Have you dropped your phone in water? Don’t put it in the rice! Here we explain why

At this point, it seemed like one of those ancient pieces of advice that grandmothers gave with a goodnight kiss: a solution that made domestic wisdom available in the face of technological difficulties. Who was the first person to put their cell phone, after accidentally getting it wet, in a container filled with rice? The trick seems as old as the first Nokia cell phone.

A glass of water is spilled on the table and everything in it ends up soaked. Nothing happens, joy, joy, they tell you, to cover up your awkwardness, until you see that among the things there is also a smartphone. Compassion immediately stops there and panic and hysteria spread.

Or you go to the bathroom in a hurry and your eagerness to check your phone while you zip it causes the device to jump out of your hands where? At the bottom of the toilet.

Or at a summer party, there is no shortage of jokes that throw the birthday boy into the pool with whatever he was wearing. Including your cell phone.

There are many reasons why your smartphone ends up soaked or submerged. There are also cases of supposed success, which claim to confirm the old theory that it is put in rice to remove moisture and revive it. There will always be someone, in the family or group of friends, especially among colleagues, who will share this recipe. Why, then, has it never been formalized among tech brands as an in-house solution to these accidents?

Well, because they never believed it would work. But his silence, in a way, gave validity to rice and its absorbent properties.

Until Apple, in a guide recently published in its technical support site , finally debunked the myth. Put the iPhone — in any of its versions — inside a bowl of water, say, no one will worry about the humidity of the equipment if it also may produce a serious damage if some of the grains or particles are present inside it. from him.

The news may surprise more than one person, but not those who know it: the technical service specialists.

“The famous myth of rice, unfortunately, is more harmful than beneficial, because it often happens that the problem of humidity is solved but the rice enters the gaps and damages the speakers or microphones,” confirms María Llanos , head of Batmac’s technical service. laboratory. “Or sometimes the rice itself gets wet and causes micro-cuts on the plate.”

The edgean American site specializing in technology, published the article in 2015 “Can rice really save your wet phone?” in which they already refuted the popular household method: according to them, more than the absorbent properties of the grain, it was the time that was responsible for the drying of the device.

The article also provides a brief history of this urban/technological myth. In 1946, the magazine Popular photography specialized in photography, offers some recommendations so that people can keep their photographic films and rolls dry in high humidity and temperature environments. Suggestions included placing them in silica – the most recommended – but also using dry tea bags, brown paper and, yes, putting them in rice as well. But to have “a substantial effect”, it is necessary to use large quantities of cereals.

Spilling liquid on a smartphone is as common as despair. what happens next? Immediately, doubt arises about the state of the team. Will the accident have affected you? But beware! Do not try to turn on the device or plug it into the mains without waiting a reasonable amount of time for it to dry out of the desire to find out.

María Llanos explains that this can lead to the phone “blacking out” and permanently dying. Or, even worse for your integrity, that you suffer an electrocution and, in more extreme cases, that your smartphone catches fire.

In the case of iPhones, especially the series from the XS (2018), their systems are capable of detecting the presence of liquid both in the connection port and in the connection cable. If so, it issues alerts on your screen.

“Liquid detected. Unplug the charging cable to avoid damaging your iPhone. Let the connector dry. This may take several hours,” reads one of the messages an Apple phone can transmit.

Likewise, the iPhone system deactivates the electronic activity of its port to prevent it from suffering corrosion of its pins, following the presence of liquid. Something that other types of smartphones that do not have a locking system like Apple devices may face.

Speaking of errors, rice isn’t the only method commonly used after accidents involving liquid or moisture that can have counterproductive effects on smartphones.

Apple, in the recently released guide, advises against using cotton swabs or paper towels to attempt to dry the connector port. Like rice grains, these can leave behind particles that impair the operation of the equipment or even permanently damage it.

The same if you use compressed air or external heat sources, such as a hair dryer. Although this can be effective in removing moisture, it is very common for the result to be more negative than positive. “It has happened to us on several occasions that after a long exposure to the hair dryer, we received devices with scorched keys,” explains María Llanos. If this is used, he said, it should be done with “great caution.”

In any case, Llanos maintains that it is not advisable to “manage the drying process yourself.” This is because the possible consequences of an accident with a liquid are “super random”, meaning that the supposed cure could be worse than the disease. “It happened to us that a glass full of water fell on the equipment and nothing happened to it and it is still operational. And in other cases, a single fall has damaged a crucial component of the equipment.

According to the guide published by Apple, the steps are as follows:

1. The first thing to do is turn off the iPhone and gently tap it against your hand, connector side down, to remove any excess liquid that might be inside. The equipment should then be left in a location free of humidity and with some air circulation.
2. You must wait at least 30 minutes. After that, you can try charging the device by connecting it to power. You can also try connecting an accessory through the connector port. If the alert repeats, there is still liquid remaining; It may be in the connector port or under the connector cable pins. Then you need to follow the third step:
3. Return the iPhone to a dry environment where, ideally, there are drafts. This time, you will have to wait until the next day. In the meantime, you can try charging your device or connecting an accessory again. Complete drying may take up to 24 hours.
4. If after 24 hours your phone seems dry but still isn’t charging, try unplugging the adapter cable as well as the adapter from the outlet. Then plug everything back in and try again.

Each model has different levels of water resistance. Something that is generally expressed through IP certifications that meet the international standard IEC 60529 on degrees of protection, and which are granted by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

This certification, common in industrial-level electrical and electronic equipment, has been used for several years in mobile devices such as smartphones, to also indicate the degree of resistance they present against other external factors, such as dust.

The most recent nomenclature, IP68, ensures that the equipment is completely resistant to dust and water, in which it can be completely submerged up to 1.5 meters deep and continuously. Different from IP65, very common in smartphones, which only provides protection against jets of water.

But it would be a mistake to fully rely on this certification. This is what Manuel Figueroa, CEO of Boaz Electronic, says: “Certifications are reliable but only when the equipment is new. »

According to the microelectronics engineer and technician, time and high temperatures “overcome” the packaging system, based on adhesives that cover the charging inputs, speakers, microphones, and which, with use , end up losing their effectiveness to the point that water ends up leaking.

If liquid comes into contact with your smartphone, Figueroa says, it’s advisable to “let it dry in environments without humidity or high temperatures, where uncompressed air circulates.” Do not charge them, avoid using them and take them to a technical service as soon as possible, as equipment with internal batteries must be dismantled to cut off the power supply and thus stop the sulphation process.

María Llanos adds that if you have devices with a removable battery, you should remove it as quickly as possible and then take the equipment to a technical service where chemical cleaning must be carried out.

One of the best-selling families of smartphones in Chile, along with the iPhone, is the Samsung Galaxy. He master trainer of the South Korean brand’s mobile products in the country, Elías Inostroza, explains that the most recent models in the series are certified IP67 and 68. Protection includes membranes for the speakers, silicone seals and technology sealing in the charging ports, replacing the old covers this, according to Inostroza, happened.

The use of these membranes is also included in the design of the Galaxy’s front display and internal components, “ensuring that even if water or dust is spilled, it will not enter the device.”

Inostroza gives step by step to dry Samsung equipment in case of an accident with water:

• Turn off the wet device to avoid serious damage or corrosion to the motherboard.
• Dry it quickly with a towel, paying attention to the charging port, and wipe away any foreign debris to prevent corrosion.
• Then dry it in the open air in a ventilated place or in cold air, avoiding the use of hair dryers and hot air.
• “After performing these steps, remember to visit the nearest Samsung service center for a detailed inspection,” he adds.

And the rice? Better to leave it for lunch.