Would reward hundreds of dollars to fix this problem: On a trip to Cost Rica I swam in a salt water bay for about 10 minutes with the S20+ in my pocket. It's IP68 so no problem, right? Wrong.
- Got out of the water, looked at the phone, it was in reboot mode (standard Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G boot screen ) but then booted normally. I thought - strange but looks ok.
- Minutes later it went into a reboot loop, the usual initial standard boot screen, then the short "Samsung" only screen, then black, then repeats.
- I rinsed the phone in fresh water and blew it out, thinking the salt may have gotten on charge port contacts. No luck, the reboot loop continued many times until it finally rebooted in to Safe Mode on its own.
- I tried restarting hoping to get out of safe mode, but it went back into boot loop and eventually back into Safe Mode.
- I used the phone successfully for several hours in Safe Mode (normal function but without 3rd party apps) until it crashed to the Custom OS blue screen. The volume buttons that would allow install of custom os or restart do nothing.
- Have never gotten away from the blue screen since then. The power button, if held down for ~15 seconds will cause the phone to go black and then immediately back to the blue screen.
- Brought the phone into a fixit store, they pulled the phone apart looking for water damage, found none, said they tested the battery charging and it works normally (so no damage to charge port), tested the volume switches and they worked, so ruling out switch damage from the water.
- Asked another hacker and he said the only thing he could try to do is reflash the device with Odin but all of my data would be wiped.
So I'm in perpetual blue-screen mode. I don't see how the rom would be corrupted from the water even if there was a short across a component and Samsung must have considered this in its IP68 design, right?
Unfortunately, I had two apps on the phone with important data that was not backed up so I'm preying that someone has a theory for what's going on. I would go to great effort/expense to recover the data even if the device is a loss.
Thanks!!
It's toast.
You should have powered it down and pulled the battery immediately. Flush with lots of RO water then flush with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol, remove as much alcohol as possible then allow to dry in a war/hot dry room with a fan on it for a few days.
Even then it likely will not survive. You could try that now by the odds aren't good. Maybe it run long enough to get the data.
A data recovery service could remove the SOC and probably recover it for around $800.
Thanks for the reply! I don't care about the phone, just the data. Do you know of a service that could pull the data?
This is the second Samsung IP68 that died with minor exposure to water. The rating is worthless. But interesting that the fixit shop found no internal water or corrosion. Can't understand the failure mechanism.
mundavian said:
Thanks for the reply! I don't care about the phone, just the data. Do you know of a service that could pull the data?
This is the second Samsung IP68 that died with minor exposure to water. The rating is worthless. But interesting that the fixit shop found no internal water or corrosion. Can't understand the failure mechanism.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a thread that had that info but finding it is almost impossible. The chip needs to be hot aired off and put in a test socket. They're recovery services that do this.
Regardless of the ip rating always assume it's not waterproof. Only one thin seal needs to fail.
Use a zip lock freezer bag or two if on water.
Around salt or brine water exposure must zero.
IP 68 is nice more for the dust protection...
Related
Hello
I just purchased a GSM Galaxy Nexus From Google last monday. Got it on wednesday the first thing i did was put a screen Protector on it before booting the phone up.(ArmorSuit MilitaryShield) The phone work great on Thursday no issues what so ever. Then i Friday i went to the gym. Kept the thing in my pocket and wiped my hands before touching anything on the phone. (Waiting for otterbox to arrive)
I as soon as i get out i notice Condensation in the front camera. I soon as i received a text my phone hung up and reboot itself. After loading again to the home screen it hung up again as soon as text pop up again. I after 8 tries i final was frustrated. Took the SIM card out and swipe to the right with my finger to try to see if i could unlock it to the home screen.
I was finally able to get into the phone and turn on airplane mode before it hung up again. After i did that i Sut down phone and put the SIM card back in. Repeated the the same steps. As i turn airplane mode off the phone hung up again! (Seems everyone in the mother had to text me at that moment) I was able to make two phone call's before it lock up, but i couldn't hear them and they couldn't hear me. Called 611 then i was able to hear at&t computer but sound like the speaker was dieing. Then the phone lock up and reboot itself.
So i go into the boot loader. The phone was functioning perfected in the boot loader. Play with it for about 10mins. No hangs up. I found that weird. So i reboot the phone was able to get myself into the Factory reset. After that i did a hard factory reset.
So i call Google and they sent me over to Samsung. Samsung wants to do a replacement. I don't mind doing that i just don't like the fact they need a CC number just in case they have to Charge if the phone was abuseded which it wasn't. Baby the hell out of it. They asking me if the phone came into any touch with liquid. The the only thing i could think of was the solution the screen Protector Company sent. I didn't spray the solution directly on the phone but the direction told me to spray couple of sprays on the side of the SP that was going on the screen. (2 Sprays).
The Samsung rep told me the systoms don't sound like water damage. So after getting off the phone (About 1 hr) i notice the condensation was disappearing from the lens. So i took a quick blow dryer to it for about 30 secs. Turn the phone back on and everything been rock solid (Expect for wifi cutting in and out for some reason) for about 2 days.
So tomorrow Samsung fiance department will be calling me for my CC info. My question do you think i should send it in ? Do you think they will find water damage? Was this water damage ? Does the GSM galaxy nexus have Water Sticker ? I'm not able to find one. (Every where i googled no one had a direct answer)
I'm not trying to rip Samsung off i just don't want this to happen down the road again. If it was water damage ill just deal with it i guess.
I wonder if i don't open the new phone tey send me and just use my old 3gs in till i hear back from them... will i be able to send the Replacement phone back if it was water damage ? Just pay the shipping costs? First time dealing with something like this
What do you think i should do ?
Thank you for any input.
Sorry for the wall of text.
Just Notice i posted this in the wrong section My bad ill ask for mod to move it.
Look at the water contact indicator under the battery and see if it is red. A wet apply screen protector should not have caused this, but be careful to not let water get in the speaker and crevices when applying. In the future if your phone does come in contact with water or condensation remove the battery and sim Immediately and place in dry rice for 24 hours, do not try to power it on. Many others are reporting wifi instability, check the threads for solutions.
WiredPirate said:
Look at the water contact indicator under the battery and see if it is red. A wet apply screen protector should not have caused this, but be careful to not let water get in the speaker and crevices when applying. In the future if your phone does come in contact with water or condensation remove the battery and sim Immediately and place in dry rice for 24 hours, do not try to power it on. Many others are reporting wifi instability, check the threads for solutions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edited.
Looks like your good to me, I don't see any red.
WiredPirate said:
Looks like your good to me, I don't see any red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think Samsung will find anything ? Sorry for all the questions. The lens on the front camera was white. Is there stickers inside the phone where the CPU is
I heard there was like 3 water indicators in the phone.
That I couldn't tell you, I've never taken the phone apart so I would only be guessing. You might could find out by looking for a "tear down" of the phone, there should be several online if you do a Google search. Is the phone continuing to function well for you? Besides the wifi?
Yeah its been running great. Just got off the phone with Samsung. I think i just keep this phone. I don't want to pay for repair cost's. If the phone dies in month then i guess it was water damage. I hope there's no corrosion on PCB. I would love to take it apart but i don't want to void the warranty to check. Is there warranty Sticker in there ?
The wifi thing might be my fault. My laptop does that sometimes too. I'm just freaking out. I love the phone. I don't want it too die. Just ran a CPU stability test for about 15mins. No errors the battery was at 42c temp. Went ahead and sut the phone down. Going to wait 15 mins then turn it back on.
Yesterday morning my girlfriend knocked over a cup of water off of my bedstand and after wiping up the mess we went back to sleep. I woke up and realized my phone was drenched as a result of this happening, as it was charging in a spot I usually don't put it. I fumble around with it and realize it's messed up pretty bad, though not black screen.
Fast forward to doing the rice treatment and using an un-harmed battery without the pink water damage indicator, all seems good. Phone turns on, runs full speed, plays sound, camera works, data works, etc. This is running task's AOKP.
I use it throughout the next day and then I notice my mobile connection drop completely. This isn't like 1 bar, it's like the triangle logo empty as in no service. Flipping between airplane mode doesn't seem to help like it normally does. Sporadically I'd get a bar with 3G or something.
Then, I flashed the new version of AOKP and upon reboot my phone's data is still not working and the network connection is always dead as well. But, there is also noticeable lag. Pressing the app drawer takes 3 seconds to load and I see the animation in very slow motion. Using a countdown app, it is literally noticeable that seconds are taking substantially longer than they should.
ODIN to complete stock and the lag is still there. Data is in and out. Also if I let the phone sleep, it sometimes either turns off or freezes, I need to take the battery out to boot it again. Basically, something is up - and it's making no sense. My phone is working in slow motion with no mobile data/network after drying out water damage, and flashing new ROM's or ODIN to stock didn't fix anything. I checked APN's, I checked kernel speeds (when it was still on AOKP, right now stock), I checked mobile data on and off, nothing is working. On the off chance I do get lucky and have data + network, I try to make a call and both of them vanish.
I don't think I'll get any help bringing this to ATT cause the indicator on the phone itself is pink, so does anybody here have any ideas on what the heck to do? Being that the issues persist whether I'm rooted or not, custom rom or stock, I believe it's a hardware issue - right?
Yep. Most likely. A trip to repair will most likely be required.
The most common error is trying the phone out after it gets wet.
Best to do is immediately take out the battery, and use the rice, desiccant, blow dryer, whatever method right then.
After a few days of sitting in the rice or silica gel packs (in a sealed bag) THEN try powering it up.
Those first seconds of powered up state with the moisture present are the most damaging.
The best thing to do when a phone gets wet is to immediately disassemble it and clean everything with a high grade isopropyl alcohol. That will get all the moisture out and remobe any corrosion on the boards. I would still take it apart if I were you and let it dry completely for about a day. It may bring it back to life. There may be some water hanging in the antenna wire plug or in the radio itself. Watch some youtube videos on the the disassembly and go slow.
I took my oneplus 3 for a brief swim. I blame new fatherhood. It inhaled a lot of water. I turned it off, dried it, and put it in rice for a couple days. Soon after turning it off, it started getting hot. I'm guessing something important is dead. I'd like to go through the process of fixing it. I have to replace the rear camera which stopped focusing anyway.
Here's where I'm at now.
1. The battery charges.
2. The screen works.
3. It boots up in developer mode or whatever the volume button down + power is.
4. Phone won't boot into OS.
My plan from this point forward:
1. Open up phone and inspect.
2. Clean components.
3. Test with pc and go through unbrick guide.
4. Order and replace broken parts.
Questions:
1. Is there a diagnostic I could run to figure out what is broken?
2. If I'm replacing something major, would it be fairly straightforward and worth the effort to replace the internal components with 3T components?
3. Anything else I should keep in mind or any thoughts on what is likely wrong with the phone?
I guess by letting it dry and then turn it on again you killed something in your phone.
Water has always a bit salt and minerals in it and once the phone these minerals are still left and can cause various short circuits.
I know its too late now, but what you should have done is turning the phone down after the accident and then wash it out with destilled water to wash out the minerals and after that let it dry.
For example blackboxes of crashed planes are left in a box with salty water and then it gets replaced more and more with destilled water.
I'd recommend you to visit a phone fixing shop. Finding the problem by yourself will be pretty tricky without the right tools.
MarcTremonti said:
I guess by letting it dry and then turn it on again you killed something in your phone.
Water has always a bit salt and minerals in it and once the phone these minerals are still left and can cause various short circuits.
I know its too late now, but what you should have done is turning the phone down after the accident and then wash it out with destilled water to wash out the minerals and after that let it dry.
For example blackboxes of crashed planes are left in a box with salty water and then it gets replaced more and more with destilled water.
I'd recommend you to visit a phone fixing shop. Finding the problem by yourself will be pretty tricky without the right tools.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That makes sense. My suspicion is still that the damage occurred prior to turning the phone off, as the off phone kept heating up as if something was causing a massive battery drain. This will be helpful next time. Ugh, next time. There better not be a next time.
As I've yet to start taking the phone apart, I'm still pretty determined to troubleshoot it myself as much as I can. So any other suggestions people have would be appreciated. I've been quite unimpressed with the techs around here...
Hello people of the internet and most likely LG G3 users. Yesterday my LG G3 D855 died right when I was about to watch some good hentai. I’ve been having screen flickering for ages in the YouTube app and as of late the screen also started to fade to black from the corners, random reboots were also quite common. Android became unresponsive for a couple of seconds and then the screen when completely black in a split second. Tried a lot of things after that: removed the battery countless times, changed with an old battery, charged it for hours at the time (battery wouldn’t get hot so no charging), connected to my desktop. No Android, no TWRP, no bootloader, nothing could make my G3 do anything. I was convinced it became a paperweight. After that I proceeded to disassemble the phone. Disconnected all the ribbon cables of the cameras and the display etc and put them back in firmly. That did do anything. HOWEVER I remembered when I was wasting time reading toxic XDA comments and stuff that someone mentioned baking the device to restore connections between the motherboard and the SOC, or something like that. So I did some research and even though something as stupid as putting it in the oven actually seem to work for people. Mum wouldn’t let me put it in the oven so I made my own way of resurrecting my G3. This is what I did to get it back working:
I’M NOT RESPONSIBLE IN ANY WAY IF THIS GOES WRONG AFTER TRYING THIS. IT IS 100% YOUR CHOICE TO DO THIS OR NOT.
Requirements:
DISSEMBLING
LG G3
Screwdriver small enough to remove the G3 screws
Plastic prying tool (old credit card, solid thin plastic will do also)
Good light source
REVIVING PROCESS
Hair Dryer that can get a fair bit hot
The grill of an oven
Stopwatch
A floor that can withstand heat
A place that can be ventilated in case of toxic fumes (nothing happened for me)
Safety goggles (I didn’t have and so didn’t use)
Electrical fire extinguisher (I didn’t have and so didn’t use)
STEPS FOR MAKING AN UNDEAD PHONE:
1. Remove battery, SIM card, SD card.
2. Proceed to disassembling the phone to the state where you only have the motherboard. I used these guides:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/LG+G3+D855+Teardown/42288
And
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNymIdIXTyI
3. Place the oven grill on a surface that can withstand heat and then gently place your LG G3 motherboard on it.
4. The heating process:
1.
Turn on the hair dryer and start to focus the heat on the part of the motherboard that is facing towards you when you take it out. So not the part where you see the SOC. See image. Hold the hair dryer close to the motherboard (5 cm space or so) and do this for 10 minutes.
2.
Let it cool down for 5 minutes and turn it around.
3.
Proceed to heat the SOC for 15 minutes and let it cool down fully for a minimum of 15 minutes.
4.
But it back together, hope that luck is on you side and that it will turn on.
NOTE: First boot went all the way till android boot screen when it crashed with screen flicker. I removed the battery and waited a minute or two and tried it again and it has been working ever since yesterday night. This is probably not a long-term solution so I’d suggest just using this to get your data off you phone and moving on to another device as fast a possible.
EDIT: Like I said before use this method only if you find putting it in the oven is to risky. My phone has now stopped working. This really is a temporary fix for if you just want to backup you remaining data.
i have used G3 for last 3 years and its was still good phone in market ..ok to the point
i have 3 G3 and one i bought for experiments and i put in Oven and guess what it show some sparks and burn from botton pat of the board so dont ut in oven it can burn and ic on board .. heating through hair dyer is safe i think for noobs... thanks
I am having an issue with my Galaxy watch SM-R800, it was working perfectly a week ago and it suddenly turned off. When I press the power button it shows the splash screen with the text Galaxy watch for a few second and then turns off, I have tried rebooting and this has resulted in the same thing. I have also tried to factory reset the watch and the same problem occurred, flashing the rom resulted in the same. I have also tried to let it charge the entire night and when loading up wireless download option it showed that the battery is full also when placed on the charger the screen turns on showing that the watch is charging it shows the percentage and then it turns off again. I do have to note that when in fastboot mode or when in wireless download the watch runs normally without turning off. I have not been able to find anyone with this same issue so far and even the ones with similar issues didn't want to offer any help. If you guys have any ideas or solutions please let me know.
Mar4e said:
I am having an issue with my Galaxy watch SM-R800, it was working perfectly a week ago and it suddenly turned off. When I press the power button it shows the splash screen with the text Galaxy watch for a few second and then turns off, I have tried rebooting and this has resulted in the same thing. I have also tried to factory reset the watch and the same problem occurred, flashing the rom resulted in the same. I have also tried to let it charge the entire night and when loading up wireless download option it showed that the battery is full also when placed on the charger the screen turns on showing that the watch is charging it shows the percentage and then it turns off again. I do have to note that when in fastboot mode or when in wireless download the watch runs normally without turning off. I have not been able to find anyone with this same issue so far and even the ones with similar issues didn't want to offer any help. If you guys have any ideas or solutions please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Galaxy watch 46mm is also in the same case and I also do everything to start the watch, nothing to do: flash (the bypass menu works well, the connection by wifi is established no problem), wash, change the charger, it started only once for 10 min, and it came back in the dark .... Is there a solution ????
Is there anyone who can help us and thank you
After three days on the doc "without power", I washed it with soap and dried it with a dryer, after two hours I reset it under recovery mode, hop the beast starts... I'm impatient if it holds up or if it comes back to the dead screen.
After 10 hours of operation, it fell asleep with the black screen "dead"... so it's not a success. thank you samsung for sucking our money for a gadget that loves its charging support without being able to wake up..... after a day, two, three or maybe eternity... Decision, I'm going to change the manufacturer either Huawei for battery life or apple for design.
After 18 days, I tried all the resuscitation procedures, none of them succeeded in making the "beast" watch starting, so I decided to wash it, I immersed it in a cup: warm water + vinegar for 15 min and a "hot" drying with dryer for 5 min and another "cold" drying of 3-5 min, the beast finally started...
It is under test ...
Has there been any more progress made on this issue lately?
I have an SM-R800 46mm with the same issue. Everything works fine in Download and Wireless Download modes. Recovery mode does nothing other than switching off the watch.
The watch turns off after the first logo is displayed so i know the watch is working.
I can also flash multiple firmwares via Wifi (AP mode) and these all complete and pass ok using NetOdin.
The battery has been fully charged and then completely drained to 0% over a 2 day period, then fully charged again. I have even tried turning on the watch while on the charge dock, but no dice.
To me it looks like there is some sort of issue with the boot loader that is not completing initialisation to proceed to the next part and complete the boot process. - Is there anyway of enabling a log trail on the watch, or would this need debug mode to be switched on (Which is impossible if the watch does not boot)
My wife has an SM-R815 that shows the initial Samsung logo, then a smaller Samsung logo, then the watch face. I have not messed with her watch as it is fully working and I don't want to break it.
What would Samsung do to the watch if it was sent to them for a paid for fix other than re-flash it? Do they have magical firmware or would they just replace the internals with a working board?
Looking inside the back case, there does not look to be anything damaged with the circuit board, and the battery does not seem to have expanded.
I am also dubious about the solution to immerse in water and vinegar ans would probably try Isopropyl Alcohol instead?
It is frustrating that this watch is only 3 years old and now unusable.
Allready tried Combination Firmware?
To check if something is dead or half dead...
Best Regards
adfree said:
Allready tried Combination Firmware?
To check if something is dead or half dead...
Best Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I tried the combination firmware, but it still would not boot. At weekend I tried to downgrade to a lower Tizen version and something bad happened and now the watch only shows a flashing yellow screen I have ordered a usb cable to try and re-flash using Odin instead of Net Odin, but the cable won't be delivered until Wednesday 19th Jan. Will update here if I get any success.
leking said:
After 18 days, I tried all the resuscitation procedures, none of them succeeded in making the "beast" watch starting, so I decided to wash it, I immersed it in a cup: warm water + vinegar for 15 min and a "hot" drying with dryer for 5 min and another "cold" drying of 3-5 min, the beast finally started...
It is under test ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After 5 months (October 16-March 16) the watch works without problem, and that, after its shower with: warm water and a small amount of vinegar followed by drying with a hair dryer and a hard reset.
FINALLY, I BELIEVE IT'S A PHYSICAL SOLUTION
dvdfilmbuff said:
Has there been any more progress made on this issue lately?
I have an SM-R800 46mm with the same issue. Everything works fine in Download and Wireless Download modes. Recovery mode does nothing other than switching off the watch.
The watch turns off after the first logo is displayed so i know the watch is working.
I can also flash multiple firmwares via Wifi (AP mode) and these all complete and pass ok using NetOdin.
The battery has been fully charged and then completely drained to 0% over a 2 day period, then fully charged again. I have even tried turning on the watch while on the charge dock, but no dice.
To me it looks like there is some sort of issue with the boot loader that is not completing initialisation to proceed to the next part and complete the boot process. - Is there anyway of enabling a log trail on the watch, or would this need debug mode to be switched on (Which is impossible if the watch does not boot)
My wife has an SM-R815 that shows the initial Samsung logo, then a smaller Samsung logo, then the watch face. I have not messed with her watch as it is fully working and I don't want to break it.
What would Samsung do to the watch if it was sent to them for a paid for fix other than re-flash it? Do they have magical firmware or would they just replace the internals with a working board?
Looking inside the back case, there does not look to be anything damaged with the circuit board, and the battery does not seem to have expanded.
I am also dubious about the solution to immerse in water and vinegar ans would probably try Isopropyl Alcohol instead?
It is frustrating that this watch is only 3 years old and now unusable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am also dubious about the solution to immerse in water and vinegar ans would probably try Isopropyl Alcohol instead?
===================================================================
I confirm that this is the right solution "for me it worked" and you have nothing to lose...
Take my advice that I posted last October 16 2021 "so far the watch is working wonderfully".
I got same issue trying this Ludacris idea but didn't do nothing
I got the same issue today. when it first happened I was able to reset it and after an hour same issue. Hope someone by now has been able to find a solution for this.
I can confirm I have resolved the issue with my watch using contact spray to clean the internals. Water resistance is probably no longer working as i had to open the watch, however it now works great, 1 month so far with no crashing or boot issues.
Mar4e said:
I can confirm I have resolved the issue with my watch using contact spray to clean the internals. Water resistance is probably no longer working as i had to open the watch, however it now works great, 1 month so far with no crashing or boot issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when the problem started, was it due to being in contact with water? mine started when I started working out with it and got drenched in sweat.
daniel.b said:
when the problem started, was it due to being in contact with water? mine started when I started working out with it and got drenched in sweat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes first time it happened i was washing my hands. After that it would do that at random, i tried flashing every ROM but the issue wasn't resolved. I would only get it to work by disassembling it apart and reassembling it and sometimes applying pressure light pressure to the sensors would get it to work for a few days. After i cleaned it with the contact spray i started working perfectly even when in touch with water. If you plan on using contact spray i would advise you not to spray around the battery contacts or the battery itself and wait for about 5 minutes to make sure all the spray has evaporated and there is no residue before reassembling and powering on the watch
Mar4e said:
Yes first time it happened i was washing my hands. After that it would do that at random, i tried flashing every ROM but the issue wasn't resolved. I would only get it to work by disassembling it apart and reassembling it and sometimes applying pressure light pressure to the sensors would get it to work for a few days. After i cleaned it with the contact spray i started working perfectly even when in touch with water. If you plan on using contact spray i would advise you not to spray around the battery contacts or the battery itself and wait for about 5 minutes to make sure all the spray has evaporated and there is no residue before reassembling and powering on the watch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got mine to work. I just used a different charger and cable but still used the original charging dock. Thank you for the great info though. I guess my problem was the charger all along and not software or water damage.