How To Remove Water From Iphone Charging Port

You plugged a Lightning cable into your iPhone, but you received a scary pop-up as soon as you did. It says "Liquid Detected In Lightning Connector" and you're not sure why. In this article, I'll explain what to do when your iPhone says there's liquid in its Lightning connector!

Why Does My iPhone Say "Liquid Detected In Lightning Connector"?

If you have an iPhone XS or later, your phone can detect liquid in your Lightning port. When it does, your iPhone might display a Charging Not Available error that says "Liquid has been detected in the Lightning connector."

charging not available liquid detected in lightning connector

If you see this message displayed on your iPhone, unplug it from its charger and leave it out to dry for several hours. While your iPhone dries out, avoid plugging anything, such as headphones or another charger, into its Lightning port. The liquid present in the Lightning port could permanently damage your iPhone's hardware.

If you receive this error, we don't recommend tapping Emergency Override to charge your iPhone. If your iPhone supports wireless charging, it might safer to charge your iPhone with a Qi-enabled wireless charger while your charging port dries. However, if your iPhone was exposed to a lot of water before this error message appeared, it's probably best to avoid wireless charging as well; it's possible that liquid has spread to other components of your iPhone.

How To Dry Out Your iPhone

Turn off your iPhone and leave it on a flat surface. If possible, surround your iPhone with desiccants, which can help it dry out. You can often find small desiccant packs in shoeboxes or shipping containers.

Then, it's time to be patient. Try not to pick up or move your iPhone for a while. The notification you receive on your iPhone may say it'll take "several hours" for the connector to dry.

Check out our other article to learn more about what to do when your iPhone has water damage.

What Not To Do With A Wet iPhone

We want to debunk some bad information about iPhone water damage. We're sure you've heard that rice can be used as an at-home fix for iPhones exposed to water. Do not put your iPhone in rice.

Rice does not absorb moisture well, and it's possible grains of rice could get stuck inside your iPhone. Putting your iPhone in rice now may just make this issue with the Lightning port worse!

Similarly, do not attempt to dry your iPhone using a hairdryer or air compressor. Either of these may just blow the liquid in the Lightning port further into your iPhone, potentially causing more damage.

Crisis Averted!

You've fixed the problem and the Lightning connector is dry. Make sure to share this article with friends and family to teach them what to do if they see the "Liquid Detected In Lightning Connector" pop-up on their iPhone. Have any other questions? Leave them down below in the comments section!