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

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Water damage - black screen

I somehow knocked over a glass of water during the night, my iPhone was right next to it and ended up lying in the water for sometime (not sure how long). When I realised I checked my phone, it didn't seem that wet (just a little bit on the back) so I didn't worry about it just put it down. When I came to it later it had turned itself off, I could see water droplets in the camera lens so I put it in a box of rice for a couple of days, tried it again and nothing. I thought it was a gonna and for some reason I put it on to charge, the next day siri started talking to me (I hadn't actually touched it so a little surprised!) I have now managed to unlock it, get siri to send messages and read out messages. Everything seems to be fine other than the screen has nothing on it. I have some photos which are not backed up and would really like them. Is there anyway I can get them? (can't get then downloaded to iCloud as I can't access settings on my phone to allow this)

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Hi Emma,

Ben and Ryan's advice are straight forward. I would disassemble the device completely, following the guide here on ifixit.com. It is not that difficult.

Put the logic board into a bath of isopropyl alcohol for 2 hours and then let it dry for one day, possibly on a heater (low temperature) or in any warm room.

Also, when cleaning the logic board and before drying it, look for any corrosion on the logic board or on/around the connectors (including the ribbon cable connectors, for example the short ribbon cable of the back camera). If you spot corrosion, clean these areas gently with a tooth brush together with isopropyl alcohol.

I would give it a shot. If it wouldn't work, you can still bring it to a repair shop.

Steffen

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You probably need to disassemble the phone and clean the logic board with 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol. There is probably already water damager under the logic board metal shielding on the board. Logic board ribbon connectors would need to be cleaned.

I think this is best to take it to someone that is very experienced in cleaning water damage out of a phone. Most likely you will need a new screen as well.

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Ben is right. You should have a professional perform water damage recovery on the device. However, you can plug your iPhone into your laptop and retrieve the pictures manually. The device will appear in "My Computer" or "This PC" if you use a PC and it will look like a camera. Double click, select all, copy, paste somewhere on you computer. Done. The autoplay on a Windows PC will likely appear and ask if you if you want to remove the pictures, too. There are several ways to do this if your data connector still works.

For future reference, don't place your water damaged device in rice. It just gets dust and contaminants in the phone. Turn it off immediately and take it to a repair shop. Water damage recovery is under $100.

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Emma Cuthbertson will be eternally grateful.
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