Since the advent of cell phones, people have been soaking or drowning them in water. Modern iPhones are resistant to splashes and even submersion, but there are still times when they get too wet and the horror of all their owners — a liquid detection notification appears on the screen.
For years, a simple and readily available product at home, — rice — has been used to dry your phone. Simply put the device in a bag of rice, close it and wait for about a day. The idea is that the rice will pull the water out of the inside of the phone before it can burn the electricity inside.
However, researchers have argued for years that this is all a myth, and rice doesn’t actually dry your phone any faster and may even slow down the process. Apple’s new 2024 tech support manual explicitly discourages using rice to dry your iPhone because «it may allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone».
Apple also suggests avoiding the use of an external heat source, such as a hair dryer or compressed air, to dry and deflate the liquid. In addition, the company advises against putting cotton swabs or paper towels into the charging ports.
Instead, Apple suggests touching the phone to the palm of your hand with the connector facing down. This has much the same effect as using a cloth to get water out of your ear after swimming. You should then simply leave the iPhone in a place with good airflow to dry and wait 30 minutes before charging. If the notification still appears, you should leave the phone for a longer time and continue to wait. It may take up to 24 hours for it to dry completely. Disconnect and reconnect the charging cable if the phone is dry but still won’t charge.
Starting with the iPhone 12, Apple smartphones can withstand being submerged in water to a maximum depth of 6 meters for 30 minutes, so you probably won’t have to worry about moisture in most situations, but if something happens — don’t touch the rice.