Introduction

Refer to the iPhone repair guides for instructions on disassembling your iPhone. You may need a soft brush, isopropyl alcohol, and a container that is large enough to submerge your iPhones' logic board in alcohol. The cleaning steps may require several repetitions to achieve a good result. These cleaning suggestions may not restore your phone to working order, but once you have eliminated any liquid and cleaned away any corrosion or debris you may be able to determine if any parts need to be replaced.

For more information consult the iPhone Liquid Damage Repair guide.

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    • Look for liquid or residue between the touchscreen and LCD. This phone shows water build-up between the touchscreen and LCD, and most likely contains more liquid inside.

    • In this case, there is no obvious damage or corrosion in the external dock connector.

    • There is no obvious damage or corrosion in the headphone jack.

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    • Liquid damage inside the phone may complicate disassembly. Beware of cables and connectors that may be adhered to other components in unexpected ways.

    • Lifting the front panel of this phone, the flex for the dock connector has stuck to the back of the midframe.

    What if the android phone is inbuilt??

    Fatimah Lawal -

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    • The water damage sticker is now pink, indicating that the inside of this phone was flooded with liquid.

    • Residue and corrosion discoloration can clearly be seen on the connectors for the LCD, Digitizer, and proximity sensor, as well as the camera and SIM card slot.

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    • The dock connector water sensor sticker has turned pink too, indicating liquid flooding of this end of the phone.

    • The top of this dock connector looks fairly clean, with only a few green corrosive changes near connector 4.

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    • The rear of the display assembly shows more green corrosion and debris on the LCD and digitizer connectors.

    • Removing the LCD and the back cover of the ear speaker and proximity sensor assembly reveals liquid damage to the speaker.

    • The proximity sensor is only lightly damaged.

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    • Closer inspection of proximity sensor/earpiece flex reveals more corrosion damage.

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    • After removing the logic board, more liquid damage is visible.

    • The vibration motor has some rust.

    • The battery pins have corroded.

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    • Headphone jack connector 5, the vibration motor, and the volume switch show some light corrosion.

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    • Rear of motherboard showing some signs of corrosion to battery contacts.

    I cleaned these Battery contacts, and then one of the contacts lost its GOLD color, and got some black signs :/

    Is this ok?

    Please see the pic:

    http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/5630/im...

    Shai -

    it should be ok.

    pollytintop -

    Hi I got my iPhone 6 water damage it didn't turn on only vibrated when plugged in and a few months later I tried it again now it turns on but when it goes to rest mode it won't turn back on any idea what it would make it do that ?plz help phone was only a few weeks old

    Jesus -

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    • Depending on the nature of the liquid damage, removing this shield may not be necessary, and doing so risks damaging the small components mounted on the logic board. If you decide to remove the shield, proceed cautiously and use a plastic tool such as a spudger, or a plastic opening tool to lever off the shield.

    • Look for the dimpled tabs on the shield that reach down over the tabs attached to the mother board.

    • Using your plastic tool, catch the edge of a dimpled tab near a corner of the shield, and pry it up away from the logic board.

    • Being careful of all the tiny surface mounted components, work your way around the available edges until the shield comes free.

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    • Submerge the logic board in isopropyl alcohol, and allow it to soak long enough to loosen hardened residue, and to displace any remaining water or other liquid. Use a soft brush to remove visible corrosion and residue.

    • Residue from motherboard left in isopropyl alcohol container.

    • Clean all flex ends, battery contacts, connectors, chips, and fuses on motherboard with a soft brush.

    • Repeat cleaning if necessary, or if traces of residue are still visible.

    • Allow the logic board or other parts to dry completely before reassembly.

    Hey, thank you so much for this great instruction!! :)

    The only thing I can't see here, is if you used 70% or 99% Isopropyl-Alcohol. The only bottle I could find has 70%. Is this enough? Or has it to be 99%?

    Thank you!

    Clara Meinzer -

    The purer, the better. Don't forget to ventilate the room !

    Didier Daniel -

    Do i need to use any other material to clean after take it from isopropyl alcohol?

    Chong Khey Shiun -

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    • Wipe LCD with cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol. Immersion isn't advised, as liquid may leave a mark behind the LCD.

    • This is the screen after cleaning. Water mark is no longer visible.

    Hi,

    you didn't show what and how to clecn the LCD.. Just put it inside the isopropyl alcohol container that we had used for the Motherboard?

    Shai -

    "wipe" means with a cloth moistened in alcohol.

    pollytintop -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device refer to the iPhone repair guides for your particular phone.

After repeated cleaning, this example phone needed connectors 1, 2, and 3 replaced on the logic board, a new LCD, and digitizer. Corrosion on the cable ends and connectors could not be adequately removed. All other functions worked and this iPhone is now back in working order. Good luck. Hopefully this guide demonstrates that liquid damage to your iPhone isn't always obvious or visible and that disassembly and cleaning may benefit some phones exposed to liquid.

pollytintop

Member since: 09/06/10

76840 Reputation

56 comments

Thanks!

I fixed my iPhone 3GS that got lots of water in!!!

thanks for a great guide!

Shai -

you're welcome shai, hope all the other repairs go so well

pollytintop -

Good stuff :D

martin -

Thank you so much! I fixed my iPhone 3G, 4 months after I put it in the washer!!

Ivan -

Hi, I have a quick question. Is 70% Isopropyl alcohol good enough to clean the logic board or does it HAVE to be either 90% or 99%? Thank you so much for your help.

Andrew Novotny -

70% will work, but the higher the concentration the better.

Chandler Skinner -

70% should work

Tevin Nunez -

Man this is amazing. I did it and my iphone 4 is working now even after 2 years of lying down on my desk like a toy. I droped it down to a lake :( And becouse of this guide its back to working.

Sugriwa -

Did your phone still have all it's pictures and data?

Andrea Nunez -

@andreanunez, it depends on whether you needed to replace the HDD as well or not, as it contains all of your data

Anton Rahbek -

Hi, does this work for a blackberry z10?

Manuela -

Hi does this work for a blackberry z10?

Manuela -

Hi I have water damage on my iPhone 5 and I would like to fix it.

I didn't understand if you can/have to clean all the parts where there's some corrosion visible or just the logic board and LCD? Will it help if I clean everything with a cloth moistened in isopropyl alcohol?

Noel -

We use an ultrasonic cleaner with a fluid designed for cleaning logic boards. It seems to do a much better job than when we cleaned them with alcohol in the past.

dlash -

Was it worth replacing all those parts vs buying a used one? plus you never know if something else is wrong when you fix the one spot you think could be the cause. I dropped my xperia x10. It's still working great nowin the shallows and turned it off right away and straight to a hair dryer for2 hrs with a quick blow of cold air through it, gradually warming it up to as hot as i dared. it was in a really soft tight case and i am sure thats what saved it (90%) the rest i attribute to the original plastic wrap that came with it brand new!! yah i get more anal about keeping things brand new the more xpensive they get.. Thanks for the article tho, you brought up a lot of great points.

Jose Qadir -

followed the guide, in my case my son had spilled Pepsi all over his phone. Got it cleaned up and running pretty much ok. thanks - but -

I have full functionality back, with the exception of the phone will turn itself off and on again quite frequently. It works ok apart from this.

Is it worth further cleaning? Could this be one specific component that is still faulty?

Dave -

halo sir my iphone 3gs 32gb has dead. charging time adapter is burn and phone is dead how i solve problem?

vijay -

Sry but have u really cleaned youre screen with Isopropanol ?

Usually it is said that u shouldn t do that....

I m askin because i have a waterdamage on my HTC ONE M7... :O

MFG

Frederik -

Have u really cleaned the Screen with isopropanol ?

Because usually it is said that u shouldn t do that.

Asking because i have the same problem with my hrc one m7

Frederik -

Hey. Thanks for the video. I was wondering if you could like use a Q tip to clean the logic board instead of dipping it in isopropyl alcohol? And how long do you have to let it dry?

hrudhya madamanchi -

I have taken apart most of the parts and only found so far that the vibrator motor is rusted. Can that be the cause of the phone not working or charging after it fell in water for a second. Should I still remove the charging port. There is no rust surrounding it and I cannot see inside the space the charging wire fits into.

Marc -

Hi Where in Cape town can I get Isopropyl alcohol 99%?

Tony -

I got in the swimming pool with my iphone 5s in my pocket, i send it for repair they cleaned it but its not working .. is that means there's no hope anymore?!

noha4171 -

I have done the cleaning and now after reassembling everything, the screen won't turn on. Computer recognizes the ipod but nothing happens on the screen.

I initially opened it to change the display as the backlight was out. I replaced the display and the backlight was still out, so I found this and cleaned it. I also tried to put the old screen back and it doesn't work either.

Is there anyway to know what is going on ?

Philippe Brunet -

My Android fell out of my hand and landed fl;at. The next day my screen was completely black. I could get a call but cannot retrieve text messages. Help!

judith wilson -

Hi

Do you use a specific tools for cleaning the connectors or just a Q-tip? Q-tip doesnt seem to get enough friction.

Thanks for the guide :)

robbie -

I use a soft toothbrush :)

Didier Daniel -

Hi

Do you use a specific tool to clean the connector or just a Q-tip? Doesnt seem to get enough friction or between the grooves.

Thanks for the guide :)

robbie -

hi, what if i turn it on after water leakage?

abiganj -

What about disassembling an iPhone 5c?

Sydney -

Will this work if my phone won't power on?

Dashaun -

Will this still work if my iPhone won't power on

Dashaun -

Okay I have a quick question! I dropped my iPhone 6 in the toilet! & it has almost 3000 pictures on there! & my iCloud isn't on!! I swear I've been crying for 2 days! & I took it to someone he said its blacked out & he'll pay me 85$ for it! What else can I do to get my photos back! Someone please help!!!! I would very much appreciate it!

Moawea Aljawhary -

what about TEKDRY

They GUARANTEE to dry any device and save ALL data in 30 min

rob -

Did a cleaning on a iPhone 6s that had moisture exposure. Phone is coming on but nothing on lcd. Swapping out the screen should correct my problem?

Ruben Clarke -

I dropped my 6s in a pool. Apple is offering a replacement for a flat fee but my concern is to get the damaged phone to turn on so I can at least retrieve data...photos videos etc. I was referred to a local franchise repair shop to repair. They claim they soaked and cleaned the board and tried replacing the battery and deemed it Unrepairable. Is it worth me trying this tutorial listed myself in hopes I would put more effort into repairing it?

Bobby -

How long does the motherboard have to be in alcohol?

lordofhacks -

Hi i have 2 iphones water damage which i tried and clean couple of times using 99.9% alcohal with soft brush but nothing happend and phones didnt turn on and no any response i dont know whats wrong with them i want help pls and during cleaning logic boards sheilds black colour has come of pls could you pls help me thanks

Kamran -

I got water damage in my iphone 6s & it was sitting in my room for awhile can i still fix it ??

Dylann Nemeth -

Hi

My iPhone 6s put in water

I didn't backup my iPhone

How can I retrieve my data?

My iPhone is dead Is there any way to reapair it?!

Yas -

did you fix it or not yet ? at least did you got back your data was in it ??

senora_feliz -

Hello i droped my iphone 6 in water! Can it be fixed in this way? But i have connected it to the charger and tried to charge but it didnt. Can it be fixed? Thanks sorry for my English

Irfan hossain -

I found an iphone 5s in a snow puddle. Does anyone know if it can be saved? there is no viable water damage to the screen, however i have no idea how long it has been in the water. please help

H0LLYW00D -

Tried cleaning the entire phone as previous suggestions and tutorials suggest. the 3 connectors from the screen show some arcing, but looked bit better after cleaning. Still not doing anything upon plugging in. When I first cleaned the board there was some blue stuff that leached from it-dunno if that's a bad sign. I'm not sure what else to do except disassemble and clean yet again... any other suggestions on testing, repairing or trouble shooting? I tried a new battery and plugged into computer and outlet...

whitetiger83 -

Where to buy the replacement connectors from?

smantha.ilp.146 -

If my phone got into water days ago, will the isopropyl alcohol still works, instead to change a logic board?

parker fang -

My daughters iphone6+ got soaked with isopropyl in her bag. She have a protective case so most of it went in through the front speaker. I immediately placed it in ziplock with lots of silica gel. After 40hours opened it and it displays the apple logo, pressed reboot and it displayed the connect to itunes for recovery. However upon connecting it to the pc, it is not recognized by both itunes and pc. How much is the extent of damage done to the phone? Any ideas? Is it being not recognized mean its toasted/fried and beyond repair? It does react when connected to the charger though. So i am hoping there is still hope. Thank you for any help or assistance.

Marlexxxi -

where can i get this alcohol? is any other alcohol good enough?

pandeyprachi4 -

99% is best but 91% will work and you can find that easier.

willscomputerrepair -

Is 99% necessary? I can only find 70%, is this enough?

Clara Meinzer -

I was making musical.ly's in my hot tub...i had protective case but will not turn on or react at all and am too scared to do this and do not have good tools to do it anyother ways???pls help

Taylor Johnson -

@pollytintop Hey man, your guide is much apreciated !

How long should the logic board be submerged in the alcohol?

Won't alcohol eat on flex cables?

Do you clean the board with a soft brush while the board is submerged or after taking it out of the container?

I currently have a fully working iPhone 6 (except Touch ID) that I bought 2nd hand but the LCI's are pink so would you just leave the phone alone or give it a treatment? Kind of preventive.

Anyways, thanks a lot for everything. You're helping people so much !!! RESPECT !

Didier Daniel -

Will this work for an I phone 6?

khristiane wolfe -

will any of this work for IphoneX ?

Marcos Javier Riganti -

Absolutely! Check out this guide for an even more general liquid damage procedure, that should work for any iPhone.

Adam O'Camb -

What about an iphone 3 that fell into some water…. about six years ago? is damage reversable? The screen is the only visible damage, there are some vertical lines on it.

Brennan “Drakk” Marshall -