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Repair information and guides for the iPhone 6 that was released on September 19, 2014. Model Numbers: A1549, A1586, and A1589

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Water damaged screen problems

The phone is not working at all except a grey down the right side but i replaced the screen and it turns on but all the colours are faded and the brightness is really low and also the touch does not work. how do i fix this?

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With water damage, you have to decontaminate the logic board before doing anything else, otherwise there will be latent issues down the road (as you can see).

Not every water-damaged phone is recoverable and depending on the kind of liquid (salty, dirty, filthy), sometimes the success rate is quite low. That said, IMHO, it's always worth a try otherwise we are just piling up the e-waste.

There is water inside the phone, on the logic board and under the shields, even under the IC's. The real problem is the mineral deposits that can cause short circuits and the corrosion that is taking place as the water evaporates. Leaving the power on the device accelerates the process. The saltier or harder the water is, the more damage will occur. The water needs to be displaced, not evaporated.

I would try the following as soon as possible:

  • Open your phone and remove the logic board (follow this guide)
  • Inspect the logic board, especially around the connectors and look for corrosion.
  • Inspect both sides of the board. Unfortunately, 80% of the board is covered in shields. That's usually where the damage is occurring.
  • Put your board in a container with >90% isopropyl alcohol and let it sit for a while.
  • Use a soft brush, like a toothbrush and lightly brush away any corrosion you see.
  • Rinse in alcohol and repeat.
  • Let it air dry for a day.
  • Re-assemble and hope for the best.

You should also replace the battery if it has swollen. Resist the temptation to pop it to let the gas out. A compromised Li-ion battery is a fire hazard. If the device appears to power up but behaves erratically, then use a tool like 3uTools to flash the firmware as it may be corrupted.

A professional repair shop that does water damage repair may be able to recover your phone or the data because they have access to pro-level ultrasonic baths and specialized cleaners as well as the skills to troubleshoot your board. Many shops have a no fix/no fee policy so you don't have to spend money to find out if the phone is fixable or not.

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2 Comments:

So would i only put the motherboard in the alcohol because ive seen people do that and ive seen people put the whole phone in the alcohol

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No, don't put the whole phone in IPA. You don't want it getting between the backlight and LCD. You also don't want the cameras to be sitting in liquid either. Remove the logic board and if possible, the shields. The back side of the logic board has a cloth-like shield on the top so that one is easy to remove. The others require that you desolder them which makes them more difficult to remove.

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