Owner Reunited With Lost iPhone, Finds Shocking Footage on It

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A phone owner in Denmark has been surprised to find that their phone, which was submerged in water for two weeks, had recorded about two hours of footage under the sea.

Ralfs Zorgis shared the footage in a viral TikTok video which has notched up 1.3 million views since it was first posted on March 21. The video was taken in October 2023 and shows the phone, which is an iPhone 11, underwater in the Vejle fjord, Zorgis told Newsweek.

A caption shared with the post read: "I found the phone after two weeks in water and it was recording for two hours after it fell into the fjord." The Vejle fjord is around 14 miles long and extends from the town of Vejle in southern Denmark.

The latest video begins with a view of the waves before the camera appears to drop down and gets submerged underwater in a sea of green. The camera later shows the bottom of what appears to be a crab going past the camera.

Zorgis said: "In the video, you can see that the phone fell into the water... after couple of minutes there were some very curious crabs captured as well as some jellyfish."

Underwater iPhone footage in Denmark.
Screengrabs from a video showing footage recorded on an iPhone 11 that was submerged in water for two weeks. The video has now gone viral on TikTok. @zoorgis on TikTok

What To Do if Your iPhone Gets Wet

According to Apple, the iPhone 11 is "splash, water and dust resistant" and can withstand being submerged in water up to around 6.5 feet and up to 30 minutes.

Apple advises that if a liquid other than water splashes on your iPhone, you should rinse the affected area with tap water then wipe your phone with a soft, lint-free cloth and be sure that your phone is dry before opening the SIM tray.

To dry your iPhone, tap it gently against your hand with the Lightning or USB-C connector facing down to remove excess liquid. Your phone should be left in a dry area with some airflow. Putting your iPhone in front of a fan blowing cool air directly into the Lightning or USB-C connector may help the drying process.

Apple said: "Don't dry your iPhone using an external heat source or insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the Lightning or USB-C connector. Your iPhone can warn you if there's liquid in the Lightning or USB-C connector when you connect a cable or an accessory to your iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, or later."

If your iPhone has become wet, do not charge your device until it's completely dry, unplugging all devices. "Using accessories or charging when wet might damage your iPhone. Allow at least 5 hours before charging with a Lightning or USB-C cable or connecting an accessory," the company says.

'The Phone Works Perfectly'

A message overlaid on the video read: "POV your phone accidentally filmed a whole episode of Animal Planet."

Zorgis, who is from Latvia and is currently working in a family business, told Newsweek: "I went swimming and wanted to capture some frames of the swim but ended up losing my phone."

Zorgis was unable to locate the phone after an initial search on the day it went missing. Two weeks later, they "lost all hopes of being able to find the phone" and even if it were to be found, "the chances of the phone working were close to zero," he said.

But one day, Zorgis "looked in the water and it was very clear that day, so I did notice something in the bottom of the water. I dived down and that was my phone." They brought the phone home, put it in a drawer and "forgot about it."

Zorgis said: "I decided to try to charge it and that's when, to my surprise, it turned on and I found the video of me losing it. The phone works perfectly but there is a little water damage on the screen."

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About the writer

Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel, health, home/interior design and property/real estate. Soo covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively from 2020 to 2022, including several interviews with the chief medical advisor to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Soo has reported on various major news events, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the U.S. Capitol riots, the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. and Canadian elections, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Soo is also a South Korea expert, covering the latest K-dramas—including the breakout hit Squid Game, which she has covered extensively, including from Seoul, the South Korean capital—as well as Korean films, such as the Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Past Lives, and K-pop news, to interviews with the biggest Korean actors, such as Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game and Star Wars, and Korean directors, such as Golden Globe and Oscar nominee Celine Song. Soo is the author of the book How to Live Korean, which is available in 11 languages, and co-author of the book Hello, South Korea: Meet the Country Behind Hallyu. Before Newsweek, Soo was a travel reporter and commissioning editor for the award-winning travel section of The Daily Telegraph (a leading U.K. national newspaper) for nearly a decade from 2010, reporting on the latest in the travel industry, from travel news, consumer travel and aviation issues to major new openings and emerging destinations. Soo is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York and the journalism school of City University in London, where she earned a Masters in international journalism. You can get in touch with Soo by emailing s.kim@newsweek.com . Follow her on Instagram at @miss.soo.kim or X, formerly Twitter, at @MissSooKim .Languages spoken: English and Korean


Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more