Ironsand

Phones are now absolutely essential items in our (connected) lives. It becomes impossible to read an email (2-factor authentication), authorize a financial transaction (often as simple as a credit card purchase) or board a plane. The trend keeps going further, as we have been now transferring identity documents to phones' "wallets" (including many official government-made applications). Then there are social aspects like electronic messaging, photo sharing. And navigation (car or trail / backcountry).

At the same time it has become increasingly more difficult to make a simple backup device, as many of the above mentioned services are tied to digital security / identity chips that by design are impossible to backup and require full reinstallation of the digital services. I covered this in my recent phone migration blogs here and here).

Long story short - changing a phone (voluntarily as an upgrade or being forced to as a result of a device loss or damage) requires plenty of time and good internet connectivity. Definitely something you want to avoid when traveling (and travel is when the risk of losing / breaking a phone is significantly higher).

For the reasons above I always use a protective case for my phone. I think I could risk the loss/damage of the device itself in exchange for not having to use a case (let's admit it: any case is ugly and bulky). But a proper case protects me from losing what is ON the phone and having to deal with new device setup / restore.

I even liked the magnetic USB tips as they nicely cover the USB port which gets dirty when not covered, considering them not just a great convenience but an additional protection.

Then - very unexpectedly - with all that care and protection - I fell prey to the new agent that makes phones (and many other devices) vulnerable: IRONSAND.

During the New Zealand trip we visited a place called Kawhia Beach, looking for an underground hot water which makes this place famous: you dig a hole in the sand and take a hot bath. How cool is that!

We arrived in the early afternoon and the sand on the beach was very hot. Partially to the fact that the sand there is black, absorbing sunrays, to the extent that it is almost impossible to walk there barefooted. We had some troubles finding the underground hot pot so - of course - went on to consult an AI assistant (Gemini) to help us locate one. The secret is: the hot pots are available only around low tides.

Having fun on the beach we bathed in the sea and spent there a lovely afternoon. Later in the evening I noticed my phone would not charge. It turned out the magnetic cable connector got dirty. But I was not able to clean it! The sand sticked to the connector! I realized the sand was magnetic and the tiny grains did not want to leave the magnetic tip of the cable.

The internet confirmed my finding - many New Zealand beaches are made of ironsand. That devil sticks to any magnet and the grans are super tiny. With clothes, fingers, and other usual methods - it is almost impossible to remove it from a magnetic surface.

My damage ended up to be very limited - the phone was staying in my pocket most of the time and the moment it caught the sand was when I went swimming and put it inside a shoe left on the beach (the shoe was a bit dirty with the sand inside). But generally this devil could get inside speakers, earbuds, and just about anything that has magnets. The protection (once you know what you are facing) is simple: a ziplock bag (I'm adding them to my list of travel items).