Your AirPods Pro 2 took an unexpected swim, maybe the washing machine, a puddle, or the kitchen sink. The next hour matters more than anything else. The IPX4 rating on these buds handles sweat and a light rain shower, but full submersion is a different story. Survival depends entirely on how fast you dry them out and whether or not you accidentally short the internals by trying to use them.
First and absolute rule: don't plug them in, don't put them in the case, and don't tap play. Electricity meeting water inside a tiny electrical component is what kills earbuds, not the water sitting there on its own. Apple's warranty won't cover liquid damage, so this is a race against corrosion forming on the charging contacts, speaker mesh, and microphone vents.
Drop your phone or anything else you're holding. Let's get started.
Keep the Case Closed and the Buds Out of It
If the buds were already inside the case when it got wet, take them out immediately. The case will try to trickle-charge them as long as it has battery, and that sends power straight through wet contacts. That's the fastest way to turn a wet-but-recoverable set of AirPods Pro 2 into a permanent paperweight.
Leave the case lid wide open and set it aside. The buds themselves need to sit out, separate from the case, for at least 24 hours. Don't pair them, don't check battery status, don't open the case near your iPhone (that triggers the pairing handshake and wakes everything up).
Shake the Water Out of the Mesh and Ports
Hold each AirPod Pro 2 by the stem with the speaker mesh pointing down. Give it a few gentle shakes to let gravity pull any pooled water out of the mesh openings and the microphone vents near the stem. Don't fling it like a thermometer, just a steady downward motion until you don't see droplets falling.
For the case, hold it upside down with the lid open and tap it lightly in your palm. The USB-C port on the bottom is the biggest trap for water. Tilt the case so that port points to the floor and let it drain. A few short, gentle downward flicks help clear it. Don't stick anything inside the port to dry it, just let it drain.
Dry Everything With a Lint-Free Cloth
Grab a microfiber cloth you'd use for glasses or a phone screen. Wipe down each bud gently, focusing on the speaker mesh, the stem's force sensor area, and the gold charging contacts at the base of each stem. Blot rather than rub. Rubbing can push water deeper into the mesh.
For the case, wipe the inside charging wells gently, focusing on the four little spring pins that mate with the buds' contacts. If you see any visible moisture around the case button or hinge, work the cloth carefully into those gaps without jamming fabric inside. Leave the case lid open to air dry.
Air Dry: 48 Hours Minimum, No Shortcuts
Set the buds and the open case on a clean, dry surface in a room with some airflow. A spot near a window with a breeze works great, but keep them out of direct sunlight. Don't use a hair dryer, a radiator, or an oven. Heat above 130°F or so can warp the silicone ear tips, damage the battery, and compromise the acoustic seals that make ANC work well.
Rice is still a myth. It doesn't pull moisture from inside sealed electronics, and it can leave starch dust in the charging port and mesh. If you have silica gel packets from a shoe box or supplement bottle, those genuinely help. Put the buds and case in a sealed container with a few packets for the full 48-hour window. If not, just patience and dry air are your best tools.
The Ear Tip Fit Test will need to be run again after any firmware update or after an immersion event, since water can briefly swell or shift the silicone tips. You can do that later in Settings > AirPods Pro > Ear Tip Fit Test once the buds are dry and working.
Check for Corrosion Before Powering On
After the 48-hour drying period, inspect the gold charging contacts on each bud stem and the spring pins inside the case wells. Corrosion shows up as green, white, or crusty residue. If you spot any, gently brush it away with a dry, soft toothbrush. For tougher spots, a cotton swab barely dampened with isopropyl alcohol (90% or higher) works, but only after the buds are bone-dry.
If the contacts look clean and you don't see any visible residue, you're clear to test.
Test Power and Audio One Step at a Time
Plug the case into a USB-C charger using the original cable if possible. Non-Apple cables can sometimes charge the case more slowly, but any standard 5W USB-C charger works fine. Watch the status light on the front of the case. It should show a steady amber or green. If it flickers, you smell anything burning, or the case feels warm to the touch, unplug immediately and give everything another 24 hours of dry time.
Assuming the light is steady, let the case charge for about 10 minutes, then place one bud into its slot. Wait another 5 minutes, then open the case near your iPhone. If the battery widget shows a percentage for both buds, they've survived. Test audio with a quick track, then test the microphones by recording a voice memo and playing it back.
If one bud shows no battery or produces no audio, it may need more drying time, or it may have sustained internal damage. You can try another 24-hour air dry with silica gel and repeat the test. AppleCare+ covers accidental damage at $29 per incident, and the standard one-year warranty does not cover liquid damage, so if you have the plan, that's your backup option.
Over the next few weeks, keep an eye out for muffled audio, random disconnects, or faster battery drain on one side. Those are signs of residual moisture damage. The Find My Precision Finding feature for the case (iPhone 15 Pro or later) should still work, but if the case's U1 chip got water damage, that feature may stop functioning.
