iPhone survives three days underwater in turbulent Idaho river
A recovered iPhone was still playing an alarm when found after three days submerged in 10 feet of water, in the Blackfoot area of Idaho.
Idaho iPhone user Tom Adams (Source: Adams and East Idaho News)
River user Tom Adams capsized his kayak on June 12, 2021, and in the process lost his keys, fishing pole, wallet, and iPhone in the water. It's a credit to both the water resistance of Apple's engineers, and the battery life of the iPhone, though, because it was found still working on June 15.
To all our amazement, [the phone] was still on!" Adams told East Idaho News. "It was still alarming from my Sunday morning wake-up call reminder."
It's not known which model iPhone was involved, but a diving team recovered it alongside Adams' keys and fishing pole. The wallet was seemingly not found.
The divers were from the Bingham County Search and Rescue Dive Team, who performed the recovery operation as part of a life-saving practice exercise.
"They use opportunities like this to practice and get more dive time in to prepare for the real calls, and more important events such as lifesaving," continued Adams.. "Many members of the dive team met at the boat ramp, geared up, and hit the water. Because of the current, they had to use a safety line."
Snake River's strong current had made it seem unlikely that any items would be found. However, diver Jack Lusk recovered both the iPhone and the keys within 20 minutes of beginning the search.
"My family and I are incredibly grateful to the Bingham County Search and Rescue Dive Team," said Adams. "We were so impressed with all of them and are grateful they use these opportunities to practice for the real, and more important, duty of saving lives later on."
Adams' story was first spotted by iMore.
No iPhone is rated to survive under water for 72 hours like this. However, all iPhones since 2016 have offered at least some protection against water damage.
Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast -- and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.
Idaho iPhone user Tom Adams (Source: Adams and East Idaho News)
River user Tom Adams capsized his kayak on June 12, 2021, and in the process lost his keys, fishing pole, wallet, and iPhone in the water. It's a credit to both the water resistance of Apple's engineers, and the battery life of the iPhone, though, because it was found still working on June 15.
To all our amazement, [the phone] was still on!" Adams told East Idaho News. "It was still alarming from my Sunday morning wake-up call reminder."
It's not known which model iPhone was involved, but a diving team recovered it alongside Adams' keys and fishing pole. The wallet was seemingly not found.
The divers were from the Bingham County Search and Rescue Dive Team, who performed the recovery operation as part of a life-saving practice exercise.
"They use opportunities like this to practice and get more dive time in to prepare for the real calls, and more important events such as lifesaving," continued Adams.. "Many members of the dive team met at the boat ramp, geared up, and hit the water. Because of the current, they had to use a safety line."
Snake River's strong current had made it seem unlikely that any items would be found. However, diver Jack Lusk recovered both the iPhone and the keys within 20 minutes of beginning the search.
"My family and I are incredibly grateful to the Bingham County Search and Rescue Dive Team," said Adams. "We were so impressed with all of them and are grateful they use these opportunities to practice for the real, and more important, duty of saving lives later on."
Adams' story was first spotted by iMore.
No iPhone is rated to survive under water for 72 hours like this. However, all iPhones since 2016 have offered at least some protection against water damage.
Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast -- and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.
Comments
to put it another way, even if 99% of iPhone meet or exceed their IP claims, that's a lot of iPhones being used in ways Apple can't control that could've had their sealing measures compromised. One that I've personally encountered is when replacing a cracked display that I also had to purchase and replace the waterproof seal separately from iFixit and I honestly don't know if I did it correctly because I'm not going to submerge it to find out. Those little things are a bitch to replace and being off slightly could easily allow egress.
Of course, you'll say that breaking the display and fixing it yourself voids the warranty and you'd be correct, but what about an authorized 3rd-party shop (which I've experienced many stupid repair errors or maybe) some slight damage that bends the frame at the edge enough to allow a minute opening for even a single water molecule? Would the user even know this is the case and not the fault of Apple? Probably not.