CPR for liquid damaged iPhones
So disaster has struck; you’ve dropped your beloved iPhone down the toilet, spilled your pint on it or put it through the washing machine. Fear not- iRepair.ie have the expertise to rescue it from the brink of a watery grave, providing you quickly follow the advice below. In fact, follow the advice quickly enough and well enough and you may not need us at all!
Circuits – Purge - Rice
C is for Circuits.
Step 1.
Avoid circuit damage by powering off the iPhone immediately! If it is already off leave it off. Turning or leaving the iPhone on at this stage will short out points on the circuit board. It may also cause irreversible damage to the logic board, LCD, digitizer or any number of vital iPhone organs.
P is for Purge.
Step 2.
Purge the iPhone of all water, and fast. The hairdryer and the hot press are not your friend for this step. They are too slow and heat causes the water to evaporate rather than directly removing it, causing damage.
So, remove the sim tray as most water enters the iPhone from this point. Get a hoover and start to use it around the sim tray and dock connector area of your iPhone; you will need to do this for around 20 to 30 minutes to thoroughly dry it. The earpiece of the iPhone will be a bit more sensitive to the sucking power from the hoover so do this area last and keep the hoover about 1inch from the earpiece, hoover here for 2-3 minutes.
Now, we really mean at least 20 to 30 minutes hoovering in total. Even if that is a year’s worth of hoovering for you, your expensive iPhone is worth it! Set a timer or keep an eye on the clock and make sure you don’t skimp on this important rescue step. If any water remains it will cause corrosion. Even if it seems okay, in a day, a week or sometimes even months, you will have a problem with the iPhone and it will be due to corrosion.
R is for Rice.
Step 3.
Get your iPhone into a sealed bag of dry rice. This will help absorb any remaining moisture. If you don’t have a bag of rice then empty out all those ‘boil in the bag’ bags into a zip lock bag. If you’re more of a take-away person then get yourself to the shop and buy a bag of rice. Yes, we’re that serious about the rice step. When your iPhone is safely ensconced in its ricey bed, leave it there. We recommend that the rice step lasts at least 24 hours and if possible, up to 48 hours. If you happen to have a bag of silca gel sachets in your house from too many shoe purchases and a propensity to hoard, then this will work even better than the rice.
Remember, although rice is absorbent it will only take a small amount of moisture from the iPhone. A lot of people make the mistake of putting the iPhone in rice before drying it thoroughly, so be careful to complete step 2, Purge, before moving on to Rice.
Finally
When you have completed iRepair.ie’s CPR for iPhones and removed your iPhone from the rice, turn it on and hope for the best! If you still have problems contact iRepair.ie who can professionally clean the logic board of residue and troubleshoot.
Good luck and remember, keep your iPhone away from your toilet, away from your pint and never clean it in the washing machine!
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| Water damaged iPhone4 dried in hot press - corrosion circled. |
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| Same phone, corrosion more visible. |
