Phone repair with rice

A water-damaged Nokia 5310 phone submerged in dry rice

Submerging a mobile device into rice is common mitigation advice to avoid water damage to electronics which have been splashed with or immersed in liquid. This technique has not been shown to be effective in avoiding the damage. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Submerging these devices into a desiccant may or may not be more effective than leaving them to dry in open air. Uncooked rice is inferior to other common desiccants such as silica gel or cat litter, ^[4] and Apple Support warns that small particles of rice could damage a phone. ^[5]

History

Rice has traditionally been used to keep camera equipment and films dry in tropical environments, with Yankee magazine recommending in 1996 the use of uncooked rice as an "in a pinch" substitution for silica gel desiccant. ^[1]

In July 2007, less than a month after the original iPhone was released, a member of MacRumors named jorsuss started a thread titled "I dropped my iPhone in water" in which they said they had used "the rice trick" to recover it. ^[6] This may have been the first documented attempt to use the procedure on an iPhone. ^[1]

See also

• IP Code
• List of common misconceptions § Computing and the Internet

Further reading

• Ashworth, Boone. "Here's the Right Way to Rescue a Soaking Wet Smartphone". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2023-05-19.
• "Don't Put Your Device in Rice. Here's Why". iFixit . 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2023-05-19.

References

1. Zelenko, Michael (2015-09-14). "Putting your wet phone in rice probably won't save it. But do it anyway". The Verge . Retrieved 2022-03-18.
2. Conversation, Ritesh Chugh for the (2021-04-14). "Phone wet and won't turn on? Here's what to do with water damage (hint: putting it in rice won't work)". The Guardian . Retrieved 2022-03-18.
3. Apprendre à réparer l'électronique - Pour en finir avec le RIZ !, 20 April 2022, retrieved 2023-02-16
4. "Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone". 20 May 2014.
5. "If you see a liquid-detection alert on your iPhone". Apple Support. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
6. jorsuss (25 July 2007). "I dropped my iPhone in water". MacRumors Forums. Retrieved 25 April 2025.