So you’ve spilled something on your phone and now have liquid damage and wondering what to do? One thing for certain is that you shouldn’t plug in the charger or attempt to turn on without first drying out the phone. Using the phone while there is still liquid inside, components on the motherboard could be shorting and cause further damage that may make the phone unrepairable.

Rice Doesn’t Work

The good ol rice trick doesn’t really work anymore with newer phones. Their slim and sleek design makes them more compact inside which makes it a little harder to get liquid out without opening the phone. Phones that can not be open without a professional only have a few openings where liquid can travel out of. Usually these are the ear piece hole, sim slot, charging port, headphone jack (if you have one) and speaker hole. Rice may work to get some of the liquid located near these places but will be harder and take longer to get liquid from the center of the phone out.

Remove The Battery If Possible

First thing one should do is remove the battery if possible. Most smartphones these days have batteries that are not easily removable like those that you pop the back cover off and remove the battery. Lets say that you have one of those fancy phones with a non-removable battery, if you just dropped it in water or spilled something on it. Try to turn it off as soon as possible. If the screen is not responding to touch turn the display off and take it to a repair shop as soon as possible.

Clean The Phone

Now that you have your phone turned off, if it was possible to turn it off. Take it to a repair shop that can open your phone to properly dry out the inside of the phone. The sooner you take your phone the higher chance you have that the liquid hasn’t damaged the components inside. Once the phone has been cleaned and dried try a new battery and see if it turns on.

Back Up Your Data

If the phone turns on the first thing you should do is back up the data. Liquid damage even though cleaned can be a little tricky. There have been cases where a phone was dropped in a small puddle and immediately brought over to open and clean and did not work. We’ve also had phones that have been sitting in a drawer and turns on right away with a new battery. Most repair shops will not warranty liquid damage for this reason. One minute your microphone, camera, or speaker could be working and then the next moment stops working.

Long story short, if you spill liquid on your device make sure you do not try to use it or plug in the charger. Once its been cleaned out and turns on back up your data immediately. Be aware that the phone may have other issues or that it may not last long.

Getting a dim display or can seem to see the image on your iPhone after a screen replacement? It is possible the backlight circuit was damaged during repair. New and experienced technicians have gone through the dreaded damaged backlight. In some cases, many repair shops end up buying the customer a new phone. Or if someone takes it to a repair shop they are told that it can not be fixed and either has to buy a new phone or new motherboard. WRONG! Many motherboard issues like a damaged backlight circuit can be repaired by a skilled micro-soldering technician and by having the right equipment.

So How Exactly Does The Backlight Get Damaged?

The backlight can be damaged during a repair such as a screen replacement. When the screen is plugged in while the phone is on the backlight circuit can short a single component or several on the motherboard. It is common on iPhone 6s and newer iPhones, but can still happen to older iPhones. The image above  is an iPhone 6s Plus that was taken for a screen repair. During the screen installation, the screen circuit was hot. By hot meaning, there was current going through the backlight circuit. During installation, one of the filters, also known as a fuse, blew. When it blew it also damaged the pads where it was soldered to. That is why there is a wire running across the board to another component where the power comes from. Backlight circuit can also be damaged by a short somewhere else on the board and of course liquid damage.

How To Tell You Have A Damaged Backlight Circuit?

• No light or dim display when the phone is on.
• Screen backlight works on another phone
• Noticeable damage such as a short
• Liquid Damage near or around the screen connector

Sorry, your 2015 MacBook is out of warranty! It’s only $750 to fix it or…you can buy a new one! That’s a “genius” idea! Pun intended. But what if the device is not dead? What if it’s just a FUSE causing a faulty backlight? That’s right. Computers, cell phones, and tablets have fuses just like your average microwave. And not just one, but as many as 3 or 4 fuses, all responsible for different functions on the device. In the case of this MacBook, the fuse actually failed to do its job…burn…and that caused a small circuit on the logic board called LED Driver that is responsible for the backlight which burned. It’s not exactly a DIY repair, but it’s definitely repairable, and it’s not $750, and you don’t have to buy another MacBook.

iPad Pro 12.9” Screen Replacement. Not the best #DIY project. The LCD/Digitizer has to be moved over from the old screen to the new one, which requires soldering. If that’s not something you’re comfortable with, you can always go to a repair shop and have it soldered there, but its neither the easiest nor the cheapest process, so just keep that in mind if you ever think of buying one of these broken to fix up for yourself. You can click the link below for a complete video of the repair.