iPhones are water-resistant, not waterproof. As the phone ages, the seals degrade as well. Regular flexing of the device, small (or large) drops, etc. all have an impact on the level of water resistance. If the device was previously repaired, manual installation of seals is not as robust as factory installation within a clean room environment. Therefore willingly exposing a device to water is not a smart strategy. That said, you are not alone…we see and hear these stories everyday.
With water damage, you have to decontaminate the logic board before doing anything else, otherwise there will be latent issues down the road. Sometimes water damaged phones will work for a short time before failing completely.
Whatever you do, avoid putting a phone in rice or leaving it sit, drying”, for days on end. The water is 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 or the corrosion that is taking place as the water evaporates. Leaving the power on the device accelerates the process.
The iPhone X series has a sandwiched logic board which makes it virtually impossible for a proper DIY decontamination, but you can still follow most of these guidelines.
The proper way to treat a wet phone is to do the following:
- 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, the board is a sandwich design. The water is usually stuck in the middle.
- 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 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 data/no fee policy so you don't have to spend money to find out if the data is recoverable or not.
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