Apple amends guidelines on iPhone maintenance to say customers CAN use disinfecting wipes and isopropyl alcohol to clean their devices
- Apple has changed its iPhone maintenance guidelines amid coronavirus fears
- The company says customers can use Clorox wipes and isopropyl alcohol
- Previously Apple said it may ruin a protective coating on the glass
- Apple warns that abrasive cleaners like bleach will damage an iPhone
Apple is changing its tune about whether customers should use household disinfecting wipes to clean iPhones and other glass hardware.
According to an updated guide from the company, first noticed by The Wall Street Journal, using disinfecting wipes containing Clorox or those that are soaked with isopropyl alcohol are both permissible.
Using a disinfecting wipe or isopropyl alcohol is now permissable under Apple’s new guidelines for iPhone maintenance (stock)
‘Is it OK to use a disinfectant on my Apple product? Using a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, you may gently wipe the hard, nonporous surfaces of your Apple product, such as the display, keyboard, or other exterior surfaces,’ reads Apple’s updated guide.
The announcement is a turnaround from previous guidelines by Apple which formerly advised customers that those same products could erode a special coating on the screen that reduces smudging from fingerprints.
Instead, Apple is now advising its customers to stay away from more heavy-duty cleaners such as ‘aerosol sprays, bleaches, or abrasives’ – basically anything you might be worried about getting on your hands.
It also explicitly states that customers shouldn’t spray cleaners directly onto their devices, but should spray a soft cloth or tissue first and then apply the disinfectant.
‘Don’t use bleach. Avoid getting moisture in any opening, and don’t submerge your Apple product in any cleaning agents. Don’t use on fabric or leather surfaces,’ writes the company in its guidelines.
Updated guidelines come as concern continues to grow over the spread of a novel coronavirus called COVID-19 which has reached nearly 110,000 cases globally as of Monday, with 3,123 confirmed deaths.
The amended guidelines come amid mounting concern over COVID-19, a novel from of coronavirus (pictured) that has infected at least 110,000 worldwide
While the novelty of COVID-19 means its difficult to say how likely it is that it can be spread via phones, studies suggest that several other types of coronavirus have the ability to survive on glass and plastic surfaces for about nine days.
Phones in particular have been pinpointed as conduit for germs and potential infection given the fact, like one’s hands, they have a high likelihood of coming in contact with one’s face.
Above all, the US Centers for Disease control has said that frequent hand washing and minimized social contact are the best methods of mitigating the possibility of infection.