Ice fisher's iPhone 7 Plus survives 13-hour immersion after dunk in Russian river

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2017
An ice fishing accident has led to an unexpected demonstration of the iPhone 7's water resistance capabilities, after an iPhone 7 Plus was retrieved from the bottom of a frozen-over river, and found to be in perfect working order.




A resident of the Russian city of Yakutsk dropped the iPhone 7 Plus into one of the ice fishing holes on the river over the weekend, according to the Russian-language Ykt.Ru. Unable to retrieve it, the iPhone was left in the water overnight until a friend of the owner who was proficient in diving was able to assist.

An Instagram account by the diver, identified as Fedor, explained it took three attempts to find the iPhone in the cold water. Shortly after being pulled from the water, the iPhone turned on successfully, showing it had not been damaged from the drop and the 13 hours of submergence in 4C (39.2 F) water.

A video posted by Fedor (@emfedor1983) on Jan 20, 2017 at 11:37pm PST


Before entering the water, it is believed the iPhone 7 Plus had 35 percent of its charge remaining. Once pulled from the river bed and back in the owner's hands, it was found to have 19 percent battery life remaining.

The iPhone 7 isn't actually a waterproof device, with its IP67 rating advising it is capable of surviving immersion at a depth of one meter (3.3 feet) for 30 minutes. This is intended more for accidental splashes or drops into water, such as a sink or at the beach, instead of being used for swimming or other underwater purposes.

Apple designed the iPhone 7 with water resistance in mind, adding adhesives and rubber seals to the chassis to try and prevent or limit water and dust ingress. The previous iPhone 6s also had partial water resistance, with seals and gaskets added to strategic positions inside the casing to help protect it, but ultimately Apple decided against advertising this as a feature.
watto_cobra
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,007member
    This would be a good place to store all the decommissioned Note 7's...
    macxpresswaterrocketsargonautDeelronRayz2016pulseimagesjahbladewatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 2 of 23
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    thrang said:
    This would be a good place to store all the decommissioned Note 7's...
    I thought they were being used to make the Note 8?
    DeelronJanNLbuzdotsjahbladewatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 3 of 23
    Perhaps we could focus on somethig more practical than storing electronic device under water. How about making the glass not breaking on some modest impacts?
    brucemc
  • Reply 4 of 23
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Perhaps we could focus on somethig more practical than storing electronic device under water. How about making the glass not breaking on some modest impacts?
    Apple doesn't make the glass. They're not specialist in glass making and I don't think they care to be. A device being water proof is just as practical. Maybe you don't see this, but there are quite a few phones that take an accidental dip in the water, thus ruining the entire phone while a glass crack typically is still usable. 
    mwhitejahbladeStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 23
    thedbathedba Posts: 762member
    This story could make a great ad video.
    newtonrjpulseimageswatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 23
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Perhaps we could focus on somethig more practical than storing electronic device under water. How about making the glass not breaking on some modest impacts?
    How about not dropping it, or a good case?

    Anyway, it's a great video. Nice how the diver was coy about finding it at first — assuming all this is for real.

    Also, iit's interesting that a guy in Yakutsk is sporting a 7 Plus. And that it survived, if this is true. (Too bad I have to include these disclaimers.)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 23
    thedbathedba Posts: 762member
    Perhaps we could focus on somethig more practical than storing electronic device under water. How about making the glass not breaking on some modest impacts?
    Modest impact means nothing. I've known people with phones that survive fall after fall and yet mostly careful people can with one drop have their screen cracked. 
    It all depends on how the the phone itself impacts a hard surface. 

    If you are so worried, get a good Otterbox case and you're good to go. 
    jfc1138watto_cobrayanimac
  • Reply 8 of 23
    We know the temp, the length of immersion, the charge state before and after...

    But we don't know how deep!  (It appears that the diver is standing, so it would seem about 1.5m+ deep.)
  • Reply 9 of 23
    My 6s with a cracked screen [barely] survived a 3 second dunk in 6 inches of water this weekend.  
    Within the hour I had blow dried it for 10 minutes, and after getting poor results, I then buried it 8 hours in a pound of rice (best desiccant you can get).

    Before the rice, I was still getting an issue with recognizing no headphones (NOTE: reason why the headphone jack is an issue is that there appears to be a  electronics that detects a jack in place, and it is very water sensitive) , and it wasn't charging, and it took several tries to get it to backup to iTunes (to the point I was concerned I had toasted it). After the rice, everything seems to be good (48 hours and counting).  

    I'm counting down the months to my iP8, as I have a couple 'Pepsi Syndrome' events a year.



    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 23
    So many internet myths.  Rice as a desiccant for example. In one test done by Gazelle, it was rated the worst at moisture absorption among 7 items to use.  This was reinforced by a study done by Tek-Dry who commissioned consulting group DTJ to conduct research into the efficacy of rice. "In the experimental measurements, slightly more water was lost to evaporation simply by leaving the waterlogged device in an open room than by enclosing it in a container of rice," the study concludes. "  This makes sense as rice is ineffective in absorbing moisture from the air so leaving it in a room would allow for more air flow around the phone.


     What everyone does seem to agree on is that you shouldn't try and power it up until you are certain all the moisture is gone or you have a high risk of shorting out circuits.


  • Reply 11 of 23
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Again, under promise over delivery.
    newtonrjmike1watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 23
    Last September a friend left her iPhone 6 under water in her hot tub over night (about 15 inches under and 7-8 hours).  After retrieving it and shaking the water out, everything worked except the regular speaker.  Speaker phone and internet access worked fine.  The expert in the Apple Store checked it for backups and discovered that it had backed itself up to a Time Capsule after at least 2 hours from under the water.
    macpluspluswatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 23
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    skeese said:
    Last September a friend left her iPhone 6 under water in her hot tub over night (about 15 inches under and 7-8 hours).  After retrieving it and shaking the water out, everything worked except the regular speaker.  Speaker phone and internet access worked fine.  The expert in the Apple Store checked it for backups and discovered that it had backed itself up to a Time Capsule after at least 2 hours from under the water.
    That's better than the original story! :-D

    mike1macpluspluswatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 23
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    Perhaps we could focus on somethig more practical than storing electronic device under water. How about making the glass not breaking on some modest impacts?
    When one issue is addressed, some just keep moving the goal posts and whining further...
    watto_cobraRayz2016
  • Reply 15 of 23
    My iPhone 7 plus was on 1" of water for 30 seconds and was dead within 5 hours.  When I returned it to apple (who sold me a new one at a discount) they stated they have seen a number get returned and it's not waterproof and my experience was the norm from what they have seen/heard. 

    Bases on on how my phone died after such shallow and short exposure I would consider this a HUGE exception and likely to never be repeated.  The phone is not waterproof not even close. 
    brucemc
  • Reply 16 of 23
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    KingJames said:
    My iPhone 7 plus was on 1" of water for 30 seconds and was dead within 5 hours.  When I returned it to apple (who sold me a new one at a discount) they stated they have seen a number get returned and it's not waterproof and my experience was the norm from what they have seen/heard. 

    Bases on on how my phone died after such shallow and short exposure I would consider this a HUGE exception and likely to never be repeated.  The phone is not waterproof not even close. 

    Apple claims the iPhone 7 is water resistant, not exactly waterproof. There is a huge difference between being water resistant and waterproof.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 23
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    KingJames said:
    My iPhone 7 plus was on 1" of water for 30 seconds and was dead within 5 hours.  When I returned it to apple (who sold me a new one at a discount) they stated they have seen a number get returned and it's not waterproof and my experience was the norm from what they have seen/heard. 

    Bases on on how my phone died after such shallow and short exposure I would consider this a HUGE exception and likely to never be repeated.  The phone is not waterproof not even close. 
    Not conclusive at all, given the details you relate. Did you shake out the moisture? Did you vacuum around the openings and switches? Did you give it enough time to dry out? If no to sny of those, it's likely you fried the phone. Emphasis on "you."

    Afterthought: if one uses a vacuum cleaner, hold the nozzle a short distance away so as not to form a damaging suction on the speakers, etc.
    edited January 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 23
    Notsofast said:
    So many internet myths.  Rice as a desiccant for example. In one test done by Gazelle, it was rated the worst at moisture absorption among 7 items to use.  This was reinforced by a study done by Tek-Dry who commissioned consulting group DTJ to conduct research into the efficacy of rice. "In the experimental measurements, slightly more water was lost to evaporation simply by leaving the waterlogged device in an open room than by enclosing it in a container of rice," the study concludes. "  This makes sense as rice is ineffective in absorbing moisture from the air so leaving it in a room would allow for more air flow around the phone.

    What everyone does seem to agree on is that you shouldn't try and power it up until you are certain all the moisture is gone or you have a high risk of shorting out circuits.
    Dunno but the rice worked for my 4.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 23
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Notsofast said:
    So many internet myths.  Rice as a desiccant for example. In one test done by Gazelle, it was rated the worst at moisture absorption among 7 items to use.  This was reinforced by a study done by Tek-Dry who commissioned consulting group DTJ to conduct research into the efficacy of rice. "In the experimental measurements, slightly more water was lost to evaporation simply by leaving the waterlogged device in an open room than by enclosing it in a container of rice," the study concludes. "  This makes sense as rice is ineffective in absorbing moisture from the air so leaving it in a room would allow for more air flow around the phone.

    What everyone does seem to agree on is that you shouldn't try and power it up until you are certain all the moisture is gone or you have a high risk of shorting out circuits.
    Dunno but the rice worked for my 4.
    Maybe someone who is not Tek-Dry should do a test. Rice does a good job of keeping salt from caking.
    edited January 2017
  • Reply 20 of 23
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    KingJames said:
    My iPhone 7 plus was on 1" of water for 30 seconds and was dead within 5 hours.  When I returned it to apple (who sold me a new one at a discount) they stated they have seen a number get returned and it's not waterproof and my experience was the norm from what they have seen/heard. 

    Bases on on how my phone died after such shallow and short exposure I would consider this a HUGE exception and likely to never be repeated.  The phone is not waterproof not even close. 
    But it has been repeated by someone on this thread.
    watto_cobra
Sign In or Register to comment.