it and everything just if I click on my email or facebook I cant exit out of it. It has only been in rice for about 15 hours, I will leave it there for another day if not is there any way to fix the home button or anything I can do?
If the rice method doesn’t fix the Home button, your only option is to bring it to Apple or a repair shop.
John
Hi,
I dropped my phone when fishing, i did everything you said. and it did power on but now when i plug it into charger it will say 100% then drop to 2% then another random number till it just dies and then says 100% again. Is there away to solve this problem? or do i need to by a new battery?
There’s no way to diagnose a fault from a description. This could be caused by the battery, by damaged sensors, or damaged chips.
Your best bet is to bring it to Apple or a third party repair shop and ask for an assessment.
Have a look below for information on Apples Out Of Warranty Service Plan for water damaged phones.
Hopefully, it’s something simple and won’t cost too much.
john
Last night I dropped my iPhone 4 in the toilet, it was in there for about five seconds. In the toilet it stayed on for a second then went completely black. We dried it off and put it in rice. It has been about nine hours, help please. I had over a thousand pictures/memories saved on my phone.
Hi Abbi
I would leave it in rice for a minimum of 24 hours without turning it on.When this is done, turn it on and see how it functions.
Even if you get a black screen you should immediately try to backup the iPhone to a Mac. Check out this post –
All photos and videos should be imported into iPhoto –
If these steps fail, I would check with third-party repair and data retrieval services.
Good luck.
John
My hubby dropped his phone in the lake yesterday. It’s been almost 24 hours it’s just kind of been sitting there. I don’t think he turned it off or anything. I don’t see any red spots for the water indicator. I just found out about the hole rice thing now. Any suggestions? Also he needs his phone for his business is it worth it to wait or just go into a store?
Hi Ashley
If he doesn’t have a current backup of his iPhone, then i would use the rice technique. After the iPhone is dry, if it doesn’t function correctly you may still be able to make a backup.
Otherwise, contact your nearest Apple store and ask them if they will move data from old water damaged phone to a new iPhone.
Have a look at the comments below for information on Apple’s out of warranty coverage for water damaged phones.
Good luck
John
I dropped my phone in the toilet and let it soak in rice everything is working fine except I’m not getting any service anymore????!
It’s possible the SIM card is damaged. Take the phone to your provider and ask them to swop out the SIM card to test it.
John
Hey I my iPhone 5 got completely wet I dried it with a hair dryer and used ur rice method for 40 hours I kept it in rice the phone has started working but there are water marks which can be seen under the display what should I do?
You’ve no other option, but to go to Apple or a third-party repair shop.
Hi. My mums just dropped hers in the sink. She’s put it in rice and slowly the features are working again. Only problem is the place where you plug in the charger on the handset seems to be blocked now as the charger won’t go in??? Is that some auto cut off what happens when exposed to water or something?
Hi Richard
There’s no cut off mechanism on the iPhone that would block the charger. I’d make sure it’s not a small piece of rice and then take it to a repair shop.
John
Hi! I dropped my phone in the toilet about 48 hours ago and it’s been in rice ever since. I tried turning it on but once the little white apple logo appeared the entire screan turned red. What should I do next? Unfortunately I just got the phone a month ago and I’m not eligible for an upgrade through Verizon. I’m trying to do this the cheapest way possible seeing as if I just paid $199 for the phone last month.
Hey Elizabeth
Sorry about your phone. That totally sucks. Hopefully this info will be of some help.
Apple classify liquid damage to an iPhone as Out Of Warranty, but they may replace the unit. Out of Warranty costs are detailed on the Apple site under the section – Warranty and Service Pricing – Out of Warranty Service – The cost (not incl. shipping) for an iPhone 5 is $229.00.
Best of luck. Thanks for reading.
John
I was at a subway store and my phone fell in the toilet i shut it off immedatly and then took the case off and shook the phone i let it come with me to the store for a couple hours then left it to dry in the air last night for 24 hours the when i woke up i put it in a bag of rice to u think i still have a chance with my iphone 4s ????
Hey Kyle – The rice method is your best option, but every situation where a phone is dunked is different, so there’s no way to tell for certain of it will work or not.
Okay so I was on my way home from Nashville and as soon as I got into work I dropped my phone in the toilet. As soon as I realize I immediately got it out and ask my manager for rice. Since we didn’t have any so about 30 minutes later I got someone to bring me some and my phone sat in there for 4 hours and then all last night. Everything seems to be working right the only thing that is making me nervous is that a lot of my friends who have done this have said that theirs has died 3 days later. So now I’m freaking out.
Hey Katie – Check out the Apple Out of Warranty information below in case you do have to replace your phone.
At this point it’s put of your hands. You did everything you could.
It sucks, but At the risk of sounding like a shrink… Worrying will just ruin your weekend and have zero impact on what happens with your phone.
Everything may turn out just fine.
All the best.
John
But is it usual for iPhones to die 3 days after you drop them?
No. There’s no scientific basis for a 72 hour window where an iPhone would work after being dunked. It just sounds like a co-incidence.
I knocked my iphone into the shallow pool for probably less than one second… I immediately dried it and it was still working fine so i decided to test for sound (none) to see if ear phones worked (yes) and if it charged (yes) I know you are supposed to immediately turn it off so I did after about 10 minutes maybe and cleaned it with cu-tips and dried it lightly with hairdryer (mistake two) before i submerged it in rice. Because it was working so well before do you know if that determines the time in rice? or any likelihood of it being okay? Also can you take it out of the rice and check it before all the hours are up? Thank you for all your help just being able to ask someone about it all helps worrying about it!
In order to answer the question – “How much time should an iPhone spend in rice after it’s been dunked”, you’d have to know the volume of water retained by the device, the temperature and humidity during the drying process, the type of rice, etc,.,
I’m not trying to be a smart@#$ – just to explain that there are hundreds of factors involved and zero research in this area that I am aware of.
I would leave it in rice 24 – 48 hours. A phone may only need 6 hours, but the longer you leave it in the less chance you have of turning it on while it’s still “damp.” The more time you leave it in the lower the risk.
Your phone sounds robust enough. Based on what you wrote I’d say it has a good chance of surviving.
Good luck and have a nice weekend.
John
I just dropped my iphone in the toilet for less than a second. As soon as I pulled it out I hair dryed it. Everything seems to be working good as new but I’m worried, could there be any long lasting side effects I haven’t noticed yet? Will it crash in a few days? All seems well now though. Im so worried!
Hi Kevin – It you’ve got it working now, chances are it’ll be fine. Try not to worry about it. Worry never ensures a good outcome, just that you’ll have a lousy time as you wait around. Have a good weekend.
John
hey kevin any news on your phone did it survive??
I knocked my iphone 5 into the bathtub last night and retrieved it immediately. I dried it off the best I could and pried the outer piece of the protective case off. Then I put it in a container of rice and left it overnight. Its been about 11 hours now. I did open the container to look at it and saw that it was on so I powered it off but when I did green lines appeared on the display. Unfortunately when this happened it had a super duper protective case on it that I wasn’t able to remove until this morning. The display did look normal before I started turning the phone off. I’m thinking that it being in that case for 9 hours hurt my chances of the phone functioning properly even if it survives. Any opinion?
I wish if could give you a straight answer, but there’s no real way to know.
If you do end up with a non-working phone have a look at the comments above for information on Apples Out-Of-Warranty replacement program.
Best of luck.
John
I dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet last night, I was pretty drunk so I was like okay it still works and I just took toilet paper and wiped off the water I saw and it worked perfectly fine. But later when I tried to call someone I couldnt hear a thing. My music wasnt working either. I tried blow drying for a while but I did want to ruin it more. The blow drying didnt work so I have it in a bowl of rice right now. Is there anything else I can do to faster the process because I really need my phone for work and stuff?.. especially for work?
You’ve done everything that I know of, but it might we worth taking a look on Google to see if anyone’s discovered any new tricks.
Hi… Yesterday morning I dropped my iphone 4s top first into a half a cup of coffee, I pulled it out immediately and dried it off… I did stick it in rice, top half down (so no liquid would drip down to the rest of the phone), about 5-10 mins after it had happened, however prior to sticking it in the rice I did hit the home button about 5 times to make sure it was still working, (I didn’t know that turning it off immediately is the best thing to do) which it was, but then went black about a minute after. Within the next hr as I sat there staring at my precious phone in the rice, wallowing in self pity, the phone began to flicker and I was able to see my lock screen but then went black again. And every so often it would vibrate. Anyway, besides the camera light that stayed on all day yesterday, that was the last sign of life that I saw. Fast forward 24 hrs, I plugged the phone in and tried to turn it on with no luck, but I did notice the camera light flickering a little bit. So I just stuck it back in the rice to play the waiting game again. Is there anything else I can do? Does it sound like I have any hope left?
Hi Desiree – Sounds like you’ve done all you can. If it still doesn’t work you can try to get it replaced under Apple’s Out-Of-Warranty policy (see posts above) or take it to a third-party repair shop to find out how bad the damage is.- John
I, like everyone else on here, dropped my iphone in the toilet. I’ve always heard of this happening and thought it was the most ridiculous thing to do but now I’ve done it myself.
Anyway, I immediately wrapped it in a cloth napkin (I was out at a restaurant) and when I got home I put it in rice. Problem is, I couldn’t power it down so I wound up doing a hard reset a couple of times which turned mt phone on and off a couple of times and each time that happened, the screen got worse. The last time I saw my phone on the screen had vertical and horizontal lines on it.
I know the rice thing works, since I’ve done it before. My question to you is is there hope for my phone to work properly after seeing those lines in the screen. Do those lines mean permanent damage?
Hey Kathi – There’s no way to predict that based on a description. You’d have to have it examined at a repair shop. By the time that becomes necessary, you’ll probably already know the answer. There’s information on Apple’s Out-Of-Warranty policy in the comments above that may end up being useful. – John
Update. After 24 hours my phone was still acting very
poorly. The screen was back to normal but it was typing on its own
and acting really strange. I decided to put it back in the rice for another 24 hours and to my surprise when i turned it back on, it was perfect! And it has been working totally fine ever since.
That’s awesome. Thanks for letting me know. – John
My Brother slept with my phone and peed on it now its been in rice but when i plug it up tha apple logo sign comes on and off what do i do i need a answer ASAP and i am trying to avoid taking it to the apple store ohh yeh and the iphone 5 is in a bag of rice under a hot lamp
Hi Lauren – You don’t need the hot lamp. It could cause more problems than it fixes. Just leave it in the rice and give it 24 hours.
If you have to replace it, take a look at the Apple Out-Of-Warranty cost in the comments above.
Thankx , now it saying connect to itunes but itunes is not picking it up
Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes. Run Software Update… from the black Apple menu in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
Either way… unplug the iPhone. Restart the Mac and plug it in again. iTunes should see it now.
Dropped my iPhone 5 16gb down the toilet last Friday. Couldn’t turn it off because the touch screen wasn’t responding, I actually rebooted it pressing the home + lock button thinking that would switch off, so I ended up calling it a few times to run the battery down. Took sim card out and put it in a bowl of rice overnight before transferring to new rice and a ziplock bag the next morning. I did see if there was any life and the lightening bolt battery sign came up. Left for another 36 hours or so. Charged it Sunday night for a bit and it seemed to be working but really slowly so put back in rice. Charged fully Monday night and it’s working normally at the moment, back to usual speed etc. Hoping it stays that way 🙂
Hey Jodie – Thanks for sharing your story. It will give hope to the other readers who write in. – John
After 4 days of having my iphone fall in a bucket of water I took it out the rice the phone only turns on with the charger plugged but shuts off immediately when I take off the charger , I have no reception it just says “searching” I can’t call can’t text etc is my phone pretty much done or should I wait awhile longer ? My upgrade is August 6th but wanted to wait til an October or nov apple realase date smh what should I do?? Thank you in advance
It sounds like your iPhone is dead. Take it to a repair shop and get an estimate or look at the Apple Out-Of-Warranty replacement in the comments above.
After that, you can decide what makes the best sense. No-one know when the new iPhone comes out so all advice is speculative.
I spilled lemonade on my iphone 5 near the speakers and power socket and it sounded horrible for a bit (only some spilled onto the phone and not fully immersed) . I blowdried it for about 5 min then immersed it in rice for about 3 hours. The phone was fully functional (apart from the speakers sounding bad) the whole time. The speakers work fine now and so does the rest of the phone. Anything else i can do? Everything works, even charging. Is it safe to use?
Hi Cesar – It sounds fine, but only Apple could tell you if the iPhone is safe to use. If that is a concern then take it to the Apple store and let them examine it. – John
Thanks for the reply! I appreciate it!
Hello,
i dropped my iphone 5 in the toliet last saturday night and when i got home that night i put it in rice later at night that day i plugged it in and it was charging… and it had glitches at first then it started to work normal except for the front camera not working so yestyerday (7/31/13) i decided i would turn it off and put in rice again … well this morning (8/1/13) i tried turning it on but it doesnt want to turn on what do i do?? :'( im so sad! …
Hi Juana – I would try to do a soft reset. You’ll find a guide in this post – If that doesn’t work, make sure that it is getting power. Move it to a different power outlet. After that, the best thing is to bring it to Apple or a third-party repair facility. You’ll find information on Apple’s Out-Of-Warranty in the comments above.- John
I dropped my phone in water last night and I let my phone sit in rice overnight. I rebooted it this morning and it worked for a little while but then it powered off. I tried to reboot it again and the whole screen was flashing with the white apple and then it powered itself off. Help?
Hi Emily – I would take it into Apple or a third-party repair store and let them have a look at it. You could try giving it some more time in the rice, but I’m not sure it would do any good. Have a look at the comments above for information on Apple Out-Of-Warranty information.
I recently dropped my iPhone 4 into the toilet just as the water was draining out. I had my case on it but, I immediately dried it … It was okay and working for a while them abt 30min later it just shut off I tried cutting it on wouldn’t work I sat it on the charger wouldn’t come on.. Until I waited a minute then held the power button.. It came on for a minute then it shut off again. Then I felt it come back on as it viabrated .. Than it shut off again .. So I just sat it in rice I’m really hoping its okay!! Why do u think?
Hey Cassi – There’s really no way to know. Keep it in the rice for 24 – 48 hours and hopefully it will be okay. Check out the comments above for information on Apple’s Out-Of-Warranty program. Good luck. – John
So I dropped my phone in the toilet yesterday. It was in there for 2-3 seconds. So i took it out toweled it off & immediately threw it in some rice. But then i read on Google that I should shake some water out first, & then put it in rice. So I did that. Then, maybe an hour later I took it from the bowl and put it in a Ziploc bag. My problem though is that when I took it out of the toilet it immediately shut off. Most of the posts I see always tells the person to shut off the phone. Is it a bad sign that my phone shut itself off? Also, when is a good time to take it out of the rice? It’s been in there for about 30 hours.
Hi Shemala – It should stay in the rice for 24 – 48 hours. The longer you can leave it in the better. Don’t worry about the fact that it shut itself off. Hopefully it’ll be okay. – John
I tried turning it on but nothing happened. Do you think it will work if I replace the battery?
Hey Shemala – There’s no way to tell from here. Your best bet is to take it to a repair shop. Call first and ask what their diagnostic and repair fees are for potentially water damaged iPhones. – John
Hi
Very helpful blog, Thank you.
I dropped my iPhone in a bucket of water and removed it within 10 seconds, unfortunately for me I didn’t read your blog until 10 minutes after. In those 10 minutes I blew into the speakers, towel dried and waved it. Switched it off but restarted it again to check if it was working and immediately switched it off.
Then I read your blog and put it in a bag of rice for 2 days and the iPhone is running perfectly now! THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
But, the screen is not the same. There are black horizontal lines across the complete screen, I will send it to the dealer though but I wanted to ask if you had an instant remedy for these lines?
Many thanks,
Hussain
Hi Mushtaq – Unfortunately, I don’t have a fix for the screen problem. It’s best to take it to a repair shop or your dealer. Best of luck. – John
I, like many others, dropped my iphone in the toilet. I tried to turn it off, but the top half of the screen wouldnt work (only the bottom half) so I couldnt slide the power off across. The flash light for the camera is also on (wont go off). Have chucked it in a bag of rice and am waiting for the battery to go flat so the phone is off.
When I try testing it a couple of days from now, it’ll have to be plugged in…is that ok? I dont want to fry it!!!
Hey Elle – I would take it to Apple or a repair shop. There’s no way I can tell if it’s in danger of short circuiting. I would be more concerned with your own safety. It’s not worth messing with. – John
I accidentally tripped and fell in my pool for a few seconds, took my phone out. Couldn’t turn it off because the screen was unresponsive. After drying it, I tried to turn it off with the power/home button combo yet the phone got stuck on the apple logo. Did the Power/home combo again and then the logo faded and eventually gave a red screen before I successfully turned it off with holding down power/home. The sim card water sensor was tripped. Is my best option to get an out of warranty replacement from Apple? do i qualify if my phone is less than 30 days old? I got it from AT&T and they did say they have a 30 return/replace policy though I’m not sure if it applies in this case.
Hi Ken – I would talk to AT&T and then Apple. Only they know the exact parameters within which their different warranties operate. You’ve nothing to lose by finding out what al your options are, before you make a move. – John
I dropped my phone in toilet and immediately turned it off without problem. I started drying it out and after 10 min when I was still using a paper towel to dry all the buttons, I accidentally turned it on and it did work. I turned it off again immediately. Will this mean it is going to be fine since it powered up ok or still I have to try the rice bag thing? I am at work and won’t have access to rice bag for 6 more hours? advice me please. thanks .
Hi Fatima – I would still put it in rice. The more steps you take to save the phone, the batter the odds are that it will be okay. – John
Thanks John.
Sadly my phone fell out of my pocket into the toilet but luckily the case shielded away most of the water. It turns off and on with ease and works great except for about an hour ago the home button stopped working. I’ve had it in rice but I was wondering if it’s really messed up now. Please help, it’s only 3 months old!
Hey Leanne – Sorry, but my only advice is to keep it in the rice at least 24 hours. You may find other tips on the internet. Drying out either works or it doesn’t. Hope things work out for you. – John
I dropped my phone in the toilet last night, i quickly dried it but didnt have any rice at home. 2am I rushed to a friends to get some. The phone has vertical lines
when you turn it on but the touch screen isnt working so i cant put the passcode in. My concern is that i havent backed up the phone so is there hope for my data (photos and contacts) to be saved if the phone dies?
Hi Andrea – Whether or not data can be retrieved is something only a repair shop can tell. If you are using the iCloud, your contacts should be on the iCloud. Sign in online to check. – John
I did this i dropped it down and it was fully under for like 2 minutes because I couldn’t quite figure out what had dropped down but when I realise I shook out as much water as possible dried it with a towel and completely covered it in rice after 24 hours I put the bowl on a warm radiator but be careful if its too hot it might mess up your phone! Mine was an iPhone 5 and I only just got it but thankfully after following advice from this website mine just turned back on which i was doubtful with because my mum kept trying to turn it on and on the Internet it says do not turn on!!! I just got lucky. Thanks for your help x
Hey Chan – Thanks for your comment. Glad you saved your phone. After 2 minutes underwater I would have bet against it 🙂 – John
I dropped my phone in the toilet last night. Only the bottom half got wet. Dried it off, took of the protective cover, turned it off and put it in rice until this morning. Everything is working fine, except all of the sudden the charger does not want to plug in. It seems like the hole is too big. What happened? Have you ever heard of this?
Hi Linda – I have not heard of this particular issue. With anything involving the charging system I would take it directly to Apple or an authorized repair center. The device may not be safe. You’re better off getting it checked out. – John
There might be some rice stuck in the charging port, did you check this?
That happened to my phone, i realised that a grain of rice got stuck in the charging slot. Could be that?
Hi
I dropped my iphone5 in the water and quickly turned it off. i searched for how to save my phone. and watched some video on youtube, it shows like separate the front screen and … i tried to take front screen with knife ;P and finely i couldn’t take all front. so push the front screen back, but the top side is not like before. when pushing top side of the glass its little bit moving;/ during this process my phone turned on and working correctly, but immediately i turned it off. now its covered with rice… will it work? i worried about that i opened it more than i dropped it in the water.. 🙁
It’s impossible for anyone to know if it will work without seeing it. Your best bet is the rice method. Then take it to an Apple certified repair center and get them to fix the problems caused by trying to take it apart.
Hi, i dropped my iphone5 in the toilet about a week ago, i was out so i tried drying it with a blow dryer right about 5 hrs after when i got home, then i put it in uncooked rise but i didnt wait 24hrs to take it out and the phone started working fine but then it turned off the next day and the only thing that comes out on the screen is the apple sign and it stays stuck there or a red screen comes out or it stays stuck on a black screen.. what should i do??? Is there still any hope that my phone will eventually work again?? Help!!
There is no way for anyone to tell without seeing it. Take it to an Apple certified repair center and get a hands on opinion. You could also look at Apple’s Out Of Warranty Replacement program. Details are in the comments below.
hi, i dropped my iphone4 into the toilet lastnight, i was stupid but half a asleep& left it on over night thinking if i turned it off it wont come back on again, it was working fine untill i woke this morning and it was turned off. i tried turning it on but the apple sign just came up for split second now it wont turn on again.. PLEASE HELP! 🙁 i havent got money at the moment to go and get it fixed either:(
Hi Saffron – It’s still worth putting in rice for 24-48 hours. other than that and a repair shop there’s nothing I know of that you can do. – John
So i dropped my iphone on water, i dried it off with my towel as soon as possible. Before i did any research i was dumb so what i did was turned on my phone, everything seemed to be working well, but the sound was worse, there was sound but not alot, about 5 minutes later the sound got a better, not 100 percent recovered but it was better. Now that i did the research on how the save the iphone i turned it off and put it in rice and now its been sitting there for a 15 minutes. Was that the sound got a bit better when the 5 minutes flew by a good sign that the sound can return to normal? What you think is going to happen to my phone in general?
Hi Rich – There’s absolutely no way to tell. Just leave it in the rice for 24 to 48 hours and resist the temptation to turn it on. You’ll be doing all you can. – John
I dropped my phone in the toilet last night, it was only submerged for about 3-5 seconds. I immediately dried it off and stuck it in rice. There hasn’t been any really improvement. Do you think it is still worth keeping it in rice for the next 3-5 days? Cheers 🙂
Hey Madison – After 24 – 48 hours, the phones about as dry as it’s gonna get. It’s highly unlikely 3 – 5 days will make a difference. Take it to a repair shop. maybe the damage is not as bad as it looks. – John
Hi. I dropped my iPhone 4 in a cooler the other night. Like an idiot, I tried to charge it. I have it in a bag of rice now, but think I probably damaged it by trying to charge it. What do you think?
Hey Kara – You may not have damaged it further. It’s possible the attempted charge had no impact at all. Just give it time in the rice and don’t write it off just yet. – John
I dropped my iPhone 4 in the toilet I dried it off and put it in rice for about 2 hours took it out to find it will only work with a charger and says searching all the time so I put it back in the rice is there anything I can do or is it toast it’s only 2 months old
????
Just leave in in the rice for 24 to 48 hours. 2 hours is nowhere near long enough. I would search Google for other options. This method is the one most widely used.
Yea thanks again its working again no problems what so ever!!
Hey ppl,
Walked into a pool with my phone in pocket, spent about 5 seconds in water. Left it in the sun to dry. Got quite hot, let It cool down. It was switched off when it got submerged. I powered it on and it turned on, acted funny for a couple hours, but SIM card was working. Now the sim doesn’t work. If I start phone with SIM card in it says sim failure. But when I take it out it doesn’t say no sim. Also if I start it with a sim out it says no sim and if I put the sim in it still says no sim…
Confused :S
What do I do?
Mike
Hi Mike – It sounds like either the SIM card or the SIM reader is damaged. The only way to know is to swop out the SIM. I would take the phone to your carrier and ask for a replacement SIM. – John
dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet left it in rice for 3 days started working service was a bit crap and not all of the keyboard worked.. next 2 days everything was fine but now when i unlock it it only works for 20 seconds then the screen fades to a purple colour and the touch screen doesnt work? any help?
It sounds like it’s done. I would go to your local Apple Store and ask about the Out of Warranty policy for iPhones.
It would be different in the UK than it is here, so I can’t quote any prices.
3 months ago got in a hot tub with my iPhone in my pocket, put it in rice 3 months later it wont turn on, get to the apple logo and writing appears above then stays like that 1 in every 15 or so try it will turn on and work for a few hours then it will turn off whats wrong with it
Hey Sam – You have to take it to a repair shop. There’s no way anyone could tell without seeing it. – John
Ok so my iPhone 5 is about 5 days old I was charging my phone in the car & there was a cup of soda in the cup holder & the phone slipped of the arm rest into the cup. It started off with a blurry white screen to four vertical lines once I got home I put it in rice for a few hours. The screen is back to new, sound is normal every thing but my back camera works. Any ideas as to why it does not work or what I can do ? I’m a big picture taker Lol
Hey LaLa – Compare the cost of getting it repaired to the cost of an Apple Out of Warranty replacement. Those are your choices and I’d always go with swopping out the phone – John
Like most others, i dropped my iphone 5 in a bucket of water and it must have been there for about 8-10 seconds. The display was completely gone – i could see green lines and water penetrated into the screen and droplets of water in the camera opening.. 🙁 Rushed to various vendors only to know about the $229 replacement. Then when i googled, i came across this blog. so it was must have been around 4 hours before i put my phone in a ziploc full of rice. Before i put the phone into rice, I couldn’t switch off the phone, and could sometimes see the screen and whenever there was a notification. The sound had been fine because i could hear my phone ring whenever i got a call. It has been around 4 hours since my phone is in the heap of rice.. Can u gauge my chances of getting back my device to normalcy with the rice method?.. Thanks.
Your best bet is to leave the phone in the rice for 24-48 hours. Unfortunately, no-one can give you odds on whether it will work or not. – John
drop iphone 5 into the toilet on Sunday, it was just in there a second or 2 before i got it out and dried it straight away with a towel. It worked fine, no issues at all, made calls, opened apps etc. then when i went to charge it last night, a good 24 hours later of full use, it would not charge, i tried connecting via my PC to sync to see if that would charge as well but no luck with that either. Searched the internet and found this site last night and then put it in rice. I seem to not have all the issues most have as it had a case around it that hopefully protected it a bit. What could be causing the only fault of not charging?
Hi Simon – Unfortunately, there’s just no way to know what could be causing the problem without seeing the device. I would make sure no rice has become caught in the charging area. After that, your best recourse is a third party repair shop or the Apple store. – John
Hey! I dropped my iphone in the toilet 5 days ago. it was in the toilet for about a good minute. When i took it out, it worked, but then the screen started flickering and the flashlight came on too… it started burning hot a while after and suddenly shut itself off. i put it in rice and it’s been in there for about 4 1/2 days now. What do you suggest I do if there is even a chance the phone can still be working?
Hi Connie – Based on your description, I would take it first to a third-party repair shop or the Apple store before turning it on. Do not attempt to charge it without first getting a certified Apple technician to look at it. Better to be safe than sorry. – John
I dropped my iPhone 4 in the bath for less than 2 seconds about a week ago… I kept it in kitty litter for 2.5 days and then in rice for 2 days… I turned it on, and EVERYTHING worked perfectly…service was great, too! For about 2 or 3 days. Then, yesterday after updating to iOS 7 (which I hate, by the way) the screen randomly went black (but it still vibrated and made sounds when I got notifications). I restarted the phone, and it turned on…screen & all…but then the screen slowly faded from the lowest brightness level to black again, so I went ahead and turned the phone off last night and put it in a bowl of rice (at an angle). I tested it again this morning. Turned on, fine, everything works, but then the brightness went to black again…Any suggestions?
Hi Alaina – At this point all you can do is take it to Apple or a third-part repair center and ask them to have a look. Details on current Apple Out-Of-Warranty costs for iPhones are listed in the post above. Good luck. – John
hey there i just dropped my 16GB iphone 5 in a bucket of water, i took it out within 5 seconds, removed the cover (which i feel absorbed the most water) I quickly dried it with paper towels, then also sucked the water out of the sockets, i checked it, and it seems to be working perfectly fine, the sound was fine, the camera was fine, and also the charging….but after reading about situations like this online i decided i’d put in rice for about a day just in case, to get rid of the condensation. Do you think it will work perfectly fine after this? I’ve read that the metal parts of the phone could rust…is that possible? And also i have a worry that although the phone was working fine now, could it be negatively effected by the rice, or could the phone not work properly after a few days or months of it working properly?
Please reply soon! I am soo worried! Struggling to breathe!
Hi Worried+Stressed – It sounds like you’ve taken all the right steps. There’s nothing more you can do.
I haven’t heard about rice causing problems with the iPhone.
Rust is always a possibility. And it’s possible that the phone could have problems in the future. It’s also possible that the phone will work fine and have no problems.
At the risk of getting philosophical… you can do nothing about these things. Stressing will not prevent rust or ensure the iPhone works. It will fix nothing and just make you miserable.
It’s a pain, but in 6 months time you’ll be hard pressed to remember this happened.
Hope you have a good weekend. – John
i dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet. It turns on, but it has that computer codes on it. will it work? if so what should i do. I put it in the rice, how long do i leave it in the rice?
Hi Julie,
I have the same as you! I just dropped my phone in the toilet, and now it has the computer codes on it. What did you do?? Is your phone working now?
I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet about an hour ago. I can’t turn the phone off as the phone off button won’t slide over. I put the phone in rice but text messages are continuing to be sent to me! What should I do? Thanks!
Hi TJ – What you need to do is hold the Power button and the Home button at the same time. The
moment
the screen turns black release the buttons.
If you hold the buttons too long the phone will perform a hard reset. Nothing to worry about. You’ll see a white Apple and then the phone will return to it’s normal Home screen.
At that point, if you need to you can try the turn-off trick again.
All The Best – John
I followed your instructions to power off the phone by pressing the power button and home simultaneously but it won’t power off. Kept trying but it just takes a screen shot. What happens to the drying process if I can’t power it off? Should I just leave in on in the rice?
Hi Nancy – You have to press and hold these buttons until the screen goes black. If you just press them and let go they will take a screenshot. – John
First of all, great page, great information!!!
I think it did help me when I bumped on this page and took some quick steps after my little monkey (my 2 yr old son) decided to throw my iphone 5 into bucket full of water. Though I was quick to respond to his courageous action, it was already about 5 seconds and phone was at the bottom of the bucket facing upside down (screen facing the bottom) before I pulled it out under shock!
I quickly put it on the floor, wiped it with whatever I could get. The phone was in double layered case that left only few areas for water to get inside the phone, Earpiece, headphone jack, speakers at the bottom, charging slot and ringer on off button location. However when I pulled the phone out, it did not seem like water had gone way too deep inside from any of these opening mentioned above. Besides I came up with a theory (just to convince myself may be) that when phone went under water, there is no way water could start going in right away (within first few seconds I mean) considering the size of the openings and even small amount of air on the inside of the phone that needs to come out first for phone to let water in. So anyway, the phone was on while all this was happening and I decided to check if its still working using ‘sleep/wake up’ button at the top. When pressed, the screen came up, I was able to slide and unlock. But then quickly locked it again with the same button. At this time I thought only google would understand what I am feeling so decided to do some research and stumbled upon this page. Reading the first instruction, I went back and switched off my phone. Next step, poured rice in the bowl and submerged it and let it do its thing. While I kept on reading this page and experiences of others. While most said that the long term outcomes are usually negative, there were few who kept my hopes up for next 2 days….
Fast forward 46 hrs….
I decided to remove my phone from the bowl of rice (not before having disturbed sleep full of dreams of me taking the phone out of the bowl and what I am I going to see next..and believe me its fascinating and weird how those dreams are constructed by human brain!!!) So this morning, I took the phone out, switched it on and it came up alright!!! Checked screen responsiveness, speakers, camera, all worked as they did before. Still haven’t checked if network will come up after I put in the sim card (currently inserted into back up phone) and if charging is going to be fine…
I used phone for good 15 minutes to read some more articles on more of such accidents and somewhere I read that the bowl in which the phone needs to be kept with rice should be sealed. And of course my bowl was open while thee phone was in for 2 days so I got nervous and decided to switch it off again and put it back in the rice inside the bowl but this time with lid on it…
Am I happy? I don’t know yet. Should I be? I know there are no straight answers…but I do know that I will be nervous for few days after I take this phone out this evening and start using it (if it comes back up alright again!)
From here on I think its going to be pure luck it seems. Unless I open the phone myself and try to clean it from inside to avoid any long term bad effects. Given a chance, I would want to get it swapped from Apple as it is still under warranty but I wonder if people at the store would know that this phone has been under water recently.
On the brighter side I kinda enjoyed my last 2 days with my vintage Nokia (model 3120, no internet, no whatsapp, no games..basically nothing besides talk, text and Snake 3 ;)) and a comment from my wife who thought I was more of a ‘Family Man’ for past 2 days when I did not have my iphone to play with while at home…
Agreed that its an expensive phone but in last 2 days I realized its just not worth kicking your own self for such accident or taking any stress after the fact. Its not going to do any good to you or your phone. Rather just accept it and hope for the best!
Hopefully more people get to read this page and get a chance to take quick actions that could help save their phone
Good luck to all and thanks John Carroll for creating this great informative page!!!
Hey Monty – Thanks for sharing your story. I’ve adjusted the instructions above to take into account what you learned. Unfortunately, the iPhone has moisture markers inside and Apple can tell if a phone has been dunked. Still, the Out-Of-Warranty cost isn’t too bad. Hopefully, by now you phone is up and working 🙂 Have a great weekend. – John
hey this morning i dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet i grabbed it out strait away and started to dry it… it turned itself off which i thought was probably for the best anyway. so i wrapped it in a towel and left it for two hours infront of my living room heater which is a gas heater. i came home about two hours later with some rice and as i was putting it in the phone turned on… it all seems to be working fine :s so i have put it on charge and left it infront of a room heater not sure what else to do i have heard so many crazy things… not sure whether to just consider myself lucky and get on with my life :s
Hey Shannon – Let us know what happens. Fingers crossed. – John
Just dropped my ipod touch 4th gen down the loo, was in the water for five seconds, took it out and dryed it with a towel and the screen went streaky and funny. Then I blew into the charger socket thing and the headphone hole to get any excess water out, but the screen was still funny. Went downstairs to put it in a bag of rice and the screen turned off completely?! Should I be worried? Im stressing out!!!
Hey Olivia – No point in stressing. You’ve done what you can. Keep your fingers crossed. Hopefully it’ll be fine.- John
a few months ago, moisture got in my phone while i was using a tight-sealed iphone 5 case and long story short, i had to replace my phone lcd.
Anyway
My phone fell in a bucket full of water 2 days ago and it was there for maximum 5 seconds.
Took it out right away. it was still playing music and while i was turning it off, the volume was becoming lower although that seems normal to me because when it gets a little wet in the speakers area, it always automatically lowers the volume.
So i dried it with a towel, used a cotton to absorb water in the speakers area, dock and audio jack. took out the sim. indicator isn’t even red! still wondering about that but i must be lucky. hopefully i didnt jinx anything by saying that
hoping to get your response before i turn on my phone in 6 hours or more. just wondering why the indicator isn’t red or if it works fine, is it okay that i dont need to bring it to a third party etc.
i dont want to upgrade to the 5s yet so im hoping that my phone will still last for a year. thank you
Hey Trouble – It’s good that the SIM card indicator hasn’t changed, but there are several water damage indicators on the iPhone and the others may have tripped. unfortunately, there’s no way for me to predict if a dunked iPhone will work. Every situation is different. No-one could predict what will happen when you turn on the phone. It sounds like you’ve got a good chance and have done the right things. That’s all you can do. – John
Hi, i dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet yesterday, for about 2 secs or less… then my phone turned off by itself… so what i did is, i dried the phone immediately and then i kept on trying to turn on the phone(didn’t knew about not turning the phone until i read in Google) and it didn’t turn on… so i went and plugged it for like 10 secs…. still nothing works… until i turned the laptop and read, then in like 10 mins from dropping my phone in the toilet, i put it in the rice…any suggestions? i mean will it work ?
Hi Rabih – Sorry, but I have to give the same answer i give everyone else. There’s no way for me to predict if a dunked iPhone will work. Every situation is different. No-one could predict what will happen when you turn on the phone. It sounds like you’ve got a good chance and have done the right things. That’s all you can do. – John
Dropped my iphone 5 (16gb) in the toilet, I had about 5-10 secs to get it out. I dried it out with tissue, used a dryer for a while, and shook the phone. After I came home, I placed the phone in a bowl with rice. I was planning to leave the phone in the rice for one week to completely dry it out. I’ve heard about the LCI (Liquid Contact Indicator) inside the phone which tells if the phone has been in contact with any liquid. (It turns red/pink when it has, if not, it’s white) Can I somehow trick the LCI by drying it out?
A quick reply would be awesome, cheers.
Hi MJ – There’s no way to trick the indicators that I’m aware of. – John
I dropped my phone in the toilet at the airport. I grabbed it immediately….it never turned off, I dried it immediately and there was one of those super duper high powered dryers so i held it in there pretty much immediately for a few minutes. Everything was working totally fine. I got on the flight and turned on airplane mode…..played games on it, and still looks fine. When I landed….it wouldnt locate a signal. It just said searching….for like 30 minutes on my layover. Now im back on the flight and dying to know if its going to work when we land…do you think juts the cellular circuit that connects to data could be the only thing that broke in the dunking?
Hi Devon – There’s no way anyone could diagnose a mechanical problem with a phone while your in the air. I would stop using it and try the rice trick when you get to your location. – John
Hi
I dropped my iPhone 4S down the loo, I’ve dried it out, I can receive iMessages and use the internet, the problem is it doesn’t seem to be able to register the SIM card, but I know it’s not damaged the sim cause when I put in another iPhone it works perfect, it just says searching all the time
What would you recommend ?????
Thankyou
Jackie
Hi Jackie – It sounds like the SIM reader or some other component is damaged. You’ll have to take it to either your carrier or the Apple Store. – John
Hi, dropped my phone in the toilet. Got it out as fast as possible, but I can’t power it off because the power button is not working! Neither is the sound… everything else is. I have it in rice anyway. What can I do?
Hi Erika – Just leave it in the rice for 24-48 hours. Trying to force it to turn it off won’t help at this point. Hopefully, it’ll be okay. – John
I left it in overnight and today. When I came home from work it was working fine… sound, power button, home button, and camera all working great. I went ahead and left it in to make sure all water is pulled out. Thanks!
Hey Erika – So glad your phone works. Thanks a million for writing back and letting me know. have a great weekend. – John
I dropped my iphone in water but it wasn’t fully submerged. I pulled it out as fast as possible took off my otterbox dreys it and put it in rice. I waited 24 hours for it to dry out before I took it out. It worked fine for the first 24 hours now my screen is twitching and auto adjusting. It keeps magnifying the pages and the whole screen shakes uncontrollably. I put it back in rice for another 24 hours is it going to be okay?
Hi Kim – Unfortunately no-one can predict based on a given set of circumstances if a water damaged iPhone will work again. You’re doing the right thing. Hopefully it will work again. – John
Hi Kim did it work again? Ive had similar situation 🙁
Hello,
Last night my wife dropped her iphone 5 in the toilet. She quickly got it out of the toilet and started drying it with a towel. After about 5 minutes we found some rice at my friends house and we put it in there over night. We never turned it off or anything….i advised her to just leave it alone. This morning I took it out of the rice container and the screen is non responsive (touch functionality does not work) and flickering. Besides that, it seems that screen has no apparent damage. I tried restarting the phone (holding the home and wake button at the same time) and the problem is still present. I returned it to the rice container just in case. Can I deduce that if this problem is still there after a few days in the rice, that replacing the screen will help? Or can another part of the phone cause this? I am open to any advice. Thanks for your help in advance.
Hi – Unfortunately, there’s no way to diagnose a problem like this based on a description. A repair shop would need to look at it to give you any definitive answers. Sorry, I can’t be of more help. – John
Hi John – yesterday I accidentally dropped my phone in the toilet. I dried it and shook as much water as I could out of it. After, I put it in a bowl of rice and it’s been about 24 hours. The phone won’t turn on at all. The bottom, where the charger goes, has a red line inside. My phone is an iPhone 4. Is my phone damaged or can it be fixed?
Hey Eve – Sorry that this happened. Only a repair shop, or Apple could tell, but it does sound like the phone is damaged.
Have a look at the Out of Warranty replacement program above in the post.
Apple don’t fix way iPhones, they simply replace them. The cost depends on the phone they’re replacing.
If you take it to a third-party repair shop they may be able to fix it, but they can’t reset the water sensors. That may impact the phones work if you ever try to sell.
Best of luck
John
Hi John!
I dropped my iphone5 into the toilet and got it out, dried it. I ran back to my dorm (It was during a class break) and put it in a bag of rice (took me about 10 mins from the toilet to the rice bag). I checked on it 30 mins later, and the screen was BRIGHT RED and the device was really hot! I realized that I had never turned it off!! So I immediately turned it off by holding down the power button & home button.
I’m planning on leaving it in the rice for a good 24~36 hours. I can’t find anything on the internet where someone has a similar problem as me (bright red screen and overheating iphone).
Do you think I have a chance..?
Hi Jennifer – Unfortunately, there’s no way to diagnose a problem like this based on a description. A repair shop would need to look at it to give you any definitive answers. My phone has overheated several times and been fine. Sorry, I can’t be of more help. – John
I found an iPhone 5 on a beach it was in a plastic bag that had some water and sand in it, i’ve put it in a bag of rice already but i was wondering if there is still some way that the owners information can be collected from the sim card?
Hi Rebecca
You would have to bring the SIM card to AT&T and Verizon, if there are no identifying marks for a carrier on it.
John C
I dropped my phone in the water at the beach and it was working for a bit and then turned off but i didn’t get my phone to rice until I got a home about an hour after i dropped my phone in the water. do you think it will still work?
Hi Rhianna – Unfortunately, there’s no way to know. Salt water is harder on electronics than fresh water. hopefully you’ll get lucky. If not, then look at the Out Of Warranty information in the post. – john
Hi, I accidentally dropped my iphone 5 in a toilet bowl this morning, and hardly blowing and off the water from the phone and get to work, and it’s almost 8 hours I just put my iphone in a plastic bag, and read solutions for it online and decided to put it in rice. hope everything just find. And one more thing, I’m looking for silica at home too. Wish me luck…
Good Luck and hopefully a Happy New Year – John
Hello I dropped my I 5 in water it would not turn off, there is an apple symble and lines is this good or bad? Its in rice now.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell. Just leave it in the rice per the instructions. Hopefully, it will be okay. Happy New Year – John
I dropped my iphone 5c in the toilet! I know I’m not the first one to do this. I took it out right away (it was only submerged for 4 seconds, tops) and shook out as much water as I could. I also dried it off with toilet paper as best I could. I put it in a bag of rice for about 3 hours, then plugged it in and it turned on well enough. But it won’t connect to my wifi, the top bar that usually says the carrier name and wifi instead says ‘searching,’ and the touch screen isn’t responding at all. The buttons are fine and vibrate works. What do I do? I have no money to get it repaired!
Hi Jenny – The phone needs to stay in the rice for 24 – 48 hours. 3 hours isn’t enough. Read the post above. All the information you need is there. – John
So my mate and i were floating down the mighty Condamine river on new years day fishing for carp and having a few drinks and we had our phones in the side pocket of our esky which was floating in a kiddie pool. The pool got water in it and then so did the esky, the phones were in contact with water for about 10 mins and when i checked them they were both not working. That evening we got them in rice and undid the screen to give them a dry out then put them back in the rice. I just plugged mine in to see how it would go and it came up with a white screen with apple logo for about 4 seconds then would go black again and keeps repeating that while its on charge and then does nothing off the charger. Its a 5s, any chance you know if this is a good or bad sign?
Cheers
Hi – It sounds like the phone is trying to reboot and is stuck in a loop. There’s no way to tell without looking at the phone, but it’s suffered some kind of damage and will need repair. Call Apple and ask about their Out of Warranty cost for an iPhone 5S with water damage. – John
Wow.. that is literally exactly what happened to me (minus the river part). White screen w/ black apple, flashing.. I kept it in rice for 3 days. Hmm. So no hope? There’s no combination of buttons I can push to force the restore??
Hi Sara – Unfortunately not. Best to give it to Apple or a third-party repair center and get their opinion. – John
My Iphone 4 fell into a bucket of water just took it back within 5 Seconds, and I click on home button i can see the display, suddenly none of the buttons are not working may be, it would automatically switch off I guess, now it is inside the rice, will it be alright?!
Vishak
Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell. Just leave it in the rice per the instructions. Hopefully, it will be okay. – John
I dropped my iphone 5 in the toilet a few days ago, took it out immediately took the otterbox off, dried of the phone and submerged it in a bag with rice. After about 36 hours I took it out of the bag of rice, turned on the phone and tried using it, but the touch screen was not fully working. Therefore I put it back in the bag of rice and left it in there another day. The next day I when I turned the phone on everything seemed to work fine except for the camera. When I went to the camera app the lenses would not open. Is there anything that I can do to make it work? I still have 3 months left with the apple care if that helps at all or if I can use an upgrade through my verizon plan for a new phone. I am not sure how much the iphone 5 would cost but I’m fine with that I do not need the 5s or 5c. Thank you very much! I just need my camera to work because I use it all the time!
Water damage is considered Out of Warranty, so Apple Care wouldn’t cover it. I would go into the store and ask them what your options are or upgrade with Verizon. The camera on the 5S is generally considered to be far better than the one on the 5 or 5C. If it’s just for snaps I wouldn’t worry about it. – JOHN
I dropped lil water on the main sensor button of my iphone 5s,though i quickly cleared it with cloth (within 4-5 sec) but i doubt that the water got its way inside the button/phone.is this possible?? i acted upon it real fast.phn is working fine till now but do u think there could be a problem?? Pls reply fast i am terrified.i love my iphone.
Sounds to me like you saved it. Water issues show up pretty quickly, so I wouldn’t worry about it. – john
Thank you so much.
Hi John,
Dropped my iPhone 5s in the toilet today. It was in there for 2 seconds max. : / It worked upon fishing it out (in fact, as I held it dripping wet, Siri asked how she could help me. VERY FUNNY SIRI!), but I didn’t think to turn it off right away. It was on in sleep mode for about 3 hours after submersion. I powered it off when I got home and it is in rice now for 24-48 hours.
I have insurance and the deductible is $169 (Asurion). My question is, if it still works normally after 48 hours in rice, am I being stupid if I hold on to the phone instead of taking advantage of my insurance? I worry that I will get a refurbed phone (I know this is silly….it’s just hard to swallow when you have a brand new one) or a different color (Equally silly. I know. I know.) I just keep wondering how many refurbed 5s’ there are out there quite yet and if I should take the chance that I’ll get a new one in the same color. Or if I hold on to the phone, will it just degrade over time?
Or is it just gross to keep it? ; )
If it was dropped in anything but clean water, I’d bin it and get a refurbished one.
I should clarify: there was nothing IN the toilet except for billions and billions of germs from previous users. I had literally just walked in to the bathroom. I don’t know if that’s what you mean by clean water or not….even toilet water with nothing but water in it seems pretty foul.
Sounds like the iPhone version of typhoid Mary 🙂
Also dropped my phone (iphone 5S) in the toilet on accident. Took it out immediately, took it out of its case, dried it, and placed in an unsealed container of rice (didn’t know the container should be sealed) and left it over night. (But I didn’t realize that there was a screen protector on:(!! ) I took it off in the morning. All the keys are working except two on the keypad. Will leaving it longer in the rice help?
No way to know. It can’t hurt.I’d give it a try.
Well, it did help!!! I am SAVED.
Awesome.
I dropped my iphone 4 in the toilet. I got it out quickly, surface dried it with a towel and it seemed fine. It turned on no problem. But it had no sound and the camera did not work. About 20 minutes later it wouldn’t even turn on. I put it in the bag of rice but I did take it out a couple of times to check it. Is there still a chance that it could work again even though I didn’t power it off and I took out of the bag of rice a few times to try to power it on?
Hi Cheryl – Apologies for the delayed response. Only a trained tech on-site could estimate the chances of your phone surviving. Fingers crossed, it will be okay. – John
I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet yesterday. This is the second time I’ve done this. I’m hoping that the bag of rice will do the trick again this time but it’s been in there for 24 hours now and when I try to charge it I get nothing, the screen stays black and it won’t even turn on. I’m worried because last time this happened, a piece of rice got lodged into the charger hole and I damaged my phone trying to chip it out. It worked afterwards but the charger would only charge it when it was facing a certain way (as opposed to being able to charge it with either side of the charger end facing up or down.)
Anyways my question is this- I’m paranoid that a piece of rice will get stuck in there again so I put a small piece of tape over the charger hole. Will this prevent the moisture from being removed? How can I get my phone to turn on again?
Hi Jen – I doubt the tape will greatly impact the moisture removal. If the phone won’t turn on, there’s nothing that you can do, but bring it to a repair facility. you won’t get any worthwhile advice from anyone who can’t see and inspect the phone in person. Sorry I can’t be of more help. – John
I dropped my iphone5 in the bath tub, and it was never completely submerged. I immediately dried it off and put it in rice. The speakers were quieted, and they are working fine now. BUT now I keep getting this error message saying that the cable may not be supported, but there is no cable plugged in, and this message pops up very frequently. Will this go away when its completely dry? Or is there anything I can do?
Hi Hannah – Hopefully it will go away, but if not the only recourse is Apple or a repair shop. – John
I dropped my phone into water and immediately I scooped it out. I dried it off and finished a text to someone (only later did I find out what a bad thing that is to do) and it shut off. I put it in a bag of rice and checked about 12 hours later on it by plugging it in and turning it on (mistakes number 2 and 3) and the phone started getting really hot so I turned it off and put it back in the bag. However, the phone isn’t turning off. The Apple logo pops up and weird text shows up at the top of the screen. How long do you advise I wait until next checking on my phone/does it sound like it may be ruined by now? Thank you very much in advance!
Hi Rachel – You can check the phone again, but don’t plug it in. It may be damaged and be dangerous to handle. If it doesn’t clearly work perfectly, I’d let Apple or a third-party repair shop look at it first. Sorry, I don’t have more info to give. – John
I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet two nights ago. I turned it off immediately and removed the case. I was out, so I left it in my purse until I returned home later that night, then kept it in rice all night long. The next day I turned it on, and everything seemed to be working perfectly! Later that day, I realized the camera wasn’t working. Which I use ALL the time. Is there any way that I can repair the camera without replacing the phone? I have an upgrade with Verizon, but I would have to change my whole data plan, which I have somehow been able to stay grandfathered into the unlimited data plan, until now when I tried to upgrade, and then stopped. Please help!
Hi Kristin – in this situation, to the best of my knowledge, Apple won’t replace a single component due to water damage. Try to find an Apple Authorized third – party repair shop in your area. Call and ask if they’ll do it, or if they know someone who can. – John
I had my phone in my back pocket and I went to go to the bathroom and it fell in the toilet. I took it out immediately and it was working fine. I dried it out with paper towels and then my teacher gave me a bag of beans to put it in. 90 minutes later I’m using it to type this and the only problem is two spots on the screen one white and one blue. I removed the case and screen protector immediately after it was submerged. Everything works fine.Should I still put in rice as a precaution?
Hi Tara – I would as the marks appear to indicate there is still some moisture in the phone = John
hey John!
i dropped my iphone in the toilet yesterday and took it out after about 10 secs then put it in a bag of rice. its been there for about 14 hours. should i change the rice every now and then?
You shouldn’t need to, but it’s a good idea and it can’t hurt. Just resist the temptation to turn on the phone when you take it out. – John
actually i opened it like 5 times till now. would that hurt?
I wouldn’t think so. As long as you don’t turn on the phone during the process. Obviously this isn’t an exact science, but you want to keep the odds in your favor. – John
John,
My daughter dropped my Iphone 5 in the toilet this afternoon. She handed it to me soaking wet so I quickly dried it off. Not having any rice available, I had to go to a store to buy some. It was about 20 minutes from the time of the accident until I was able to submerge it in rice. However, the phone would not turn off and stayed on a black screen. So- as far as I know, I had to put the phone in rice still turned on. It has been in the bag of rice for about three hours. Will I need to leave it in there for a day or so? Do I need to check to see if I’d be able to turn it off at any time? Thanks!
Hi Ryan – I wouldn’t touch the phone at this point. Leave it in the rice for at least 24 hrs and then try it out. – John
Hey John,
I dropped my iPhone 5s into the toilet and dried it off for 2 hours before bringing it to the apple service. They asked me to do the rice method and I tried it immediately afterwards. I need to keep it in a week preferably but one thing that curious my mind, is it okay if i put it inside of container instead of ziplock? and do i need to wrap my phone with paper towel when it is submerged into the rice?
Hi Faza – No need to wrap it in a paper towel. Just make sure any ports are free of stray pieces of rice before you try using it. I can’t see anything wrong with using a container. Good luck. Let me know how it works out. – John
Hi!
My one year old dropped my iPhone in a glass of water. Put it in rice for 48 hours, turned it on and it lights up with the apple logo but that’s as far as it goes. Any advice or is it fried?
Thanks!
Nina
Hi Nina – There’s no way for me to know. It’s still working to some degree so it may be worn taking to a third party repair service so someone experienced can take a look at it. – John
Hi, I accidentally left my iPhone 5 in a wet spot (dumb, I know.) and it was there for at least 5 minutes. I dried it off immediately and put it in rice. After waiting about 7 hours, I turned it on and the white Apple logo screen showed up, but with what seemed to be dark grey spots caused by the water. The sounds and Siri still work, no black screen or anything, but the touch screen is unresponsive. When I try to swipe, it only moves a little bit. I’ve since put it back in the rice and will wait a few more days. Is it worth it to try or is my phone a lost cause?
Hi LH – Considering how expensive the phones are, it’s worth a try. There’s no way to know the phone is a lost cause unless a technician examined it and gave you an honest answer. – John
The same thing happened to me, screen is unresponsive but phone turns on. How did it work out for yours?
I dropped my Iphone 4 in the toilet at a friends house and i immediately took it out and dried it along with putting it in rice for 5 days now and i tried to turn it on and charge it, but the screen would not turn on and after 20mins of charging, it felt hot but the i know its still working because the vibrate button works, so how do i get the screen to work? Should i leave it in a bit longer to charge? Please help!!! :((
Hi Natalee – There’s no point in putting it back in the rice and charging it could be dangerous. Take it to a third party repair facility and get their opinion on whether or not it can be repaired. – John
Hi, I dropped my phone into the toilet and then tried shaking the water out. I then left it in a rice bag for about a week. The phone charges and turns on, but the network keeps searching, the screen is unresponsive and has the wrong date on the screen. What do you suggest?
Hi Kim – At this point, you have to take it to Apple or a 3rd party repair center. The problems you are describing are not every day issues that can be resolved by a software fix.- John
Hi John,
I dropped my iPhone 5s in the toilet took it out quickly and it still worked. I had full function of the iPhone. After about an hour I plugged it in to charge. No problems. Made a few phone calls, checked email ect. Still fully functional. I finally put it in rice as a precautionary measure. It was 3 hrs before I did so. Oh and I turned it off before putting it in the rice. I plan on leaving it there for 24hrs. This is going to sound funny but I’m concerned because there was no issues. No harm, no foul?
Hi Greg – There’s no way to predict the outcome, but it sounds like you might be okay. – John
Hi John,
I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet. In my drunken state, I let it sit there for quite a while before fishing it out, rinsing it off, and shaking it a bit. I then proceeded to turn it on and text a few times before falling asleep.
It was only in the morning did I fully comprehend what happened and got it in a bag of rice. After 48 hours, I am charging it, but the apple logo blinks on and off. Is my iPhone 5 a complete loss? (A year and a half with Verizon, no insurance.)
Hi S – There’s no way anyone could tell from the description. You need to take it to a 3rd party repair store to get an estimation of the damage. – John
Also – Do not try to charge it. With the description you give it may have serious damage and it is definitely not safe to plug into an electric outlet.
So I dropped my phone in the toilet last night. It was probably in there for 2 or 3 seconds at the most. I took it out, shook it lightly and then dried it with a towel quite quickly. I immediately went downstairs and put it in a box of rice overnight. I got home from school today, took it out of the rice and turned it on. The apple logo was up for a little while, but when it finally booted up, the screen was completely red. It was like that for about 5-10 minutes until the phone lost battery and turned off. It’s now back in the rice and I’m hoping that it’ll work again soon. I’m going on a cruise this weekend and I want to have it so I can take pictures 🙁 do you think there’s ANY hope that’ll it’ll work by putting it back in rice? I really am scared to tell my dad because I doubt he’ll get me a new one.
Sorry Lizzy, but there’s no way for me to know. On the plus side your doing all you can to try and fix it. Look at the “Update” section above for information on Apple’s Out of Warranty replacement program. Things may not be as bad as they seem. Good luck – John
Thank you very much 🙂 I have a few more questions, sorry to bother. But if apple were to replace my iPhone, would I for sure get a refurbished one or is it possible that I could get a new or fairly new one? And how much would that cost?
Hi Lizzy – I’m pretty sure it would be refurbished, but Apple have high standards and I haven’t seen any that didn’t look perfect. With the Outside Of Warranty program, you don’t get to choose if the phone is new, refurbished, etc,., The cost should be above in the Update section. Or call an Apple store and ask for a price. – John
Hi John,
so a few weeks ago I dropped my iPhone 5 in the toilet and went to put it in rice. After 48 hours or so, it turned back on. For those next few weeks, it has been working perfectly fine. Just today though, I realized that I cant make video calls (oovoo, facetime, Skype, etc.). Everytime the other person answers, it says “Call ended” and we never connect. On oovoo, I don’t even have a chance to answer. Could that be from the water damage or is it a fixable problem that doesn’t need the phone replaced?
It sounds more like a fixable problem. I’ve seen that kind of behavior before and it generally has to do with the accounts and settings. You just have to fool around with it to try and get it working. It’s more art than science. Good luck – John
Hi,
I dropped my iPhone 5c in the toilet today at school around 3:30 and I fished it out after about 4 seconds. I then started to shake it and get water out while I checked the screen to see what damage was done. Almost the whole screen was full with water so I ran to the library where my friends were and I didn’t know that I was supposed to turn it off so we tried sucking the water out and I tried to open a bunch of apps and I tried to call my mom, and now I know that I shouldn’t have done any of this. It was on for about 20 mins before I could get any rice….I got rice, put it in, and then 10 minutes later someone told me that I should turn it off so I did. It has been in the rice since and I plan for it to be in there for 48 hours. Any suggestions or comments as of now?
And I will clarify that all of the touch screen was working for the total time after I dropped it in
And another thing – even though the touch was working the screen would become very shaky and the the whole screen would start moving up to where I could see the top bar at the bottom of the screen. Whenever I had it on for more than 10ish seconds the screen would get very shaky and eventually die off, but I would be able to keep unlocking it and using it.
Hi Mollie – There’s nothing more that you can do thatI’m aware of. So far all the signs are positive. Fingers crossed, it will be okay – John
Hi John! I took my phone out of the rice today and it is almost 100% functional! There are a couple spots under the screen that were damaged by the water, and sometimes it has trouble charging, but besides that it works fine! Your forum and advice here definitely helped me keep it alive. thanks!
Good to hear. Thanks for letting me know.
hi i dropped my iphone in the toilet when i got it out it was turned off with led light on i put it in rice do u think it will work
Sorry Maryam. I’m in LA and can’t tell from here. I’m sending good vibes and hoping for the best. – John
Hey! I dropped my iphone in a bucket of water and soap while I was cleaning my windows, and I immediately took it out, then rushed to dry it and covered it with rice, but then took it off to dry it with a blow dryer, to then find out that;s a bad idea then put it back into the rice for a day and half and well, I thank god it works but now it has a water splash stain inside the screen… 🙁 Is there a way to fix that? Thank you in advanced!
The answer is Yes… but it would cost as much if you had a third-party store repair it. So why not have them take care of it. You can avoid trying to find the correct kit from an honest seller on Ebay and then having to locate and follow a pretty complex set of instructions. – John
Hi I dropped my phone in the toilet face down and my screen isn’t sliding at all. If someone texts me and or call me the sound is working. I don’t know if my side buttons and or the home button work. At this point I don’t know what to do, should I invest with buying another screen and or sale it… Can you pleas give me some advise on what to do….
Everything you need to know is in the post. Beyond that, you need a service center. – John
Hi
I dropped my iphone 5 c today morning! I am really tensed.. I dried ut anf have put it in the rice container!
Will it work? It was in water only for a few 3 sec i suppose!
There’s no way to know. Unfortunately, you just have to wait and see. – John
Hai! I dropped my 4S in a cold mop bucket and put it in rice over night and now the clicky sounds and sound isn’t working like IDe be texting and the noises would just go off! What does that mean and how can I fix it?
There’s no way to know without getting it examined by a professional. Take it to a third party service center and they will be able to estimate the damage.- John
Hi John,
I have an iPhone 5 that was dropped in the toilet, left on until everything sort of flickered and went dark. I have dried it out thoroughly now, and now it fires up nicely, however the rear camera is blurry even after replacing, and the wifi will not turn on. Any ideas?
You either need to take it to a third party service center or Apple and they will be able to estimate the damage. There’s no way to do that unless a technician opens it up. – John
Hi John!! You may have answered this question already but you have so many comments it would take quite a while go through them all. I dropped my brand new (less than a week old) iPhone 5C down the toilet and you can imagine the rest. After turning it off and placing it in rice for 3-4 days it now seems to be working except for 2 things: my home button don’t work and voice control comes on by itself. I’m stuck on my message app… Any tips?
Hi Renee
That’s such a unique problem there’s no way to tell without looking at it. I’d take it to a third-party service center or to Apple. There’s information above about Apple’s Out Of Warranty policy. That may be a good way to go. Sorry I don’t have any better advice. Have a nice weekend. – John
I dropped my iPhone 5 C in a pool and took it out 5 seconds later. I tried blowdrying it and putting it into rice and everything seems to be fine except the charger plug wont fit in the phone anymore. What should I do?
Hi Kylie – It’s funny, but I’ve heard of this happening to other people and I’ve no idea what causes it. The only thing I can think of is if a small piece of rice got wedged in the charger slot and was then pushed in further when you tried to insert the charger plug. I would take the phone to a third party repair shop and get an estimate to fix it.Your choices are limited unless you want to take it apart yourself and I don’t advise that. Let me know what you find out. – John
Hi- I dropped my new iPhone 5c into the toilet yesterday. I took it out, dried it off, and now it’s sitting in a bag of rice. The problem is that I didn’t turn it off, and now the screen isn’t working so I can’t turn it off. Do you think there’s any hope?
I actually just got my phone turned off, I didn’t know you could hold the power and home button. However, when turning it off I noticed there are lines all over the screen. When is safe for me to turn it back on?
Hi Megan – Once you have the phone in rice for 24 – 48 hours you can turn it own. It will either work or it won’t. At that point you need to get a first hand evaluation from a repair shop. There’s always hope. Read though your options in the post above. Good luck. – John
Dear John,
“Oh how I hate to write,” as the old country song goes. My iPhone 5s just fell in the toilet for a couple of seconds. I had already read about the rice, so I slipped it out of the Mophie Case and toweled it off/shook it, but wasn’t able to power down. Tried the home & power button, but all I got was the white screen with a black apple, no red power down button. It is being baptized in minute rice as I write. I hope it will emerge reborn to a new life. It had a good charge and has never died because the Mophie keeps it going. How long do you think I should wait to try it since I couldn’t power down?
Hi Lou Ann – I would wait at least 24 – 48 hours. The longer you leave it in the better. Hopefully, it’ll come out working – John C
I dropped my iPhone 5s in the toilet and didn’t know to turn it off and put it in rice..
So I dried it off and tried to use it it worked fine but the speakers was low, so I then put it in rice but didn’t cut it off at first. After about 20 min I tried to make a call it went black! I got on the computer and seen reviews on shutting it off and putting it rice! Well I did that and left it for about 6 hours… I had to turn it on because I had no contacts no way to contact any one accept through Facebook. The screen wouldn’t come on!!! The phone was on and functioning but I had a black screen.. Then the screen started to flicker. Is my phone DONE??
Hi Latasha – There’s no way to know based on a description. Typically the phone has got to be in rice from 24 – 48 hours. Admittedly, that’s a long time to be without a phone, but it’s the only option I’m aware off. Have a look at the post above and the options you have. Good luck. – John
Ok thanks!
Well my iphone 4 got dropped in the toliet, I grabbed it quickly, took it out the case and wrapped it down fast, and this happened at church. I got home put it in rice, but I didnt know to cut it off I heard someone text me, but I dont have a screen and I tried cutting it off and I cant tell, but the light is on, on the back of the iphone! Someone please tell me is there any else that could be done?
Hi Tina – Hold the power button down until the light goes off… though I’ve no firs what light that could be, 24 – 48 hours in the rice. Read the post above to get an idea of what your options are. Good luck. – John
I dropped my phone in the bay two days ago. It was under the water for about 3 minutes until I found it. It took me about 20 minutes to get my phone into a bag of uncooked rice and has been in there since then. I tried to turn my phone on a few times since then with no luck. I am thinking the salt in the water most likely drains any hopes of recovery (but am hoping for a miracle), is there any hope?
Hey Angela – When you drop it in the ocean, its rare to get it working again. Read the post and have a look at your options with a water damaged iPhone. – John
I dropped my Iphone 5 in the toilet and put in rice just like you said. i dropped it yesterday and turned it on today. It turned on fine but the screen wont recognize my touch and sometimes lines make the screen blurry. What should i do?
Hi Lydia – I would put it back in the rice for another 24 hours. After that, your only options are to take it to Apple or a third-party repair shop. Have a look at the options listed at the end of the post above. Good luck. – John
Hi I’m maddie.
So I was in the tub relaxing and my mom startled me. My phone fell in with the back full in cover and then the rubber one on for maybe three seconds or four it was perfectly fine and barley even wet so I dried it off but now my sound won’t work unless I have headphones in and even then it takes a couple minutes to get the sound going. Can I fix this?
Hi Maddie – It may not work, but try this. Cut the top of a Q-Tip leaving a little of the cotton in place. Tamp the remaining cotton down by rolling the Q-Tip top in your fingertips. Noe, place that top into the headphone hole. Turn in the same direction you did when it was between your fingers. Often, a piece of dirt lodged in the headphone hole makes the phone thing there are headphones inserted and it won’t play sound through any other port. – John
I dropped my phone in water but quickly got it out. The phone shut off moments after and I put the phone in rice and took it out two days later. The only problem now is that the screen isn’t bright at all. I have to use a flashlight to even see anything. What do I do?
Hi Tyler – Have a look at the options at the bottom of the post. – John
Hi I’m santu and yesterday I dropped my phone in the toilet and our my only hope and I picked it up quickly but I had no rice so I had to wait like 1 hour but I put it in a ziplock with rice and I shook the water and I kept it there I checked this morning and it won’t turn on and the day it dropped I was panicking so I powered it on and tried making it work cuz I didn’t know what to do and I had 10% battery left so how do I tell if it works and also when it fell I put it on charge thinking it was fine but it just died I’m really scared this phone is all I have till grade 12 and I need it so pleased help me!?? Would Apple trade for free? If it doesn’t work cuz my lock button nvr worked and I never got it fixed ?? Any hopes??
Hi Santu – Have a look at the options at the bottom of the post with regard to Apple’s Out of Warranty program and the option to use third-party repair shops. I doubt Apple would replace a water-damaged iPhone for free… but it never hurts to ask. If you’re polite and explain your situation there’s a better chance they will try to help you. Sorry this happened to you. Good Luck. – John
At midnight today I dropped my Iphone 5 in a bathtub. It was on and in a battery charge type of case. I very quickly retrieved it wiped it, removed the case and dried it some more. Just before I turned it off I noticed it said “You have no SIM card”.
I knew about putting it in rice, but I didn’t have any and it was past midnight. I wrapped it in a paper towel. I started to worry about losing my photos and particularly a video of my mother touching her toes on her 91st birthday . I turned it on and tried to use my transfer to send some of my photos to my ipad. They couldn’t connect. I now know I shouldn’t have turned it on. I removed the SIM card and put my phone in a container of Rice Krispies.(an on-line suggestion. It is presently in a plastic bag in rice. I don’t mind getting a new phone, but want to save my info and photos. Do you think I can sync it on my computer after it dries? Do I need to put the SIM card back in? What info does it carry?
Hi Leslie – The Sim card carries information related to your carrier e.g. AT&T, Verizon, Etc. If the Sim card doesn’t work the phone may not function correctly.
That said, there is no other information held on the Sim card. All your data, photos, etc. Are held in flash memory on the phone. There’s no way to know if your phone will sync with your computer after dries. If it doesn’t, you may be able to take it to a third-party repair store and have them retrieve the data for you. I hope this helps.– John
I went out with some friends on Friday and dropped my phone in the toilet, luckily I dropped it in a target so I quicky dried it off and went off ot buy rice, after purchasing it I stuck it in the box and waited its now monday of the following week, and my phone still wont turn on. Would it be too late to take it to a repair store? I just got this phone 3 weeks ago :((
Hi Maria – It’s not to late to take to a repair store, but only they could give you the final word on whether or not they can fix it. Have a look at the bottom of the post for more information on what Apple can do. Good luck. – John
Last night I had dropped my iphone5 in the sink pot full of water but my phone had cracks on the.screen will it still work if I put it in rice ??
It would be safer to take it to Apple and have them test it. Whatever you do, don’t connect it to a Mac or other power source. – John
Today in the morning i decided to go for a swim i was in a hurry because the place where I go to was closing in 30 min. I didn’t notice I had my iPhone 5 in my pocket and I jumped in the pool, I realized immediately and took it out of the pool, I didn’t get a chance to turn it off because my screen went black. It took me about 15 min to get home and I immediately put it on enriched rice, I know enriched rice leaves some white dust or whatever but I don’t care that’s the only rice I have. My question is how long should I leave in the rice, and If you think it’ll actually work?
Leave it in 24-48 hours. No way to tell. I’d be guessing. You may have problem long-term because of the chlorine… but maybe not.
My phone blocked out after receiving a few messages after submersion. I knew about the rice so I prepared a bag of it mixed with silica gel (the type used for DSLR dry boxes) but my dad went and wrapped my iphone 5S in a towel and proceeded to blow dry it. I made him stop and light ply blow dried it keeping the blowdryer a distance away and made sure the phone didn’t heat up. During all that I stupidly tried to turn it on a few times and plugged it in once… Do you think there’s a chance to save my phone cause I’ve read a few websites and they said not to turn on your phone or use a hair-dryer a few crucial mistakes I made…
Hi Joyce – You need to take it to a service center. All the information you need is in the post. – John C
Well, I did not bring it to the service center and it worked properly for 24hrs before I had to fully charge it. I charged it for short amounts of time with a portable charger and it was fine till I plugged it to a plug in charger and the phone restarted, flashed blue, went back to normal, then wouldn’t respond to touch…. The buttons and Siri are all working fine and I can see incoming messages.
Okay. I dropped my iPhone in the toilet(it was clean) and it still works. How to I make sure it is clean?
Check on Google. three’s no way I know of, that will not damage the phone further – John
what if you didn’t get the chance to turn it off because it hanged and the screen won’t touch anymore and your screen is all flickery and blue lines are starting to appear? and its like 1am there are no open stores right now so can it wait for tomorrow? what should i do while waiting?
Hi Ereka – With this kind of issue, you can’t do much more than follow the instructions above. Each situation is unique and there is no way to predict the outcome. I would take it to Apple or to a third-part tech company as soon as possible. – John
Hi Justin – Everybody asks this questions, but there is absolutely know way for me to know. Just follow the instructions and keep it drying for 24 – 48 hours to have the best chance. Hope it works out for you. – John
I dropped my iphone 5s in the toilet but quickly got it out. I dried it and took off the case. I also opened the side of the iphone where the port is and checked to see if the liquid sensor turned red and its still white. am I in the clear? or should I still submerge my phone in rice?
Please read the post above. All questions answered. Good luck.
I dropped my iphone 5s in the toilet and it was on at the time. It was only in for a few seconds before I pulled it out. the display screen appeared normal at the time, but I did not know to turn it off. After drying it off, the display screen turned blue and then weird lines showed up before the screen went black. I put it in rice. Now the LED light is on and wont go off. The phone is really hot. I tried holding the top button down to turn it off, but it has had no effect. Is my phone toast?
Hey Carrie – Please read the post above. That will answer all your questions. – John
I dropped my iphone 5s in the toilet and quickly took it out. I dried it off with a towel but the touch screen won’t work otherwise all my chats were coming through. I couldn’t switch it off and eventually it couldn’t read the SIM card. So I removed the SIM card and it finally switched off and I stuffed it in a bag of rice( no air in side. Inside a zip lock bag) I dried the SIM card off .
Do you think it will work and if I put my SIM card back into it will my contacts and photos be there?
Please read the entire post. There is no way to predict these kinds of things.
Last night my iPhone 5s took the plunge into the toilet after only having it for two weeks. I took it out immediately, took off the case, and totally covered it with rice within two minutes of it being in the water. Everything works fine except for my home button. I checked the LCI and it was white as snow. What should I do???
Please read the post above. All the information you need imposted there. – John
Hi,
I dropped my iphone 5s in the toilet yesterday for about 3-4 seconds. I dried it off quickly but I was not home and could not put it into rice right away. Is it too late???? No my speaker is not working unless I put calls on “speaker phone” (I can hardly hear the person even with this). I can only use head phones to hear calls. Can I still follow these steps or is it too late. It has been about 17 hours now.
Hi Liz – There is no way to tell what the result will be. I say, it’s always worth giving it a try – John
Same happened here?
so i put my phone into the rice for about 36 hours and when i took it out there was rice stuck in the charger port . i tried to get it out but i think some may have broke off and is now stuck inside . any ideas ???
There is nothing that you can do that I am aware of except take it to Apple or a third-party repair shop. – John
That happend to me too. I took my sisters earring and poked it out. charges fine 🙂
I dropped my iphone 4 in the toilet. Took it out after a few second,and it was still working as usual,the only problem was the sound,the sound was not working. I didn’t know I was supposed to turn it off. So after I used it for documenting myself about what should I do in case of dropping it into water(for about 1h) I turned it off and put it in a bag of rice and left it there for 48h. Now I took it out,the sound works,everything works but the up sensor(headphones one) is light lighy orange but very light,and the down sensor (charger) is red. Can I leave with this?? Is it a problem? Will it stop working in a few days? Will it faint? Is it dangerous? Please tell me,I’m desperate!!!
Please read the post. No-one can give you these kinds of answers. You need to take it to a repair store.
HELP I dropped my iphone 5c down the toilet and dashed to dry it. I turned it on and bars and patterns came up on it, will it survive 🙂 .
Please read the post first 🙂
Hi, I dropped my iPhone 5 in water. Everything works fine, but when I put the sim card in it doesn’t stay connected to the network? What can I do about this? And what do u estimate the cost of this fix to be?
Please read the post above.
I dropped my iPhone 5c in the toilet, so i quickly took it out and dried it with paper towels ( i wasnt home at the time so i couldnt put it in rice). My phone was working completely fine i checked my audio, headphones, camera and everything worked fine surprisingly. But when i got home my phone was completely out of battery so i went to charge it and it my phone turned on but it stayed at 1%. My phone has been on 1% for the past hour. What should i do? 🙁
If you read the post you’ll find the answer – third party Apple support or go directly to Apple. There are no other options I’m aware of.
I dropped my iPhone in the toilet in a way that the bottom half of the phone was submerged. When the home button didn’t work I put the phone on charging. I took it to the Apple Store and they ran it through an app which checked conditions. It said hardware and software was ok so they “fixed” it. Now the right side of the phone (the whole edge on the power button side) overheats very strongly for minutes and then goes back to normal . I’m worried, help??
I dropped my iphone 5s in Water. it was half submerged in water.
I started drying it with dryer and when i was doing so
the flash light started blinking. And its been hours it is switched off.
Help.. Reply ASAP!
I dropped my iPhone 5c in a sink of soapy water and I pulled it out asap I dried it and it worked completely fine until it kept saying this accessory/cable isn’t compatible with this device so I rebooted it and it came on and it kept saying in the top left corner searching (for service) and it kept saying this for hours… I got fed up as I needed to contact someone and rebooted it again and it was still the same! HELP!!! My parents would kill me if they found out and I need to contact people please help anyone ????
So I dropped my iPhone 6s in the toilet at school today and i immediately took it out and grabbed toilet paper to dry it off. then I stuck it under the hand dryer and blew off as much water as possible. later i checked out the speakers and everything to make sure it worked and all. everything seemed fine except now my screen flickers a bit, mostly on the left side. I turned it off and took out the SIM card and put it in a bag of rice once i got home. Anything I can do? Will the flickering go away? Should I be worried about more problems down the road?
Paige – I totally empathize with your situation. It would drive me to despair. But… how am I meant to give a technical assessment of your phone when I live in Los Angeles. At the beginning of my post it states this. I do wish you luck. – John
Hi there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re using?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot
quicker then most. Can you suggest a good web hosting
provider at a fair price? Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!
Sure. I use ICDSoft. I highly recommend them. Their support is outstanding.
Hey i just dropped my iphone in a toilet and i immediately do all 8 steps that you told me to, and when i turn it on my iphone 5 keep searching for signals, and when i try to restore it tell me that i got an error 47?
I dropped my iPhone in the toilet as well and attempted the same actions as you recommend. Initially, I put it in a tupperware container with some enriched rise (sorry, all I had at the time). I was going to covert it over to a ziploc bag when I noticed the phone was very hot. I took it out of the tupperware and it was very hot to the touch. Any ideas on why the phone is heating up and how do I disconnect the battery?
OMG I dropped my phone in a river when I was fishing, i tried the rice trick and it worked! Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi i dropped my iphine 5 into the toilets a couole of hours ago and it isnt charging what do i do?
Stop charging it. It’s dangerous to plug any device that’s been in water into an electrical outlet. Follow the instructions above.
I left it in rice over night and the water was gone from the front and back camera. I decided to see if it was charging but still nothing.
Read the post above. All the instructions you need are there. Good luck.
Hi,
I dropped my iPhone 5S in the toilet for about 5 seconds before I fished it out and then I immediately started drying it with my towel, i had to go for school so I just put it in a bucket filled with rice and told my mom not to take it out, when I came home late are 5:30 I took it out, tried to switch it on, failed to do so, I started charging it (I’m an idiot)…then miraculously it turned on! I saw the water marks and said “Hey, I’ll just stick it back into the rice” I did that and now it’s stuck on the white screen of death with the black apple logo whenever I try to charge it
I dropped my iPhone 6 in the toilet today. It wasn’t clean either. The phone was in for maybe 20 seconds if that. It was on at the time. I took it out and dried it off completely with a towel. I wasn’t home at the time, but the phone has been working fine ever since. This was around 3:00, so about 5 hours ago. I even charged it and it charged fine and is still working. Do you think I am in the clear or should I do the rice just in case? I am hoping and praying I am in the clear!
I dropped my iPhone 5 is the toilet two days ago and did the rice thing but now the screen is in different light shades please help I don’t know what to do and my mum is getting suspicious.
Please read the introduction to the post.
Howdy this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors
or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a
blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get
advice from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
Hi Nathaniel- I just emailed you a reply. – John