Radio Motherboard

Putting Your Waterlogged Phone in Rice Is Dumb and Doesn't Work

One of the few people in the United States who actually repairs water damaged phones tells us how he does it.

Jason Koebler

Jason Koebler

Image: Motherboard

One time, I misjudged the depth of a creek, stepped in, and was literally in over my head. Not that big of a problem, except I had various electronics in my backpack. As thousands (millions?) of people have done, I stuck my phone and camera in a bowl of rice and waited. A few days later, I pulled them out. Neither worked.

Of course they didn't. Rice is not a magical phone saving device, as Trent Dennison, a nurse turned iPhone repairman will tell you.

Dennison is one of the very few people in the United States who actually knows how to repair water damaged phones. For the last year, he's been on a personal mission to stop people from ruining perfectly good rice with waterlogged phones. As Dennison explains, corrosion starts immediately after water touches an electronic device's internal components; the only way you can reliably repair the phone is by getting rid of that corrosion. We get into the science of water damage and talk about what you should do if your phone decides to go for a swim—counterintuitively, your best bet may be to immediately drown your phone in rubbing alcohol, for reasons he explains in the podcast.


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