⚠ Do now
Water-damaged phone
data recovery
Brisbane.
Dropped it in water, the toilet or the pool, or seeing Liquid Detected?
Water damaged phone data recovery begins with one question: is the phone still working? If it is, and only shows a liquid warning, Apple’s and Samsung’s own drying steps are usually all it needs. If it went under, died or started acting strangely, switch it off and leave it off: the water won’t erase your photos, but the shorts and corrosion it causes can stop the phone for good. Your data is encrypted on the storage chip and can only be opened by that same board, so we clean and repair it until it starts once, you unlock it, and everything is copied. Assessed free at our Brisbane lab.
- Free assessment, nothing to pay if there is no route
- Cleaned and repaired on your original board
- Fresh water, salt water, pools and drinks
- Our copies wiped 14 days after delivery
- 01Screen, port and seams, where water gets in
- 02Power chip, where a wet board usually shorts
- 03Processor, holding this phone’s own key
- 04Storage chip, where the photos wait
Inside the phone
Part 1 of 4
Water gets in through the port and the seams.
The charging port, the speaker grilles, the SIM tray and any crack in the glass or frame all let liquid in. Water resistance helps, but Apple says it isn’t permanent.
Who reviews your wet phone case
Viktor Burcevski
Executive Data Engineer / Executive Forensic Consultant
Every wet phone is looked at by Viktor before anything is quoted: how far the liquid got, what it was, what it has already corroded, and what it will take to start the board once. If it only needed drying, he tells you.
- Liquid damage
- Corrosion
- Board-level repair
- Data checks
What Viktor works on
Phones from the pool, the sea, the toilet and the kitchen bench, phones that worked for days and then failed, and phones a shop wanted to replace, all repaired on the board that holds the key to the data.
30 minApple: earliest retry after a liquid alert
5 hrsApple: before charging by cable after water
0Bags of rice Apple recommends
FreeAssessment, nothing to pay if there is no route
4.8★Google rating, 96 reviews
Start here
Wet phone? The 20-second answer.
Can you recover data from a water damaged phone? Usually, yes. Water doesn’t wipe the storage chip; it shorts and corrodes the board around it. Switch it off fast, keep it off, and the original board can usually be cleaned and repaired far enough to start once so you can unlock it.
What should I do right now?
- Went under? Switch it off now and take out the SIM tray.
- Only a warning on a working phone? Unplug it and let it dry with airflow.
- No rice, no heat, and no charging to test it.
- Died, or acting strangely? Leave it off and get it to the lab soon.
Is it an emergency?
A Liquid Detected or moisture warning on a phone that works is usually just a wet port. A phone that went under, died or acts strangely is the emergency.
Can I dry it myself?
A working phone, yes, the way Apple and Samsung describe. A dead one, no: drying the outside doesn’t clean the board, and power on a wet board is what does the damage.
What does it cost?
The look is free. A board that can’t be brought back costs you nothing; anything else is priced in writing before work starts.
01 Symptoms · start here
What happened to your phone?
Start with the planner if it has only just happened. Or choose the card below that sounds most like yours; it fills in the enquiry form for you.
First-hour planner
It just got wet. What now?
Three answers give you the steps in order, in Apple’s and Samsung’s own words where they have them, and tell you when to call.
Your steps appear here once all three are answered.
Your first hour
Steps from Apple ↗ and Samsung Australia ↗. Nothing you pick leaves this page.
Only a warning on a phone that still works? That is usually a wet charging port, not a lab job. Unplug it, let it dry with airflow and charge it later, as Apple and Samsung describe. If the warning keeps coming back or the phone starts to misbehave, that is the time to call.
Liquid warning decoder
What is your phone telling you?
Pick what the screen shows. You get what it means, the maker’s own steps, and how long to wait.
Choose what you see to decode it.
It means
Dry-time counter
Apple gives three times. Pick one to count down; it runs only while this page is open.
00:00
Nothing counting yet.
Or choose the closest situation below.
I don’t know which phone I have
Look at the back of the phone. The make is enough for now.
The make is enough. The exact model can be confirmed at assessment.
Choose a situation to see your next step.
Dry it right
Rice, hair dryer or fan? Ask the makers.
Tap each tip you’ve heard. Each one shows what Apple or Samsung actually says about it.
Pick a tip
Tap a tip on the left
The verdict and the maker’s own words appear here.
Read the source ↗0 of 12 tips checked
Asked first
The questions people ask about a wet phone
I dropped my phone in water. What should I do first?
Get it out and switch it off, even if it still seems fine. Take out the SIM tray and any memory card, wipe the outside and leave it off the charger. If it still works and only shows a liquid warning, let it dry with airflow; if it died, leave it off and bring it in.
My phone fell in the toilet. Can the photos be saved?
Usually, yes. Switch it off, wear gloves, take out the SIM tray and seal it in a clean, dry zip-lock bag. Don’t turn it on to test it. In the lab the board is cleaned of everything that came with the water before any power goes in.
How do you fix a water damaged phone so the data comes back?
On the original board: it is dried, cleaned of liquid and corrosion, then the shorted or damaged parts are repaired until the phone starts once. You unlock it, and everything is copied. A replacement phone or board would start empty.
Does a wet phone need to go to the lab straight away?
If it died or is acting strangely, yes: corrosion keeps working after the water dries, so sooner is better. If it still works and only shows a warning on the port, dry it first, as the makers describe.
Before you try anything else
Safe to do. Not safe. Call first.
Left: what Apple and Samsung say to do. Middle: how most wet phones go from saveable to dead.
Safe to do
- Switch it off straight away if it went under.
- Take out the SIM tray and any memory card.
- Wipe it, tap it port down, and leave it somewhere dry with airflow.
- Rinse a working phone’s salty or sugary splash with fresh tap water.
- Check on a computer whether iCloud, Google Photos or Samsung Cloud already has the photos.
Do not do this
- Rice, a hair dryer, an oven or compressed air.
- Charging it, or turning it on to test it, while it may still be wet.
- Pushing a cotton bud or tissue into the port.
- Taking a replacement phone while the old one still holds the only copy.
- Waiting to see whether a wet, dead phone recovers on its own.
Stop and call first
- It died after getting wet.
- It was salt water, a pool or a sugary drink, and it isn’t working right.
- It is hot, swollen or smells after the water.
- A shop says it must be replaced.
- Nobody knows the passcode, or it is needed as evidence.
02 Costs · Quoted after assessment
What water damaged phone data recovery costs.
No fixed prices: how far the liquid got, what it was and how long it sat decide the work.
How much does it cost to get data off a water damaged phone?
A phone that was switched off quickly and only needs drying and a clean is the smaller job. Salt water, a sugary drink, or a phone that was charged while wet usually means more corrosion and more repair. You get a written price after the free assessment, and if the board can’t be brought back there is no charge.
What the liquid was
Fresh water is kinder than salt, chlorine, sugar or soap.
Was it powered while wet
Charging or switching it on while wet turns water into shorts.
How long ago
Days of corrosion take more cleaning and repair than hours.
How far it got, and a deadline
A wet port is a small job; a wet board is a bigger one. Urgent work by arrangement.
Free to assess, priced in writing.
A board that can’t be saved costs nothing, and we say so up front. One that can is priced before any chargeable step. Request my free assessment →
Your choice of speed
How fast do you need it back?
Diagnosis is free on every phone, whichever speed you choose. The priority fee pays for the faster service; the recovery fee follows what the phone needs.
Free diagnosis
Standard queue. The phone is diagnosed in about 3 to 5 business days, then you get a fixed quote in writing, with no obligation.
$650 + GST upfront
Front of the queue with an engineer assigned the same day, usually 24 to 48 hours. For work deadlines, legal matters and data that can’t wait.
$1,400 upfront
We start immediately and keep going through nights, weekends and public holidays until it is done.
The recovery fee follows complexity.
Most phone recoveries cost $220 to $1,200 + GST. Level 5 jobs, such as moving the chips to a donor board after a crush or a heavy impact, are quoted individually. Every quote is fixed in writing after the free diagnosis, and if nothing can be recovered there is no recovery fee.
Worth it?
Is it worth paying for?
Three checks first.
Does it still work after drying?
Back it up straight away. If everything is safe, a repair shop can deal with the phone.
Are the photos already in the cloud?
Check iCloud, Google Photos or Samsung Cloud on a computer before deciding.
Is the wet phone the only copy?
Then yes, and soon: corrosion is the clock, and it doesn’t stop while you decide.
03 Process · Inside the lab
How we bring a wet phone back.
Six stages, and no power goes into a wet board until it has been opened, dried and cleaned. You approve the price in writing before any chargeable step.
- 01Yours to sendFirst we confirm the phone is yours, or that you act for the person it belongs to.
- 02Opened and driedThe phone is opened, the battery disconnected, and the board dried and inspected under the microscope for liquid and corrosion.
- 03A written planHow far the liquid got, what it damaged, the repair it needs and its price, or a straight answer that it can’t be saved.
- 04Cleaned and repairedCorrosion and residue cleaned from the board, then shorted or damaged parts repaired on the original phone.
- 05Started once, copied in fullWhen it starts, you unlock it or pass us the passcode securely, and the copy is checked against the list you gave us.
- 06Home, then deleted hereYou get the data and the phone back; our working copy is deleted 14 days after delivery.
04 Laboratory
Who works on your phone.
A wet phone is handled in our Brisbane laboratory by the three engineers below, from the first look to the last copy, and never sent elsewhere.
Martin Daniels
Electrical Engineer
Cleans liquid and corrosion off phone boards and repairs what the water damaged: shorted parts, eaten connectors and failed power circuits.
- Liquid damage
- Corrosion clean-up
- Micro-soldering
- Board repair
What Martin works on
Phones from pools, the sea, toilets and spilled drinks, and boards that were charged while wet, brought back on the original board, the only one that can open the data.
David Williams
Co-founder · Mobile & Encryption
A Wildfire co-founder since 2018, David looks for the copies that may already exist, and plans the copy so the most important data comes off first.
- Phones & tablets
- Encryption
- Copy planning
What David works on
Wet iPhones, Galaxies and tablets, the cloud and computer copies people forget about, and the order things are copied in when a board might not last.
Viktor Burcevski
Executive Data Engineer / Executive Forensic Consultant
Runs the laboratory, reviews each wet phone before it is quoted, and checks the copy against the owner’s list before anything is returned.
- Case review
- Data checks
- Forensic reports
What Viktor works on
Phones a shop has already tried to fix, phones from a family member who has died, and evidence phones, logged under a chain of custody from the day they arrive.
“Wildfire Data Recovery were fantastic to deal with from start to finish. Extremely responsive to any customer requests and we able to perform data recovery and phone repair where Samsung official repairer advised they would not likely be able to preserve the data.”
“Excellent Data Recovery and re set up. Viktor goes above and beyond to explain everything regardless of how long it takes. After disasters through the years gone by with other so-called experts, it was stessfree and a relief to discover Wildfire.”
At the service centre
If the answer is a new phone.
Apple’s warranty doesn’t cover liquid damage, so a wet phone is often offered a replacement. Ask these first.
Will my old phone come back?
Keep the wet one if the photos aren’t backed up: the new phone starts empty.
Can it stay off until then?
Ask that nobody charges or powers it to test it; that is when water does the damage.
Will it be erased?
Apple’s service guidance warns a serviced device may be erased, so check before you hand it over.
What does consumer law say?
Apple notes you may have rights under consumer law even though the warranty excludes liquid damage.
05 Start
Start with a free assessment.
Tell us what it got wet with, when, and what you need back. The planner and path cards above have already filled in what they know.
Can’t be brought back? No charge.
The assessment is free, and this form doesn’t commit you to anything.
Need confidentiality? We sign an NDA on request, and on every forensic case as standard.
Just dropped it, and it’s still on?
1300 806 55706 Delivery
Sending a wet phone to the lab.
Wet phones are best sent quickly. Once an engineer has confirmed the next step, request the free Express post-in label or arrange a drop-off at the lab.
Off, SIM out, bagged
Switch it off, take out the SIM tray and memory card, wipe it and seal it in a clean, dry zip-lock bag. No rice in the bag.
Pad it in a rigid box
Put the bagged phone and the SIM tray in a rigid box with padding all round. No rice, no charger, no cable.
Say what the liquid was
Note your name, number, what it got wet with and when. Never write the passcode on anything in the box.
Send it the same day
Seal the box, put on the label we email you, keep the tracking number and post it as soon as you can.
Still switched on?
Switch it off before it goes in the bag. If it won’t switch off, or it is getting warm, call us before you pack it.
Passcodes and account passwords
Leave them out of the box and the form. When the phone is working again, you unlock it yourself or we set up a secure way.
Swollen or smelling after the water?
Call before you post it: a damaged battery needs special packing.
Tick the checks as you prepare the parcel.
07 Answers
Water damage questions.
Tap a question for the short answer. Most answers turn on two things: whether the phone still works, and what the liquid was.
Can you recover data from a water damaged phone?
Usually, yes, because water doesn’t erase the storage chip. What stops the phone is a short or corrosion on the board. We clean the board, repair what the water damaged, start the original phone once so you can unlock it, and copy everything off. Plan the first hour →
Does putting a wet phone in rice work?
Apple says plainly: don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice, because small particles of rice can damage it. Neither Apple nor Samsung recommends it for any phone. Dry the outside, leave it somewhere dry with airflow, and if it died, leave it off and bring it in. See what else the makers say →
What does “Liquid Detected in Lightning Connector” mean?
Your iPhone has found liquid in the charging connector, or on the cable, and stops charging until it is dry. Apple’s steps: unplug, tap it gently connector down, leave it somewhere with airflow, and try again after at least 30 minutes. It can take up to 24 hours. Decode the warning →
My Samsung says moisture detected. What do I do?
The water drop icon means moisture in the USB port, so charging is blocked. Samsung says to power it off, wipe it, shake it gently port down and let it dry completely somewhere ventilated. It can also appear in humid weather, and wireless charging can still work in the meantime.
Should I turn it on to see if it still works?
Not if it went under. Samsung says not to turn a phone on after water exposure until it has been inspected, because moisture can remain inside even when it looks dry. Power on a wet board is what turns water into a short.
Is my phone waterproof?
No phone is waterproof; some are water resistant. Apple says the resistance isn’t permanent and that liquid damage isn’t covered under warranty, though consumer law may still apply. Samsung’s IP68 rating means fresh water to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes, not salt water or a pool. Check what the rating covers →
It dropped in salt water or a pool. Is that worse?
Yes. Samsung says salt and chlorinated water can damage a phone, and its ratings are for fresh water only. If it still works, both Apple and Samsung say to rinse it gently with fresh water and dry it. If it died, leave it off and get it to the lab quickly.
It was fine for days, now it’s failing. Why?
Corrosion. What the water left behind keeps working on the board after the phone has dried, so a phone can seem fine and then lose sound, charging or power days later. Back it up straight away if it still turns on.
Will Apple or Samsung fix it?
They may repair or replace it, but Apple’s warranty doesn’t cover liquid damage, and a replacement phone or new board starts empty. If the photos aren’t backed up, get the data off the original board before anyone swaps it.
Do you need my passcode?
Only once the phone is working again, to unlock it. Don’t put it in a form, email or text: when it is ready, you enter it yourself or we arrange a secure way.
How long does it take?
That depends on how far the water got and what it damaged. Wet phones are worth starting quickly, and urgent jobs can be moved up by arrangement. The written quote tells you how long.
What happens to my data after the job?
It comes back to you, and our working copies are wiped 14 days after delivery. The phone goes home free by tracked post, or by courier for a fee if you would rather.
08 Learn
What water really does to a phone.
How liquid gets in and what it damages, why the kind of liquid matters, and what a water-resistance rating does and doesn’t promise.
Inside the phone
What water does inside a phone.
Water itself rarely kills a phone. Power and time do: a short while it is switched on, and corrosion in the days after.
In it goes
Through the port, the speaker grilles, the SIM tray and any crack.
Power makes a short
Switched on or charging, water bridges parts and the phone cuts out.
Corrosion follows
Residue keeps eating connectors and chips after the water has gone.
The data waits
Encrypted on the storage chip, opened only by the original board.
Still thereWhat it was
Fresh, salt and sugary: why the liquid matters.
Ratings are tested in fresh water. Everything else leaves something behind.
Fresh water
The kindest case. A working water-resistant phone can usually just be dried; a dead one still needs the board cleaned.
Salt water and pools
Samsung says salt and chlorinated water can damage a phone, and its ratings are for fresh water only. Rinse a working phone with fresh water, as both Apple and Samsung advise.
Drinks and soap
Sugar and residue stay behind as it dries. Apple and Samsung both say to rinse a liquid other than fresh water off with fresh water, on a phone that still works.
Ratings
What water resistance really covers.
A rating is a laboratory result for a new phone in fresh water. Apple says it isn’t permanent and that liquid damage isn’t covered under warranty.
Water-resistance reality check
Did the rating cover what happened?
Pick what happened. Ratings are tested in fresh water in a laboratory; here is what Apple and Samsung say about real life.
Pick what happened
Choose one above
The answer, with the makers’ own lines, appears here.
Apple: liquid damage isn’t covered under warranty, but you might have rights under consumer law.
Sources: Apple: splash, water and dust resistance ↗, Samsung Australia: IP rating and care ↗ and Samsung NZ: can I get my Galaxy wet? ↗
For iPhones in more detail, see water-damaged iPhone recovery and our guide iPhone water damage: what to do.
Sources
Where the statements on this page come from.
Where these facts come from (12 sources)
- Apple: if you see a liquid-detection alert on your iPhone
- Apple: about splash, water and dust resistance of iPhone 7 and later
- Apple: prepare your iPhone or iPad for a service appointment
- Apple Platform Security: passcodes and passwords
- Samsung Australia: how to protect your Galaxy after water exposure
- Samsung Australia: what is an IP rating, and how to care for your device
- Samsung New Zealand: can I get my Galaxy wet?
- Samsung UK: my device displays a water drop icon and will not charge
- Android Open Source Project: file-based encryption
- Wildfire: water-damaged iPhone recovery (iPhone detail)
- Wildfire blog: iPhone water damage, what to do
- Wildfire: locked phone data recovery (forensic unlocking for supported models)
Sources checked 8 November 2026. Samsung Australia has no copy of its water drop icon guide, so the UK version is cited. Each record in the library below links to the page that documents it.
09 Library
Warnings, steps and sources.
Search a warning, a maker’s step or a term. Each record links to the Apple, Samsung or other page that documents it, and a warning record can carry the situation into your enquiry.
Warning or signLiquid Detected in Lightning or USB-C ConnectoriPhone
- What it means
- Liquid in the connector, or on the cable or accessory; charging stops until it is dry
- What to do
- Unplug, tap it gently connector down, leave it with airflow, try again after at least 30 minutes
- How long
- It can take up to 24 hours to dry fully
- Avoid
- Rice, heat, compressed air, and anything pushed into the port
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Warning or signWater drop icon or Moisture detectedSamsung Galaxy
- What it means
- Moisture in the USB port, so charging is blocked
- What to do
- Power off, wipe, shake gently port down, let it dry completely in a ventilated place
- Good to know
- It can appear in humid weather; wireless charging can still work
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Warning or signDied after getting wetEvery phone
- What usually happened
- Water on the board shorted something and the phone shut itself off
- What to do
- Leave it off, take out the SIM tray, keep it off the charger and get it to the lab
- Avoid
- Pressing the power button to test it, rice and heat
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Warning or signStrange behaviour after waterEvery phone
- How you can tell
- Muffled sound, ghost touches, charging trouble or random restarts after it got wet
- What it usually means
- Liquid has reached the board
- What to do
- Back it up if you can, then switch it off
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Warning or signFailing days after getting wetEvery phone
- Why it happens
- Corrosion from what the water left behind keeps working after the phone has dried
- What to do
- Back it up straight away if it still starts, then keep it off
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Maker stepApple: drying a wet iPhoneiPhone
- Wipe and dry
- A soft, lint-free cloth, then air dry in a ventilated place; no external heat
- Other liquids
- Rinse the affected area with tap water first
- Before charging by cable
- Allow at least 5 hours
- Warranty
- Liquid damage isn’t covered under warranty, but you may have rights under consumer law
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Maker stepSamsung: after water exposureSamsung Galaxy
- Straight away
- Turn it off; remove the SIM card, SD card and removable accessories
- Then
- Wipe it with a dry cloth and have it inspected; if you can’t yet, dry it in a cool, ventilated place out of the sun
- Don’t
- Use hair dryers or heat, chemical cleaners, compressed air, or turn it on before it is inspected
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Maker stepRinsing off salt, chlorine or a drinkWorking, water-resistant phones
- Apple
- If a liquid other than water splashes your iPhone, rinse the area with tap water
- Samsung
- If a Galaxy is exposed to any liquid other than fresh water, gently rinse it with fresh water straight away
- Only if
- The phone still works and is water resistant; a phone that died stays off
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
Maker stepRiceEvery phone
- Apple’s answer
- Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice
- Instead
- Wipe it, tap it port down, leave it somewhere dry with airflow; if it died, leave it off
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
GlossaryIP68 and IP67Glossary
Water and dust ratings from a standard test in controlled laboratory conditions. Apple rates iPhone 12 and later IP68 to 6 metres for up to 30 minutes, and some older models IP67 to 1 metre; Samsung’s IP68 Galaxy phones are rated for fresh water to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes.
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
GlossaryWater resistant, not waterproofGlossary
A rating says what a new phone survived in a test, not what it will survive in a pool, the sea or a shower. Apple says resistance isn’t permanent and can decrease with normal wear, and that liquid damage isn’t covered under warranty.
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
GlossaryCorrosionGlossary
The slow chemical damage that minerals, salt, chlorine and sugar left by liquid do to metal parts on the board. It keeps going after the phone dries, which is why wet phones are best seen quickly.
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
GlossaryShort circuitGlossary
Current taking a path it shouldn’t, here through water bridging parts on the board. The phone protects itself by shutting off, which is why power and water should never meet.
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
GlossaryLogic boardGlossary
The phone’s main circuit board, with the processor that holds the key unique to that phone and the storage chip with your data. A replacement board can’t open them, so the repair happens on this one.
Source checked 8 November 2026 · Bookmark this record
No records match that search. Try a shorter phrase or a single word, or ask us directly.
One call or one form
Tell us what it got wet with.
We’ll tell you what it will take.
Assessed free and quickly. If the board can’t be brought back, there is nothing to pay.