Hello,
my Redmi Note 7 fell in the water of our harbor and it took ~15min until we were able to find it. The water was ~1 meter deep.
I put the phone in rice for 4 days strait away. At some point the phone started but was discharged the next day. After that the phone did not start or charged anymore but showed a battery symbol.
We took the phone apart and cleaned everything with pure alcohol. We replaced the battery too. I took a few measurements: There is 5V on the battery test point and 4.8 V too.
At some point the phone showed 80% while it was off and attached to a charger today.
At the moment the screen goes on for a very short time ~1-2 sec. when powered on but does not charge when connected to a charger.
What could I do to bring it back to live?
I mean there are working parts in it as it looks like.
It's DOA.
The only way to save it was to pull the battery asap (in salt water even that might not be fast enough), disassemble, flush liberally with warm RO water, flush, flush, then flush with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol to absorb the water, dry for at least 2 days with a fan in a warm room.
Water is the best solvent for brine...
What has happened is water/alcohol insoluble corrosion has formed on contacts and any exposed conductors. BGA chipsets, flat pack ICs, power circuits and PCB traces may be shorted out completely especially V+/ground rails. Once this happens it's beyond salvage... sorry.
You could try a pulling all connectors and dumping the whole lot minus the battery and frame into a mild acid bath for an hour then rinsing throughly with RO water, then isopropyl alcohol, drying etc. Which acid, concentration, and time? Probably very diluted sulphuric acid. It's a mix of copper, silver, tin and more alloys you're trying to clean.
That's the only way to remove the corrosion if present. The acid could easily destroy exposed (no conformal coating) fine pitch PCB traces. As long as any corrosion remains it will continue to corrode.
I don't give it a good chance of working...
Oh man that sounds bad. I thought there would be a chance as it was more sweet water than salt water and the phone worked after the incident for a short time.
muebau said:
Oh man that sounds bad. I thought there would be a chance as it was more sweet water than salt water and the phone worked after the incident for a short time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disconnect the battery.
You can try disassembling it again. Pull all ribbon cables and connectors. Place in warm/hot RO water, clean contact surfaces the best you can with a toothbrush or a ultrasonic gum cleaner if you have one. Try to get some water flow under the BGA chipsets.
Replace the RO water at least 2 times and leave in it for a couple hours*.
Inspect contacts, surface mount devices, traces, etc with good light and a optic aid for signs of corrosion damage afterward. If none if seen proceed to the 99% isopropyl alcohol flush and dry completely. It might work....
*water may get in between the display and screen. If so it will leave a residue upon evaporation. This must be purge before reassembly. A vacuum drying chamber can be used. Use your best judgement how the proceed with the washing phase depending on this issue.
If it's sealed, no worries otherwise you may wish to modify the washing phase to be less invasive by limiting time and exposure to the display.
The contacts on the display is what really needs to be cleaned...
Today I found the phone is alive indeed. After lots of cleaning with alcohol it came back to live. Everything work.
The only issue I have is water (or alcohol) in the display now. This causes little clouds of brightness and the many random touch events.
Its there something smart I could do to get rid of this last bit of water except a vacuum chamber. It might vanish if I heat up the phone for several hours near/on the heating with a towel in between (not to hot).
muebau said:
Today I found the phone is alive indeed. After lots of cleaning with alcohol it came back to live. Everything work.
The only issue I have is water (or alcohol) in the display now. This causes little clouds of brightness and the many random touch events.
Its there something smart I could do to get rid of this last bit of water except a vacuum chamber. It might vanish if I heat up the phone for several hours near/on the heating with a towel in between (not to hot).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's never a good idea to clean everything with solvents such as isopropyl. It can weaken many of the adhesives used in electronic devices, and it will ruin your display panel. If you have access to a temperature chamber, you can try removing the battery, putting the device in a bag of rice or desiccant beads, and let it heat soak for about 2 hours at +60c.
Chances are your display and touch panel are ruined, however. NEVER soak a device in alcohol or any other solvent.
Well the alcohol "everywhere" was an accident and bad luck. It happened while I cleaned just the last parts and connections. I will try to remove the battery and put the device with rice somewhere warm with a thermometer to check the temperature.
Thanks for the help. I will report what happens next.
I am able to get the few messages and photos from the day it fell in the water now. So I am near a 100% data (backup from ~2am + current backup) rescued scenario very soon. I am very happy to have reach this point so far anyway.
muebau said:
Well the alcohol "everywhere" was an accident and bad luck. It happened while I cleaned just the last parts and connections. I will try to remove the battery and put the device with rice somewhere warm with a thermometer to check the temperature.
Thanks for the help. I will report what happens next.
I am able to get the few messages and photos from the day it fell in the water now. So I am near a 100% data (backup from ~2am + current backup) rescued scenario very soon. I am very happy to have reach this point so far anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The accident was dropping it in brine water... without through rinsing it be a goner. Even with rinsing it still may eventually die.
Rice does not work. Heat does*.
Be patient.
Warm dry room with fan on it.
The problem now isn't drying but the residue left behind as the water/alcohol evaporates. Try using centrificule force to move the water although capillary may prevent this.
Try drying on end.
Careful use of a shop vac might work in a dust free room but could destroy the display. Use best judgement. At the worst if you just let it dry it probably will leave some water marks, maybe not.
*raise heat to 110-120°F if it's not drying after 2 days. Heat displaces water ie hot boxes used in tropics.
The phone worked perfectly with clouds of water in the display.
After I put the phone in a warm place to get rid of the last few parts of this moisture the screen was black and stayed this way.
Now the lowest part of the phone gets very hot when switched on. Its hot enough to burn your fingers. The funny thing is that with "scrcpy" I am still able to reach the screen and the OS works perfectly as normal. I guess the lower PCB with the USB-C is the part which gets this warm.
I am angry for myself as I could have lived with the few clouds in the display as a reminder to keep water and smartphones away from each other.
Better than broken ribs...
You would need to carefully separate the display from the glass and clean both. Probably bonded with a heat adhesive.
The hot running suggest the phone isn't completely dry or has damage. Pull the connectors off the port pcb and inspect both them and that board for visible corrosion damage.
Reexamine the mobo's power section for same.
It's all probably academic as it likely will fail completely in time. Rust never sleeps.
Related
Hi folks!
Just wanted to post this, as it really surprised me.
I went to a swim the other day (about 2 weeks ago) and forgot, that I had my HD2 in my Pocket.
It was about 0.5 hrs under water. Afterwards I yelled... then took out the battery and tried to dry it with a hairdryer.
It did not help. It stayed dead (The paper indicator are in a bright pink now)
Then about 1 week later I finally found the time to buy a new battery. I put it in and then... it worked.
After about 5 or 6 hrs using time, the last bit of water in the screen (a nice 3D effect ;-) dryed and I have absolutely no difference whatsoever. Working like a charm, no problem.
Maybe it helps so.
JoC
lucky you ;-)
Wow, happy you. Don't try this at home
lol, how many hd2's have been sold? thats a one in that many chance occurance, and no mistake.
just wow
Wow I cant believe it still works. Id wanna shoot myself!
If you get your phone wet don't use a hair dryer to dry it coz it overheats metal parts so the circuits melt.
In the words of homer simpson DOH! cant believe it worked after
as long as the internal complete dry, u shouldn't have problem to turn it back on.
The best thing you can do with a phone that has been for a swim (completely submerged in water) is to pull the battery off and soak it in isopropyl for 30 min or so. This should get the water out of it. Then leave it out to dry until completely dry.
Iven if a wet phone works initially, it generally wont be long before the components begin to corrode. The isophopyl will drive out any water and then completely evaporate.
u are one lucky guy lol
very very lucky, my friend sneezed on his and it stopped working...
Built HTC Tough
Sentinel196 said:
The best thing you can do with a phone that has been for a swim (completely submerged in water) is to pull the battery off and soak it in isopropyl for 30 min or so. This should get the water out of it. Then leave it out to dry until completely dry.
Iven if a wet phone works initially, it generally wont be long before the components begin to corrode. The isophopyl will drive out any water and then completely evaporate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even better, since this phone already soaked for half an hour, with the battery out soak and then flush it well with distilled water to remove all the minerals that could cause corrosion, then stick it in a container of desiccant or rice if you're cheap
Alcohol especially soaked that long could be harsh on adhesives, surfaces and components in the phone.
Water itself isnt bad for electronics, its the minerals that are in the average tap, pool, beach, lake water. Distilled water has none of these minerals. Also any liquid tends to damage things like the camera and LCDs where it can get between the glass covering and LCD and backlight causing water spots to develop that are hard are just about impossible to remove.
If you do go the isopropyl route, id say do a very quick flush with it, and then make sure you are using 90%, usually in a red labeled bottle at the drug store, normal isopropyl is something like 65% alcohol and the remainder is water!
Really the best option for either route is to completely disassemble the phone then flush and dry while disassembled, but i know thats hard for some people to do without completely damaging it cosmetically. Remove things like the LCD, Camera, and speakers as these could be further damaged by subsequent soakings in either water or alcohol. These parts may need to be completely replaced depending on the existing damage
im supprised no one has asked this but,
HOW DO YOU GO FOR A SWIM WITH YOUR HD2??????
Did you go fully clothed or something? or do you normally keep your HD2 in the pockets of your swim shorts?
Me too
Hi,
I also took my leo swiming. Now loud speaker isnt working. can anyone help where i can get one?
Oooo, that's interesting...for your next test...microwave the phone for half an hour.
Yes.. I had it in my swim shorts. Before I went to the pool, I thought: "Be aware of that phone, don´t forget it in the pockets..." -> That didn´t help...
Yeah, our HD2 is a great phone.
Redeyedrichard said:
Oooo, that's interesting...for your next test...microwave the phone for half an hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xD hilarious
and distilled water won't screw up your device? so lets say, if I want to clean my screen randomly, I should use that?
My nokia 6 phone with cracked screen after being in water - does not charge properly, and problems began from March (when phone accidentally fall in water) to 20 April (when i tried to charge from broken usb cables and the battery capacity fall down to 1500 mAh)
After service center repair (they replaced the broken usb-B port, battery and screen) I tried different USB cables and the problem with charge still exist.
As on screenshot i charge phone from AC adapter, and app showing that it's USB - not AC, charging speed is very slow, but instead of charge it slowly discharges until i connect to computer with only usb cable.
Maybe it's a Android 9 update bug? I going to do factory reset to try to solve this bizarre charge issue but before doing it i decided to ask here for help, maybe problem in charger controller.
Turn it off.
It needs to be dried out asap.
Take the rear cover off and disconnect the battery. If it's not an LCD* display, anhydrous isopropyl alcohol can be used to chase the water.
Apply liberally allowing it to drain off, get it everywhere, dunk it even. Then get as much of the alcohol out as fast as possible.
Low (5-10 psi) pressure oil free air can be used.
Or a fan. In a room with very low humidity allow to completely dry. Isopropyl is hygroscopic so dry air is important.
Reassemble in a room that's RH is 50-80% to help mitigate the risk of ESD damage while handling.
Best to always wear a ESD strap and follow ESD protocols when disassembling a phone.
*never expose a LCD display to solvents or alcohols, they will poison the display!
blackhawk said:
Turn it off.
It needs to be dried out asap.
Take the rear cover off and disconnect the battery. If it's not an LCD* display, anhydrous isopropyl alcohol can be used to chase the water.
Apply liberally allowing it to drain off, get it everywhere, dunk it even. Then get as much of the alcohol out as fast as possible.
Low (5-10 psi) pressure oil free air can be used.
Or a fan. In a room with very low humidity allow to completely dry. Isopropyl is hygroscopic so dry air is important.
Reassemble in a room that's RH is 50-80% to help mitigate the risk of ESD damage while handling.
Best to always wear a ESD strap and follow ESD protocols when disassembling a phone.
*never expose a LCD display to solvents or alcohols, they will poison the display!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw a sligtly dark area under left broken display corner on the first day of damage from water (not from alcohol) and i left the phone laying on display, because i was unable to detach the screen, next day I tried to use hairdryer to help to dry and it didn't help, but after two days dark area disappeared. Only after two weeks (when phone refused to charge) i gived the phone to service center. In service center (before they assembled phone) repairman said that new battery could be charged manually but not from USB port because of "falling voltage"
nikitam2498 said:
I saw a sligtly dark area under left broken display corner on the first day of damage from water (not from alcohol) and i left the phone laying on display, because i was unable to detach the screen, next day I tried to use hairdryer to help to dry and it didn't help, but after two days dark area disappeared. Only after two weeks (when phone refused to charge) i gived the phone to service center. In service center (before they assembled phone) repairman said that new battery could be charged manually but not from USB port because of "falling voltage"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That tech was useless.
Can it be fixed, how much?
Most likely not.
Even if "fixed" new damage will likely manifest itself. Any corrosion must be found and removed. This can be a daunting and near impossible task if the water damage is extensive.
You may have damaged/destroyed the c port PCB and/or the mobo, display, ribbon cable contacts, switches etc.
Never power up a water compromised phone. It's imperative to remove battery and all the water asap.
Water is conductive (with readily found contaminants) and corrosive especially with power applied. The corrosion once formed continues to attack the metal unless completely removed. It may take days, weeks or years to cause another failure. Rust never sleeps.
If a ready fix isn't getting it, it's be$t to ditch the device now. Prompt action can save a device.
Any delay can easily total it. If any salt* is present, it's already dead.
2 years ago the case for my Buds went straight to the bottom of a cup of coffee (cream and sugar). I tore the case apart, flushed it with RO water then with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol which I always carry. Dried it for 2 days, disassembled with the battery in it as it was spot welded.
It's still functional today.
It's possible to save a device but it's a very limited window of opportunity in most cases especially if the battery can't be pulled immediately... I got lucky.
*salt ie sweat, sea water is sure death
blackhawk said:
That tech was useless.
Can it be fixed, how much?
Most likely not.
Even if "fixed" new damage will likely manifest itself. Any corrosion must be found and removed. This can be a daunting and near impossible task if the water damage is extensive.
You may have damaged/destroyed the c port PCB and/or the mobo, display, ribbon cable contacts, switches etc.
Never power up a water compromised phone. It's imperative to remove battery and all the water asap.
Water is conductive (with readily found contaminants) and corrosive especially with power applied. The corrosion once formed continues to attack the metal unless completely removed. It may take days, weeks or years to cause another failure. Rust never sleeps.
If a ready fix isn't getting it, it's be$t to ditch the device now. Prompt action can save a device.
Any delay can easily total it. If any salt* is present, it's already dead.
2 years ago the case for my Buds went straight to the bottom of a cup of coffee (cream and sugar). I tore the case apart, flushed it with RO water then with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol which I always carry. Dried it for 2 days, disassembled with the battery in it as it was spot welded.
It's still functional today.
It's possible to save a device but it's a very limited window of opportunity in most cases especially if the battery can't be pulled immediately... I got lucky.
*salt ie sweat, sea water is sure death
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm Sorry that I didn't answer to you almost a year, but you see the little detail on the screenshot, the Charge Speed is 185mA, AND it's very slow. I tested portable charger today and my Nokia is charging VERY SLOW, the InfoApp shows charging speed 300-450 mA with portable charger but when i connect charger to outlet the app shows SLOWER charging speed 10-180mA so i think it refuses to charge from the outlet (glitch)
I saw somewhere on this forum that "i should clear cache partition to clear battery profile cache" but I can't find that message now...
The phone was at service repair in May 2021, they replaced the battery , cracked Corning Gorilla glass, IPS screen and damaged microUSB-B port but the glitch with slow charging did not disappear even after repairs
So i think the factory reset or cleaning the cache partition would resolve the "charging glitch" problem
Hi all,
First post on this thread - I've searched all over for an answer!
So my phone got wet and the screen just stopped working so can't get past the log in screen... I've tried a USB mouse to see if that works,. It nay, tis useless.
I need to get photos off the Phone and thought about using ADB to pull the files - used it on other phones in the past and been fine
The issue is that although the device is listed, when I try to pull any folder I get the following error
-file sync client cpp:473 adb file pull
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Jon
Power it down and pull the battery NOW.
Liberally flush with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol and remove as much of the alcohol as reasonably possible*. Use low pressure, clean dry compressed air if you have it.
Place in a warm (80-100F), dry room with a fan blowing on the open phone. Allow to dry for at least 48 hours, longer be better.
Hook up the battery and see what you got.
*do not allow it to get under the display glass; it will likely leave water marks.
You want to mainly hit the mobo and connectors ends. Use your best judgment or simply skip the alcohol and allow to dry longer.
All moisture must be gone.
Remember, rice is nice
ptuner said:
Remember, rice is nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Negative.
You eat rice not gum up electronics with it.
blackhawk said:
Negative.
You eat rice not gum up electronics with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, yeah dont put it in rice if u open the battery.... Some people are not confident enough to open the back cover without damaging the phone...
ptuner said:
Well, yeah dont put it in rice if u open the battery.... Some people are not confident enough to open the back cover without damaging the phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The rear cover has to come off or it won't dry*.
The battery needs to be disconnected.
Every minute that goes by the more likely corrosion will form on live current pathways.
Once formed it won't go away and the corrosion process will continue until it eventually fails.
Prompt action can save a device. You don't have days, you have minutes, hours to do this.
A cracked rear cover is better than a dead mobo, if that puts it into prospective...
*if it's a very small amount of water heat (120F) can be used to drive it out still sealed, I don't recommend this though. It may never dry or take days, weeks.
The phone must be powered down and no charging!
Heat drives out moisture, not rice.
blackhawk said:
The rear cover has to come off or it won't dry*.
The battery needs to be disconnected.
Every minute that goes by the more likely corrosion will form on live current pathways.
Once formed it won't go away and the corrosion process will continue until it eventually fails.
Prompt action can save a device. You don't have days, you have minutes, hours to do this.
A cracked rear cover is better than a dead mobo, if that puts it into prospective...
*if it's a very small amount of water heat (120F) can be used to drive it out still sealed, I don't recommend this though. It may never dry or take days, weeks.
The phone must be powered down and no charging!
Heat drives out moisture, not rice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about u put it in rice with the battery cover on, then use hairdryer to heat it up while the rice is ontop, and the water will leave the phone and enter the rice, the heat from the hair dryer will cook the rice, and then you have a fixed phone and cooked rice!
ptuner said:
How about u put it in rice with the battery cover on, then use hairdryer to heat it up while the rice is ontop, and the water will leave the phone and enter the rice, the heat from the hair dryer will cook the rice, and then you have a fixed phone and cooked rice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The rice does nothing. Don't you get it?
The hair dryer idea is even worse.
Controlled heat over a very extended period of time.
I've salvaged water contaminated devices... successfully. Last one was a Buds case that went to the bottom of a cup of coffee. 2 years latter it's still charging.
Thanks for the replies.
I'm good with the water damage... I dried it out best I could.
The issue for me is the ADB error. Like I mentioned the device is connected, and shows using ADB devices.
Does any one have advice on the command I can use to pull a folder?
Ive gotten this tablet wet a few times, (Tab A, T510 2019 10.1) nothing serious, not underwater. this time i had it next to shower, and just got a little water on the screen. I wiped it off and used it for about 1/2 hour, then suddenly the bottom 3rd of the screen pixelated and it flickered. That only lasted a few seconds, then the screen lost some brightness, just looked a little gray.
So i powered it down. Since then, screen is black when it boots, but it does beep with the moisture detected error when I plug in charger. i have been able to power it off and on and get that moisture error, but black screen. when I plug it into PC, i get the Windows code 43 hardware error, device not recognized.
I don't have much hope for it, but thought I'd check here.
Thanks!
Disconnect the battery NOW.
Allow to dry a in warm dry room with a fan on it, with the back panel removed for at least a week.
Disassemble as much as you can easily do to speed drying.
If it's an AMOLED display there's more you can do.
ok, thanks! its TFT-LCD. I already have it apart, and just disconnected battery again. i will put it in a dry upstairs window with plenty of sun.
Raymodjp said:
ok, thanks! its TFT-LCD. I already have it apart, and just disconnected battery again. i will put it in a dry upstairs window with plenty of sun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't fry it... sheild the LCD from direct sunlight by putting it down face first.
Put a fan on it too.
Disconnecting any ribbon cable ends that got exposed may help. However ESD becomes a potential issue as out of circuit components especially the mobo are suspectable to ESD damage.
Because of the LCD you can't use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol as a drying agent; it will poison the display.
You may get lucky particularly if you see no visible corrosion damage on the power sections of the mobo. IP68 means it might resist water, I never trust it. Useful to keep dust out though.
blackhawk said:
Don't fry it... sheild the LCD from direct sunlight by putting it down face first.
Put a fan on it too.
Disconnecting any ribbon cable ends that got exposed may help. However ESD becomes a potential issue as out of circuit components especially the mobo are suspectable to ESD damage.
Because of the LCD you can't use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol as a drying agent; it will poison the display.
You may get lucky particularly if you see no visible corrosion damage on the power sections of the mobo. IP68 means it might resist water, I never trust it. Useful to keep dust out though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, thanks again. I have it face down with a fan on it, and i put it in a dry place that doesn't get much direct sunlight.
I really didn't think it got very wet at all. I definitely can't see any corrosion damage. The moisture detection on some Samsungs is very sensitive. Mine even goes off in the summer solely due to high humidity.
Raymodjp said:
ok, thanks again. I have it face down with a fan on it, and i put it in a dry place that doesn't get much direct sunlight.
I really didn't think it got very wet at all. I definitely can't see any corrosion damage. The moisture detection on some Samsungs is very sensitive. Mine even goes off in the summer solely due to high humidity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome.
It's safe to put it in sunlight just not with LCD facing it. As long as it's cool enough to touch it won't harm it.
Most at risk are the powerc circuits carrying higher current loads which can accelerate corrosion damage. Or it may simply keep the signal tranfer on data circuits from working with no damage. The faster you pull the battery then dry it, generally the better the outcome.
I dropped my Galaxy Buds case in a cup of coffee (cream&sugar) over 3 years ago. Open it immediately, flushed with RO water, then anhydrous isopropyl alcohol, dried for a day, then drank the coffee. It still works today.
Hi all. My trusty A40 had a little mishap at the toilet (!) and drowned. I gave it a rinse with alcohol and dried it for days in 40C ovens etc. but no life was recovered. A few days ago I decided to try charging it anyway and nothing happened... then this morning my old alarm went off! The screen is still completely dead, and I didn't notice any vibration but I always had that turned off. When I plug it in and out with the USB cable it makes the correct beeps. I can even snooze that alarm with the power button and turn it off with volume down.
When I connect it to my PC though I don't see any drive come up, I guess it doesn't default to USB file transfer so maybe this isn't a surprise.
So is my phone alive inside and just has a completely dead screen? The alcohol has conveniently taken the back off by dissolving the glue. Also, I've already got a new Redmi Note 11 so I'm happy to tinker with this phone and I've replaced screens before no problem.
Is this phone worth buying a new screen for do you all think or would that be a total waster of $35?
Thanks!
(PS: sorry if not in correct forum here, not sure which one is most appropriate for hardware / repair issues)
Wrong. You may still be able to save it...
Pull the back cover and disconnect the battery asap. Allow to dry completely before powering up. Fan blowing on it with the phone on it's side in a very warm room for at least a couple days.
The mobo power section or the soc are the most likely areas to fail from corrosion. Possible the connectors are still retaining brown water
Do Not use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol as a drying agent if it has an LCD as it will poison it.
blackhawk said:
Wrong. You may still be able to save it...
Pull the back cover and disconnect the battery asap. Allow to dry completely before powering up. Fan blowing on it with the phone on it's side in a very warm room for at least a couple days.
The mobo power section or the soc are the most likely areas to fail from corrosion. Possible the connectors are still retaining brown water
Do Not use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol as a drying agent if it has an LCD as it will poison it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but I've already completed the drying. The CPU is working in there, in fact when I put in a SIM it will even ring when I phone it. I'm just wondering if I can be 100% sure everything is OK apart from the screen? Is there anything else I can check?
DannySolo said:
Thanks but I've already completed the drying. The CPU is working in there, in fact when I put in a SIM it will even ring when I phone it. I'm just wondering if I can be 100% sure everything is OK apart from the screen? Is there anything else I can check?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's dry and still malfunctioning the damage is likely to the mobo, is permanent and will be progressive. Corrosion never sleeps.
You can disassemble and check the ribbon cable pins going to the display for moisture and/or corrosion damage. The mobo power section and the BGA chipsets* (can't see the damage as the contacts are under the chip) are the most likely to be damaged.
With water exposure time is of the essence. You might save the device if you're fast enough and do the right things. Salt water is sure death.
* you sure it's dry?!! BGA chipset's don't have airflow around the pins. Any water under the chipset will also be retained by capillary action...
blackhawk said:
If it's dry and still malfunctioning the damage is likely to the mobo, is permanent and will be progressive. Corrosion never sleeps.
You can disassemble and check the ribbon cable pins going to the display for moisture and/or corrosion damage. The mobo power section and the BGA chipsets* (can't see the damage as the contacts are under the chip) are the most likely to be damaged.
With water exposure time is of the essence. You might save the device if you're fast enough and do the right things. Salt water is sure death.
* you sure it's dry?!! BGA chipset's don't have airflow around the pins. Any water under the chipset will also be retained by capillary action...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I submerged the whole thing in alcohol and then dried it at 50C for 72 hours. Everything I can test works perfectly (including ringing when called) but the screen is totally dead. I cleaned that socket but still nothing.
Is it possible the water/alcohol damaged the screen and not the motherboard? Sound unlikely but that's what they symptoms indicate.
So is it worth a bet on fixing with a $30 new screen or not do you think?
DannySolo said:
I submerged the whole thing in alcohol and then dried it at 50C for 72 hours. Everything I can test works perfectly (including ringing when called) but the screen is totally dead. I cleaned that socket but still nothing.
Is it possible the water/alcohol damaged the screen and not the motherboard? Sound unlikely but that's what they symptoms indicate.
So is it worth a bet on fixing with a $30 new screen or not do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's the mobo but you're holding it. I don't know how suspectable the the display is to water damage. Did you use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol?
blackhawk said:
I think it's the mobo but you're holding it. I don't know how suspectable the the display is to water damage. Did you use anhydrous isopropyl alcohol?
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Click to collapse
All I could find was 100% ethanol I'm afraid and only realised the FAQs saying "alcohol" were talking about isopropanol after I'd finished. Isn't ethanol also used for mobo cleaning? Maybe that destroyed the screen though.
DannySolo said:
All I could find was 100% ethanol I'm afraid and only realised the FAQs saying "alcohol" were talking about isopropanol after I'd finished. Isn't ethanol also used for mobo cleaning? Maybe that destroyed the screen though.
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Water can damage AMOLED displays as well it seems. Best to keep all solvents away from the display. Methanol alcohol should never be used.
Ethanol not sure about.
blackhawk said:
Water can damage AMOLED displays as well it seems. Best to keep all solvents away from the display. Methanol alcohol should never be used.
Ethanol not sure about.
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OK I think then I'll shoot the moon and buy a replacement screen... would be a terrible waste to throw this phone out if that's all that's wrong.
Plus we would now know that ethanol is OK for phone motherboards, plus it takes the glue off the back of a Samsung A40!
DannySolo said:
OK I think then I'll shoot the moon and buy a replacement screen... would be a terrible waste to throw this phone out if that's all that's wrong.
Plus we would now know that ethanol is OK for phone motherboards, plus it takes the glue off the back of a Samsung A40!
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Use anhydrous (preferably 96% minimum 93%) isopropyl alcohol.
I wouldn't go too nuts trying to save it due the price point and especially the fact it has known water damage. Buying a used one in good condition be a viable option if you really like that model.
blackhawk said:
Use anhydrous (preferably 96% minimum 93%) isopropyl alcohol.
I wouldn't go too nuts trying to save it due the price point and especially the fact it has known water damage. Buying a used one in good condition be a viable option if you really like that model.
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I've just notices that with this model there is a pretty hefty flex between the top and bottoms boards with a connector on each end. This must also carry screen data so I'll give that a good clean out.
Second hand AMOLEDs are impossible to find for the A40, they all have horrible burn in.
I'm going to get the INCELL LCD version already in a new front frame and go from there. Should still be a decent back up phone.
And the fun of fixing it is what it's all about anyway, right? :-D
You grossly underestimate the corrosion process that's likely been initiated. I'm not so optimistic about it ever being reliable again.
I can understand corrosion while the phone is wet... not after it's been soaked in alcohol and completely dried. The process doesn't continue.
I'm going to guess it's the screen only that's broken as I see no other issues... I bought a cheap LCD replacement already in a new frame for $30.
Let's see how it goes.
DannySolo said:
I can understand corrosion while the phone is wet... not after it's been soaked in alcohol and completely dried. The process doesn't continue.
I'm going to guess it's the screen only that's broken as I see no other issues... I bought a cheap LCD replacement already in a new frame for $30.
Let's see how it goes.
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Yes, yes it does. Most don't understand how insidious it is. The oxides formed are insoluble in water and alcohols. Many are hygroscopic and attract moisture, then you know what happens...
This is the same reason you never buy a flood damaged car. Even if everything is working it will start to fail sure as the sun rises in the morning.
Sometimes if you pull the battery before the flooding it can be saved... sometimes. Always check for signs of water damage when buying a vehicle. EV's just burn to the ground when water damaged
Energized circuits greatly exacerbate and accelerate the corrosion process. You see the results. The future is uncertain for that phone but it will likely eventually fail from that one prolonged exposure.
DannySolo said:
I can understand corrosion while the phone is wet... not after it's been soaked in alcohol and completely dried. The process doesn't continue.
I'm going to guess it's the screen only that's broken as I see no other issues... I bought a cheap LCD replacement already in a new frame for $30.
Let's see how it goes.
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tell results
OK so the new screen eventually arrived and I turned on the phone then plugged in the new screen... nothing. But I guess you have to plug in the screen and then turn it on, but that seems to be impossible with the A40 where you need to attach the middle frame for to use power/volume, and that blocks the screen connector.
Is there some way to bridge those little spring contacts on the PCB to reproduce a power on signal? Otherwise I'll just have to do the whole replacement process and see what happens at the end!
Just as well there's holidays coming.
DannySolo said:
OK so the new screen eventually arrived and I turned on the phone then plugged in the new screen... nothing. But I guess you have to plug in the screen and then turn it on, but that seems to be impossible with the A40 where you need to attach the middle frame for to use power/volume, and that blocks the screen connector.
Is there some way to bridge those little spring contacts on the PCB to reproduce a power on signal? Otherwise I'll just have to do the whole replacement process and see what happens at the end!
Just as well there's holidays coming.
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i do not know, sorry, never opened my a40, still using it right now