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
   |
   | — |

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.

How to Restore Contacts on iPhone (4 Methods)

Summary: Many of the users have been wondering about the ways to restore deleted contacts. In this post, we shared the best methods to restore deleted contacts from your iPhone series 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, XS, XS Max, XR, X, 8, 7, 6, and 5.

Losing contact names and numbers from the device all of a sudden is not new for iPhone users. Sometimes contact names are missing with only the random numbers visible, or the contact list is altogether empty. Mostly, the incidents occur after updating to a newer version of iOS, a bug in the device, accidental deletion, or else formatting of the iPhone.

You can always restore from iCloud or iTunes backup, but sometimes even those attempts might fail to recover deleted contacts. This can be because of wrong user names, passcodes, or device settings.

In such cases, the best way to restore only the missing contacts is to use iPhone Data Recovery Software by Stellar**.** Read on to know the four solutions to recover deleted contact on iPhone below.

If you have synced your iPhone to iCloud backup, restore missing contact names and numbers with this method.

• Go to your iPhone Settings > iCloud > Contacts (iOS 16 & 15 users follow: Settings > User Name > iCloud)

• Toggle OFF and turn ON Contacts again

• It asks what you would like to do with the previously synced iCloud contacts on your iPhone. Select Delete from My iPhone.

You will get back lost contacts on the iPhone. Those accounts are also displayed in your group lists if you have different Cloud accounts like Gmail linked to your device. You can check and uncheck the group to view or hide, respectively.

This works only when you have backed up your iPhone to iTunes.

• Connect your iPhone to the PC
•  Launch iTunes
• Select your device from the Device list and pick the most recent backup entry date of your iPhone from the Summary page

• Click Restore Backup

You can get back the lost or deleted contacts from your iTunes backup. But the drawback of this method is that with iTunes, you do not have a choice to restore only the lost contacts on your iPhone selectively. This means that complete data from iTunes will be restored on your device, replacing existing iPhone data.

All current media photos, videos, messages, etc., on your iPhone will also be replaced by the iOS backup files. If you want to restore only contacts from iTunes backup, use a safe third-party iPhone data recovery application.

The best way to overcome the iTunes drawback and selectively restore only the missing contacts is to use iPhone Contact Recovery Software by Stellar.

This secure & do-it-yourself software recovers lost or accidentally deleted iPhone contacts, call history, etc., regardless of the cause of the loss.Experience the Free Trial version NOW!

The free demo version of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone allows you to scan and preview files from iPhone, iCloud, and iTunes backup, and to save them, you need to register the software.

Stellar Data Recovery offers three ways to recover iPhone contacts missing on your device:

1. Recovery from iPhone
2. Recover from iCloud Backup
3. Recover from iTunes Backup

1. Recover from iPhone

There is a possibility that your device has all the contacts, but they are not showing up—select Recovery from iPhone to view the hidden iPhone contacts in this case.

• Connect your iPhone to the computer and launch and launch the software
• On the home screen, choose “Recover from iPhone”, select “Contacts and Call Logs,” and click “Next.”

• It will show you the iOS devices connected to your system. Select your device and click Scan

• After scanning, select Contacts on your left pane; all the contacts will be displayed in the right pane.
•  Then, Select All or particular items by clicking on the associated checkbox.
• Click on Save and browse the desired location to save the recovered contacts.

2. Restore from iCloud Backup

Recovery from iCloud Backup allows you to selectively recover deleted contacts from your iPhone rather than restoring everything from photos and videos to messages. Follow the below steps:

• Connect your iPhone to the computer via USB cable
•  Launch Stellar Data Recovery from iPhone
• Choose Recover from iCloud Backup, Select Contacts and Call Logs and click Next

• Enter the Apple ID and Password to get the list of available backup files.

• Select the backup file and click Scan

• After scanning, select “Contacts” on your left pane, all the contacts in the selected backup file will be displayed in the right pane.

• Then, Select All or selective items by clicking on the associated checkbox.

• Click on Save and browse the desired location to save the recovered contacts.

3. Restore from iTunes Backup

If your iPhone contacts are synced with iTunes backup, use Recovery from iTunes backup to recover missing iPhone contacts.

• Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch the software
• On the home screen, choose Recover from iTunes, select Contacts and Call Logs, and click Next

• The software analyzes your system and lists all the available iTunes backup files, as shown below. If you cannot find the desired backup file, you can click on Add Backup to manually add the backup file from the system. Now, select the file and click Scan

• After scanning, select “Contacts” on your left pane, all the contacts in the selected backup file will be displayed in the right pane.
•  Then, Select All or particular items by clicking on the associated checkbox.
• Click on Save and browse the desired location to save the recovered contacts.

Minor changes in the iPhone Settings can also help restore deleted contacts. Try the below Setting changes and check if they work for you:

• Change Contacts’ Groups Settings
• Reset the Network Connections
• Change Default Account in Settings back to iCloud (works for iPhone 8/7/6s)

1: Change Contacts’ Groups Settings

• Go to your Contacts, tap into Groups
•  Uncheck All iCloud
• Select All on iPhone

• Click on Done (top right)
• Check if you got back all your contacts

2: Reset the Network Connections

• Under Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings

• Enter your passcode
• Choose Reset Network Settings to continue ignoring the message that this action will delete all your network settings.

This action will clear your current saved networks and Wi-Fi passwords, but you can always re-enter your network passwords later. So give this a try to retrieve lost contacts.

3: Change Default Account in Settings back to iCloud (works for iPhone 14, 13, 12, 11, X, 8, 7, 6)

• Go to your iPhone Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Contacts
• Click Default Account
• Select iCloud instead of On my iPhone
• Check if your phone’s missing contacts recovered

To Wrap-up

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone intelligently restores your missing or accidentally deleted contacts without causing loss of iPhone’s existing data, unlike iTunes or iCloud Backup recovery methods. Changing the iPhone settings can also help you get back missing contacts. So now no need to worry about the contacts list loss. Instead, try the above methods and recover deleted contacts on your iPhone.

Have you ever used any of the above methods for restoring missing iPhone contacts? Then, do share your experience in the comments below.

How To Recover Data From Lost or Stolen iPhone In Easy Steps

Summary: Lost your iPhone and now worried about your precious data on it? This post shares how efficiently Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone can recover lost data from a lost or stolen iPhone using iCloud Backup.

When we lose our phone, then the only thing we worry about is the valuable data stored on it. To recover all our critical data (contacts, messages, photos, videos, voice memo, etc.) all we need to do is restore them either from iTunes or iCloud backup. What if due to some unknown reasons, we are unable to access the backup? Well, in such cases we can still recover our files from the backup via Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software.

Apple is known for its flagship features and, one of them being able to automatically backup the iPhone data. ICloud and iTunes automatically back up iPhone data and updates it whenever you sync it to your Mac. The advantage of these backup systems is that you can recover your data when your iOS device is lost or stolen.

Speaking of which, a friend of mine lost his iPhone and was looking for ways to restore his critical data. As he had saved the information by backing it up, all he had to do was transfer the information to the new iOS device. However, as luck would have it, he was unable to access the backup files either.

To get rid of the deadlock, he decided to look for a third-party application which can recover iPhone data, and after some analysis, he opted for iPhone Data Recovery Software  by Stellar.

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone (Ultimate Solution to Recover iPhone Data)

If your backup is accessible, you can recover data from the backup files. If you cannot access the backup files, then you need a third-party iPhone Data Recovery Software to recover data from your lost or stolen iPhone.

Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone provides you with 2 options to recover iPhone data i.e. either from iTunes backup files or iCloud backup files. It is easy to use and deploys a robust scanning algorithm so as to recover as much data as possible.

Irrespective of how you lost your iPhone data, you can get back your data in two Recovery modes namely:

1. from iTunes Backup
2. from iCloud Backup

Let’s look at each —

Recovery Mode 1: iTunes Backup Files

You can recover iPhone data if you have synchronised your iPhone with iTunes earlier. To recover data from iTunes Backup files, follow these steps:

i. Run Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone and select “Recover from iTunes Backup” tab

Figure 1 illustrates the main screen of the software

ii. The software displays the list of all iTunes backup files. Select the required backup file to recover

Figure 2 illustrates the entire list of the backup files

iii. From the Tree view, select the supported file categories which will list all the items under that category head.

iv. Preview the selected backup files and save the files

Figure 3 represents the preview of the files

**Note: You can preview the existing and deleted files. Moreover, type the keyword or filename in the search box to search for a particular file.

v. Click the Save button to recover the file.

Recovery Mode 2: iCloud Backup files

You can restore your iPhone data from iCloud Backup files as well. Follow the steps given below:

i. Install and Run Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone and select “Recover from iCloud Backup” tab.

Figure 5 represents the home screen of the software

ii. Next, enter the Apple ID and Password and sign in to iCloud.

Figure 6 illustrates the credential page

iii. After entering the necessary credentials, the software displays the list of all the backup files. Select the required files and press the Scan button

Figure 7 Represents the list of all files

iv. Preview the selected files and press the Save button which you can save to the desired location.

Figure 8 illustrates the preview of the files

The Process is over!!

What does Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone offers?

• Supports latest iOS 17, 16 15, 14, 13, 12 and below
• Recovers data from iTunes/iCloud Backup files
• Supports multiple device connections
• Data recovery from encrypted iTunes Backup files
• Provides option to import files to iPhones

Concluding Note

Simplicity is one of the several major aspects that are frequently sought by users. On that note, the interface of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software is quite simple and intuitive, and users can quickly and accurately recover iPhone data. With that said, do make it necessary to regularly backup your iPhone data.

How to Restore iPhone from Backup when iTunes Backup is Corrupt or not compatible

Summary: Are you receiving the error, ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or not compatible’ while trying to restore iPhone? iPhone recovery is not possible from a corrupt backup file. This post shares how you can resolve corrupt iTunes backup file issue and restore iPhone’s lost data.

‘I dropped my iPhone and broke it. I got it repaired and formatted to factory settings to fix the various issues caused due to the fall. Since I had a backup in iTunes, so was not worried about my data. But had least idea that my iTunes backup file was corrupted! As I tried to restore iPhone from iTunes, a message appeared –: ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible.’ Now I don’t know how to restore my iPhone. Please help.’ –  Simon, UK

It’s not new when users get bowled over by iTunes when trying to restore their iPhone. iTunes sometimes shows a message that it could not restore iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that was being restored.

It may be because iTunes does incremental backup by updating the previous backup. It’s possible that some old backup data was corrupt, which results in the error message.

Whatsoever, it’s a fact that there’s no recovery possible from a corrupt backup file.

So how to fix such corrupt iPhone backup in iTunes and restore iPhone in such cases?

Here we share the best ways to fix corrupt iTunes backup file and efficient methods to restore iPhone’s lost data.

You can apply these methods on all iPhone models including series of iPhone 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, XS, XS Max, XR, X, 8 Plus, 8, 7 Plus, 7, 6S Plus, 6S, 6 Plus, 6, 5S, 5c, 5, 4S and 4 with latest iOS 16.x.

What you can do to fix ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible’

Since you can’t repair or recover from a corrupt or incompatible iTunes backup file, it is best to delete such corrupt files and next try to create a new backup in iTunes.

How to delete your corrupt iPhone backup file in iTunes

1. Launch iTunes on your PC or Mac
2. Windows users click Edit > Preferences (on Windows PC). Mac users click iTunes Menu > Preferences
3. Select Find your iPhone backups
4. Select the corrupt or incompatible backup. Click Delete Backup
5. Close the iTunes Preferences window

How to delete the old iTunes backup files manually

If you don’t see the old backup in iTunes, then delete the backup manually.

1. In iTunes, under Summary click on Serial Number. You will see the iPhone’s UDID. Note it down.
2. Navigate to the iTunes backups folder on your computer.

On Mac follow: Finder > Option> Go menu> Library> Application Support >MobileSync> Backup

On Windows 11/10/8 follow: In Search box type %appdata%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup. Press Enter key

If you installed iTunes from the Microsoft Store, follow: In Search box type %userprofile%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup. Press Enter key.

3. You will see the backup folders named by your device UDID
4. Select the folders with your device UDID and delete them
5. Next go to iTunes and take the backup again

How to backup iPhone in iTunes again

1. Connect your iPhone to computer via lightning cable
2. Launch iTunes
3. Click on Back Up Now The backup process begins.

| Did you get a message — iTunes can’t back up your iPhone because an error occurred? Here’s what you should do…
• Update your iOS to the latest version
• Update your iTunes to the latest version
• Disable antivirus software on your computer
• Now create backup in iTunes

|
| — |

How to restore iPhone when iTunes backup file is corrupt

Method 1: Restore iPhone from iCloud backup

Method 2: Recover from iCloud backup without erasing existing data

Method 3: Restore lost data directly from iPhone/ iPad

Method 1: Recover from iCloud backup

Instead of iTunes, you can restore iPhone by using the alternative backup solution, iCloud.

Steps to restore iPhone with iCloud

• Click to follow Settings > General > Reset> Erase all Contents and Settings

• A dialog box pops up, choose Erase Now
• Follow the instructions until you get on to the Apps & Data screen
• Tap Restore from iCloud Backup

• Sign in to your iCloud account
• Choose the recent backup and click Restore

Method 2: Recover specific files from iCloud without losing existing iPhone data

In case you want to restore specific data from backup, instead of complete backup, use an iPhone recovery software.

Steps to restore specific files from iCloud:

• Download and launch Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on your computer.

• Select Recover from iCloud Backup on main screen of software.

• Select what you want to recover. Click Next
• Enter the Apple ID and password
• Select the relevant iCloud backup and click Scan

• Select the data in the iCloud backup files list on left and preview

• Click Save
• In the dialog box select computer or iPhone to save the recovered data. To save directly onto your iPhone, connect your iPhone to the computer.

Method 3: Recover data from iPhone

If iTunes could not restore iPhone or iPad because the backup was corrupt and neither iCloud is able to restore backup, recover data from the device directly. You can easily restore lost photos, videos, messages, calendar, voice memos, Safari bookmarks, etc., with this method. It works in cases of broken/ water-damaged iPhone, factory reset, iOS crash etc.

Steps to recover lost data from iPhone/ iPad

• Connect your iPhone to computer
• Launch Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone
• On the home screen select Recover from iPhone

• Select the data you want to restore
• Click Next

• Preview the data and click Save. You can save the recovered data on computer or iPhone

Conclusion

You cannot repair or recover data from corrupt iTunes backup file that gives — ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible’ message.

However, the situation can be tackled by deleting the corrupt backup file and creating a fresh new backup in iTunes.

To restore iPhone, you may use either the new iTunes backup or bypass iTunes by using alternative recovery methods. Other than iTunes, iCloud or Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone are the effective ways to restore lost data on your iPhone. Among these too, if you wish to restore specific data like photos, videos, voice memos, or contacts etc., Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone would be the best solution.

Also read: