Diver Discovers iPhone Lost In River, Manages To Turn On After 15 Months Submerged

Sometimes the resiliency of our mobile devices can be surprising. Now, it is obvious that when Apple designed their iPhones that they were clearly not aiming for ruggedness. This is why display repairs are so common due to them seemingly cracking relatively easily upon being dropped.

This is why sometimes when we hear stories about iPhones surviving drops, it can be a pleasant surprise. According to a report from WDAM, a diver by the name of Michael Bennett made an interesting discovery during one of his dives, in which he found an iPhone at the bottom of the Edisto River. According to Bennett, “I came across something that looked kind of like a rope maybe attached to car keys, and when I pulled it up, I seen a phone inside of a waterproof case and I’m like, ‘No way, this is unbelievable.’”

What made it even more unbelievable was that when he charged it, it turned on and seemed to be in working condition. Due to the passcode on the phone, Bennett could not bypass the lockscreen, so what he did was take out the SIM card and put it into another device which allowed him to retrieve the owner’s contact details.

He managed to get in touch with the owner, Erica Bennett (not related) who was very emotional about getting her device back. This is because the phone contained text messages from her late father that she was keeping. “It was kind of emotional because the last thing I have from him is saying, ‘Hey I’m playing phone tag with you, so I just figured I just text you, how are you feeling?’ And I think he had called me after that. I’m pretty sure it was Father’s Day.”

The device isn’t in perfect condition due to it being submerged for more than a year, but thankfully its waterproof casing did help prevent more serious damage.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: iPhone