HELP Water damage

[lindattab]

Hello

My phone got water and apart from vibrating it won’t turn on at all.
I am still for several weeks in Yaoundé in Cameroon and I have no tool with me to open it, but a technician confirmed to me by opening it that it had taken on water. In the meantime I am waiting for it to dry but can it still wait 5 weeks before finding a new display module on my return to Europe ? Many Tks Linda

[Incanus]

Trying to run it before drying was kind of a bad idea.
Please check the waterwiki, what you can do now:

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]

Hi.

As Incannus has said if it isn’t completely dry then replacing the battery is a really poor idea.

• The first issue is what sort of water as contamination can cause two problems
  • a) acidic or salty water can start corrosion
  • b) muddy water can bring fine sediment to coat contacts

Cameroon is also a relatively humid climate which means not only is drying more important but more difficult.

Try leaving it, obvioulsy without the battery, for some days in a cool or warm flow of air.

Alternatively. If you can find some decicant that will draw moisture away put that and the phone is a sealed (plastic) bag and change or dry the desicant at least once a day ideally.
Often dry rice is recomended but unless the rice in a separte, tightly woven breathable bad it can cause problems. Loose desicants of any nature have small particles that can get into the phone and stick there.

Please try and find a shop with a small 00size phillips screw drive and be careful wehn dismantling. Put plenty of pressure on the screw when removing so as not to strip the head engagement. When reassembling be careful not to tighten too much.

Get the battery tested you will want around 3.8V - 4.2V to check the phone is working. If it doesn’t come on then repeat the drying process.

You can also use pure alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) to clean all the contacts. Any very strong pure alcohol will do above 60% by volume is on the low side and it has to be pure like vodka that would not leave any residue. Alcohol binds with water and as well as being a drying agent whilst liquid can be used as a wash.

I have dropped a phone in a muddy river for soem 12 hours and littery washed it I was so worried. Fo five min I shook it in a bucket of ‘clean’ water. This was decades ago when batteries were removable but the phone wasn’t modular.

Whatever you do if the battery is fine and the phone doesn’t turn on, try it more. It could take a week

[yvmuell]

@lindattab

n the meantime I am waiting for it to dry but can it still wait 5 weeks before finding a new display module on my return to Europe ?

A smentioned above the important thing is to let it dry. Once its really dry (and clean) and still not working it will not do any further harm to wait to replace the display, other than that you will not have a phone.

[anon9989719]

There is no reason to suspect the display module as being at fault. Sure moisture won’t help and may precipitate screen anomalies, but there’s no reason water would target the screen.

More likely water causes short circuits on the core module/motherboard where the power chips are that manage the charging and supply voltage to the modules.

Given the heat and humidity surely you have plenty of fans to create a substantial air flow around the phone

[lindattab]

MAny THanks for your message, Linda

[lindattab]

Many THanks, regards, Linda

[lindattab]

@Alex.A

Seeing the symptoms, I believe it’s the display module. The phone still works as it vibrates when switching it on, and charging seems to work as well. I’d give this problem a 90% chance to be the display (though something else could have been damaged by the water as well and you can’t see it). So if you don’t have one handy or don’t know anyone owning one, I’d just buy a new display module. If it’s not the problem, you can still sell it on the forum Market.

HI Alex, reading your answer, I have the same problem for 2 days but I am in Yaoundé Cameroon until the end of May, and here I do not have the tool myself to open it do you think that it can wait another 5 weeks to fix this problem with a new display module? Or do I have to completely dismantle it in the meantime? Mny thanks Linda

[Alex.A]

Hey there, I moved your post to keep your problem centralized

I think your questions were already answered, I’d just add if you find a simple Philips#00 scredriver (very common), you might still want to take out the screen and other modules to let it dry better.

[lindattab]

Ok many tks Alex, I’m going to try find this screwdriver here in Yaoundé, tks again, regards, LInda

[lindattab]

Thank you Amoun for your instructions, which I of course followed but the device still does not work, just a small vibration when I try to turn it on. The problem is that I did not know that it had received water and I only knew once at the repairer when he disassembled it and there were drops of water. Well I cleaned it well with alcohol and let it dry again since a week, but I hope that I didn’t cause more damage by trying to light it when I didn’t understand what was going on… Linda

[anon9989719]

HI

Can you check the battery voltage, it must be around 3.8 which is low to 4.2 (100%)?

Do you see any LED notification light?

[lindattab]

The battery has been tested, it seems to work perfectly…