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User profile for user: Titchy82
Titchy82 Author
User level: Level 1
11 points

Sleep/Wake button unresponsive after water damage

Hi all

I realise the water damage topic has been covered many times but I couldn't find anything relating to the sleep/wake button.

Basically, my iPhone 4 32gb went for a swim down the loo. After leaving it in rice overnight, everything appears to be working ok, apart from the sleep/wake button. I therefore can't turn the screen off or shut it down without doing a hard reset. I realise I'm lucky that this seems to be the only problem but it's quite a serious one. Leaving the screen on all day will mean the battery won't last very long at all, not to mention potential damage to the screen.

Has anyone got any suggestions? Should I leave it in rice for longer? I'm reluctant to take it to the Apple store and fork out £139 for a refurbished phone.

If only there was "an app for that". :-/

Many thanks for reading.

Macbook 2Ghz White, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 20, 2011 1:29 AM

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User profile for user: Beni.Son
Beni.Son
User level: Level 1
8 points

Posted on Apr 5, 2016 5:14 AM

Hi...my iPhone 6s dropped in water two days ago and now it's working completely fine.

but the sleep/wake button doesn't working.the last time it works was last night...

will it working a few days later or not?!is it dead?!how can I make it survive?!

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User profile for user: JimHdk
JimHdk
User level: Level 7
28,874 points

Feb 20, 2011 5:45 AM in response to Titchy82

One thing to note when this happens: your iPhone may appear to work (or partially work in your case) but I wouldn't rely on it for an emergency. When moisture gets into the recesses of the phone it can start a corrosion process that doesn't stop just because it appears to have dried out. Some time later it may unexpectedly just pack up and totally fail. Been there, done that.

Good luck with your iPhone.
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User profile for user: nick101
nick101
User level: Level 5
5,132 points

Feb 20, 2011 5:49 AM in response to JimHdk

The trick with water damage is to switch the device off and let it dry for several days in a warm place. It's not the water that causes the problem - it's the combination of water and electricity. It's a pain that you can't remove the battery from an iPhone because that would allow the water to dry out with no power.

Of course, it makes a differences whether the water is fresh or salty, clean or dirty. Salt water's a killer. Fresh water not so much. If you do get salt water in your device, flushing with distilled water (yes, really) helps.
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User profile for user: lobsterghost1
lobsterghost1
User level: Level 10
139,486 points

Feb 20, 2011 6:37 PM in response to Titchy82

I know you don't want to pay for a replacement, but if I were you, that's what I'd do. A friend did exactly the same thing (make a mental note that restrooms and iPhones are NOT good friends) and his phone seemed to work the same way your phone is working. Ultimately, the phone died and he was not able to back it up before it did and lost a lot of data, etc. If you can back up your phone, do so. Then to avoid being left in a lurch without a phone, bite the bullet (I know it's not my money) and get a replacement phone.
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Sleep/Wake button unresponsive after water damage

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