For almost as long as smartphones have existed, people have put them in rice after dropping them in water. This often repeated “trick” to save a waterproof phone has gone too far. Allow us to explain.
Where did it come from?
The rice trick has been around forever, and there’s probably a good chance you’ve done it before – I know I have. Where does this general advice come from? That’s an interesting question.
One of the first high-profile examples of the recommended “rice trick” going back to a Lifehacker post from June 2007. The claim was that dry rice “sucks up the surrounding moisture.” The same mindset has been repeated ever since.
The trick was certainly before smartphones, but it really caught on as more people started carrying around expensive, fragile devices that don’t play well with water. People want to know what to do when they drop their phone in water and the rice trick filled that need.
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Why it does not work
Here’s the harsh truth about putting a wet phone in rice – it does absolutely nothing. Rice does not have magical moisture-transporting powers. You might as well just put the phone in a completely empty bowl.
Rice has some ability to absorb water from wet things, but it is very weak. In addition, it does not solve the main problem. Even a strong desiccant such as silica gel can not get the most harmful liquid that is on inde of the phone.
Sometimes, if the water did not penetrate too much into the phone, it will save it by leaving it off and giving it time to dry out. People end up believing that it was the rice that did something, when in reality it was just letting the phone be left alone for a while that did the trick.
To make matters worse, rice can actually highlight water damage in some cases. The fine rice “dust” can enter the gates and mix with the water to create a paste-like substance that is harder to remove.
To save a wet phone
The key to rescuing a wet phone is not necessarily just waiting for it to dry. It may work if you are lucky, but it is much more effective to remove as much water as possible as quickly as possible. Just letting it dry will leave all the conductive stuff in the water.
If your phone has been immersed in water, the immediate first step is to turn it off. Do not try to turn it on if the water turned it off. Then remove everything that can be removed. This includes cases, the SIM card tray, the microSD card tray and the battery (if it is removable at all).
Next, you can go the low-tech route and use a fan or compressed air to blow the water out of the ports. However, it will not do anything for water that has entered the phone. To remove that water yourself, open it. From there, you can scrub it with 90% + isopropyl alcohol or place it in front of a fan.
RELATED: How water damages electronics
We probably never know who the first person who came up with the idea of putting their wet phone in a bowl of rice was, but the “trick” has lasted far too long. Fortunately, most smartphones today have some degree of water resistance. It is better to get one of them and take other precautions. Save the rice for dinner.