[iaaan]

Hi, i upgraded to a K800i at the end of October and was very impressed by it. 3 weeks later though, after using it in the rain, my phone turned off and wouldnt turn back on again. A day later, it turned on but the backlight wasnt showing up. I took it to a local repair shop as the place i got it from and SE wouldnt cover it as its liquid damage, even though it was in the rain for a maximum of 10 minutes. They said it would be a new screen, however after trying it, it didnt work. After closer inspection they said it was resistors on the circuit board and its unrepairable. Im just wondering if this is unrepairable or if there is any way of saving it. Everything else on the phone works fine, the camera and flash, can send/receive texts and make/receive phone calls. Any help would be greatful!

Thanks, Ian

[Ben]

Hi iaaan, welcome to Talk3G.

I'm afraid you shouldn't be too shocked about your phone breaking after 10 minutes in the rain. 30 seconds, well that'd have been terrible luck, but using any electronic device in a wet environment is just circuit suicide.

Someone else here may be able to suggest some alternative repair options, but by the sound of it your backlight, or whatever controlled it, is dead.

[iaaan]

Thanks for your reply.

I was slightly shocked as my phone was in a leather case and the rain wasn't really lashing it down, but yeah it was my own stupid fault!

I was thinking buying another broken phone, say one with a broken screen, and changing the screens over. Ive no idea how easy/cheap this is to do though. Or if its even possible.

[Hands0n]

The best repair for water damage is to strip the phone down to its motheboard and .... give the motherboard a bath in Methylated Spirits (get this right, do not, repeat do not, use any other kind of fluid.

The Meth will dissolve corrosion around the surface mount components and will in many cases cause a repair to the broken handset. I've "repaired" quite a few water damaged handsets in this manner. All claimed beyond repair by the phone companies and their agents.

If that does not work, then you're stuffed!

Golden Rule - Do not allow your handset to become damp or wet, they do not like moisture inside their housings! Thus also be careful when letting one get cold outside and bringing into a warm room. Even [internal] condensation can kill a handset stone dead!

[iaaan]

Haha, never heard of that before, but you sound like you know what your on about. Any help on how long i put it in the spirit for? And how long before putting it back together again? I'll give it a go tomorrow and report back to you. Thanks for your help!

[Hands0n]

The Meths bath is a last option - you've tried everything else or everyone says its totalled - but this has worked for me a lot of times. It has also not worked a few times. There is no guarantee with this process, so you have to choose for yourself. But if the handset is "beyond repair" this is a final solution - no pun intended. Just want to be clear that this is not absolute.

Just leave the motherboard in the Meths for about ten minutes. Then give the motherboard a very light brushing with a soft bristled toothbrush, just to agitate the solution around the board. Don't scrub the board, you're only trying to loosen up any stubborn corrosion, not remove the surface mount components :D

Allow the board to dry off naturally - around half an hour at normal room temperature. Don't force it. It'll stink a bit (of meths), but thats okay, the smell goes in a day or so. Once its dry you can assemble the phone and try it out almost immediately.

This may work on the crystal display also, but I'd only soak the connector part of the display. Don't immerse it completely as it'll likely not respond very well. I revived a Nokia 6280 this way which 3 said was totalled!

Typical damage that I've repaired this way are;

Phone dropped in garden pond
Phone dropped in glass of beer by someone who thought it a bit of a laugh
Phone had Coca Cola spilled over it (highly corrosive) - the keyboard died and was revived the meths way.
Phone soaked in a "bum bag" on a motorcycle ride home over 10 years ago, never worked since, laid dormant in a box since, revived with one bath in Meths.


The problem with the mobiles seems to be the sheer tiny size of the surface mount components, the gaps between the contacts is so tiny, any corrosion, even a little bit, is sufficient to cause short circuits which disrupt the ccircuit's function. The Meth dissolves the light corrosion sufficient to revive all but the most damaged of boards.

NB: This works with any water damaged surface-mount technology (i.e. PDA)

[iaaan]

Its dead. Official. Took it all apart, bathed it, put it back together, pressed on button and it just vibrates.

Think i killed it. Ooops

[Ben]

LoL @ just vibrates. Maybe it's not broken, just reinvented ;)

[Hands0n]

Oh pooh! Thats a shame. Worth checking that you've not squashed something or any cables not properly inserted - i.e. the tiny ribbon cables that are a pushfit to the motherboard can be especially troublesome. Gotta be very gentle with these devices.

[iaaan]

Haha @ Ben. I have a 3.2 megapixel sex toy!


I tried took it apart again, very carefully, and made sure it all went back together fine, and still nothing. It's in a box now, ready to be sent to the tip. Ive bought a Nokia N91 now as a replacement. Still pretty gutted as ive only had it just over a month.