Holy crap! My iPhone fell in the toilet!?

[Jeff]

Yes, it's true. I dropped my iPhone in the toilet. I wasn't using either the phone (it was in standby mode) or the toilet -- it was just chance that I had my iPhone in my hand as I went to throw something in the wastebasket... chance that I dropped it... chance that the lid was up... and chance that my iPhone took a bath.

Anyhow, I immediately took it out and dried it the best I could. I Googled iphone and toilet and was amazed by how many people have had the same problem. I took the black plastic cover off, and set it directly under (and about 3" away) from my desktop lamp for a day, and it seemed to dry out ok.

It turns on, and iTunes detects the iPhone but says it needs to be restored before it can be used. I do so, it updates the firmware and restarts, then repeats the same message. This happens over and over again, every time I try to restore.

One of the times, it actually recognized the phone and started restoring my most recent backup (contacts, songs, etc) and then when it restarted, it went right back to the "must be restored" message.

I tried on both my Windows XP machine and my OS X laptop, with the same results.

My next step is to take it to the Apple store and see if they can either fix it, replace it or repair it. I'll keep you posted.

The morale of the story: keep your phone as far away from the bathroom as possible.

[sarahtowny]

Oh no what a nightmare! I hope you can fix it. Or if not you are insured for accidental damage.

I once opened the washing machine to find my Nokia in my jeans pocket, it was actually ok which surprised me. But I agree water and mobiles don't mix :0)

Anyway, best of luck Jeff.

[Philip]

Yeah, good luck, Jeff. These things happen, what can you do? Must be one of the laws of the Universe.

[Jeff]

The Apple store was partially helpful. Here's what I learned. There is a moisture detector in the bottom of the headphone jack that changes colors when the iPhone has been submersed -- kind of like a litmus strip or pregnancy test. It seems that for some odd reason, submersion in water nullifies the warranty.

Anyhow, the will offer instant replacement with a new iPhone for $249 as part of an "out of warranty" service agreement. While that's about $200 less than a whole new iPhone, it's still enough to make me think twice.

So while I'm ruminating on my dilemma, I've taken the SIM card and put it in my old iPAQ so at least I've got phone service. If I don't get the iPhone back up-and-running soon, I will probably spring for the replacement.

Rumors are that the new 3G versions will be announced on June 9th. I might wait until then and see if I can get one of those!

[Gandalf]

Time to buy a new iPhone! What a bummer.

[David]

Every phone I've ever owned has that moisture detector, it's a shame though that it doesn't still work. I'm sure you can ebay it (I'd do so before the 9th) and recoup some of your losses.

Personally, I'd wait for the 3g version before getting a new one, cheap iPhones are about to flood ebay and the like.

[patndoris]

My 13-year old male offspring had a MP3 player that survived a full cycle in the washing machine, and the ex-husband's pager survived a swim in the toilet. And yes, even my Samsung Blackjack made a brief dive as well (surviving unscathed) thanks mostly to the leather holster which took the worst of it.

You may want to give it a few days to totally dry out. Even a day near the lamp may not be enough for it. It could surprise you and start working again. Give it a last shot before you spring for a new one.

I'll cross my fingers for you!

[Jeff]

I have an update on the soggy iPhone drama.

I downloaded a program called ZiPhone that has a graphical user interface for jailbreaking or unlocking your iPhone. In addition, you can "force" your iPhone to reboot in other modes (normal, recovery or DFU mode). Using ZiPhone I was able to get my iPhone to break out of the endless "recovery mode" loop it was in. I could make a phone call or use any of the applications.

Unfortunately, there is still a problem. Neither the power button on the top or the home button below the screen do anything. The touchscreen works fine. The applications work fine. I can launch Safari and surf the internet using my wifi connection or whatever... but once I open a program, I have no way to CLOSE the program (that's what the 'home' button does).

So... I'm closer, but still not where I want to be. Any suggestions?

[VvWolverinevV]

...???
That's all I got. Take it or leave it.

[sarahtowny]

Originally Posted by VvWolverinevV

That's all I got. Take it or leave it.

I will leave it, a hammer on your phone and it being ripped apart will not do it much good, if you really want it hurt it do it the Jeff way, just chuck it down the loo