Do static shocks damage iPhones?

I put my iPhone 13 mini in my pocket with the bottom lightning port facing up. Often times I wear dress shoes into businesses/malls with smooth polished floors. Within just a few seconds of walking, I build up enough static electricity to if I touch a metal object, it causes a crack of static electricity.


On the bottom of my iPhone 13 mini, there are two metal screws on either side of the lightning port. I happen to want to check my phone, so I reach into my pocket and… pop! An audible crack of static electricity discharge. This has happened to my poor phone at least 5 times now, but with no damage at all observed.


I am just curious if anyone else has this problem and if it will damage the phone over time. I read online about static shocks being in the thousands of volts and causing holes in the circuits within microchips, over time causing failure. I also read that phones are faraday cages in that the casing acts like an electrically isolating cage which absorbs and dissipates these shocks. Since these bolts are bolted into the aluminum frame of the iPhone, does this understanding hold true? Are the internal components electrically isolated?


Preferably, I would please like someone to answer who has intimate electronics knowledge and of the internal construction of iPhones so my fears can be truly eased (or confirmed).

iPhone 13 mini, iOS 15

Posted on Apr 1, 2022 1:38 PM

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4 replies

Apr 1, 2022 6:27 PM in response to KissyKitty

So long as the iPhone is with you, it will be at approximately the same voltage as you are. Best to not then use the iPhone to ground yourself, though. And if you’re picking up an iPhone in a dry environment, preferably ground yourself to something else first.


Somewhere between a routine electro-static discharge and lightning, yes, an iPhone can be damaged. Any electronics can be.


Where that threshold of damage might be, you will not likely receive an answer here, as we’re other users and not Apple and thus we don’t know the answer, and as Apple does not publish this sort of information.


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Do static shocks damage iPhones?

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