Standard warranty versus AppleCare+
Apple states it plainly: service for liquid damage to an iPhone is not covered by the Apple One-Year Limited Warranty. That is the default position for a phone bought without additional cover, and the IP68 rating on the box does not change it.
AppleCare+ is a different product with different terms. It adds accidental damage cover, and liquid damage is accidental damage. At the time of writing the service fee is $29 for screen or back glass and $99 for other accidental damage, which is where a liquid claim normally lands, with no cap on the number of incidents. Fees vary by region and change over time, so treat those numbers as the shape of the deal rather than a quote.
| Standard warranty | AppleCare+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Liquid damage | Not covered | Covered as accidental damage |
| Typical cost to you | Full repair price | Flat service fee |
| Number of claims | n/a | No stated limit |
| Manufacturing faults | Covered | Covered |
| Red liquid indicator | Blocks a liquid claim | Does not block an accidental damage claim |
Where the liquid contact indicator is on your model
The Liquid Contact Indicator is a small strip of tape that is white or silver when dry and turns red once it touches water. Technicians use it to decide whether a fault is liquid related, and you can often check it yourself in a few seconds.
On iPhone 5 through iPhone 13, eject the SIM tray and look inside the slot with a bright light: the indicator sits on the wall of the cavity. US models of iPhone 14, 15 and 16 are eSIM only and have no SIM tray, so there is no indicator you can inspect at all. On those phones the indicator lives inside the device, and only a technician who opens it will see it.
- iPhone 5 to iPhone 13: inside the SIM tray slot
- US iPhone 14, 15, 16: eSIM only, no externally visible indicator
- Non-US models with a SIM tray: check the slot as above
- White or silver means no water contact detected; fully red means it has
A red indicator is not the end of the conversation
A tripped indicator does not void your warranty wholesale. It tells Apple that liquid reached the phone, which means a liquid-related fault will not be covered under the standard warranty. A genuinely unrelated manufacturing fault is a separate question, and Apple's own guidance is to have the device inspected even when you can see a red indicator.
There is also an honest wrinkle worth knowing. Apple says the indicators are not activated by humidity or temperature changes within normal operating conditions. 3M, which manufactures the indicator tape, has acknowledged that humidity alone can turn it pink or red. Both statements can coexist, because normal operating conditions and a steamy bathroom are not the same environment. The practical consequence is that a red indicator is evidence rather than proof, and it is reasonable to say so politely if your phone never met water.
If you are outside the United States, consumer law may give you rights beyond Apple's warranty terms, particularly in the EU, the UK and Australia. Apple's own liquid damage page points this out. It is worth a search for your country's statutory rights before accepting a repair quote.
What to do before you book an appointment
Do the free things first, because a phone that recovers on its own needs no appointment. Power it off, dry the exterior, clear the speaker grille with a low-frequency eject tone, and leave it port-down in moving air. Many wet-phone symptoms, muffled speakers especially, resolve entirely at this stage.
Then document what happened. Note the liquid involved, roughly how long the exposure lasted, and what stopped working and when. A technician's first questions are exactly these, and answering them precisely separates you from the many people who arrive saying only that the phone got wet. If the exposure was salt water or a sugary drink, say so, because both leave conductive residue that needs cleaning rather than drying.
Finally, check whether you have AppleCare+ before you assume you do not. It can be bought within a limited window after purchase, is sometimes bundled by carriers or credit cards, and people forget they have it. The Settings app shows your coverage under General then About.
When third-party repair makes more sense
Without AppleCare+, an independent repair shop is often the cheaper route for liquid problems specifically, because the common fixes are cleaning rather than replacement. Residue on charging port pins, a corroded speaker mesh, or a socket that needs isopropyl treatment are routine bench jobs, priced far below a device replacement.
The trade is that unauthorised repair can affect later Apple service and may replace parts with non-original components, which iOS can flag. For an out-of-warranty phone that Apple would not cover anyway, that trade is usually worth making. For a phone still inside AppleCare+, it rarely is: pay the service fee and keep the coverage intact.