Fixing a water damaged iPhone is possible if you follow the correct steps as soon as you can to prevent serious damage from being done. We want to give you some steps to follow if your iPhone becomes water damaged and a few solutions if you struggle to fix your phone.
How to fix a water damaged iPhone
As liquid damage isn’t covered as part of Apple’s warranty, as noted here by Apple, it is imperative to follow these steps if your iPhone becomes water damaged:
- Remove the outside liquid
Remove your phone case if you have one to remove excess water that has gotten underneath. Make sure to avoid excess water heading towards the charging point. Use a soft, absorbent cloth to wipe away water from the outside of your phone.
- Remove SIM card
This step serves two purposes. First, it saves your SIM card from potential water damage by removing it from your phone. Second, it enables air to enter the iPhone.
- Find a dry surface
Lie the iPhone down flat on a dry surface. A flat surface is key to ensuring that any remaining water doesn’t spill onto internal components.
- Use desiccants
Desiccants work to produce dryness. You should cover your iPhone both on top and around it using desiccants to encourage any lingering water to dry.
- Wait for evaporation
Waiting for water to evaporate is the best thing for you to do for your phone. We strongly recommend letting any remaining water evaporate for at least 24 hours before trying to move and use your phone again. Apple typically requires 5 hours, but it depends on how much water you think could have got into and damaged your phone.
- Turn the phone back on
Whilst keeping the phone on its flat surface, plug in some power and wait for the device to turn on. In some cases, you can try to use the power button but this may not be necessary. Hopefully, after a few minutes of charging your device will turn on.
- Back up
If your device turns on, your first port of call should be to back it up using iCloud or iTunes. It is vital to do this first if lingering water damage could potentially make you lose your data.
- Hope it works
Hopefully, after following these steps your device may be saved from permanent water damage and should hopefully function properly. This, however, is sadly not always the case.
If following the above steps does not fix your water damaged phone, your phone may be beyond repair. If you’re in this situation and you can’t afford to buy a brand new phone outright, take a look at our extensive collection of refurbished iPhones at Reboxed.
Geek iPhone Repair experienced technicians can replace cracked screens, repair malfunctioning touchscreens and replace broken home buttons.