Why You Shouldn’t Try to Dry Out Your Wet iPhones With Rice

We’re going to file this in the department of “news we’d never thought we’d have to share,” but it’s been brought to our attention that many iPhone owners (and a surprising amount of iPhone filmmakers and videographers) still seem to think that it’s a good idea to put their wet iPhones into a bag of rice to help dry them out.

First off, what are you doing with wet iPhones in the first place? And, second off, how does this even make sense?

Sadly, over the years even Google results have shared this same old wives’ tale, so we get the confusion. But recent support documents from Apple are here to shut down this misguided notion.

Don’t Use Rice to Dry Your iPhones

Again, we don’t feel like we have to say this, because it kind of seems obvious, but just don’t do this. Yes, the logic might be (kind of) sound as uncooked rice does absorb liquid and moisture. But rice also leaves behind small particles, which actually could be more damaging to your smartphones than the water itself.

According to Apple’s support documents, the company explicitly shares the following advice: “Don’t put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone.”

Furthermore, Apple reiterates that you also shouldn’t try to “dry out” your wet iPhones with any sort of external heat, whether that be something like a hair dryer, or—worse yet—please don’t put your smartphones in the oven or microwave to dry them out either.

How to Dry Out Your Wet iPhones

If you do find yourself out shooting video with your iPhone and it happens to get wet (like, wetter than you’d like outside of rain or mist), then Apple does provide some recommended tricks to help dry it out and avoid any issues from the liquid.

You might have also seen your iPhone give off a liquid-detection alert if your iPhone is wet when it connects to a Lightning or USB-C cable or accessory that could potentially cause problems due to liquids in the connector.

Apple’s Official Recommendations

Apple suggests that you try the following steps to dry your iPhone out:

• 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 unplug the adapter from the wall (if possible) and then connect them again.

And, again, Apple reiterates to not try any of the below methods to dry your iPhone out before you get back to your fulfilling career as an iPhone video pro:

• 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.