Watching the World Cup with friends? Here's which spilled pint will damage your phone the most beware of cider!

Date:
Sat, 20 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Description:
Beer-based buffoonery during football matches poses a serious risk to your smartphone here's which beverages are the most hazardous.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Football supporters who spill and throw pints could ruin your smartphone Cider, with its high sugar
content, can wreck the insides of even an IP68-rated phone If you fall foul
of such spillage and booze-based buffoonery, make sure you take action to clean and protect your phone As a man who hates waste and has a distinct apathy for over-the-top football celebrations, the seemingly new phenomenon
of throwing alcoholic pints into the air when terminal runners-up England score a goal has left me with an even greater disdain for sloshed soccer supporters. For US readers A quick note for our US readers: this
pint-flinging foolery may not be something you're entirely familiar with, but as hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it's important that we make you, too, aware of this beverage-based danger to your smartphone. Research from Aldi notes that, during the 2024 European Football Championship, nearly 5 million pints were spilt every time the England team scored a goal, and as such, avoiding accelerated alcohol during the 2026 FIFA World Cup could be challenging even for those of you lucky enough to support another nation.
The best I can do to combat this moronic mindlessness is to flag the booze that poses the most damage to smartphones using data sourced by phone comparison and recycling site Compare and Recycle with the hope that the
next time Freddie Flag-jumper, Gravy Dave, and Barry Bulldogs decide to send their pint skyward, you'll be primed and ready to take cover. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

My prejudices aside, even if youre at a more civilized public house perhaps one with a nice selection of cask ales and fancy sausage rolls pints can still be spilt via more innocent bumps of a hand or slips of a tray, and so hopefully, you'll find this information useful even if you're not a footy-mad hooligan.

Now you might say to me, Roland, surely the best phones are waterproof and Id say correct, have a tech sticker. But Id also point out that the folks at Compare and Recycle have noted that the composition of commonly chugged boozy beverages can damage even phones rated against a dunk in the drink. You may like How to watch the World Cup on your phone: The ultimate mobile fan guide Why I wouldn't buy a super-cheap huge-screen TV for the World Cup Watching
the World Cup is the one time Id use motion smoothing on a TV here's why

While many modern flagship smartphones have an IP67 or IP68 rating, which gives some level of water resistance, this is typically only for fresh water and offers little proven protection against the sugary, alcoholic liquids found in beers and ciders, says Lee Elliott, chief product officer at Compare and Recycle.

Even when a phone is wiped clean of spilt drink, the sugars in it can suck in moisture from the surrounding environment and get into areas of the phone
that might be resistant to standard water but can be corroded by sugar. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Add in the alcohol content, which can act as a mild solvent over time, gradually degrading things like the oleophobic coating (an oil-repellent layer) on your screen or rubber seals around ports and buttons, and you can start to understand why a spilt pint is a much bigger problem for your phone than you might initially realize, Lee explains.

Particular pints are purveyors of palaver for portable phones (thank you), with cider apparently being the worst offender due to its high sugar content; so Id suggest heightened caution when watching England at a Somerset-based public house or alcohol-allotting establishment.

Beer is less of a problem, but Kronenbourg 1664 (a reasonable lager in this seasoned drinkers opinion) is the most phone-unfriendly tipple, according to Compare and Recycle's list. Here's the full list of drinks, ordered from most to least hazardous: What to read next Here are my top 4 Dolby Atmos soundbars to level up your World Cup viewing The World Cup is about to kick off here's my dream watch party setup Here are 3 TVs I recommend for your World Cup shopping list The ranked list Kopparberg Old Mout Rekorderlig Magners Strongbow Dark Fruits Blackthorn Woodpecker Cider Thatchers Gold Bulmers Strongbow Original Kronenbourg 1664 Estrella Damm San Miguel Stella Artois Peroni Heineken Grolsch Corona Birra Moretti Budweiser Analysis: clean your phone, rein it in Watch out for exuberant England supporters like this guy... (Image credit: Generated by Honor AI) Spillages during a football match are inevitable. If you arent the one spilling the drink on someone else, chances are, your friend will spill it on you. Its just one of those match-day mishaps, says Lee, which I feel paints a depressing picture of British
society in 2026.

Yes, were allowed a mishap, but if youre not being careful with your beverage in the age of the 7 pint, I think you really need to have a good look at yourself in the mirror. If youre deliberately throwing a pint in the air when an overpaid ball-kicker with a love of dramatics comes close to the oppositions goal line, well Im not sure I can really say what I think of that on TechRadar.

My advice is to keep your phone in your pocket or handbag if youre at a pub, you should be sociable, not swiping at a screen and act like a civilized human and simply cheer at the beautiful game while keeping a firm grip on
your drink. In short, dont be a word that rhymes with stick or punt.

Nevertheless, if I put aside my views and accept Lees assertion that
spillages are inevitable, the question is: what should you do to keep your phone safe? Compare and Recycle suggests the following: Immediately turn your device off: While its tempting to check that your device is still working fully, electricity flowing through wet components causes short circuits. Remove accessories: Phone cases are excellent for protecting your phone from falls, but keeping it on after a spilled pint can stop your device from
drying out properly. Remove it immediately, along with any screen protectors, as the liquid can seep beneath imperfections and cause screen damage. Rinse with water to remove sticky residue: This might sound counterintuitive, but
if you get a decent amount of a pint or cider spilled on your phone, then it can actually be beneficial to give it a quick rinse under a slow-running tap to remove the spillage as soon as possible. This is because sugary residue
can speed up the corrosion of things like the mainboard. Only do this when your phone is completely switched off. Quickly dry it with a clean, dry
cloth, paying close attention to the charging port and speaker grills where liquid is most likely to have entered. Drain the ports by tapping gently on the top of your phone: Gently tap your phone against the palm of your hand to help gravity do its work with the charging port and speaker grills facing downward. This will encourage any excess liquid to flow out of the openings. Resist turning it back on too soon: The instinct after following these steps is to turn your phone back on and see if it still works, but it's best to
keep it off and leave it to dry completely - even if that means waiting until the final whistle. So, yeah, follow those tips to help your phone survive spillages.

But also, my tip would be to find friends that aren't utter galoots, yobs or knuckleheads, or watch a more civilized sport like tennis or F1. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/watching-the-world-cup-with-friends-heres-whi ch-spilled-pint-will-damage-your-phone-the-most-beware-of-cider


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