Picture this: you’re caught in a freak rainstorm and running for the car. Suddenly, you hear a sickening thud and look down to see your beloved iPhone lying in a puddle of mud. Or imagine that you’ve placed your iPhone on the coffee table and your beloved 2 year old runs by, spilling your water glass right on top of your phone. Water damage It has happened to the best of us. The question is what do you do and how do you go about getting your iPhone replaced or fixed. Before you jump right into it, first determine whether the phone was truly water-damaged or not. To do so, look straight down the headphone jack, where you’ll see a small dot. If the dot is red or pink, then your iPhone was truly damaged by the unfortunate water incident.

Before true panic sets in, be aware that Apple has changed their policies regarding replacing water-damaged iPhones. Currently, their new policy is to replace the damaged phone for $200. Keep in mind, however, that the replacement phone will be a refurbished version of your damaged phone, but it will still be in great condition—and will cost a lot less than buying a new one.

That said, if your iPhone is outdated, that $200 is a bit steep for a same-level model. If this is the case, you have other options. You can check with various phone repair companies—Apple included—to get an estimate on actual repair costs (this diagnosis and estimate are free, by the way). Worst case scenario, you may simply have to purchase a new phone outright; while this doesn’t seem very appealing, the constant technology updates out there may mean you actually get a phone you prefer more.

Ultimately, water damage is a major problem with no easy fixes. While Apple’s policy changes have gone a long way toward improving their customer service regarding this issue, it still isn’t the ideal. Again, the first step is not to panic and take your time looking around and considering your options. In the world of cell phone technology “taking your time” may mean as little as one to two days, so you don’t have to worry about being “incommunicado” for very long.