iPhone Water Damage: What Actually Works

Photo by byronetmedia on Unsplash

A mum came in last month with her daughter's iPhone 14. Pool party. Pocket. Splash. Apple Store said it was gone. "We don't do water damage." Three days later, that same phone is working perfectly. All 47,000 photos still there.

Water damage is scary because everyone tells you it's game over. It's not. We recover the majority of water-damaged iPhones — and the ones we can't save are usually because someone tried to charge them, or left them in rice for several days while corrosion ate the motherboard.

Warning

Phone wet right now? Stop reading. Turn it off. Take the case off. Pop the SIM out. Do NOT plug it in. Do NOT put it in rice. Get it to someone who knows what they're doing — today, not tomorrow. Time is genuinely critical here.

Did You Know?

Our iPhone Water Damage Recovery Results (2025)

• • 487 water-damaged iPhones treated - professional ultrasonic cleaning
• • 76% fully recovered when brought within 24 hours
• • Only 34% recovery after rice treatment or delayed response
• • Most common liquid: Toilet (28%), pool (22%), drink spills (19%)
• • Data recovery success: 91% even when device won't boot
• • Same-day service: Ultrasonic cleaning completed within 4 hours

Data from celltech repair logs, January-December 2025

The Next 5 Minutes Matter More Than Anything

What you do right now determines whether this is a £89 fix or a £900 replacement. Not exaggerating.

Do these things. In this order. Now.

1. Get it out of the water — Every second it's submerged, water is pushing deeper inside.
2. Turn it OFF — Hold the power button, slide to shut down. If it's already off, leave it off. Don't check if it works.
3. Rip the case off — Cases trap water against the phone. Get it off.
4. Pop the SIM out — Use a paperclip if you don't have the SIM tool. That tray lets air in to dry things.
5. Shake it gently, port down — Let gravity help. You'll see drops come out.
6. Pat dry with whatever's available — T-shirt works. Don't push water into the speakers.
7. Get it to a professional TODAY — Not tomorrow. Today. Corrosion starts immediately.

Do NOT do these things. Seriously.

• Don't charge it — This is how recoverable phones become dead phones.
• Don't use a hairdryer — Heat warps components. You'll make it worse.
• Don't put it in rice — This doesn't work. We'll explain why.
• Don't keep pressing buttons to check — Each press can push water deeper.

Warning

The thing that kills most water-damaged phones: Plugging it in. We see this constantly. "I just wanted to check if it still worked." Water + electricity = short circuits. A phone we could have saved becomes a phone with fried components. Please, please don't plug it in.

Stop Putting Phones in Rice. Please.

I know your mate did it and "it worked." I know the internet says to do it. I know your mum swears by it. But after pulling rice grains out of charging ports for 20 years, I'm asking you: please stop.

Why people think it works

Rice absorbs moisture. Phones have moisture. Put phone in rice, rice absorbs moisture, phone fixed. Sounds logical.

Why it actually doesn't

Rice absorbs moisture from the air around it — very slowly. Your phone is sealed. The moisture is trapped inside, behind waterproof seals. The rice is sitting there doing almost nothing while corrosion is eating your motherboard.

A phone company called Gazelle actually tested this. Rice vs silica gel vs doing nothing. Rice was barely better than leaving the phone on the counter. And while you're waiting 48 hours for the rice to "work," minerals in the water are destroying connections inside your phone.

The real damage happens in the first 48 hours

Water contains minerals. When water evaporates, minerals stay behind. Those mineral deposits create connections where connections shouldn't exist — short circuits. Within 48-72 hours, corrosion can permanently damage the logic board. Rice does absolutely nothing to stop this. Only proper cleaning does.

Did You Know?

What rice is actually doing: Giving you false hope while buying corrosion more time. Every hour in rice is an hour we could have been cleaning it properly. The phones that arrive in bags of Uncle Ben's are statistically harder to save than the ones that come straight to us.

Our 9-Step Water Damage Recovery Process

This is exactly what happens when you bring us a water-damaged iPhone:

Step 1: Initial Assessment (5 minutes)

• What liquid? (Fresh, salt, coffee, alcohol matters)
• How long submerged?
• What happened after? (Did you try charging it?)
• Visual inspection of ports and indicators

Step 2: Complete Disassembly (15-20 minutes)

• Remove display
• Disconnect all cables
• Remove logic board
• Remove battery (critical - prevents shorts)
• Document all visible water/corrosion

Step 3: Ultrasonic Cleaning Bath 1 (10 minutes)

• Logic board goes into ultrasonic cleaner
• Special solution breaks down mineral deposits
• 40kHz vibrations clean inside component housings
• Where rice fails, this succeeds

Step 4: Isopropyl Alcohol Bath (5 minutes)

• 99% isopropyl displaces remaining water
• Alcohol evaporates fast and clean
• No residue left behind

Step 5: Ultrasonic Cleaning Bath 2 (10 minutes)

• Second clean to ensure thoroughness
• Different solution for stubborn corrosion
• Under microscope inspection between baths

Step 6: Microscope Inspection (15-30 minutes)

• Every component inspected at 10-40x magnification
• Looking for corrosion on chip legs
• Checking capacitor and resistor connections
• Identifying any obviously failed components

Step 7: Compressed Air Dry (10 minutes)

• Filtered, pressurized air
• Gets into tiny crevices
• No heat that could damage components

Step 8: Desiccant Chamber (2-24 hours)

• Industrial-strength moisture absorption
• Not rice - actual desiccant
• Final moisture removal

Step 9: Reassembly and Testing

• Reconnect everything
• Power test
• Full functionality check
• Multiple restart cycles

Good News

What determines success: The majority of water-damaged phones can be saved with proper treatment. Success depends on the liquid type, submersion time, and what the customer did afterward. Phones that come to us quickly with no charging attempts have the best outcomes.

Pro Tip

No fix, no fee: We don't charge for diagnosis if we can't fix it. You only pay if your phone is recovered.

Fresh Water vs Salt Water vs Other Liquids

Not all water damage is equal:

The Science

Pure H2O doesn't conduct electricity. It's the minerals dissolved in water that cause shorts and corrosion. Salt water (including sea water) has high mineral content, which is why it's more damaging. Coffee and alcohol contain acids that accelerate corrosion.

Did You Know?

Toilet drop (yes, we get asked): Fresh toilet water has similar recovery rates to tap water. The "ick" factor is high but it's not chemically worse. We clean everything thoroughly anyway.

What Determines If Your iPhone Can Be Saved

Several factors determine whether we can recover your water-damaged phone:

Factors in Your Favour

• Quick action: Got to us within 24 hours
• Phone was off: Didn't try to turn it on while wet
• No charging attempt: Didn't plug it in
• Fresh water: Better than salt or sugary drinks
• Brief exposure: Splash vs submersion
• Newer model: Better water resistance (though not waterproof)

Factors Against You

• Delayed treatment: More than 48-72 hours
• Tried to charge: Caused additional short circuits
• Rice treatment: Wasted critical time
• Salt water: Accelerated corrosion
• Long submersion: Water reached more components
• Heat drying: Hairdryer damage on top of water damage

Good News

The "impossible" recovery: A customer brought in a phone that had been written off by two other repair shops. Water damage, wouldn't power on, told it was beyond repair. We ran it through our full process and recovered everything - the phone powered on and all their data was intact. It's not always possible, but when other shops say no, it's often worth a second opinion.

Water Damage Repair Costs

Water damage repair costs vary significantly based on what we find:

We always provide a quote before proceeding. If you don't agree with the cost, we return your phone with no charge.

Water Resistance: What iPhones Actually Survive

Modern iPhones have IP68 water resistance ratings, but here's what that actually means in practice:

IP68 Rating by Model

The Reality Check

These ratings are tested in lab conditions with fresh water and a brand new phone. Real-world performance is very different:

• Seals degrade: After a year of use, microscopic gaps can develop
• Drops affect seals: Previous drops can compromise water resistance
• Warranty doesn't cover it: Apple explicitly excludes water damage
• Salt water is different: IP ratings only test fresh water
• Pressure matters: Pool dives create more pressure than the rating allows

Warning

Our advice: Don't trust the water resistance rating. Treat your iPhone as water-sensitive and you'll never need our water damage services. We've seen brand new IP68 phones fail from brief splashes, and 5-year-old phones survive full submersion. The rating is a guideline, not a guarantee.

Got a Wet iPhone?

Time is critical with water damage. The sooner you get your phone to us, the better the chances of recovery.

Local to Birmingham? Bring it to Byte, Dovehouse Parade, Solihull. We'll start the recovery process immediately.

Anywhere in the UK? Use our priority mail-in service. We'll send you a prepaid label for tracked next-day delivery to us. Every hour counts, so we process water damage cases as top priority.

Pro Tip

Before you visit or post: Keep the phone OFF. Don't charge it. Remove the case and SIM. The less you do, the better our chances of saving it.