Dropped your iPhone into water? Put it in a rice bag.
Want to let your battery life drain for a few more minutes before putting it back on the charger? Close background apps.
right? mistaken.
Apple has released new advice on what to do if you accidentally submerge your iPhone in water. No need to go to the pantry for this.
Newer models, such as iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone NX and later, display a warning if liquid is detected when you connect a Lightning cable, USB-C cable, or accessory to your phone.
To protect your phone, charging and accessory connections are unavailable until everything is dry.
What to do if your iPhone gets wet
Instead of a bag of rice, Apple suggests unplugging your phone and following these steps.
- With the connector facing down, tap your iPhone in your hand to remove any excess liquid.
- After at least 30 minutes, try charging with a Lightning or USB-C cable or connecting an accessory.
- 3. If the alert appears again, there is still liquid in the connector or under the pins on the cable. Leave your iPhone in a dry, well-ventilated area for up to 1 day. During this period, you can retry charging or connecting the accessory. It may take up to 24 hours to completely dry.
- 4. If your phone is dry but still won’t charge, unplug the cable from the adapter, disconnect the adapter from the wall (if possible), and plug it back in.
- Place your iPhone in a dry area with airflow.
Something you can not do
Don’t use external heat sources or compressed air to dry your iPhone.
Do not insert foreign objects such as cotton swabs or paper towels into the connector.
And as already mentioned, don’t put your iPhone inside a rice bag. Then, the small rice grains may damage your iPhone.
Stop closing background apps on your iPhone
Apple users are also reminded not to waste time closing background apps on their iPhones to save battery.
The cold truth for anyone who has worked hard for years is that it actually backfires.
“Closing background apps actually uses more battery than simply leaving them open,” reports tech website Gizmodo. “That’s because it takes more energy to shut down and initialize an app than to restore it from a suspended state in the background.”
The only time you need to force close an app is when it’s frozen.
