Galaxy S3 water damage

[jeevz87]

So I went into the ocean with my S3 unknowingly in my pocket. It got insanely wet so I put it in rice for a few days. Now it won't come on. When I plug it in and hold power, it occasionally shows the red LED light and then vibrates (does this once or twice) but the screen won't come on. Am I screwed?

 

[B. Diddy]

You might be out of luck. If you can find a bunch of those "do not eat" desiccant packets that come with various items you buy, try sealing your phone in with them in a ziploc bag for another few days. And make sure the back cover and battery are removed while you're drying the phone.

 

[wschlitz]

You might be out of luck

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[keyzlife]

The salt in it probably isn't good either. Try to disassemble it if you can and clean it out and dry as much as possible.

sent from my T-Mobile Galaxy S?4 with Tapatalk 4

 

[GSDer]

Sounds like the battery is dead. Have you tried charging it? Given what's already happened you probably can't damage it any more than it already is, so you may as well try charging it.
If you could borrow another battery that might be worth a shot.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jeevz87]

Yeah, I left it on charge for ages. It only does this when it's charging. I can see the water under the screen, think it's done.

 

[Hewe Wongx3_DERP]

Go to ur Company, See what they say.You might get a replacement

Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

[GTWalling]

Here is a good read for trying to recover from Water damage.
Electronics Water Damage - iFixit

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Sorry to say it, but it's toast. Salt water is about the worst thing there is for electronics, other than melting in a fire. It's probably not even usable for parts any more.

 

[freakee1]

The biggest problem with Salt water and DC Voltage is "electrolysis", you will find any connection in the phone and the majority of the gold connections on the motherboard "Stew" until the battery dies.

I would say the watermarks are gone, and you will find you have no warranty. The easiest thing would be to remove the battery and have a good look at the connections, any green corosion or "burnt" connections and if you are feeling adventurous - take the back cover and expose the motherboard & check to see if the damage is evident

If there is no damage anywhere, pull the motherboard out and wash it in Alcohol and let it dry, put it back together and try a new battery

I'm more inclined to say its stuffed

goodluck


f

 

[Bryan Lucas]

I made a similar boneheaded mistake last week. I hopped in the hot tub for 5 minutes before I remembered my four-month-old AT&T Galaxy S3 was in my pocket.

When I noticed, I imediately hopped out, pulled the battery and dried it off as well as I could. I patted every opening and button with a paper towel until it stoped getting damp. Then, I put it in rice for a couple of hours.

Initially the screen powered up with a purple hue and one horizontal pink line 1/3 of the way up the display. A few hours later it lit up perfectly with the SAMSUNG launch screen, followed by the Galaxy S III / Cyanogen Droid launch screen, but never got farther. It did give a vibration as it usually does on boot.

The next day, it would fire the camera flash when I inserted the battery and would light up the indicator LED blue when the volume down was pressed. The LED was faint to light red when trying to boot, but no screen response. I pulled out the motherboard and wiped everything down with cotton balls of rubbing alcohol to remove residue from the water, but it was hard to tell if it was chlorine or just the thermal paste off the processor/heat sink contacts.

For the last 5 days it hasn't been doing anything other than the red and blue LED and the vibrations. I've tried leaving it to charge, and it gets warm behind the SIM and SD slots where the CPU and such are.

It's been in a bag of rice for 8 days and I don't see any improvements. I've considered rinsing the non display components in some distilled water or alcohol to "wash" it out per iFixit.

Any further suggestions?

 

[jeevz87]

Much like mine, I think it is toast.

 

[GSDer]

Then, I put it in rice for a couple of hours.

This was your second mistake - impatience with the drying out process - it should have been a couple of days to have any real chance to work.
Suggestions? Get a Galaxy S4 Active.

Sent from my rooted, debloated, deodexed Sinclair ZX-80 running CM -0.001 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bryan Lucas]

It's now giving the indications of turning on but without sound or screen, just vibrations and soft buttons lit up. I tried to connect to my computer to see if I could at least salvage a little data, no dice.

Buying a $600+ phone isn't an option. I currently have $100 available and this was my upgrade. It's going to be a couple of months before I can buy a used replacement. I'm thinking of going Nexus 4.

 

[xjames]

My wife dropped her new phone into a sink of water, by mistake. Read these threads and wasn't too positive. Only thing no salt, no chlorine, so there was hope. Put in a bag of rice and then put it in the sun. And after 3 days of this, tried the phone and it works. The advantage of putting it in the sun is when the phone heats up, moisture evaporates, the rice will then absorb, w/o the cycling of heat/cold the moisture won't have the propensity to evaporate and leave whatever surface it is on and go into the rice. Hope this helps others.....