Transient electronics is a class of electronic devices designed to maintain stable operation for a desired and preset amount of time; and, undergo fast and complete degradation and deconstruction once transiency is triggered. Controlled and programmed transiency in solvent-triggered devices is strongly dependent on chemical and physical interactions between the solvent and the device, as well as those within the device itself, among its constituent components. Mechanics of transiency of prototypical transient circuits demonstrate strong dependence of the transiency characteristics on that of the substrate. In the present study, we demonstrate the control of transiency through the dissolution behavior of a substrate for the devices with electronic parts composed of colloidal units. It is observed that the physical circuit-substrate interactions are the dominating factors in defining the overall transiency behavior of the device. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.