[HELP] Water Damage Repair and Decoding LED Light Pattern - Essential Phone Questions & Answers

Unfortunately my 5 month old phone dropped into water and stopped working :crying:. After much research, I have successfully opened up the phone following this excellent demo without causing any damage to the screen and body.
As shown in the pictures below there are rust near the connection slot between screen and the mother board. Actually that is the only place I've notice any visual anomaly. After thoroughly dissemble everything from the mother board and clear all the rust with 99% alcohol then putting them back together, I'm still stuck on the following status:
- When disconnected from wall charger, and long press the power button, the LED lights had a very brief green flash, then went dark. After that when I touch the finger reader in the back, the machine vibrate as if it is trying to read the finger print, but the screen stay black (dead).
- When connected with the wall charger, the LED first show flashing red light for about one minute, then stay solid red for another few minutes, then turn off. Again, the finger print reader is responsive to touch, but the screen still stay dead.
- Finally, when connected with the 360 camera, the camera lights up and the internal fan also spin up, making me believe that the phone battery could be functional.
I tried pressing down power + volume down/up buttons simultaneously for 30 seconds to enter the bootloader, but the symptom stay the same, the screen remains dead.
I've also purchased a brand new screen replacement from a reliable vendor and tested it on the phone, still the same symptom. So I assume it is not the screen issue.
At this point, I would appreciate any help in:
1. Diagnostic. What does the 1-flash green light, flashing red light and solid red light means? Does the fact that finger print reader vibrate upon touch tell anything about what's working and what's not?
2. Other way to check the battery?
3. If I want to purchase a motherboard, given that I'm on AT&T, does the replacement need to come from another AT&T phone? I found one on Ebay where the seller mentioned the IMEI is clear but carrier is unverified. How does the comparability work?
Thank you for your help!

Hi! I would like to help you with this problem. First we would need a better picture of the motherboard, where the damage as been created. (Screen port)
Second, you could always give a call to Essential, I think they offer a replacement for 200$? Still cheaper than a new phone and don't worry about purchasing a phone that doesn't come from AT&T, I have the Telus model and it's the same as every other essential phone on the market.

Related

HTC HD2 Is not turning on, only turns on sometimes whats wrong? need help extremely!

Ok i got an extremely bad problem
i brought a hd2 from ebay with a fault, which was the person said he dropped the phone and the screen cracked then he replaced it with new screen and digitizer, but he said after he did that the phone only starts up sometimes, anyway i won the bid and when i recieved it i put the charger in and it turned on by itself and was stuck ar htc screen i took the charger out and the phone went off, so i put the charger back in again and it didnt turn on this time, tookout battery and did reset and hard reset and still nothing? the phone doesnt have hardspl.
so i opened the phone up and look to see if anything was lose which it wasnt and i also manged to damage the volume flex cable and the bottom buttons flex!
so i left my phone overnight and in the morning i put the battery in and put it on charge and A RED LED LIGHT CAME ON!!!! which means it was charging so i thought if i press the reset button it come on, so i pressed the soft reset and nothing came on and the red light dissapeared and it doesnt come back again?
Can anybody help me whats wrong?
Since the previous owner has dropped the phone, anything could have went wrong.
First, check the battery pins on your phone, and make sure they are straight (not bent, not eve a little)
Hi I tryed that but it still don't work, also to follow up I put my htc in fridge for 5 mins and put in usb and orange light comes on so I left it for couple of hours and after it finished charging it virbrates and screen comes on but it just stays black so I took out battery and it didn't startup, so battery is fully charged and I. Put phone back in fridge and put usb back in and orange light came on again, so this time I pull out usb cable and the light is still on??? And I pull out battery and it goes off I don't know what's wrong???? Its driving me nuts!!!
Edit - ignore what I wrote above, okay I left phone in fridge and I put battery in and then I put in usb and orange led light comes on then the phone vibrates and the htc logo screen comes up but it is frozen there and I can't reset because I have no buttons because I broke the flex ribbon. I pull out battery and it turns off and it doesn't come back on so I put usb in and then battery and nothing but I can feel a tiny bit of vibration but not as strong as before. Its soo wierd the phone only powers when I leave it in fridge.
really need a solution fast
Please guys I really need a solution, don't leave me hanging. I was going to buy a new motherboard but I don't know whether its worth it because I font want to waste money.
I can't answer your question. But I know for fact that if the hd2 overheats monsterously the processor melts off it's spot or something and the phone starts to reboot at 25-30 Celsius degrees and that could explain cooling it down lets it boot. My suggestion is to sell the phone on Ebay as SLIGHTLY damaged Hahahah!
infact thats what i done i put it on ebay if anyone wants it let me, mint condition except boot failure I don't think it the processor because I can connect to usb and it comes as qualcomm data
The phone tries to turn on because I see the vibration motor turn once but nothing else happens?
facepalm.
....
Was there any need of facepalm makes you look like a retard. Don't do it please

power button stuck on "on"

Since yesterday my SGS is having a very strange issue: It seems that the power button is stuck on pressed state. When the phone was on I had the power menu appear and the phone shut down. Then it started again, only to turn off shortly after the second screen during boot, then looping in that state.
When I remove battery and put it back it automatically starts and then bootloops.
I can't get into recovery as it turns off before recovery can start. I can get into download mode but only for 3-4 seconds till the phone turns off again.
I removed the backplate and can't see any visible damage to the power button. Between the power buttons pins on the board there's a voltage of 7mv with battery removed, in case that means something to anyone.
So 2 questions arise:
- Any ideas on how to fix this? (apart from ripping of the power button which I'm not even sure would help)
- Any ideas how to get into a mode where I can backup my data or at least flash a stock rom? (Currently on CM9 with devil kernel and the devil logo shows for a second in the bootloop, not sure how the techs would like that if I was to sent it in for repair)
XlAfbk said:
Since yesterday my SGS is having a very strange issue: It seems that the power button is stuck on pressed state. When the phone was on I had the power menu appear and the phone shut down. Then it started again, only to turn off shortly after the second screen during boot, then looping in that state.
When I remove battery and put it back it automatically starts and then bootloops.
I can't get into recovery as it turns off before recovery can start. I can get into download mode but only for 3-4 seconds till the phone turns off again.
I removed the backplate and can't see any visible damage to the power button. Between the power buttons pins on the board there's a voltage of 7mv with battery removed, in case that means something to anyone.
So 2 questions arise:
- Any ideas on how to fix this? (apart from ripping of the power button which I'm not even sure would help)
- Any ideas how to get into a mode where I can backup my data or at least flash a stock rom? (Currently on CM9 with devil kernel and the devil logo shows for a second in the bootloop, not sure how the techs would like that if I was to sent it in for repair)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has there been any water damage to the phone/button? Sometimes this can cause the button to short. Or it might just be stuck, does the button physically click in as normal?
It could also be worse and have an actual hardware issue with the motherboard/power button interface
there hasn't been any water damage. actually, it's been used in the rain but that shouldn't really hurt a phone... just in case i let it try for quite a while but the problem didn't go away.
the button clicks as it used to do, no sound of water or damage there.
problem hardly could have been worse as the phone is completly unusable in this state as i can't even turn it on.
Hi,
A friend has just handed me an abandoned SGS with precisely the same problem.
The power button itself feels fine, ie it doesn't feel stuck, and you can feel it clicking as normal. I too removed the backplate and can't see any visible damage to the power button.
I note however that the water damage indicator 'sticker' mentioned here: "samsunggalaxysforums.com/showthread.php/4674-Galaxy-S-I9000-Service-Manual-How-To-disassemble-your-Galaxy-S"
is completely white, indicating possible water damage at some point.
Any ideas for a fix, or do you think it would be economical to seek a fix from a hardware repairer?
I can replicate the problem as described by XlAfbk above, by simply holding down the power button on my working i9000.
i did sent to phone to the only service location samsung lists for germany. they claimed it was water damage and refused to repair under warranty. repair would have cost ~280 euro.
i'm waiting for the unrepaired device now and will try to fix it myself, in the meantime i got a gnexus
Ok thanks. Please keep me posted if you do find a way to repair it yourself.
Until then, I guess mine's spare parts!
no more warranty for you? if you're in germany PM me for a repair shop.
ebay has power button replacements for ~4€ that you could try soldering on, replacing the original one, if that's what's broken for you. I checked mine with a multimeter and as there's still resistance it's not the power button for me.
uhm, I actually did fix it... while it's not completly back to normal i can at least turn on and off the phone, just turning display on and off with power button still doesn't work
some dust had gathered on the board, apparently shorting a circuit. just grab a brush and some canned air and clean the board.
i cleaned the main board at the very top and the bottom one near the middle (PM me for a photo of the location)
Nice that it almost works now. Just thinking what an asshole Sammy is, they want more money for a maybe ~20€ repair than the device costs bought new.
the repair wouldn't have been 20€, they'd have replaced the whole mainboard for me, not just the power button. I have no idea whether just replacing the power button would help, just brought that up as that's the one item that could possibly be it and you can get for cheap.
my power button got worse again since my previous post btw. so something else must be wrong as well.
After my phone was on a rainy trip, I am suffering from the same issues as well. I checked the resistance of the power-switch, and the open-circuit resistance measured to 30 Ohms, while the closed resistance measured to 0. Of course, the open-circuit resistance will not measure the switch isolated, but still, I'd expect something in the range of at least some Kilos. Hopefully, the switch will function normally in some time (if the switch is the only problem).
if it doesn't fix itself remove the mainboard from the housing, check it using a strong magnifying glass for any traces of water (tiny white residue spots) and carefully clean them using with a small brush (and nothing but that!).
of course doing that will void all warranty!
I completely disassembled it in order to clean it properly, but it did not yield immediate results. However, however a few days of rest and it came back to life, and has been stable since. So it looks like the rest is the best advice for other unfortunates.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda app-developers app

[Q] S5 balck screen after dropped in water (Phone seem to start)

Hi All,
I dropped my Samsung s5 (rooted) phone in water.
Before it went submerged(not more than couple of seconds) it hit the side of the sink.
I quickly took it out and looked for visible signs of broken screen or any other part. But there were no new marks, I wiped it clean, turned it off, took the battery out and looked for any water, but nowhere I could see any water inside or outside.
I then turned on the phone, It turned on all the way to homes screen , I entered pin and could view regular home tab, then I think after few seconds, screen went black. I turned it off and tried it on again but it never came back. Once in between in all of my attempts of turn off and restart, it showed battery and yellow triangle on top of battery sign.
I have tried to search and it seems like lots of people ended up with similar symptoms in their phone, but none of the solutions suggested have worked for me.
What I have tried is:
1. Leave phone submerged in a pot of uncooked rice for couple of nights
2. Take out battery and press power button for x number of seconds (starting from 10 to onwards of 2 minutes)
3. leave batter out and then try to restart (again time was variable from few minutes to several hours)
4. Soft hit on power button,
5. I might have overlooked writing a solution here but I wonder if there is any that was suggested that I have not tried.
Initially when this happened, I connected it to charging cable and red light would start blinking(where as it should stay solid red while being charged).
Anyways, now phone screen is dark. I can use adb shell to view the content on the phone which means OS is till intact and I am 100% sure that phone is working as intended. As the notification lights blink when I get an email if phone is on etc.
Its an expansive phone and hope some one can shed light on how to revive the dead screen?
Thanks
Sorry to hear that! It really sucks. Was the charging port loose or opened when dropped in the sink?
I know the blinking red light, instead of the solid red light, when charger is connected indicates a problem with charging. This can be caused when there is little water in or around the charging board or the motherboard and charger is connected.
If you don't see any signs of water damage (pink/red indicators instead of white), i'd say back up all your files and everything else through ADB, wipe the phone clean, in case you find somewhere to service or in case it gets worse and you can't access your files any more.
Chat with a Samsung rep online too, and see what your options are. Sometimes they repair it for ~$70, off warranty, and with that they might even swap the motherboard and other pieces too if needed and you only paid 70 or whatever they offer.
Thanks for reply, now charging port was shut...and after couple of days now charging happens ok, I have a solid green light when I connect charger.
So I am guessing you are thinking that either screen is gone or something else and therefore no possible way to fix this?

[Q] Nexus 4 do not turn on after LCD/Display crashed

Hello guys!
I've dropped my nexus 4 and the LCD crashed completly. Then i bought a new LCD (only LCD) and tried to change by myself, but everything went wrong, i couldn't attach it with the glue that they sent me and i saw some cracks on the display.
After the "change", the phone does not turn on anymore, just blink the notification led with red color.
Now i'm thinking to buy the full display (LCD+Display) and try to change it again, i mean, it can't be hard to do, you just have to connect the cables and close (that's what i think).
Is there a way to discover if the full display will bring my phone back to life? :crying:
Thank you!!
Up :crying:
up
The blinking red LED could indicate a fully discharged battery. Try leaving it on a 2.0 amp charger for a few hours to see if you can get it to boot.
audit13 said:
The blinking red LED could indicate a fully discharged battery. Try leaving it on a 2.0 amp charger for a few hours to see if you can get it to boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried it but the phone still the same. Maybe it's happening due the display is broken (cracked in the top right). I've installed a new one lcd thinking this could be the problem but now i'm thinking it's the display. Is there any way to test the motherboard and see if it's ok? If i could test the motherboard, i could decide between buy a new complete display (lcd + display) or another phone.
Thanks!
I don't know of any way to test the motherboard without a working display.
Heeyy, i've tried a new one charger, the phone blinked the red light a few minutes and then the screen turned on, but unable to see anything, due the broken display, but² the power button dont do anything, not even to turn the screen off. By this we can conclude that the motherboard is ok, and the problem is the display, right?
I've attached the photo of the screen. The white traces is where the display is "cracked", not really cracked, it's like a kneaded cloth, but it matches the cracks that the screen had.
As a test of the motherboard, let the phone charge with the new charger for a couple of hours. Then, try and power up the phone in fastboot mode, and type "fastboot devices" from a command prompt. Hopefully, the command will return the phone's serial #.

1+5 HardWARE Bricked? Soft bricked? Or neither?

Hello Devs, OP fans, lurkers alike
So I've had quite the quirky experience recently. Thought I had a brick in my hand for a while. Then strangeness.
Last week, I left my phone on top the car after gassing up. Half mile down the road, it slides off. My music from BT goes out. I return to find the screen smashed, display black and unresponsive.
Back inside the car, BT connects immediately and my song picks up right where it stopped. The capacitive hardware still works, vibrates when I tap or hold the BackHomeRecent, turns the "screen" off when I hold home.(or at least Android thinks its turning off).
So I decided to replace the screen and digitizer assembly with a new one. After transferring all the components as per a 50 step procedure found on ifixit, I go to power on. Nothing. No lights, motorcars, not a single luxury.
Maybe charging will help? AC USB yeilds nothing. But then my pc recognized it as USB Bulk 9008. At this point, I'm just about to give up and go buy another phone, figured its Bricked enough for me.
An hour later, my Android alarm clock for work goes off. Screen still black, but the led lit up. I had to pry it open and remove a screw to detach the battery connector to shut it up.
Obviously Android still works. Defective replacement screen, perhaps? Maybe I Fudded the reinstallation Elmer style? Is there hope to save my device?
PS. Dev Options were off during the accident, PC didn't even recognize anything while it had its cracked screen.

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