iPhone XR drop into ocean water

[andrew_j]

My wife dropped her iPhone XR briefly into 6” of sea water that came up in wave a few days ago.

Everything works fine except charging port.

I presume this is expensive damage and not worth repairing?


We are using wireless charging as work around but not practical for wired Apple CarPlay and speedier charging etc.

 

[Speedy3861]

There are a .lot of small phone repair shops who can install a new jack and while open see how much water intrusion you had

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

Just clean the charging port out with warm freshwater. I have submerged my iPhone in my reef tank to take pictures many times lol. The charging port is weird for a few days but it works fine after.

 

[vavavroom]

Rinse the phone with water, dry it off, put it in a sock, and stick it in a bag of uncooked rice for a day or two. The rice should draw the moisture out.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

It's unlikely water got in the phone, it is IP rated. What happens is you get salt and grossness dried up in the charging port.

 

[Klutch9]

It's unlikely water got in the phone, it is IP rated. What happens is you get salt and grossness dried up in the charging port.

Yep, this. Charging ports normally have some amount of lint/dirt already in there, so the salt is likely sticking to this and giving you trouble. Likely fixable by rinsing the port out and letting it dry.

 

[ripcord]

You can try gently cleaning the port with a toothpick dipped in rubbing alcohol and compressed air.

 

[JavierH19]

That happened to me with my old samsung on a vacation, water resistant but the charge port stopped said it had moisture. I used syringe with rubbing alcohol to sort of pressure spray it and let it dry and it worked. Before doing that i used my wireless charger waiting for it to self remedy.

 

[alarmguy]

I had an issue with my iPhone 13, same deal except it said my charging port got wet and to remove the charger when I plugged in the charger. I waited a while, was using the GPS in the car and decided to override the warning (it gave that option)

Big mistake ignoring the warning, I thought the phone was done for, the touch screen stopped working, was frozen, but like you it was charging with the MagSafe. Anyway, the reason I put it on the MagSafe was I figured the heat generated would cure it, and within a day or two the phone was back to normal.
Granted, your experience maybe different, the iPhone 13 is made to withstand 18 feet of water which really confused me as my phone just got wet from being out and about in torrential rain. But I guess it was just the port that got wet and it wanted me to give it time to dry out, which I didnt.

Keep using the MagSafe to generate heat and as someone else said blow air into the charge port. When I did that I did get a response in the sense of a sign and I realized there was hope.

 

[proveitwithdata]

Number one would be backup up the device via icloud.

Take it to a shop and see if they can get it fixed if you are not inclined. If you want to diy it, after backing up, run the battery down since you really cant turn off a smartphone. Then flush the connector with distilled water or an electronics cleaner. Then let it dry for a couple hours to a day. Apple says Don't dry your iPhone using an external heat source or insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the Lightning or USB-C connector.

Try the port and see it if its good, if not take it a shop. If there is more damage, green crusties then its probably safer to purchase a new phone.

The issue with smartphones in general are they are not waterproof, but rather they are water resistant. In addition the IP ratings are with freshwater and not salt water.

 

[wemay]

Same thing happened to us in Grenada. My wife used her hair dryer on low heat and we didn't use the charge port for about 12 hours. It started to work fine soon there after.

 

[Cropduster172]

Never such problems with Android phones.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

How about a few squirts of electrical contacts/parts cleaner and can air?

 

[Rogueman2016s]

Never such problems with Android phones.

Not what the thread is about

 

[andrew_j]

Based on responses I checked again from yesterday to today happened Saturday, it finally seems to charge with a bit of delay.

She was bummed after 5.5 years to replace but now excited for pink iPhone 15 with decent camera so might just leave it be and stay mum.

Thanks gents!

 

[Rogueman2016s]

Based on responses I checked again from yesterday to today happened Saturday, it finally seems to charge with a bit of delay.

She was bummed after 5.5 years to replace but now excited for pink iPhone 15 with decent camera so might just leave it be and stay mum.

Thanks gents!

Still running the iPhone XR here it’s a fantastic device apple put out.

 

[RooflessVW]

Not what the thread is about

And it's not even true lol

 

[proveitwithdata]

And it's not even true lol

Not this again...its like folks need to start this on every smartphone, smartwatch, desktop, laptop computing thread. If you need to do this, at least ask Apple or Android mfg to send you some $$$ for your time and effort defending their honor.

Never such problems with Android phones.

 

[4WD]

Still running the iPhone XR here it’s a fantastic device apple put out.

Sadly I had a never used XR die in the box - never used. Was planning on using it overseas - even took it to the Apple Store where they said you can’t do that … so bought a red SE to tell it from my other two iPhones …

 

[KrisZ]

That charge port is likely dead by now. Salt water corroded the contacts for sure if it wasn’t rinsed right away.
It can be replaced of course, but that iPhone needs to be opened up.