iPhone has no sound after dropping in water /toilet/ wet.
One of the worst possible feeling you can have as an iPhone owner is dropping it in water. This can include puddles, pools, cups, the ocean, washing machine and more frequently the toilet. Because we all know going to the toilet without your iPhone turns out to be the difference between life and death.
What to do if you have dropped your iPhone in water? So if you have dropped you iPhone in one of the above areas then there may be some temporary issues. The first issue you may encounter is that your iPhone will have no sound or the speaker will stop working.
This is not specific to certain iPhones, it will plague all devices including iPhone 3G/ iPhone 4/ 4S / iPhone 5/ 5S / 5C and the new iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 7, 8 and iPhone X. Even though all these devices are engineered to such minute detail, when you drop one in water it can be a loosing battle unless you have an awesome case.
One thing important which applies to all these steps and solutions is as soon as you get your iPhone out of the water turn it off straight away! No checking messages or Facebook, it needs to be turned of as soon as possible as it will ruin the electrical hardware while wet.
iPhone has no sound after dropping in water /toilet/ wet – Fixes
Step 1
This one comes as no surprise but it is the most successful step and is the thing thing you should try. So insure your iPhone is turned off, also remove any case or bumper that is on the iPhone. This is done as it may slow down the process as water can still be trapped in the crevices.
Also once that is done put the iPhone on a paper towel or a extremely dry towel and pat down the iPhone to remove any wetness that still may be lingering. Another step to remember is to remove the sim card.
So with the resealable bag put the iPhone in there with the rice and seal. Then you want to find a cool dry place like a cupboard or pantry.
Ideally you want to leave it in there for 20-30 hours to maximise the potential of the moisture being absorbed from the rice. If you cant afford that much times 5-10 hours should suffice but you many not get the full potential from the rice.
Step 2
If you absolutely cant get your hands on some rice then this step is the next best thing. Firstly you want to follow the same instructions above as to remove the case, pat down the iPhone with a paper towel and remove the sim card. And also the q tip method to remove any more moisture in the headphone jock or docking station.
So for this step you want to wrap your iPhone up in a paper towel, you only need about 1 or 2. Place the iPhone on the paper towel and roll it up so the iPhone is fully covered.
You can also follow the steps in this video that provide alternative solutions for iPhones with moisture and sound problems. Watch the below videos for more steps and tutorials on how to fix this issue.
Once you have done this search out a dry and warm place, ideally the best spot for this would be a hot water cupboard. But if not a pantry or sealed shelf should be ok.
With this step your going to want to leave it in there for at least 2-3 days as it will take longer to soak up the moisture. If you do get your hands on some rice within that time then you can transfer the iPhone to rice and follow step 1.
Step 3
If none of the above steps work after leaving the iPhone in rice for over 24 hours there are some follow up solutions and fixes you can try to also eliminate any excess moisture or water from the iPhone. By using a hairdryer on the low heat setting, hover it above the speaker area and also the headphone jack port.
Keep the hairdryer a fair distance from the iPhone to keep it from overheating. You can repeat this step several times to ensure that any moisture is evaporated by the hairdryer. Be sure that your iPhone is turned off when doing this step.
Step 4
Another way to remove any water is by inserting the end cotton wool buds into the docking/ charging area and also the headphone jack area. Before inserting the cotton wool buds, you can twist the cotton slightly on the ends so it fits better into the cavities of the iPhone.
Use a bit of force when cleaning the charging area, this will also remove or dislodge any dirt or grime that may have accumulated.
Step 5
As an alternative to using rice you can use Silica gel packs which you’ll most probably find in your latest pair of trainers. Try find as many as possible then put them into a container with the iPhone turned off and wait at least 24 hours before turning the iPhone back on.
Step 6
If worse comes to worse and you can’t find rice, paper towels, gel packs or cotton buds, a last resort is to put your iPhone in the sun. While this is not an ideal situation, it is better than nothing. The only thing is that you will hope it will be sunny.
Step 7
Similar to the above hairdryer step, another method is to use a heat gun or fan. Just note that a heat gun is A LOT more powerful than a hairdryer, so be extra careful if you do this step and try and your own risk!
Step 8
If worse comes to worse it may be best to speak to your mobile phone provider for support. Depending on if you opted for insurance for your device, you may be able to claim a new iPhone if its beyond repair.
Some providers will replace your device or will have an excess deepening on what insurance you chose. Also if you don’t mind waiting you can give Apple support a call if your iPhone is still under warranty.
If any of these steps have worked for you please share your experience or thoughts below on how you went around it. Also it is not recommend putting your iPhone in the freezer as its likely to destroy it.
Kisa says
I have always taken care of my iphone the way a mother takes care of her child and today, I accidentally dropped water on my phone while having breakfast. I couldn’t breathe for a moment. I switched it off..blow dried..switched it on. Everything was fine but no sound. The sound came only through the headphone. I was almost about to cry.
I came across this article and the first thing I did was blow drying for ten solid minutes. Later, i cleaned the headphone jack with a q-tip. Still, no sound from my phone. All this happened just before I was leaving to my math coaching. I didn’t feel like leaving. Somehow, I decided to put my phone in a bag of rice and left. When I came home after 6 hours, I slowly tried to switch it on and I was so scared to test the sound. My mom called me and I picked up nervously. Voila!! I could hear her voice and then I played mutiple videos. Everything is working fine!!!!
Thaaaaaaaaank you so much to this article and to all the people here. You didn’t let my hopes down!! Thanks a ton❤️❤️❤️❤️😭😭😭😭
rasa says
And my strory sadly is different, my son dropped it to the bucket full of water, straight away i turned it of and i left in the box of rise for 24 h, sadly but no sound, only headphones mode is on. So im devasteated 🙁
Gigi says
OMG AS SOON AS I DROPPED IT I PUT IT IN RICE AND NOW IT WORKS! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE
Zarah 🤪 says
My phone still doesn’t work 😭😭😭
Martha Lackey says
It worked!!! I did exactly what you said and my sound came back!!!
sian says
After failing with putting it in rice for several hours , I repeated it but this time I placed the phone in rice on top of a warm radiator for 5-6 hours, the phone returned to full working mode thereafter !!!
Jacob says
After dropping my phone in the toilet, I pulled up this website because it was locked on headphones mode. I put my phone in rice for about 5 hours and it worked!!! My volume was back to normal!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
Hector says
The phone in the rice trick works! Volume is back to normal after it stopped when I dropped it in the water.
Hannah says
I was caught out in a huge storm while running, my phone works ok but the sound is really low. It’s in rice right now, so fingers crossed.
Antonio says
i was using my iphone xr in the pool and now the left speaker doesn’t work 🤦♂️ i’ve restarted it and dried off everything, took out the sim card, used multiple apps to get the water out but i guess my speaker is water damaged, any ideas? should i try to blow dry it?
Daniela Perales says
yay! It worked 🙂 I just took out my phone out of the rice bowl I left it in for about 12 hours and it worked!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH ☺️ ❤️ I was afraid it wouldn’t work but I was wrong it did!!
J. says
The rice thing worked really so well.
I did drop my phone accidentally in water, I panicked! So I decided to leave my phone for almost 8 hours in rice, and the voice came back.
Thanks for your practical article!
Owen says
Me being the moron I am, I dropped it in my cereal this morning while playing minecraft with my little sister. RIP just put it in the rice and we’ll see how that works.
aliatwa says
After dropping my iphone in the water, I pulled up this website because it was locked on headphones mode. I put my phone in rice for about 5 hours and it worked!!! My volume was back to normal!
Car Racing says
First of all why do you only speak about iPhones?
Not everyone has one. No matter the phone brand your tips can be useful to any other phone brand. I understand that iPhone is trending but there are much better brands available for less money. For example Xiaomi has models with many more features and quality for less money. The iPhone is one of the most fragile brands on the market. My phone also had an accident with water butbut none of the solutions worked out. The rice is one of the oldest fix around. But you should open the phone to let the rice, it absorbes water, be more efficient.
SJ says
I just fixed my phone my putting it in an airtight container with rice and then in the hot press for about 3 hours.
I dropped my phone in the loo yesterday and it still worked except for the sound. I tried the q tip technique and the kitchen towel which I left it overnight in the hot press, but still would not give me sound except for on speaker.
Today I went and bought a bag of rice and put it back in the hot press for about 4 hours and hey! presto! sound has returned. phew!
Great Laker says
Dropped my iPhone in a lake getting out of a boat at night. Did not realize it for approximately 15 min. Brought it inside and, with no rice on hand, placed it in a box of Cheerios overnight. Everything worked, but no Speaker sound. Removed the SIM card, then pointed a hair dryer set at low heat at the speaker end of the phone for an hour. All sounds were back and speakers worked perfectly!
Santiago Carmona says
Well I dropped my iPhone in a swimming pool. The iPhone continue working the rest of the day but the next day it started to restar automatically after using it for 5-10 mins also the bottom speaker didn’t work.
I took it to an authorized technical center and they try to clean the speaker internally however that didn’t work for me the iPhone still continue restarting. They told me that there was nothing to do with the iPhone.
Before I lost the faith I decided to put it in rice for one week. Now the iPhone is working correctly and it stoped restarting automatically also the bottom speaker is working perfect.
Cheryl says
Worked for me!
nene says
I put my iphone in some rice for like 19 hours and if worked! i’m so glad i can hear my phone again without any headphones.
Maddie says
I tried the hair dryer hack the first time it worked then a few weeks later I tried it again and it didn’t work
Katherine says
OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH THE RICE WORKED THERE IS NOW SOUND!!! ❤️❤️
Raymond says
I dropped my video recorder in toilet a year ago, quickly pickup, went home after 1 hour, place my video recorder in bag of rice, seal it for 2days, than restart my video recorder all working except no sound, restart again still same. One year later I read this page there are people who said able to get after placed in bag if rice, so I thought maybe I just poke the reset hole, restart my video recorder and do a video record, voila the video have audio sound again, amazing after 1 year of not using the device alive again with sound.