How long should I wait before powering on a wet phone?

At least 48 hours in a low-humidity environment. Rice does almost nothing; uncooked silica gel sachets do help. Powering on while moisture remains across PCB pads is the most common cause of catastrophic short-circuits.

Can a phone fully recover from water damage?

Often yes for clean tap water exposure under 30 minutes. Salt water and sugary drinks corrode contacts continuously and require board-level cleaning within 48 hours to have any chance.

Does the water-eject tone really work?

It vibrates the speaker diaphragm at a frequency that drives water droplets out of the grille. It cannot dry the rest of the phone, just the speaker chamber. Run it for 30 seconds, then wait.

Why is my phone speaker muffled after getting wet?

Water sits in the speaker chamber and damps the diaphragm. The water-eject tool at /clean/water-eject pushes most of it out. Permanent muffling means the membrane tore or mineral residue has dried on the cone.

Wizard / W02

My phone got wet.

Press start. We probe battery, radios, and storage automatically to confirm the core electronics survived, then walk you through the visual and audible checks browsers can't do.

Notes

Browsers cannot directly detect moisture sensors or measure speaker damping. The auto-tests confirm power and radios work; the manual follow-ups cover the rest.

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Manual follow-ups browser cannot measure

Run the water-eject tone

Open /clean/water-eject and run the 30-second 165 Hz cycle on every speaker. Lay the phone speaker-down on a towel during playback.
Speaker test

Open /audio/stereo. Both channels should play at equal volume with no rattle or buzz. Muffled = water still in chamber, retry water-eject. Rattle = membrane damage.
Touch sweep

Open /touch/multitouch. Drag a fingertip across every region. Any dead patch or false touch points to water under the digitiser.
Charging port visual

Inspect the Lightning / USB-C port with a torch. Visible moisture = wait. Visible green / white residue = corrosion, needs a repair shop.
48-hour rule

Leave the phone off in a dry, ventilated place for at least 48 hours before attempting normal charging. Do not use rice — silica gel sachets work; rice does not.

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