LG G3 went swimming during Louisiana flood evac...

speeddown

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Aug 15, 2016
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So my phone went for a swim without my permission, turned out someone in the neighborhood found it in their driveway a couple days after the flooding started. They put the phone in dry rice and let it do its thing. Because of the kind soul who did this, my phone is almost completely functional. Also, it was powered on when it dove in the water.

However, the phone IS acting a bit strange. Everything seems to function fine, phone calls and messages are fine and even all the apps load up as if nothing had happened. However, there is one MAJOR issue that I'm running into.

While I am able to connect to a 3G network the mobile data rate is extremely low. I mean I'm lucky if a webpage loads at all. I turned on my mobile hotspot feature and connected my laptop to the phone's wifi and the laptop is also acting as if it has a really slow/intermittent internet connection so it's def something going on with the phone. It was not showing this behavior before the swim.

What should I check out for damage? I've opened up the phone and I can see that there is a bit of white build up on some parts but nothing outlandish or anything. I've opened the phone to the point where I have the motherboard out and can see all around inside. I've replaced the digitizer and screen without issue before.

Is there anything I can try to fix it? Is the white stuff corrosion or just some glue maybe? Where is the hardware located on the phone(the networking chip if such a chip exists) motherboard? Is there an antenna that may be screwed up?
 
Welcome to Android Central! First off, I'm so sorry about the devastation you're facing in that area. But glad to hear you're ok!

Regarding the phone, I think you'll have a tough time trying to fix it, if that's even possible. Water damage can be pretty unpredictable, and the damage that's caused is essentially irreversible. On top of that, additional damage can occur in the coming weeks or months, since corrosion that has started now can extend to other components. I would definitely try to backup as much of your data as possible, then look into getting a new phone. Good luck!