Disney returns working iPhone to owner, after two months underwater
An iPhone thought lost forever was returned to a family by Disney officials after scuba divers found the still working device.
Cinderella's Castle at Orlando's Walt Disney World
While on a trip to Disney World, Lisa and Jacob Troyer had a not-so-magical experience and dropped their iPhone 11 into the Seven Seas Lagoon. The family informed a Disney employee and left their information, doubtful of any recovery of the photos even if the device were found. They were assured, however, that the diving team found things all the time, and the phone may be recovered.
"I was upset to have lost my phone, and the pictures I had taken that evening of Disney's Halloween party, which had been the main event for our trip," said Lisa Troyer. "Our six-year-old daughter was particularly devastated, as pictures of her and Jack Skellington would never materialize; instead, they sat at the bottom of a lagoon."
Two months later, Disney reached out to the family to say that the lost iPhone had been recovered. The iPhone showed up in the mail, fully functional.
"I was able to retrieve all of the pictures from our Disney Halloween night, and besides some sand in my case and a little algae on the cover, the phone seems no worse for the wear," she said, noting that the device was only protected by a thin silicone case.
The recovered iPhone 11 (photo credit: MacRumors)
The family reached out to Tim Cook who thanked them for sharing their story. Jacob Troyer reached out to MacRumors to relay the events.
The improved water resistance of the iPhone 11 is to thank for the devices working condition. The iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have IP68 ratings, but have different standards. The iPhone 11 Pro can withstand 4 meters submerged for 30 minutes, while the iPhone 11 and iPhone XS series can only be submerged 2 meters for 30 minutes.
Even though the rating calls for such, as long as the integrity of the phone holds, it will work again once dried off. The first iPhone to feature a water resistance rating was the iPhone 7 series at IP67.
Cinderella's Castle at Orlando's Walt Disney World
While on a trip to Disney World, Lisa and Jacob Troyer had a not-so-magical experience and dropped their iPhone 11 into the Seven Seas Lagoon. The family informed a Disney employee and left their information, doubtful of any recovery of the photos even if the device were found. They were assured, however, that the diving team found things all the time, and the phone may be recovered.
"I was upset to have lost my phone, and the pictures I had taken that evening of Disney's Halloween party, which had been the main event for our trip," said Lisa Troyer. "Our six-year-old daughter was particularly devastated, as pictures of her and Jack Skellington would never materialize; instead, they sat at the bottom of a lagoon."
Two months later, Disney reached out to the family to say that the lost iPhone had been recovered. The iPhone showed up in the mail, fully functional.
"I was able to retrieve all of the pictures from our Disney Halloween night, and besides some sand in my case and a little algae on the cover, the phone seems no worse for the wear," she said, noting that the device was only protected by a thin silicone case.
The recovered iPhone 11 (photo credit: MacRumors)
The family reached out to Tim Cook who thanked them for sharing their story. Jacob Troyer reached out to MacRumors to relay the events.
The improved water resistance of the iPhone 11 is to thank for the devices working condition. The iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have IP68 ratings, but have different standards. The iPhone 11 Pro can withstand 4 meters submerged for 30 minutes, while the iPhone 11 and iPhone XS series can only be submerged 2 meters for 30 minutes.
Even though the rating calls for such, as long as the integrity of the phone holds, it will work again once dried off. The first iPhone to feature a water resistance rating was the iPhone 7 series at IP67.
Comments
Looks like the real life resistance is even better.
That said, it sounds like the family wasn't using iCloud syncing at all, based on comments that they've made. I'm glad that Disney was able to fish the iPhone out.
1) Automatic backup is enabled
2) The iPhone is connected to power
3) The iPhone is connected to WiFi
4) The screen is locked
So, even if #1 was enabled, sitting in the bottom of the lagoon would only result in #4, and possibly #3, if they joined the iPhone to the Disney WiFi network, although the signal would probably get attenuated quite a bit by the water. But, regardless, it didn’t have #2.
“Disney returns working iPhone to owner, after two months underwater”
The IP rating is simply a rating. How it is met doesn't depend on the presence of audio jacks, removable batteries etc.
In fact, there was no guarantee that this particular phone would survive either and away from exceptional cases like this one, the impact on repairability or replacing is unnecessarily high IMO.
IIRC Apple (and most other manufacturers) doesn't guarantee the water resistance of the IP rating either. Apple has a disclaimer pointing out that even the given rating could be reduced through normal wear.
Having a phone that can resist water is nice but so is an easily replaceable battery. It is possible for both concepts to co-exist on the same device.
Whenever a phone is submerged in water (or lost in water) you still have to cross your fingers. I'm happy for the owners of this phone because they retrieved the device AND got the contents off. Luckily involuntary water immersion is not a common occurrence. Battery replacement is.