How to Fix & Retrieve Pictures/Videos From a Water Damaged iPhone That Won’t Turn on

Summary: Spilled water on your iPhone? This article guides you in detail, how to fix water-damaged iPhone and do’s to avoid further damage. Also learn ways to recover lost photos and videos when your iPhone is not turning on due to the damage.

| Q. I accidentally dropped my iPhone in swimming pool and now it does not turn on anymore. How can I fix my water damaged phone? Is there any way I can rec__over photos and videos from my water damaged iPhone
A. To fix a water damaged iPhone, try to dry it completely while to recover your lost photos and videos you have two options:

1. Recover from Apple iCloud and iTunes backup
2. If, backup files are not accessible or deleted, recover using third-party software
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This article guides you in detail, how to fix such water-damaged iPhone and recover lost photos and videos when the device is not turning on.
The damage caused by water or any other liquid on iPhones is unpredictable. Your iPhone may or may not turn on and there is a high possibility of losing your data including photos and videos on it.
Even if your iPhone is under the one-year warranty, Apple does not cover liquid damages to iPhone. So now you are in a crazy situation of double loss, of owning a faulty device and losing precious photos and videos stored in it.
First, a piece of advice: Stay calm. Before trying to retrieve lost photos through any method follow the essential dos and don’ts to fix your iPhone and avoid further loss.

DOs fo****r Water Damaged iPhone

• **Try drying
  **Remove excess water off the iPhone by rubbing it dry on a towel. Gently shake it to clear the water in the sockets and ports of the phone.
• **Do not plug it in or turn it on
  **Do not plug or turn on the wet iPhone as this can cause a short circuit. Even if it turns on, it will stop working forever after sometime. If the iPhone is in Power on or Sleep Mode, switch it off completely and leave it to dry for at least two days.
• **Remove the SIM card
  **Take out the SIM card from the iPhone to avoid damage to key components and rub it dry on a clean cotton cloth.
• **Dry with silica gel sachets
  **Use silica gel packets to dry your wet iPhone and leave it for at least 48 hours.

DON’Ts for Water Damaged iPhone

• Do not press any buttons of wet iPhone
• Do not try to switch on your iPhone to avoid short circuit
• Do not use a hairdryer or other drying tools to dry your phone
• Do not place your iPhone in raw rice to avoid foreign particles entering inside

How to Recover Data from Water Damaged iPhone

After doing above essential hacks, once you power on your water damaged iPhone, there are two possibilities, either your phone starts working but you have lost your data or iPhone does not switch on at all!
Do not panic, as in either case, you can recover your lost photos and videos from a water damaged iPhone via two methods

Method 1: Recover from **iCloud and iTunes backup
**Apple has this remarkable feature in which all iPhone data is automatically saved in iCloud and iTunes backup. You just you need to sign in to iCloud or iTunes through your Apple ID on the new iOS device. Next, select and transfer the desired files to the new device from the list of available backups in iCloud/iTunes.

_**Method 2: Recover from third-party application
**_In case you are unable to restore photos from the iCloud and iTunes backup files or have deleted your desired files from the backup, opt for a third-party application to recover photos or videos from your water damaged iPhone.
From a plethora of iPhone data recovery software available in the market, experts recommend to pick only the trusted and secure data recovery tool, specially designed for the iOS device.

**Use iPhone Data Recovery Software  by Stellar
**One of the commonly used third-party data recovery software is Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. The easy-to-use interface and 100% safe download makes it a popular choice among iPhone users.

If your iPhone is synchronized with iCloud and iTunes backup, you can retrieve lost photos and videos from water damaged iPhone using Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. In the situation when your iPhone is not detected by the system or do not switch on at all, after it is damaged due to water, the software offers two ways to recover photos and videos:

1. Recovery from iCloud Backup
2. Recovery from iTunes Backup

**Step-by-step: Recovery from iCloud Backup

Step 1: Install and Run Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone and select “Recover from iCloud Backup**” from the main menu.

Figure 1: Illustrates the main screen

Step 2: Enter the Apple ID and password to sign in to iCloud.

Figure 2: Illustrates the credential screen

Step 3: After entering the credentials, the software displays the list of all backup files. Select the desired files and click Scan

Figure 4: Illustrates backup files list

Step 4: Preview the selected files and press Save. You can save recovered photos or videos at the desired location.

Figure 5: Illustrates the preview of the files

Step-by-step: Recovery from iTunes Backup
Step 1: Select “Recover from iTunes Backup” option on the main screen

Step 2: The software displays all iTunes backup files. From the Tree view, select the file categories from which you want to recover photos/videos. it will list all files under that category.

Figure 6: Illustrates the backup files list

Step 3: Preview the existing and/or deleted files

Figure 7: Illustrates the Preview of files under the selected category

Step 4: Click ‘Save’ to recover the file. You can either choose to save all or a few files by selecting the checkboxes.

_ Figure 8: Illustrates the file saving process_

**Conclusion
**The safest way to _rec_over lost photos and videos from water damaged iPhone is through a secure third-party tool.
The easy-to-use interface along with scanning and recovery precision makes iPhone Photo Recovery Software  by Stellar most sought by iPhone users. It comes as a blessing, especially when the iTunes and iCloud backup files become inaccessible or unreadable.

Try the Free Demo Version of the software to recover your lost and deleted pictures/videos in Mac or in Windows.

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone failed to recognize my iPhone. How to fix it?

In case Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software doesn’t recognize your iPhone, do the following to fix the issue:

1. Install/ update to the latest iTunes on your PC or Mac computer.
2. Ensure your iPhone is turned on and on the Home screen.
3. Check if the USB port and cable are working fine or use a different Apple USB cable.
4. Ensure the iOS device ‘Trust’ your computer. If you receive the ‘Trust this Computer’ message, click on ‘Trust’.
5. Restart your iPhone.
6. Restart your computer.
7. Update your Windows or macOS.

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone supports all the iPhone models and their individual variants, including iPhone 13, iPhone 12, iPhone 11, iPhone XS, and below variants. It is compatible with the latest iOS 15, 14, 13, 12 and below.

How to Recover Files after iPhone Factory Reset?

If you detect anything anomalous on your iPhone, you may need to reset it to factory settings. However, after a factory reset, you will lose all the data stored in your device. You will not be able to access your contact list, call logs, or messages, be it your imessages, WhatsApp, etc. But, why restore your iPhone?

Sometimes, there are issues that cannot be handled and the only solution is to restore the device to factory settings. This is usually done when the device functions abnormally or the performance is extremely slow. If your iPhone is restored to factory settings, every single bit of personal information will be permanently deleted from the device, and this may prevent others from getting access to your personal information.

How to reset your iPhone to Factory Settings:

To reset your iPhone to factory settings, follow the steps below:

1. Click Settings and then select General
2. Select Reset and click on Erase all contents and settings. The interface will prompt you to key in your Apple ID and Passcode
3. Enter your Apple ID and Passcode to proceed. With this, the procedure to factory reset iPhone is complete

Important!

Before resetting the iPhone device to factory settings, it would be a good practice to back up your device on your system. If you have not created a backup, you will not be able to restore the data back to your device, and all you will lose all your data. You can use iCloud or iTunes to back up your iPhone data. If anything anomalous occurs, all the data can be restored from the most recent backup files right from anywhere.

How to recover deleted data from your iPhone:

Even if you have not backed up your iPhone data, there’s still a solution. You can now retrieve all your erased data from your iPhone with Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone . The tool is powered by sophisticated recovery algorithms that help restore all the data components back to your iPhone after a factory reset.

The tool provides the option to recover data through multiple channels. Since we need to recover data that has been erased after a factory reset, we need to select ‘Recover from iPhone’ option from the main interface of the tool.

Follow the steps below to restore your deleted data:

1. Connect your iPhone device to the system. The tool will then begin to analyze the device for detecting the previously existing files from the connected device. The tool will generate a preview for all the folders and incorporated contents within its panel.
2. You can then select single or multiple files for recovery that you have lost while resetting your iPhone.
3. The iPhone recovery tool will provide dual options to store data either on the hard drive on the computer or your connected iPhone device.

Not only the tool provides the benefit to recover data from iPhone device, but you will also be able to recover data from iTunes or iCloud backup files . Also, the iOS recovery tool can also be used to recover data from encrypted backup files. However, to utilize this feature, it is important to have a backup.

Important!

• Backup your data before performing any huge operation on the iPhone device such as restoring the device to factory settings.
• It is a good practice to store iPhone data on iCloud and perform a regular backup to prevent data loss.
• Saving iPhone data to iCloud offers an ease of accessing data contents from anywhere, even if the data is deleted from your device.
• In addition to online backups, it is beneficial to retain a replica of existing data on another device such as a system hard drive or external storage media.

How to fix error 1015 while restoring iPhone

Summary: Error 1015 appears during iPhone restore through iTunes. If you are getting this error, its probably due to attempts of jailbreak or iPhone downgrade. This post shares 7 ways to fix iPhone restore error 1015 on iPhone 7, 8, XS, XR, SE, 11, 12, and above models.

Are you receiving iPhone error 1015 during restore with iTunes as below?

Case 1: _I have an old iPhone 3G stuck in Recovery Mode. I am trying to restore it through iTunes. But at the end of the restore, I get unknown error 1015. How can I fix error 1015 on my own?
_

Case 2: I tried to restore my iPhone in iTunes. It won’t finish because of this error 1015 code. I have the latest software. I’ve restarted and updated my iPhone too. Still the same error message appears.

Have you used tools like TinyUmbrella to restore firmware that Apple no longer supports?

Did you try to jailbreak your iPhone by using applications like Redsn0w or Pwnage?

If yes, that’s the reason behind the problem. The error 1015 is typically caused by attempts of jailbreak or downgrade on the iOS device. Such activities are a violation of the iOS end-user software license agreement. They can make your iPhone vulnerable to malware and prone to errors like 1015.

Naturally, Apple wouldn’t encourage jailbreak or downgrading to an older iOS version. Thus, you are bound to face problems when trying the unauthorized iOS modifications on your iPhone or iPad.

Thus, the probable reasons for the iPhone restore error 1015 are:

• Downgrade of iOS
• Jailbreak
• Outdated software
• Third-party tools on your computer

This post shares all the possible solutions to fix iPhone restore error 1015.

You can apply these solutions on all iPhones including 3G, 4, 5, 6, 6s, 7, 8, X and above models using any iOS version.

1. I****nstall the latest version of iTunes

Make sure your computer has the latest iTunes before restoring iPhone using iTunes.

On Windows PC, update iTunes by following Help > Check for Updates in the top menu bar of iTunes.

On Mac, go to App Store > Updates > click Install, if you see any iTunes updates.

2. Update iOS

iOS updates usually fix error 1015 which appears while restoring iPhone with iTunes.

On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update and tap Download and Install.

3. Update Windows or macOS

System update ensures smooth and error-free performance of your computer.

If you are using Windows PC, follow Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

On Mac, click on Apple icon and select S****oftware Update and click on updates available.

4. Uninstall third-party software on PC/ Mac

Third-party software often create conflict among programs while performing iPhone restore or update with iTunes. You may not receive the error 1015, after uninstalling such programs.

On Windows computer go to Start > All apps. Find the third-party software and right-click on it. Choose Uninstall.

On Mac, in the Finder window, go to Applications. Find and select the third-party software. In the top menu bar, go to File and select Move to Trash. Next, click on Empty Trash.

5. Put your iPhone in Recovery Mode and restore

Before you put your iPhone on Recovery Mode, ensure you are using the latest version of iTunes. Next, follow the below steps to restore iPhone using the Recovery Mode.

• Connect your iPhone to computer
• Open iTunes
• Force restart your iPhone while it is still connected to the computer, until you see the iTunes logo (To force restart use home and/or volume button depending on your iPhone version)

• On your computer, you will receive a dialog box asking to either Update or Restore.

• Click Update

After the Update process completes, you can restore your iPhone from iTunes or iCloud backup without facing the error 1015.

Note: If you are unable to enter Recovery Mode on your iPhone due to jailbreak, you may use programs like RecBoot, which are used to enter and exit the Recovery Mode on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

6. Delete the IPSW file on your computer

Files with .ipsw extensions on your computer are backups and temporary files of your iOS updates. Many iPhone users who were receiving error 1015 while restoring iPhone were able to fix the problem by deleting these files on their PC or Mac.

Deleting these backup files doesn’t impact your iTunes or iPhone function.

Note: You can get rid of the old IPSW files and keep the most recent ones.

Location of .IPSW files on your computer:

On Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Update

On Windows Vista/7: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates

On Mac OS X: ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates

7. Restore your iPhone into DFU Mode

When no other method is helpful, choose to put your iPhone in DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode. Whether you are receiving the iPhone error 1015 due to jailbreaking your iOS device or not, the DFU mode solution is your last resort to fix error 1015.

As in Recovery Mode, bringing your iOS device to DFU mode will lead to loss of iPhone data. Thus, before you attempt this, make sure you have iCloud or iTunes backup.

Steps to DFU mode for iPhone 7, 6s and below users:

• Connect your iPhone to computer (even if your iPhone is off)
• For 8 seconds, press and hold the Sleep button and Home button (iPhone 6s and below users) or the volume down button (iPhone 7). Next, release the Sleep button but continue to hold the Home button or the volume down button until iTunes shows message _‘iTunes has detected an iPhone in recovery mode._’

• Leave the Home button or volume down button. The iPhone screen turns black indicating the device has entered DFU mode
• Next, you can restore your iPhone using iTunes

Steps to DFU mode for iPhone X, 8, or 8 Plus users

• Connect your iPhone to computer (even if your iPhone is off)
• Quickly press and release the volume up button, quickly press and release the volume down button, and press and hold the side button until your iPhone screen turns black
• Press and hold the volume down button while continue holding the side button for 5 seconds
• Release the side button and continue holding the volume down button until your iPhone shows up in iTunes.
• Next, release the volume button. Your iPhone is in DFU mode

Now restore iPhone with iTunes. You can exit DFU Mode by force restarting your iPhone.

| Unable to restore iPhone from iTunes after Recovery Mode or DFU Mode?
If after putting your iOS device to Recovery or DFU mode you are unable to restore iPhone, download Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone The DIY software for Mac and PC can easily restore the data from iPhone, iCloud, and iTunes.

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To Sum Up

Naturally, the error code 1015 is annoying when you quickly want to restore your iPhone using iTunes.

The error usually appears when your software is not updated, you have attempted jailbreak or downgraded your iPhone’s iOS.

The post shares 7 different ways you can try to fix the problem. Begin with the simpler troubleshooting such as updating your iOS, Windows/ macOS and iTunes. Uninstalling third-party security software or deleting the IPSW files on your computer has also worked for many in resolving the error 1015.

In case these methods don’t work, then go for the tougher solutions like bringing iPhone to Recovery Mode or DFU Mode which lead to iPhone data loss. They are the harsher solutions to the problem, but assure you don’t receive error 1015 while restoring from iTunes. But make sure you have iCloud and iTunes backup before attempting these two methods. Else you would need an iPhone data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone to restore your lost iPhone data. The software is quick and efficient way to get back lost data in cases of jailbreak, downgrade of iOS and restore errors.