Apple Issues Official Warning Against Putting Your Phone in Rice

A trend for iPhone owners is to use rice when their phones get wet to try and dry the device before damage is done. However, Apple has now warned its customers not to do that. The company warns that it could allow small rice particles to damage the phone. Instead, Apple recommends gently tapping the iPhone with the connector facing down to remove excess liquid.

A Phone Shouldn’t Dry In Rice

Once there is no water in the connector of a wet phone, it should be left in a dry area with some airflow. After half an hour, the charger can be used. If the problem is not solved, the iPhone should be kept in the dry area longer. It can take around 24 hours to fully dry out a phone, after which normal functionality should return.

People who have managed to dump their phones in the water know this can cause various problems with the software and hardware, including the camera, audio, and charger. Using drying techniques like the one with the rice to dry a phone is often a misinformed attempt that could cause more harm than good. If the iPhone liquid detection alert goes off, there’s a problem that has to be addressed.

Apple’s Instructions for Drying an iPhone

To protect the phone from damage, instead of using rice, it should be dried the way Apple has suggested. Other bad ways to dry a phone are using external heat sources or compressed air and inserting foreign objects like paper towels or cotton buds into the openings like the connector. It seems the gentle tapping should be enough, and to check if it works, try and charge the phone to see if the warning appears again.

If an iPhone has sustained damage due to getting wet, Apple is sure to be able to offer some solution for the unfortunate user. Still, the best protection is to be careful and not drop a phone into water.