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Water Damage Help

Hey guys, whatsup? Anyway, first post here on the forums, but I've been hangin' around here since sometime last year when I got my first aria. Just recently I got an HTC Inspire. Everythings been going great the last few months with it, rooted and running Android Revolution nosense... until today.
I was out fishing when I got a phone call. When I went to hang up I dropped my phone into about 2 inches of water on the side of the pond. I picked it up after about 4-5 frantic seconds of getting out of my chair and going down the bank to get it. I immediately removed the battery and let it dry out. I came home about and hour later and the phone was completely dry looking so I decided I would try it out and hope for the best. Put the battery in and turned it on and... Vibrated 3 times and the LED was flashing red. Took the battery back out and put the phone and battery in a bag of rice. I have used the little rice "trick" on a past phone and worked out for me fine.
Now to sum my story up,
Dropped Phone in water
Removed Battery Immediately
Put battery back in hour later
Powered up
Vibrated 3 times and flashing red led
Removed battery and put in rice
So my question, what does the vibrations and led mean? Is my phone FUBAR? I have the att insurance so I'm covered on water damage. Trying to avoid the deductible.
Any Help is greatly appreciated.

rj 420x said:
Hey guys, whatsup? Anyway, first post here on the forums, but I've been hangin' around here since sometime last year when I got my first aria. Just recently I got an HTC Inspire. Everythings been going great the last few months with it, rooted and running Android Revolution nosense... until today.
I was out fishing when I got a phone call. When I went to hang up I dropped my phone into about 2 inches of water on the side of the pond. I picked it up after about 4-5 frantic seconds of getting out of my chair and going down the bank to get it. I immediately removed the battery and let it dry out. I came home about and hour later and the phone was completely dry looking so I decided I would try it out and hope for the best. Put the battery in and turned it on and... Vibrated 3 times and the LED was flashing red. Took the battery back out and put the phone and battery in a bag of rice. I have used the little rice "trick" on a past phone and worked out for me fine.
Now to sum my story up,
Dropped Phone in water
Removed Battery Immediately
Put battery back in hour later
Powered up
Vibrated 3 times and flashing red led
Removed battery and put in rice
So my question, what does the vibrations and led mean? Is my phone FUBAR? I have the att insurance so I'm covered on water damage. Trying to avoid the deductible.
Any Help is greatly appreciated.
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Sounds like hardware failure if it vibrates 3x
Leave it in the rice for a day or two without the battery. See if it comes back a live.

Damn, that was exactly what I was hoping I wouldn't hear. Anyway thanks, I'll post back with results tomorrow.

My Inspire took a swim with me when I got pushed into a pool. As I was falling into the pool, I automatically reached in my pocket and grabbed my phone and handed it to a person on the pool deck as soon as I could. I let it dry out for many hours and it was fubar. It did the same, it vibrated and flashed a red LED. It seems like the Inspire is ultra sensative to water damage. I have heard of other inspires getting fried with little water exposure. I had insurance on it and got it replaced.
I would recommend the same for you...call the 800 number to cash in on the insurance. The insurance deductible will be $125...but that's better than paying full price for a new one, unless you are eligible for an upgrade. They will mail you a brand new phone, and you will have to ship your damaged phone back with the provided shipping materials.

cavsoldier19d said:
My Inspire took a swim with me when I got pushed into a pool. As I was falling into the pool, I automatically reached in my pocket and grabbed my phone and handed it to a person on the pool deck as soon as I could. I let it dry out for many hours and it was fubar. It did the same, it vibrated and flashed a red LED. It seems like the Inspire is ultra sensative to water damage. I have heard of other inspires getting fried with little water exposure. I had insurance on it and got it replaced.
I would recommend the same for you...call the 800 number to cash in on the insurance. The insurance deductible will be $125...but that's better than paying full price for a new one, unless you are eligible for an upgrade. They will mail you a brand new phone, and you will have to ship your damaged phone back with the provided shipping materials.
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Thats assuming he has the insurance from at&t.

good luck!!! hope the phone will live again

ATT says you have 90 days to add the insurance after purchase. Just dont tell'em its dead when ya call and add it. Then call'em a few days later to report its demise.
I have never heard of any electronic device that was "on" recovering when they hit water. If the water hits the board its over. If it had been off, the dry'n out thing would prolly work.

tweaked said:
ATT says you have 90 days to add the insurance after purchase. Just dont tell'em its dead when ya call and add it. Then call'em a few days later to report its demise.
I have never heard of any electronic device that was "on" recovering when they hit water. If the water hits the board its over. If it had been off, the dry'n out thing would prolly work.
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I believe its 30 days. Not 90

kirk123 said:
I believe its 30 days. Not 90
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You could be right. I was just there and could swear the idiot at the counter said 90 days.

30 days, don't believe the counter-monkeys. However, if you call and it's slightly over the 30 days, you can get approval; I believe I was closer to 45 days when I got mine, the rep had to get supervisor approval. I think it helped that I was calling from the very phone I wanted to add insurance to.
The only way you are going to save a phone that has been immersed long enough to wet all of the innards is to immediatly take the battery out and open the phone up to where you can expose the circuit board, then blow dry it slowly. That might not even work depending on the phone. I've save a couple of older phones that way, but not a smart phone; these are probably too difficult to open that quick anyway.
Backup to dropbox and phone insurance is your best friend when this happens.

tweaked said:
You could be right. I was just there and could swear the idiot at the counter said 90 days.
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Idiots at the counter say a lot of dumb ****. I had a coworker who told customers that the Atrix and Inspire were LTE phones, and didn't stop even after I corrected him.

SmittyRN said:
30 days, don't believe the counter-monkeys. However, if you call and it's slightly over the 30 days, you can get approval; I believe I was closer to 45 days when I got mine, the rep had to get supervisor approval. I think it helped that I was calling from the very phone I wanted to add insurance to.
The only way you are going to save a phone that has been immersed long enough to wet all of the innards is to immediatly take the battery out and open the phone up to where you can expose the circuit board, then blow dry it slowly. That might not even work depending on the phone. I've save a couple of older phones that way, but not a smart phone; these are probably too difficult to open that quick anyway.
Backup to dropbox and phone insurance is your best friend when this happens.
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I wouldn't even use a blow dryer. It can push water further into the tiny openings you can't see. Open the phone as much as possible, and let it sit in uncooked white rice in a warm area. Windowsill works well for that, and keep the top on the container open so any water can evaporate out. Most phones I'd recommend a full 24 hours in rice, this phone I'd be more inclined to say 48+ hours in water to be sure.
There aren't many parts that will be damaged by the actual water, maybe just the screen, speaker and microphones. The damage comes from the short-circuit as the water bridges contacts. Hence why you should pull power immediately and don't even think about turning it back on until you are certain the inside is dry, and then waiting a few hours on top of that.
It's hard to wait when your phone is floating, but it can be worth it if you do it properly. I've saved phones that have gone swimming for a good 10 minutes using the rice/don't touch it method. I've also seen phones die within five minutes of a hair dryer and moderate rain.
Be careful guys, phones & water don't mix.
EDIT: 30 Days for sure on Insurance, I distinctly remember being told that in the AT&T store.

I was working in a bathroom above a toilet in the stall above the ceiling, pulled my phone out to check the time and it slipped out of my hand, hit the rim of the toilet, and it was like slow motion as I watched it to see what way it would fall, and of course it was the water side. Luckily it was a new bathroom in a commercial building with clean water. The phone was FULLY submerged for about 5 seconds before I got it out and immediately pulled the battery. Shook it out as best I could, took both covers off and put it in my work truck, Got home, sprayed it with the air hose real good, turned it on and bam-booted right up, no problems at all. I have two, the one that was submerged still works, I just don't use it. I was really pretty shocked that it still worked. The water damage sticker isn't even pink. Weird, I know. I guess mine was just sealed really well.
I would still get a new one if I were yon, cause even if you don't have problems now, chances are down the road you will

My Tilt2 fell off a counter right into my dogs water bowl. It might've been in there 5 seconds. Took it apart and set in close to the fireplace for a few hours rotating it once and a while. Turned it on and all was good.
About 6 months later I dove in a lake going after my sunglasses and realized as soon as I hit the water my phone was in my pocket. It was in the water close to half a minute. took it apart as soon as I got out and set it in the sun. When I got home I packed it in rice and set in a warm oven over night. Turned it on in the morning and again all was good.
The phone was on when it hit the water both times, albeit it was in standby.

anit77 said:
My Tilt2 feel off a counter right into my dogs water bowl. It might've been in there 5 seconds. Took it apart and set in close to the fireplace for a few hours rotating it once and a while. Turned it on and all was good.
About 6 months later I dove in a lake going after my sunglasses and realized as soon as I hit the water my phone was in my pocket. It was in the water close to half a minute. took it apart as soon as I got out and set it in the sun. When I got home I packed it in rice and set in a warm oven over night. Turned it on in the morning and again all was good.
The phone was on when it hit the water both times, albeit it was in standby.
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You must have stepped in your dogs poop cause you are very lucky your phone worked after all that. lol

Don't forget the fact that if you add insurance by calling ATT they place a call to your phone to make sure its in working order to add the insurance...
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Post Water Damage Recovery, Now Bricked

excuse me for the very long title. I being the brilliant human being that i am went into a pool on the day of our independence with my beautiful HOX in my pocket. i sat there for about 5 min, totally sober mind you, then realized what an ass i was. i immediately went inside, shut it off and placed in rice. the next day i turn it on to see if it works and indeed it does. The only visible problem was water under the screen though the screen worked fine. i turned it back off and put it back in rice so as to give the rice ample time to perform its magic. 3 days later i check again and it still works. i decided to switch back to the HOX and things were great. 2 days later however it would randomly shut off and take AT LEAST 30 min before it would turn back on. at the end of the day i took out the sim and threw it back in rice. the next day it wouldnt turn on and thats the way its been ever since. no light when charging ether. ive left it in rice for the past 3 weeks checking every once in awhile but to no avail.
so i know that water damage is the culprit as is my stupidity however im asking to see if there is anything that anyone can think of that might revive my phone? perhaps a batter replacement? or screen replacement? or find out what i shorted? ive taken it apart a little but have held back out of fear of being unable to put back together my already broken phone lol
any help is appreciated. Thank You

No resolution likely
sdonn said:
excuse me for the very long title. I being the brilliant human being that i am went into a pool on the day of our independence with my beautiful HOX in my pocket. i sat there for about 5 min, totally sober mind you, then realized what an ass i was. i immediately went inside, shut it off and placed in rice. the next day i turn it on to see if it works and indeed it does. The only visible problem was water under the screen though the screen worked fine. i turned it back off and put it back in rice so as to give the rice ample time to perform its magic. 3 days later i check again and it still works. i decided to switch back to the HOX and things were great. 2 days later however it would randomly shut off and take AT LEAST 30 min before it would turn back on. at the end of the day i took out the sim and threw it back in rice. the next day it wouldnt turn on and thats the way its been ever since. no light when charging ether. ive left it in rice for the past 3 weeks checking every once in awhile but to no avail.
so i know that water damage is the culprit as is my stupidity however im asking to see if there is anything that anyone can think of that might revive my phone? perhaps a batter replacement? or screen replacement? or find out what i shorted? ive taken it apart a little but have held back out of fear of being unable to put back together my already broken phone lol
any help is appreciated. Thank You
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Sorry about you phone. Being an electronic technician, I would say you unfortunately made a fatal mistake by turning the phone on before it was totally dry inside. Almost anything on the circuit boards inside could have shorted or partially shorted while wet. I don't think anyone could guess as to what component is bad now without swapping in known good parts. It might have been damaged considerably before you got the chance to turn it off after the soaking, and there's nothing you could have done after that point, although it seemed to OK for a short time. I'm sorry that I can't recommend any further remedies.

dmech1 said:
Sorry about you phone. Being an electronic technician, I would say you unfortunately made a fatal mistake by turning the phone on before it was totally dry inside. Almost anything on the circuit boards inside could have shorted or partially shorted while wet. I don't think anyone could guess as to what component is bad now without swapping in known good parts. It might have been damaged considerably before you got the chance to turn it off after the soaking, and there's nothing you could have done after that point, although it seemed to OK for a short time. I'm sorry that I can't recommend any further remedies.
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alright i assumed as much but thank you for the help. i feel like i can finally let go off my HOX

Take it apart and sell for parts. The digitalizer probably works fine.
Sent from my sexy white HTC One X on T-Mobile

You really have to take it apart before putting it in the rice. These things are sealed up pretty good these days.
Might just be the battery. If water got in the pack, it would behave as you described from internal shorting.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

Open it
At this point, you have nothing to lose by opening it up and drying it out for a week or 2. At least you'll get out any remaining moisture. You may just get lucky.

Also if there is corrosion, use 99% alcohol to remove it.
Sent from my One XL

[Q] Did I actually manage to kill my phone, or is there still hope?

The issues started about 4 weeks ago when I fell in a lake with my MyTouch 4g in my pocket. The issue was that I hadn't realized that it had gotten drenched until about an hour later as I was trying to chase my daughters runaway puppy through the neighborhood at the time and she wouldn't stop for anything.
Needless to say, by the time I got home and realized what happened, my phone wouldn't unlock and the camera flash on the LED was in a permanent on state. I immediately pulled the battery, SIM card and SD card and put the phone and battery in a bag of rice (a trick I had read about here). I waited for a week and attempted to power the phone back on, but again the flash led came on and the phone did nothing.
Thinking it a lost cause I switched back to my oldest phone (an old Motorola Cliq XT) and rooted it so I at least had CM 7.2 on it, though it is so slow that I am yearning for my MyTouch back again so I can actually do things like use Reddit and surf the net on my phone again (I was without my actual computer for months at one point so I got in the habit of using my phone for about 90% of my surfing and whatnot).
The other day, however, I had a bright idea while bored at work. When I got home I attempted to turn my MyTouch back on, and to my surprise, it came to life! I quickly switched out the SIM and SD cards and flashed CM 7 onto it and tried to boot it up. To my joy it seemed to work, at first, however as soon as it went to sleep, the screen would not turn back on. It lights up, but there is no image, the touch screen works and the OS seems to be working since I can feel the tactile feedback when I unlock the phone. I was hoping that someone could tell me if I had actually killed my phone dead enough that it is beyond hope or not? If I have actually killed it I was wondering if anyone had advice for me on where I could pick up a replacement for cheap?
I already tried asking /r/android the other night and the only suggestion they had was to make the dog pay for a new phone. Amusing as that may be, she doesn't currently hold a job and thus has no way to compensate me for the damage.
Any and all advice is appreciated, thanks!

If you stalk Ebay you might find one with a cracked screen that still functions for cheap or something like that ,that will allow you to use a part from your phone to make it whole.. providing you know how to replace the screen or basic repairs,that is what i have done 4 times over the past 2 years..
Good Luck!!If you look long enough and bid right you can get one for a fair price ,I bought my last one for 20 dollars and replaced the screen after dropping it in my foyer and worked like a charm you just need to be careful opening it.I hope this helps as far as providing a potential solution to ur problem.again Good Luck!!

Sorry, you probably did. Phones can barely take a couple minutes of water, yours took a swim. Usually the rice is the only way to get it dry, if that didn't work....

Your screen could be damaged though. Your best bet would be to order a good phone at a pretty reasonable price off contract on sites like ebay or swappa, or if you're eligible for an upgrade, go for it.

Motorola Cliq XT? That was my first smart phone, can't say I miss it much lol. Of money is super tight I say get an optimus T and sell that pos. The optimus actually ran cm7 pottery l pretty well for having a 600 mghtz processor
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda premium

Moisture detected in usb - unable to charge

This was an apparent issue on s7 based on Google search.
I am getting this error message on a s8+ that has never seen water. It's been like this for about a week.
Kinda strange for a phone touted as waterproof.
Correct me if wrong but samsung warranty is voided on water damage?
Anyway to reset this?
Anyone with thoughts?
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I don't think it implies you have water damage. The warning is to prevent you from trying to charge if the port is wet after being exposed to water. You may just have a faulty port.

My first s7 did this and eventually would not charge anymore , and had to get a replacement
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

It will wireless charge still.
Normally shows up fire a bit after the phone gets wet. Once it does it will go away.
I've gotten my phone wet all works great.
If you truly haven't gotten the phone wet or take it back because it might have an issue.

If the phone has nevee been wet then there is a problem.
Now if you live In the area where the humidity is high.
The that can trigger it also.

OMG the same thing is happening to my phone I've only had it for about 30 to 40 days-and like yours never seen water and it's giving me that moisture warning it has to be something wrong with these phones they need to give us our money back or replace them

Same thing just popped up on mine. I've had this phone for a week. Granted it's a really humid and rainy day here but this phone hasn't seen a drop of moisture.
Sent from my SM-G955U1 using XDA Free mobile app

Try giving the connector/port a wipe with some isopropyl/rubbing alcohol. This should clear the error.

so I have had this issue for about 2 weeks. the first time....it wouldn't charge. so I waited 3 hours and it still wouldn't charge. I turned my phone off and turned it back on and it worked fine. couple of days later it did the same thing....and then again. then yesterday....it restarted my phone at least 10 times and it was still saying moisture detected. MY PHONE HAS NEVER GOTTEN WET!! I googled and ever since the last mandatory update....alot of ppl are having this issue. so today....again...I can't charge my phone. i called tmobile and they are replacing my phone. i checked the little card inside the SIM card slot and it does NOT show water damage so it is a SYSTEM ISSUE!!! come on samsung!!! first the NOTE 7 issue....now this?! so tomorrow I'm getting a brand new phone being sent to the store and lets see what happens with this cause now I can only use my wireless charger which takes HOURS to fully charge my phone!!!!

Samsung has a hard rule, no repairs for water damage ever. I had to jump through hoops to get a brand new note fixed even after they agreed to fix it, the repair facility tried to not do it, more time in the phone with customer service. Samsung will go out of their way to deny warranty work and make you tell every higher person in the customer service chain your entire story over and over again. Terrible customer service unless you have a lot of patience and a lot of time to sit on hold.

mandyed66 said:
so I have had this issue for about 2 weeks. the first time....it wouldn't charge. so I waited 3 hours and it still wouldn't charge. I turned my phone off and turned it back on and it worked fine. couple of days later it did the same thing....and then again. then yesterday....it restarted my phone at least 10 times and it was still saying moisture detected. MY PHONE HAS NEVER GOTTEN WET!! I googled and ever since the last mandatory update....alot of ppl are having this issue. so today....again...I can't charge my phone. i called tmobile and they are replacing my phone. i checked the little card inside the SIM card slot and it does NOT show water damage so it is a SYSTEM ISSUE!!! come on samsung!!! first the NOTE 7 issue....now this?! so tomorrow I'm getting a brand new phone being sent to the store and lets see what happens with this cause now I can only use my wireless charger which takes HOURS to fully charge my phone!!!!
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I've had issue with this as well but it's disappeared for the last few weeks not sure why......

Is there any chance that sand could cause the moisture alert? I had the same issue for an entire day, the phone did not get wet, but I live in a very sandy area and figured a grain of sand had triggered the alert. Just curious..

All you need ti do to fix this is plug in the cable then quickly restart phone without taking the charger out and when it comes back on seeconds later its fine

I've also had this problem for the past couple of days. Have had the alert before (phone has never been wet, but I used to live in a humid environment and mostly happened when my finger had been sitting over the connector). Then yesterday it stopped charging - very convenient not having a working phone while moving house and starting a new job /s.
I don't think hacks like rebooting while plugged in are an OK solution; I've never been unable to charge any phone during regular use before!
Reading around the net, Samsung has obviously pushed an update that has either increased the sensitivity of the cut-off, or just has a bug. Perhaps in response to issues with wet phones shorting and causing damage, and want to push warranty claims as user error or damage.
I've had an S3, S4, S6 and now S8; between this and Bixby hijacking my phone and constantly pushing updates to itself my next handset might be a Pixel.

Stifler87 said:
All you need ti do to fix this is plug in the cable then quickly restart phone without taking the charger out and when it comes back on seeconds later its fine
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This worked for me. Thanks! Going to call T-Mo tomorrow though to get it replaced.

I'm having this issue with my Note 8 that is less than 2 months in use, Samsung is collecting it for repair on Friday and it will 7 to 10 days, phone have Not been exposed to moisture and won't work in the DeX station either, there is clearly a problem with charging ports on several different Samsung devices, fingers crossed it will come back fixed up OK with no more hassle

j_hansen said:
I'm having this issue with my Note 8 that is less than 2 months in use, Samsung is collecting it for repair on Friday and it will 7 to 10 days, phone have Not been exposed to moisture and won't work in the DeX station either, there is clearly a problem with charging ports on several different Samsung devices, fingers crossed it will come back fixed up OK with no more hassle
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Could be an app causing it or multiple other things as mine just suddenly stopped doing it after an update a long while back.
Another thing was I have it a good rinse and then let it dry my phone on a stand so any water would move down and out.

I've been down all avenues including deleting apps and booting into safe mode that disables 3rd party apps, couple of factory resets and few hard resets from recovery and also have a problem with phone not detecting my brand new DeX, this digs deeper than I want to deal with now so Samsung can fix it since I did nothing wrong, I look after my phones really well, this is my first note to have a problem so I'll give Samsung the chance to put it right without me having a husdyr fit

So long S7 Edge, so long Samsung

Early last month, the phone went to the familiar black screen and wouldn't start. Based on past experiences, I let it run over night until the battery finished and then went to recovery and wiped cache. But the operation lasted close to one hour without any progress, so I restarted it. Still it wouldn't start, and I tried again to get to recovery mode, but this time there was no recovery mode. So it needed to be re-flashed, I thus thought, just as it did twice during the past year.
I was/am a long-term world traveller, and luckily I was in a city then. So I spent some efforts and found a repair shop and had the guy flash it. He seemed to have completed the flash but before I could fully login I got the black screen again on the spot. There was nothing we could do to get out of the black screen but to let the battery drain. So I paid him for the flash and went back to my apartment, and again let it run over night to drain the battery. The next morning when the battery was finished and I charged it up to about 30%, then I tried to start. But it only went to the Samsung logo without going forward. The recovery mode was back though, so I could switch it off. I was going to another city that day so I didn't have any chance to go back to the repair shop.
So about 10 days later when I reached another big city, I found another repair shop to get it flashed again. When I got there he did a couple normal starts, but when he was trying to go to recovery, the screen went to black again. So I had to take it back to my apartment waiting for the next morning.
The next morning I found an official Samsung repair centre in the city. So I went and left the phone there to get checked/fixed. The day after, I called and was told that it had problems in the main board. To replace it would cost about the same as buying a new phone.
Well that was very upsetting. I was/am not in the country where I bought the phone, so no warranty could I rely on.
The only thing I could try was to see if someone would buy it. So I went to a couple shops with the phone under black screen. One place offered me about $200 just for the screen. Well the phone costed me $600 just one year ago and it had been given excellent care throughout. Now just $200? But for a dead phone that sounded fine for me.
I bought it new. I never tempered it, nor had I given it heavy tasks. It was just to aide my travel: photos, maps, hotel booking, browsing the internet, and so on.
Had it been a good phone for me? I would say that the only thing I liked was the camera. Very good under low light.
But the GPS had been very slow. At times I had to wait for a minute to get my location under open sky.
The compass on the map was also very indecisive. Often times I got the opposite direction. So often I had to do the famous swing dance on the street to get it correctly.
The first big problem I had was the dark bands on the screen in about three months I got it. Samsung said the screen had to be replaced. But I was travelling in another country so no warranty would cover the replacement. I had to live with it. But luckily, after about a week, the screen came back normal.
Then after I got the long-awaited firmware upgrade it refused to start twice. I had to get it flashed. Imagine how much trouble that was for a world traveler. I couldn't flash it myself because I don't have a Windows computer!
Did I like the edge, or rather the no-edge? I probably would if I were an asura. But you see I need to hold a phone by hands. It just gave endless mistouches, and worries that it would slip off. A joke indeed for me.
Then the finger prints! All over the screen and the back. It just looked so dirty! Just as you would believe the phone is good at finger prints, the sensor was simply not very effective. Many times, enough failures required me to wait for a minute before retry.
The battery life was just so-so. It hardly lasted a day without me having to refrain from ordinary usage. So some would argue that it's got fast charging. But what can you do when you are outing for the whole day and relying on the GPS to go back? Ye, battery banks?
The WiFi reception was very poor. Often times when other phones worked well with WiFi, this phone complained about it. What was going on?
And the speed? Well it was not too slow, but for a top-of-the-line phone, it was just crawling. I never used it to play any games, but the response of launching and handling any app was simply not fast enough. Blame it on the multitudes of bloatware? I don't know.
And the random freeze and reboots? Although it did not happen as often as on a crappy phone, it happened quite a few times in the year.
And the renowned black screen of death, with or without the blue light on. Very scary. It happened also quite a few times. Initially it was worry and sleepless research. But then it made me an expert on how to deal with it.
And the long time or never for system or security updates?
So all in all, for my need of a reliable phone for serious use, I am happy it passed away.

Ok.

You were unlucky and got a defective one. I had to go to Sammy for having the same Black screen and constant freezes. They replaced the board with a New one that was made in march this year. The phone has been perfect ever since. I get usually almost 2 days of battery from it and flawless speed.
What i learned is that a low percentage of People that bought the phone in the day one had defective boards were the soc had problems.
But i get your frustration about the problems you had. I had the same toughts but decided to take a chance in trying to get it repaired.

Really bad luck on defective phone and/or most likely from the first batch... all the phones got a lot of those at first.
On the side note, why the phone is not under warranty if you didn't root it? Isn't the warranty 2 years and shouldn't they repair it charge free?

I don't mean to sound rude. But someone paid 200 dollars for a phone which you say was defective. He did this not for the screen but because 100% this was a software issue and not hardware. If you spent all the effort going to 2 repair shops you could have spent half the time flashing your carriers firmware from Sam mobile or even a custom rom on your own.
Im not trying to be rude but the S7E is an extremely powerful tool. There aren't any moving parts. The phone was fixable.