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Repair information and guides for the fifth generation of iPhone. Model: A1387

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wifi greyed out, freezer works, replaced wifi antenna but nothing

i have had loads of problems with my 4s, to cut a long story short now the only problem is the wifi. The bluetooth works, when i put the phone in the freezer the wifi works for a number of hours, am i correct in that this could mean fractures in the chip or card? the phone was origionally water damaged.

i replaced the wifi antenna but that didnt change anything. i have read about reflowing? could this be an option and how do i do it (where is the wifi chip). any help would be greatly appreciated. would i be easier to take it to a shop or will i be ripped off? i did take it to apple to get an out of warrenty replacement but they wouldnt as the warrenty sticker had gone

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Josh, it is most likely that you have micro-fractures on your board, possibly in the Wifi circuit. when you place your phone in the freezer, these fractures are closed by the contracting metal. Once it heats up, the fractures appears again and the component loses contact. A reflow may work, but check all your connectors as well as components first. Look for the obvious, like burned, charred, corroded or missing components. Keep in mind that placing you device in the freezer and then getting it out and warmed up will also create humidity and may cause corrosion on your logic board. Replace the antenna, check the "blue" coil and see what you get. Hope this helps, good luck

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Thank you for your fast reply. The phone has been water damaged recently, could that have any impact on it. I have completely stripped the phone as I have done a screen replacement and I could not see any corrosition or damage. If my carrier signal is strong would this write of the blue coil? Would the fractures on the logic board be repairable? Thank you in advance

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Even so you did not see any corrosion, I would most certainly still clean it. The first thing I suggest is that you disassemble the phone using these guides. Then clean the phone with +90% isopropyl alcohol. Use this guide to clean it. It was written for a 3G but pertains to your phone as well. Make sure to clean all the connectors and cable ends. After you have everything properly cleaned, replace the battery Reassemble your phone and re-evaluate. If you do not clean your phone, you could get corrosion failure later on. While you clean it, do your checks of the components and check for the obvious. :-) You can check your blue coil for continuity with a multimeter.

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Ok so when I next open it up (when I fit the wifi antenna) I will give all components and connections a good clean. If the antenna doesn't work I may try a reflow and the if that doesn't work I am not sure. I will post my results.

Also since the water damage the battery will just cut out. When I go to turn the phone on it says it needs to connect to power even though I know there is around 80%. Wen I connect it it is at 80% again. Would a replacement battery sort this is is there more to it. Thanks

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A new battery should eliminate that problem. Let us know what you find when you work on your phone.

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Right so the parts arrived. I fitted the new battery which appears to have worked I also fitted a new home button (as the old one was playing up) as well as the new wifi antenna. Then the touch screen stopped working, I guess I damaged the ribbon as I connected a different one from the back and it worked.

Changing the antenna has not solved the wifi, as you said if the freezer worked then I could be fractures. What would be the next step to try? Possibly reflowing? If so where abouts am I aiming the heat gun?

When I tried to get my phone replaced at apple they wouldn't swap it as I had taken the logic board out. Could he tell from the screw near the camera or are there other indicators?

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Metal & corrosion buildup both shrink from the cold.

So you could have either still some stuff on your logic board short circuiting something or a break in a component, bad solder joint, or cut trace on the logic board.

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Try mid frame r

Replace solved my problem

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Josh will be eternally grateful.
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