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Fourth generation iPhone. Repair is straightforward, but the front glass and LCD must be replaced as a unit. GSM / 8, 16, or 32 GB capacity / Model A1332 / Black and White. This page aims to help users troubleshoot, fix, and seek help for the iPhone 4.

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Picture Recovery from unbootable phone

Went swimming (saltwater) with my phone. It was not submerged (much?), but splashed a lot. The phone looks fine, even shows an apple logo when plugged in, but endlessly reboots rapidly (once every 10-15s). Holding home button and connecting usb cable shows the "connect to iTunes" screen and the phone stays on waiting. iTunes never recognizes anything attached.

I really only want pictures off the phone. Not sure if the storage can be swapped to a different iPhone4? Only need to replace the usb communication cable inside? Ideas? Suggestions?

Precious pictures of grandkids on vacation in Hawaii are at stake. Thanks for the help.

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Julie, the major issue you will run into is corrosion damage. Salt Water will get your components to corrode very severely. The very first thing I would do is to disassemble it by following this guide. Take a careful and close look at all components and connectors. Truly assess the damage. Look for major corrosion, evaluate the pins in the connectors etc.Take a look at all connectors as well as cable ends. After that I would suggest that you clean it a couple of times in sterile water, not drinking water, (that might have helped right after it got submerged in the salt water). Use a soft brush and clean it very, very thouroughly with the sterile water. Once you got the gross contamination cleaned, use 90%+ isopropyl alcohol and clean your parts some more. For a proper cleaning, use this guide. It was written for a 3G but it is still pertinent to your phone as well. I can not stress the importance of a good cleaning enough, so do it over and over while replacing the alcohol after each cleaning. Do not use compressed air for the cleaning since that can drive liquid as well as corrosion particles into areas that will cause trouble later on. Do not use drinking water, if you need to use water, use sterile water. Also you do not need to leave it dry for a day. Isopropyl alcohol in the higher concentration will evaporate quickly and dissipate the water. The importance here is the cleaning. After a proper cleaning;replace the battery for sure. Use this guide for that. You can not swap any memory components to recover your data, so give it your best efforts to repair the damage. Hope this helps, good luck.

iPhone 4 Battery Image

Guide

iPhone 4 Battery Replacement

Difficulty:

Moderate

5 - 30 minutes

iPhone 4 Logic Board Image

Guide

iPhone 4 Logic Board Replacement

Difficulty:

Difficult

30 minutes - 2 hours

iPhone Image

Guide

Repairing iPhone Liquid Damage

Difficulty:

Difficult

1 - 2 hours

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If you have access to another iPhone 4 (or are willing to spend ~$20-ish for the parts) I would try swapping batteries first rather than the logic boards--it's easier, and the rapid-reboot thing sounds like it could be from battery damage.

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Julie will be eternally grateful.
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