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How I saved data from being lost

James Granell -

iOpener

iOpener Instructions

iOpener Instructions

30 seconds

Easy

My Problem

My sister had a fire in her apartment building, and her apartment was damaged by all the water that was used to put out the fire. Many things were lost, but thankfully her iPad still showed some signs of life. However, it did't seem like it was able to hold a charge, it was power-cycling on it's own, and the touch screen was not responding to touch. In addition, it was not recently backed up to iCloud or her Macbook. So I took it upon myself to attempt to see if anything could be done by opening it up and inspect if anything could be done to get her data off.

My Fix

Going slow, doing the research, ordering the parts, and taking it one step at a time using the online tutorial from iFixIt.com, the iPad 3 was able to be opened up, exactly how it was described. Detached the touch-screen interface and it appeared a piece of dust/corrosion was released, too. Continued to take the iPad apart and found some corrosion in/around the Logic board where the docking connector attaches which was cleaned with a damp q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Then when the alcohol was dry, took scotch tap wrapped around the finger, dabbed the components with the sticky side to collect any loose q-tip cotton strands. Verified all was removed, by holding it against a light, before re-seating the logic board back in the iPad. Re-assembled the rest of the iPad, and attempted charging and powering up. It didn't seem like it was able to hold a charge, but the touch screen functionality returned. It occasionally still produced a Kernel Panic, but with patience and persistence, I thankfully was able to not only get a local backup to her new Macbook, but I was able to verify that I successfully had a complete backup to iCloud. She now is able to acquire a new iPad, and should be able to continue working once restored from the backups. In addition, I will have an iPad to fix up on my own - should I find I have the time to tinker around.

My Advice

Take your time, follow the instructions, trust in the tutorial and the equipment, and acquire the proper tools from here, They came in less time than they initially had for the delivery day, and it was very helpful to have all the necessary tools at hand.

Spudger Image
Spudger

$3.99

Phillips #00 Screwdriver Image
Phillips #00 Screwdriver

$5.49

iFixit Opening Picks (Set of 6) Image
iFixit Opening Picks (Set of 6)

$4.99

iOpener Image
iOpener

$19.99

iFixit Opening Tool Image
iFixit Opening Tool

$1.99

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