Database Users

Bell - Exchanging a washed Vogue?

Turns out I decided to call Bell and tell them about all of the legitimate problems I'd been having with the phone a while back, at which time they decided to exchange it. Unfortunately, I didn't take the exchange at that point in time as I wanted to try and get my data backed up first. That was dumb! Not too long afterwards I put my phone through the wash machine and the LCD flaked out a couple of days later when it appeared to have completely dried out (put it a few inches above an oil heat register for 2 days). In any event, the main white sticker is still white and didn't turn pink or blue.
Having said all of that, do you folks think I should pull out a heat gun and a razor to try and check the other stickers without damaging the VOID sticker, or do you think I should just go ahead with the exchange?
Not that I would try... but I've heard of people soaking the return packing labels and boxes in water to try and make it look like the (water) damage was caused by the shipping company. Sounds somewhat sleezy to me, but I really, really can't afford to eat a $400 replacement bill right now .
Regardless, any insight or help would be kindly appreciated!

No one? =-\
Does anyone at least know Bell's policy on charging the customer or contacting them if there is water damage? IE: What's the worst case scenario?

THe stickers Are brittle also. They will break if you try to remove them. IF your stickers are fine then they should do warrenty for your other issues.

I wouldn't bother opening it.
I don't know how much Bell charges for a swap unit but you are just better off taking the risk as long as you are prepared to be charged.
There are a bunch of other litmus stickers inside the phone which most likely have been contacted.
I worked at a cell phone dealership (telus) for a couple of years so this situation is quite common.

Washing machine x HTC HD2

Right, please no sarcasm this may happen to the best of us.
I left my phone in my pocket and washed it yesterday morning. Since then I have done all the recommended things eg. battery out, dryed off, into sealed bag with rice under warmish conditions (near radiator). It has been 24hours since the horrific incident, I am still feeling emotional.
However, I have attempted a partial disassembly in the same way as the official htc leaked video but can't get the thing apart. I thought this may help the drying process if I can get a bit of air flow through the device. The phone was on at the time of washing and was probably in water for 5mins. It was in its case and when I took it out there was no unusual activity (vibrating, flashing LED's etc.). I didn't attempt to turn the screen on just got the battery out, and wiped away a small tear whilst drying it.
Has anyone had any experience of drying out phones, any good advice? The water indicator stickers are now a disgusting shade of pink, therefore my warranty is gone and because I'm tight I have no insurance I have only had it 6 WEEKS.
HELP!

testarossa said:
Right, please no sarcasm this may happen to the best of us.
I left my phone in my pocket and washed it yesterday morning. Since then I have done all the recommended things eg. battery out, dryed off, into sealed bag with rice under warmish conditions (near radiator). It has been 24hours since the horrific incident, I am still feeling emotional.
However, I have attempted a partial disassembly in the same way as the official htc leaked video but can't get the thing apart. I thought this may help the drying process if I can get a bit of air flow through the device. The phone was on at the time of washing and was probably in water for 5mins. It was in its case and when I took it out there was no unusual activity (vibrating, flashing LED's etc.). I didn't attempt to turn the screen on just got the battery out, and wiped away a small tear whilst drying it.
Has anyone had any experience of drying out phones, any good advice? The water indicator stickers are now a disgusting shade of pink, therefore my warranty is gone and because I'm tight I have no insurance I have only had it 6 WEEKS.
HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd let it dry for at least a couple of days before I'd even try turning it on. Accidents happen and that's why you really ought to get insurance. Nothing you can do now but wait it out. If you're lucky you'll end up with a working phone. Any specific reason you put it into a sealed bag? Imho that should only prolong the drying process.

I thought the rice in a sealed bag would minimise the amount air in the bag and therefore the rice would draw the water out of the phone not the air. I have bought some desiccant from a photography shop as well but I am resisting temptation to turn on until at least Tuesday.

Toss3 said:
I'd let it dry for at least a couple of days before I'd even try turning it on. Accidents happen and that's why you really ought to get insurance. Nothing you can do now but wait it out. If you're lucky you'll end up with a working phone. Any specific reason you put it into a sealed bag? Imho that should only prolong the drying process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agree about not needing a sealed bag. Rice is going to suck humidity, yet air recyrcleing is still another drying measure.
Anyway, why did you try disassembling it? You surely voided your warranty by removing the VOID sticker on the screw. If you just waited long enough for it to really get dry even inside, after you ascertained it didn't work anyway, you could've played dumb and send it back for servicing with warranty coverage, since they would find an unoperative device, but with no means to prove the uncorrect usage, since there would have been no traces of water inside after a few days in a warm place...

ephestione said:
agree about not needing a sealed bag. Rice is going to suck humidity, yet air recyrcleing is still another drying measure.
Anyway, why did you try disassembling it? You surely voided your warranty by removing the VOID sticker on the screw. If you just waited long enough for it to really get dry even inside, after you ascertained it didn't work anyway, you could've played dumb and send it back for servicing with warranty coverage, since they would find an unoperative device, but with no means to prove the uncorrect usage, since there would have been no traces of water inside after a few days in a warm place...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The water indicating stickers would have given away that there had been water within the device (I thought). The phone is outside of the rice now drying in a warm place, cheers for the advice.

testarossa said:
The water indicating stickers would have given away that there had been water within the device (I thought). The phone is outside of the rice now drying in a warm place, cheers for the advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...are there water indicating stickers on/inside the hd2? news to me!
Better yet, just googled around and water stickers should be white-ish pieces of paper that become (and stay) red-ish when wet... did you identify one inside the phone somewhere?

ephestione said:
...are there water indicating stickers on/inside the hd2? news to me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The top left screw is covered by a sticker that is now pink on mine. The battery has also get one.

eloeludumideeitursowfingwetoddid

ProjektFuze said:
eloeludumideeitursowfingwetoddid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good advice thanks.

testarossa said:
Right, please no sarcasm this may happen to the best of us.
I left my phone in my pocket and washed it yesterday morning. Since then I have done all the recommended things eg. battery out, dryed off, into sealed bag with rice under warmish conditions (near radiator). It has been 24hours since the horrific incident, I am still feeling emotional.
However, I have attempted a partial disassembly in the same way as the official htc leaked video but can't get the thing apart. I thought this may help the drying process if I can get a bit of air flow through the device. The phone was on at the time of washing and was probably in water for 5mins. It was in its case and when I took it out there was no unusual activity (vibrating, flashing LED's etc.). I didn't attempt to turn the screen on just got the battery out, and wiped away a small tear whilst drying it.
Has anyone had any experience of drying out phones, any good advice? The water indicator stickers are now a disgusting shade of pink, therefore my warranty is gone and because I'm tight I have no insurance I have only had it 6 WEEKS.
HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, how did u managed that?! Its not a small thing to miss in your pocket
Hope everything will work fine in the end

Even if you manage to get it to turn on I would have thought water getting into the layers of the LCD screen would make it pretty much useless anyway?

ephestione said:
...are there water indicating stickers on/inside the hd2? news to me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, all HTC devices have had some for some time now. Usually one visible one (on the top left screw on the HD2, was under the battery on the kaiser), and one inside that you can't get to without opening the device (and voiding the warranty sticker on the other screw), so that even clever people who think of replacing the visible one will still be busted by the hidden one

testarossa said:
The top left screw is covered by a sticker that is now pink on mine. The battery has also get one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kilrah said:
Yes, all HTC devices have had some for some time now. Usually one visible one (on the top left screw on the HD2, was under the battery on the kaiser), and one inside that you can't get to without opening the device (and voiding the warranty sticker on the other screw), so that even clever people who think of replacing the visible one will still be busted by the hidden one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's as much as I suspected as soon as I discovered the existence of "white water detection stickers that become red", and I noticed the white sticker on the top left screw... dam those cunning taiwanese!
Obviously it would have been very, very silly of me if, for test purposes, I would have intentionally got water on that round white sticker...

mine went for its first trip to the bar last night.
got a beer spilled on me and i somewhat remember freaking out cause the phone reset a bunch of times but this morning the hard keys wouldnt stop lighting up. now they have stopped and im back to business

ProjektFuze said:
eloeludumideeitursowfingwetoddid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Translation: LOL. You dumb idiot, you're so [email protected]*king retarded.
Not particularly pleasant or a helpful response, but funny nonetheless.

As far as OP is concerned. Rice in bag or outside of bag, I think you did a good thing by attempting to disassemble. Water damage gets NO LOVE from insurance/warranty and they would have just sent it back to you.
If you get water damage, the rice and drying method is true. But to ensure moisture free I disassemble phone to the guts and apply a high percentage alcohol, something that evaporates. Water can short a circut, but really it it the minerals and impurities left that usually are the culprit. I have gone as far as to give some circut boards a good soak and/or swab cleaning with 90%+ alcohol. Let dry for FIVE OR SIX DAYS (my standard) while fully disassembled and then reassemble.
What most people do is start using phone too early because stuff is still working okay. For the guy who said that he spilled beer on his phone and at first it was glitching but now it is okay, he is more than likely to experience some erroneous behavior from that phone in the future. Sometimes it takes just a couple weeks, sometimes months. But usually stupid stuff starts happening like random shutoff. No battery charge. Button functions becomming switched. Usually symptoms of a phone dried but not cured of moisture damage.
Good luck, check your pm.

How about house insurance. Do you have cover for electrical items on your house insurance? Might be able to claim acidental damage (also check you are covered for acidental cover too).
I used to work in support for pen tablets, wouldnt believe how many of these got used as umberalas when it rained. My tip used to be to stick it in the airing cupboard over night. Fixed quiet a few this way.

Good luck capt'n

testarossa said:
...and washed it ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, thats your biggest prob. because usealy washing means using washingpowder or similar. all these things are pretty good in, making new (unwanted) connections on your circucit board.
so normaly your first step has to be, to dip your device into distilled water, and clean it that way. then start drying it the way you have done already. another thing is the display of the hd2 that realy scares fluids of any kind. anyhow i wish good luck to you in recovering your device.
regards mad

Thanks for the tip Mad,
I did consider the distilled water wash off but when I recovered the device it didn't seem too wet. There was hardly any visible water under the battery or screen probably as it was in its case, which is quite a tight fit and fairly waterproof (besides the opening at the top). The water seemed mostly superficial although I'm taking every caution on the drying, I have even bought some desiccant from a photography shop. Hopefully putting this in a sealed container with the device may draw out any remaining water.

HD2 in Washing Machine(Very Desperate!...Please Help!!!)

Hi guys,
i accidentally left my HTC HD2 in my jeans,which i put in my washing machine.It spent 15 mins on full cycle,after which i managed to figure out my disastrous blunder and pull my HD2 and its batt out. Im extremely desperate to restore life back into my phone.I know HTC will not repair it since all 3 water indicators are pink. From a few online tips, ive taken apart the housing and the main LCM Module. I have placed these two parts in a container of rice. I have not stripped it to the bare parts as i fear i might ruin it further. Moreover, i have not submerged it in alcohol yet. the only thing ive done is flush out the soap with water(did that only for abt 10 secs though...is it enough?) and put it in rice. Its been 2 hours since ive put in in the rice. Im going to leave it in the rice for abt 2-3 days before turning it on(hopefully it does...).I really need help fast guys. Should i use alcohol NOW before putting in rice?...Should i strip it to the bare essentials?...Should i use a vacuum cleaner?...if anyone can help,please do.Im really desperate and worried here.I really love my phone...and please do not ask me why i did this effing mistake...im still hating myself more than ever in my life for leaving my HD2 in my jeans.tks alot for your time and i look forward to your suggestions.tks again.

PS:Also, after i pulled my phone out,there didnt seem to be any patches or bubbles of water under the screen.Does that mean the whole screen is flooded or no water went inside?...And i do see water inside the camera.So is the camera dead forever?tks

Well,
i once found a Nokia without a battery in a roadside-stream of water... after drying and powering it on it worked flawless...
the real thing you have to worry about will be the water in the cam module. i have no clue as to how get it out. i once had water in the speaker of a very expensive babysitter-device. i never got it out. never. it stayed in there for a year or more. it was toilet water. very nice.
what happens to your leo when it is in contact with water while the battery is connected? do you know that?
well, if not, this is what i know: the electrical current will eventually short some circuits and thus might break them. if you are lucky the shorts will not break anything. if you are not lucky, something will be f****.
then, the energy, metal and water will lead to some "galvanizing" effect i have observed before, meaning, some circuits on the board may build some micro-connections with a whitish coating. what exactly happens there is beyond my knowledge. i have seen it on some devices which had been exposed to water and energy for a while. i could still fix them by scraping (yes, indeed) that off with a micro screw driver, being extremely careful not to harm any print circuit or smd-parts. that is a tough nut to achieve, for real. its not easy.
I am unsure, how the CPU is soldered onto the mainboard. there is a guy here who created some heatsink for those who had broken solderpoints and heat problems. he had said that, if you want to take off the chip you need break it because there is some epoxy around it. that would mean its connections (the little ball solderings) are waterproof. that would already mean you only have to spend attention to the surroundings. that is very relieving.
you might want to check the Internet for a replacement camera module if you don't figure out how to get the water out.
Make sure you keep your impatience under control and don't power on the device with the water still in the cam. it will do damage. the cam has electrical connections too, remember.
If i was in your situation i would assume the phone lost and use it to experiment a little. this will eventually help people here.
what i would do is the following: disassemble completely.
take all parts that can withstand a certain amount of heat and put it in an oven.
power on the oven with not more than 40 degrees Celsius. make sure not to put it under more heat-stress as it will loosen the solderpoints at about 60 degrees i think, maybe even at lower degrees. i am unsure.
warm it up for a while so that excess water dries away fast.
then check the mainboard and other parts for hidden spaces where water could have remained unseen (e.g. the camera).
then check for the witish coating, some hard to see, nearly transparent layers of water and/or soap residue. i am nearly sure that this witish coating i once observed came from high chalk (calcicated) water. this would be removable physically (scraping) or with citric acid and a soft cloth.
now, what to do with the screen? well, unsure here. check for water. if you think its very dry just leave it and connect it.
if it contains water i would probabyl also just try to let it dry. i cannot really advise here since i have not disassembled the hd2 yet.
i only know that replacement screens are not too expensive. you should possibly buy a new one rather then risking to further damage the phone with invisible shorts.
i need to cook for my wife now, hope i could give you some input mate.
good luck with your device. bad story man. bad story...

try to put for 24h into an ermetic box (closed), with salt in lower part and rice on the upper part (1/4 salt, 1/4 rice, phone, 1/4 empty) and close the box
this method can remove the major part of umidity
you can try for 3/4 days replacing salt and rice every day and cleaning the ermetic box
you can try too with a little oven for 10/15/20 minutes (max 60° Celsius and without battery of course) but i think that salt and rice is a better method
of course if you're able to open the HD2 (i done it 2 times and it's not so easy), you can use an alcoholic solution to clean chips and remove oxide (i use a Flux NO CLEAN)
DO NOT POWER ON PHONE UNTIL IT'S NOT FULLY DRY

Update
Hi,
my phone seems dry now(after 2 days of drying).I have not disassembled it completely though. The LCM module doesnt show any signs of corrosion,A few contacts and wires look okay.Not sure of the condition inside the module. Before waiting it out for another day or two, can i ask if i can use denatured alcohol to flush out any impurities or residue left by the laundry soap? Will it do any good or will it do any harm? cus im worried the alcohol might wet the phone again,now that it is dry,or maybe spoil some components. Also,may i ask if any data loss on the ROM or any damage to the cpu is likely?Tks alot.

I dropped a old cell phone in water and this was the guide i used to bring it back to life...well most of that guide anyway as well as a few other notes I picked up.
1st.) you should never try and turn the phone on intill it has had time to dry, (48 hours min)
2nd.) take apart as carefully and best you can..so that you uncover as much of the phone as you can
3rd.) dont lay the phone flat. stand it inside a cup and pour rice over it till it covers it.
I had to let my phone sit for almost a week and tried it after two days and every day after that. On the third day it turned on but still acted really odd, with each day it acted better and better. finally after six days it was back to its old self.
Please also know to not use a heat source like an over, microwave or hair dryer. If you do use a hair dryer ONLY use the "cool" setting. Hot air can make it more difficult for you to get it back on its feet. You can use rubbing alcohol to try and clean up any residue left behind by the laundry soap. I've seen sites say to submerge your phone in alcohol but i would suggest to use a q-tip and wipe the inside clean as best as you can. Make sure you do this well, the alcohol will not harm the phone farther but its the minerals or other deposits from the detergent that will.
If its available, you should use an alcohol concentration of 95% rather than rubbing alcohol that usually contains only 70%.
I hope this helps you as it helped me. I was lost when it happened and didn't know what to do. I pieced together this method from different instructions found online and it worked for me perfect. If all else fails you can call t-mobile and do whats called an out of warranty exchange. Each phone will have a different out of warranty exchange price but I had to do this once with a old phone I had and at the time it was only $100 for that model phone (htc mt3gs). It could be much more, like i said it all depends on the phone.

htccraze said:
I dropped a old cell phone in water and this was the guide i used to bring it back to life...well most of that guide anyway as well as a few other notes I picked up.
1st.) you should never try and turn the phone on intill it has had time to dry, (48 hours min)
2nd.) take apart as carefully and best you can..so that you uncover as much of the phone as you can
3rd.) dont lay the phone flat. stand it inside a cup and pour rice over it till it covers it.
I had to let my phone sit for almost a week and tried it after two days and every day after that. On the third day it turned on but still acted really odd, with each day it acted better and better. finally after six days it was back to its old self.
Please also know to not use a heat source like an over, microwave or hair dryer. If you do use a hair dryer ONLY use the "cool" setting. Hot air can make it more difficult for you to get it back on its feet. You can use rubbing alcohol to try and clean up any residue left behind by the laundry soap. I've seen sites say to submerge your phone in alcohol but i would suggest to use a q-tip and wipe the inside clean as best as you can. Make sure you do this well, the alcohol will not harm the phone farther but its the minerals or other deposits from the detergent that will.
If its available, you should use an alcohol concentration of 95% rather than rubbing alcohol that usually contains only 70%.
I hope this helps you as it helped me. I was lost when it happened and didn't know what to do. I pieced together this method from different instructions found online and it worked for me perfect. If all else fails you can call t-mobile and do whats called an out of warranty exchange. Each phone will have a different out of warranty exchange price but I had to do this once with a old phone I had and at the time it was only $100 for that model phone (htc mt3gs). It could be much more, like i said it all depends on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks alot for the detailed post.I will definitely follow all the instructions in the above posts.I have already done most of them.I just have to clean my phone with the alcohol. Regarding the warranty exchange, there are many problems.Firstly,im not using T-Mobile,im actually in Singapore and my operator did provide a 1 year warranty,but sadly the warranty expired 2 months ago.Moreover,all the 3 water indicators and blazing red,and while unscrewing the modules,the 'warranty void' sticker was also torn through...so yep,im left with myself and the help of the wonderful members here.tks alot for your help so far.ill report back in 2 days time,when i power up my phone.

The phone that I sent back was the phone that had water damage. Four months after I took mine for a swim my charger port broke. I told them that the phone works fine but it does have water damage. I'm not sure why they didn't charge me the $100 they said because my water damage indicators showed bright pink also, still I was glad they didn't. Since your not through t-mobile that wouldn't work for you though.
If this comes to this, fingers crossed it don't but I have seen some with water damage sell on eBay around $90-$125. You might be able to sell it and then put an additional $30 to it to buy one that's in good working order, after all I bought mine on there for $120.
Sent from my HTC Leo using XDA App

htccraze said:
The phone that I sent back was the phone that had water damage. Four months after I took mine for a swim my charger port broke. I told them that the phone works fine but it does have water damage. I'm not sure why they didn't charge me the $100 they said because my water damage indicators showed bright pink also, still I was glad they didn't. Since your not through t-mobile that wouldn't work for you though.
If this comes to this, fingers crossed it don't but I have seen some with water damage sell on eBay around $90-$125. You might be able to sell it and then put an additional $30 to it to buy one that's in good working order, after all I bought mine on there for $120.
Sent from my HTC Leo using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alright dude...but you mean your HD2 went for a swim? So did it work after that or was the broken charger port the only damage?...and regarding the eBay sales,i dont mind if i can get a good price,but i also need to buy another used HD2(preferably an unlocked T-Mobile one)..but lets just hope i dont go there...i want my phone to come back to life and wreck havoc on the iPhones and LGs like before

Yea after I did the above mentioned steps it work just fine. Then after a few months the charger port stopped working. It getting wet didn't have anything to do with the charger port malfunctioning.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

htccraze said:
Yea after I did the above mentioned steps it work just fine. Then after a few months the charger port stopped working. It getting wet didn't have anything to do with the charger port malfunctioning.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow...thats reassuring news.tks

Update
Hi,
i am very pleased to say that my HTC HD2 is back alive and kicking. I followed all the useful steps provided by the very helpful members here and its working well. A few niggles of course, include a few patches of slight texture variation at the top of the screen if tilted about 150 degrees,but it is very hard to see otherwise,so no worries. Secondly, the mic is dead since no one can hear me on the other side. Other than everything is perfectly fine!...didnt expect such a recovery after that washing machine incident. So, thanks alot for your help and also thanks alot to HTC for making a good phone!..now,a small question.any ideas on where i can buy the mic module separately? tks alot

I would look on ebay. There is also several repair shops you might have some luck contacting. Here in the US there is a company call cellphone CPR or something along those lines that could probably help find and install the mic for you.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium App

htccraze said:
I would look` on ebay. There is also several repair shops you might have some luck contacting. Here in the US there is a company call cellphone CPR or something along those lines that could probably help find and install the mic for you.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the thing.here in Singapore,most of the repair shops fear to dissassemble the phone and repair the components.those shops that do are not well established,so I wouldn't really trust them on my phone.my best bet is to send it to HTC,but I need to order the warranty and water indicator stickers from eBay,else they wont repair it.and I've checked eBay,they don't sell the Mic on its own.I suspect its a whole module by itself,but I don't mind soldering a new Michael myself.just can't find one.

It's a difficult job as the microphone is assembled to the main board found at the base of the unit.
This entire mainboard would have to be replaced and it houses the Qualcomm CPU and other items.
If you do dissemble there is a rubber black protector on it. Try removing it and cleaning it. Perhaps some dirt or something got in there and has blocked the microphone function.
Good luck...

xlr8me said:
It's a difficult job as the microphone is assembled to the main board found at the base of the unit.
This entire mainboard would have to be replaced and it houses the Qualcomm CPU and other items.
If you do dissemble there is a rubber black protector on it. Try removing it and cleaning it. Perhaps some dirt or something got in there and has blocked the microphone function.
Good luck...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if theres some dirt, theres gotta be at least some sort of noise audible to the person on the other side...i suspect the whole mic to be broken.anyway, cant expect all to be well after a ride through the washing machine haha...ill ring HTC and ask for the repair cost.doubt it would be anywhere near affordable though...

Well, i'm following this with great interest. I am very happy to hear how good the recovery went.
Kawshigan, please update the thread once you know what htc said. I'd be interested to hear too.
Thanks
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

I had ordered the HTC water damage stickers and the little void stickers for the screws on the back off ebay.
I know its not ethical but i just couldn't afford what HTC wanted to repair the phone ($185) so i got it back and
sent it to T-mobile instead. HTC told me if they find water damage on the motherboard that it voids the warranty
as well as if the stickers are red/pink. I don't know what they can trace on the motherboard or if T-Mobile is the
same but i didnt have a problem returning it to them. I was never charged the $100 T-Mobile said it would
be for a out of warranty exhange either.

kawshigan said:
That's the thing.here in Singapore,most of the repair shops fear to dissassemble the phone and repair the components.those shops that do are not well established,so I wouldn't really trust them on my phone.my best bet is to send it to HTC,but I need to order the warranty and water indicator stickers from eBay,else they wont repair it.and I've checked eBay,they don't sell the Mic on its own.I suspect its a whole module by itself,but I don't mind soldering a new Michael myself.just can't find one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a module, it's just the mic itself, but you need some skills to desolder and solder it back on motherboard.
If you have no other solution, PM me your adress and I'll send you one.
---------- Post added at 09:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 AM ----------
xlr8me said:
It's a difficult job as the microphone is assembled to the main board found at the base of the unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kind of true, but not for a skilled service guy (a 15 minutes job)!
xlr8me said:
This entire mainboard would have to be replaced and it houses the Qualcomm CPU and other items.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally false!

[Q] Is This Water Damage?

I received my phone today and it was really soaked badly. The phone was so wet that the actual phone packaging was wet. I looked around the phone and saw this mark and I was wondering whether or not I am actually water damaged. Thank you!

delete

wttisme said:
That dot on my phone is white. I'm pretty sure that's the water indicator. I'd definitely save the packaging because it'll be obvious that it got wet and call asap to report the damage. It would've had to sit in the pouring rain for hours to go through 2 relatively thick cardboard boxes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I went down to the store I ordered it at and showed them the box and they said they wanted to charge a restocking fee. I called att and I also took pictures of the whole thing on my old phone.

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[Q] Water stickers set off by sweat/condensation in an Otterbox Defender...?

So I've lately had one issue with my GS4, it shows signs of the "Loss of Service" bug that the GS2 was having for a while. It randomly drops calls and service completely, sometimes will bounce back to service but sometimes it locks into No Service mode and drains the battery; only fix is to enable and then disable airplane mode. So anyway, I've tried everything to fix it and Sprint wont give me a new phone, and I didn't want to take a refurb since I've had it for only 2 months. The guy at the store usually does everything he can for me, but I understand his hands are tied and can't issue a new phone on the spot, even though it has consistent issues.
Soooo getting to the punch line here, sorry for the backstory. In troubleshooting the phone, we had the battery out and the tech had the phone apart, noticing that the water stickers have been activated. Now I would be honest if I had submerged the phone or gotten it wet in any way, but I truly have not. The only thing I can think of is that my phone is ALWAYS encased in it's Otterbox Defender case, and 80% of the time it's in my pocket. I do tree work, and I kid you not I am drenched in sweat all day every day. Is it possible that the water stickers activated from the sweat and condensation trapped in the case and phone? I usually have to take my case apart to wipe the moisture from in between the cases screen protector and phone. Samsung probably wont issue me a new phone under their warranty now (which was my only option for a NEW phone at this point)...Any input on the possibilities and way to prove it? Also, there is 0 corrosion on the phone, we inspected it very thoroughly. Any help is appreciated, cheers!

Yes humidity or condensation can definitely trigger the water damage sticker. As for what you should do, don't you have insurance, file a claim.
This message brought to you in part by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4

GiantJay said:
Yes humidity or condensation can definitely trigger the water damage sticker. As for what you should do, don't you have insurance, file a claim.
This message brought to you in part by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Click to expand...
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Insurance is $200 when it's water damage I believe...

vadyr56 said:
Insurance is $200 when it's water damage I believe...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Idk what insurance you have. But it's better than $500-$650. Put it in a bag of rice for a day or two. With the cover off and the battery out. It will get the moisture out.
This message brought to you in part by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4

Apple recently lost a lawsuit for refusing to repair phones that had the faulty sensors which would/could change color due to humidity alone.
[h**p://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57586562-37/apple-settles-iphone-water-damage-lawsuit-for-$53m/]

Insurance claim is $150.
It is known by the industry the the liquid indicators may at times be too sensitive and are sometimes put it poor locations.
Even with knowing this, it is an easy excuse to not replace your unit. All providers do it.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda app-developers app

You could, depending on where you live, claim high humidity as the culprit. In the southern states, where it's usually 70%+ humidity all the time, overly sensitive stickers could be triggered. Where I live, it's usually 80 plus every day. I just checked weather bug now, and at 3am where I live, it's 95% humidity and no rain nearby.

Very good point about the humidity also. I live in rural PA and it does tend to get incredibly humid in the spring and summer. Between the humidity, and having my phone in the pocket of my sweaty carhartt pants encased in an otterbox, I can imagine the moisture would really collect in there. The true test will be getting a new battery and checking it periodically to see if that sticker activates eventually. I will also check the phone sticker in a few weeks, seeing as I went the refurb route to get a new phone. Since getting a brand new one wasn't happening for me, I just did the service exchange and the water damage may have slipped the tech's mind. Now if my phone breaks 5 more times, Sprint will give me a new device, so we'll see what happens. I appreciate all the input, hopefully other people don't have this issue!