Can a water damaged iPhone be repaired?
Sometimes — and anyone who answers with a confident yes before opening the phone is guessing. It depends on what the liquid was, whether the phone stayed powered while wet, and how long the corrosion has had to spread. An ultrasonic clean is what turns that question into a real answer.
The three things that decide the outcome
The liquid: sea water is the most destructive because the salt keeps conducting and corroding long after the phone looks dry. Chlorinated pool water is next, then sweet drinks, which leave sticky residue that holds moisture against the board.
The power: a phone switched off quickly stands a far better chance than one that kept running or was plugged in. And the time: corrosion does not pause while the phone sits in a drawer or a bowl of rice.
What the clean can and cannot do
It can lift residue and corrosion out of connectors and from under the shields, treat the affected areas and give the board its best chance. It can also reveal which specific parts — screen, battery, charging flex — the water killed, so those can be quoted properly.
It cannot un-burn a component that shorted while the phone was powered, and it is not a data recovery service. If the board cannot be brought back, the data on it cannot be extracted here. That is why the €99 is charged as a non-refundable deposit: the labour happens either way, and honesty about that is better than a guarantee nobody can keep.
How to give it the best chance
Speed matters more than anything else. A phone cleaned within hours of a soaking has a measurably better outlook than one cleaned days later, because corrosion compounds — every hour the residue sits on the board it eats a little further into tracks and solder joints.
Tell me exactly what the liquid was and what the phone did afterwards. 'It went in the pool and I charged it that evening' is a different starting point from 'it fell in the sink and went straight off', and the honest version changes what gets checked first.
If the phone still works after getting wet, back it up before you do anything else. A working-but-wet phone is the best moment you will get to save your photos, and it may not last.
Related questions
- Is my insurance likely to cover it?
- That is between you and your insurer, and many home or travel policies do include phones. I can provide an invoice for the work carried out.
- How long does it take?
- Usually the same day, depending on drying time. If parts are needed afterwards, that is quoted first.