A Case Study
In this case study we have been sent a water damaged iPhone XS (A2097) for data recovery. It contains all our customer’s essential data. The device became water damaged on March the 7th and we received it the following week. You can see from images 1 + 2 below that the device has become rusty in places and liquid is still inside the phone. Click each photo to enlarge.
Our first port of call with any item like this is to take the logic board out, assess the damage and start cleaning. We use specialist heating applications to separate the logic board layers on the iPhone X, XS, XS Max and 11 as shown in the video below. For more severe cases, we often see this process being comparable to techniques used in hard drive recovery, where precision is essential to avoid further data loss.
After we separate the two iPhone layers, the full extent of the water damage can be seen below.
Once we have the layers apart, we run the boards through a series of ultrasonic cleansing and decontamination processes. We use one of our specialist ultrasonic baths, configure a heat setting and allow it to remove corrosion and microscopic debris from the board.
After the cleansing is completed, the device is tested for anything electronic that may be a problem. We soon discover that there is a short to ground on one of the main power lines (PP_VDD_Main). Two capacitors are at fault and once removed and replaced the issue is alleviated.
More electronic tests are carried out (to both logic boards) and once we are confident the results look good; we attempt to power on the device. We have a lot of specialist tools for mobile phone data recovery and one of the most useful and time saving devices comes from QianLi. They create a lot of specialist tools specifically for this kind of precise work. One tool is theirs is iSocket (shown in the image).
This equipment allows us to connect the phone’s internal boards without having to solder them back together. This is extremely handy for tricky cases, as soldering and de-soldering these boards involves a specialist type of reballing, a lot of time and patience. It also means if we do connect everything up and there was still a problem, we can then start fixing issues on the board(s) a lot quicker than if we had soldered the layers back together.
As you can see in the final video below, once the water and electrical damage is repaired, we use the phone’s QianLi test rig to get the device booting and recover deleted files from phone, ensuring no important customer data is lost.
Videos
Data Clinic Ltd – Our Latest Trustpilot Reviews
Recently lost all my data but data…
Recently lost all my data but data clinic retrieved it successfully. They answered all my questions when we'd call/email. Great communication and service.
Thank you Janice et al
Thank you Janice et al. There are a lot of rip off companies out there who take advantage of data-loss panic. I have my drive to one of them and they tried to charge me a crazy amount. This company is not one them. Very happy.
My phone had water damage none of the…
My phone had water damage none of the usual repair places managed to repaire the phone and said my data had been lost. However Data Clinic we able to get all my data recovered from the internal memory storage within a few days of them receiving my device. Highly recommend
Recovered External Drive
After an external hard drive failure on my home PC, Data Clinic successfully recovered my files and put them on a replacement drive. My experience with DC was excellent, all the staff I spoke to were efficient and helpful. I would 100% recommend Data Clinic.
My 1TB external drive drop on the floor…
My 1TB external drive drop on the floor at home and the drive heads got damaged and I take the drive to a company that I'm not going to mention they name but after they done the diagnostic test they to me to recovery the data would cost me £2400 and I told them no way then after I got back the drive from them they called me 2 days after and said they will drop the price from £2400 down to £1500 so that tells me that they wanted to scam or something and other companies prices was high and I didn't want to send my hard drive to different companies. Next day I googled and found Data clinic And the first phone call and the information they give me I was happy. The lady on the phone sent me a PDF File with a break down of all the prices for recovery and for hard drive repairs. They Recovered 90 to 95% of my files And the price I Paid Data clinic to repair my hard drive and to recovered the data and transfer to a new hard drive was cheaper than the first company that wanted to scam me . Data clinic price was lower than the £2400 and the £1500 . Data clinic services is on point and I would use them again if I have any issues and I would recommend Data clinic service 100%
Honeymoon pictures rescued
I dropped my "waterproof" phone in a swimming pool while abroad. Because I was roaming, nothing was backing up to the cloud, meaning the entirety of our honeymoon memories were trapped on the device. Thinking the phone was waterproof, I did everything you’re not supposed to do—I tried turning it on and plugging it in to charge. It overheated so badly that I was certain I had destroyed the phone and lost everything. Despite the massive damage I caused, the experts at Data Clinic managed to recover every single byte of information! The logistics were incredibly smooth. From my initial contact, they arranged a next-day courier and didn't take a penny in payment until they confirmed the device was physically in their hands. My only constructive feedback is regarding their communication during the actual repair. After that initial confirmation, things went completely quiet for about three weeks with no ETA. Handing over your phone and PIN to a third party requires a lot of trust, and the radio silence definitely made me worry. However, I really didn't need to panic. Out of the blue, they contacted me to say everything was recovered, and just 24 hours later, a memory stick arrived with all my data. Highly recommended, even if your phone seems completely beyond saving! Thanks Janice and Mohammed - you have been so pleasant and helpful. And thanks to the entire DataClinic team.
I cannot recommend this team enough
I cannot recommend this team enough. Chris and Janice and the team went above and beyond to help me retrieve data lost from my phone and as it was mostly charity work they even fixed my phone as a donation to the charity. I was so anxious and I am sure drove them mad with my questions and there were some issues backing up the data due to my settings but Janice was there calm and kind every step of the way reassuring me and they overcame every hurdle and everything was found. A 5 star personal, human and kind service which is rare but so talented and professional as well. Thank you all so much. Amazing customer service.
A very smooth experience from start to …
A very smooth experience from start to finish. I had a large music collection I thought I’d lost forever. I phoned them up and the process was clearly explained to me. They got my drive on the 4/8/26 and I got my data back on the 11/8/26. I got all of my data apart from one file that they reported was damaged so a fantastic result for me. Very reasonable price and very pleased with the quick service. The only negative was that the online payment system is not very mobile phone friendly and I had to call them to make the payment but apart from that i am super pleased I chose them. I would certainly recommend this company to everyone.
Brilliant service
Brilliant service. Janice and the lab team are outstanding. Good communication and updates throughout. Files on 2 discs were retrieved, 1 with new heads needed. Good pricing - transparent and competitive. They've been amazing. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again or to recommend them.
Communication was engaging
Communication was engaging. The services offered, potential cost and timescales were clear at the outset. The courier collection and delivery were managed well. A good experience and a positive outcome.
A very effective service
My iPhone completely bricked on holiday and I tried everything, even a new screen but I couldn’t get it to work. I thought I had lost all my holiday photos but Data Clinic managed to recover everything that was on the phone and I couldn’t be happier! They are very friendly and knowledgeable and the service is very in depth. They are honest and upfront about costs and will outline the whole process for you. I would definitely recommend instead of trying to take apart the phone yourself, it’s worth the money!
Highly recommend Data Clinic
Janice and the team at data clinic have been brilliant through the whole process of helping recover my drive. i was really impressed they could show me my drive contents virtually and get everything back to me very quickly. I would highly recommend! Josh
Data Clinic Locations
We have many data recovery locations across the UK. You are welcome to drop off but will need to book an appointment first.
Alternatively use our Free Collection service that picks up from ANY UK address.
New London House, EC3V 9LJ
The Mount, Belfast, BT6 8DD
11, St. Paul’s Square, Birmingham, B3 1RB
Castlemead, Bristol, BS1 3AG
Tay House, 300 Bath Street G2 4JR
Building 3, Gelderd Road, Leeds, LS12 6LN
Horton House, Exchange Street East, Liverpool, L2 3PF
The Pavilions, Bridge Hall Lane, Bury, BL9 7NX
Rotterdam House, 116 Quayside, NE1 3DY
Victory House, 400 Pavilion Drive, NN4 7PA
The Balance, 2 Pinfold Street, Sheffield S1 2GU
Basepoint, Andersons Road, Southampton, SO14 5FE
