Dropped Your Phone in Water? Do This Now

Phone fell in water: what to do in the first five minutes

If your phone just went in the water, the first few minutes matter more than anything later. A dropped phone in water usually survives if you do these first, whatever phone it is:

1. Get it out. Every extra second gives water more time to work past worn seals.
2. Unplug it. If it was charging, pull the cable out before anything else.
3. Take the case off. It traps water against the seams and ports.
4. Decide on power. Google says to turn a wet Pixel off. Samsung says to turn off a Galaxy that is not water-resistant immediately. A phone that is hot, flickering or restarting should go off no matter what.
5. Wipe it with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Then answer the three questions above for the steps specific to your phone.

Dropped phone in toilet, pool or sea water?

The liquid changes the plan. Clean fresh water evaporates and leaves nothing behind. Salt, chlorine, sugar and soap leave residue, and residue is what corrodes ports, contacts and the speaker mesh over the following days.

Should I put my phone in rice?

No. Apple explicitly says not to, because small particles of rice can damage the iPhone. Rice also does nothing about the water inside. What Apple recommends instead: tap the iPhone gently against your hand with the port facing down, then leave it somewhere dry with some airflow. A fan blowing cool air into the port may help.

Also off the list: hair dryers, ovens, radiators and other heat sources; compressed air; and anything pushed into the port — cotton swabs, paper towels, pins.

Silica gel is better than rice: it absorbs more moisture and does not shed dust. If you have packets, leave the phone in an open container with them. It is still slower than airflow, so a fan matters more than the packets.

Do not open the phone. Modern phones are glued shut, and opening one breaks the water seal. Apple lists disassembling an iPhone, including removing screws, among the things to avoid. If you think water is inside, get it to a repair shop instead.

Wet from a shower, steam or a spilled drink

Not every wet phone went into a pool. Apple lists showering, pressurized water and steam rooms as things to avoid — hot steam and water jets can get past seals that hold back a splash. For a spilled drink such as soda, coffee or juice, Apple rates iPhone XR, XS, SE (2nd generation) and later as resistant to accidental spills — but rinse the sugar off with tap water as Apple describes, then dry the phone. Sugar left on the phone dries sticky in the speaker mesh and ports.

How long to dry phone after water before charging

There is no single number — it depends on the maker:

The timer on this page tracks those milestones from the moment it got wet and survives closing the tab.

It still works — am I fine?

If it is a water-resistant phone and it was fresh water, probably. Water resistance is not permanent, though — Apple, Google and Samsung all say it decreases with normal wear, and dropping a phone can reduce it. Over the next few days watch for:

• Heat when idle or charging.
• Fog or droplets behind the camera glass.
• Random restarts, flickering, or touch problems.
• A charging-port warning that keeps coming back.

Any of those means liquid reached the inside. Samsung recommends having a wet phone inspected even when it appears to work normally.

The speaker is muffled after drying

That is normal at first: water in the speaker mesh muffles sound until it evaporates. Once the phone works normally and the outside is dry, run one water eject cycle from this page with the grille facing down, then compare. Still dull after a day? Use the muffled speaker check. Crackling? Use the crackle check.

Warranty and repair

Liquid damage is excluded from Apple’s and Google’s standard warranties, though you may still have rights under consumer law. Accidental-damage plans — AppleCare+, Samsung Care+, or phone insurance from your carrier or bank — usually do cover it, for a fee per claim. When you book a repair, say what liquid it was and roughly how long it was in — it changes what the technician checks first.