Orange Juice Damage! - XPERIA X10 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello! My uncle's Xperia X10 swum in orange juice for around 20minutes in his bag 2 weeks ago. Now he gave his phone to me so I can try to fix it. What I did was, a full teardown. I put the motherboard and all the other parts into a big bowl of dry rice. I put it in there 7 hours ago but I want to leave it in there for like 2 days more.
I tried to power it on ONCE. It vibrated and continusely shows Sony Ericsson in the middle of the screen (with low brightness level). That's the only thing it shows me.
I quickly shut it down to prevent further damage.

tuk1maar said:
Hello! My uncle's Xperia X10 swum in orange juice for around 20minutes in his bag 2 weeks ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
20 minutes eh? You could be happy, that it works somehow... I was fixing these phones after many liquids, but without immediate take from they died.
tuk1maar said:
I put the motherboard and all the other parts into a big bowl of dry rice. I put it in there 7 hours ago but I want to leave it in there for like 2 days more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bowl of rise???!!! Really weird solution, but better than nothing...
tuk1maar said:
I tried to power it on ONCE. It vibrated and continusely shows Sony Ericsson in the middle of the screen (with low brightness level). That's the only thing it shows me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, something works with it, but it doesnt load an ROM, maybe reflashing will be enough. But firtsly look very closely on motherboards BGA chips, meybe there is an shortcut on memory chip or dried juice caused somewhere little resistance where it shouldnt be.
As I do in all cases, is to buy alcohol for cleaning pcbs and use it for complete wash and clean carefully with a soft toothbrush. When finished, put board in hot place (about 80 degrees of celsius is ideal) for about an 1 hour.
After this, try reflashing - but phone will maybe start itself
tuk1maar said:
I quickly shut it down to prevent further damage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With this I agree, dont turn it on for long time, if not nessesary.

I baked the motherboard in the oven at 200 degrees Celcius for 10minutes. Then I let it cool down for 30minutes and now it does not even vibrate anymore Also shows no display. Mabey I have to wait longer?
I already reflashed the phone over 10 times. It did nothing good

tuk1maar said:
I baked the motherboard in the oven at 200 degrees Celcius for 10minutes. Then I let it cool down for 30minutes and now it does not even vibrate anymore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG, told you that ideal is about 80 degrees of Celsius. Industrialstandart capacitors can holt up to 110 degrees and 220 degrees in point when lead-free iron on contacts of all components is melting!
If you used oven for baking, you have burnt it. When drying any PCB using hot air is the must.
Sorry, i think you have completely damaged the board.

But I let it first dry in the oven for 10 minutes with the door of the oven opened up a quarter.
I saw alot youtube video's about people doing this and most of them actually succeeded. So I thought, why not give it a try.
I will leave the phone as for it is now and leave it cool down more.
I must say that my oven has also fans in there which make the air circulate more.

OK then. As told - 200 C is really over industrial standarts. Components may be durable and could live after this, some of them not.
Let the board cool down and try again e.g. after an hour.
Have you looked on the components on the board if there is any shortcut?

HeliumX10 said:
OK then. As told - 200 C is really over industrial standarts. Components may be durable and could live after this, some of them not.
Let the board cool down and try again e.g. after an hour.
Have you looked on the components on the board if there is any shortcut?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, I sure did. It looks like brand new. I did left a big sticker with the Type s/n and such on it. That sticker did shrunk down a little bit but that is not bad I think.
After a hour, should I try to bake it again?

No, now I think that its perfectly dry. So no more baking yes?
Also have you pulled all the metal covers on back side? Have you checked ZIF connectors if there is anything inside them? Check them with magnifying glass - with your own eyes you wont see anything.

HeliumX10 said:
No, now I think that its perfectly dry. So no more baking yes?
Also have you pulled all the metal covers on back side? Have you checked ZIF connectors if there is anything inside them? Check them with magnifying glass - with your own eyes you wont see anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I pulled all the metal covers on both sides. How do I know if there is something wrong with a ZIF connector? The way I see it, it looks pretty good. No weird stuff going on there. I can see all those tiny things with my eyes perfectly sharp ( I got very good eyes) but is the thing you asked even more tiny than that?

tuk1maar said:
Yes, I pulled all the metal covers on both sides. How do I know if there is something wrong with a ZIF connector? The way I see it, it looks pretty good. No weird stuff going on there. I can see all those tiny things with my eyes perfectly sharp ( I got very good eyes) but is the thing you asked even more tiny than that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont know if it is tine enough for you eyes, meant those things:
- scratches on pcb wires
- oxidation on/around SMD parts (caps, res, transistors)
- bent (!) or oxidated pins inside ZIFs and other connectors
- darker dots on pcb wires, around components.
- burned pins on e.g. transistors
- tiny cracks on ICs

HeliumX10 said:
Dont know if it is tine enough for you eyes, meant those things:
- scratches on pcb wires
- oxidation on/around SMD parts (caps, res, transistors)
- bent (!) or oxidated pins inside ZIFs and other connectors
- darker dots on pcb wires, around components.
- burned pins on e.g. transistors
- tiny cracks on ICs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see dots all around the pcb. All tiny dots. Many on the golden lane which is on the place where the battery goes in. There are no cracks on ICs. No burned pins. No bent or oxidated pins.
Is oxidated the same as those small dots?
Also if I am right, I can fix it by applying circuitry epoxy on it right?

tuk1maar said:
I see dots all around the pcb. All tiny dots. Many on the golden lane which is on the place where the battery goes in. There are no cracks on ICs. No burned pins. No bent or oxidated pins.
Is oxidated the same as those small dots?
Also if I am right, I can fix it by applying circuitry epoxy on it right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, look somethink like this (on left side on ICs pins):
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Oxidation is mostly thin white film wchich can be cleaned carefully with soft toothbrush.
Many dots re called TPxxx as test poin, they are always gold or copper and will shine. These are OK.
But dont apply any epoxy on it! Even when you find oxidated parts, just clean them with alcohol as described before.
Or even you could post hi-res photo or scan of your board i could look on it.

HeliumX10 said:
No, look somethink like this (on left side on ICs pins):
Oxidation is mostly thin white film wchich can be cleaned carefully with soft toothbrush.
Many dots re called TPxxx as test poin, they are always gold or copper and will shine. These are OK.
But dont apply any epoxy on it! Even when you find oxidated parts, just clean them with alcohol as described before.
Or even you could post hi-res photo or scan of your board i could look on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay I will try to scan it
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/192/x10scan.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/171/scanx101.jpg/
That's the best I can do If you look carefully on the 2nd picture left below and zoom in, then you can see those dots that I see.
Also the small dots that I got on the motherboard are no where near the size of those dots on that picture! Mine are puny! Very tiny.

tuk1maar said:
Okay I will try to scan it
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/192/x10scan.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/171/scanx101.jpg/
That's the best I can do If you look carefully on the 2nd picture left below and zoom in, then you can see those dots that I see.
Also the small dots that I got on the motherboard are no where near the size of those dots on that picture! Mine are puny! Very tiny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm everything that I saw on this (it is not properly focused...) normal board. There are only classical testpoints (some covered with isolating color) and pins that are seen form BGA chips from other side. That is all normal. But must say that this unsharpened photo cannot show so much....

HeliumX10 said:
Hmm everything that I saw on this (it is not properly focused...) normal board. There are only classical testpoints (some covered with isolating color) and pins that are seen form BGA chips from other side. That is all normal. But must say that this unsharpened photo cannot show so much....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the sharpest I can get T_T My photo camera is rubbish. My other cellphone which had a superb camera is dead, my brothers phone's camera could not sharpen the picture enough
http://imageshack.us/f/535/scanx101.jpg/
Look at the point where I drew a black arrow. Download the picture and zoom in to it. You will see some 'puts' in the golden contact.

tuk1maar said:
That's the sharpest I can get T_T My photo camera is rubbish. My other cellphone which had a superb camera is dead, my brothers phone's camera could not sharpen the picture enough
http://imageshack.us/f/535/scanx101.jpg/
Look at the point where I drew a black arrow. Download the picture and zoom in to it. You will see some 'puts' in the golden contact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See it - its the two antenna contact pins - there might be a little darker dot on contact area on gold pads - its just grazed a little - if you can see the metal around its ok. But this couldnt be problem, only if you will have problem with gsm signal.
However dont know it is just a unsharpened but interested with another contacts on you motherboard - are attached pins looking like this one? Photo is also from X10i. Speaking about them on the right ones, and check wires and oxidation around them.

HeliumX10 said:
See it - its the two antenna contact pins - there might be a little darker dot on contact area on gold pads - its just grazed a little - if you can see the metal around its ok. But this couldnt be problem, only if you will have problem with gsm signal.
However dont know it is just a unsharpened but interested with another contacts on you motherboard - are attached pins looking like this one? Photo is also from X10i. Speaking about them on the right ones, and check wires and oxidation around them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one on the right has some dots which I also got on many places. Most of them are on those golden things. And few of them are on the PCB itself.
Look on the golden lanes! It has all small dots on them. My X10 has that aswell!
Also when I plug my X10 to the charger, if I keep my ear to the phone I hear a small pitch sound. I think it's coming from the vibrator.

If you mean that golden lanes very close around the edges of PCB its ok - they are only for grounding/shielding purposes.
In case if the vibrator is emitting pitches, it means that here might be shortcut or bad connection.
To prove this you will need a multimeter or oscilloscope.
And one thing - vibrator might be hitched by dry juice. Are you able to rotate with that little pendulum on it? It should be done very softly with fingers. Try it, NOT WITH FORCE !

HeliumX10 said:
If you mean that golden lanes very close around the edges of PCB its ok - they are only for grounding/shielding purposes.
In case if the vibrator is emitting pitches, it means that here might be shortcut or bad connection.
To prove this you will need a multimeter or oscilloscope.
And one thing - vibrator might be hitched by dry juice. Are you able to rotate with that little pendulum on it? It should be done very softly with fingers. Try it, NOT WITH FORCE !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it rotates very easily! Smooth as butter. There is a mark on my pcb which goes over one of the golden big lane and hits a tiny lane where the battery is. I think that that mark should not be there. Also I got those small dots on those small darker yellow lanes aswell. Is that bad?
Also this friday,I can get my hands on 100% alcohol so I can gently clean every bit of it. That is a good idea right?

Remember that I baked the motherboard of that X10 and that it died?
I baked today my dead Samsung Omnia 2 and it works 100% now. Previously it would not start-up, just a blank black screen. After baking it in the oven @ 200 degrees celcius for 7 minutes it works now.
Still don't know what caused that X10 to die. Sure it got wet in orange juice, so did my Omnia 2 (it swum in Lime water for 20minutes).
I did notice a scratch on the motherboard of the X10. It's located at the right top corner.

Related

salt water killed my USB... help

Going fishing, rogue wave crashed on our boat (huge wave). Everything saturated. USB rusted almost immediately, despite my efforts, limited by being on a saturated boat.
Phone won't charge.
I've tried rice, q tips, alcohol, scraping...
It seems my phone also thinks the headset is plugged in, icon won't go away.
Thoughts on repairs?
Where is the best place to get a new USB part for the t959?
Any ideas are appreciated. Cashing in on any favors that I can...
I found this "charging port"... Guessing that's what I need. My phone is dying now, looked like they don't sell to the public?
http://www.globaldirectparts.com/category-s/6611.htm
Let me say I have experience in this
I have been doing Underwater photography for 25 + years and housing do leak.... and when they do, your Nikon or Video camera is about to be toast....... in short I have had many many episodes of salt water intrusion. Even the least amount will destroy lens coating or cause a micro short on a board or switch ruining a 1000.00 camera or lens.
Here is The Gist of how to fix a salt water episode:
1. if you got salt water on something, Immediately remove the battery 1st thing
2. Disassemble a bit... In this case remove the 7 screws on the back and pop the back plastic with 2 guitar picks
3. Use 90% rubbing alcohol (or better 200 proof moonshine if you can get it)
The drinking alcohol is better at getting the h2o molecules to adhere to the alcohol molecules, but rubbing alcohol is plenty good enough.. Immerse in the alcohol..... Like..... totally under , so you will need a decent volume (ahhh use rubbing alcohol, no reason to waste all the good Redneck Sambuca ingredient)
4. Leave for 30- 60 min minimum ...I have left over night a Nikon body with no ill effects then clean with cloth or paper towel and one of those cute brushes you wife has for makeup (clean no makeup plz)....... to dry, then inspect with a loupe carefully. Once you know there is no discernible damage then you can put in rice over night blow it off with compressed air from a can reassemble and try it out.
The most important thing about salt water is if voltage stays on the device with saltwater it will jack the electronics faster than a fox running out of a hen house.
Hope that helps
That's so surprising to me... I can really just drop it into alcohol? That doesn't cause damage to electronics?
I don't think there is any more water.. so what does alcohol help do?
I did cut my phone off, almost immediately. I was forced to cut it on while out on the boat though. I didn't really know there was an issue then, left it on.
I cleaned the charging port well, left in rice... My phone is basically dead now, using the wifes nexus one now.
anyone know a legit place to buy the charging port?
The alcohol causes the water molecules to attach to the alcohol, which prevents the water from causing damage.............. chemistry........ gotta love it, But without the water the salt can not cause electrolytic reaction thus preventing the corrosive effect. Also most of the circuit boards have conformal coating (usually a urethane type these days) which gives the circuit board a water proofing, but solder joints and other places are not protected.
oka1 said:
The alcohol causes the water molecules to attach to the alcohol, which prevents the water from causing damage.............. chemistry........ gotta love it, But without the water the salt can not cause electrolytic reaction thus preventing the corrosive effect. Also most of the circuit boards have conformal coating (usually a urethane type these days) which gives the circuit board a water proofing, but solder joints and other places are not protected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very well put you've made me proud, if you want to be completely sure you are cleaning the surface completely see if you can get your hands on pure acetone (stuff is in nail polish) it will remove any organic residues that might facilitate corrosion, afterwards a rinse with distilled water could be allowed.
-Cheers
What about mobile tech videos? I'd link but I'm on my phone. Those guys do repairs. Sorry I don't have any expert advice. But if you have to send it off ill make a donation towards the repair bill.
Well, looks like i'm a blackberry user until I can try some of these great suggestions.
I had no idea you could submerge your phone in those liquids.
Once i'm off this island, I'll try and break the phone down and see how bad I am.
Anyone know where I can buy the charging port?
Greggory, Very kind if you to offer that man, not sure I'd feel right accepting that. I'll check their site out. Can you pm me any information about them?
I sent you a pm.
You can sign up as a refurbisher
Phone is completely (COMPLETELY) disassembled.
Corrosion honestly does not seem as bad as I expected.
Off to buy acetone. So I can really just leave the mother board and drive reader in this liquid?? Casey... I trust you, but dang that is scary to me!!
Pics below...
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something else I forgot, if you are in a place where you cannot fix immediately, then Pull battery as fast as you can and then wash in fresh water if nothing else or Jack Daniels
Putting a whole phone full of electronic things in alcohol seems unsafe to me, and since idk anything about this subject it also does seem like the phone would be MORE screwed up if you did that but idk so go ahead.
I'd try and think my way into getting a refurb
alright, completely broken down, acetone on many of the parts (dabbed most)... submerged for a minute or so on the USB/charge port.
Good news: the headset icon has now disappeared, so that's fixed.
Bad news: my vibrant still wont charge.
I think I need to buy a new mother board or charge port. Anyone know the best place to buy one? Going to register on global direct now.
xriderx66 said:
Putting a whole phone full of electronic things in alcohol seems unsafe to me, and since idk anything about this subject it also does seem like the phone would be MORE screwed up if you did that but idk so go ahead.
I'd try and think my way into getting a refurb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is just basic Chemistry, understanding compatibility interactions (or reaction is the key) with almost All electronics Alcohol really is pretty benign. De-ionized water is the preferred cleaning agent but then it usually is washed with pure drinking alcohol to make sure there is no remaining water molecules left.
Acetone is pretty safe EXCEPT some of the plastic that the housings are made can be reactive (dissolve from it) to it. So, even though the electronics are safe the housing could possibly lose its shine (become dulled).
BTW, it is this understanding of chemistry (or lack of) that causes so many manufacturing and installation/assembly problems. People change mix designs all the time and forget to inform others of the change thus causing recalls , lawsuits, etc.
Hope you get a new mother board S15274n
^ Just went to T-Mo, they were know help to me.
Called Samsung and they said I still had warranty until OCT (suppose they add 3 months on from the 1 year mark). I am going to take my chances and send them my phone for repair.
I'm not hopeful, but we'll see what I can talk their tech into.
Duuuuuuuude! Duuuuuuuuude! Duuuuuuuude!
I am sorry to hear this on so many levels. I hope Sammy will fix it or replace it for you brotha! You are an invaluable member of this community man, we can't afford to lose you. I am tempted to get you an otter box (not the phone case, but the real thing) in order to keep your electronic devices safe when deep sea fishing or anything else that might get it wet.
Yea we cant loose him he is one of my fave people in community
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Br1cK'd said:
Duuuuuuuude! Duuuuuuuuude! Duuuuuuuude!
I am sorry to hear this on so many levels. I hope Sammy will fix it or replace it for you brotha! You are an invaluable member of this community man, we can't afford to lose you. I am tempted to get you an otter box (not the phone case, but the real thing) in order to keep your electronic devices safe when deep sea fishing or anything else that might get it wet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
appreciate the very kind words. Phone is with UPS now, en route to samsung. I imagine they will easily notice I have opened it, did the gps hardware hack and completely disassembled it... not to mention the corrosion that I did not get off the charging port, haha...
o well, if there is a miracle, they will just send me a refurb and not bug me. The techs are supposed to call if they will not repair it... I'll see if I can talk them into it.
please tell oka1 (casey) how awesome he is.... My man just sent me a phone to use until i can get this all sorted out.
I dont care what anyone says... There is no better community, than this android community... None. Complete strangers helping each other, for nothing other than to help!!
Thank you guys, awesome to be a small part of this.
s15274n said:
please tell oka1 (casey) how awesome he is.... My man just sent me a phone to use until i can get this all sorted out.
I dont care what anyone says... There is no better community, than this android community... None. Complete strangers helping each other, for nothing other than to help!!
Thank you guys, awesome to be a small part of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is just plain awesome! Also makes me glad I am part of this community.
Sent from my T959 using xda premium

Condensation on Camera after water immersion [FIX]

Hey guys.
Today I found myself facing moisture inside my camera after giving the Z2 a small kitchen sink wash using only the water coming from the tap.
After an hour, when i went to take a picture, it was all foggy and to my surprise, the lens was completly obstructed by condensated water.
I read 1 fix on XDA and the rest of the internet -> return it, ask for a brand new one.
Well, if you are like me and don't usually take it for a bath or go into a pool (odd enough i had put it on the sink full of water for half an hour and nothing happened), there is a "fix" for it, which I got from common sense. What i mean by common sense is that if you heat water it evaporates, but since the camera is, i suppose, a bit isolated from the rest, you cannot just let the water go away on it's own, you have to give it some help.
So, what i did was: 1 - TURN OFF YOUR PHONE; 2- open both flaps; 3- Heat the phone with a hair dryer (i really mean heat it, so the watter does not return to liquid state imediatelly) 4 - Suck the moisture out from the left side (closest to the camera) flap with your mouth; 5 - WAIT FOR IT TO COOL BEFORE YOU TURN IT ON; 6 - go take a well deserved picture.
It goes away in a day at most anyway, it's simple science hot air hitting cold air = condensation, it's unavoidable
Mr.R™ said:
It goes away in a day at most anyway, it's simple science hot air hitting cold air = condensation, it's unavoidable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the water is inside it does not come out in a day, the phone is sealed in.
Even if it did, this is an easy fix and gets rid of the water inside your phone, so your answer manages to add no value.
Nor does your so called fix
Code:
i had this on my xperia z1 after a day of been cinstantly damp and intermitantly soaked but my phone was hot from use. When i opened the ports it all cleared up within a minute
badjoras said:
3- Heat the phone with a hair dryer (i really mean heat it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your phone has a lot of expressly sensitive electrical components. I don't think it's advisable to heat it like this unless you want to fry components and loosen the glue that holds stuff together.
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
Have the same few days ago. And did the same without hairdryer. First cold water from sink. After pass waterproof test i got phone with me to shower. After that i saw condesation inside. I almost died,one week old phone. But i open flaps, do everything without no.3, + sillica gel for 2 days , laying on the warm heater one night. Now everything is good, everything works, indicator under microsd flap is white. I think everthing is cool, what's yours opinion?
Just got the Problem
I just got this problem.
Before seeing this post I was so worried. Now, I'm feeling relaxed.
Thanks
same happened to me, just washing grease off phone using tab water. so does this only effect the glass on top of the camera? is the rest of the phone actually still waterproof? i'm a bit confused, so does this proof that our ip58 actually working or not? i never had this problem with my z1
Ah yes I remember that happening back when my Xperia Z initially died on me.
what would you guys recommend i do? repair it or just give up on it?
I have new phone, the old one wasn't waterproof. So if you can - repair i think.
thanksss ..
I've done so many ways to eliminate the moisture in my z3 lens .. with the rice , silica gel .. and it still kept coming back
but with your way , the moisture inside my phone immidiately gone and the way is logical as well ..
badjoras said:
So, what i did was: 1 - TURN OFF YOUR PHONE; 2- open both flaps; 3- Heat the phone with a hair dryer (i really mean heat it, so the watter does not return to liquid state imediatelly) 4 - Suck the moisture out from the left side (closest to the camera) flap with your mouth; 5 - WAIT FOR IT TO COOL BEFORE YOU TURN IT ON; 6 - go take a well deserved picture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man your way worked with me
I had the same problem and fixed it. And a question remain that can I use my phone in water? My mind says no. Is there any way to get ? back?
badjoras said:
Hey guys.
Today I found myself facing moisture inside my camera after giving the Z2 a small kitchen sink wash using only the water coming from the tap.
After an hour, when i went to take a picture, it was all foggy and to my surprise, the lens was completly obstructed by condensated water.
I read 1 fix on XDA and the rest of the internet -> return it, ask for a brand new one.
Well, if you are like me and don't usually take it for a bath or go into a pool (odd enough i had put it on the sink full of water for half an hour and nothing happened), there is a "fix" for it, which I got from common sense. What i mean by common sense is that if you heat water it evaporates, but since the camera is, i suppose, a bit isolated from the rest, you cannot just let the water go away on it's own, you have to give it some help.
So, what i did was: 1 - TURN OFF YOUR PHONE; 2- open both flaps; 3- Heat the phone with a hair dryer (i really mean heat it, so the watter does not return to liquid state imediatelly) 4 - Suck the moisture out from the left side (closest to the camera) flap with your mouth; 5 - WAIT FOR IT TO COOL BEFORE YOU TURN IT ON; 6 - go take a well deserved picture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same thing only I used a vacuum cleaner instead of my mouth
For the common sense; the phone turns itself off if it reaches to almost 100°C. If a passively cooled CPU is allowed to reach that high it means the back cover which is supposed to handle both the heat of the SoC and the battery, is also safe against temperatures that human skin can not.
I believe hair drier makers are also aware of human skin's sensitivity to heat, and design their products according to that.
So using a hair drier to a mobile device not more than you use it on your hair, which is generally wet with the risk of over heating, from the same distance should make no harm on the device.
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app
I used my table lamp to heat the water.
Thank you badjoras, it works for my z3 that I have left at the bottom of the pool for 5 minutes. The condensation occured even after the phone has successfully passed the pressure (barometer) test before swimming. I used heat gun from a safe distance (30-40 cm) for a few seconds before sucking the air using my mouth, and repeated the procedure for three or four times before all the water disappeared.

LG G5 GPS FIX [ All Varients All software models] [Non-root needed]

so i cannot post pictures because im a new member.
Step 1: watch any LG G5 teardown video and seperate the glass screen with mobo out of the metal casing.
step 2: on the right side of mobo under the black circle fabric (below the fabric DO NOT REMOVE FABRIC JUST LOOK UNDER IN) YOU WILL SEE 3 little button nubs.
each nub has a little bent peice of metal facing upwards. Each one needs to be pushed up a little more. the problem was they are not hitting the ribbon connection to give them power on the back casing.
you can see an image of it here imgur. com /G76xf8N remove spaces please.
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Can confirm this worked for me, here's an album if y'all want different angles on the phone
Confirmed as working for me too. I've done this mod on 3 phones already, all are a success. LG is horrible... Releasing phones with such blatant defects.
It will stop working after few days, cuz those are volume pins, has nothing to do with gps
If thats the real fix and the battery touches it, I'm almost certain that replacing batteries is causing this. It explains why many are reporting the issue coming back overtime when warranty replacing. My replacement is already getting worse GPS signal
Actually, makes sense these buttons are related to the volume buttons... There are multiple leads on the board connecting to the back of the case directly though, making me think that LG chose to use the "metal backing" as a GPS antenna. I've straightened multiple leads on the board which come in direct contact with the case itself and other elements just in case, but I have a feeling this will be an issue that plagues us G5 users until a hardware revision is done by LG...
Time to shop for another phone. What a bad investment this was...
karendar
wanna hear my story ? Bought S7 01.04.2016, 04.04.2016 was 1st time on warranty service cuz water in front cam, 2nd time 12.06 broke again same problem, last week 3rd time on warranty SAME PROBLEM, now I bought lg g5 with ****ed up GPS , VERY VERY nice.... looks like I'll give a shot to HTC 10 :/
if those 3 pins are gps antena and I dont think so, I'll just solder something to the backplace
NeoDJW said:
karendar
wanna hear my story ? Bought S7 01.04.2016, 04.04.2016 was 1st time on warranty service cuz water in front cam, 2nd time 12.06 broke again same problem, last week 3rd time on warranty SAME PROBLEM, now I bought lg g5 with ****ed up GPS , VERY VERY nice.... looks like I'll give a shot to HTC 10 :/
if those 3 pins are gps antena and I dont think so, I'll just solder something to the backplace
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Horrible how us early adopters get rimmed...
To be honest, I think those three leads do nothing but placebo after looking at the board... But notice all the leads across the board which connect to the case itself. I think those would be a better spot for GPS and phone antennas... Wish someone had a technical diagram for us.
As for the HTC 10, I've heard good things... Just not sure I'll be able to sell this phone to buy one.
Signal still holding strong today... Getting massive signal with no drops.
Is this problem still present in current versions? Or was it fixed? I can't believe LG still sells this phone with GPS not working? I get a G5 the next days, how can I check if mine has this issue too?
How ? I don' know dude, maybe, but just MAYBE you could install gps status and check it.........
I just read the "fix" and I just realized that this fix is total garbage. It can't work.
"each nub has a little bent peice of metal facing upwards. Each one needs to be pushed up a little more. the problem was they are not hitting the ribbon connection to give them power on the back casing. "
Everyone with normal reasoning can totally realize, that this "mod" will eventually fail again, really really soon, mostly after a few days, and you can read that btw already by lots of people, for example here:
https://m.reddit.com/r/lgg5/comments/4u8m9p/how_to_fix_your_gps_fixed_in_10_minutes/
Metal tends to change after some time or temperature / pressure, and it will fail again.
Why did no one develop a clever, simple and working mod so far? Why not just soldering a bit of liquid silver on the three contacts, with a bit of metal plate on top to make it 1-2mm higher? Or just even more simple: Do it on the backplate contacts.
mkdr said:
I just read the "fix" and I just realized that this fix is total garbage. It can't work.
"each nub has a little bent peice of metal facing upwards. Each one needs to be pushed up a little more. the problem was they are not hitting the ribbon connection to give them power on the back casing. "
Everyone with normal reasoning can totally realize, that this "mod" will eventually fail again, really really soon, mostly after a few days, and you can read that btw already by lots of people, for example here:
https://m.reddit.com/r/lgg5/comments/4u8m9p/how_to_fix_your_gps_fixed_in_10_minutes/
Metal tends to change after some time or temperature / pressure, and it will fail again.
Why did no one develop a clever, simple and working mod so far? Why not just soldering a bit of liquid silver on the three contacts, with a bit of metal plate on top to make it 1-2mm higher? Or just even more simple: Do it on the backplate contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me, personally, I don't mind being a little bit critical, but with this response I think you are to direct and judgemental towards the topic starter. Topic starter has given his best to share his practice. And I agree with you this one will probably not last, but let's keep it friendly.
Sent from my LG-H850 using XDA-Developers mobile app
mkdr said:
I just read the "fix" and I just realized that this fix is total garbage. It can't work.
Everyone with normal reasoning can totally realize, that this "mod" will eventually fail again, really really soon, mostly after a few days, and you can read that btw already by lots of people, for example here:
https://m.reddit.com/r/lgg5/comments/4u8m9p/how_to_fix_your_gps_fixed_in_10_minutes/
Metal tends to change after some time or temperature / pressure, and it will fail again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your answer is total garbage. ever seen a car that scraped on the ground because the shock absorbers failed due to temperature and high pressure just by existing?
unless you bend them over and over the method will most likely last for many years. you dont have a lot of forces acting on it.
if you make a fixed connection like soldering, the small dynamic forces would eventually weaken the material and it would break after some time. think before insulting somebody's idea
i don't think those are GPS antenna contacts.. as i used to observe that gps antennas usually have 1 or 2 contacts.. never 3! but they could do..
don't know if you read my topic about same issue and another "fix"..
at the moment we have 2 confirmed informations:
1) if you isolate detachable module pin connector you'll get no gps at all
2) gps will work good until you'll detach and reattach battery couple times.
this could explain why LG released this terminal which definitively passes any factory test! ...holy real day-use tests!
albenex said:
i don't think those are GPS antenna contacts.. as i used to observe that gps antennas usually have 1 or 2 contacts.. never 3!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we have 3 different gps systems on our phone so 3 makes sense. BDS (beidou) is only to be found on the newest hardware
lolmensch said:
we have 3 different gps systems on our phone so 3 makes sense. BDS (beidou) is only to be found on the newest hardware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, i've also tried this fix and seems working.. but indeed volume rockers are nearby and no other connectors were found.. mistery grows up..
this fix save me, thanks for it, now the gps works fine
lolmensch said:
your answer is total garbage. ever seen a car that scraped on the ground because the shock absorbers failed due to temperature and high pressure just by existing?
unless you bend them over and over the method will most likely last for many years. you dont have a lot of forces acting on it.
if you make a fixed connection like soldering, the small dynamic forces would eventually weaken the material and it would break after some time. think before insulting somebody's idea
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can read, right?
1. look at the link. lots of people already claimed the """mod""" lasted about 2-5 days, then the problem came back.
2. what are you talking about!? Those contacts between the board and the backplate are based up on pressure. The mod just says "try to bend them upwards a bit". THIS MEANS IT WILL TOTALLY GO IN ITS BASE POSITION AGAIN REALLY SOON. It can't work.
3. back to, if you can read. Where did I say soldering it? Right, no where. I said put some layers of conducting anything on the backplates contacts to grow its height.
Not enough forces acting on them? Seriously? So to your logic, this means this problem wouldn't occur in the first place. Pressing with your fingers on the cover at that very place mostly is enough to push them back every time a little bit., also because they're at the very edge of the cover.

Help replacing busted LG G5 surface mount capacitors (GPS ant.)

Hello everybody,
As many others, I have experienced problems with GPS reception on my LG G5. Unfortunately, while trying to fit a spring to make a better contact between the motherboard and the aluminum chassis, I busted the capacitors at the far left of the motherboard.
Since I'm a new user, I cannot yet post pictures, but I'll try and give you a description:
Both are SMC capacitors, oriented perpendicularly to one another next to a screw hole at the far top left part of the motherboard.
The one closest to the screw hole seems related to LTE/4G reception and managed to resolder it, but the other one is lost.
Could someone direct me to the correct capacitor values so I can replace them? I have two motherboards that could be used as parts donors (S4 mini and LG G4), but I'd rather not make any blind substitutions based only on appearance.
Any help will be much appreciated!
As soon as I get image link privileges, I will post a much more descriptive pict.
You're sure it's a capacitor? I saw some reworking videos, going by size can work.
I think they are capacitors
totalnoob34 said:
You're sure it's a capacitor? I saw some reworking videos, going by size can work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For what I've seen, black SMC components tend to be resistors, while beige ones tend to be capacitors.
The picts available online are not of sufficient resolution to tell if both components have the same value.
Here's an idea! Could you or someone else upload a more detailed pict on this thread? That way I can be more certain and make a better educated guess.
TIA.
Is it the two caps that sit side-by-side which are connected to the contact pad for the bottom module?
kopter36 said:
Is it the two caps that sit side-by-side which are connected to the contact pad for the bottom module?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to make a description as accurate as possible:
Place the phone screen down. After removing the aluminium back cover, you'll see an inverted-L shaped motherboard. The screen connector should be at your left, and the battery connector to your right.
If you keep moving up, there is a screw hole next to a silver spongy pad. Then, at the top you will see two capacitors at the edge of the motherboard.
Topmost is vertical, while the one below and slightly to the right is horizontal.
There are also two pairs of unused soldering contacts.
________
|######|
| U #### |
|#° # C# |
| # °#°°# |
| ##### |
/ ___ |________
| / \
| \ /
\
Apologies for my lousy ascii art. It really sucks not being able to upload a pict.
Anyway! Here, "U" and "C" represent the capacitors, while the "°" thingies represent the soldering pads.
I wouldn't just go by size. I'd get a multimeter with capacitance reading and check another board for the in-circuit capacitance (and resistance). Compare those with the capacitance and resistance across the pads to determine what values should be there...
TimSmall said:
I wouldn't just go by size. I'd get a multimeter with capacitance reading and check another board for the in-circuit capacitance (and resistance). Compare those with the capacitance and resistance across the pads to determine what values should be there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a good idea. However, said components are lost :/
most of the time, if you physically tear components off like that, it tears the solder pads off with it...
resinis said:
most of the time, if you physically tear components off like that, it tears the solder pads off with it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fortunately, solder pads are intact. I can get a bit of SMD/ BGA welding paste to reattach components if necessary.
SysG33k said:
Fortunately, solder pads are intact. I can get a bit of SMD/ BGA welding paste to reattach components if necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well thats nice.
if you post a pic of your motherboard where the capacitor is gone, i can test the motherboard i have sitting on my desk.
resinis said:
well thats nice.
if you post a pic of your motherboard where the capacitor is gone, i can test the motherboard i have sitting on my desk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be awesome!!!
Here is the pict:
https://i.imgur.com/pREkI5e.jpg
If the forum lets me upload picts, the missing caps are marked with arrows.
I don't know if this helps, but when trying to fix the common GPS issues I broke the contact on the bottom side of the motherboard and figured out that that came from the resistor (or capacitor) marked in your image as "1", I soldered a copper wire from the top side of that resistor and made contact to the antena on the chassis and that worked great. If that was a capacitor I think it won't work.
Enviado desde mi LG-H850 mediante Tapatalk
jaggyjags said:
I don't know if this helps, but when trying to fix the common GPS issues I broke the contact on the bottom side of the motherboard and figured out that that came from the resistor (or capacitor) marked in your image as "1", I soldered a copper wire from the top side of that resistor and made contact to the antena on the chassis and that worked great. If that was a capacitor I think it won't work.
Enviado desde mi LG-H850 mediante Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your trick sounds interesting, and I might try it but first must replace both components.
SysG33k said:
Your trick sounds interesting, and I might try it but first must replace both components.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry busy weekend. Ill try to get the values tonight
SysG33k said:
That would be awesome!!!
Here is the pict:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xigwu47gzkgsiy9/LG%20G5-caps.jpg?dl=0
If the forum lets me upload picts, the missing caps are marked with arrows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
capacitor 1 = 135 pF
capacitor 2= 50 pF ? (i check it one way, its 47 pF, then i flip the polarity and its 62 pF)
These are in-circuit numbers. You will have to test your pads to determine if any capacitance is throwing my numbers off. Also, my test leads broke, so I had to use regular test leads that are longer, so there may be some variance there too, but it shouldnt be more than a few pF off
This is the best picture i could take with my phone (g5). both capacitors do look the same size physically, but its hard to tell. they're incredibly small, good luck. https://imgur.com/YvMjrQA
resinis said:
capacitor 1 = 135 pF
capacitor 2= 50 pF ? (i check it one way, its 47 pF, then i flip the polarity and its 62 pF)
These are in-circuit numbers. You will have to test your pads to determine if any capacitance is throwing my numbers off. Also, my test leads broke, so I had to use regular test leads that are longer, so there may be some variance there too, but it shouldnt be more than a few pF off
This is the best picture i could take with my phone (g5). both capacitors do look the same size physically, but its hard to tell. they're incredibly small, good luck. https://imgur.com/YvMjrQA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah!!! This is a great headstart! I will start looking for similar component values in the donor motherboards while still mounted. It is a bit odd you got different capacitance values depending upon polarity. They look ceramic-made, so polarity shouldn't be an issue.
Will report back ASAP with hopefully positive results.
Many many thanks!
SysG33k said:
Ah!!! This is a great headstart! I will start looking for similar component values in the donor motherboards while still mounted. It is a bit odd you got different capacitance values depending upon polarity. They look ceramic-made, so polarity shouldn't be an issue.
Will report back ASAP with hopefully positive results.
Many many thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wouldnt think about it too much. pF is an incredibly small capacitance measurement. Im surprised my basic tenma meter even showed steady values.
I think I found the original components
Apologies for not getting back sooner. Work :/
Both are ridiculously small and appear slightly white-ish, almost translucent:
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I also managed to take a pict from the place where they are missing on the motherboard:
(Image rotated to the same angle from the pict by @resinis)
Using my original picture as a reference and if my observations are correct, component #1 is for GPS, while #2 is for LTE/UMTS/etc.
Apparently, solder pads are intact. Now I will need a microscope and micro tweezers to properly manipulate both components in place.
It's also quite a relief now being able to post pictures!
Success!!! And final thoughts
Well, after some time I can happily announce the repairs were complete and the phone is back in service.
I couldn't determine the values for each capacitor, so I had a 50/50 chance of getting them right so I went ahead and installed them.
4G reception is back to normal, while GPS is so-so-ish, but at least not erratic anymore.
Why did LG go with such a lousy arrangement for the inverted-F GPS antenna? A simple spring would have been great to make ground contact with the phone backplane.
While I like this phone in general, I am not happy at LG. After pretty bad battery experiences with the G4, and now the GPS issue with the G5, I think my next device might be a Xiaomi or something else. We shall see.
Many many thanks to everyone on here that helped me complete this quest!
SysG33k said:
Well, after some time I can happily announce the repairs were complete and the phone is back in service.
I couldn't determine the values for each capacitor, so I had a 50/50 chance of getting them right so I went ahead and installed them.
4G reception is back to normal, while GPS is so-so-ish, but at least not erratic anymore.
Why did LG go with such a lousy arrangement for the inverted-F GPS antenna? A simple spring would have been great to make ground contact with the phone backplane.
While I like this phone in general, I am not happy at LG. After pretty bad battery experiences with the G4, and now the GPS issue with the G5, I think my next device might be a Xiaomi or something else. We shall see.
Many many thanks to everyone on here that helped me complete this quest!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats, mate!

Repairs gone wrong.

Hi guys. I've been working on a RN2 for a while now and something has been bothering me.
BACKGROUND
___
Basically, it was a side phone I kept in emergency but as you know siblings who can't keep stuff safe, I ended up lending it to him (after having it broken by my other sibling and having to change the screen) and he ALSO broke it, so I changed it again.
___
Now, my problem is the following:
When I was working on the screen, I noticed it wouldn't turn on again, so, after buying aforementioned screen, I placed it and it still didn't turn on. When I tried the heat measuring, I noticed it was heating around the area where you plug the flex cable (black cable with 2 identical plugs that connects the charge module (which I also changed) and the motherboard. The heat is on the side of the MB. I tried to switch the plug backwards but it doesn't work either (and doesn't fit as it is backwards). I bought another flex cable (Theseus' boat much) and it still heated up. So it finally comes to the fact that the issue is in the MB. (I guess ?) Thing is, I don't know what exactly. Does anyone have any idea?
Thanks in advance, I've been on this for a few months now (working it when I have time).
All you can do is look visible damage like a cracked solder joint.
BGA chipsets solder joints can't be examined because they are underneath of them.
Any impact great enough to damage the display or frame could damage the mobo.
Examine your work. Are ground pathways present especially if the phone is "open"?
Look for damaged ribbon cable and connector pins. Try disconnecting/reconnecting the battery (hard reboot).
blackhawk said:
All you can do is look visible damage like a cracked solder joint.
BGA chipsets solder joints can't be examined because they are underneath of them.
Any impact great enough to damage the display or frame could damage the mobo.
Examine your work. Are ground pathways present especially if the phone is "open"?
Look for damaged ribbon cable and connector pins. Try disconnecting/reconnecting the battery (hard reboot).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HI, thanks so much for the quick reply! Unfortunately, I didn't see anything. I might come back to it with a better lens tomorrow for the week end. Would it be necessary to post a picture or two here tomorrow, to have a more professional opinion?
Thanks!
Iliassine said:
HI, thanks so much for the quick reply! Unfortunately, I didn't see anything. I might come back to it with a better lens tomorrow for the week end. Would it be necessary to post a picture or two here tomorrow, to have a more professional opinion?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome.
I'm afraid though that I contributed little to your cause...
You can try gently flexing the pcb and pressing on components with a pencil, eraser end to try to localize the trouble. The mobo is likely toast though if that's the cause. Mobo diagnostics just aren't available except at the manufacturer's level. Even then most repairs require a hot air station and a high level skillset to execute successfully. A few 3rd party shops probably rework them if there's high enough demand.
Always use a good case to protect internal components as well as the display and frame.
blackhawk said:
You're welcome.
I'm afraid though that I contributed little to your cause...
You can try gently flexing the pcb and pressing on components with a pencil, eraser end to try to localize the trouble. The mobo is likely toast though if that's the cause. Mobo diagnostics just aren't available except at the manufacturer's level. Even then most repairs require a hot air station and a high level skillset to execute successfully. A few 3rd party shops probably rework them if there's high enough demand.
Always use a good case to protect internal components as well as the display and frame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh no, you did great! You gave me probably more information than I found the last few months! I will try the eraser thing, maybe I'll have some luck. I didn't really touch the board unless the un clip removal of components bands. I will take it down and see if this is what is going on! Thank you. I will keep the thread up to see if someone else has ideas and keep you updated!
Examine the mobo under an excellent high lumen point light source and use optical aids. Stereoscopic ones are best for this. Examine at different angles to look for solder cracks. They tend to be difficult to spot.
Remember out of circuit assemblies like the mobo are sensitive to ESD damage. Use a bare wood surface if no ESD mat/wrist strap are available. Raise room humidity to at least 50%.
Wear cotton not wool or synthetics.
Discharging yourself directly to an earth ground immediately before handling it helps. Nearly every object can retain a static charge to one degree or another even paper. Humidity helps to dissipate it once present but almost any material movement/friction can generate it.

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