iPhone SE (2022) Water damage question

[ghanwani]

I accidentally put my iPhone in the washing machine along with a blanket. A few minutes in the wash I heard a clunking noise and stopped the machine. I thought it was going to be my car key but it was my phone. It was working fine. But now several hours later I notice what appears to be condensation in the display (see attached, damage is on right side and bottom). A few questions:

- Will this clear up?
- If not, would it be covered under original phone warranty?
- If not, is the phone going to be worth anything if I decide to trade it?

 

[marzfreerider]

Should power it off and put in rice for a day or 2 to help dry it out. Usually that is what they recommend, should have done that immediately instead of using it. Do you have AppleCare? Contact Apple to see what your options are. As for trade value, most likely will affect the price. Not many people will pay a lot for a water damaged phone. Good luck

 

[Apple_Tiger]

I accidentally put my iPhone in the washing machine along with a blanket. A few minutes in the wash I heard a clunking noise and stopped the machine. I thought it was going to be my car key but it was my phone. It was working fine. But now several hours later I notice what appears to be condensation in the display (see attached, damage is on right side and bottom). A few questions:

- Will this clear up?
- If not, would it be covered under original phone warranty?
- If not, is the phone going to be worth anything if I decide to trade it?

Water damage is not covered under original phone warranty, so you'll have to pay out of pocket for a replacement. Unless you have applecare Plus then you can use one of your incident and pay for a replacement.

Edit to add: with water damage, I would bet the value of the device will be 0 unless you get it replaced.

 

[ghanwani]

G be n

Should power it off and put in rice for a day or 2 to help dry it out. Usually that is what they recommend, should have done that immediately instead of using it. Do you have AppleCare? Contact Apple to see what your options are. As for trade value, most likely will affect the price. Not many people will pay a lot for a water damaged phone. Good luck

Did not notice any damage when I first pulled it out. Don’t have AC.

 

[Nermal]

As mentioned above, leave it powered off for a few days to let it dry out properly. Don't bother with rice; that's an urban legend (one that I myself have been guilty of propagating in the past!).

 

[HDFan]

Don't bother with rice; that's an urban legend

First time I've seen that. Do you have a reference?

 

[eyoungren]

First time I've seen that. Do you have a reference?

🔎 water damage don't use rice - Google Search

www.google.com

 

[eyoungren]

As mentioned above, leave it powered off for a few days to let it dry out properly. Don't bother with rice; that's an urban legend (one that I myself have been guilty of propagating in the past!).

I have heard that the new thing is to use those silica packets that often come in pill bottles. No idea how true that is.

 

[ghanwani]

It seems to be improving slowly. Let's see--it might clear up by tomorrow.

 

[JPack]

The liquid damage to the display will likely never fully clear as the water is in between layers of plastic.

 

[JPack]

First time I've seen that. Do you have a reference?

Many reputable repair sites will confirm.

Also, use common sense. If rice pulled water out of the air, it would be sold in a airtight bag with desiccants.

 

[Tripps9000]

what iPhone do you have?

 

[Carlsberg69]

what iPhone do you have?

The prefix says SE (2022), no?

 

[Tripps9000]

Oh okay if I was you just go get yourself the se3 as a replacement same design but has a lot of the iPhone 13 features in it👍🏻

 

[Jackbequickly]

Only way rice would help if warmed in an oven until all the humidity was gone. Rice, in an open package will contain a good bit of moisture. Even the little things you find in pill bottles will need to be dried in an oven to reactivate. They are small and will not do much good unless you have a large one.

If you saw condensation on the screen I doubt it will help. Without Apple care plus you are out of luck.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Oh okay if I was you just go get yourself the se3 as a replacement same design but has a lot of the iPhone 13 features in it👍🏻

The SE 3 is what he had. SE 3 is the SE 2022.

 

[ghanwani]

It is hugely improved since yesterday and I’ve been using it all along.

 

[Apple_Tiger]

First time I've seen that. Do you have a reference?

Silica gel works best. The rice method has been busted and never good to use it. Just doesnt work.

 

[ghanwani]

The right side has cleared up completely. The bottom is still showing some marks, not sure that's improved much over the second picture. Will wait till tomorrow, if no improvement, will probably replace the phone.

 

[Andeddu]

The right side has cleared up completely. The bottom is still showing some marks, not sure that's improved much over the second picture. Will wait till tomorrow, if no improvement, will probably replace the phone.

Give it a week and most of the condensation should evaporate by then. If everything else is functioning as normal, I don’t think you have caused any long term damage. You should be able to continue using the phone indefinitely.

 

[JPack]

If water infiltrated the display, it will have almost certainly also reached the logic board.

At minimum, you should disassemble and clean the logic board with high purity alcohol, or get a shop to do this. The water itself will have impurities that cause corrosion. This is especially true in a washing machine full of alkaline detergents.

 

[ghanwani]

If water infiltrated the display, it will have almost certainly also reached the logic board.

At minimum, you should disassemble and clean the logic board with high purity alcohol, or get a shop to do this. The water itself will have impurities that cause corrosion. This is especially true in a washing machine full of alkaline detergents.

I don’t know that it’s possible to recover from water damage because that’s the first thing Apple checks for and refuse to service phones if they have had water damage (as far as I am aware, please correct me if not). So I think I will use it if it clears up for however long I can. But in any case I won’t sell or trade it.

 

[JPack]

I don’t know that it’s possible to recover from water damage because that’s the first thing Apple checks for and refuse to service phones if they have had water damage (as far as I am aware, please correct me if not). So I think I will use it if it clears up for however long I can. But in any case I won’t sell or trade it.

Yes, for water damaged phones, Apple takes it for refurbishment and offers you a replacement device. Liquid damaged devices need to be cleaned thoroughly so it's not something they can do locally. But many shops can disassemble and clean it thoroughly and it could be worth it especially if your SE3 is a more valuable 128/256GB model.

 

[ghanwani]

The damage at the bottom doesn’t look like it’s getting any better. I stopped by the local Apple Store and they said the only service they offer for water damaged phone is full device replacement. For an SE, regardless of storage, this is $99 with AC and $399 without. Mine is 128GB unlocked. So basically a savings of $80+tax over the $479 full price. Not sure if service is taxed in CA but if not I would save on tax on the $399 as well. The main difference between that and buying a new one is I don’t get a box and cable. They didn’t have any appt today for walk-in so I made an appt for the weekend.

 

[Ledsteplin]

First time I've seen that. Do you have a reference?

Rice powder and debris can get in the phone. They now say not to put it in rice. And it doesn't actually work anyway.