My iPhone 16 Pro was dropped a few months ago and got a dent, so I'm concerned the water-resistant seal may have been compromised. Last week the phone got wet and warned me when I plugged in a cable. I tried charging it anyway, and since then wired charging has been unreliable: sometimes it doesn't charge, sometimes charging stops, and occasionally I get a rapidly appearing and disappearing prompt asking whether I want to allow the connected device to access my phone. MagSafe charging still works.
An Apple Store employee ran diagnostics and tested a cable, but the phone happened to charge normally at the appointment, so they said everything looked fine. It worked for a few days afterward, then the wired-charging problem returned. I recorded a video showing the issue, but I'm unsure whether that will be enough for AppleCare+ to cover a repair or replacement. I live far from the store and appointments are difficult to get, so I'd like to know how best to handle the next visit.
3 Answers
The store may be able to authorize a covered repair for the charging system even if they can’t reproduce the fault immediately, particularly if you have a clear video and the phone has already been examined. Be upfront that liquid exposure could be involved, since the repair technician needs to check for corrosion or other internal damage.
AppleCare+ may still help, but liquid damage usually depends on what the technician finds and may involve the accidental-damage deductible. Simply saying the phone got wet isn’t always enough for a liquid-damage claim, especially with water-resistant phones; they generally look for physical signs or internal evidence. Ask them to note the intermittent wired-charging failure and inspect the port and internal components.
Take it back and explain that the problem returned after the appointment. Bring the recording and clearly mention both the liquid exposure and the earlier damage. A problem that doesn’t happen during a short test can still be intermittent, and the video gives them something to document and investigate.
If liquid damage is found during the repair, the service plan may treat it differently and charge the applicable replacement deductible. It’s worth asking about that before approving the work.