Even though many Airpod varieties are touted as being water-resistant, this definitely doesn’t mean waterproof, and it means that at some point it is likely that owners of Airpods will need to know how to get water out of them.
This can happen in countless ways, from being stuck in a downpour to having an accident while listening to morning music in the bathroom, but the end result is the same, Airpods with water in them that needs to come out.
There is no definitive, single way to get water out of your Airpods in a safe way while retaining their functionality, but there are multiple things that can be tried. One of the best things to do right away is to begin drying them with a lint-free cloth. You can also utilize the water ejection shortcut to mechanically force the water out, and in some cases, a silica desiccant can be tried.
Table of Contents
1. Wiping With A Cloth
Using a lint-free cloth is one of the most effective ways to get water out of Airpods, and it uses water’s own physics against it.
A highly-absorbant lint-free cloth will clean the outside of the Airpods of excess water, and it will help draw out the water inside.
It does this through the use of capillary action and surface tension, which can be used to pull out small quantities of water that are still in physical contact with other drops of water.
This is the first step that should be done, and it should be done as soon as the user is no longer exposed to the conditions that exposed the Airpods to water in the first place.
Not only will it prevent further penetration of water into the Airpods, but it will start the process of pulling water out of the Airpod housing as well.
Use the cloth to completely wipe the outside of the Airpods, and use it to dab at the grill of the speaker in an attempt to draw out as much moisture as possible.
2. Water Ejection Shortcut
Apple is one of the more innovative manufacturers out there, and they undoubtedly saw the potential for Airpods that take on water, so they made a physical method of water ejection possible, under the right circumstances.
This uses a complex array of sounds to vibrate the water out of the Airpods.
Start by making sure that your iPhone allows untrusted shortcuts, by going to Settings, then Shortcuts.
Once in the Shortcuts menu, turn on Private Sharing.
Then, from one of the many shortcut-sharing platforms, find a reputable link for the Water Ejection functions.
Then you’ll need to tap Get Shortcut, then Add Shortcut.
Once you add the shortcut, it will appear in your My Shortcuts screen.
From there, you can simply tap the shortcut, and choose to begin.
You should start to see water coming out of the Airpods now, simply use your cloth to continue absorbing it.
Repeat the shortcut until there is no more water coming out of the units.
3. Silica Desiccant
Now the last thing you want to do is toss your Airpods in a bowl of rice or something similar.
While a common meme on social media, this isn’t an accurate representation of how to dry things with desiccation.
All this will do is give you Airpods full of rice starch.
You need to use a legitimate desiccant agent, like silica gel.
This will help draw the moisture out from the Airpods, but it needs to be done last, so that the drying agent is able to remove the remaining micro-droplets of water, and won’t be overpowered by water that should have been wiped off.
What Happens If I Get Water in My Airpods?
If your Airpods are exposed to a significant amount of water (a little bit of sweat or rain won’t cause them to stop working) they will likely stop working.
The reason behind this is that the water infiltration causes two internal components to electrically connect, which should not be electrically connected.
This leads to a short circuit, which is nearly always the cause of a complete product failure.
Water alone doesn’t conduct electrical current very easily, however, the higher the levels of salts or dissolved minerals in the water, the more conductive it becomes.
This means that exposure to rainwater or water that has been through filtration of some sort is often easier to recover from than dropping your Airpods in a saltwater fish tank at the local aquarium.
In Summary
As you can see, while it is possible to get water out of your Airpods, it isn’t always easy.
Depending on the circumstances that led to them getting water inside them, it may even be a fruitless waste of time because they may already be damaged beyond repair.
If they were only exposed to clean water without significant quantities of salt or dissolved minerals, however, then it may be possible to use a cloth, water ejection shortcut, and a silica desiccant to get them up and running again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Aren’t My Airpods Waterproof?
No, actually they aren’t.
While some of the newer versions of the Airpod Pro and Airpod Max models do have incredibly high water-resistance ratings, they still are not waterproof.
This means that with exposure to severe enough conditions, or for long enough periods, will nearly always result in water getting into the Airpods.
Does Android Have A Water Eject Shortcut
Unfortunately, there is no Android equivalent to the water eject shortcut.
However, there are some content creators that have made YouTube videos that create similar sounds to help drive water from tech items.
