Your Pixel Buds A-Series took an unexpected swim, maybe they fell in a puddle, went through the wash, or got caught in a heavy rain. The next few minutes decide whether they live or die. Water itself isn't what kills electronics; it's the corrosion that starts forming on the circuit boards once power flows through wet contacts. The faster you stop all electrical activity and start drying, the better your odds.
First rule: do not put them in the charging case. Do not plug the case in. Do not connect them to your phone. Any power running through wet hardware can short-circuit components in seconds. Leave both buds and case completely disconnected until they're bone-dry.
Also, keep expectations realistic. The Pixel Buds A-Series don't carry an IP rating from Google, which means they're not designed for intentional water exposure. They can handle light sweat or a drizzle, but full submersion is a gamble. These steps give the best possible chance, but there's no guarantee.
Get the Water Out Fast
Grab each bud with the speaker mesh facing down and give it a few gentle shakes. You're trying to clear water from the mesh, the microphone port, and the charging contacts on the inside of each bud's stem. Don't shake hard enough to knock anything loose, just enough to see droplets fall out.
Do the same with the charging case. Hold it upside down with the lid open and gently shake to drain the wells where the buds sit. Tilt the case so the USB-C port faces down and give a few sharp downward flicks to help water escape from that opening. Water trapped in the USB-C port is a major problem if you try to charge later.
Wipe Everything Dry
Use a dry, lint-free microfiber cloth to carefully blot each bud. Pay close attention to the speaker mesh, the microphone opening near the touch surface, and the gold charging contacts on the inner side of each bud. For the case, wipe the charging pins inside the wells, the lid hinge, and the exterior. Don't rub aggressively, you don't want to push water deeper into the seams.
If you see water sitting around the case button or the USB-C port, work the cloth gently into those crevices. Avoid leaving fabric fibers behind.
Air Dry for 24 to 48 Hours
Place the buds and the case (lid open) on a soft, dry surface in a well-ventilated room. A spot near an open window or a fan works well. Do not use a hair dryer, oven, radiator, or any direct heat source, heat can warp the seals around the charging contacts and damage the small battery inside each bud. And skip the rice myth; rice doesn't absorb moisture from inside electronics better than open air, and it can leave starch dust in the mesh.
Silica gel packets are a better option if you have a few lying around. Throw the buds and open case into a sealed container with silica packets for the full 48 hours. The packets from shoe boxes or electronics packaging work fine.
Check for Corrosion Before Testing
After 48 hours, inspect the gold contacts on each bud and the matching pins inside the case wells. Corrosion looks like greenish or whitish crust. If you spot any, brush it gently with a dry, soft toothbrush. For stubborn spots, you can use a cotton swab very lightly dampened with 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, but only after the buds are completely dry, and don't let the alcohol run into the openings.
If the contacts look clean and dry, you're ready to try powering everything up.
Test the Case and Buds One at a Time
Plug the case into a USB-C charger (standard 5W input is fine). Watch the case's LED indicator. If it lights up steady (amber or green), the charging circuit survived. If the light flickers, you smell anything burning, or the case feels warm, unplug immediately. That's a sign of internal shorting, and the case likely needs replacement.
Assuming the case charges cleanly for 10 minutes or so, place one bud into its well. Don't put both in at once, test one side first in case something goes wrong. After 5 minutes, open the case near your phone. On Android, a battery pop-up should appear showing the bud's charge level. If it reports a percentage, the bud is alive. Test the other bud the same way.
Once both are working, open the Pixel Buds app to check for firmware updates. Wet conditions can sometimes knock the firmware state out of sync, and an update can straighten that out. Also test the capacitive touch controls, they can get flaky after moisture exposure, which is already a known issue on these buds.
Listen for muffled audio or crackling on calls. If the audio sounds fine and the touch responses work, you're in good shape. But keep an eye on battery life and connection stability over the next few weeks. Water damage sometimes doesn't show up for a while as corrosion slowly spreads.
