Water-damaged phone? The next hour matters more than the accident.
Liquid rarely destroys your data on contact — charging it afterwards does. What to do right now, and how recovery works.
Do not charge it. Do not turn it on. Skip the rice. Power through wet circuitry causes the short-circuits that destroy data — and rice does nothing for the corrosion already forming inside. Keep the device off, dry the outside, and get it assessed.
Water damage is a race against corrosion, not an instant loss
Liquid rarely kills the storage chips on contact. What destroys phones is what happens next: electricity flowing through wet boards, and corrosion quietly eating connectors over days and weeks. A phone that went in the water yesterday is a very good recovery candidate. A phone that was charged repeatedly afterwards is a much harder one — but often still possible.
How we approach it
- Recent liquid exposure: controlled disassembly, board cleaning and corrosion treatment, then repair or direct extraction of your data.
- Older water damage: board-level work targeting the storage and the minimum circuitry needed to read it, or specialist forensic-lab extraction.
- Salt water and immersion: the most time-critical case — salt accelerates corrosion dramatically. Get it powered off and assessed as soon as you can.
If it can't be recovered today
Where corrosion or damage has gone beyond current methods, preservation stops the clock: the device is stabilised, documented, and stored protected from further moisture and corrosion, ready for the extraction technique that reaches it later. Preserving it now is the safest default the moment current methods stop working.
What it costs
Your $150 recovery analysis includes in-house recovery when a method works. If there's no method yet, the device is preserved and monitored at no ongoing cost until one exists. The free inquiry above gives you a no-obligation answer first — nothing happens to the device without your go-ahead.
Quick answers
Does rice fix a water-damaged phone?
No. Rice doesn't stop the corrosion already forming inside the phone — it just delays proper treatment while the damage spreads. Keep the phone off, dry the outside, and get it assessed as soon as possible.
My phone still works after getting wet. Am I safe?
Not yet. Corrosion develops over days and weeks, and phones that survived a dunking often fail later. Back it up immediately while it still powers on — then have the liquid exposure assessed.
How long do I have after water damage?
The sooner the better — corrosion is progressive, and salt water accelerates it dramatically. A phone kept powered off and assessed within days is a strong recovery candidate; even older water damage is often still recoverable at board level.
Free, no-obligation inquiry
Tell us how it got wet, and when
This is a free inquiry, not a purchase — there’s no obligation. Tell us what happened and what data matters, and we’ll reply with the strongest option for your device, preservation or recovery.
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We reply within one business day — usually the same day — with the strongest available option and, if relevant, a written quote. Urgent? Call 0423 056 889 now.
Do not charge, update, erase, reset, or repeatedly power on the device before we reply.