Salt water in FP4

Help Fairphone 4
1

Hello!
My FP4 took a bath into the sea…
I opened it, washed it and dried it (for a week). The battery was defective (low voltage and oxidation) so I bought a new battery. Now there is a vibration when I turn the phone on, but the screen stays black.
I would like to know if there is a procedure to know if the motherboard is working and if I can order a new screen, or if I have to buy a whole new phone…

Let me know if you need more details.

2

Welcome to the forum.

Washing and drying sounds fine, but how long did it take before you diluted the salt with water?

Ideally you would also use 90% alcohol to remove more water and solutes

RE the drying. Did you fully dismantle the phone and parts.

You can try a connection via the USB to a computer to see if it recognises the motherboard.

3

Hey,
I don’t think there’s any procedure to know if the motherboard is still working, but that said, since it does vibrate, it means that your motherboard isn’t completely dead. Maybe it’s just the screen or the connector.
What I would recommend is that you contact your local Fairphone angel to see if they have spare parts to test and if they could help clean the inside, since the salt (or other stuff) will stay there even after it’s dry.

https://angels.fairphone.community/

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… and as always :roll_eyes: see the waterwiki and read up on waterdamage .

Hard luck!

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I dismantle the phone entire in the next hour, but I clean it with clean water only 10 hours after.
I clean it with isopropyl alcohol several days after, and waited again a couple of days before turning it on with a new battery.
I don’t think the computer recognises the phone when connected via USB, but I will try again later this weekend.

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I’ve already read extensively the relevant resources here, first thing I’ve done.

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I have contacted the fp angel near me, thanks for the suggestion!

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I have not gotten any replies from the fp angel and ordered a new fp4.

How do you think it’s safe to swap the screens, switch on the damaged phone and see if it starts up correctly?

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Safe maybe, but contact Fairphone.

DIY repairs suggested by Fairphone do not void the warranty but otherwise , who knows what problems you could initiate . . .

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