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A trusted iPhone fix could make things worse, Apple says
In This Article
Before smartphones like Apple’siPhonebecame adept at repelling water, many of us sought out the trusty bag of rice as a means of drawing out moisture and returning the stricken handset to working condition.
It was a case of placing the damp iPhone in a zip-lock bag full of rice and hoping for the best. However, Apple is now telling customers this miracle cure is little more than an old wives’ tale. In a newsupport document, Apple says placing your sodden iPhone in a bag of basmati might actually make things worse.
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“Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone,” Apple says in the support document advising customers what to do if their iPhone or accessory gets wet.
The speaker holes or charging port could always become blocked by with a grain of rice, we suppose, so it’s not surprising Apple is advising people not to do this now the phones are more robust when it comes to repelling water.
The company also says you shouldn’t seek to dry the phone with an external heat source (I once melted my Apple iBook keyboard with a hair dryer) or by using compressed air. It also says you shouldn’t use cotton buds or paper towels within the charging connector in order to soak up moisture.
These days iPhones have anIP68 water and dust resistant rating, which means these home remedies are rarely required. A modern iPhone should be able to withstand a depth of up to 4 metres for 30 minutes, for example.
Often when an iPhone encounters water Apple will notify users when they attempt to charge the phone and advise them to wait until the phone is fully dry. It’s still possible to charge the battery wirelessly during this period.
Here’s the full advisory from Apple’s new support document:
Dry your iPhone:
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Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
