What does liquid in Lightning connector mean?

Table of Contents Show

1. Remove the Lightning Accessory and Dry out the Moisture
2. Dismiss It When the Liquid Detection Alert Appears
3. Reboot It If the iPhone Charging Is Still Not Available
4. Fix the Liquid Detected in Lightning Connector Bug If It Is a Software Issue
5. Take Your iPhone to the Closest Apple Store

When iPhone detects liquid in the lighting port or on the lightning cable, it sends alerts.
This does not necessarily mean that there is liquid in your charging port or your cable is wet, it could also happen due to moisture in the area.
The feature is only available to iPhones including the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, or later

Ever received alerts like “Charging not Available” while charging your iPhone? Do not freak out, your charger has not gone kaput. There is probably some water in your iPhone’s charging port or the cable. Such alerts are sent to users when the iPhone detects liquid in the lighting port or on the lightning cable. However, not all iPhone users will get such alerts, the feature is only available to iPhones including the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, or later

I got a similar alert on my iPhone when I plugged my phone into the charger. The alert read, “Charging Not Available. Liquid has been detected in the Lightning connector. Disconnect to allow the connector to dry. Charging now may damage your iPhone.” I quickly checked if there is water in my charging cable or the charging port, but there was none. I disconnected the charger two three times and plugged it again, but it still showed the same message. I finally removed the charger and replugged it again after some time. This time it worked.

This does not necessarily mean that there is liquid in your charging port or your cable is wet, it could also happen due to moisture in the area. Apple has rolled out this feature to help users prevent their phones from damage that liquid might bring. The charging and accessory connection remain unavailable until the Lightning port and the accessory are dry.

However, if despite repeated warnings you do not disconnect your charger, the pins on the Lightning port or the cable can corrode and cause permanent damage or stop functioning, causing connectivity issues for your iPhone or accessory. But if there is an emergency, and you want to charge your phone immediately, you have the option of liquid detection and charge your iPhone. Or you can wait for some time, pat your phone dry or use a cloth to clean the accessories and the charging port. This would help save your phone from damages.

In case you plan to manually dry your iPhone, do not your iPhone using an external heat source like a hairdryer or something similar. Do not insert anything like a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the Lightning connector. Also, do not put your iPhone in a bag of rice, as the small particles might enter your iPhone through the port and cause damage.

That said, if you get the “Charging Not Available” alert every time you plug in your device to the charger, do visit a service center. Because the chances are that your cable or accessory might be damaged.

Apple often releases beta versions for testing to ensure the new updates are user-friendly and do not contain bugs. However, a "Liquid Detected in Lightning Connector" message has been troubling iOS 14 and 15 users as seen on various forums like Reddit. Let's shed some light on this matter.

A mechanism is inbuilt in the iPhone software that detects moisture in the lightning port of the device. This function is beneficial as the charging and headphone connection shares the same port.

Since the phone internals is vulnerable to liquid, any system is built to inform the user in emergencies. But, the problem arises when it shows the same message even when the phone is dry as desert sand.

The problem is shared among newer models like iPhone X, iPhone SE2, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. The message pops up without any reason and disrupts the easy surfing of the device. No particular case got pinpointed as the root cause after thousands of reports against the bug. So, people began searching for ideas or tricks to get past the message.

If a user plugs in wet cables or has moisture in the charging port, the pins in both parts can sustain damage. The phone might show one of the two messages regarding the immediate measures you can take in such cases.

The first message will notify the users about the liquid detected in the lightning connector. As a countermeasure, it will suggest the users disconnect the charger and let it dry for several hours. The message will read iPhone charging not available.
The second case of this message pop up is liquid detected by the sensors after you connect an accessory. The iPhone will suggest you dry the addition and try again.

In either of the cases, you can choose to override the message and force charge your phone. It will pose a risk to the phone, but people are willing to take the chance during emergencies. Another great option could be a wireless charger. You should always make sure that the back of the phone is dry before you put it on a wireless charger.

Okay, the phone is showing the message that reads liquid detection. What are the steps you can take to get rid of this situation? Before we advise you on what to do, let's look at what you should not do in haste.

Do not use hair dryers or any heat source to dry the moisture.
In an attempt to suck out the moisture, do not insert swabs or any cotton products inside the lightning connector.
People often insert their phones in rice to eliminate moisture. The small rice particles can enter and escalate the problem.

Now, let's take a look at the things we should do in case of the "liquid detection in lightning connector" message:

1. Remove the Lightning Accessory and Dry out the Moisture

The first method is to comply with the message procedure. Pull out the charger from the lightning port and let it dry. If your phone has some moisture trapped inside, you should keep it upright to drain the liquid. In this process, you should not shake the phone or blow the lightning port. It might worsen the case.

2. Dismiss It When the Liquid Detection Alert Appears

When the message that hints "liquid detection in lightning connector" appears, the reasonable step should be dismissing the news first and then finding other solutions. The pop-up comes with an option to dismiss the message and perform an emergency override. You can see the actual steps in the picture below:

3. Reboot It If the iPhone Charging Is Still Not Available

If you still face issues with this message after applying the first two methods, you can try restarting your iPhone.

4. Fix the Liquid Detected in Lightning Connector Bug If It Is a Software Issue

The problems with an unwanted message regarding liquid detection are mainly seen in phones that run on iOS 14 and 15. People are now skeptical of the operating system. So, fixing the bug on the operating system will get rid of this problem.

But there is a problem in the process. Apple devices are highly secured, so manipulating its OS could lead to a disaster. To safely approach this method, we recommend Tenorshare ReiBoot. It allows the users to reboot their devices without the risk of data loss safely. Let's go through the steps individually:

Download the ReiBoot application on your PC or Mac. Then you need to connect your device to the system and wait until it gets detected. Once the detection is done, click on the Start button.
The UI will give you two options to choose the type of reboot. Click on the Standard Repair option.
The next screen will provide you an option to download the suitable firmware for your devices. Click on the Download button, and the application will search for the best firmware and download it. The process might take several minutes, so we recommend you patiently wait till it's done.
Once the system completes downloading the firmware, click on the Start Standard Repair button to safely recover the phone. After some time, the screen will show a finished message and a Done button at the bottom.

Let's see what users say about ReiBoot.

“Have you guys know ReiBoot? Amazing, it helped my phone get out of the stuck screen.” -From a Tenorshare Reddit User.

5. Take Your iPhone to the Closest Apple Store

If the methods we discussed earlier do not work, then you will have no option but to take it to a professional. Do not attempt to open the device or poke anything if the phone shows "Liquid detection in Lightning Connector." Let the authorized people deal with the problem.

Getting liquid stuck in your mobile or getting the messages of "Liquid detection in Lightning Connector" without any reason means a lot of trouble for the user. We recommend you use the methods we listed in the article. You can use Tenorshare ReiBoot to recover your iPhone safely. There will be no issues related to data loss.

You no longer have to worry about the message ruining your phone experience. A simple solution can be applied through Tenorshare ReiBoot to get rid of issues related to Liquid detection in the lightning Connector.