Why am I dealing with an iPhone water damage flickering screen?

I recently had an unfortunate incident where my iPhone came into contact with water. At first, I thought it was functioning well, but then I noticed that the screen started flickering intermittently. This flickering problem seems to be getting worse over time. I’m struggling to understand why water damage would specifically cause my screen to flicker. It’s become a significant disruption because the screen’s instability makes it tough to use my phone for any prolonged period. The situation is frustrating, as it’s hard to predict when the screen will act up. I haven’t been able to figure out if it’s a hardware issue or something internal that can be fixed through adjustments. This problem is quite distressing, and the erratic behavior of my iPhone’s screen is becoming a growing concern.
6 Answers

I think you might be dealing with a damaged screen assembly due to the water exposure. The water may have seeped into the layers of the screen, affecting the LCD panel. In some cases, even a tiny amount of water trapped inside can cause significant issues. The flickering could be due to the moisture affecting the liquid crystals in the display or the backlight filter layer.
- First, make sure to power off your iPhone immediately to prevent further damage.
- Try to absorb any external water using a dry cloth, being careful not to push water further inside.
- Keep the phone in a dry, warm place, ideally a bag of uncooked rice or silica gel packs to absorb moisture.
- Once dry, check if the flickering persists. If it does, professional help might be needed.

Having dealt with similar issues, I’m inclined to believe that the touchscreen digitizer might be at fault. Water damage can impair the digitizer’s electrical pathways, causing the screen to flicker because the touch signals are not being processed correctly. This might cause erratic touch responses, ghost touches, or no touch response at all, thereby causing the troubling flicker.

Your iPhone’s flickering screen caused by water damage could be due to short-circuiting. When water seeps inside the device, it can create electrical pathways that shouldn’t exist, disrupting the normal operation of the screen. These short circuits can cause the display to behave erratically by sending false signals or triggering the backlight at inappropriate times.

Water exposure usually leads to the corrosion of internal components. Over time, the moisture trapped inside can cause the connectors and circuits to degrade. This corrosion can interfere with the data transmission between the screen and the motherboard, leading to the flickering issue you’ve observed. This degradation can continue to get worse if the device isn’t dried properly and attended to by a professional.

From my experience, the battery could also be the culprit. Water damage can affect the battery’s performance. A compromised battery might supply inconsistent power to the display, causing it to flicker. If the flickering gets intense during high performance or battery-intensive activities, an uneven power supply might be the issue.

A friend of mine who faced the same issue with their iPhone told me that the logic board might be affected. Water can cause the connections on the board to warp or corrode, leading to a wide range of issues, including a flickering screen. Since the logic board handles all instructions and connections within the phone, any damage can manifest in various ways, with screen flickering being one of the more noticeable symptoms.