Water damaged S9+ stuck in boot loop

[Sam Hallett-Rorke]

My phone got submerged in water a while ago and wouldn't turn on for months. It started turning on when I plugged in a charger cable, but it won't boot beyond the initial power on screen. I have managed to access recovery and download mode. The battery swelled up and forced the rear panel of the phone off, so I have disconnected the battery. I have removed the main board and cleaned it, as well as other parts, with isopropyl alcohol, to no avail. Is this just a case of the phone needing a new battery, or is there something else that I need to do?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! You can't do much about water damage once it's occurred. Unfortunately, it's time to get a new phone.

 

[Sam Hallett-Rorke]

Welcome to Android Central! You can't do much about water damage once it's occurred. Unfortunately, it's time to get a new phone.

Any idea if I am able to retrieve any data from it? I'm not too bothered about it actually working properly, just I forgot to back up some stuff.

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm afraid you probably won't be able to retrieve data using any conventional means, if the phone can't boot normally. You'd probably need a forensic data recovery specialist, which can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

If you have an SD card inserted, you can at least remove that and see if any data is there, like photos.