Putting your iPhone in rice has long been a common practice of trying to save one’s iPhone after dropping it in the pool, toilet – or any other body of water. However, the makers of the iPhone said putting the smartphone in rice could do more harm than good. — Image by Freepik
Apple wants iPhone users to ditch the old way of drying out their phones.
Putting your iPhone in rice has long been a common practice of trying to save one’s iPhone after dropping it in the pool, toilet – or any other body of water.
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However, the makers of the iPhone said putting the smartphone in rice could do more harm than good.
“Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice,” Apple said in a guide from January about how to properly dry out your iPhone. “Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone.”
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iPhone users will know when their phone is excessively wet when they get a “liquid-detection alert”, according to Apple’s guide. The alert typically pops up when you go to charge your iPhone.
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“If you see one of these alerts, your iPhone has detected liquid in the Lightning or USB-C connector or on the cable or accessory,” the guide reads. “To protect your iPhone and the accessory, charging and accessory connection are unavailable until the connector, cable ends, and the accessory are dry.”
In others words, you won’t be able to charge your phone or connect it to your computer until it is dry. So Apple wants users to unplug their phones and remove the excess water by following these steps:
- Tap your iPhone gently against your hand with the connector facing down to remove excess liquid. Leave your iPhone in a dry area with some airflow.
- After at least 30 minutes, try charging with a Lightning or USB-C cable or connecting an accessory.
- If you see the alert again, there is still liquid in the connector or under the pins of your cable. Leave your iPhone in a dry area with some airflow for up to a day. You can try again to charge or connect an accessory throughout this period. It might take up to 24 hours to fully dry.
- If your phone has dried out but still isn’t charging, unplug the cable from the adapter and unplug the adapter from the wall (if possible) and then connect them again.
In addition, Apple said to not dry your iPhone using an “external heat source or compressed air” and to not “insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the connector.”
More information about how to properly clean your iPhone can be found here and answers to more common questions about what to do if your iPhone gets wet can be found here. – masslive.com/Tribune News Service
