Liquid Damage

Apple Certified Technicians

liquid damage

  • Liquid damage is possibly the worst thing that could happen to a phone. We’ve seen grape jelly and diesel fuel, mud and sticky soda pop. Believe it or not, condensation like on a rainy day, in a bathroom with the shower running, or talking on the phone in a hot tub can all cause liquid damage. All is very damaging, sometimes it’s fatal.
    As soon as a cell phone sustains any kind of liquid damage, corrosion starts to grow inside the phone. Corrosion is that white stuff that grows on wet electrical components (like a car battery terminal). Sometimes you’ll get your phone wet and it appears to work just fine, only to start acting up in a week, maybe a month. That’s because corrosion continues to grow, messing with the operation of the phone.

    What happens with Water in your phone?

    Once the water gets into your phone it is very easy for you to make the water evaporate. But what remains after the evaporation kills your phone components eventually. Minerals form on the contacts and on the logic board causing corrosion, which eventually makes your phone go dead.

    What do we do?

    We check your Phone for the level of minerals and corrosion; if we observe too much corrosion, we stop right there, as there are less than 5% chance of it ever working. Not worth the time and money unless you are looking for Data Recovery.

    What if we find that the damage is not that bad and the repair can be attempted?   

    Then we do a deep cleaning of the logic board and components. We also change the battery as part of the repair. This is because the batteries go dead with water and lose their full charge capacity. We also check if any other parts need replacement.

    Now the Result:

    If the phone works perfectly after this then you pay for the battery plus the cost of any additional parts needed. If your Phone is not working at all you do not pay anything. Please note initial evaluation fees are non-refundable in all cases.

    What if everything works, but the camera?

    Each component is tested to ensure it works. In the event something does not work then you will be informed as to any and all additional cost’s. We only install and charge you for parts after you agree.

    What is the guarantee that the Phone will continue to work?

    Water damage repairs are not guaranteed to work after the repair. There is often deep and hidden damage to many components that cannot be seen or cleaned during this process. 

    How much time dose this take?

    It takes 4 days for proper evaluation, testing, cleaning and repair.

    What are the odds of it working again?

    Water Damage repairs are very unpredictable, it all depends on the amount of water, mineral deposits, corrosion and shorting of contacts on the board. Possible outcomes which can happen with the water damage repairs are:
    1. Bootable-stable boards regain most if not all functionality and are completely data-recoverable. Phone repair costs are all dependent on what parts it needs; customer decides if it’s worth it. Most boards will end up in this category after a proper diagnostic service.
    2. Bootable-unstable (crashing, blue screen, red screen) boards generally rare and are too labor-intensive to repair, regardless of water type. These also include stable boards with bad LCD coils or boards that won’t connect to cellular or read sim cards. Data recovery is usually difficult from this kind of a board. Usually not worth it for continue with additional cleaning, but if customer wants data recovery, next steps would include long labor intensive diagnosis and repair.
    3. Non Bootable boards after diagnostics are clearly not worth working on. There is a slim chance of repair, just not with us. 
    4. Also note considering the corrosion, it may very well happen that your phone may end up in a worse situation then before you brought it in for repair, the reason being with water, corrosion, minerals present in the phone and we trying to remove and clean those contacts can cause some irrecoverable damage to the board. So bring your phone only if you agree to this risk with Water repair.

    Will my data be lost on the phone?

    Liquid damage often results in the loss of data. Be sure to keep your device updated at all times. In the event your device is non repairable, we can make attempts to do a data recovery. Keep in mind that this is not a fast process and often requires board level soldering. 

    Will the Manufacturer know that the phone was opened and a repair was done?

    As a general rule the answer is yes, especially if they open up the phone. We have to remove the inside stickers and the metal cover EMI shield of logic board for ultrasound and alcohol cleaning. With the missing sticker and missing metal shield on the logic board so the manufacturer can tell easily that the phone was opened.

    Will I be charged for any parts installed in addition?

    Yes, you will be charged for any additional parts required. We will inform you the part and the cost. Only after you approve we will install and charge you for it.

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