How To Fix A Phone That Fell In Salt Water

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Other Dropped phone in saltwater Mar 13, 2017

1. Engztroms , Mar 13, 2017 :

   Hey guys, about 50 h ago i dropped my phone in saltwater for about 3 seconds. I turned it off and did put it in rice, but now it wont turn on. The only sign of life is the LED in the right corner which lights up. I did just took the whole phone apart and will try to clean it from as much salt *** possible using alcohol. I mean, as a last attempt , if you dont have any better idea?. Now I'm wondering what you guys think I should try to clean first? And which parts should I not clean at all? (Parts that couldn't possibly be broken or parts that would by 100% get destroyed). All answer and ideas are welcome, thank you very much!

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2. sfomin , Mar 13, 2017 :

   salt water is a killer. the phone might be toast.

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3. Engztroms , Mar 13, 2017 :

   I know but this is my last chance to bring it back to life

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4. dinjesk , Mar 13, 2017 :

   salt water can lead to corrosion
   since you didn't put it in alcohol right away and waited for 50h, i think your phone is @!$#%

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5. sfomin , Mar 13, 2017 :

   wiping it from all of the salt wont help i would think (if its dry and in solid form). 3 seconds is enough to kill the phone.

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6. Engztroms , Mar 13, 2017 :

   So theres nothing to do, I mean nothing can make it worse?:/

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7. sfomin , Mar 13, 2017 :

   well, putting it back in salt water will definitely make it even worse

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8. Kirakichi , Mar 13, 2017 :

   OP3/3T has a sealed battery, you must disassemble battery as fast as possible to avoid damage because even if u turn off phone, there is still electric flowing through motherboard. Else, how would a phone self turn off/turn on/start while clicking the power button? its always there, but not used.

   Even if you tear apart the phone, you must make sure to get rid of the affected areas, spilling alcohol, rubbing gently and letting it dry for 2 days to make sure its completely dry from water and/or alcohol? even tho alcohol vaporates really quickly? because 1 mistake, and phone will fry to death, better wait a bit more than being sorry right away, right?)

   Anyway, most likely that phone is gone! good luck.

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   Praty_28 and Mrnico93 like this.

9. Engztroms , Mar 13, 2017 :

   I think it wont make it worse since it won't start right now either

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10. Engztroms , Mar 13, 2017 :

    Thank you, so which parts am I supposed to clean? Should I just clean the connectors or the whole phone? Thank you again for the answer

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11. Engztroms , Mar 13, 2017 :

    Please, someone else with a couple of suggestions?:/

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12. illuminarias , Mar 13, 2017 :

    disassemble it, wipe everything with rubbing alcohol, reassemble.

    honestly it's easier to just rma it if you can.

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13. Engztroms , Mar 13, 2017 :

    So there's no part that absolutely can't resist the alcohol?

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14. Kirakichi , Mar 13, 2017 :

    Im not skilled nor have any experience in this section, but simply wiping the motherboard should be enough, because thats (i guess) where it is short circuiting.

    You shall use pure alcohol, intended for these stuff, but you mentioned it is already done (somewhat) so use any alcohol you have and try your luck, a miracle might happen, i dont know, but try it!

    Motherboard! clean this part its the heart of the phone!

    Pure alcohol, gently brush with a soth toothbrush and let it dry completely, as an extra benefit after reassembling it (but battery not connected) let it be in a bag of rice for 3 days, then pick it up and tear it down, place in the battery and try power it up.

    Since the phone doesnt start, try it, what worse could happen? i hope it works (which i don't believe but never give up on hope!)

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15. Kirakichi , Mar 13, 2017 :

    They will replace motherboard, it costs ~150$ or 200$ and will also say for an AMOLED panel replacement, maybe 50$? tax, shipping etc summing up maybe 200-250$? quite expensive.

    RMA is scary, especially when it fails and it gets parts replaced, they dont do long-run tests, so what if phone behaves wierd after 3 days? thats what im scared of, going through endless RMA.

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16. illuminarias , Mar 13, 2017 :

    I understand that RMA might be annoying. However, what happens if it's only the motherboard that's dead, but because of all the self-fix you're doing, you ruin other things?

    I approach this situation like this :
    - Do I know what I'm doing ?
    - Is it more cost effective to fix it myself or to RMA it?
    - If I choose to fix it myself, what are the chances of me making it worse than it already is?

    At the end of the day, it is up to OP (not the company, but the thread starter) to decide what he thinks is necessary. I personally think that if he has no experience tearing phones apart and fixing it, it's better to just RMA it. Unless he's willing to take the risk, then go ahead.

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17. Engztroms , Mar 14, 2017 :

    Okey, thank you for your suggestions, I will let you guys know the result in a couple of days!

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18. Engztroms , Mar 14, 2017 :

    We are talking about a one and a half year old oneplus x so I won't rma. I hope oneplus 4 is water resistace instead

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19. illuminarias , Mar 14, 2017 :

    That's understandable. all the best!

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20. Engztroms , Mar 22, 2017 :

    Hey, I've forgotten to tell you, it didn't work. I cleaned the motherboard and did let it dry for a couple of days. The led does still work which means the motherboard gets power. Could it be the battery or the power button? Is it any way to test those out?

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How To Fix A Phone That Fell In Salt Water

Source: https://forums.oneplus.com/threads/dropped-phone-in-saltwater.505581/

Posted by: nelsontherip.blogspot.com

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