What to do when your iPhone 7 shows liquid has been detected warning (easy steps)

The iOS 10 platform features a warning system that prompts users whenever the device detects moisture or liquid traces in the Lightning port and it says, “Disconnect lightning accessory. Liquid has been detected in the Lightning connector. To protect your iPhone, disconnect this Lightning accessory and allow the connector to dry.”

The warning usually occurs when charging or plugging your iPhone to a computer through USB connector. And it can be true if your iPhone’s charging port is damp or slightly wet. Otherwise, the warning occurs as a glitch, which means there is something on your iPhone system that needs to be fixed. If you’ve bumped into this post while searching for potential solutions to this same issue on your iPhone 7, then this content might be able to help you out. Read on to find out what options you can try on whenever needed.

But before anything else, if you have other concerns with your iPhone 7, make sure you drop by our troubleshooting page for we have already addressed some of the most commonly reported issues with this new iPhone. If you need further assistance or if you can’t find what you’re looking for in that page, fill up our iPhone issues questionnaire and hit submit. Don’t worry, it’s a free consultation service so you don’t have to worry about anything. Just give us more information about the problem and we’ll do our best to help you fix it.

Verify and ensure that the charging port or Lightning port is dry.

To prevent damaging your iPhone, better inspect the charging port to find out if it’s really damp. To get this done, turn off your device then thoroughly check the inner port. If necessary, give it a few minutes to dry. Afterwards, try to plug the data cable into the port and see if the warning still shows up. If it still does even and you’re certain that your iPhone is dry, then troubleshoot software problems on your device.

Soft reset/Force restart.

If it has just occurred on your iPhone to show this warning, then it’s probably just a random glitch, which is usually remedied by a soft reset or device restart. That said, reboot your iPhone 7 or perform a soft reset with these steps:

Press and hold the Power button until the Slide to Power off menu appears.
Drag the slider to the right to power off your device.
After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power button again until the Apple logo appears.

Alternatively, you can do a force restart to clear any rogue apps on your iPhone 7 that might have triggered this warning to occur whenever you plug a cable into the charging/Lightning port.

To force your iPhone 7 to restart, press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously for about 20 to 30 seconds and then release both buttons when the Apple logo appears.

Both these methods won’t affect data stored on the internal memory of your device, hence all your files remain intact afterwards.

Reset all settings on your iPhone 7.

Settings that are messed up from a faulty update can also cause your device to act oddly and the warning you see can be one of the symptoms. In this case, try to reset all settings on your iPhone 7 to restore the original or default settings. Here’s how it’s done:

Navigate to Settings-> General menu.
Scroll to and tap Reset.
Enter your device passcode, if prompted.
Select the option to Reset all settings.

Allow your iPhone to reboot after the system settings reset and then configure necessary options accordingly. Try plugging the Lightning cable into the charging/Lightning port and see if the warning is gone.

Update software to the latest version available.

Bugs and malware are likewise deemed among other possible culprits. Should this be what’s causing your iPhone to prompt the warning, installing a new software update will likely get rid of it. Apple has rolled out the latest version of iOS in the later week of April. If you haven’t set your device to automatically install update, then you need to manually check and install available update. Here’s what you should do then:

Navigate to Settings-> General-> Software Update menu.
If you see a message saying that an update is available, tap Download and Install button to continue.
To update software now, tap Install. Otherwise, tap Later and then select Install Tonight or Remind Me Later.

If you’d prefer to Install Tonight, plug your iPhone into power to ensure it has enough juice to get the update finished. Your device will implement the update automatically overnight.

Reset or restore your iPhone 7.

A factory reset and iOS restore are the last options to consider if the issue persists after performing all prior workarounds. The main trigger could be a complex system error, making your device suddenly insensible. In this case, you can first try a master reset or to wipe your iPhone and restore its default settings. This can be carried out through your iPhone settings.

To do so, head over to Settings-> General-> Reset-> Erase all contents and settings.

Alternatively, you can reset and restore your iPhone 7 through iTunes on your computer. However, you will likely to get the same warning prompt the moment you plug the USB cable into your iPhone’s charging/Lightning port. That said, a factory reset via settings is recommended. Don’t forget to back up all your critical data beforehand. You can back them up to iCloud or to iTunes.

Aside from the standard iOS restore, you also have other alternative ways to restore your iPhone, either recovery mode or DFU mode. These are a more advanced system restore you can try when dealing with more intricate software issues that could not be rectified by the usual system reset. Both methods result to data loss hence creating backups is highly recommended.

Ask more help from Apple Tech

If it instigated after installing a new software update, then you can escalate the problem to your carrier or Apple Support for them to assess the issue further and if necessary, tag it among other post-update issues to fix in the next update rollout. In this case, you can just neglect the warning the moment it appears. It only occurs the moment you plug your iPhone into power or your computer though so it can still be endured.

Whenever you run out of options and the liquid has been detected warning keeps showing on your iPhone 7, service would be your last best hope. It is but possible that your device really had acquired any sort of liquid damage and that the warning prompt you’re seeing is it’s way of letting you know that a certain component needs repair.

Connect with us

If you need more help with the use of certain functions and features of the new Apple iPhone 8 smartphone, feel free to visit our Tutorial Page. There you can find a list of how-to contents, step-by-step tutorials, as well as answers to FAQs regarding iPhone 8. If you have other concerns or encountered some troubles while using the phone, you can reach us through this form. Just be sure to tell us more details of the problem or device issue(s) you may have and we will be more than happy to assist you further.

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