iPad Water Damage Repair
Spilt something on your iPad? Act quickly and there is a good chance it can be saved. We repair water damaged iPads at board level under a microscope at our Burwood and Newtown workshops — including tablets other shops have already turned away.
Professional iPad Water Damage Repair
Liquid rarely kills an iPad outright. What kills it is corrosion, and that begins within minutes of the spill and keeps spreading for as long as the board stays wet and powered. This is why water damage repair is a race, and why the first hour matters more than anything we can do afterwards.
Tablets are particularly unforgiving here. The battery covers most of the inside of the case, so liquid that gets past the screen edge spreads across a wide area of board rather than pooling in one corner. By the time symptoms appear, the damage is often well advanced.
Our process is board level. The iPad is opened, the battery disconnected so no current flows across wet traces, and the board inspected under a microscope to trace exactly where the liquid travelled. Residue is removed chemically rather than wiped, corroded components are dealt with individually, and the tablet is tested in stages rather than reassembled and hoped for.
What To Do Immediately After a Spill
- Power it off now. Hold the button down. Do not wait for it to sleep.
- Unplug it and leave it unplugged. Charging a wet board causes more damage than the spill did.
- Do not test it. Every attempt to switch it on drives current through wet circuitry.
- Drain it. Stand it upright so liquid runs away from the board rather than across it.
- Skip the rice and the hairdryer. Neither helps, and heat warps components and adhesive.
- Bring it in. The sooner the board is cleaned, the more of the iPad survives.
iPad Models We Repair
Every iPad Apple has made, Pro, Air, mini and standard, from the current models back to the iPad 2.
| Model | Apple model numbers |
|---|---|
| iPad Pro 13-inch (M5, M4) | A3360 · A2925 · A2926 |
| iPad Pro 11-inch (M5, M4) | A3357 · A2836 · A2837 |
| iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd–6th gen) | A2436 · A2378 · A2229 · A1876 |
| iPad Pro 11-inch (1st–4th gen) | A2759 · A2377 · A2228 · A1980 |
| iPad Air 13-inch (M4, M3, M2) | A3461 · A3268 · A2898 |
| iPad Air 11-inch (M4, M3, M2) | A3459 · A3266 · A2902 |
| iPad Air 3, 4 and 5 | A2152 · A2316 · A2588 |
| iPad mini 6 and mini (A17 Pro) | A2567 · A2993 |
| iPad mini 2–5 | A1489 · A1599 · A1538 · A2133 |
| iPad (A16, 10th, 9th gen) | A3354 · A2696 · A2602 |
| iPad 5th–8th gen | A1822 · A1893 · A2197 · A2270 |
| iPad 2, 3 and 4 | A1395 · A1416 · A1458 |
Signs of Water Damage in an iPad
- Will not power on, or powers on then shuts down again
- Screen showing lines, patches or discolouration after a spill
- Touch not responding, or responding in only part of the screen
- Ghost touch — the iPad tapping and swiping on its own
- Will not charge, or charges only intermittently
- Speakers crackling, muffled or silent
- Camera fogged or blurry
- Running hot, or the battery draining unusually fast
Some of these appear immediately. Others surface days or weeks later as corrosion spreads, which is why an iPad that survived a spill is still worth having checked.
Why Choose Cheap Mobile Repair
- Genuine board-level work under a microscope, not a clean and reassemble.
- We take on tablets others refuse. A written-off iPad is worth a second opinion.
- Free assessment before you commit to anything.
- Data first where the files matter more than the tablet.
- Honest odds. We tell you what we think the chances are rather than taking your money and hoping.
- Trading since 2015 across Burwood, Newtown, Parramatta and Adelaide.
iPad Water Damage Repair Cost
Water damage is the one repair nobody can price honestly over the phone. An iPad where a splash reached the edge of the screen is a different job to one that went into a bath. We open it, assess it, and then quote.
What we can promise is that you will know the price before work begins, and that if we believe the tablet is not economically repairable we will say so rather than billing you for a hopeless attempt. Where the data matters more than the iPad, we will tell you that too and focus there instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a water damaged iPad be saved?
Often, yes — and more often than most shops will tell you. It depends on what was spilt, how much reached the board, and above all how quickly the iPad was powered off and brought in. Sugary drinks and salt water are far more corrosive than plain water.
What should I do right now?
Power it off properly — hold the button rather than letting it sleep. Do not plug it in. Do not press keys or test it. Stand it upright so liquid drains away from the board, and bring it in as soon as you can.
Does putting it in rice work?
No. Rice does nothing about the corrosion already forming on the board, and dust from it can make things worse. The damage that kills a tablet is electrochemical, not simply moisture, and it continues while the iPad sits in the bag.
How much does iPad water damage repair cost?
It depends entirely on what the board looks like once opened. Some need cleaning only; others need component-level work. We assess first and quote before doing anything, so you are never facing an open-ended bill.
How long does it take?
Longer than a screen or battery job. Cleaning and drying is a staged process and we test between stages rather than rushing. Expect a few days for a proper repair, and we will keep you updated.
Can you recover my photos if the iPad is dead?
Frequently, yes, and often that is the first priority. See our iPad data recovery page — we can retrieve files from many tablets that will not power on.
Is water damage covered by warranty?
Not by ours and not by Apple. Liquid damaged devices carry no repair warranty because corrosion can resurface weeks later. We are upfront about that before you commit, not after.
My iPad still works after a spill. Do I need anything done?
Bring it in. Corrosion spreads quietly and a tablet that seems fine can fail weeks later. An early clean is far cheaper than a board repair once the damage has spread.
Do you repair iPads other shops have refused?
Regularly. Board-level work under a microscope is our speciality, and tablets written off elsewhere are routine for us.
The screen works but the touch does not since the spill.
That is common — liquid often reaches the digitiser connector first. It is usually repairable, and the free assessment will tell us whether the screen, the connector or the board is affected.
Visit Our Stores
We handle iPad water damage repair at our Burwood store at 10 Burwood Rd and our Newtown store at Shop 1A, 2 Enmore Road. Customers in Parramatta can use our free pickup and delivery service.
For everything else your iPad might need, see our main iPad repair page, or get in touch and we will point you in the right direction.
