Fix Your Stuff Community Store

Repair information and guides for the iPhone 6 that was released on September 19, 2014. Model Numbers: A1549, A1586, and A1589

4994 Questions View all

Options

What and what not to do after dropping your iPhone in water?

A couple of hours ago I dropped my iPhone in water. I quickly picked it up and dried it using my towel. I panicked and forgot to turn off the iPhone, leaving it wrapped in a towel to dry. After sometime I noticed that the iPhone had turned off on its own. I removed my sim card and moved it to another phone. After sometime I noticed that the iPhone was not turned off but the Apple logo was blinking intermittently. I pressed down the home and power buttons for a couple of seconds and the display stopped blinking. I checked online and saw a variety of fixes such as dropping in a bag of rice, blow drying, dipping in isopropyl alcohol etc.

I had no idea what to do so I decided to open up the device to @%^!* the damage. The sim tray and the region surrounding the sim tray were not wet. There was a drop of water on top of the battery at the bottom and the surrounding area was wet(including the black rectangular bar below the battery.) The display was also slightly wet around the same region(slightly above the home button). I cleaned the region with an earbud. the main board seems to be dry. I also checked the display flex cables and the battery connector and found them to be dry.

I have put the iPhone inside a bag of rice to dry. What do I do next? How long should I leave it in the rice?

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Yes No
Score 0
Add a comment

2 Answers

Filter by:
Most Helpful Newest Oldest
Chosen Solution

Options

Hi,

As you know water and electronics and electricity are not a good mix.

The minerals in the water cause corrosion and the water also provides circuit paths for the electricity which were not in the phone's operating design and could damage the components.

Rice is good to eat but does nothing to fix the problems caused by corrosion.

Don't Put Your Device in Rice. Here's Why...

First do not turn on your phone and then you need to with the phone turned off, remove the battery as soon as possible from the phone to minimize further damage.''

Then you need to dis-assemble the rest of the phone and clean all the affected parts using Isopropyl Alcohol 90%+ to remove all traces of corrosion and water. Do not use "rubbing alcohol" as in some cases this is only 70% and is not as effective. If you do check the label to verify the amount

Here is a link that describes the process.

Electronics Water Damage

As always with electronics, especially surface mounted PCBs be gentle when handling and especially when brushing away the corrosion. You do not want to remove any components from the board.

Hopefully after you have done all this the phone might possibly work correctly again.

Here is a links to some Ifixit guides which may be of some help.

iPhone 6

Repairing iPhone Liquid Damage

If this process seems too daunting, take your phone to a reputable, professional mobile phone repair service experienced in water damage repair and ask for a quote for a repair. If you decide to do this, do it sooner than later.

Was this answer helpful?

Yes No
Score 4

3 Comments:

The device was turned on during the incident and even after. How do I check if that has caused any damage?

How long do I have before it starts corroding ?

by

Hi,

Corrosion starts immediately, especially with the battery connected (electrolysis). It may not be in evidence but it will continue to cause problems until it has been cleaned off, either in an UltraSonic bath or manually using IPA 90%+.

Damage can initially be visually assessed (after the phone has been thoroughly cleaned and dried) by looking closely at the components to see if there is any indication of a problem, e.g. heat stressed components - burnt- , components obviously affected etc. After that the phone will have to be re-assembled and switched on to check its' operation. From there, depending on how it performs further diagnosis and repair may be necessary.

by

That was very helpful, Thank you very much.

by

Add a comment

Options

Take out the battery and clean the motherboard whit 99% alcohol.

Was this answer helpful?

Yes No
Score 1
Add a comment

Add your answer

Jeswin Simon will be eternally grateful.
View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 0

Past 7 Days: 0

Past 30 Days: 0

All Time: 676