Chosen Solution
I got this phone working after taking a swim with my grandpa in physical therapy. I took the logic board out and smoked in alcohol and it worked fine except the display flickered a little, home button didn’t work, and when pressing the sleep button it would take screen shots so I guess the home button was being “pressed”. But I srupidly tried to reset the phone and now I’m stuck because I can’t activate it. Am I really screwed unless I pay someone to microsolder the baseband chip? I tried heating the chip with a blow dryer, but I don’t have solder tools to reball it etc.
With water damage, you have to properly decontaminate the logic board before doing anything else. The problem may be more involved that just the Baseband IC. The nature of water damage is that the water can seep below many of the IC’s, causing damage or shorts. A professional repair shop that does water damage repair may be able to recover your phone or the data because they have access to pro-level ultrasonic baths and specialized cleaners as well as the skills to troubleshoot your board. Many shops have a no fix/no fee policy so you don’t have to spend money to find out if the phone is fixable or not.
