Technologies

Wet Phone? Try These 3 Ways to Dry It Out

How effective is rice in drying your phone out? We’ll explain that and more.

Your smartphone’s price tag doesn’t protect it from accidents, unfortunately. People buy phone cases in case they drop their new phone, but what if your phone gets wet? According to Secure Data Recovery, a data recovery service, 23% of people not only get their phone wet but actually drop their phone in the toilet. That’s one way to flush your money away.

While many smartphones are water-resistant, that doesn’t mean they’re waterproof, so it’s still important to dry your phone out. Here are three ways to dry your phone out after dropping it in water and hopefully save yourself from having to buy a new one.

Unfortunately, none of these methods are guaranteed to work, and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence with very few scientific studies on the subject. The most recent study we could find was from 2014 by Gazelle, a company that buys and sells used and broken phones. According to that study, the make and model of phone were found to influence whether or not a phone could return to working order, with Android phones typically faring better than iPhones.

Sources agree that getting your phone out of the water as quickly as possible helps by minimizing how much water comes into contact with your device. If you follow these instructions and your phone won’t turn on, or it turns on and has some issues, you should take it to a phone shop to see if they can help.

What Apple and Samsung recommend

Both phone manufacturers have some tips for users in case your phone is dropped in water.

Here’s what Apple says to do:

1. Remove your iPhone from the water, turn it off and dry it with a soft, lint-free cloth.

2. Tap your phone gently with the Lightning port facing down to get excess water out.

3. Place your iPhone in a dry area with good circulation and wait at least five hours. Pointing a fan at your iPhone’s Lightning port might help the process.

After five hours, turn your phone back on and see how it’s working. If you’re still having issues, jump to the end of this article.

Samsung has similar instructions:

1. Remove your phone from the water, turn it off and dry it off with a dry towel or a clean cloth.

2. Place your phone in a well-ventilated area or in the shade with cool air from a fan. Samsung doesn’t specify a length of time to wait, though.

Samsung says even after you’ve followed these steps that there might still be water inside your phone so you should bring it to a Samsung Electronics Service Center.

Both manufacturers also say if you drop your phone in a liquid other than clean water — like soda or pool water — you should quickly rinse your phone using tap water before drying with a towel and then air drying.

Apple and Samsung say to never use a heating source, like a blow dryer or oven, to dry your phone off. The heat could damage your phone.

Silica gel beads could help

You could also try silica gel. According to Gazelle, silica gel beads are a good option to absorb moisture out of phones. Silica gel beads can be found in those white packs labeled «Do not eat» many products come packed with. You can save these packs from packages you’ve received, or buy packs through online stores like Amazon or companies like Dry & Dry.

Once you have your silica, here’s what to do after dropping your phone in water.

1. Get your phone out of the water and turn it off.

2. Dry the outside of your phone with a lint-free towel.

3. Place your phone in a large container.

4. Fill the container with your silica gel beads and seal the container.

5. Gazelle recommends waiting 72 hours to let your phone dry.

6. Remove your phone from the container and try turning it back on.

Other household items might help

If you don’t have silica gel beads on hand, you could try other household items. Gazelle found couscous and instant rice both work well as drying agents.

Follow the steps in the above section, but replace the silica beads with either of these, wait for the same amount of time and then try restarting your device.

Gazelle also tested conventional cat litter, oats, chia seeds and uncooked white rice but doesn’t recommend these products because they leave behind debris that could damage your phone.

For more tips, check out how low-frequency sounds can get rid of water from your phone’s speakers, how to get two days out of a single iPhone charge and how to easily manage your Android permissions.

Technologies

Act Fast to Save 15% on This Powerful CarbonMag Portable Charger

This Sharge charger can keep you powered on the go, and right now you don’t have to pay full price.

There’s nothing worse than your phone dying in the middle of the day, especially when finding an outlet means being stuck in an uncomfortable situation. MagSafe portable wireless chargers are a great fix for that, as they snap onto the back of your phone and charge it while you go about your day. One solid pick that won’t weigh your phone down like a brick is the CarbonMag MagSafe portable charger by Sharge. And right now it can be yours for less with this Prime Day deal.

Thanks to Prime Day, you can currently snag it for 15% off with the code QHUAPIWG at checkout — bringing the price down from $70 to just $59. That’s the same cost as the smaller 5,000mAh model, but this one gives you double the battery capacity for the same price.

This device is made out of carbon fiber, which makes it 40% lighter than your usual power banks and 80% more durable than chargers made with the materials normally used. It gets you a 10,000mAh battery capacity, enough to charge your devices multiple times throughout the day. You’ll enjoy up to 15W wireless charging, which can power an iPhone 15 from 0% to 55% in just 44 minutes.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The charger also features ultrastrong (but safe) magnets that maintain a stable hold on your smartphone. You can use the built-in USB-C port for pass-through charging or to power another device at the same time. The only catch? We don’t know when the discount code expires, so you might want to hurry.

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Why this deal matters

MagSafe wireless chargers can be a game-changer for anyone tired of juggling wires throughout the day. This deal gets you a slim, lightweight, yet powerful option at a $11 discount for a limited time. We recommend acting while you can.

Technologies

Save Up to $35 Off a Baseus Charging Station This July 4th and Stay Powered Up All Weekend

When USB ports aren’t enough, a Baseus charging station is what you need. Power all your gadgets with multiple well-spaced AC outlets and no clutter.

Keeping all your gear charged can be a job unto itself, and it gets more complicated when you have visitors. Whether you’re having guests this Fourth of July weekend or you just need a better charging solution for your family, a charging station could be the answer. But even the best charging stations can only share so many watts between devices, which is why the best charging stations from brands like Anker and Baseus not only feature multiple USB ports but also multiple AC outlets. AC outlets accommodate those few devices that still use proprietary chargers, and it lets you expand beyond the included 2-4 USB ports without sacrificing wattage when you need to top off everyone quickly before heading out.

The Fourth of July deals are bouncing into next week’s Amazon Prime Day to give us some of the best savings of the year a week early. Among the dozens of mobile accessories Baseus has on sale this holiday weekend is a trio of towers that can declutter your desk and keep everything you need ready and recharged. Available in 6-in-1, 7-in-1 for $65, and 10-in-1 varieties, these charging stations all offer two USB-C ports, at least one USB-A port and multiple AC outlets. Just note: You’ll need to clip the on-page coupon to get the lowest possible price.

For the best blend of power and ports, Baseus’ 100W 7-in-1 USB-C charging station can fast charge a laptop at 65W — full speed for all Chromebooks and many Windows laptops — while a phone and tablet each standard charge at 15W and still leave 5W for your smartwatch while your non-USB tech or your desk’s smart speaker can use the AC ports on both sides and the back of the tower. These towers are part power delivery chargers and part surge protectors with surge and lightning protection to keep your digital lifelines from frying should calamity strike.

The Baseus $35 10-in-1 desktop charging station model may sound like it’s the most powerful, but it only offers 35 watts to share between the two USB-C and USB-A ports, leaving the lion’s share of the station’s potential power to the six AC ports. This isn’t to say 35W between four ports is useless, but you’ll want to use those ports for lower-powered devices like recharging your smartwatch or wireless earbuds.

If you’re looking to charge multiple phones and tablets with those ports, you’re probably better off going with the 6-in-1 USB-C Charging Station at $50, which may only have three AC ports but features a retractable USB-C cable in addition to one standard USB-A and one USB-C port. Those three ports share 65W, meaning that you can charge both a phone and tablet at full speed rather than both getting middling speeds.

Why this deal matters

I use a 100W charging station like this at my desk and have another next to my couch for both me and my guests to keep our phones powered and ready. Being able to stick my 65W travel charger into one of the AC ports and fast charge four phones instead of two — well, one phone and my Chromebook — when I have people over and then swap it back to powering my oil diffuser or smart speaker once they’re gone is a godsend, and since the wall outlets are spread out across multiple sides of the tower instead of sandwiched next to each other in a line, I never have to worry about bulky plugs blocking out half my ports.

Because these charging stations double as surge protectors, you can also click their switch to power off and disconnect everything when severe weather comes, unlike standard charging stations you would have to unplug. Living in lightning capital of the U.S. makes this feature more important to me than most, but it can also be handy for parents wanting a one-click shut-off for all the kids’ consoles and computers.

We’re still days away from Prime Day, and deals like these will continue to drop through the next week, but these chargers are all within a few dollars of their lowest prices ever. We’ll watch for further price drops and competing deals throughout the holiday week, including Anker’s plethora of deals on chargers, speakers and smart home appliances.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 4, #284

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 4, No. 284.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has kind of a July 4 flavor. But come on, New York Times puzzle makers, is the blue category really a sport? Read on for hints and the answers. And pass the mustard.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What you won.

Green group hint: Lone Star State sports.

Blue group hint: Chow down.

Purple group hint: Not cold.