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Water Spill iPhoneSE

N

nhamp07

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 6, 2011
158
30
My wife messaged me on facebook. She is out of town and water spilled on her phone in her purse. She said it was a good amount.

The screen is off and the phone is warm. How do you know if the phone is off completely if the screen is black?

Phone toast or will the ol bag of rice trick help?
 
Rice is a myth. It doesn't work. Don't waste your time. If anything, those gel silica packets that come in shoe boxes are far more effective and can be ordered in bundles online. But in all likeliness, the iPhone is most likely ruined.
 
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Relentless Power said:
Rice is a myth. It doesn't work. Don't waste your time. If anything, those gel silica packets that come in shoe boxes are far more effective and can be ordered in bundles online. But in all likeliness, the iPhone is most likely ruined.
Click to expand...
Something like silica packets could/would work better, but rice isn't a myth either. It certainly isn't anything close to a guaranteed fix or anything like that, but it has worked for plenty of people and is certainly better than not doing anything at all.
 
C DM said:
Something like silica packets could/would work better, but rice isn't a myth either. It certainly isn't anything close to a guaranteed fix or anything like that, but it has worked for plenty of people and is certainly better than not doing anything at all.
Click to expand...

I strongly disagree. I worked in electronic relations for ten plus years and rice is only effective with a device that is completely saturated, extracting a minimal amount of condensation from
The device. It may be better than nothing, but it's a long drawn process that will ultimately be wasting the time for the OP.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140924005241/en/Rice-Myth-Busted-Study-Proves-Rice-Dry
 
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Relentless Power said:
I strongly disagree. I worked in electronic relations for ten plus years and rice is only effective with a device that is completely saturated, extracting a minimal amount of condensation from
The device. It may be better than nothing, buts it's a long drawn process that will ultimately be wasting the time for the OP.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140924005241/en/Rice-Myth-Busted-Study-Proves-Rice-Dry
Click to expand...
And at the same time certainly enough people out there that have had working phones afterward. If there are better options available, then sure, but as you agreed, better than nothing, which means not necessarily wasting time if it's better than nothing and thus gives a better chance than nothing (still a chance though of course, but probably still worthwhile for someone when it comes to an expensive device if the alternative for them is not doing anything).
 
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C DM said:
And at the same time certainly enough people out there that have had working phones afterward. If there are better options available, then sure, but as you agreed, better than nothing, which means not necessarily wasting time if it's better than nothing and thus gives a better chance than nothing (still a chance though of course, but probably still worthwhile for someone when it comes to an expensive device if the alternative for them is not doing anything).
Click to expand...

Your bolded statement above. What qualifies for a certain number of phones working afterwards? Anecdotal.

I have serviced thousands of iPhones and your above statement does not fly. I already explained how rice can be effective to an limited extent. To expedite the process for a saturated iPhone, rice is frivolous, being the amount of time it takes to extract, therefore, the device ultimately sufffers. Where as gel silica works exponentially faster and is proven more reliable to save the device from the water damage, Perhaps prolonging the device.

Again, better than Nothing, sure. Ultimately wasting your time to save your investment, yes. I made a suggestion to the OP offering a remedy, which will expedite the process. My theory stands.
 
Relentless Power said:
I strongly disagree. I worked in electronic relations for ten plus years and rice is only effective with a device that is completely saturated, extracting a minimal amount of condensation from
The device. It may be better than nothing, buts it's a long drawn process that will ultimately be wasting the time for the OP.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140924005241/en/Rice-Myth-Busted-Study-Proves-Rice-Dry
Click to expand...
Umm....you do realize that's an ad for that service, right? I wouldn't give that any credibility whatsoever.

Rice does and has worked (and I've worked in tech for 23 years now - Microsoft, IBM and BlackBerry to name a few, if you want to compare experiences).

Silica works far better than anything else readily available, but dry rice will pull a lot of moisture out of any component. You need to give it a few days though.

@nhamp07 In this case, if the phone is really hot, I'm pretty sure you're already cooked - putting it in rice, you may actually have a fire hazard on your hands. There could be a short that's impacted the battery...it may swell and combust. Best to just put it out somewhere in the open air, preferably on a non-flammable surface. If you want to take a chance, you could put it in a container of rice, but maybe put it out in the middle of your back yard? :)
 
Relentless Power said:
I strongly disagree. I worked in electronic relations for ten plus years and rice is only effective with a device that is completely saturated, extracting a minimal amount of condensation from
The device. It may be better than nothing, buts it's a long drawn process that will ultimately be wasting the time for the OP.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140924005241/en/Rice-Myth-Busted-Study-Proves-Rice-Dry
Click to expand...
Nice ad. This link was better: http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/14/9326035/can-rice-actually-save-your-wet-phone

Or this one: https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/05/06/gazelles-guide-water-damage-truth-rice-galaxy-everything/
 
fischersd said:
Umm....you do realize that's an ad for that service, right? I wouldn't give that any credibility whatsoever.

Rice does and has worked (and I've worked in tech for 23 years now - Microsoft, IBM and BlackBerry to name a few, if you want to compare experiences).

Silica works far better than anything else readily available, but dry rice will pull a lot of moisture out of any component. You need to give it a few days though.

@nhamp07 In this case, if the phone is really hot, I'm pretty sure you're already cooked - putting it in rice, you may actually have a fire hazard on your hands. There could be a short that's impacted the battery...it may swell and combust. Best to just put it out somewhere in the open air, preferably on a non-flammable surface. If you want to take a chance, you could put it in a container of rice, but maybe put it out in the middle of your back yard? :)
Click to expand...

No. I'm not interested in comparing resumes with you.

Back on topic, my point was rice is not in the time of essence when dealing with water damage. It's a method used, but not preferred, which I already admitted in my previous posts. Second, for times sake, once the device is saturated, the clock is against you. Rice is to slow of a process. As stated, silica is quicker, more efficient, but not readily available unless you have a stock pile.

And today with devices, most times it's to late once wet with water. Phone manufacturers understood they need to allow their devices to become more water resistant, being the cost it takes to service and more so, devices suffer from water damage more than physical damage, at least from My past experiences.

In the end, there is only treatment for water damage, however; no cure.
 
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@Relentless Power - heh - I only threw out the tech experience because you did in poo-poo'ing CD M's statement. :)
@willmtaylor Good articles. Not surprised so many other things perform better than rice.

No-one's going to argue that anything is better than Silica Gel for this purpose. If you could rig up a box with a de-humidifier, that would undoubtedly do a good job as well (moving, dry air would prove the most effective).

This on the Gazelle page though: "We recommend focusing on shaking, blowing, or vacuuming as much water out of the phone as you can before trying to dry out your device. You should only rely on drying agents such as silica gel or rice to absorb the last few drops of residual moisture."

Shaking?! Not on your life! Once retrieving the soggy device, you should be minimizing movement - to keep whatever water is in it from contacting any circuits it hasn't already (the more shorts it can cause, the greater potential for damage that impacts the use of the device).

Agreed, with the new devices, this topic is going to become pretty rare (with the exception of those that drop them - like that 7 and the toilet thread - no doubt the impact caused a breach to the water resistance) - most people won't have any issues with water damage with an IPX7 or higher rated phone. Heh. Provided they employ some all-too-uncommon sense. :)
 
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