With smartphones these days moonlighting as in-flight entertainment when atop the porcelain throne, watery mishaps are bound to happen.

The question is, then, how do you dry your device when it takes that inevitable tumble into those dirty depths? Because it sure ain't turning on again while waterlogged.

Philosophers have long pondered the problem, and those investigations invariably arrive at what we will call the Rice Solution.

Here is Macworld, which we would assume to be an expert in such matters, on "How to dry out an iPhone with uncooked rice":

What follows is a step-by-step guide, as if one were needed, on putting some rice in a plastic container then shoving your iPhone in it. Basically, leave it for a day then try to turn it on. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again for the next few days.

However, whether people "swear by it" has been rendered moot by a decree from Apple itself. Handing down new documentation on how what to do "if you see a liquid-detection alert on your iPhone" (models XS and later), the Cupertino giant gives its official course of action:

It then handily outlines what not to do (our emphasis):

In fairness, Macworld gives the same warning, but doesn't hesitate to suggest the method regardless. In any case, if neither solution works, you'll be taking a costly trip to the Genius Bar or grappling with Apple Support.

In this admittedly unqualified writer's experience, though, iDevices are somewhat hardened to the perils of water. I recall years ago fumbling an iPod into the toilet. Hope lost, and with the advent of streaming services like Spotify just hitting the mainstream, the iPod went into the drawer where other doomed gadgets gathered dust.

On a whim, many months later, I turned it on and it worked perfectly. I went for a walk listening to a selection of pirated rarities I had thought forever lost. It's probably still functional now, if I knew where it was and had an old Lightning charger.

So perhaps Apple is right, and patience really is a virtue. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/02/21/dont_dry_iphone_rice/