Putting your device in a bag of rice ‘could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone’, the company warned

What you should not do:

Experts have for years pointed out that’s a bad idea – and now Apple is officially warning users not to do it.

“Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone,” the company says in a recent support note spotted by Macworld. Along with the risk of damage, testing has suggested uncooked rice is not particularly effective at drying the device.

What you should do:

If your phone isn’t functioning at all, turn it off right away and don’t press any buttons. The next steps depend on your specific circumstances, but broadly speaking: dry it with a towel and put it in an airtight container packed with silica packets if you have them. Don’t charge it until you’re sure it’s dry.

  • LanternEverywhere
    20•4 months ago

    But silica packets stop doing anything once they’ve absorbed moisture, and so aren’t reusable once they’ve been exposed to normal air moisture. (Unless you’ve baked them to reactivate them). Is that not right? Because basically no one has a box full of re-baked silica packets hanging around ready for emergency usage.

    • @[email protected]English
      14•4 months ago

      Hey it’s me. I’m the guy with a bunch of bags of re-baked silica packets. I’m sure I’m in a minority, though.

          • LanternEverywhere
            1•4 months ago

            But, dry from what? How often are your electronics encountering a meaningful amount of moisture?

            • @[email protected]English
              1•4 months ago

              I mean… dry from… water. And often enough that I have many bags of silica packets that I reuse. Obviously.

              edit: I spend a lot of time outdoors. My gear tends to suffer if I use it and then don’t dry it before I put it away. I dont enjoy taking out some gear to use only to find it corroded or molded. Silica helps that. And for my needs, it is cheaper to reuse silica packs than it is to buy and run a(nother) dehumidifier.

    • HorreC
      2•4 months ago

      I have like a gallon bucket of the stuff right now, Mind you its for drying out filament (3d printer), but if you are near and got a wet phone, look me up.