The first five minutes
- Get it out of the water. Every second counts, especially in salt water, pool water or a drink.
- Turn it off if it's still on, and leave it off. Electricity flowing through wet circuits is what does most of the damage.
- Don't charge it. Not with a cable, not on a wireless pad. Many phones refuse to charge when they sense liquid in the port; don't override that warning.
- Take off the case and remove the SIM tray if your phone has one, so trapped water can escape.
- Dry the outside with a soft, lint-free cloth.
- Tap it gently against your palm with the charging port facing down, to let water run out of the port and speaker holes. This is what Apple recommends for a liquid alert on an iPhone.
Why rice doesn't help (and what to do instead)
Rice is the most common advice and one of the worst. Apple's own support page says not to put an iPhone in a bag of rice, because small particles of rice can get into the phone and damage it. Rice also doesn't pull water out of a sealed phone any faster than air does; it just hides the phone while corrosion carries on.
Avoid these too:
- Heat: hair dryers, ovens, heaters or direct sun can warp the screen and swell the battery.
- Compressed air: it can push water further in, past the seals.
- Anything in the port: cotton buds, paper towel or pins leave fibres behind or bend the pins.
Instead, leave the phone somewhere dry with some airflow, port facing down, for at least a few hours. Apple says to wait at least 30 minutes before trying a cable again, and that it can take up to a day for the port to dry fully.
Fresh water, salt water, or something sticky?
What it fell into matters more than how long it was in.
| What it got wet with | How risky | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh water (a sink, the rain) | Lower | Dry as above. If it works normally once dry, keep an eye on it for a week. |
| Pool water | Higher | Chlorine is corrosive. Dry it, and get it checked if anything seems off. |
| Salt water (the beach) | High | Salt corrodes metal quickly and stays behind when the water dries. Get it checked within a day or two. |
| Drinks, coffee, soup | High | Sugar and acid leave sticky residue on the parts. Get it checked soon. |
| The toilet | High | It's not only water. Get it checked, and clean the outside with a damp cloth. |
Samsung's manuals for its water-resistant phones say that after contact with anything other than fresh water (salt water, pool water, soapy water and so on), the phone should be rinsed with fresh water and dried thoroughly. Follow your own phone's manual on this, and only if it has a water-resistance rating.
"But my phone is water resistant"
Most recent iPhones and Galaxy phones carry an IP67 or IP68 rating. That rating comes from a lab test: still, fresh water, a set depth, a set time, on a new phone. It is not a promise for real life:
- It wears off. Apple says splash, water and dust resistance are not permanent and can decrease with normal wear. Drops, heat and age weaken the seals.
- It doesn't cover moving or salty water. Waves, jets, pools and hot showers are a different test.
- Liquid damage isn't covered by Apple's warranty. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law are separate from any warranty, and a phone has to live up to how it was advertised.
- Charging while wet is the big risk. In 2022 the Federal Court ordered Samsung Australia to pay $14 million over ads showing Galaxy phones in pools and the sea. Samsung admitted that if those phones were charged while still wet after being submerged, there was a real chance the charging port would corrode and stop working.
- Any repair can reduce it. Once a phone has been opened, by anyone, treat it as not water resistant.
Signs it needs a repair
Even when a phone turns on after drying, liquid can leave damage that shows later. Get it checked if you notice:
- it won't charge, charges slowly, or says liquid has been detected long after drying (see phone not charging);
- lines, spots, flicker or patches on the screen, or touch that doesn't respond properly;
- muffled sound from the speaker or microphone, or a foggy camera lens;
- the battery draining much faster than before, or the phone getting warm doing nothing;
- it restarts on its own, or won't turn on at all (see phone won't turn on).
If it still works: back it up now
A phone that's been wet can work for days and then stop. If yours turns on, back it up straight away, before anything else. Here's how to back up an iPhone or Android phone.
Sources
- Apple Support: If you see a liquid-detection alert on your iPhone
- Apple Support: About splash, water and dust resistance of iPhone
- ACCC: Samsung Australia to pay $14m penalty for misleading water resistance claims
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