Dropped Your iPhone in Water? Do These 5 Things in the First 60 Minutes

Phone went swimming? Don't panic — but move fast. The first 60 minutes determine whether your iPhone (and all your photos, contacts, and apps) survives. Here's exactly what to do.

Step 1 — Get it OUT of the water (obviously) and POWER IT OFF immediately

The single most important thing: turn the phone off right now. Water + electricity = short circuit = permanent damage to the logic board. If your phone is on, hold the power + volume button and slide to power off. Don't wait to see if it works — turn it off.

Step 2 — Wipe everything you can see

Dry the outside with a soft towel. Pay special attention to:

• The charging port (use a corner of the towel)
• The speaker grilles (water trapped here causes muffled audio)
• The SIM tray slot
• The headphone jack (if your model has one)

Eject the SIM tray and dry it.

Step 3 — DO NOT do any of these things

These myths circulate but they make things worse:

• ❌ Don't put it in rice. Rice does almost nothing to draw moisture from inside the phone. Worse, rice dust clogs the ports.
• ❌ Don't blow with a hairdryer. Heat damages internal seals and pushes moisture deeper.
• ❌ Don't try to charge it. Water in the charging port + power = guaranteed logic board damage.
• ❌ Don't shake it. Spreads water to areas it hadn't reached yet.
• ❌ Don't keep pressing buttons. Same risk as charging.

Step 4 — Get it to silica gel or a desiccant chamber

If you have silica gel packets (the ones from new bags, electronics, vitamin bottles), put your phone in a sealed bag with as many as you can find. Silica gel actually absorbs moisture from the air around the phone — rice does not.

No silica gel? An airtight container in a dry, room-temperature place is your second-best option. Leave it there for 48–72 hours minimum. Do NOT turn it on until then.

Step 5 — Call a repair professional within 24 hours

Here's the truth most articles won't tell you: home drying only handles surface water. The water trapped inside the phone — between the logic board, under the shielding, around the connectors — needs ultrasonic cleaning to fully remove. If left alone, that water dries into corrosion that eats your phone over days or weeks.

This is why phones that "seemed fine" after the rice trick fail mysteriously a week later. The corrosion was building the whole time.

What a professional water damage service does

At Mobile Fix Near Me, water damage recovery follows a specific protocol:

• Complete teardown — every component is removed
• Ultrasonic cleaning bath — removes microscopic water and corrosion start
• Drying chamber — heated low-humidity environment for 6–12 hours
• Inspection under magnification — for corrosion start on the logic board
• Component replacement if needed — battery, display, charging port often need replacement after liquid damage
• Reassembly and testing — full functional test before returning

Success rates by timing

• Within 1 hour of dropping: 90%+ recovery rate
• Within 24 hours: 70–80%
• Within 48 hours: 50%
• After 1 week: 20% or less

Bottom line: turn it off, wipe it dry, skip the rice, and call us within 24 hours.

Mobile Fix Near Me does same-day water damage diagnostics at your door across Brockville, Kingston, Ottawa, Cornwall, and Eastern Ontario. Free diagnosis. We charge only if we save the phone. Call (343) 703-6000 now — every hour matters.