FP3 Wet phone now battery doesn't charge

[David_Horsfall]

Hi there, my FP3 got wet the other day and now the battery won’t charge when plugged in. I’ve taken the phone apart and put it in rice to dry out. Any help?

Should i get a new battery?
A new bottom module?

[AnotherElk]

@David_Horsfall

I’ve taken the phone apart and put it in rice to dry out. Any help?

Rice is a wide-spread idea, but in fact not so very good overall, please see our waterwiki.

[Gillian_Kane]

Hello there - could I check how this was resolved in the end - I’ve had a similar problem - phone is working fine but won’t charge…

[antoine_odonne]

Hello all,
Any update on this?
I think I faced the same issue

Best regards,

Antoine

[anon9989719]

Hi @antoine_odonne

Would you be more specific please?

How did you phone get wet? What did you do to dry it? How long ago did this happen?

The more detail you give the less basic questions will be running around the minds of those trying to help

@AnotherElk By the way the waterwiki link does work for me

@AnotherElk

please see our waterwiki.

[antoine_odonne]

Dear Amoun,
Thank you for your rapid feedback. I am actually not sure it did get wet, it was in my pocket and a bit of snow felt in as well, which I removed rapidly…
Phone functions are OK I could call and take pictures all day long, so didn’t tried to dry anything or get worried.
Just since this day, I cannot recharge fully the battery (or maybe very slowly, 12 hours charge lead to 20% battery)
I never experienced any issue with charging before and kept same charger…
Thank you all and regards,
Antoine

ps: I just rose this topic to Fairphone support team in the meantime.

[anon9989719]

Yes not drying immediately, as the phone works, can be an issue as slowly small amounts of water evaporate inside the phone then condense when it gets cooler. If there is any contamination this then settles on the small components and their contacts often causing low value short circuits. You may also have debris in the charging port (USBC) I have a case with a barrier to stop the port collecting debris.

You may want to disassemble the phone to dry the modules well in a cool air flow for as long as you can. If there is any sign of dampness it could take a day or more to evaporate.

There are little white dots on the modules which turn red if they get wet, if that’s the case pay special attention to them.

For disassembly guides see

IFixIt Fairphone 3 :: Full Disassembly

Apologies if this is a duplicate but I don’t see an obvious link to the IFixIt teardown for the FP3 so here is a link:

For water damage guide

How to handle water damage

Since this happens again and again and there is a lot of useful info on the forum, but people usually read it too late I’ll gather it here in hope that you read it before this happens to you. This is a #wiki so feel free to add info by editing the post. First things first: Turn off and take apart If your phone comes in contact with water and there is even the slightest chance that some droplets or moisture entered it then turn off the phone immediately. The fastest, and only in…

[anon9989719]

A bit more info:

Some people will use rice, but the phone has to be well separated from the rice so that dust does not get into the phone. The following topic details that ~ but better not to use rice and use an air flow. Anyway this old post does bring up the issues of drying. Good luck!

Fairphone rain damage

I lost my phone in the mountains and it was under the rain for a day. Next day I found it. First thing I did was to remove the battery, no even testing if it was working as it can destroy the phone. Then when I came down to civilization I put it in a tupperware covered by rice. I left it there together with the battery (out of the device) for the whole night (around 12 hs). Next day I turn it on and it has been working since then. The problem that you describe looks like it has not dried compl…

[BertG]

Just an addendum to the already perfect advice by @anon9989719 :
iFixIT Wiki on Electronics Water Damage
(Including a “what to do” list; step by step.)

plus an interesting article (or rather two); from iFixIT as well:

• Don’t Put Your Device in Rice. Here’s Why
• Rice Is for Dinner, Not Repair

[antoine_odonne]

Dear Amoun, all,
Dismentling the phone and letting it in dry ventilated place for the night helped a lot. Battery and charge are OK now. Thank you all,

Regards,

Antoine