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Repair information and guides for the iPhone 6S released by Apple on September 25, 2015. Models: A1688, A1633

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Dropped phone in water - everything fine except I can't hear

So I dropped my phone in the water yesterday for a brief second. When I picked it up and inspected it everything works fine except for the sound. I can't hear anything unless I have the headphones in. When I try to just put the volume up it states the headphone volume went up even when there isn't headphones connected.

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My phone dropped in the water for like 3 seconds then I took it out I called to see if it worked and it did but when I play games...no sound and it says I have head phones in yet I don't I put rice yet still no sound what do I do but I'm not taking any chances on taking my phone apart

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* So guys i dropped my Android phone in the pool (twice!!) and still works and my friend was showing off and said his iPhone X was waterproof and he dipped it in the pool 2-3 times and is now not working. $300 phone compared to $1020

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Camily all you have to do is get a dry cloth and and a cotton bud I dropped mine in the bath it’s working but tried to finish my video and muted try powering your phone off 3 times then put the cotton bud in every hole then dry your intire phone with dry cloth if than doesn’t work by a 6-4 collom that will remove all water without 2-3 hours

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I’m literally freaking out my phone definitely just dropped n the bath tub

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Some water fell in the phones front speaker and I ah e no idea how to get it working the bottom speakers work but the top one doesn’t

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With water damage, you have to decontaminate the logic board before doing anything else, otherwise there will be latent issues down the road. The water probably got in via the ear speaker. From there, it has a tendency to migrate it's way to the logic board...if it shorts out a capacitor on the main voltage line, then the phone is dead. In your case, the ear speaker may still have water, hence no sound.

  • Open your phone and remove the logic board (follow this guide)
  • Inspect the logic board, especially around the connectors and look for corrosion.
  • Inspect both sides of the board. Unfortunately, 80% of the board is covered in shields. That's usually where the damage is occurring.
  • Put your board in a container with >90% isopropyl alcohol and let it sit for a while.
  • Use a soft brush, like a toothbrush and lightly brush away any corrosion you see.
  • Rinse in alcohol and repeat.
  • Let it air dry for a day.
  • Re-assemble and hope for the best.

You should also replace the battery if it has swollen. Resist the temptation to pop it to let the gas out. A compromised Li-ion battery is a fire hazard. If the device appears to power up but behaves erratically, then use a tool like 3uTools to flash the firmware as it may be corrupted.

A professional repair shop that does water damage repair may be able to recover your phone or the data because they have access to pro-level ultrasonic baths and specialized cleaners as well as the skills to troubleshoot your board. Many shops have a no fix/no fee policy so you don't have to spend money to find out if the phone is fixable or not.

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4 Comments:

But does this method work for Andriod?

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Hi @ IDon'tEvenKnow,

Water doesn't care if it is Android or Apple.

The only difference is after you have properly cleaned the device is how you restore it to an operating condition.

If your device doesn't startup properly, and hopefully it does startup after the repair search online for how to hard reset the device using the hardware buttons or how to flash the firmware for your particular make and model Android device.

Ifixit has a lot of guides on how to repair Android devices, just use the search box at the top of the page to look for your particular make and model device. If there is none there search on YouTube for "your make and model device teardown" to see if there is a video showing how to disassemble the device.

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Dropped the phone in water. Lost sound, especially with text alerts, sending messages and on off mode. I simply dried the phone and put it under a lamp on high ( three way bulb ) and everything was restored. Took several hours but worked.

Rice is a total waste of time

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The iPhone is a vain choice. The water doesn't give a dam to the brand.

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Put a paper towel over the speaker and blow dry it but don’t have it on. Wait to turn it on until the next day . Then use headphones bc that’s the hole that’s not working. You’ll hear it. Use that for hours then try without the headphones it should work.

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Okay. Evwrything else works but the audio. My phone says that there's headphones in m. There are rn but when I take them out.... It still says they're in...

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I dropped my phone in the toilet I got it out as soon as it dropped then I would it up and it still but they just said headphones when I was trying to watch YouTube and

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What if the back doesn't come off

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So I was playing in the snow and my I accidentally left my phone in the pocket and I know that was super dumb but what happened, happened. Anyways later when I tried to watch a video there was no sound and it says that there are headphones plugged in but there’s nothing and I turned off my Bluetooth to make sure it wasn’t that but it wasn’t and I tried to put it in rice but it didn’t work and I honestly don’t know how to fix it and buying new parts to fix and other things that mean I have to take the phone apart or buy something to fix it I can’t do so I’m stuck and I don’t know what to do. Can you please help??

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Okay so I also dropped my phone in water and this fixed it so use this

1) check all ports to make sure they are working (plug in headphones, use charger, try to play sound without headphones, etc.)

2) put phone in rice if headphone jack or charging port aren’t working, check periodically every 20 mins. If sound isn’t working, just use headphones for the rest of the day and let it charge overnight.

3) You’re done! Everything should be working normally by the time you wake up tomorrow morning!

(Tip: if there is rice stuck in headphone jack, power phone off and use an earring, it works like a charm!)

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Hi @case_closed,

You may have been lucky.

This may be of interest to you.

rice is for dinner not repair

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If your phone has been submerged then don’t even try to turn it on. Leave it OFF until you get it dried out. DO NOT let it sit in a bag of rice and expect this to dry it out. It may possibly do it but it will take days and it may possibly not work and then you will have wasted valuable time. The best thing you can do is open the phone and blow some canned air all around through the inside of the phone and all over the circuit boards. Gently rub down the circuit traces and all around the chips with a cotton swab saturated with alcohol and then let it dry for several hours. If you are uncomfortable with opening the phone you at the very least must drive the moisture out of it with gentle heat. Set it on a heating pad on low heat for several hours out in open air. Do not keep it in a bag. Let air get to it while it is drying with heat. After several hours try the power button. If no power yet then let it sit on low heat for several more hours or through the night then try it again. If this does not solve the problem then it must be opened and checked for corrosion on the logic board. Don’t wait several days to do this. Act right away before lots of corrosion forms.

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Thank you so much it worked!!!!

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So my phone got into the water last night for about 3 sec, it’s still on and I checked the speaker but it has no sound and I immediately turned it off. I put it in the uncooked rice overnight. By the morning, I turn it on again. Everything was fine except the speaker. It has no sound if I don’t put my headset on. BUT I JUST SLEEP FOR 3 HOURS AND WHEN I WOKE UP I CHECK MY PHONE’ S SPEAKER AND LUCKILY IT SOUND and was completely okay finally. I guess you just need to wait guys.

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Mines been exactly one week. I hope to be able to fix instead of replace

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So last year I dropped my phone into some water and i checked and everything was fine except the speaker. When I turned up the volume it said I was using headphones even when I was not. It was an old phone so I assumed the speakers were worn out. I watched a ton of videos and tried all the tricks and none worked. I just powered it off and put it away thinking I would need to get a new phone. The next morning the speaker worked fine. It did cease to work eventually because it sat out in the hot summer sun for too long. I got a new one recently. It’s the same model. The same thing just happened and i’m hoping that the trick will work again because it worked so well last time.

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They are giving false information cause you gotta reset your whole phone like I did ❤️

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Oh my god. Thank you so much for this. All those complicated responses above with putting the chipset into special liquid....

Restart worked. I guess the phone has a safe mechanism or something when its wet and shuts of voltage to speakers.

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Jennifer will be eternally grateful.
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