You Can Tell Siri How to Eject Water from Your iPhone—Here’s How

Did your iPhone go for an unforeseen swim? With a little help from Siri, you might be able to eject water from your iPhone and avoid an expensive repair bill. Here's how to do it.

It’s no secret that water and electronics don’t make a good pair. But considering how many of us carry our smartphones with us every day, it’s inevitable that these handy little personal assistants will take some unfortunate bumps, scrapes, falls, and sometimes, splashes and spills.

Most modern name-brand smartphones boast some degree of water resistance, with recent iPhones featuring an IP68 rating against dust and water ingress. They’re not waterproof, though, and if splashed or submerged, water can easily seep into your iPhone phone through connection ports and speaker grilles.

You may already know about using rice or even silica packets to absorb moisture from a wet cell phone, and perhaps you’ve even done it yourself before. What you may not know is that there is actually an iPhone trick you can use to expel water from your device with a little help from Siri, Apple’s virtual voice assistant.

Whether your phone already went for a swim and you’re in need of some immediate help or you just want another arrow in your iOS quiver, read on to see how to eject water from your iPhone.

Which iPhone models can eject water?

There are a lot of iPhone hacks you can use to streamline your iOS experience, and new ones seem to pop up with every firmware update. Currently, the Water Eject function is compatible with any iPhone running iOS 12 or a newer operating system. Since iOS 12 came out in 2018, that covers pretty much all recent iPhones, so chances are that you’re ready to set up and use the Water Eject function in your Shortcuts app.

What is the Water Eject function?

The Water Eject function is a feature that is designed to help you quickly and easily remove water from your iPhone’s speaker. Water damage can be a significant problem for smartphones, and the Water Eject function is intended to prevent water from causing long-term damage to your device.

How it works is quite simple: When you activate the Water Eject function, Siri will automatically play a specific tone that’s designed to push water out of the speaker. The sound wave vibrations created by the tone can help to dislodge water that may be trapped inside the speaker grille.

The Water Eject function is available on iPhone models that are equipped with stereo speakers and a water-resistant design, which covers the iPhone 7 and later models. To use the Water Eject function, you have to download the shortcut for it and added it to your Shortcuts app. Here’s how to do it.

How to eject water from your phone using Siri shortcuts

Mobile phone with water drops on a blue backgroundJose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images

This might seem like a funny thing to ask Siri, but Apple’s virtual assistant can indeed help to eject water from your iPhone that got a little too wet. To set up and use the Water Eject function in Shortcuts, follow these steps:

  1. In your iPhone’s web browser, download the Water Eject shortcut from the Shortcuts Gallery.
  2. Tap the “Add Shortcut” button when it appears. This will open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. (New iPhones come with the app pre-installed, but if you don’t have it on your device, you can download it from the App Store.) The Water Eject shortcut will then be installed.
  3. That’s it! You can now use Water Eject on your iPhone. If you want to customize your shortcut, you can add additional actions or modify the settings Water Eject in the Shortcuts app. Once you’ve finished customizing your shortcut, tap “Done” to save it.
  4. To activate the Water Eject function using your Siri shortcut, you can either say “Hey Siri, run Water Eject” or go to the Shortcuts app and tap Water Eject. Then, tap “Begin Water Ejection” when the prompt appears.

It’s important to remember that the Water Eject shortcut is not a foolproof solution for water damage and may not be effective in all situations. If your iPhone has been fully submerged in water or exposed to moisture for an extended period, we recommend you seek professional assistance to ensure that the device is thoroughly dried and any potential water damage is addressed.

Lucas Coll
Lucas covers personal tech, streaming and video games for Reader's Digest, U.S. News & World Report, SlickDeals, Business Insider, Digital Trends, Android Police and XDA Developers. He’s had a special interest in computers and consumer technology ever since his mother brought home a Nintendo when he was 4 years old (a decision she still regrets), and he's written everything from tech-related news and how-to articles to in-depth product features, buying guides and deal roundups. When he’s not writing, Lucas can usually be found in his Hobbit hole reading, gaming and messing about with computers.