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.
Robbo says
My IPhone went swimming as well and the speaker stopped working. The speaker stopped working and it was stuck on ear phones. The key is to dry it out. I turned it off and sat it on Foxtel box and Amp where it’s nice and warm for a while and bingo it’s all fine. Have read that sucking the ear phone jack can work to clean out water etc or speaker. But if it’s been in toilet maybe use a vacuum cleaner. Ha Ha.
nastasiiagrig says
Thank you so much !! I dropped iphone 6s in the toilet and the speaker stopped working so I cleaned the jack with 7 q-tips then blowdried it a little and put in a bag of rice overnight. In the morning it started working again phewww
angelicaparas says
@natasiiagrig Is your phone all fine now??
Ty says
Thank you soo much. My dog tipped a cup with water in it on my phone i was so scared. I used the q-tips and it worked perfectly.
Arianna says
I read on imore.com to not put it in rice but i did it for an hr and it worked love this article❤️
Patricia says
Awesome that got all I did was suck air in from the speaker part and suck tisstue in their FOR 1 min and. IT WORKED WOW
Patricia says
AND ACTUALLY IT CAME OUT LOUDER LOL
Donna Payne Latham says
Did the tissue cleaning on headphone jack and it works again! We have sound! Thank you!!!!
Mush says
Thanks a lot the rice and hair dryer brought sound back to my iPhone 5s in just 5 hrs … switch off … and used hair dryer two time … it worked all well…
naomi says
i left it in roce for two hours still messed up after that so i just put it on the charger and fell aslep woke up next day it was working perfectly
LucyDragneel says
I went to voice memos cause I knew that it could play both out of the headphone Jack and the exterior speakers. I pressed the button in the top right corner, waited for a few seconds, and voila! My sound was back! Just a helpful tip so that you don’t ruin your headphone jack by getting rice stuck in it. 😉
Jemille says
This worked for me thxs
Alexa says
Thank you for this advice. Your tip with the cotton bud worked like a charm! 😀
Gary says
I sat my iPhone in a bowl of water New Years Eve. No sound. I used a baby wipe between the power plug and the phone and pressed the power plug into the phone. Now I have sound again. Good luck no insurance here.
Kike Villasenor says
How Long and What type of rice Any ??? cause I Barely Drop Mine Rn 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔
Shehnaya says
I was using my phone for music whilst I showered and when I went to turn it off with wet hands some water went in, I dried the area with a towel and then sucked on the speaker to try pull all the water out with the phone upright. Worked like a charm! Haha no more phones near showers for me 😂😬
Kristin says
All I did was cotton swab it, then blow dry it then I just shut down my phone for like 3 hours. I turned my phone back on, and it worked
Sondoss Alsayed says
I have an iPhone 6 I recently just yesterday had an accident it fell in the toilet & I didn’t realize it til I had got up I immediately dryed it with the only towel I found that was dry I dryed it as much as I can & I try to dru it with hairdryer than I put it in dry rice & kept it in their for 12 hours even last nigh this morning I took it out & tryed to turn it on it did nothing so i plugged the charger in I got the mark of charge the iPhone i try to charge it for half an hour nothing happened ,, any help
Beaulah says
Thanks a tone!!! It works… God bless
Micaela says
i was watching youtube in the bath and my phone fell in. i was able to get it out within a second and everything was fine, but the speaker is a little less loud. the problem is that i’m 13, so leaving my phone in rice overnight is something i’d have to explain. any help that’s not too noticeable?
Steyanie says
Oh Thank you !!! Did it With the cotton tips ❤
Anjali says
Thank youuu ❤️❤️❤️❤️… did it with tissue and voila 😍😍😍
Jemima says
I recently bumped a glass of water onto my phone and iPad and I just got a SIM card today!!! I grabbed them and chucked the onto the bed and tryed to dry them!! I turned my phone on and I think it all works but I can’t hear anything except my ringtone!!😩 It just happened now at night 9:00 pm and no one knows about it!! I have tryed to blow into the headphone hole and it didn’t seem to work!! I am 13 and I need my phone!!!!! Pls can u help!!
Grace says
It didn’t work right away, but after about five minutes of using he hairblow dryer, it worked!! Yes, I’m very happy.
This is what I did:
Basically, I set the blow dryer on LOW HEAT settings, and took off my device case. I put the blow dryer about an inch or so from the jack for 20 seconds, gave it 10 seconds of “rest,” and then continued the process.
Aww thank God I don’t have to repair it! ;-;
Isabelle Potier says
my iphone 6 fell into the dog water bowl, it was still working but I had no sound at all so I looked online and found your great blog : I used the q-tip and the blow dryer for 5 minutes twice and it works again 🙂 thanks soooooo much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Scott says
So I tried the toothbrush trick didn’t work… Ended up opening up the phone (I have the right tools an equipment), removed the speaker module and put the module in a mix of rice and silica gel for over night. Put the phone back together and worked like a charm. Though if it didn’t work a speaker module only cost like $5AUD. You can even buy it with tools for about $10 just be very careful and follow tutorials if you don’t know what ur doing.
I don’t advocate for you to open the phone but if you know what your doing you can maximise the removal of moisture to certain components
Ruth says
My pony got into my bag and dropped my phone into her water bucket. No sound now and none of these are working. Any advice?
Dea says
It worked thank godd
Aly says
Didn’t work! Anything else?
Hattie says
i put my phone in the tissue first and then in the rice to avoid any rice getting into my phone, thank god it worked and the charger now works better than it did before as well as the sound
Regan Baird says
THIS SAVED ME!!! I was so scared because it wouldn’t let me hear with the speakers and was stuck in headphone mode. But then I kinda pulled the end of the Q-tip away from it and shoved it in the headphone jack, left it for a minute. And Volia! It works again, thanks so much!
Denise says
I dropped my phone in the toilet last night and immediately grab thought it was ok until there was no sound so I used a qtip and blow dryer and it worked just fine the next morning ……Thanks for the advise on this blog 💋
Angie says
Omg, what a complete GOD send! I accidentally knocked my iPhone 5S into the tub while cleaning it, and my heart immediately sank into my stomach. I tapped the water out immediately, but realized that the sound was gone (I had the music playing when it went for a swim). I followed everything on this forum (i.e.; turned the phone off, removed the sim card and external case, put the phone in a ziplock bag with paper towels and rice), and left it alone for two hours. Voila! It’s back to normal. Thanks so much for posting this very valuable info.
Sharon says
I dropped my phone in the sink. I dried it off, but I couldn’t hear anything. I put took out the sims card and put it in a ziplock of rice for 24 hours, but I still couldn’t hear anything. I tried all of your suggestions, q-tips, tissue, sucking, voice memos, and finally I could hear again!! Not sure which was the magic fix, but Thank you all for all of the great suggestions!!
Kimberly says
I used tissue to clean out the excess water, it still didn’t work.Then I used a blow dryer on warm high heat for 30 mins. It worked! Thank you
Ann says
I used rice, left the phone for 5hours and it worked.
Thanks guys
Rachel says
Thank you Robbo I dropped my phone in cereal today and everything was working and then I put my earbuds in and then the speaker suddenly stopped working and I saw your comment and then I started sucking the ear jack thing for like a minute and then it worked!!!
Keira says
Omg thank you so much. I was listening to music in the shower and it dropped in. I freaked out when the sound wouldn’t work. It worked in headphones but any time I pressed the volume button normally, it said I had headphones in. Weirdly, my alarm still worked. I wrapped my phone in toilet paper and then left it in the boiler closet thing for a few hours and now it works.
Julia Bick says
My iPad 4 got soaked in my bag for an hour after I accidentally left my water bottle open which spilled in my bag. When I saw it I checked if it was still working and it was. It wasn’t till the next day that I realised the speaker wasn’t working. I switched it off and used my hair dryer on it switching from warm to cool. Gave it an hour n switched it back on again and taddaa..it works like new!!😀
Abhijit Nayak says
Thank you,
A huge relief this morning after keeping my phone in rice sack, and voila my speaker is back to life after it got drained last night. I kept my phone in my GYM bag and notice my shaker cap was open and my phone soak it all for an hour and that was cause my panic.
I followed the 1 step. and it works.