Chosen Solution

I got this iphone from a customer, when he gave it to me the screen was not working but the device was found by itunes. He told me he had lost it in the snow and after that it didn’t work. So the first thing i did was to open it and see if the water indicators was red. but they waren’t. Not a single one of them were red. So then i tried replacing the battery and the screen with no luck. The phone were still not showing any picture on the screen. So then i decided to connect it to itunes to see if i could recover it, and then the screen started showing the apple logo. But the itunes screen wouldn’t go pass “Waiting for Iphone”. I hope someone have sulution for this, i have tried everything and i can still not get it to work. I tried with a couple of different usb cables so i dont think that’s the problem Regard Mr Jakobsen

In my opinion, you will have to start with water damage repair for this phone, as it is unlikely that no water sipped through to the inside. But since snow is pure non-mineral water, there is a good chance that you will be able to salvage the phone. Some people immediately re-start the phone with a new battery (as it usually is among the first to go). I strongly advise against it. First, I’d clean the board then test it with new components:

  • I’d remove the logic board from the phone, and very carefully remove the shields.
  • Then I would examine the board using very good magnification, assess the damage in case I see corrosion, and brush it away with a soft brush dipped in 90%+ isopropyl alcohol. It is important to note the place where you find corrosion and/or document it with very good pictures.
  • Then I would soak the whole board in IPA or perform ultrasonic cleaning, dry very well, and test using a new battery, charging dock, and battery (or install the board in a known good phone).
  • Sometimes, that’s all it takes to salvage the phone. If not, then depending on how the phone is acting at that point and/or on what type of corrosion you found on the board, we can give you advice regarding the next possible steps. For example, some connectors may need reflowing and/or some components may require replacing. How good are your micro-soldering skills?