iPhone 7 survives two day 30-foot submergence, text at depth alerts diver

Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2018
Thanks to the magic of waterproof cases, an iPhone 7 lost overboard during a vacation not only got a text message alerting a diver to its location, but kept 84 percent battery life through the ordeal.

The iPhone's lightning port


A scuba diver this week was stunned to make a discovery on a dive off the coast of Dorset, England- a lost iPhone that lit up when a text came through.

According to The Daily Mirror,, and assorted other reports, diver Cerys Hearsey noticed something lighting up on the seabed roughly 30 feet down from the water. It was an iPhone, in a waterproof case receiving a text message.

Upon returning to the surface with her find, Hearsey scrolled through the contacts. The owner lives in Canada, but lost the phone on a kayaking expedition.

The cousin of the owner was determined to be Rob Smith, a UK resident. Hearsey returned it to Smith, and the iPhone is in the process of being returned to the owner through international mail.

The cousin, who thought the phone was lost for good after the two-day dunk not only is getting it back, but as a bonus got to be part of an international news story.

Scuba diver found tourist's lost iPhone at the bottom of the sea... when it lit up https://t.co/X8bqevSPq2

-- The Sun (@TheSun)

The phone is an iPhone 7, according to the Sun. While the make and model of the waterproof case is unknown, it certainly did its job in this instance. AppleInsider suggests that the case manufacturer contact Smith, as it appears the next ad copy for the case is already written.

Apple has reportedly worked on making iPhones and other devices that are themselves waterproof, with a patent approved last month for "Sealed accessories for electronic devices."
fotoformat

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    Some of the electronics today are amazingly water resistant. We just had a local story where a diver discovered a submerged GoPro in the Gulf of Mexico. Brought it to the surface and charged it to find it still worked after 4 years under saltwater! 

    Upon seeing it had video of someone's wedding he made it a mission to find the original owner by posting an image from it on social media, and was successful.  

    https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-sarasota-manatee/venice/man-finds-gopro-in-gulf-of-mexico-hopes-to-reunite-it-with-owner-using-photo-taken-4-years-ago
    edited July 2018 fotoformatspinnydjbdragonJaiOh81muthuk_vanalingamelijahg
  • Reply 2 of 14
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    I just don't see how it's possible that the iPhone could pick up a usable cellular signal at 30 below the surface in sea water. The signal attenuation at high frequencies like GSM in salt water is significant. For the phone to talk back to the tower would require a lot more power than the battery life indicated. I suspect that the notification was from something other than a recent message.

    This highly technical paper agrees with what I know (and I'm a EE):
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4934316/
    bsimpsenJWSCradarthekatsphericwatto_cobraelijahg
  • Reply 3 of 14
    bsimpsenbsimpsen Posts: 398member
    The most magical aspect of this story is the ability of a cellular signal to penetrate 30 feet of saltwater.
    ajljbdragonJWSCsphericwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 4 of 14
    It is not possible for the phone to retain a signal 30 feet underwater.  I've taken my iPhone in a waterproof case and it *always* loses signal when I get no more than 3 feet underwater.  Heck, I lose signal taking pictures in a swimming pool.

    The DoD has spent millions of dollars coming up with methods to communicate with submarines; they still have to poke an aerial above the waves to receive radio and/or satellite signals, even in this day and age.  (most communications methods for submarines do not use radio.)

    in reality, any notification (from a calendar alert, a reminder, or something internal to the phone) could have lit up the display.  It would not have to be a text message or other kind of communication.

    I'm actually surprised after two days of being immersed that the battery hadn't gone dead.  The radios in the phone should have been *screaming* at full power trying to get signal, which tends to kill your battery.  Try forgetting to enable airplane mode next time you fly-- your battery gets immolated pretty quickly.

    edited July 2018 JWSCwatto_cobraelijahgwillcropoint
  • Reply 5 of 14
    backstabbackstab Posts: 138member
    I wonder if the boat that the diver was on, maybe had some sort of cellular relay equipment on it, or something. Lit up a signal (and thereby lit up the phone w/ an incoming)
    redgeminipawatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 14
    linkmanlinkman Posts: 1,035member
    ajl said:
    bsimpsen said:
    The most magical aspect of this story is the ability of a cellular signal to penetrate 30 feet of saltwater.
    And what about "Hearsey scrolled through the contacts"? So he found an unlocked iPhone lying underwater at 30 feet and with signal field...
    Not everyone uses a passcode.
    redgeminipawatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 14
    linkman said:
    I just don't see how it's possible that the iPhone could pick up a usable cellular signal at 30 below the surface in sea water. The signal attenuation at high frequencies like GSM in salt water is significant. For the phone to talk back to the tower would require a lot more power than the battery life indicated. I suspect that the notification was from something other than a recent message.

    This highly technical paper agrees with what I know (and I'm a EE):
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4934316/
    A year ago in may I dropped my iPhone 7 into approx 7 feet of seawater. Right of my dock while I was putting the cover in. Black iPhone 7 in a ball case that also held my drivers license and two credit cards.
    Its a very muddy bottom, and I dove into the water to try to find it with no luck. "find iPhone" seemed to be working for about 30 minutes then it gave up. Within 30 minutes of loosing it, all calls to the phone went to voicemail.
    so no - not even 7 feet in salt water.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 14
    So you guys make a post about an iPhone 7 and use an iPhone 6 for the leading picture. Way to go  
    watto_cobraalanh
  • Reply 9 of 14
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    Clearly Apple has secretly added a new chip into the last few iPhone models that enables quantum entanglement action-at-a-distance communications.  Take that, Qualcomm!  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 14
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    linkman said:
    I just don't see how it's possible that the iPhone could pick up a usable cellular signal at 30 below the surface in sea water. The signal attenuation at high frequencies like GSM in salt water is significant. For the phone to talk back to the tower would require a lot more power than the battery life indicated. I suspect that the notification was from something other than a recent message.

    This highly technical paper agrees with what I know (and I'm a EE):
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4934316/

     We are talking about The Sun here....think National Enquirer

    .radarthekat said:
    Clearly Apple has secretly added a new chip into the last few iPhone models that enables quantum entanglement action-at-a-distance communications.  Take that, Qualcomm!  

    "We invented that...see you in court."...Qualcomm
    watto_cobraelijahg
  • Reply 11 of 14
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,093member
    The diver in me would have put the phone in airplane mode prior to putting it in the case.  Makes no sense to have the radio on knowing it’s going underwater.
  • Reply 12 of 14
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    So you guys make a post about an iPhone 7 and use an iPhone 6 for the leading picture. Way to go  
    Welcome...
  • Reply 13 of 14
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    bsimpsen said:
    The most magical aspect of this story is the ability of a cellular signal to penetrate 30 feet of saltwater.
    Well, it is the Daily Mirror...
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