Water-damaged iPhone? Power it off. Skip the rice. Bring it to the bench.
A wet iPhone is a board risk, not a DIY rice job. Here is what to do in the first hour and what we actually inspect in the shop.
A water-damaged iPhone can still be saved if you stop charging it. Power it off. Do not put it in rice. We inspect water-damaged iPhones at all seven Lehigh Valley stores. Walk in. We quote after we look, not before. Some phones need a board. Some need a dry and a port clean. We will say which.
Liquid is the job we will not guess on a blog. Seven stores. 10 AM to 8 PM (7 PM in Emmaus). We have opened wet iPhones in this valley since 2025. We look for corrosion on the board, the Lightning or USB-C port, and the battery. We do not promise a miracle from the parking lot. Emmaus takes 10% off qualifying repairs. Times like 30 to 60 minutes apply to in-stock glass and cells, not to every wet board. A water-damaged iPhone may need a day. We tell you after the inspection. We will not invent a success rate. If the board is stained beyond a clean, we talk about a shop iPhone instead of charging you to fail. Power it off for the drive. Do not keep booting it to see if the logo still shows. That check is another wet cycle on the board.
Do this in the first hour
Power off. Do not keep testing to see if it still rings. Every boot on a wet board can spread corrosion. Unplug it. Do not charge. Do not use wireless either. Heat plus liquid cooks traces.
Skip rice. Skip cat litter. Skip the oven. Those pack starch into Lightning and speakers and do not pull water off a board. A bowl of rice is how ports get worse. Bring the phone as it is.
If it went in a pool or a toilet, say so at the counter. Fresh water and waste water are different messes. We would rather hear the truth than guess why the port smells. Newer iPhones have no SIM tray. Do not pry one open looking for a slot that is not there.
What we inspect in the shop
We open when it is safe. We look at the battery for swell. We look at the board for green crust. We check the cameras and Face ID. A water-damaged iPhone can fail days later even if it boots on the counter. We say that. We do not sell you a happy ending we cannot see.
Sometimes the job is a dry, a clean, and a charging port. Sometimes it is a battery. Sometimes the board is the bill. If the quote is more than a phone in the shop, we say so. You decide.
Warranty on a liquid job is narrower than glass. New liquid after pickup is not covered. The repair policy is the written limit. We would rather you read it than be surprised.
Walk in the same day if you can
Hours are 10 AM to 8 PM (7 PM in Emmaus) at Emmaus, Breinigsville, Fogelsville, Walnutport, Bath, Nazareth, and Bangor. Bring the iPhone off. Bring the cable only if it was plugged in when it got wet. Do not plug it in on the drive.
Diagnosis is how we quote. There is no honest 30-minute promise on every wet board. If we can clean and you can wait, we tell you. If you need a phone today, we also sell them.
Face ID and cameras are the parts that fail later on liquid. We test what we can before you leave. We still warn you about delayed corrosion. That warning is the opposite of a fake guarantee.
Wet Androids are a different teardown
SIM trays, USB-C wells, and Galaxy back glass change the first hour. Use water-damaged Android for those phones. This page stays on iPhones.
The Android version of this guide
Galaxy USB-C wells hold liquid. Pixel trays are easy to get wrong. Here is the first hour, without rice myths, and how we inspect in the shop.
Water-Damaged Android: What To Do FirstFrequently asked questions
Answers about water-damaged iPhone at our seven Lehigh Valley stores.
No. Rice does not dry a board. It packs starch into the port and speakers. Power the iPhone off. Do not charge it. Walk into any of our seven stores from 10 AM to 8 PM (7 PM in Emmaus). We inspect liquid damage on the bench, not in a kitchen bowl.
Sometimes. We will not quote a success rate we cannot stand behind. If the board is lightly stained we clean and test. If corrosion is deep we talk about a replacement phone. You get that news after we look, not from a parking-lot promise.
A new liquid event is not a 10-day parts warranty. If we repair a wet iPhone, ask the technician what the parts warranty covers before we start. Read the repair policy. Ask at the counter before we start so there is no surprise later.
Same day if you can. Corrosion does not wait for the weekend. We are open 10 AM to 8 PM (7 PM in Emmaus), seven days a week. Power the phone off for the drive. Do not keep checking if it still turns on. That check is another wet boot.
You do not. Newer iPhones have eSIM and no tray to pop. Do not pry the case looking for one. Power off and bring it in. We open it the right way. A screwdriver at home is how a water-damaged iPhone becomes a parts phone.
Sometimes we can use it for parts or point you at a shop phone. That depends on the board. We will not promise a trade-in number in this article. Ask after inspection. Honest no is better than a fake yes.
Walk in with the phone. We quote before we start.
Seven Lehigh Valley stores, 10 AM to 8 PM (7 PM in Emmaus). Most in-stock screen and battery jobs finish in 30 to 60 minutes.