If you dropped your iPhone in water, you need to act fast. Like all other smartphones and mobile phones out there, the Apple iPhone is also not immune to the effects of water once it has entered the internals of the device. Water is the single biggest enemy of all electronic gadgets, and the fact of the matter is that once a device has fallen in water, it is nearly impossible to get it back to ideal working condition.
The worst case scenario is that the phone will not work properly ever again, and you will have to replace it entirely. You can try repairing the device and this will mean you will have to spend a fair amount of time and resources with the hope that it will function again. Sadly, this is not the case in most situations, and the parts of your iPhone, especially your screen, will face irreparable damage.
How to Fix iPhone after Dropping it in Water?
There is no tried and tested formula for fixing an Apple iPhone that has fallen into water. What you need to do is open up the phone entirely and lay it out to dry in the sun or in front of a heater. The sooner you do this the better the chances of the phone starting up again, so you must not waste any time at all. Take out the micro-SIM card and any other peripherals that you may have attached to the iPhone. Place them all on a towel or on any cloth, and lay them out to dry and hope for the best. Blow dry the parts for better results.
The battery of the iPhone is the part that will suffer the most damage, but unfortunately, you cannot remove this battery from the device. This is something Apple Inc. has made impossible for the device, so you have no chance to do this. If you are lucky, the phone will start and function as normal after a few hours. In case this does not happen you will have to give the iPhone to an Apple repair center, and they will then take days and charge you a big fee for attempting to repair the device. In some cases they will suggest replacing the battery but there are no guarantees that this will work, since no one can know the extent of the damage suffered by the internal circuitry. There are not many ways to save a wet cell phone and fix it, so you have to make do with whatever tips you can get.
Another solution that some people suggest is to wrap the iPhone in a cloth and place it in a bag of rice for about 2 days. This will suck the moisture out from the inside. You must change the rice after about 12 hours, and there are many people who have dropped their iPhone in water, for whom this method has proven effective. Under any circumstances, do not turn on the iPhone as soon as you remove it from the water. This will cause the phone to short circuit since water and electricity do not go together. There is a small chance that the device may work properly after you dry it out effectively, but if you choose to turn it on immediately there is absolutely no hope for its survival.
The amount of time that the iPhone spent in water is also important. If it was just for a few seconds, then these methods have a higher chance of succeeding. In fact, any amount of time under a minute can prove to be substantially less damaging. If the iPhone has been underwater for a longer time though, the chances of its survival are significantly lowered. Till some time ago, Apple would not entertain a water damaged iPhone for replacement since this nullified the warranty. But now you can approach Apple and they will provide you with a refurbished iPhone for $199 as a replacement. The warranty of this new device will only be 90 days, but this is a much better option than buying a new uncontracted iPhone. Apple also has a smart way of detecting if an iPhone has undergone water damage, thanks to 4 sensors inside that turn pink if they have come into contact with water. So lying to them about water damage is not going to get you anywhere.
If you are facing problems of no sound or dark screen even after trying out all these methods, then you just need to hand it over to a repair shop and hope for the best. The cost will be substantial, but this is unavoidable. For the future, be extra careful with your iPhone and keep it away from water bodies and buckets and tubs the best you can. You can even consider using a waterproof iPhone case to save it from damage in the future.