Weird light area on screen after spilled drink on FP3


Hey guys so I finally received my FP3 recently and I really love it! Everything is great until stupid me spilled drink on it. Now it has this weird light area on both side of the screen, hope the photo is clear enough to see it. Touch functionality seems normal though.
I was wondering if it is possible to fix this somehow, without replacing the whole front screen. Not only because of the price, but also because I live in Taiwan and it has been difficult for me to get the phone itself, I really don’t want to went through all the trouble again for spare screen. Any suggestion is welcome, thanks!

Welcome to the community forum.

Depending on where exactly the liquid went, our #waterwiki could apply.

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There are some people who repaired screen faults by heating a screen above a stove, but as that is risky it’s better done only on ‘spare’ screens. See for instance Repairing an unresponsive touchscreen - the fire fix (⚠ dumb, slightly dangerous, will void your warranty, please don’t do this).

In your case it is probably best to let the phone dry for a while, maybe with the screen taken off (unscrewing it does not void warranty).

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Was it only “water” or something with sugar (coke etc.)?

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stop using your phone
dismantle the screen and buy yourself a new one
put the rest of the phone in a (rice is WRONG) bag with Non-Toxic Silica Gel Desiccant Damp Moisture Absorber until the new screen arrives

liquid damages may cause damages over several days/weeks and makes you device out of warranty.

Never put electrical components in rice. The idea that this makes things dry quicker is a myth, and you risk getting bits of rice into sensitive components.

For community-verified information on how to deal with water damage, please check the #waterwiki, as @AnotherElk recommended.

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Hey guys sorry for late reply because we’re having Chinese New year. Anyway I tried to follow the suggestion here and #waterwiki, disassemble everything and let it dry for 3 and a half days, with fans blowing it.
Then I really need to use the phone so I reassemble and test it, but unfortunately this time I cannot even turn on the phone. When I press power button it vibrate once but nothing else. When I plug USB cable there is a sound, but my PC cannot recognize it, so I guess its not turning on?
Now I disassemble it and let it dry again as waterwiki suggested in last section, with moisture absorber that Andrea suggest, but I think the chance is pretty low.
I guess I’ll need to replace screen and some other parts but I don’t even know which part is broken. If I have another Fairphone 3 I can do cross test, but I’m not sure if I can find another Fairphone 3 user in Taiwan. So is there anything I can do except buying a new one? Because that would be like complete opposite to what Fairphone was for right?

normally you have to change the usb mode from charging to file transfer if you connect your FP3 to your computer. Otherwise you won’t see you FP3 on your computer. So i wouldn’t say this indicates that other parts are broken. Your FP3 still makes sound - that’s a goo sign :slight_smile:
I’d go for a replacement screen or - as you already said - first cross testing with a screen from another FP3…

There’s a couple of potential ways to test whether or not the phone is actually turned on while the screen isn’t working. Here’s some suggestions:

  1. Does the FP3 normally vibrate when you use the volume buttons to set it to vibrate (I don’t own an FP3, so I’m not sure)? If so, you can check if it does so now.
  2. If you have the phone linked to BT headphones or speakers, you can listen for the connection when the phone starts.
  3. The FP2 vibrates on a double power button press while the phone is turned on - again, not sure if the FP3 does this too but if it does, it’s another way of testing.

If the phone responds in these or other detectable ways, it’s a pretty sure thing it’s working fine and it’s the screen that’s broken.

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I would try out whether my phone is recognized by fastboot devices.

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yes, another good possibility.
But for that you have to start your FP3 in fast boot mode:

  1. Press volume down + power button for 5 seconds if your FP3 is powered off OR for 10 seconds if the FP3 is powered on. Release both buttons after you notice a vibration.
  2. Connect your FP3 with your computer and use e.g. Minimal ADB and Fastboot to check with the command fastboot devices whether the device is recognized by fastboot or not.
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