FP3 does not work because it got wet

Hi everybody!

Yesterday was raining and I was walking with my FP3 in my hand, follow the road on GoogleMaps; I took the device repair from water the best I could and it was working fine, until it switched off, suddenly.

I though it was for the battery and, once at home, dried it and put it on charge. No vital signs. So, I removed cover, sim and memory card and put in on a plastic bag (the ikea’s for frozen food) with 2 bags of silicon gel, put in the owen with the light on all night long.

This morning I tried to switch it on; the battery is 50% charged and the FP3 started work, but only for a few seconds, then it felt asleep.

What can I do?

If I understand correctly, you placed the fully assembled phone in a bag of silica gel and then put it in your oven overnight? That’s really not the best way of going about repairing water damage.

Please check out the water wiki for good advice on what to do next.

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No, it was not fully assembled. I removed everything I could, and put it somewhere warm and dry, like owen, yes, because I read it could work, so I try.

Now it is fully assembled under charge, and it is actually charging, but I can’t switch it on, yet.

:frowning:

It really is best to take the power off the phone and disassemble it down to the bare modules. Your phone may work now, but it can still stop working tomorrow or next week. If water remains in the phone, it can die a slow death as the water slowly creeps along components until it shorts out something important.

Your phone may be fine, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. The fact that it is successfully charging means it isn’t completely broken, so it can hopefully still be safely recovered. I recommend taking it apart and letting the core module and all the other modules air dry separately.

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I am trying my best, but I don’t have my screwdriver with me. I moved one month ago and our before our Prime Minister decided for a lock down (I am Italian); so, I just have a small screwdriver for my multi-tools knife, and I am trying my best to disassmble it. I was able to take off just one screw! :frowning:

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I hope it isn’t ruining the screws! I could send you the right screwdriver through the post, but I’m in the Netherlands so it would take a while to get to Italy. I’m not sure how the situation in Italy is - could you maybe order a screwdriver (or screwdriver set) online?

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Thank you, you are really kind!

I am paying extra care about the screws, and the only one I took off is fine;

I looked on amazon, but the good will arrive in june (!) so, my plan B is going to a glasses shop as soon as I can, asking to sell my a screwdriver, or if I can borrow it.

In theory, we can go out next week, I hope it will not be to late.

Noy my phone is switching on and off in loop

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I just saw, that this thread is 7 days old already.
Hopefully you could solve your problems, disassemble the phone and let it dry.

So for others reading this topic:
One should definitely turn the phone off and take out the battery.
Switching it on and off prematurely (i.e. before it could dry) will be no help in drying the innards.

This means, that you can’t use the phone for a week or so, but if you “blow it up” with a short circuit due to wetness, you can’t use it ever again (or at least you need some new module).

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