Water damaged phone? Do this in the first 30 minutes
The first half hour decides whether your phone, and the photos on it, survive. Not rice, not a hair dryer: a few right moves now, then a bench with an ultrasonic cleaner as fast as you can get there. Free diagnosis, fixed quote, no fix no fee.
Do this now
Five moves, in order. Everything on this list either stops the damage getting worse or gets the phone to help faster.
1. Power it off and leave it off
Water plus electricity is what kills boards. Hold the buttons, shut it down, and resist the urge to check if it still works. Every second it runs wet is a chance for a short.
RIGHT NOWoff means off
2. Do not charge it
Plugging in a wet phone pushes current through wet connectors. That is how a saveable phone becomes a dead one. No cable, no wireless pad, until it has been checked.
NO CABLEno wireless pad either
3. Skip the rice and the hair dryer
Rice does nothing: it cannot pull water out of a sealed phone, it just burns the hours that matter. Heat is worse, it drives moisture deeper and cooks the corrosion in.
MYTHboth make it worse
4. Dry the outside, take the SIM tray out
Wipe it down, pop the SIM tray and leave the slot open so the inside can vent. Do not shake it hard or poke anything into the ports.
2 MINUTESgentle, no poking
5. Get it to a bench fast
Corrosion starts within hours, and salt water and pool water are the worst offenders. A phone that arrives the same day is a very different job to one that arrives next week.
TODAYsalt water = hurry
What we do on the bench
Liquid damage is a board job, not a drying job. The phone comes apart, the board comes out, and the liquid residue is removed before it can keep eating traces.
Strip down, board out
Full disassembly the moment it hits the bench. Shields off, connectors inspected, the board freed so nothing stays trapped and wet inside.
Ultrasonic clean and inspect
The board goes through the ultrasonic bath to strip residue and corrosion, then under the microscope pad by pad to map what the liquid has attacked.
Treat and repair
Corroded joints are reworked and damaged components replaced at board level, then the phone is reassembled and tested end to end.
We are honest about the odds: the sooner it arrives, the better the chance, and a board that needs component work is micro-soldering we do in house. Your phone is assessed within 24 hours, the diagnosis is free, and you approve a fixed quote before any repair starts.
Your photos are a separate question
Even when a phone is not saveable, the data usually is. The storage chip is one of the toughest parts on the board, so a board can often be repaired just far enough to boot once and copy everything off. If the photos matter more than the phone, tell us when you book and we run it as a data recovery job first.
Water damage questions
Can a water damaged phone be fixed?
Often, yes. Water itself rarely kills a phone on the spot; it is the corrosion that follows that does the damage. If the phone reaches the bench quickly, the board can be stripped, ultrasonically cleaned and repaired at component level. Some phones do arrive too far gone, which is why diagnosis is free: you find out where you stand before spending anything.
Should I put my wet phone in rice?
No. Rice cannot pull water out of a sealed phone, so it does nothing except waste the hours that matter most while corrosion sets in. Grains and starch dust can also lodge in the charging port. Power the phone off, dry the outside, take the SIM tray out and get it to a repair bench instead.
How long do I have before water damage becomes permanent?
Corrosion starts within hours, and salt water or chlorinated pool water accelerates it badly. There is no exact deadline, but every day the liquid sits on the board the odds get worse. Same day is ideal, and within a day or two is still well worth assessing. Whatever you do, keep the phone powered off until then.
How much does water damage repair cost?
Diagnosis is free. Across Sydney, liquid damage repairs typically run roughly $150 to $350 depending on how far the corrosion has spread and which components need replacing. You get a fixed quote before any work starts, and if we cannot fix it you pay nothing.
Can you recover photos from a water damaged phone?
In many cases, yes, even when the phone itself is not worth saving. The storage chip often survives when the rest of the board does not, so the board can be repaired just far enough to boot once and copy your photos and messages off. If the data matters more than the phone, say so when you book and we treat it as a recovery job.
Wet phone? The clock is already running.
Tell us what it went into and when, and we will tell you exactly what to do next. Assessed within 24 hours, diagnosis free.
Book a repair