What to do if you get your drone (coreboard) wet, fresh or salt water
DISASSEMBLE
Remove battery, camera, displays, speakers, antennas
Bare motherboard only
INITIAL RINSE
Distilled water Any legitimate lab-grade DI water (Type II or better) is acceptable.
Purity, freshness, and handling matter far more than brand
Purpose: remove contaminants/salts
ULTRASONIC CLEANER
ULTRASONIC CLEANER 2L tub will accommodate Mini, Air or Mavic sized boards
Fluid: distilled water + electronics-safe cleaner
Frequency: 28-40 kHz
Temperature: 104–113 °F 40–45 °C
Time: 3 minutes ONLY
FINAL RINSE
Distilled water
Thorough, full-board rinse
IPA DISPLACEMENT
Flood board with 99% isopropyl alcohol
Tilt and rotate to flush under components
COMPRESSED AIR
Oil-free air
Blow from all angles
No liquid exiting connectors or vias
LOW-TEMP DRY
131 °F / 55 °C
6–12 hours (overnight preferred)
LOW-TEMP DRY
131 °F / 55 °C
6–12 hours (overnight preferred)
INSPECTION
No moisture
No corrosion
No residue
POWER TEST
Only after full completion of all steps
Drone Motherboard Water-Submersion Recovery Outlook an assumes cleaning as prescribed above
Freshwater Exposure
(rain, lake, pool, tap)
0–24 hours
Recovery chance: Very High (≈90–95%)
Damage state: Minimal surface contamination
Outcome: Near-normal reliability typically restored
24–72 hours
Recovery chance: High (≈70–85%)
Damage state: Early oxidation on connectors and exposed pads
Outcome: Usually recoverable; small latent-failure risk
~1 week
Recovery chance: Moderate (≈40–60%)
Damage state: Visible corrosion; vias beginning to degrade
Outcome: May function, but long-term reliability uncertain
~1 month
Recovery chance: Low (≈15–30%)
Damage state: Trace thinning; connector degradation
Outcome: Often intermittent or short-lived success
~6 months
Recovery chance: Very Low (≤5–10%)
Damage state: Internal copper loss; BGA pad attack
Outcome: Cleaning is largely cosmetic
Saltwater Exposure
(ocean, brackish water, salt spray)
0–24 hours
Recovery chance: Moderate (≈50–70%)
Damage state: Immediate ionic corrosion begins
Outcome: Recoverable only if cleaned same day
~24–72 hours
Recovery chance: Low (≈20–40%)
Damage state: Aggressive corrosion under shields and BGAs
Outcome: Partial or unstable recovery common
~1 week
Recovery chance: Very Low (≤10–15%)
Damage state: Severe copper and solder damage
Outcome: Fails under load in most cases
~1 month
Recovery chance: Low (≈15–30%)
Damage state: Trace thinning; connector degradation
Outcome: Often intermittent or short-lived success
~6 months
Recovery chance: Very Low (≤5–10%)
Damage state: Internal copper loss; BGA pad attack
Outcome: Cleaning is largely cosmetic
We can give a try
Now you can make an
Informed decision
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Why Time Permanently Kills the Board
Corrosion continues even after drying (especially saltwater)
Electrolytic corrosion consumes copper traces and vias internally
BGA packages trap moisture and salts, allowing unseen progression
Solder joints and component leads oxidize and mechanically fail
By 6 or more months post-submersion
Traces are thinned or open
Vias are internally severed
BGA pads may be undermined
High-density connectors are chemically compromised
What Ultrasonic Cleaning Can and Cannot Do (Late-Stage Damage)
Can remove visible residue and make the board look clean
Cannot restore missing copper, vias, or damaged pads
May trigger latent failures when power is applied
Functions as diagnostic or last-chance salvage only, not repair
Only Scenario Where Late Recovery Is Still Possible
All conditions must be met
Freshwater exposure only
Powered off immediately
Stored dry, indoors
No visible corrosion under microscope
Even then, success is uncertain and often short-lived.
Professional Repair-Shop Standard
Freshwater damage has a short but real recovery window
Saltwater damage is same-day or nothing
After a day, cleaning is diagnostic, not corrective
Replacement is the correct call
Boards may pass initial power-up and fail later
Bottom Line
Freshwater boards die slowly; saltwater boards die fast.
After 6 months, water damage is usually permanent, and ultrasonic cleaning is cosmetic, not corrective.
Electronics repair industry experience
Board-level repair shops (phones, drones, laptops, marine electronics)
Common practices used by:
iPad/iPhone board repair technicians
DJI-authorized and non-authorized drone repair centers
Marine electronics service shops
These shops track outcomes informally over thousands of boards, not academically
IPC & electronics reliability principles
IPC-610 / IPC-7711/7721 standards explain:
How corrosion progresses
Why vias and BGA pads fail over time
These standards don’t give timelines, but technicians correlate time-to-failure repeatedly in practice
Manufacturer service behavior
DJI does not attempt board recovery after saltwater exposure
DJI replacement thresholds align closely with:
Same-day freshwater sometimes recoverable
Saltwater treated as terminal unless immediately cleaned
That policy exists because recovery success drops below acceptable reliability
Documented corrosion chemistry
Saltwater = electrolyte → continuous galvanic corrosion
Freshwater = slower oxidation
These reactions are well understood and predictable
Time + moisture + voltage = copper loss (this is not debated)
Repair-shop outcome consistency
Across repair forums, technician groups, and service logs:
Same-day freshwater boards often survive
1–3 day boards are mixed
1+ month boards usually fail later even if they boot
6 month boards almost never hold long-term
The science: Electronics corrosion is deterministic, not random:
Copper does not regenerate
Vias do not heal
Ultrasonic cleaning removes contaminants, not missing metal
When thousands of independent repair techs see the same timelines repeatedly, the conclusions converge.
This is real-world repair data, not internet guessing
No one publishes this formally because manufacturers replace, they don’t salvage boards.
For businesses: Based on the recovery realities you outlined:
Most water-damaged drone boards arrive weeks or months after exposure, already beyond the true recovery window.
Ultrasonic systems do not reverse corrosion, copper loss, or BGA pad damage; they only remove residue.
Successful outcomes are unpredictable, creating liability, callbacks, and customer dissatisfaction.
Time spent cleaning late-stage boards is diagnostic, not billable repair, and rarely results in a durable fix.
Board replacement is the correct technical solution in the majority of cases, especially past the first days after exposure.
From a shop-economics standpoint:
The capital cost + bench time does not yield a reliable return.
The risk to reputation outweighs the occasional short-term success.
The system becomes a false expectation generator for customers.
Practical shop position (recommended)
Decline water-damage recovery beyond immediate exposure.
Treat ultrasonic cleaning only as last-chance salvage for unobtainable boards, not a standard service.
Keep diagnostics, replacement, and matched-component swaps as the core offering.
Bottom line:
For a professional drone repair shop focused on repeatable, reliable outcomes, investing in an ultrasonic cleaning system does not make business or technical sense.
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