Aaron Mok

<ul><li>Is your <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/how-to-tell-if-iphone-has-water-damage">iPhone wet</a>? If so, don't put it in a bowl of rice.&nbsp;</li><li>Apple's new support doc says rice can actually cause more damage to your iPhone.&nbsp;</li><li>The company also discourages drying your damp iPhone with a blow dryer or paper towel.&nbsp;</li></ul>

Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple">Apple</a> quietly published new guidelines on what to do when water gets into your iPhone. Typically, when phones, or any electronic devices, get wet, one common course of action is to put them in uncooked rice. The theory is that the raw grains can absorb the moisture.

But Apple's latest <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/102643">support document</a> discourages iPhone users from doing that, saying that small grains of rice could actually damage your phone if, say, particles get lodged into the ports.

According to Apple, you also shouldn't try to dry your moist iPhone by inserting a "foreign object" like a cotton swab or paper towel into the port, or use an external heat source like a blow dryer.

Still, the updated guidelines offer a few suggestions on what users can safely do. For example, if you plug your iPhone into a wall outlet with a lightning accessory and a "Liquid Detected" alert appears, immediately unplug the cable from both ends.

Once the cable is disconnected, gently tap your iPhone against your hand with the port facing the floor to allow excess liquid to escape. After that, store the phone in a dry area where there's some airflow for at least 30 minutes, then try charging it.

If the liquid detection alert appears a second time, unplug and leave your phone to fully dry for up to 24 hours. After waiting, try charging the phone again.

If the phone still isn't charging, momentarily unplug the cable from the adapter and the adapter from the wall, then reconnect them.

And if all else fails, you may need to bring your iPhone to a repair shop or, at worst, consider getting a replacement.

Nevertheless, your wet phone may still have a likely chance of surviving. A video of an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-6-drop-test-video-2014-9">iPhone 6 drop test</a> showed that the 2014 version continued to work after being dunked underwater. Years later, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-11-pro-battery-life-consumer-reports-rankings-2019-10">iPhone 11 Pro</a> passed a similar water resistance test.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider before publication.

Apple says putting your wet iPhone in rice can actually do more damage to the device.dontree_m/Getty Images

Have you ever been told to put your <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/little-known-iphone-feature-helped-rescue-lost-hiker-california-2024-2">iPhone</a> in a bowl of rice after accidentally dropping it in the sink or — even worse — toilet? You might just be making the problem worse.

Don't dry your damp iPhone in a bowl of rice, Apple says

<ul><li>A niche iPhone feature helped a search-and-rescue team find a lost hiker in California, KTLA said.</li><li>The hiker used the Emergency SOS feature on his iPhone 14 to alert authorities.&nbsp;</li><li>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple">Apple</a> feature uses satellite to locate those in places where there's no phone service or Wi-Fi.</li></ul>

On Sunday night, a lost hiker who took a wrong turn in the Angeles National Forest in southern California was rescued after he activated the Emergency SOS feature on his iPhone 14, <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/hiker-rescued-in-southern-california-using-apple-iphone-sos-feature/">KTLA</a> reported.

Available on the iPhone 14 and later models, the emergency feature uses satellite to identify where a respondent is located without the need for cellular data or WiFi, according to Apple. It's similar to the GPS tracking technology used in the Find My Friends app.

iPhone users can activate the feature by pressing down the lock button on the side and one of the volume buttons simultaneously until the Emergency SOS slider pops up.

Thanks to the emergency feature, a local volunteer rescue team got the hiker's alert around 8 p.m. In response, search-and-rescue first responder volunteer Mike Leum, plus a trainee, went to the forest to search for him, KTLA reported. According to the outlet, they told the hiker to stay put by communicating with him through satellite text messages.

It took the rescue team about an hour and a half to find the hiker, KTLA said. Once located, they spent an additional two hours hiking — at times with water up to their knees — to get him out of the forest.

"Another iPhone 14 save!" Leum <a href="https://twitter.com/Resqman/status/1759485161891414309">wrote in a post on X</a>, formerly Twitter, about the rescue mission.

"Lost hiker in the Angeles National Forest used the SOS/911 feature," the first responder continued. "We found him quickly and got him out safe."

Leum and Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider before publication.

It's not the first time rescue teams have located lost hikers through the iPhone's emergency feature in California, <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/injured-hiker-rescued-in-angeles-national-forest-using-apple-iphone-sos-technology/">KTLA reported</a>. And in December 2022, a man in Alaska alerted emergency responders using the SOS feature after he was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stranded-man-alaska-rescued-apple-iphone-14-emergency-sos-satellite-2022-12">stranded</a> traveling on a snow machine.

The iPhone's emergency SOS feature isn't the only one that can alert authorities to life-threatening situations. In October 2022, Apple's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-14-crash-detection-alerted-police-to-fatal-crash-2022-10">crash-detection feature</a>, found in the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8, notified police officers of a fatal car crash in Lincoln, Nebraska, that left six people dead.

Still, Apple's safety features aren't perfect. Last January, police raided a gym in Australia after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/siri-apple-police-raid-gym-emergency-services-2023-1">Siri</a>, Apple's virtual assistant, called emergency services when it mistakenly heard a Muay Thai fighter and boxing instructor say the numerical code that automatically contacts authorities during a training session. Police involved in the incident said they heard that shots were fired when that didn't happen.

That same month, Apple reportedly talked to emergency call centers after numerous reports of skiers' <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-talking-911-call-centers-iphone-watch-crash-detection-skiing-2023-1">iPhones and Apple Watches falsely triggering 911 calls</a> because of the crash-detection feature.

A lost hiker used iPhone's emergency SOS feature to escape a forest at night.Courtesy of Apple

If you ever find yourself lost in the wilderness, a little-known iPhone feature may help you get back to safety.

A little-known iPhone feature helped rescue a lost hiker in California

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Aaron Mok

Articles written by the author

Don't dry your damp iPhone in a bowl of rice, Apple says

A little-known iPhone feature helped rescue a lost hiker in California