There may be no quicker way to ruin an iPhone than dropping it in water, and tragic stories of devices falling into a puddle, coffee cup or even a toilet seem to spring up all the time. A SquareTrade study found dropping iPhones in liquid was the second most common cause of damage, accounting for 18 percent of broken iPhones. To make matters worse, Apple’s warranty does not cover liquid damage.
So the story, reported by 9to5mac.com, of one iPhone user who successfully recovered his device after dropping it in a lake is pretty impressive. Even more impressive is the fact that the phone sat under six feet of water for six months and still turned on. The user, Ken Hovanes, bought a new iPhone after dropping his device from a dock, but when lake levels recently receded, he was able to recover the original. Despite water damage that prevented Wi-Fi access and caused screen issues, the phone turned on when connected to a power source.
While Hovanes’ story is unusual, many dropped iPhone accidents can be remedied. It’s often possible to fix water damaged iPhones with iResQ’s iPhone repair service. If you’ve dropped your iPhone in the water, you can send it in for a free diagnosis to determine whether it can be fixed.