- The water drop icon doesn’t always mean your phone is wet
- I found a quick fix that worked without using rice or a hair dryer
- Charging was blocked even though the port felt totally dry
- Restarting didn’t work, but Safe Mode gave me a clue
- I avoided moisture damage and got the phone charging again fast
It was late and my battery was nearly dead. I plugged in my Galaxy A56 like I always do, but instead of the charging symbol, I saw that dreaded water drop icon. The phone flashed a warning about moisture detected in the charging port and refused to charge.
I picked it up. It wasn’t wet. I hadn’t used it near water. I even smelled the charging port. Nothing. Still, I couldn’t charge it. That icon just sat there, smug and unbothered.
At first, I thought it might be a software bug. I restarted the phone. Nothing changed. I tried a different charger. Same thing.
That’s when I started to get annoyed. The phone was basically useless unless I could figure this out.
What I Checked First
I grabbed a flashlight and took a close look inside the USB-C port. It looked clean. No moisture. No dust or debris either. But just to be safe, I used a dry cotton swab and gently dabbed around the inside of the port. Still nothing.
I left the phone unplugged for over an hour. No change. The warning kept popping up.
At this point, I almost gave in and stuck the phone in rice. But I figured I’d try one more thing first.
Safe Mode Gave Me a Clue
Out of curiosity, I restarted the phone in Safe Mode. If you haven’t done that before, it disables all third-party apps temporarily. I figured maybe an app was triggering the moisture sensor somehow.
In Safe Mode, I plugged the charger in again.
No warning. No icon. Just charging like normal.
That’s when I knew the problem wasn’t actual moisture. It was probably a software glitch. Either from a recent app or some background process messing with the sensor.
This Is What Worked
Back in normal mode, I went into Settings. Then I tapped on Apps, and hit the three dots in the upper right corner to show system apps.
I searched for USB Settings and tapped it.
From there, I cleared both the cache and data. I also did the same for Android System and Device Health Services. These steps didn’t delete anything important, but they did reset some background processes.
After that, I restarted the phone. Plugged it in.
No warning. It started charging instantly. The water drop icon didn’t return.
What I Learned
That moisture warning isn’t always accurate. Sometimes the phone just glitches out, especially after an update or if an app gets too aggressive in the background.
I avoided using a hair dryer or rice. Instead, I focused on checking the port, using Safe Mode, and clearing some hidden system settings. It felt risky at first, but it worked. And I didn’t have to wait overnight or try a bunch of internet myths.
If this ever happens to you, check the port, but don’t panic. It might not be water at all. And if you’re like me, you’ll want a fix that doesn’t involve waiting around with 3 percent battery.
