Did your iPhone go for an accidental swim? Or did you manage to get it wet in this monsoon? Whatever the case, there is a perfect chance that water has entered inside the chassis and could destroy your entire phone within a few hours. The warranty in this case is definitely lost and unless you have insured the device, you can kiss it goodbye. However, if you are faint hearted and would like to try restore the device, you should send it down to an authorised service center at the earliest. But be prepared for a fat bill too.
A drowned phone requires to be immediately dried with whatever is at hand. However, the water inside the chassis is the most damaging factor and getting the water out from an iPhone is most tricky. Since the phone does not open up like most other smartphones (the rear battery compartment does not open), drying out the internal parts is very difficult and will take a lot of time—a few weeks at least. You should switch off an wipe the phone dry from outside, open all ports and jerk it till you get all the water out and wipe it again. Keeping it in an air-tight container filled with silica gel or dry (raw) rice is the best alternative. Applying a little heat also helps. But if there is too much water inside the phone, opening it, is the only and the best option.
You could try restore your smartphone yourself with a little help from the below video and screenshots. Try this only if you are fine with doing it yourself. Please note, opening an iPhone may not be as difficult as you think, but losing parts or damaging them while opening it is a high possibility. Please do this at your own risk. The screenshots below are screen grabs taken from the video. Courtesy: Mobile Phone, YouTube.
1. Get yourself a screen replacement kit. It will cost you around Rs 500 – Rs 1,000 and available at any smartphone repair shop. Locate the small screws on the bottom and remove them.
2. Use a magnet and a small box to store all the screws and parts to prevent them from getting lost. Make a note of how you opened it or make a video of it in case you forget how to put them back.
3. Place the suction cap on the bottom half and ensure it is secured tightly. Gently pull it by holding the chassis with the left hand. Don’t pull it too hard since there is a cable below the display which may snap.
4. Now using the flat end of the plastic prying tool, gently pry open the sides to release the clips around the display. Do these while holding the phone and the display with the other hand.
5. Now that the display is popped out, take a good look inside to check the cables and other parts that could interfere with the removal.
6. Towards the bottom, you should find a steel plate which should be removed in order to disconnect the display. Unscrew the necessary.
7. Once the plate is removed, gently pop out the cable’s connector.
8. Now the first part of the display is disconnected. Gently lift the display to access the cables to the motherboard. Have a good look and locate the cables.
9. Similar to above, a steel plate with a few screws secures the display connector in place. Unscrew the plate carefully.
10. Now gently lift the three cable connectors and your display will be free.
11. Similar to the display, a plate also covers the battery connector. Do the same as above and disconnect the battery connector.
12. Now that the battery is freed, you can try removing all the water that you can see, using a micro fibre cloth. You may choose to use a hair dryer too, but reduce the heat to medium or minimum to avoid damaging the components with heat.
13. The battery should be removed and kept separately. Ensure that it is completely dry and does not come into contact with other metal parts.
14. Removing a few other screws around the insides will help you release the motherboard too. If too much water has gone inside the phone, doing this can be of great help. Release all components as you can.
15. The motherboard should now be free and you can further dry the parts with ease.
16. If water has entered the home/fingerprint sensor, removing that will also help. Carefully remove all plates and disconnect them one by one.
17. Removing the fingerprint sensor should be carefully done as it has a delicate plastic cable. A tear could damage it completely.
18. The speaker too can be removed in a similar manner. Carefully remove all parts that you want to remove.
19. Locate the screws around the LCD display’s housing and remove the mounting plate. This will reveal the delicate display screen.
Now that your phone is taken part, you can speed up the process of rescuing the phone from water damage by drying each part individually.
Water that enters the phone is not as pure as distilled water. Hence it contains minerals that could corrode the components and the circuit inside the phone. This could lead to permanent damage if the dirty water dries up inside. In order to displace this dirty water, you should drown each component of the phone (except the LCD display, speaker, fingerprint sensor and microphone) into isopropyl alcohol. The isopropyl alcohol will displace the water and additionally clean the circuit. Dip the components in isopropyl alcohol and shake it around for a while. Then lift the component to let the excess isopropyl alcohol drain out. Leave it to dry underneath a lamp for a few minutes. The alcohol will evaporate completely. Make sure the alcohol is 100% pure and not mixed with water or diluted with any other liquid. Ask your dealer for pure alcohol. Once dry, you can replace the components back and check your phone. If you suspect that water has entered in the display area, make sure you dry-out the display for at least a few days before assembling the phone again. Hopefully your iPhone is safely rescued.
