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Water Damaged Phone

I dropped my phone into the ocean about a week ago. It's been in rice since then. I just took it out and it turns on and shows my home screen and gets data and is receiving texts and stuff, however neither the touch screen nor the four android buttons work. I searched and people were suggesting soaking the phone in alcohol for this. Is your any chance that would fix my problem? Maybe it could be as simple as replacing my phone's screen? Thanks for any help.

What I would do is take the phone apart (remove the backcover, battery and unscrew the screws) locate the digitizer flex cable and blow dry it. There may be water left in the component.
Refer this this video on the disasembly.

Probably a bit late but you want to clean it with de-ionized water or Isopropyl alcohol. To be honest i would have put it in a bowl of either of those instead of rice as soon as i got home. I've personally found the rice trick to be a myth,works just the same as leaving it out to dry. Sea water contains high amounts of salt and drying it will just make the salt crystalise.You need to "Wash" the salt out and the 2 ive suggested wont leave residue on the PCB (info from my mum who is an electronics teacher)

Common electronics+liquid misconception

Everyone seems to assume that any liquid on aany electronic equiptment will damage the electronics. This is Incorrect.
To be precise, the two things that >certain< liquids do to electronics are:
1. If the electronic has any form of current going through it and a CONDUCTIVE liquid is put in contact with it, the liquid may conduct electricity from one compononent to another. The receiving side might not take kindly to this incoming current.
2. If the electronic is put into contact with a CORROSIVE liquid (ie a liquid that will react with any material that a component is made of), contacts or other electronic parts can get worn out. To elaborate, imagine the rust that water will cause on the metal parts of a motherboard.
Another common myth: water conducts electricity <- false
Distillled water, which is as close to pure h2o as anyone cares to make does NOT actually conduct electricity. Drinking wwater, tap water, sea water, pretty much every other kind (as well as most other liquids out there) have dissolved ions. Those ions in an aqueous solution are what conduct the electricity.
So to recap, the reason you take out the batt on your phone when you drop it into the pool (you do this right?) is so that you dont cook a chip or other piece of your motherboard by, for example, bridging your batteries direct current to your processor (helluvah overclock huh?)
water is fine on electronics as long as there is no power source attached and you make sure to leave no trace of water on it (use a can of air or put it into a bag of rice which will draw out the water over a week or so). Tap water will probably leave residue of dissolves ions after the water evaporates... you dont want that on your motherboard do ya?
Strictly speaking, distilled wwater on your motherboard shouldnt cause any problems (as far as i know) even with a power source attached and running. Of course this is an ideal situation and in real life, complications may arise so i wouldnt do it just for the sake of doing it.
Alcohol is often used on electronics because it evaporizes extremely quickly and leaves no trace of itself. I dont think pure alcohol conducts electricity (anyone?)
So personally, if i dropped my phone in the toilet, id pull the batt and motherboard and submerge the motherboard in pure distilled water or alcohol blow it out with compressed air and then let it dry in uncooked rice for a week.
To conclude my rambling, i have a friend who washed his motherboard with soap and water and it worked afterwards....
Why not?
Sent from a cell tower to the XDA server to you.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

Interesting... I don't think pure alcohol will conduct electricity because it's just CH3-CH2-OH, and there are no ions or other charges.
Sent from my Desire HD+

koningjim said:
Interesting... I don't think pure alcohol will conduct electricity because it's just CH3-CH2-OH, and there are no ions or other charges.
Sent from my Desire HD+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It probably wouldn't keep very long either. Pure alcohol evaporates almost instantly.

Pure water doesnt conduct electricity either. (VERY high resistance). As soon as water mixes with dust/ dirt/ anything it becomes a solution.
It seems stupid but if you drop it in salt water it is better to soak it in clean water before drying.

How to Save Your Water Damaged Phone

If you happen to drop your phone in water, immediately get it out and
power it off, then what do you do to help save your poor phone? Put it
into a bag of rice to dry it? In fact, rice won't do too much to dry
your phone. :angel:It's better to wipe the parts with a clean cloth and lay the
parts in a drafty place; however, after the parts dry what do you do
about the water damage.
Step 1, Disassemble your phone.
After the phone has been retrieved it should be wiped completely dry
to remove any extra liquid, and then you'll have to tear down your phone
so you can assess the damage. However, special tools and skills are
required to tear down a phone, and we always recommend a qualified
person to do this job.
Step 2, Check if there is any erosion or debris in the connectors/other metal contacts.
Generally speaking, there will probably be some erosion on the
connectors or residue stuck on the board. Submerge the logic board in isopropyl alcohol, and allow it to soak long enough to loosen any hardened residue, and to displace any remaining water or other liquid. Use a ESD-safe brush to remove visible corrosion and residue.
Step 3, Check whether the device is short circuited or not.
Even after phone parts have been wiped and dried, some liquid may
still be left in inside, which will result in a short circuit. First of
all, you can use a multimeter to test if the battery is bad. In most
cases batteries are one of the first things to go. So you may need to
replace the battery. If the battery works fine you'll have to check all
the parts 1 by 1 to find the short.
Step 4, Check whether the LCD screen is dead or not.
Before you install the new battery we recommend reconnecting the LCD
screen and plugging in the charger in to see if the LCD screen still
functions. If the LCD screen is dead, it must have been damaged by the
liquid and can't be fixed by hand. The only way to fix the phone would
be to replace the LCD assembly.
The problem could also be caused by damage on the mainboard, so we
recommend testing the new LCD with the board before reassembling
everything.
Step 5, Reassemble all the parts and power on the device for testing.
Small parts with metal contacts are easily damaged by water, i.e. the
ear speaker. Once you've reassembled everything you should carefully
test smaller parts like the ear speaker and camera.
<MOD Edit - Link Removed>http://www.syncios.com/android/sync-transfer-itunes-music-to-android-phone.html

One problem ...if it is saltwater it is dead!

TaureanZen said:
One problem ...if it is saltwater it is dead!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh~ it depends ..... if you rescues promptly, it won't

Phone exposed to water, camera not working anymore

Last week my Galaxy s10e were exposed to salt water, right after it I did all the procedures recommended, and the phone was working fine, only problem was the camera that wasn't working. I went to a technical support store and they opened and washed the internal parts of the phone with
ethyl alcohol, then tested the camera and it didint work. After that, they factory reset and still nothing. At last, they replaced with new cameras, and after testing, still nothing! I was told that the problem is in the motherboard, and something about the sensors malfunctioning, and the app crashes because it's an defensive action to prevent overheating (since camera uses a lot of ram).
When I open any Camera app, it says "Warning: camera error". When I try to turn the flaslight on, it says the light is being used by another app. Altough, when I opened Instagram, the selfie camera automatically opens (before and after going to support), working fine! if I invert camera it crashes the app altough. I guess that the standard "Camera" app aways opens the rear camera at start, and because of that, I only see a black screen when trying to use the app.
I would like to know if somebody knows what could I do, maybe some system option that turns off the sensors that are disabling my camera, or to let me use only the front camera without crashing apps! I'm considering custom ROMs too, but not sure if could help me with anything.

Welcome to XDA
The battery needed to be disconnected immediately.
First off RO water should have used followed by anhydrous isopropyl alcohol. Salt is readily soluble in water not as much so in ethanol.
All effected ribbon cable pulled and their connections soak in RO water and every part that the salt water touched.
Any electronic component exposed to salt water is likely toast. Salt water is insidious. If even a slight trace of it or the corrosion it caused remains the effected part will eventually fail especially switches and micro connector contacts. The mobo has conformal coating most likely which will protect it somewhat.
However all the microconnectors are at risk.
If only the cam module was exposed, replace it.
If the whole inside got it... it's likely already dead.
It's only chance is to completely purge the salt before it causes corrosion to form. Energized circuits, even just having the battery connected greatly accelerate the corrosion process... think minutes not days.
Salt water is the kiss of death to electronics...

blackhawk said:
Welcome to XDA
The battery needed to be disconnected immediately.
First off RO water should have used followed by anhydrous isopropyl alcohol. Salt is readily soluble in water not as much so in ethanol.
All effected ribbon cable pulled and their connections soak in RO water and every part that the salt water touched.
Any electronic component exposed to salt water is likely toast. Salt water is insidious. If even a slight trace of it or the corrosion it caused remains the effected part will eventually fail especially switches and micro connector contacts. The mobo has conformal coating most likely which will protect it somewhat.
However all the microconnectors are at risk.
If only the cam module was exposed, replace it.
If the whole inside got it... it's likely already dead.
It's only chance is to completely purge the salt before it causes corrosion to form. Energized circuits, even just having the battery connected greatly accelerate the corrosion process... think minutes not days.
Salt water is the kiss of death to electronics...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh I see, thanks for explaining!

TheVergs said:
Ohh I see, thanks for explaining!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. Sorry, it's not a pretty picture.
It may last a while but don't throw too much money at it. If the mobo or display fail, time to punch out.
Even with "waterproof" phones do not submerge them especially in salt water. You need a diving enclosure for that. For limited protection on boats etc use a zip lock plastic bag... they float and it gets splashed or takes a plunge it should be ok.

Changing display

My display damaged and i wanna to ask you smth guys.
How difficulty is it to change it by myself?
I watch this video "
" and i concluded its pretty easy to change it. But the only tool i dont have is the heatgun the other tools i can buy.
Tell me your opinion. Is it easy to do?

Can't tell if it's easy, but in other situations that I needed a heat gun and didn't have one, I used a hair dryer, which is way more common to have at home, or at least easier to borrow from a neighbor or something like that

Watch tear down and repair vids.
If a repair shop will let you watch them do it.
ESD, learn and understand what it is. Discreet components ie the display and mobo are very susceptible to it out of circuit.
Bare minimum protection is a bare wood surface to work on and a relative room humidity of 50% or better. A earth grounded ESD mat and wrist strap is best
Disconnect the battery as soon as possible in the disassembly process. Discharge below 40% if possible before starting.
Have all the drivers, picks, fine precision tweezers, and tools needed. Excellent light and a 2X or so optical visor be nice.
Inspect for additional damage*.
Have a set of OEM seals and now's a good time to replace the battery if it's performance has noticably dropped.
Take pictures disassembling if needed. It must be put back together exactly as it was.
Do Not over torgue screws... less is better.
Be very careful not to damage the ribbon microconnectors.
Take your time, no rush.
*any impact that can break the display or bend the frame can damage the mobo. High G loads or direct impacts can damage chipsets internally, fracture solder joints and internally damaged multilayered mobo PCB internal traces.

I did it three days ago, bc my mix 3 had contact with water.
Its kind of easy to do with a hairdryer and a small plastic tool.
The hardest part is to glue it back together.
(But I have to say my screen didn't work afterwards. The expert in the phone repair store said its maybe a problem on the motherboard)

slowmotion11 said:
I did it three days ago, bc my mix 3 had contact with water.
Its kind of easy to do with a hairdryer and a small plastic tool.
The hardest part is to glue it back together.
(But I have to say my screen didn't work afterwards. The expert in the phone repair store said its maybe a problem on the motherboard)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the battery isn't promptly removed and especially if it's not immediately powered down the current can cause corrosion and short out circuits. The power section is particularly vulnerable. Try again, inspect mobo and the ribbon connectors for signs of corrosion and moisture. Use bright light and magnification.
Is it completely dry? A good soaking with anhydrous isopropyl will help remove hidden water. Again dry completely afterwards. Getting the underside of BGA chipsets dry is imperative.
The micro connectors tend to trap moisture too.
Careful use of compressed air can be very useful but the key word here is careful. Don't stick a nozzle with 100 psi an inch or two from the mobo! Either use low pressure clean, dry air or back it up for high pressure air.
Use your best judgment... it's a bit of an art.
After you dry it as good as possible let it sit in a warm, dry room with a fan on it. Complete drying may take days without disassembly.

Thank you for the tips! I will try it like you described

The same is true with flooded cars, promptly pulling the battery can limit the damage even save the vehicle.
Be wary on flood damage vehicles for sale now, always check for water lines/marks
Most will suffer impossible electrical problems forever. Brine water always kills...