I’m not saying it, Apple itself says it (in addition to almost every qualified technician you consult): Putting your phone in rice if it’s wet is no useit can even be harmful.
Our phones already have water protection, although that doesn’t mean you can get them wet or submerged. The only time I dared to test the waterproofness of a phone was right out of the box, and not without a certain knot in my stomach while doing so. Waterproofing our phones is more of a security measure than a feature. No one wearing body armor should test it by being shot at, that’s how a well-known technician described it to me a long time ago. So if we drop it in water, or if some type of liquid falls on it, we shouldn’t worry too much because we are protected but there are certain measures that we need to know.
And, lo and behold, one of those measures is not putting our phone in rice. Despite popular knowledge that gives this product absorbent properties that it does not possess, rice is not a solution for a wet phone. One of the elements most sensitive to humidity, due to its exposure, is undoubtedly the USB-C or Lightning connector of our device. So if our phone gets wet, we can get the message on the screen that the connector is wet and we can let it dry before connecting the cable. In this case, what Apple recommends is:
- Gently tap your iPhone against your hand with the connector facing down to remove excess liquid. Leave your iPhone in a dry place with some air circulation.
- 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 fluid in the connector or under the pins on your cable. Leave your iPhone in a dry, well-ventilated place for a day. You can try charging or connecting an accessory again during this time. Complete drying may take up to 24 hours.
- If your phone is dry but still won’t charge, unplug the adapter cable and unplug the adapter from the wall (if possible), then plug it back in.
And other things we shouldn’t do:
- Do not dry your iPhone with an external heat source or compressed air.
- Do not insert a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or paper towel, into the connector.
- Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice. This could allow small rice particles to damage your iPhone..
That is, Apple itself tells you that putting your iPhone in rice could even damage your phone. You have been warned.
