The iPhone has many great features that other brands of smartphones don’t have. This is another reason for its huge popularity despite its high price.
Whether it’s the iPhone’s camera, app offloading, built-in sensors, or FaceTime. There are many such reasons to try the iPhone. Apart from these features, there is another great feature called liquid found in the Lightning connector.
This feature or alert appears on your device screen if your phone’s charging port or Lightning cable is wet or damp. In such a situation, your iPhone will not charge, but you will be able to continue using your device.
In this article, we’ll discuss this particular iOS-only feature in detail, from how it works to signs of water damage and other details. Before moving on to this, it’s important to know the meaning of the warning – liquid detected in the lightning connector. So let’s get started.
What does “Liquid Detected in Lightning Connector”mean?
New versions of the iPhone are mostly waterproof. But, despite this feature, some parts of it can still suffer from water damage. And if you damage your iPhone with water, the device will alert you when liquid is detected. Ports are known to be open and water can easily enter.
You may not see the problem until you connect the charger to your iPhone. And then you will get a warning that you will not be able to connect it and damage the device even more.
But in some exceptional cases, this warning may appear due to some kind of error. But you need to be sure that your iPhone was not close to being liquid.
First, it is important to know if there is water in the lightning connector. Some signs can be very helpful in this process.
6 signs of iPhone water damage
Below are some signs of iPhone water damage:
1. Your iPhone won’t turn on
If you find it difficult to turn on your iPhone properly, your iPhone may have been exposed to water or unwanted moisture.
2. iPhone gets hot
When your smartphone is exposed to water, it often results in damage to its battery. As a result, the phone may become very hot.
3. The complexity of working with applications
If some or most of the apps on your device are not working properly, this is another sign of water damage. For example, if the flash does not turn on / off, or a certain application closes again and again.
4. Speakers not working
This is the most common water damage. The speaker ports are smaller and once water gets in, it doesn’t come out easily. Sometimes your speaker may not work even at normal volume.
5. Fog under the screen
If you experience unusual fogging under the screen and cannot see the screen normally, there is likely moisture under the screen.
6. No service or device not recognizing the SIM card
Water-damaged iPhones may not receive service or may not recognize the SIM card.
Knowing the signs of water damage, let’s now understand how water can get into your iPhone’s lightning port or charging port.
How can water get into the charging port?
The following are some conditions for water to enter the charging port.
1. Dive
If your iPhone is accidentally submerged in water, since the charging port and other ports are wide open, liquid can easily enter them. For example, when you dip your iPhone into a pool or bucket of water. This is the most common and dangerous situation as there is a high chance of internal damage to your iPhone in this case.
2. Humidity
This is a rare condition. This only happens when the humidity in the environment is extremely high. In such cases, water drops may appear on your iPhone. These water droplets can get into the charging ports because the water droplets are small enough to get into them. If you often take your iPhone to the sauna, this problem might be due to that as well.
3. Rain
This is the second most common reason. You carry your iPhone everywhere as needed. If you encounter heavy rain while carrying your iPhone, water droplets can enter your device through the charging ports again if not taken care of.
4. Sweat
If you use your iPhone immediately after a hard workout or physical activity with sweaty hands, sweat can get into your phone through the charging ports.
It is important to know the points mentioned above, as only then can you be especially careful in these circumstances or avoid them entirely. And can save the charging port from damage.
In addition to the situations or reasons mentioned above, there may be others. For example, you accidentally put your iPhone in a slightly damp place.
How to Fix “Liquid Detected in Lightning Connector”in iPhone?
In case, after taking all the precautions, you can still damage the charging ports. And get a liquid detection warning in the lightning connector. Then you can use the following fixes.
1. Dry the connector
The first thing you need to do after receiving the above warning is to try drying out the connector. Unplug it from the charger and place it with the charging ports facing down. Never shake iPhone as this may cause water to get inside.
2. Reject warning
If you’re reasonably sure that you’ve dried your iPhone completely, the warning may appear due to some sort of error. Then, in such a case, you can dismiss the warning. When you receive a warning, there will be an option to “Reject”. Just click on it. Please note that this may prevent your device from charging.
3. Use an emergency shutdown
Choose this option only in an emergency, when you’re willing to risk damaging your iPhone by charging it. As you know, water and electricity are a deadly combination. Therefore, it is dangerous to use this option and charge the iPhone with water inside. (We will discuss this crash override in detail later.)
4. Try restarting your iPhone
If you ignored the warning but are still having trouble managing your iPhone, try restarting your iPhone. Follow the steps below.
For iPhone X and newer, follow these steps.
- Press the volume up or down button and the power button at the same time and hold them for a few seconds.
- The Power Off slider will appear on the screen. Drag the slider and wait a few seconds.
- After that, your iPhone will be turned off.
- To restart your iPhone, press the side button or the power button again and hold it for a few seconds. Wait until the Apple logo appears.
- Your iPhone will be turned on.
For older versions, follow these steps.
- Press and hold the volume and sleep/wake buttons for a few seconds.
- The Power Off slider will appear on the screen. Drag the slider and wait a few seconds.
- After that, the iPhone will be turned off.
- To restart your iPhone, press the side button or the power button for a few seconds. Wait until the Apple logo appears.
- Your iPhone will be turned on.
5. Wait and let your iPhone dry
Unless you’re in an emergency, you should always wait and let your iPhone dry on its own. To do this, you must first turn off your iPhone and then hold the charging port down so that gravitational forces act on the water droplets. You can also lightly tap the iPhone to push water into the iPhone. Wipe up the water that comes out with a piece of cloth.
6. Use wireless charging instead
You can also try charging your iPhone with a wireless charger. But this is only possible if you have an iPhone 8 or newer, as they are the only ones that support wireless charging. This is a safe option as you don’t need to use a charging cable.
7. Contact an Apple Store
If nothing works for you, the last option is to contact Apple Support. You may need to take your device to a store. Even after you have tried the above options, there is a good chance that so far water may have caused serious damage to the software or some parts of the iPhone.
You can try these seven fixes if the liquid found in the lightning connector warning pops up.
What is an emergency shutdown?
In the paragraphs above, there is a mention of the “Emergency Override”option. Now you know, when there is water in the ports and you plug it into the charger, an alert pops up. The warning has two options. “Reject”and “Emergency Block”.
If you click on the “Dismiss”option, the alerts will be dismissed. However, this will also prevent your iPhone from charging. You should select this option if you are sure that there is no water inside the charging ports.
You can select the Emergency Override option if you are in an emergency and want to charge your device immediately. Note that you should only consider this in an emergency, as it allows you to charge your iPhone.
But if there is water inside the ports, it can lead to a short circuit or serious damage to the software. Therefore, make sure that the warning only appears due to some kind of error, and not due to water damage.
When to override liquid detected warning?
As mentioned above, this option should only be selected when your battery runs low, and you need to charge it immediately and urgently. And for that, firstly, at least dry your iPhone on the outside and lightly tap on the back so that if there is excess water, it will come out through the ports.
Or a better solution is to use a wireless charger if your iPhone supports it.
Next, you should know what NOT to do to prevent water from leaking out of the connector. This is important, as any wrong action can cost you serious damage.
What NOT to do to remove water from the Lightning connector?
Below is a list of all the steps or things you should NOT do in any situation to remove water from your iPhone’s lightning connector.
1. Air blowing into ports
You should not blow air into the ports, as this may further spread the moisture present inside. It only creates more damage. Not only this, but also leads to an increase in moisture instead of the connector.
2. Use of heat
Directing heat onto an iPhone can damage its screen and some sensitive parts. While most devices are heat resistant these days, any external heat source can cause serious damage if used directly on the iPhone. Therefore, do not use the oven or hair dryer to heat.
3. Sticking something to the ports
Sticking anything to the ports that can’t fit easily can only cause damage and leave debris. This includes gluing cotton swabs, rags, towels, fabrics, etc.
4. Placing an iPhone in uncooked rice
This is one of the most commonly used ways to remove water from an iPhone or other devices. Rice does absorb water, but that doesn’t mean you should put your iPhone in uncooked rice. This is because it can leave behind debris and further damage the iPhone. So don’t fall for this freaky popular hack.
5. Use of isopropyl alcohol
The use of isopropyl alcohol can lead to the transfer of electrical charges because it is highly conductive. And not only that, it is diluted with water. Therefore, its use may increase the humidity level inside the device rather than decrease it. You don’t want this to happen, do you?
Hence, these are certain things that you should not do under any circumstances.
What to do if liquid is found in a dry iPhone?
In some exceptional cases, you may receive a liquid detection warning in the Lightning connector, even if you are 100% sure that your iPhone has not been exposed to water. This is mainly due to any lightning connector error. In such cases, you can try the following options.
- Select emergency shutdown
Again, as the name suggests, you should only select this option if you are completely sure that there is no water inside the iPhone. Otherwise, it may cost more damage than has already been dealt.
- Force restart your iPhone
This is a universal option for any problem with an electronic device. Follow the step below to restart your iPhone.
Here are the steps for iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, or iPhone 13 and newer models.
- Press the volume up or down button and the power button and hold them for a few seconds.
- The Power Off slider will appear on the screen. Drag the slider and wait a few seconds.
- After that, the iPhone will be turned off.
- To restart your iPhone, press the side button or the power button for a few seconds. Wait until the Apple logo appears.
- Your iPhone will be turned on.
For older versions, follow these steps.
- Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time for a few seconds.
- The Power Off slider will appear on the screen. Drag the slider and wait a few seconds.
- After that, the iPhone will be turned off.
- To restart your iPhone, press the side button or the power button for a few seconds. Wait until the Apple logo appears.
- Your iPhone will be turned on.
- Reset settings
This is another fix you can try if you think the warning is just a bug. Follow the instructions below.
- Click the Gear icon on your iPhone’s home screen.
- This will open your iPhone settings.
- Click on General.
- Select the Transfer or Reset iPhone option. Then click Reset.
- Finally, click “All Settings”.
But before you follow all these steps, remember that resetting all settings means your important data on your iPhone is gone forever. Hence, we recommend that you back up useful data and settings to avoid data loss.
There are a few things you can try if you want water to flow out of the lightning connector without causing any damage.
Steps to take to save a wet device
Below are the steps you need to take to save a wet device.
- Turn off your device
Turning off your device should always be the first step you take when you discover that your device has gotten wet. This protects your device from serious electrical damage that can occur if you intentionally or unknowingly continue to use a wet iPhone.
- Dry your iPhone case
After turning off, remove the case from the iPhone. And dry the iPhone outside with a linen cloth, cotton cloth, or paper towel. After that, keep the ports facing down to prevent water from getting into other parts. And also gravity can help in the exit of water from the device.
- Remove the SIM card
The next step after the outside has dried should be to remove the SIM card. You can do this with a SIM eject tool or any other tool. Make sure the SIM card is dry. Do not install the SIM card tray back. Keep it separate so that there is more room for cool air inside.
- Point the ports down
As mentioned in the previous points, keep the ports pointing down. This will make gravity work its magic and water will be able to move out of the device. When it comes out, you can wipe off the moisture with a clean cloth.
- Coat your iPhone with dehumidifiers
Desiccants are substances used as drying agents. For example, silica gel is used inside the bottles. Just make sure these desiccants completely cover the device. The desiccant will draw moisture out of the zipper connector.
- Wait for the iPhone to dry.
This may be a long solution, but the best one. Drying may take 24 to 48 hours. And it’s best to just wait until the end of this period. Do not try to turn on the iPhone between periods. Have some patience.
- Try turning it on
Once the drying period is over, you can try turning on the device. At this point, if the water hasn’t caused any damage, your iPhone should turn on normally.
But there are a few things you can do to avoid all these difficulties in the first place, i.e. protect your iPhone from water.
How to protect your iPhone from water?
Below are some ways to protect your iPhone from water.
- Keep it away from water
First and foremost, keep your iPhone away from water or moisture. Never take your iPhone to places where it could be exposed to water or moisture. For example, near the pool with water or shower.
- Buy a waterproof device
You can also try to find a waterproof device. As we all know, your iPhone’s lightning port can be exposed to moisture/water in some conditions, such as rain or high humidity.
- Buy a waterproof iPhone case
Again, purchasing a waterproof iPhone case can help prevent your device from getting wet easily.
- Use a dry bag
Several dry bags can be used in case your device may be exposed to water. They come in different sizes and shapes.
Conclusion
So you must have already understood the trigger warning of liquid found in the lightning connector. First of all, to avoid this warning, you must properly care for your iPhone.
And in case, after you’ve tried all the possible hacks, it still doesn’t work, put it in Apple’s care. Don’t waste an extra second like with water, and every second can be worth more and deal more liquid damage.
Finally, a small amount of moisture won’t damage your iPhone 95% of the time. So don’t panic.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What to do if liquid is found in a dry iPhone?
In such a situation, you can select the Emergency Override option from the “Liquid Detected in Lightning Connector”popup.
What happens if I choose Emergency Override?
If there is no water inside the connector, you can easily charge the iPhone with the charger if you select Emergency Override, but if you select this option with water present in the device, it may cause electrical damage to the software.
Can I safely charge wirelessly?
Yes, you can always safely charge wirelessly, whether your iPhone has water in it or not.
How to charge an iPhone if there is liquid in the Lightning connector?
You can use a wireless charger or wait for the water to dry and then charge again with a regular charger.