Man drops iPhone into lake in Taiwan, gets it back in working condition 1 year later

A man in Taiwan has got to thank his lucky stars after reuniting with a phone he’d dropped into the iconic Sun Moon Lake one year ago.

According to photos shared to a Facebook group, the man had been at the famous tourist attraction in March 2020 to try his hand at stand-up paddle boarding. Unfortunately, the phone slipped off a strap hung around his neck and sunk into watery depths of the lake.

Certain it was gone forever, he was upset and unable to continue in the activity after that, the post read. 

To his and everyone's surprise, he got a call back from workers at the paddle boarding shop a year later to say that his phone had been retrieved.

The miraculous find was made possible only due to the fact that the lake has all but dried up due to an ongoing drought in the region.

According to CGTN, the spot is nearly a “barren wasteland” as the island is experiencing “the worst water shortage crisis in 56 years”. 

Even more amazing was the fact that the phone, an Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, was still in good working condition. After a full charge, the phone powered up without a hitch with all functions intact. 

Thankfully, the man had the foresight to put his phone in a waterproof pouch prior to the activity which probably accounts for how the gadget endured the year-long steep.

On the Facebook group where the story was shared, netizens marvelled at the unbelievable ending. It also made some readers hold out hope that their own lost items will one day be found in the repository that is Sun Moon Lake. 

"I wonder if anyone picked up my iPhone 7 Plus?," wrote one, adding that his phone, which was also placed in a waterproof pouch, had dropped into the lake in September last year.

But many were also in awe of the effectiveness of the waterproof pouch, noting that the story is the perfect advertisement for makers of such products.

Said one commenter: "Where is the pouch from, it's amazing!". Another wrote: "I need to find out the brand of that waterproof casing he used."

candicecai@asiaone.com