Water Damage Repair Rotterdam

Water damage repair in Rotterdam: act today, not next week

Phone in the toilet, a glass of wine over your laptop, a device that went swimming. What you do in the next few hours decides most of the outcome. Water itself is not the real problem; the combination of moisture, power and the minerals in the liquid is. That causes corrosion, and corrosion keeps eating into the board for as long as there is power on it. At GSM Dokter we clean and repair boards at component level, in our own workshop in Rotterdam.

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300,000+devices repaired

20 yearsin Rotterdam

€49cleaning, from

12 mowarranty

Do this now, in this order

Switch it off and leave it off. If it is still on, turn it off right away. As long as there is power on the board, corrosion keeps going.
Do not put it on the charger. Charging after liquid damage is the fastest way to lose a board that could have been saved.
Take the case off and dry the outside. Only the outside. Do not shake it and do not tap it out.
Bring it in as soon as you can. The sooner we can clean the board, the less corrosion there is.

What not to do

No rice. Rice does not pull moisture out of a sealed device and it adds dust and starch to your connectors. This is the most persistent myth there is.
No hairdryer, not on the radiator. Heat evaporates the moisture and spreads it further across the board, including under the chips where it will not come out again.
Do not switch it on to see whether it still works. Every attempt sends current through damaged traces.
Do not leave it for days. Salt water, sea water and soft drinks are far more aggressive than tap water or rain. After a week there is often more gone than after a day.

What it costs

Chemical cleaning costs €49 for a phone or tablet and €79 for a MacBook or a console. That covers opening the device, cleaning the board and assessing it under a microscope. If more is needed you hear the price after the diagnosis, before anything happens. Every repair comes with 12 months warranty.

My device is beyond repair. What about my data?

That is a common outcome after serious water damage: the device is no longer worth repairing while the storage chip is untouched. We can then recover just your data. On an iPhone or a modern MacBook that means repairing the board far enough to read the storage, because the chip is encrypted and tied to the processor. Recovery starts at €149 and you only pay if your data comes back. See data recovery.

But my phone is waterproof

An IP rating is measured in a laboratory, with clean water, on a brand new device. Rubber seals and adhesive age, and after a screen replacement or a drop the seal is rarely what it was. Soap, salt and soft drinks attack the seal as well. A water resistant phone is built to survive an accident, not a swim.

Where to find us

Shop	Address	Open
GSM Dokter City Centre	Jonker Fransstraat 107a-109a, 3031 AR Rotterdam	Mon to Sat 09:00-18:00, Sun 12:00-18:00
GSM Dokter Alexandrium	Kleine Beer 9, 3067 ZW Rotterdam	Mon to Sat 09:00-18:00, Sun 12:00-18:00

What customers say

Frequently asked questions

My phone still works. Should I still come in?

Yes, preferably soon. Corrosion carries on while the device seems fine, and many devices fail weeks after the accident. Cleaning costs €49 and often prevents a far more expensive repair.

Does rice really not help?

No. It pulls nothing out of a sealed device and only adds dust. Worse, it costs time, and time is exactly the problem with liquid damage.

How long does it take?

Cleaning is usually done within a day. If board repair is needed you hear the expected time after the diagnosis.

Will my insurance cover it?

That depends on your policy. You always get an invoice from us stating what was done, so you can submit it.

Salt water, is that worse?

Considerably. Salt water, sea water and soft drinks corrode much faster than tap water. Tell us which it was when you hand the device in, so we know what to look for.