iPhone 4S DEAD/WATER DAMAGED???

[JM19]

Hello guys. My coworker asked me to take a look at his iPhone 4S which he said just stopped working one day. He said he had the display assembly replaced because he dropped it and the front glass cracked. According to him it was working fine after this for about two weeks.

I brought it home and plugged it in to the wall charger and nothing. I plugged it in to the computer, nothing. I left it plugged in to the wall charger overnight, nothing. Screen is completely black. No sign of life at all. I even tried holding the power and home button together for 10 seconds but still nothing.

I opened it up to make sure the battery was properly connected and checked all flex cables for loose connections. Everything seemed ok, except I noticed that the water indicator sticker by the dock connector is a pinkish/red color.

So right away I thought "water damaged" but according to my coworker the iPhone did not get wet.

Anyhow, here's what I am thinking: replacing the dock connector, and battery to see if this makes a difference in getting the iPhone to at least come back to life. Hopefully this does the trick. If not, then I'm guessing the logic board is next.

Any suggestions? Am I on the right track here? What am I missing?

Thanks.

Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums app

 

[Just_Me_D]

It seems like you're on the right track, in my opinion. A few things though…

1. Is it possible that someone else who had access to the co-worker's phone got it wet without telling him?
2. Since the device is an iPhone 4S, and we're coming up on an iPhone 6 later this year, will the amount spent on parts / repairs be worth it?

 

[JM19]

It seems like you're on the right track, in my opinion. A few things though?

1. Is it possible that someone else who had access to the co-worker's phone got it wet without telling him?
2. Since the device is an iPhone 4S, and we're coming up on an iPhone 6 later this year, will the amount spent on parts / repairs be worth it?

Thanks for the reply. I actually asked him if anybody body else uses the iphone. He said his daughter, but he swears that it wasn't wet.

As far as the parts, $15 for a new battery and dock connector from eBay. He's willing to give it a try as $15 is not too bad.


Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums app

 

[JM19]

I received the dock connector today. I should have the Battery on Monday. So I replaced the dock connector. Still the same though. It won't power up. Hopefully the new battery will make it work.

I was under the impression though that with the new dock connector it would work. Thinking like a laptop for example, where it would work with or without the battery connected, it would still work by having it plugged in to the electrical outlet.

Wouldn't it be the same with an iPhone? Where with or without a battery it would still power up since the power is going directly through the dock connector.


Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums app

 

[iEd]

Not sure if iPhones work like a laptop as far as power is concerned. but it's possible the phone is beyond repair and it's just time for a new one.
If it did get wet while his daughter had it. It may be done.

 

[JM19]

Not sure if iPhones work like a laptop as far as power is concerned. but it's possible the phone is beyond repair and it's just time for a new one.
If it did get wet while his daughter had it. It may be done.

Thanks for the reply. If the new battery doesn't have any effect on it then I can only assume it's the logic board. I've seen videos on YouTube of water damaged iPhones being fixed by cleaning the logic board with isopropyl alcohol. I guess I can give this a try. If this doesn't work then I don't know what else to try. Once I get the new battery on Monday I will post if it had any effect on the problem. Hopefully the new battery gets it going. Fingers crossed.


Sent from my iPhone 5C using iMore Forums app

 

[JM19]

UPDATE:
Received new battery and installed it. I pressed the power button and nothing. I figured battery needed to charge but I didn't see the low battery/connect charger icon on the screen. I let it charge for hrs and still nothing. I did notice that the battery got warm meaning that it was receiving a charge and that the new dock connector is working.

I took the iPhone apart and reseated all the connections. I though that it could maybe be the display assembly that's faulty but my coworker told me he had the display replaced do to a cracked front glass and the phone was working fine for two weeks after the repair.

At this point only thing I can think of being the culprit is the logic board. When I had the iPhone disassembled I looked over the logic board very good, looking for corrosion on it and on the connectors. Couldn't find any.

I don't know what else to check. Replaced dock connector and battery. Still iPhone doesn't respond I anything. No chirp sound when iPhone is connected to wall charger or computer. No response when pressing home button and power button together for up to a minute.


Sent from my iPhone 5C using iMore Forums app

 

[JM19]

Out of nowhere today the iPhone showed signs of life. The low battery/charge indicator on the screen came up. I plugged it in and the iPhone began to charge. After charging for some time, I pressed the power button and the Apple logo came up on the screen. The excitement was short lived. iPhone kept going into a restarting loop. I got it into DFU mode and tried restoring it through iTunes. Everything seemed to be working fine until iTunes showed, "iPhone could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (4013). Tried a couple more times and same error message kept coming up.

Any ideas?

 

[Rockdog97]

Do you have any papers you need to keep from blowing away? It sounds like you've done all that you could do to resurrect the phone with no luck. How long did you charge it before it came back to life?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[EmceeGeek]

All and all it's wet. Even if he had it in the bathroom as he showered. Moisture gets in phones.


Sent from my [Gold] iPhone 5S