Minho

Alright, seeing as how I am always answering questions here, I thought I'd reverse the roles here for a bit of fun. I have...

Hello Mac Experts (@mayer, @danj , @reecee and others) I have an iMac 27", Late 2012 that is not booting properly. It is...

This iPad has a dead zone on the left edge of the digitizer, about 5 mm from the edge. I proceeded to do a standard...

Hello Mac Guru's (talking to you @mayer, @danj, @reecee)! I have another MacBook Air A1466, this one an early 2015. The...

Hi everyone. This is a follow-up to my MacBook Air 13” (2014) – Water Damage, will not power on. Thanks to everyone who...

Hi everyone. I have a water damaged (tea) MacBook Air that was dead as a doorknob. No light on the MagSafe, no fan or...

It’s possible the screen is defective. Ideally, if you could re-install the original cracked screen to see if the problem follows the screen or stays “with the phone”. If the problem stays with the phone (that is both screens have the same issue), then read the following: It’s very important to always disconnect the battery before disconnecting/reconnecting the screen assembly. The issue is that the LCD connector has pins that have high voltages (i.e. the backlight is ~20V) and ground in very close proximity. When you fumble around trying to line up the connector plug to the receptacle, you can short out the voltage rail and cause damage to the components in the backlight circuit. If you’re lucky, then only a backlight filter is damaged but other times, the entire circuit could be affected. Either way, this type of repair requires micro-soldering and isn’t really a DIY repair. To test for this, plug your device into a charger or an iTunes enabled computer. Then shine a bright flashlight on the screen. If...

Removing the passcode is easy…you don’t need to “know a guy” to do it. But doing this will delete any data you have on the phone. There is no way to get the data off the phone unless you can open it, unlock it and have it recognized by Windows/MacOs and then subsequently through iTunes or any other management software (such as 3uTools). If you are truly the owner of the phone, then use the passcode to unlock it. If you found this device, you should either do everything you can to find the owner or if it’s not possible, wipe it clean.

If you have a copy of your data, you could do a DFU Restore of iOS.

That depends on which pad is lifted. If you have a connection point nearby, you could run a jumper. If it goes within inner layers to the CPU, then yeah, you are probably in trouble. Use a tool like Phoneboard to understand what connects to what and post more and better details so we can help you.

With water damage, you have to decontaminate the logic board before doing anything else. Not every water-damaged phone is recoverable and depending on the kind of liquid (salty, dirty, filthy), sometimes the success rate is quite low. That said, IMHO, it's always worth a try otherwise we are just piling up the e-waste. The water is inside the phone, on the logic board and under the shields, even under the IC's. The real problem is the mineral deposits that can cause short circuits or the corrosion that is taking place as the water evaporates. Leaving the power on the device accelerates the process. The longer you let a phone sit in rice, the more time you are giving corrosion to damage your logic board. The saltier or harder the water is, the more damage will occur. The water needs to be displaced, not evaporated. The proper way treat a wet phone is to do the following: (1) Open your phone and remove the logic board (follow this guide) (2) Inspect the logic board, especially around the connectors and look...

With water damage, you have to decontaminate the logic board before doing anything else, otherwise there will be latent issues down the road. Not every water-damaged phone is recoverable and depending on the kind of liquid (salty, dirty, filthy), sometimes the success rate is quite low. That said, IMHO, it's always worth a try otherwise we are just piling up the e-waste. The rice myth kills too many phones... The water is inside the phone, on the logic board and under the shields, even under the IC's. The rice is nowhere near where the water is. So while it “may’’ soak up some water vapour, the real problem is the mineral deposits that can cause short circuits or the corrosion that is taking place as the water evaporates. Leaving the power on the device accelerates the process. The longer you let a phone sit in rice, the more time you are giving corrosion to damage your logic board. The saltier or harder the water is, the more damage will occur. The water needs to be displaced, not evaporated. On some...

Finding shorts can be a pain. Before assuming it is CPU related, you have to rule out everything else. Now you could have two separate shorts/issues, especially on a water damaged device but there could also be a common failure point. Start with PP1V1 as it is a bit easier to follow. It is generated by the PMIC, feeds into the CPU and Acorn. PP1V1 is always used as a supply for downstream PMIC LDO outputs so you’ll want to check all of the PMIC LDO’s that are lower than 1.1V as they may be pulling down the line indirectly. PP1V8 is used more widely but you essentially have to do the same thing. Find the starting point (PMIC) and follow it through. It could be a cap or it could be an IC so you have to rule things out one at a time. Use the visible water damage as clues but sometimes there are no visibly obvious clues to the failure. Freeze spray or Thermal camera may help if the short is giving off heat.

Are you sure you are talking about the iPhone 6S? There is only one version of the logic board (no Intel vs. Qualcomm like on the 7). You might want to check Phosporus U3020); it is right next to the NAND. While it is the barometer and not an accelerometer, the 4 sensor IC’s do all interact. Look up the voltages and inspect for trace damage or dislodged components near the NAND and on the reverse side.

Screen issues with the iPhone 6S series are almost always screen related…except in this case you have a water damaged device. Water damaged devices tend to be unstable and they will develop all kinds of secondary issues. That’s why most micro-soldering shops won’t fix them for the sake of the phone. Try a known-good screen or conversely, put your screen in a known-good device to see if the fault follows the screen or logic board. There could be an issue with the touch/lcd related power IC (Chestnut) which may be repairable if the corrosion is limited. But if that circuit looks good then you have to consider calling it quits before this device sucks all of your time and energy out. Personally, I find the 6S series water damaged devices to be the most challenging.

Has this phone been in contact with water? These symptoms sound suspiciously like a water damaged device. The other possibility is that of the phone was dropped and the logic was damaged. The logic board in the iPhone X is flimsier than in previous models and this could be a cracked solder ball along the interposer or underneath an IC. If software resets/restores don’t work, you should consider having this looked at by an experienced micro-solderer.