What Does "Emergency Override" Mean? What to Do if Your iPhone Gets Wet

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Learn what to do if liquid gets in your phone and what "Emergency Override" means

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA Reviewed by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: September 6, 2024 Fact Checked

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If You See a Liquid Detected Alert

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Preventing Damage to Your iPhone

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Warnings

Did you know that iPhones have a nifty self-preservation feature that prevents damage to their components? If you ever drop your iPhone in water and then plug it in, you'll see a "Liquid Detected; Charging Not Available" alert with an "Emergency Override" option. This wikiHow article explains what emergency override means and how you can dry your phone.

Things You Should Know

To prevent charging from causing damage to the phone, the iPhone alerts you when the Lightning port is wet.
Use "Emergency Override" in an emergency situation to continue charging the phone, but keep in mind this may damage your phone.
If you aren't in an emergency situation, unplug the phone's accessories, turn it off, and let it air-dry before attempting to plug it in and charge

Section 1 of 2:

If You See a Liquid Detected Alert

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Tap Emergency Override to charge a wet iPhone in an emergency. If your phone detects water in its charging port, it will display a warning if you try to charge the phone. Use the Emergency Override option if you need to charge your iPhone anyway. Just keep in mind that charging while the port is wet can cause corrosion or damage to the phone, so you should only use "Emergency Override" in emergency situations.
- If you don't see the "Emergency Override" option and are in an emergency situation, unplug your phone and plug it back in. The override option should appear.^{[1]
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Wirelessly charge your phone as a safer alternative. If the Lightning port that charges your iPhone is wet, charging that way will cause permanent damage. You can, however, safely charge wirelessly.
- Only iPhones 8 and newer can charge with a wireless charger.
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Wait for your phone to dry if there's no emergency. If you're not in an emergency situation and have the time, you can wait for the port to dry. The water will eventually evaporate and once the port is dry, your iPhone will let you charge it.^{[2]
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- There are a few things you can do to dry your phone that can hasten the waiting process.

Section 2 of 2:

Preventing Damage to Your iPhone

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1
Unplug any accessories. Although this isn't a step that can dry your port, this is a safety concern for yourself and your devices. You don't want to keep a wet phone connected to your computer or a speaker.^{[3]
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- You also want to remove any cases from your iPhone.
Turning it off prevents the possibility of your iPhone short-circuiting and causing more issues in the future.
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Dry your iPhone. Tap your phone against the palm of your hand with the Lightning Port facing down to get out any excess water that you can.^{[4]
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- After you've removed any water that way, leave your phone off and lay it flat on a table, without the port being blocked off and with a good amount of airflow. Leave it there for a few hours so it can air dry.

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Warnings

Do Not use a blow dryer or any source of heat to attempt to dry the phone because you might melt the phone's components instead.^{[5]
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Do Not use canned air as you might blow liquid or moisture further into your iPhone.^{[6]
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Do Not insert a foreign object, like a cotton swab or paper towel, into the Lightning Port.^{[7]
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