HACKER Q&A
📣 giantg2

iPhone 6 Data Recovery?


I'm getting ready to clear out some old devices. I found one of my wife's old phones that was water damaged (iPhone 6). I tried some of the stuff that I've seen online about gently scrubing the logic board in anhydrous alcohol and stuff like that. But I haven't been able to get it to boot or do anything.

Is there a more advanced way to get to the data, like desoldering the storage chip and swapping it onto a USB? I'm guessing not, but thought I'd ask.

  👤 Nextgrid Accepted Answer ✓
The NAND is most definitely encrypted (and if it isn't, I'm not sure anyone has reverse-engineered the raw on-chip data format to be able to mount it on a PC), the standard procedure for iPhone data recovery is to fix the device (using donor parts) just enough to a stage where it'll boot, accept a passcode and talk to a computer over USB (so a full backup can be taken).

There's really nothing you can do unless you have thousands of $ worth of equipment + microsoldering experience and steady hands. If the data is valuable, send it to a reputable unofficial repair shop.