Water and technology are not usually happy bedfellows, so suddenly seeing your precious iPhone 18 Pro Max plummet into the sink, bath, toilet, or any other body of water can be a heart-stopping moment. But, don’t panic, all may not be lost as modern phones are far more robust than those of yesteryear. In this article, we explain the best strategies for dealing with a wet or water-damaged iPhone.
You can jump straight to our advice for how to dry your iPhone, but before we do that we offer some reassurance that things might not be as bad as you imagine.
Is my iPhone waterproof?
While no iPhone is completely waterproof, there’s a very good chance that it will have some level of water resistance. Just how waterproof your iPhone is will be indicated by its IP Rating. This rating lets you know how water-resistant the product is. There are multiple types of IP ratings, but the two main ones that apply to iPhones are IP67 and IP68.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are rated IP68 (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529.
Therefore, your iPhone should happily survive short dips and the odd spilled beverage or two. This doesn’t mean you can take your iPhone swimming, jet skiing, or use it in a steam room. It just means that if your iPhone slips out of your back pocket and drops into the toilet (it happens!) and you quickly fish it out it should be ok.
Of course, things can still go wrong even with an apparently waterproof iPhone. If there is any residual water on or in your device after the incident it may cause problems. Follow the advice below and learn how to dry out your iPhone.
Does Apple’s warranty cover water damage?
Thanks to the water resistance your iPhone should work well after its submersion, but should you have a problem with your iPhone in the future the incident may come back to haunt you. Apple’s one-year warranty does not cover accidental liquid damage.
Apple will be able to tell if your iPhone got wet in the past and that will void your warranty should anything go wrong later on. Since 2006 Apple has included Liquid Contact Indicators inside iPhones that activate when they come into contact with water.
However, Apple offers AppleCare+ for iPhone that does cover drops and damage caused by liquid contact.
What to do if an iPhone 18 Pro Max gets wet
- Get the iPhone out of the water right away.
- If the wet iPhone is in a case, take it out. Water can linger in nooks and crannies.
- With a soft towel or cloth, wipe the liquid off everything you can reach.
- Give the iPhone a gentle shake and, with the USB-C connector directed downwards, tap to clear any water from the USB-C connector and speakers.
What NOT to do if an iPhone gets wet
- Do not plug in the iPhone. If it’s plugged in already, unplug it (very carefully). Allow at least 5 hours before charging or connecting a USB-C accessory.
- If the iPhone is switched off do not turn it on. This can cause short circuits.
- Do not open the SIM tray until the iPhone is dry.
- Do not try to dry the iPhone using a hair dryer.
- Do not insert anything into the ports.
Note: iPhone 18 Pro Max models purchased in the United States can only be activated with an eSIM.
How to dry an iPhone
While Apple advises that you can simply wipe the iPhone dry and tap any excess water out of the ports, we recommend you go a little further than that to ensure your iPhone is as dry as possible.
So in addition to taking the iPhone out of any cases, wiping it with a cloth, and tapping it to help any water out of the ports, as above, we recommend the following:
Fan: Place the iPhone in front of a fan with the USB-C connector facing the fan. This is one of Apple’s suggestions. It should be a fan blowing cool air (not an electric heater).
Rice: The rice trick used to be the go-to method back when submerging an iPhone in water was likely to damage it considerably. The popularity of this method is likely down to the fact that rice is something most of us will have at home and the simplicity of the fix—just put your phone in a bag of uncooked rice and wait. However, Apple now warns against using this method as it could “allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone.”
Silica gel: Silica gel sachets will dry a wet iPhone out more efficiently and with less opportunity for damage than rice. While we are less likely to have silica gel packets around the home these days, back at the height of the COVID pandemic we probably had lots thanks to their inclusion inside test kits. You can also find these inedible packets inside new handbags or packed with some electronic components. You may be able to buy silica gel from a craft shop.
Should you dismantle an iPhone to dry it out?
iPhone should only be serviced by a trained technician.
How to eject water from an iPhone speaker
There is one last thing you can try if you find that water may be in your device. While most iPhones are water-resistant, it doesn’t stop water from getting into the speaker grilles. Apple Watch comes with a built-in feature that can be toggled to ‘eject’ the water by playing a specific frequency, clearing out its speaker grilles in the process. Why iPhones don’t feature a similar option is something of a mystery, but there is a relatively easy way to get the same results via a free app called Sonic (the Tone Generator, not the hedgehog).
Simply download the app and tap the water droplet icon in the middle of the screen. This should cause the water to ‘jump’ from the speaker so you can absorb it with a tissue. If your music or podcasts sound a bit garbled after the iPhone takes a dip, this is well worth a go.
What to do next
Ok, so you’ve had your iPhone drying out for a day or so. What next? If you think the device has successfully dried out, you can try switching it on. Should this not work, you can give it more time. If that doesn’t do the job, then you’ll want to get the internals checked out. Book an appointment with an Apple Genius to see if they can help rescue the device, especially if you have AppleCare+.
One final warning: iPhones can be resurrected temporarily, but then succumb to liquid damage at a later date, so we would advise that you back up all important files on the device in case it packs up again in the future. As we said, its recovery may only be temporary – although we hope not.
