Galaxy Note 4 Water Damage

[AC Question]

Hello everyone. Just this past weekend I was out fishing and the compartment my phone was kept in somehow got some water in it and therefore my phone was pretty much submerged in water for a bit (in the minutes range).

I have a Galaxy Note 4.

When I noticed it had water in it, the LED was holding solid green. I took the battery out, took the phone apart, and shook as much water out as I could. When I got back home, I let it dry more and tried blowdrying it. After I was satisfied that it was dry, I put the battery in and tried powering it on. Nothing.

Then, I tried plugging in the charger while the battery was in it (I was desperate) and the green LED came on (much like when I first noticed the water damage). After a few seconds the LED turned blue and the phone made the noise as if it were turning on. Then, the LED went back green and started flashing green/yellow and made a beeping noise. When I unplug the phone from the charger, it still continues to do this cycle.

I then tried submerging it in 91% alcohol for about 10 minutes, and then I repeated the drying process and let it sit out for about 3 hours. When I tried turning it on, it did nothing. When I plugged it into the charger with the battery in, the green LED cycle repeated.

Any suggestions on what exactly is wrong and if it's fixable?

 

[srkmagnus]

You're best bet is to let it fully dry with the battery removed. People often suggests placing it in a bag of rice to allow the rice to pull the moisture out. If that doesn't work then it's likely damaged for good and can't be repaired and instead needs to be replaced.

 

[Joshua Granger]

I appreciate the input, but I don't think your answer is what I was looking for. Thanks

 

[Rukbat]

Letting it dry let the solids dissolved in the water stay in the phone (only H2O and a few volatiles evaporate). That concentrates the damage unless the phone is in 0% humidity hydrogen. Plugging the battery back in started causing damage. Charging the phone finished frying it.

(Submerging it in alcohol only dissolves the solids, letting them redeposit when the alcohol dries. You have to vigorously swish it in the alcohol to wash out all the solids and replace them with clean alcohol - at least 3 times with 3 alcohol baths - and within minutes of the phone getting wet.)

If you were in salt water, the phone was gone as soon as it got wet - everything shorted out. If you were in water you couldn't see the bottom in when it was 10 feet deep, it's almost as bad - muddy, fish-waste-laden water is almost as conductive as salt water.

Sorry, but replacing all the non-corrodable parts would cost more than buying Note 4 on Amazon.

In the future, keep the phone in plastic bags on a boat. (Read Oh, no! My Phone got Wet!.) Test the bags you're going to use first, of course, and find a brand that works. I've dropped a phone into the ocean and, while everyone was panicking and planning to jump in to try to retrieve it from the bottom (I had a 6" float tied to it), I just asked someone to hand me a long-handled net, leaned over and brought the phone back on board. A little clean water wash around the zipper part of the bag, a few pieces of paper towel, and I could have taken the phone out and had no problem. (You can use the phone while it's in the bags, and even pictures don't come out too bad if you stretch the plastic tight over the lens.)