[iPhone 4] Keeps rebooting after water damage

[reardear]

Hello,

So last night I knocked my iPhone into the toilet.

I quickly took it out, took off the case & SIM tray, wiped it with toilet paper, used a vacuum to suck out some moisture (wasn't much), and then put it in a Zip Loc bag with two giant desiccant packs and some rice.

24 hours later, I vacuumed it again and tried to turn it on. Then I read that I need to plug it in to turn it on, so I did, and saw the Apple logo. Then it shut off. I put it back in the bag and then later plugged it in again and left it. It turned on, but then after a few seconds, it turns off, and then reboots.

Am I out of luck? Would leaving it for a few more days work, or do I need to replace the battery or something else?

If I do need a battery replacement, should I just do it at the Apple store or a phone repair shop? I'm not sure about the battery quality of such shops so spending a bit more may be worth it. Thoughts?

 

[gtelware]

If it is not properly open, then you have to go to the apple store.

 

[reardear]

If it is not properly open, then you have to go to the apple store.

I went and they wanted $160 to replace it. But I have data on it I want to recover (possible to recover if my phone doesn't boot?), so I went to a phone repair shop who will try treating the water damage (no fee if it doesn't work after).

Apparently they have a special machine that treats corrosion and prevents it in the future. It'll take 3-4 days.

 

[GoneMad]

24 hours not near enough. You should have probably taken the back off, battery out and let dry for 48-72 hrs in front of a fan. I rebuild/refurbish old circuit boards and after any cleaning it's always at least two days in front of a fan, depending on the temp.

 

[reardear]

24 hours not near enough. You should have probably taken the back off, battery out and let dry for 48-72 hrs in front of a fan. I rebuild/refurbish old circuit boards and after any cleaning it's always at least two days in front of a fan, depending on the temp.

Yeah I guess I underestimated it being dry. I didn't read around enough and thought 24 hours would be fine.

I got a reply from the shop and they said there are burn marks on the circuit board where the sound plugs in which can't be fixed. Would this prevent the rest of the phone from working?

Edit: They said it's semi-working; no sound or vibrate and there may be glitches or lower battery life.

 

[safdar]

If it is not properly open, then you have to go to the apple store.

Agree. I think this is the best option.

 

[ItBeMe22]

iPhone in the water 99.9% of the time = new phone. That $160 that apple offered looks like a super good deal to me. Even when people do get lucky and get them working 99.9% of the time down the road it will come back and bite you.

 

[reardear]

Hi guys,

I got the phone back. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my SIM card to test it at the shop, and what do you know... service didn't work when I got home.

Sound from the earphone jack, the volume buttons, and vibrate also doesn't work.

Hopefully they can at least get service working when I go back.