Attemping to recover data from a water damaged iphone 4.

[nickn]

A family member has an iPhone that was submerged into water. They immediately removed the device, dried it, and then surprisingly used it again for a period of 4 weeks. During that time, all functions worked as normal, and there were no issues to report. This morning however, the device is now no longer able to use the battery, and all wireless connectivity has been lost. The cell service shows as searching, the wifi switch is unable to be moved to turn on, and Bluetooth has a spinning circle, though no other device is ever found. Further, as soon as the device is removed from USB power, it immediately dies. Reconnecting the device to the OEM charger will bring it back to life, however my issue is that this is the only way to utilize the phone. If I connect the iPhone to the computer, it completes approximately half the boot cycle and then dies, so thus I am scratching my head with how to recover the data on the phone. My hypothesis is that the computer's USB port is providing an insufficient amount of amperage to boot the device, whereas the USB adapter is and thus the phone will continue to boot. I cannot unplug the phone for even a second as it will immediately die, so is there anyway to force either an Apple or Windows based computer to feed 1 amp to a USB port at all times like the AC adapter would? I assume that a normal USB port will feed 0.5 amps until iOS negotiates a higher power draw, however it never boots to the OS past the apple logo to do this. Any suggestions or ideas how I can boot the phone, and then establish a connection and move data?

 

[maliu]

Buy a cheap battery on eBay and replace it. I had the same issue. I was able to get photos off the phone.

 

[flyinmac]

A family member has an iPhone that was submerged into water. They immediately removed the device, dried it, and then surprisingly used it again for a period of 4 weeks. During that time, all functions worked as normal, and there were no issues to report. This morning however, the device is now no longer able to use the battery, and all wireless connectivity has been lost. The cell service shows as searching, the wifi switch is unable to be moved to turn on, and Bluetooth has a spinning circle, though no other device is ever found. Further, as soon as the device is removed from USB power, it immediately dies. Reconnecting the device to the OEM charger will bring it back to life, however my issue is that this is the only way to utilize the phone. If I connect the iPhone to the computer, it completes approximately half the boot cycle and then dies, so thus I am scratching my head with how to recover the data on the phone. My hypothesis is that the computer's USB port is providing an insufficient amount of amperage to boot the device, whereas the USB adapter is and thus the phone will continue to boot. I cannot unplug the phone for even a second as it will immediately die, so is there anyway to force either an Apple or Windows based computer to feed 1 amp to a USB port at all times like the AC adapter would? I assume that a normal USB port will feed 0.5 amps until iOS negotiates a higher power draw, however it never boots to the OS past the apple logo to do this. Any suggestions or ideas how I can boot the phone, and then establish a connection and move data?

My first thought is to purchase a USB hub that is rated for USB 2 or 3. Make sure the USB hub comes with its own A/C power adapter to plug it into the wall.

Basically you'll be using the high powered hub to boost the power.

I actually use them directly plugged into the wall as multi-port chargers for iPods.

Make sure the specs on the hub state that it provides the power level you need to the USB ports.

The intention of the hubs is to provide a means to plug 2 or 4 additional devices into a single USB port on the computer. In your case, you'll be using it as a power booster.

Hope it works for you.