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View Full Version : Cell phone repair, water damage ?



mips
May 21st, 2007, 04:16 PM
I took my new Samsung SGH-X820 jetskiing the other day and I don't think it enjoyed it.

After the phone got wet I removed the battery & sim and placed it in the sun. That night when I got home I dissasembled it and gave it a alcohol bath followed by 2-3 sessions with a hair dryer.

The phone comes on but I get no signal and the charging circuitry does not want to work right now although it worked after the dip & dry.

I know most people would say bin it but I would like to try and fix it rather. Does anyone have any ideas ???

ComplexNumber
May 21st, 2007, 04:29 PM
most insurance companies won't insure for water damage, unfortunately. usually its a goner if it suffers water damage. personally, i would have done as you have done and taken out the battery and sim card and disassembled as many removable parts as is possible, then immediately dried all parts with a hairdryer, then left it out in the sun or near(but not too near) a radiator.
immediate action is vital because corrosion can set in quickly.
leave a few days before putting all parts together and using the phone again, and hope for the best.

Spr0k3t
May 21st, 2007, 04:40 PM
Having done phone repair for a bit, check to see if there is a litmus paper in the battery bay. If there is, make sure it's not pink. Last time I worked on Samsung phones, the litmus paper is in the battery. If yours is the same, buy a used cheap free of water damage battery and take the phone in for service. Don't mention anything about water, just state it refuses to charge and it will not locate a signal. If you have insurance on the phone, they will then replace it. Also, most cellular services will offer to cover lost phones at a service cost... you can use this method to get a cheap working phone until you figure out your samsung.

mips
May 21st, 2007, 04:41 PM
most insurance companies won't insure for water damage, unfortunately. usually its a goner if it suffers water damage. personally, i would have done as you have done and taken out the battery and sim card and disassembled as many removable parts as is possible, then immediately dried all parts with a hairdryer, then left it out in the sun or near(but not too near) a radiator.
immediate action is vital because corrosion can set in quickly.
leave a few days before putting all parts together and using the phone again, and hope for the best.

I don't even have insurance, if I had i would have just "lost" it.

It's been three weeks since the incident so I suppose there is no hope...

jdong
May 21st, 2007, 04:44 PM
Ouch that sucks :(

Yeah, complex electronics and water typically don't mix well. And speaking from experience, unless you have that insurance plan from your provider, they are usually EXTREMELY adamant and unforgiving. The best you can try to negotiate for is a new phone at activation discounted price (they'll probably try to shove the normal price on you, which might be close to DOUBLE the pricetag you see at the store)

Best of luck, man.

mips
May 21st, 2007, 04:53 PM
Having done phone repair for a bit, check to see if there is a litmus paper in the battery bay. If there is, make sure it's not pink. Last time I worked on Samsung phones, the litmus paper is in the battery. If yours is the same, buy a used cheap free of water damage battery and take the phone in for service. Don't mention anything about water, just state it refuses to charge and it will not locate a signal. If you have insurance on the phone, they will then replace it. Also, most cellular services will offer to cover lost phones at a service cost... you can use this method to get a cheap working phone until you figure out your samsung.

Weird thing is the paper never changed colour, it is still white. I found two of those white paper dots inside the phone. Both are still white but that does not help me as I have no insurance.

tcpip4lyfe
May 21st, 2007, 10:51 PM
If your phone is GSM (IE has a sim) you can get a phone for pretty cheap on ebay. Usually the cheaper ones are locked though so you'll have to do some research on unlocking. I used to unlock phones at a cell phone place all the time and usually its really easy, especially on the older nokias. An unlcoked phone means you can just pop in your sim and you're good to go.

ComplexNumber
May 21st, 2007, 11:28 PM
If your phone is GSM (IE has a sim) you can get a phone for pretty cheap on ebay. Usually the cheaper ones are locked though so you'll have to do some research on unlocking. I used to unlock phones at a cell phone place all the time and usually its really easy, especially on the older nokias. An unlcoked phone means you can just pop in your sim and you're good to go.
i personally wouldn't recommend buying phones off of ebay. there are many people who have had no problem with this, but there are an awful lot of sharks on ebay selling phones that are blocked in their own country, and hence, useless.

%hMa@?b<C
May 21st, 2007, 11:39 PM
try to soak it in DISTILLED water then let it dry in teh sun. that may help.