Rice isn't nice for drying your iPhone, according to Apple
- Reference: 1708520409
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/02/21/dont_dry_iphone_rice/
- Source link:
The question is, then, how do you dry your device when it takes that inevitable tumble into those dirty depths? Because it sure ain't turning on again while waterlogged.
Philosophers have long pondered the problem, and those investigations invariably arrive at what we will call the Rice Solution.
[1]
Here is [2]Macworld , which we would assume to be an expert in such matters, on "How to dry out an iPhone with uncooked rice":
To get moisture out of the iPhone's interior, you need a desiccant. Many people swear by uncooked rice, advising owners to put their damp iPad or iPhone in a big bowl of the stuff (cover it completely) and leave it there for 24 hours or so.
The rice will absorb the moisture effectively, and most of us have some uncooked rice in our homes (or can get hold of some fairly easily). But it may get dust or even entire grains into the ports. Be warned.
What follows is a step-by-step guide, as if one were needed, on putting some rice in a plastic container then shoving your iPhone in it. Basically, leave it for a day then try to turn it on. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again for the next few days.
However, whether people "swear by it" has been rendered moot by a decree from Apple itself. Handing down new documentation on how what to do " [3]if you see a liquid-detection alert on your iPhone " (models XS and later), the Cupertino giant gives its official course of action:
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.
[4]Euro shoppers popping more and more premium phones in the basket
[5]Apple makes it official: No Home Screen web apps in European Union
[6]Apple Vision Pro units returned as folks just can't see themselves using it
[7]FCC Commissioner calls for crackdown on Apple's iMessage gatekeeping
It then handily outlines what not to do (our emphasis):
Don't dry your iPhone using an external heat source or compressed air.
Don't insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel, into the connector.
DON'T PUT YOUR IPHONE IN A BAG OF RICE. DOING SO COULD ALLOW SMALL PARTICLES OF RICE TO DAMAGE YOUR IPHONE.
In fairness, Macworld gives the same warning, but doesn't hesitate to suggest the method regardless. In any case, if neither solution works, you'll be taking a costly trip to the Genius Bar or grappling with Apple Support.
In this admittedly unqualified writer's experience, though, iDevices are somewhat hardened to the perils of water. I recall years ago fumbling an iPod into the toilet. Hope lost, and with the advent of streaming services like Spotify just hitting the mainstream, the iPod went into the drawer where other doomed gadgets gathered dust.
[8]
On a whim, many months later, I turned it on and it worked perfectly. I went for a walk listening to a selection of pirated rarities I had thought forever lost. It's probably still functional now, if I knew where it was and had an old 30-pin charger.
So perhaps Apple is right, and patience really is a virtue. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZdYsOlv6RYB9IAK2HkZ37gAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.macworld.com/article/668606/how-to-fix-a-wet-or-water-damaged-iphone.html#:~:text=How%20to%20dry%20out%20an%20iPhone%20with%20uncooked%20rice
[3] https://support.apple.com/en-us/102643#:~:text=Don't%20dry%20your%20iPhone,rice%20to%20damage%20your%20iPhone
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/20/euro_phones_figures_canalys/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/16/apple_web_apps/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/apple_vision_pro_returns/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/13/fcc_apple_beeper_mini/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZdYsOlv6RYB9IAK2HkZ37gAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Maybe isopropyl alcohol ?
Immersion then evaporation ?
Or just shut the thing in a box with a small peltier dehumidifier ?
Re: Maybe isopropyl alcohol ?
"Or just shut the thing in a box with a small peltier dehumidifier ?"
Or just use Silica Gel Desiccant?
Translation:
How dare you try to fix your device instead of giving us our rightfully owned money that's in your possession.
Refrigeration
The driest place in your home is your fridge. So give your damp gadget an overnight chill. Seriously.
Just don't let it get near anyplace that it might freeze.
Re: Refrigeration
Brilliant, as soon as you take your chilled toy out, condensation will form inside it and you are back to square one.
More good advice: Concentrated sulphuric acid is an excellent desiccant but to be picky there are slight contraindications when immersing a phone in it.
Personally ....
.... I keep all those little desiccant pouches that everyone seems to deliver electronics or drugs (sorry, food supplements) with. They go into a self seal plastic bag, and anything that needs drying just gets sealed into the bag with that little lot.
Yeah
Dumbest idea ever. I've had to tell my kids not to do this several times.
Just put your oven on 100 degrees Fahrenheit and leave it sit overnight. If it was dropped in salt water, soak it overnight in a bucket of distilled water to draw the salt out, then into the oven to dry.
Dry
If you want to make your phone dry, tell Siri how much you earn.
I'll get my coat.
"An old lightning charger"
For an iPod I'd have thought that an old 30 pin was a tougher thing to find...
Lightning is still readily available.
There are an annoying number of things that aren't on ${streaming_service}... and it's even worse in video land where the landscape is so fragmented to be useless.
Keep local copies, even if they're screen captures...
Re: "An old lightning charger"
Sorry, yeah, 30-pin is what I meant.
Moral dilemma
In the unlikely event that I spot someone putting their iPhone in a tumble dryer, what should I do?
Re: Moral dilemma
Ask if they remembered to use dryer sheets.
Re: Moral dilemma
Ask them how their cat or dog is doing.
DON'T PUT YOUR IPHONE IN A BAG OF RICE
Any advice for those of us who prefer a naan bread? They're quite absorbent, and they're not going to get stuck in a port......
Personally I use crackers. Try eating a full packet. Literally all moisture gone.
Scottish shortbread?
[hides]
Miaow
Cat litter is where it's at. I have a gallon pack of it to dry electronics. And no cat.
Small items fit in its original box. For bigger ones, like laptops, empty it out in a plastic thrash bag, put in the item, then knot the top tightly to keep it airtight. For extra points, to avoid its nasty micro-grit you could carefully put your phone in a liner or small tray.
p.s. No, don't be stingy. Unused cat litter only ;-)
COULD ALLOW SMALL PARTICLES OF RICE TO DAMAGE YOUR IPHONE
I've always thought that small particles of rice were vandals!
More seriously, remember that most electronics spend time being washed with water at some - or many - stages of their construction. The exception is things with holes like microphones and some other sensors, which tend not to appreciate it.
The issue isn't the water, but what might be dissolved in it and therefore remain behind when the liquid evaporates (or in extreme cases - like coke or tea - actively affect tracks on the pcb). Back in the day, spilling your drink in broadcast equipment wasn't a great crime, but not telling the engineers was!