iPhone 6, backlight yes, image no - probably faulty mainboard
Hi all,
I have a complicated problem with my iPhone 6 and I'm desperate to save the data on it.
I'll try to describe everything in detail so everything is as clear as possible:
A couple of months ago, my iPhone started to turn itself off while I was using it. It could be turned on again right away, or I would have to wait for 10-15 minutes before I could turn it back on.
The next day, everything seemed ok, but suddenly red thick vertical stripes appeared over the screen, filling the screen from left to right (| | | | |). After this, the screen went black.
I haven't been able to get the image on the screen back on, but the backlight works.
When I plug the phone into my computer, iTunes recognizes it, but says that there is a problem with it and it has to be updated or reset. When I click update it downloads the new software and everything, but hangs when it comes to "Waiting for iPhone" (because at this point I'm probably meant to agree to something on the iPhone screen, which is impossible as the screen is black). It eventually ends up in an Error 4005-message.
I also did try the Reset-button, but by using an .ipsw that doesn't delete anything on the phone (guidance here: https://www.reddit.com/r/jailbreak/comme...). Same happened, Error 4005. At some point, the Apple logo actually appeared on the screen - instantly raising my hopes, but it got stuck there and also ended up in Error 4005.
The phone has never been dropped or exposed to any fluids. I took it to an Apple store, and they told me they could swap it on warranty. The problem with that is that I have a lot of data on it and no backup (I was positive I had iCloud activated, I even pay for additional storage with them, but I got this new phone just 2 months ago and unfortunately I didn't activate iCloud at any point - I know, I hate myself for it as I'm normally good with backups).
So, I pretty sure that it must be the LCD, so I took the phone to the best local repair guy. He tried a new LCD, new connector, etc., but concluded after a couple of days that it must be the mainboard that is faulty.
Alright, the problem just got more complicated. I googled my brains out for hours, and found (through this site actually), ipadrehab (mendonipadrehab.com). I contacted them, described my problem, but I soon got a reply saying sorry, this is a problem we don't have a solution for.
Ok, I realized that my chances worsened.
Then, I came across a small company here in Norway that can do repairs on mainboards. They just had my phone for a week, measuring and looking for short circuits, but couldn't find any. They told me that that doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't any short circuits, just that they couldn't identify any. They also said that there are numerous small circuits/chips on the mainboard that controls the LCD, but that they have no way of identifying which one, and they don't want to do anything without knowing which one.
So, I'm left here with my phone and I have no clue what to do next. Obviously, I need a guy or a company that has high technical skills and the right equipment for a mainboard repair. Or, if it's possible (I don't know), take the storage component(s) out and hook them up to some device that can read the data off them some way.
What's annoying is that the phone looks perfectly fine. I can charge it, turn it on and off, it gets recognized in iTunes, the backlight turns on, but the screen is dead black.
Any advice for me for what to do or for someone competent who could try to fix my phone is greatly appreciated! I'm willing to send my iPhone anywhere in the world to have it fixed.