Water Damage - Cameras and Flash Issues - Please help troubleshoot

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iPhone X

Released November 4, 2017. Model A1865, A1901. Available as GSM or CDMA / 64 or 256 GB / Silver or Space Gray. (Pronounced the same as "iPhone 10.")

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John Musa @johnmusa

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Posted: Mar 25, 2023

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Water Damage - Cameras and Flash Issues - Please help troubleshoot

Hi all,

My iPhone X got water damaged. I opened it up and cleaned all corrosion and performed visible inspection with jeweler's loop. The digitizer was bad so I replaced the screen and transplanted the sensor assembly from old screen to new. I am a little suspicious that I might have messed up the sensor alignment, but maybe I am just paranoid. That fixed the digitizer issue but now the front/rear cameras only work when the power flash cable is disconnected. When the rear camera works it is blurry or something is off with the focus. If the power flash cable is connected then the rear cameras will not work. FaceID always complains of issue with the TrueDepth camera in all cases. Leaving rear cameras disconnected does not fix the FaceID or flash issue. Disconnecting the front camera does not fix the rear camera issue. My thought is to try to replace the power flash cable, but wanted to see if anyone else had any experience or ideas on how to further troubleshoot this? Thanks.

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2 Answers

Jerry Wheeler @dadibrokeit Rep: 57.2k 123 42 89 · Answer 1 · 2023-03-27T10:26:22-07:00

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Jerry Wheeler @dadibrokeit

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Posted: Mar 27, 2023

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Hi John,

Agree with Jesse that replacing the power/flash cable is the right next step. Neither the front nor the rear camera being replaced will affect Face ID, so if the cable doesn't do the job you can try swapping those parts out to continue your troubleshooting.

Note that I said the front camera, not front camera assembly. It is possible to brute force the front camera housing apart and replace just the camera, leaving the dot projector and IR camera intact, which will keep Face ID functional. See this guide for instructions.

iPhone 11 Pro Front Camera Replacement Without Losing Face ID - iFixit Repair Guide

Yes, it's for the 11 Pro, but once you have the front camera assembly out, changing the camera is exactly the same procedure.

I haven't found the sensor alignment to be a problem myself, but it is critical to the correct operation of the Face ID system, so it's not paranoia to think they need to be correctly aligned.

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I have an update. I have reseated all connections, but I have not replaced anything else. I now have only the below issues with everything else is working OK.

1. Both rear and front cameras are too bright when looking at preview screen. If I do a comparison with another iPhone X there is a big difference. The camera has an issue where the light is too strong. Like it is not reducing or sensing light properly (especially when looking at a light fixture).

2. Face-ID still complains about Issue Detected with True Depth camera. When in Selfie portrait mode it keep telling me move farther away.

Is it possible both of my issues are caused from the same root cause? What do you suggest I do next? Thanks.

Mar 29, 2023 by John Musa

@johnmusa Sounds like it could be an issue with the dot projector. Check out this post by REWA that describes testing the different components of the Face ID system.

Troubleshooting iPhone X Face ID Not Working 'Move iPhone a Little Lower/Higher'

Mar 29, 2023 by Jerry Wheeler

I watched the videos. Thanks. I can see the red IR flashing light by using another camera when in selfie mode. What exact component is that is considered working? The flood illuminator, dot projector and IR camera all seem confusing to me. Do they describe the same thing?

Mar 30, 2023 by John Musa

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