Technologies

Here’s the Truth About Putting Your iPhone or Android in Rice to Dry It Out

Rice might actually damage your phone so try these other tricks to dry out your device instead.

Spring can bring flowers and local wildlife back to your neighborhood but it can also bring a lot of rainfall. And if you drop your phone in a puddle, it could end up costing you a lot of money. While many smartphones are water-resistant, that doesn’t mean they’re waterproof so it’s still important to dry out your phone. Here are a few ways to get your phone dry after dropping it in water or getting it dirty, and hopefully these can help save you from having to buy a new phone.

None of these methods are guaranteed to work, however, and while there’s a lot of anecdotal evidence, there are 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 a phone could return to working order, with Android phones typically faring better than iPhones.

Phone manufacturers agree that removing your phone from water as quickly as possible helps to minimize how much water comes into contact with your device. That means you have a better chance of saving your phone but don’t put your phone in rice after removing it from water because that could damage it.

Here’s what you should do if you drop your phone in water. 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 an associated phone shop to see if they can help.

What Apple and Samsung recommend

The two biggest phone manufacturers have some tips in case you drop your phone in water.

Apple says that many iPhones are splash, water and dust resistant when tested in controlled lab environments, but these resistances aren’t permanent. If your iPhone gets wet, it might display a warning that there’s water in your phone’s charging port. If you see this warning, or your iPhone comes into contact with water, lotions, soap or other potentially hazardous material, here’s what Apple says to do:

1. After removing your iPhone from the material, turn it off and dry it with a soft, lint-free cloth.
2. Tap your phone gently with the charging port facing down to get excess water out of the port.
3. Place your iPhone in a dry area with good circulation and wait at least five hours. Pointing a fan at your iPhone’s charging port might help the process.

After five hours, try turning your iPhone back on and plugging it back in. If you’re still having issues, you can try the other methods mentioned in this article, or you can take your phone to an Apple store for further assistance.

Apple also says don’t put your iPhone in rice. «Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone,» the company writes online.

Samsung has similar instructions for drying your phone:

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» that 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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, April 20

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 20.

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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has a lot of Os and a couple of Qs, so think of words containing those letters. It helps if you know your basketball players and your electric cars, too. No Easter theme, despite the holiday. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Speaking confidently but dishonestly
Answer: GLIB

5A clue: Traditional dance at a Jewish wedding
Answer: HORA

6A clue: «Scram!»
Answer: GOAWAY

8A clue: Hyundai electric car with a creatively spelled name
Answer: IONIQ

9A clue: Hoops legend with size 22 shoes
Answer: SHAQ

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Africa’s largest exporter of gold
Answer: GHANA

2D clue: Score that’s nowhere near Mensa-worthy
Answer: LOWIQ

3D clue: Baghdad’s country
Answer: IRAQ

4D clue: Loading area for trucks
Answer: BAY

6D clue: Army soldiers, for short
Answer: GIS

7D clue: ___ and aah
Answer: OOH

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 20, #209

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 209, for April 20.

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.

Connections: Sports Edition felt kind of easy today. The purple group is as weird as ever, but if you get the other three, you don’t even have to worry about that category. Read on for hints and the answers.

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: Nike makes it.

Green group hint: Stationary bike.

Blue group hint: Bills are in this group.

Purple group hint: Fishermen use these.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Athletic footwear.

Green group: Gym equipment.

Blue group: AFC East teams.

Purple group: Things with nets.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is athletic footwear. The four answers are boots, cleats, sneakers and spikes.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is gym equipment. The four answers are elliptical, medicine ball, rowing machine and treadmill.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is AFC East teams. The four answers are Buffalo, Miami, New England and New York.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is things with nets. The four answers are basketball hoop, Brooklyn, soccer goal, tennis courts.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 20, #413

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 413 for April 20, Easter Sunday.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

If you know what holiday today is, then the new NYT Strands puzzle should be a breeze. The New York Times doesn’t always theme its puzzles to holidays, but it went all-out with this one. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: On the hunt.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Today’s holiday.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CRAB, BRAT, TONE, RACK, DENT, YEAST, EAST, CANE, CHOP, BUSY, COLA, SACK.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: