Water damaged iPhone automatically restarts- what to do?

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Water damaged iPhone automatically restarts- what to do?

About 2 weeks ago, I submerged my iPhone 4 completely in water. I let it dry in rice for two days and it worked fine- until I charged it. Now it turns on and works, but will automatically restart after 4 minutes. I am an American student currently studying abroad in Germany, so it is pretty difficult to get tech support. I will be in germany until May and do not want to go much longer without a working phone.

Should I replace the battery? Or replace my whole iPhone all together? My applecare protection plan expired about a month ago, so I need to find the cheapest option.

Could I go to an Apple Reseller here in Germany and get it taken care of? Or would I have to have it shipped to me from the U.S.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

iPhone 4, iOS 5, water damaged automatically restart

Posted on Feb 21, 2012 6:11 AM

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Answer 1

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KiltedTim

Level 10

195,189 points

Feb 21, 2012 6:37 AM in response to jpowel

Most likely, it will have to be replaced. Apple care would not have covered it anyway. It will have to be replaced in the US unless you get extremely lucky. You're probably going to have to ship it back to a family member to take in to an Apple Store in the States and get an out of warranty replacement, then have them ship the replacement back to you.

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Answer 2

Feb 21, 2012 6:58 AM in response to jpowel

Checkout iFixit's guide on removing the back cover of the phone, there's probably just some water in there that hasn't evaporated that's causing the restart, or/and the battery got damaged. If there's no water try a new battery (you can get them cheap on ebay/iFixit).

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Answer 3

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,189 points

Feb 21, 2012 7:43 AM in response to jpowel

FYI, if you follow metalrocker's advice, you may not be eligible for an out of warranty replacement at the reduced cost.

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