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Woman drops her iPhone onto stranger's balcony, resorts to desperate measures to get it back

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Rachel Thompson

on October 5, 2017

Many of us live in fear of dropping our phone from a great height. But, for one very unfortunate individual, this fear became a painful reality when her phone slipped from her hand and fell onto the balcony of a stranger.

Liz Bertorelli tweeted the entire ordeal, providing crucial updates on the welfare of her poor estranged phone. (She used a laptop and a camera to tweet the pics, in case you were wondering!)

Miraculously, Bertorelli's phone survived the fall. While we're sure she was overjoyed that her phone was intact, she then endured the torture of seeing notifications flashing up on her screen from afar.

After going downstairs several times and knocking on her neighbours' door, it became apparent that nobody was home.

Bertorelli certainly appears to be the resourceful kind. She resolved to throw a note onto the balcony below to let her neighbours know how to contact her.

Alas, fate—and the elements—conspired against Bertorelli. The note was blown off the table by a gust of wind.

Her frustration was palpable.

When a follower advised dropping a fishing line down with something sticky attached, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

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She thought about sending a drone down to fetch her phone.

After a night's sleep, Bertorelli's phone was still nowhere near being returned to her.

When she returned home from work, her iPhone had been rained on, and her dog was looking desperately sad about the situation.

Her neighbours still weren't answering the door.

So, operation iPhone rescue resumed.

Despite everything that had been thrown at it, her iPhone was still working. But, the note was definitely a goner.

At this stage, wine was really the only answer.

The saga continued...

Sadly, we do not yet have the happy ending to the story we so desperately crave. At the time of publication, Bertorelli's iPhone was clinging on for dear life, but still lying on the balcony below.

Bertorelli's rescue efforts will continue.

For now, all we can do is pray.

Topics iPhone

Rachel Thompson

Features Editor

Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.

A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.

Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.