I'm fairly tech savvy in regards to PC's but im not too familiar with phones. My grandma handed me her S7, its stuck in a bootlop, keeps turning on and off. I put maybe 2-3 hrs of troubleshooting into this, I managed (somehow) to do a system restore with Odin and finding the correct firmware and I also did a system update. Problem remains. Not sure what to do from this point forward. Im assuming it's hardware related although Im afraid to tinker with the battery because I don't exactly know what to do. For whatever reason the phone works somewhat normally ONLY when it has a full charge.
i'd be inclined towards thinking the battery is dying or faulty if it works ok when it's fully charged.
what would be worth doing would be to completely flatten the battery, then leave it switched off and charging for a LONG time, say overnight, ideally with the original charger and cable, or at least a high quality, branded charger and cable.
In the morning, unplug it, switch it back on, and if it doesn't say 100%, plug it in again and leave it until it does say 100%. see if it behaves any differently.
if not, the hardest part of replacing the battery is getting the glass back off the thing. your first try at it, you will likely crack the glass whatever technique you use, replacement glass isn't expensive on ebay. watch a few youtube videos of people removing the glass to get the idea.
once the glass is off, you just need a screwdriver to get inside it, and a plastic spudger to disconnect the battery connector from the board.
the battery is glued to the screen assembly, some guides say to soften the glue with heat. i prefer to drip some isopropyl alcohol along the top of the battery, then let it spread behind it. that should make the glue lose its stick, and the battery should come away easily enough with a plastic spudger.
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I may have possibly water damaged my Captivate last night. It was in my pocket when water spilled on my lap, and I didn't immediately take it out. Very stupid of me. The USB port was open so I'm thinking liquid may have gotten into there... Also, there were water beads on the inside of the camera lens.
My recourse was to take it apart and try to let it dry out. Initially it wouldn't do anything upon being plugged in to the charger, so naturally I thought it was bricked. I've let it sit all day on a dry window sill next to the radiator. After putting the battery back in and plugging it in a little bit ago, the phone surprisingly booted up. Here's where I'm at now:
The phone boots normally, however if I plug it in to the charger I get an error stating Battery Temperature too high or something, so charging is paused. Does anybody know what this indicates?
Secondly, after being on for a minute or so, the screen gets screwy. Dark transparent overlays start flashing over everything and it gets unresponsive... I haven't left it on like this long b/c I was afraid something worse would happen - I usually rip the battery out of the back to shut it off.
My phones currently pulled apart and drying in the window sill. Whatever water got on/in it is not visibly there, however I understand some parts might still be wet.
Any advice? Also, I believe the water indicator on the battery and near the pins where the battery dock in the phone are both fine. They're white squares and haven't changed color. Any chance there are other indicators?
The phone isn't insured and I bought it back in August. Would warranty possibly cover this or will they know about the water damage?
jmusso said:
I may have possibly water damaged my Captivate last night. It was in my pocket when water spilled on my lap, and I didn't immediately take it out. Very stupid of me. The USB port was open so I'm thinking liquid may have gotten into there... Also, there were water beads on the inside of the camera lens.
My recourse was to take it apart and try to let it dry out. Initially it wouldn't do anything upon being plugged in to the charger, so naturally I thought it was bricked. I've let it sit all day on a dry window sill next to the radiator. After putting the battery back in and plugging it in a little bit ago, the phone surprisingly booted up. Here's where I'm at now:
The phone boots normally, however if I plug it in to the charger I get an error stating Battery Temperature too high or something, so charging is paused. Does anybody know what this indicates?
Secondly, after being on for a minute or so, the screen gets screwy. Dark transparent overlays start flashing over everything and it gets unresponsive... I haven't left it on like this long b/c I was afraid something worse would happen - I usually rip the battery out of the back to shut it off.
My phones currently pulled apart and drying in the window sill. Whatever water got on/in it is not visibly there, however I understand some parts might still be wet.
Any advice? Also, I believe the water indicator on the battery and near the pins where the battery dock in the phone are both fine. They're white squares and haven't changed color. Any chance there are other indicators?
The phone isn't insured and I bought it back in August. Would warranty possibly cover this or will they know about the water damage?
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Click to collapse
well you want to put in rice, so that the moisture is gone
rice it for sure. but warranty WILL not cover it UNLESS the tabs on the battery and phone are white (It might not have gotten wet if it was in your pocket)
if they are still white, or if your phone is white and battery red (then buy another battery) and get to the store and tell them you don't know what is wrong with it. The only indication that it is water damaged is if it is red and those tags are notoriously faulty so you could always argue your way through it if you have an account in good standing.
best of luck.
I know someone who "claimed' that insurance was supposed to be added to the phone when he got it and noticed that the person didn't do it properly (the guy was new so it helped his cause) and the manager of the cor store told him that they'd do a courtesy replacement and charged him the 125$ for a new device.
you could go that route should you need too...
I don't have access to rice at the moment... Would it do any good even if I absolutely can see no water anywhere in/on the phone?
Am I doing my phone any harm/potential harm by trying to turn it on every once in a while, or should I just let it be for a few days?
Take the phone apart and focus the strongest fan you have on it over night. It's probably best to not turn it on for awhile. Maybe if you focus a blow drier on it for perhaps several hours, air will find flow through the small openings within the case.
You may not be able to dry some parts of it unless you do a complete dismantle, but that may require special tools
Consider shipping it to get repaired only as a last resort, as I've read some bad reports about that.
Rice or some other dessicant is the way to go - it will pull moisture out. Also, turning it on (even putting the battery in) is bad - you are powering circuits and possibly creating shorts where water is present. You may have already done permanent damage.
If you get electronics wet, the best course of action is to remove the battery and put it in a bag of rice for a few days.
Now that You have the phone apart get an alcohol pad and gentley scrub the main board. Sometimes when liquid touches the main board you will get a white looking residue. If you see anything like that simply wipe it off. I dropped my phone into a trash can at a very popular teriyaki restaurant here in Las Vegas my phone was submerged into a deep bath of teriyaki sauce. I quickly pulled the phone from the can and wiped it down vigorously. I was excited to see that it was initially working unfortunately this was not the case by the time I got home. The phone would not turn on for a whole week, until I decided that I was going to open her up. I found a tutorial on line describing a complete break down of the captivate. Upon opening it I found I was able to see exactly where the teriyaki had interacted with the electronics due to the remnants of an oxidized white film that was present on various parts of the main board. I grabbed a alcohol pad out of my first aid kit and began wiping it down to remove all of the white stuff,put the phone back together and to my surprise it turned on. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the info guys.
How would I go about getting to the "main board"? Taking out the battery and looking inside it only reveals where the battery connects, where the SD card and sim cards can go... I'm assuming if I remove the little screws around that fixture I can get to the "main board"?
I think I can see some minor corrosion around where the sim card connects, but I think I *should* be able to clean that with some alcohol.
The phone seems to be working fine (I've yet to put my SIM back in it, though, so no idea if the corrosion around there is affecting it at all). I just booted it up and was able to get on the web (wifi), run apps, everything just fine. Didn't get the flashy screens I mentioned earlier. However, if I plug in the USB charger, it still gives me the temperature error. I didn't keep it plugged in, however it did make me realize something:
The errors I was getting before, where the screen went all wacky, only happened if the phone was plugged in to the wall. Is it possible my battery is busted, or do you think the USB charger is busted? Remember that port was open when it happened.
Any thoughts? New battery? Or do you think I won't be able to charge the phone via USB charger any more?
jmusso said:
I don't have access to rice at the moment... Would it do any good even if I absolutely can see no water anywhere in/on the phone?
Am I doing my phone any harm/potential harm by trying to turn it on every once in a while, or should I just let it be for a few days?
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Click to collapse
yes you are, because if there is water or moisture internal, it can short circuit, also rice will help dry up the phone completely
jmusso said:
Thanks for the info guys.
How would I go about getting to the "main board"? Taking out the battery and looking inside it only reveals where the battery connects, where the SD card and sim cards can go... I'm assuming if I remove the little screws around that fixture I can get to the "main board"?
I think I can see some minor corrosion around where the sim card connects, but I think I *should* be able to clean that with some alcohol.
The phone seems to be working fine (I've yet to put my SIM back in it, though, so no idea if the corrosion around there is affecting it at all). I just booted it up and was able to get on the web (wifi), run apps, everything just fine. Didn't get the flashy screens I mentioned earlier. However, if I plug in the USB charger, it still gives me the temperature error. I didn't keep it plugged in, however it did make me realize something:
The errors I was getting before, where the screen went all wacky, only happened if the phone was plugged in to the wall. Is it possible my battery is busted, or do you think the USB charger is busted? Remember that port was open when it happened.
Any thoughts? New battery? Or do you think I won't be able to charge the phone via USB charger any more?
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Click to collapse
If you've never taken apart a smart phone before, and reading your first question, I'm going to assume that's the case, then I strongly advise you not attempt it unless you are willing to either A) buy a replacement after you break it or B) invest time/money into repairing mistakes you've made. This phone is not as difficult to disassemble as some, but I wouldn't want to break that $150 amoled screen.
No, removing the screws will not simply get you to the mainboard. It's more complicated and nuanced than that.
I'm a new user so I can't post the link but if you google Tech Republic Captivate tear down [/B]there is a website that will show you step by step how take the phone apart. There are two screws under the clip you pull down to take the back cover off. Be careful when pulling it back to expose the screws. I tugged on it pretty hard with no problems, but I imagine it could be broken if you pull too hard. Good Luck! It's actually really easy to take apart and the various ribbon connectors on the main board are really easy to unplug and plug back in after cleaning it.
So what do you guys think I should do if I'm still getting the battery error with the thermometer and yellow caution sign? Buy a new battery? Or do you think its the USB jack? Has anybody seen this before - the battery was working fine as long as it was not charging.
I'm trying to decide between a) buying a new battery, or b) buying a wall-mounted battery charger since the USB won't charge the phone.
Anybody have any experience?
Meguro2006 said:
I'm a new user so I can't post the link but if you google Tech Republic Captivate tear down [/B]there is a website that will show you step by step how take the phone apart. There are two screws under the clip you pull down to take the back cover off. Be careful when pulling it back to expose the screws. I tugged on it pretty hard with no problems, but I imagine it could be broken if you pull too hard. Good Luck! It's actually really easy to take apart and the various ribbon connectors on the main board are really easy to unplug and plug back in after cleaning it.
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I think you need to be careful about who you encourage to dissect their device. This guy asked how to get to the mainboard. Clearly, he hasn't opened a smart phone before. Telling him it's "actually really easy" is disingenuous at best. Performing smart phone repairs properly requires experience. I'm certainly not suggesting that noobs not try to fix their phones, only that they are made fully aware of the risks.
My Captivate was fully submerged in dirty water. I followed some instructions online and it's been working fine for over a month now. If your water-detection stickers are already red anyway, and rice isn't working, I recommend it:
1) Remove battery, SIM card, SD card
2) Submerge in a bowl of distilled water and gently agitate. This helps clean the insides. Distilled water (not spring water) does not conduct electricity.
3) Next, submerge in a bowl of high-quality rubbing alcohol (~95% pure) and gently agitate. Rubbing alcohol displaces water, removes corrosion, and evaporates quickly. (It's also flammable, so have good ventilation and no open flames nearby)
4) Leave it out to dry for two days or until it no longer smells of alcohol.
BTW I wouldn't dry it too close to a radiator, the heat may damage it.
jatkins09 said:
If you've never taken apart a smart phone before, and reading your first question, I'm going to assume that's the case, then I strongly advise you not attempt it unless you are willing to either A) buy a replacement after you break it or B) invest time/money into repairing mistakes you've made. This phone is not as difficult to disassemble as some, but I wouldn't want to break that $150 amoled screen.
No, removing the screws will not simply get you to the mainboard. It's more complicated and nuanced than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. Once the screws are removed..including the two hidden by the battery cover lock slider...you can carefully pry the cover apart using your fingernail to get to the the internals. I have done it several times and am no expert by any means. Just don't yank like you are opening a present on Christmas morning.
Although I am mystified by the op stating they have no access to rice?! That should always be the second thing one does after a moisture incident...right after pulling the battery and sim. I guess in this case a trip to the store with a couple bucks may have pushed that to step three though..
sent from my captivate disguised as an i9000 running cyanogen
Sometime today my wife spilled a bit water on the keyboard, she said it began typing random things and when she shut the laptop it wouldn't turn back on, what could have gone wrong, and what can I do, keep in mind I cannot afford to take in for repairs at this moment so I'm curious if once it dries it will be fine or if I have to replace the keyboard
Did she turn it on while it was still wet? If so, that wasn't good. Water can short something if it's powered on when it happens.
Unfortunately, my experience is that it's rarely the keyboard that is damaged, but rather the motherboard...which is neither cheap nor easy to fix/replace.
I'd suggest removing the battery and letting it dry completely before trying again. You can actually put it in your oven at 100-120F (don't go higher!) for 15 minutes or so to speed up drying time and ensure that it's actually dry. Do NOT go higher than 120F (and, really, I'd strongly suggest just 100F)...you WILL melt plastic pieces. Ask me how I know
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Wrong forum
<sigh>
I'm usually not the type to open devices up, I'm always afraid of breaking things, I'm more of a software hacking kinda guy. So I took the back plate off my Nexus 5 in order to get exact measurements of the location of the metal dots on the inside, so I could rig up a magnetic wireless charger for the car (as is described in one of the other threads here).
I never even got far enough to start buying magnets and what-not, after putting the backplate back on and powering up the phone again, I no longer can charge wirelessly "normally". If I push down on the phone so it gets just that extra millimeter closer to the charging pad, voila, it starts charging again. If I remove my hand (let the phone sit normally on the pad), charging stops.
I took the back plate off a couple more times since then to try and figure out what is going on here, I did make sure to have the phone powered off each time, and I also unplugged/replugged in the battery just to see if that might help, but nothing. It still keeps doing this.
Anyone else ever experience this? Any ideas to fix it? There's not much to the innards after taking the backplate off that can be screwed up, so I'm kind of at a loss at what is causing this..
*edit* No cases involved, its a stock phone, not rooted, no mods, no nothing, basic nexus 5 32gb out of the box. Wireless charging worked flawlessly before removal of backplate, now it requires extra pressure pushing down on the phone after removal of the backplate.
Thanks!
-Chris
Original battery.
Stock 5.01 (still) rooted.
The battery is fully charged.
LG logo, AT&T logo (and sound) then reboot. Repeat.
Just under a year ago, I bought 2 new batteries with external charger (Power Bear) because I felt the original battery was not lasting as long as it had previously. The new batteries seemed to deliver about the same time as the original so since then I've been rotating the three- charging using the external charger exclusively.
Around six months ago, I noticed that when the battery would reached to about 6,7 or 8%, I would be at risk for a "spontaneous" reboot, then a boot loop as described above. (this can occur w/the new batts too)
I quickly determined it was time to swap the battery and that's it.
In the past two months, THAT behavior has began to sometimes manifest itself with between 15-19% battery life. I thought, 'OK. Move on, the battery gauge is probably not accurately reflecting what's really left in the battery any longer.'
NOW, the original battery, though fully charged, is causing the circular reboot upon being inserted.
Can a battery "go bad" in this type of manner? Without really exhibiting significant "performance loss" (read: usage time)?
I'm thinking the orig battery can no longer deliver the proper current, or something like that.
To be clear, the other two batts work fine.
Anyone ever heard anything like this?
*edit:
An interesting piece of info: If I leave the phone plugged in to the charger, it DOES boot up fine and stay up. The second I PULL OUT THE PLUG, it reboots, and so on....
Yes it’s very very common. And is usually a battery issue. When it comes to the G3 anyway
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Did you ever figure it out? If it's not a battery issue maybe it's an LG motherboard issue, like everyone else who's had their G3 close to 4 years. In that case, do what I do, stick the LG G3 motherboard ONLY into the OVEN and BAKE it for 10 mins @ 360 degrees. Believe it or not, baking solves many of the problems, not charging, boot-loop, not turn on, blue screen, freeze ups, etc. I have 2 LG G3's, 1 AT&T and 1 TMobile, that I do this with. I can go weeks without having to bake them again but then sometimes when I'm driving and need my phone the most, it dies, won't even turn on. So it's not a permanent cure because it'll happen again, no doubt, the question is, how long...I laughed when someone said oh, just bake the motherboard. Well, come to find out the type of solder they used on the motherboard melts at a lower temperature so when it gets too hot some chips lose their connections, thus by baking it I guess it reseats the chips. Hey, it works every time after I bake it so I can't knock it.
Either way, give it a shot, it can't hurt your motherboard and if it fixes the problem, at least you'll know how to fix it and think about getting a new phone, like myself, lol. Instructions are quite simple.
1...Take back off
2...Battery out, Sim out, SD out
3...small philips head, remove 12 screws from back, the screw next to camera does not have to be removed.
4...remove both rear-housing assemblies
5...Remove motherboard by disconnecting the rear camera connector, front camera connector, lcd screen connector, and the touchscreen connector.
6...Now remove the motherboard, hold back the connectors when lifting the motherboard out. Do not bend or break the connectors.
7...Take the motherboard, piece of tinfoil or parchment paper (i prefer tinfoil), lay the tinfoil on a baking sheet/cookie sheet, and then place the motherboard on the tinfoil with
the CPU facing up. Pre-heat the oven to 360 degrees, when it beeps, put it in for 10mins. After 10 mins, pull it out, turn your oven off, let motherboard sit for 15 mins and put the phone back together. Be careful snapping the connectors back into their places.
8...Be surprised when your phone still actually works after doing something like that to it.
I actually just baked mine again last night.
Good luck.
Hi all,
I ditched my phone in water.
I disassembled the whole phone, cleaned everythign with IPA and dried it afterwards. Now I would like to check if the mainboard is still working.
I connected the battery, display and usb port to the mainboard and plugged a charger in -> no response (display black, no vibration, sound etc)
I assume that the batterie is completly dead as it discharged until it turned off.
Is this aready a clear sign for a broken mainboard or does it only boot when fully assembled? Just want to avoid to put more effort into the phone, e.g. replacing the battery etc if its already lost...
Thanks in advance!
Dry for at least 72 hours in a warm dry room with a fan on the mobo. The BGA chipsets can dry slow.
Isopropyl is hygroscopic so it's important to remember it may attract some moisture from the air while drying. Use only >92% or greater, 96% is best. Submerged the board in it for a couple minutes while moving it around.
Battery needs to be charged and good for the phone to boot.
Out of circuit the mobo especially is sensitive to ESD damage. Use your best judgment but more assembled is better than less assembled unless very familiar with the device.
Thanks for the reply! Phone is "drying" for two month now as I was already considering as "lost" after disassembling and no luck with first checks. But before getting the new 6a, I want to give it a last try Was just 7 month old when I dropped it :/
When I plugged the charger in, there was no sign of charging. So not sure if the batterie is broken or if its coming from the board, or both.
A new battery is quite expensive just for a test / to find out more is damaged.
Helikoptermann said:
Thanks for the reply! Phone is "drying" for two month now as I was already considering as "lost" after disassembling and no luck with first checks. But before getting the new 6a, I want to give it a last try Was just 7 month old when I dropped it :/
When I plugged the charger in, there was no sign of charging. So not sure if the batterie is broken or if its coming from the board, or both.
A new battery is quite expensive just for a test / to find out more is damaged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the battery sat near its auto shutdown voltage for 7 months it's DOA.
A charger likely won't supply enough current to boot.
The fact that it does nothing when connected to the charger is a bad sign.
Check for loose connectors, bent connector pins, etc.
Examine the mobo (power section especially) and connector pins closely for corrosion damaged caused by electrolysis.
Since you can't see the BGA pads if there's corrosion there...
Water exposure; power off immediately and pull the battery asap to limit damage. Salt or brine water is a death sentence though.
Anhydrous isopropyl alcohol is an excellent drying agent but it and any solvents can't be used around LCD's; it will irreversibly poison them.
LCD's are vented to atmosphere on the sides...
blackhawk said:
Water exposure; power off immediately and pull the battery asap to limit damage. Salt or brine water is a death sentence though.
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Click to collapse
Thats true, happened at work so I could do anything for the whole day and in the evening it was already dead. With some random screen on and offs during the day and "booting into fast mode" or something similar during the day.
Phone was not reacting to switch it off normally, screen was black and buttons did not react either
blackhawk said:
Anhydrous isopropyl alcohol is an excellent drying agent but it and any solvents can't be used around LCD's; it will irreversibly poison them.
LCD's are vented to atmosphere on the sides...
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Click to collapse
A thats interesting, I was already thinking that some water went inside the screen. Because I have quite some dark areas on the screen, which increased in size the first days. Looked like water got pulled in. Was hoping that when the phone gets warm again it will disappear...
blackhawk said:
The fact that it does nothing when connected to the charger is a bad sign.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, have the same feeling. Very unlucky as it was just rain water in a not perfectly closed rain jacket...
Will check the connectors and cables again but was already quite sure that they are all clean
Helikoptermann said:
Thats true, happened at work so I could do anything for the whole day and in the evening it was already dead. With some random screen on and offs during the day and "booting into fast mode" or something similar during the day.
Phone was not reacting to switch it off normally, screen was black and buttons did not react either
A thats interesting, I was already thinking that some water went inside the screen. Because I have quite some dark areas on the screen, which increased in size the first days. Looked like water got pulled in. Was hoping that when the phone gets warm again it will disappear...
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Click to collapse
That sucks. Prompt battery disconnect* can save electronics (flooded cars sometimes too).
LCDs are sort of witchy. The spot may or may not disappear over time. Have an old S4 that got sunbaked while charging. The display had multiple issues, barely usable. Thought it had fried drivers. Strangely the longer it sat unused the better it got. 3 years latter it almost 100%.
*Lol, 3 years ago I dropped my Buds case in a full cup of coffee, cream and sugar of course. It promptly sank to the bottom like a lead weight.
The Li is spot welded in. Immediately tore it apart, flushed with RO water, then with anhydrous isopropyl, allowed to dry for a day.
It's still working normally today. A drank that cup of coffee afterwards too