Lost iPhone survives 33 days under water off Hawaiian coast

Lost iPhone survives under water for 33 days

Zach Siggelkow shows off his worn iPhone after it was submerged off the coast in Hawaii for than a month.

ST. ANTHONY VILLAGE, Minn. - Zach Siggelkow now knows his iPhone can take a licking and keep on ticking.

The 27-year-old lost his smartphone while on vacation, but it turned up more than a month later after being fully submerged underwater.

Back in December, Siggelkow left his home in St. Anthony Village, Minnesota, to vacation with his mother and sister in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii.

"I lost my phone on the last full day of our family vacation," he told FOX Television Stations. "After my mother Helen strongly advised I don’t go kayaking."

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Photos of the iPhone that was submerged underwater for more than a month. (Zach Siggelkow )

Not heeding his mother’s advice, Siggelkow went kayaking and spent up to four hours on the water.

But then came a huge wave that flipped him, his kayak, and his iPhone 14 Pro Max over into the water.

"I was recording the planes and boats going by when the wave, and I collided [with the wave]," he continued. "I retrieved my kayak, paddle and life jacket but no phone or sunglasses."

"I was shocked and a little bummed but in the moment I was just laughing because my mom was right all along," he said.

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Siggelkow returned to Minnesota with all hope lost of him getting his smartphone back until he got an email from a stranger, Dr. Karl Brookins, who is a professor.

Brookins told him that he found the iPhone while scuba diving off the beach.

Siggelkow said Brookins retrieved the phone, put it on a charger, added some salt and rice.

After a week, the phone turned on after being in the water for 33 days.

Brookins was able to unlock the phone and retrieve Siggelkow’s email address. He sent the phone back to Siggelkow free of charge.

"I actually had forgotten about the phone since it was gone for so long, and I had replaced it," Siggelkow said.

Siggelkow said he's not exactly sure how Brookins was able to unlock the phone, but his passcode was "111111." Siggelkow believes Brookins must've guessed it correctly.

And he says he now has his phone, and it still works.

"To this day, the phone still works perfectly fine," he added.

He said next time, he’ll remember mother knows best.