Iphone 17 pro max 26.3.1 Liquid detected

This is my first time using an iPhone, and the experience hasn’t been great so far. I’m using an iPhone 17 Pro Max (iOS 26.3.1), and I keep getting a “liquid detected” warning. It’s been a week, and despite trying various fixes, I still can’t charge using the USB-C port.

Does anyone know what might be causing this, what I can do to fix it, and whether this could be a software-related issue?