Recover data without touchscreen - Realme 7 Questions & Answers

Hi! My Realme7 (RMX2155) drown in the sea. The only problem is non-working touchscreen (it loads in normal or recovery mode, connects wifi). Official service confirmed that phone is unrecoverable (problems with motherboard).
Stock recovery. No root, no usb debugging.
I need to recover user data (mainly photos) from it. As touchscreen is not working, I can't login to enable any settings (USB debugging, MTP, PTP).
I tried to:
plug in mouse, but OTG is disabled by default (need touchscreen to enable it in settings).
flash twrp recovery, but it returned red state (needs bootloader to be unlocked?)
made a full ROM backup and tried several recovery tools on it, but I see abracadabra in file names and in file content (see screenshot, encryption?).
I've no more ideas, pls help

BIG trouble, you did the wrong and worst thing...
Pull battery immediately.
Salt water is highly corrosive especially with energized circuits.
Your only hope is to pull battery and submerged in warm RO warm for 30 minutes, replace water and repeat. Move it around and try to completely flush out all salt. This will be impossible to completely do but it may be enough to allow temporary operation.
Drain water. Compressed clean dry low pressure air helps.
If it doesn't have a LCD display* flush liberally with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol minimum 96%.
Then displace as much of the alcohol as possible. Place in a warm, DRY room with a fan directly on it for a minimum of 4 days to dry.
Reconnect battery and attempt boot up. Even if it boots it will fail sooner or latter from the salt caused damage. Retrieve data asap.
No time to dilly-dally Mr Wick... tic-tok
Alternatively if this fails or if the data must be recovered, hire a data recovery service that will pull the chipset and attempt to retrieve the data.
The chipset with the data on it is most likely a BGA form factor. If the water got under it, it's corroding away its contact pads underneath.
*never get solvents of any kind near a LCD display. It will poison the liquid crystals.

blackhawk said:
BIG trouble, you did the wrong and worst thing...
Pull battery immediately.
Salt water is highly corrosive especially with energized circuits.
Your only hope is to pull battery and submerged in warm RO warm for 30 minutes, replace water and repeat. Move it around and try to completely flush out all salt. This will be impossible to completely do but it may be enough to allow temporary operation.
Drain water. Compressed clean dry low pressure air helps.
If it doesn't have a LCD display* flush liberally with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol minimum 96%.
Then displace as much of the alcohol as possible. Place in a warm, DRY room with a fan directly on it for a minimum of 4 days to dry.
Reconnect battery and attempt boot up. Even if it boots it will fail sooner or latter from the salt caused damage. Retrieve data asap.
No time to dilly-dally Mr Wick... tic-tok
Alternatively if this fails or if the data must be recovered, hire a data recovery service that will pull the chipset and attempt to retrieve the data.
The chipset with the data on it is most likely a BGA form factor. If the water got under it, it's corroding away its contact pads underneath.
*never get solvents of any kind near a LCD display. It will poison the liquid crystals.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is - it's too late It happened more than a month ago. I couldn't pull the battery - it's non removable (it was the first thing I tried). It was not easy to remove back cover without equipment (it is glued). Official service tried to repair the phone, they flushed out salt, changed screen, connectors, but with no result - motherboard was damaged already. However it still works completely, except the touchscreen.
I gave up trying to repair the phone, I just want to recover data - in any way.
Hire the recovery service is a good idea, but quite expensive. That will be my last hope

lun1234 said:
The problem is - it's too late It happened more than a month ago. I couldn't pull the battery - it's non removable (it was the first thing I tried). It was not easy to remove back cover without equipment (it is glued). Official service tried to repair the phone, they flushed out salt, changed screen, connectors, but with no result - motherboard was damaged already. However it still works completely, except the touchscreen.
I gave up trying to repair the phone, I just want to recover data - in any way.
Hire the recovery service is a good idea, but quite expensive. That will be my last hope
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At that point break the rear cover off if need be as every minute counts.
Even with quick action is likely already dead anyway. The salt leaves a residue that attracts moisture. It may have given you enough time though to retrieve the data latter when it was flushed and dried.
See what kind of quotes you get. Probably starts at at least $400.
Hope that repair shop told you any repairs only be temporary at best... salt water is insidious.

Related

WATER ON MY XDA

I dropped my xda in water!!!!!....HELP!!!! . I've been drying it out for a week.....Made sure it's been switched off, Tried charging it yesterday, yellow charging light came on while charging, but light switches off immediately I remove it from the cradle......H-E-L-P
The yellow light always turn off when you remove it from the cradle, because it is not charging anymore.
Or do you mean, the XDA turn off once you remove it from the charger.
water on my XDA
The yellow light goes off immediately I remove it from the cradle. I charged it for about 2 hours and it still doesn't respond to the power button
Can you switch it on while plugged into the cradle ?
water on my XDA
Tried switching it on , it didn't work
Wait
Wait, happends the same to me and after 20-30 days i put the pda to charge, do a hard reset and voila.
To be logical...
Did you try to do a hard reset?
You can also remove the bat from the xda, move the red part back in its orignal position without bat, this will definitly hardreset the xda.
Then try again with bat.
The charging curcuit has nothing to do the IC's inside, so this is not an indication for something at all.
I've done a hard reset, tried opening it from the back to access the battery but it just doesn't open after unscrewing at the back.......I am scared of forcing it open
It may be too late for you, but this is what should be done when you drop any electronics in water.
First off, IMMEDIATELY remove all power sources and batteries. If it was dropped in anything but clean fresh water, rinse it with clean fresh water. Disassemble it completely right away. Clean everything with Freon TF electronics components cleaner, or if not available, clean it with common household alcohol. Use plenty; you want to remove all traces of water. If there are parts you couldn't disassemble which may contain water, make sure you get alcohol into and back out of those areas.
Completely dry the device. If there are any places where moisture could be trapped, wait a few days. Otherwise, an hour or so should be fine.
As far as disassembling the XDA, there are some instructions here on the site somewhere. After removing the four screws, you will need to unsnap the case, which has tabs that lock together. I've found it easiest to start prying near the charge connectors and work my way around. Be careful, but firm, and the tabs will unsnap. Do be careful not to press any buttons while taking it apart; that's a good way to break an internal switch (ask me how I know :? ).
Thanks carlos, will try the alcohol method, wish me luck
You may have corrosion now or may have damaged components due to electrical short circuits across the water. Check for white powdery stuff on electrical parts, legs, pads, etc.
Trivia: Water is NOT electrically conductive... The impurities in water do that. 100% pure water won't conduct electricity.
I had the same accident with my XDA. I went climbing, water leaked in my backpack on my xda. XDA didn't do anything anymore. I dissassembled the XDA, let it dry for some days ... and it worked again!
Wash nothing in FREON cleaning fluids/solutions.
I'm a refrigeration designer - I know what the consumer freon-based evaporative solvent is, however it is not recommended.
You must clean the affected device with 'Isopropyl' ('isopropyl alcohol').
Take the greatest of care however; electrical items, especially semi-sealed liquid screens and digitisers may cause unexpected consequences.
My advice; remove the rear cover. You will have to force it, it is quite strongly held on. Simply unscrew all the screws and pull the rear (camera bit) slowly but firmly away from front/screen. Then submerse the electrical boards (after disconnecting the internal ribbons).
The alcohol will evaporate within a minute, leaving you with practically factory-fresh boards. Now look for corrosion (green 'rust') on the boards.
DO NOT POWER ON THE UNIT WHILE DOING THIS. YOU MUST ONLY REMOVE THE BACK COVER 30MINS after removing the battery; therefore minimising the risk of accidental shortcircuit with the backup battery supplying current to the volatile memory.
I know what the consumer freon-based evaporative solvent is, however it is not recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why every electronics store sells Freon TF as the recommended electronics cleaner, right...? :roll:
I didn't say Freon as in R134a/R12/R22. I have no idea what relationship Freon TF has to those, never looked into it.
I use alcohol as a last resort because, in the US at least, it is about impossible to get pure alcohol. The best you can find is something like 80% alcohol, so there is always some water. Maybe it's not an important amount, I don't know.
I finall succeded in disassembling my xda yesterday, my battery seems to be permanently attached to the back cover. I also cleaned out the electrical board with some methylated spirit (alcohol) and left it open to dry out. There was no evidence of corrosion. What do you guys think I should do next before resetting and charge it up.
You've done what you can. Make sure it is completely dry (even all the hidden spaces), then reassemble and test.
Sorry for having a go Carlos, that wasn't my intention.
Kayode, your problem can be solved easily; let the boards dry with an aid of a hair dryer (half an hour at about 30cm away).
All liquids would have evaporated, and the solvent will have dissolved and washed away electrical conductors.
Piece together and good luck.
Thanks , will do that...wish me luck
..And the moral of the story is dont use your XDA while on the toilet :shock: ....
I used a hair dryer on my xda after opening it, also did a hard reset before charging it. While charging, the phone doesn't come on when I press the power button......The amber charging light turned to green after charging for 3 hours but went off immediately I lifted it from the cradle. .........Any ideas on these issues?

water damage

Hi -
I regretfully managed to drop my X10 in a toilet last night.... It's been a good 9 hours since at least and although initiallly it turned on when I started to charge it now it wont.
Now the red light if flashing when it is connected to the charger, and the screen is evidently a bit moist around the edges... EDIT: the phone just turned on so part of the issue was the battery being dead, but the screen slowly got darker and darker before switching off...
Is there any test for the phone company to see if it's water damaged?
Also, if I were to call them up and say there was an issue, I know they'd replace it with a straight exchange, so they wouldn't check it first.... Is it safe to do that?
Thanks
FIRST THINGS FIRST :
TURN OFF THE PHONE. NOW. Don't hang around, pull the battery out and DO NOT PUT IT IN.
Circuits are fine when in water, it's the corrosion and also when they have an electrical current put through them that the problem arises (when wet).
This WILL be tested when sent back if you call up and claim fault. The quickest way to visually test water damage is simple. Take off the back of your Xperia and at the top, exactly center (right above the camera) you'll see either a red and white chequered square OR a full red square (possibly part red/white but blotchy).
This SHOULD be chequered red and white but with water damage it makes it all red. Simple. No chance you can claim non damage now.
SECOND.
Put the phone in a bowl of rice(uncooked white rice). Now put the bowl of rice in a warm room or cupboard (preferably where your boiler is for your house?) or on top of a heater.
Leave it overnight and if it's on a heater DO NOT TURN THE HEATER OFF. Don't put the battery in the bowl, keep the battery separate and cooler but also make sure to avoid any water areas with it.
You could be lucky (I'll assume you will be but only time will tell) and this could fix it. It's worked on all my previous phones that I've water damaged (funnily enough I've only ever water damaged SEs) and also a few other circuit board based things I've used (one of them being a laptop!).
Please turn your phone off the SECOND you have read this post. Quickest way, battery pull.
Follow all the above steps and you should have a working xperia again.
Last note : if you dont have a heater to place a bowl of rice & xperia on top of, sit your phone in an empty room, turn a hair drier on and lay it next to it on medium heat setting on the lowest speed blowing against the phone. Should work too but make sure u can shut the door (annoying noise..)
yetep said:
FIRST THINGS FIRST :
TURN OFF THE PHONE. NOW. Don't hang around, pull the battery out and DO NOT PUT IT IN.
Circuits are fine when in water, it's the corrosion and also when they have an electrical current put through them that the problem arises (when wet).
This WILL be tested when sent back if you call up and claim fault. The quickest way to visually test water damage is simple. Take off the back of your Xperia and at the top, exactly center (right above the camera) you'll see either a red and white chequered square OR a full red square (possibly part red/white but blotchy).
This SHOULD be chequered red and white but with water damage it makes it all red. Simple. No chance you can claim non damage now.
SECOND.
Put the phone in a bowl of rice(uncooked white rice). Now put the bowl of rice in a warm room or cupboard (preferably where your boiler is for your house?) or on top of a heater.
Leave it overnight and if it's on a heater DO NOT TURN THE HEATER OFF. Don't put the battery in the bowl, keep the battery separate and cooler but also make sure to avoid any water areas with it.
You could be lucky (I'll assume you will be but only time will tell) and this could fix it. It's worked on all my previous phones that I've water damaged (funnily enough I've only ever water damaged SEs) and also a few other circuit board based things I've used (one of them being a laptop!).
Please turn your phone off the SECOND you have read this post. Quickest way, battery pull.
Follow all the above steps and you should have a working xperia again.
Last note : if you dont have a heater to place a bowl of rice & xperia on top of, sit your phone in an empty room, turn a hair drier on and lay it next to it on medium heat setting on the lowest speed blowing against the phone. Should work too but make sure u can shut the door (annoying noise..)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you so much for your advice. I'll give it a go. I don't have any white rice, just brown, will that make a difference?
Of course I'll go and buy white rice if I need it!
The square at the phone is blotchy.... but mostly red. you can still see slight shades of white though.. is this possible without water damage?
Also from what you've said, I really shouldn't have put the phone to charge. I think I left it charging for ast least 6 hours so now I feel like I've ruined it by doing that..
Thanks again )
Just another update. after almost 5 hours in the rice I inserted the battery and connected it to the charger. There was an improvement from before in that the phone turned on and stayed on, ALTHOUGH th screen was flickering, and it really wasn't responding very well - I couldn't actually unlock the device.
There's a visible different in the water movement though, in that there seemed to be some spread around the whole screen initially, and now it's in a small part of the bottom of the screen.
Any tips?
Also, could someone clarify whether Vodafone would class it as water damaged?
Tuffy11 said:
Just another update. after almost 5 hours in the rice I inserted the battery and connected it to the charger. There was an improvement from before in that the phone turned on and stayed on, ALTHOUGH th screen was flickering, and it really wasn't responding very well - I couldn't actually unlock the device.
There's a visible different in the water movement though, in that there seemed to be some spread around the whole screen initially, and now it's in a small part of the bottom of the screen.
Any tips?
Also, could someone clarify whether Vodafone would class it as water damaged?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well you dropped it in water and now its damaged, that seems like text book water damage to me =/
Sent from my X10a using XDA App
Waiting 7 hours is not long enough...
Rice can only absorb moisture at a certain rate.
You should have wait much longer..
No offense, but your phone is toast. Rule number one is to NEVER turn on a water damaged device for at least a day after the incident. The phone was probably fine until you plugged it in.
You'll have to be on the hook for a new one. Your phone was water damaged and will not be covered under warranty.
Also, your grammar needs improvement. I found it really difficult to follow what you were writing because it made little sense.
Stop playing with it and leave it in the rice another day.
Then pray
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
They'll be able to tell
Sent from my X10a using XDA App
1. Diasassemble the Phone and put the PCB for 24hrs in 99% Isopropyle Alcohol. Not 50%, not 70% --> 99%.
2. Then take it out and let it dry for 48hrs.
3. Now reflash it (the SW is/may be corrupted).
I reanimated 80% of 200 Water-, Beer-, Pool-, Toilet-, and so on damaged Phones I repaired in the past...
Hey tuffy, sorry for the absence was at work till 10 last night then went straight to sleep lol.
I was going to give you similar advice to McKebapp however I thought the easiest option would be to give you common-to-find objects and make it easier as actually locating 99% Isopropyle is next to impossible unless you know exactly what it is!
Anyways, brown is fine - rice is rice it still takes in water. Only issue is it takes boiled water in at a rate almost 150 times faster than luke-warm or cold (which is what the water inside your phone will be).
If at all possible, do what McKebbap said but maybe avoid putting the PCB in alcohol, stick to the rice as it's bone dry and although, theoretically, so is the alcohol it'll be easier than trying to clean it all off afterwards.
If you can't dismantle it down (basically we need as much air-space between the PCB and well.. the air/rice!) then just put it back in fresh rice and leave it with the back off and battery out for another 24 hours or so, again in a warm area (needs to be warm for the water to rise).
Please, DO NOT TRY TO TURN IT ON WITHIN THIS TIME. Personally i'd actually be quite inclined to leave it for about 3 days but changing the rice (or mixing it) each day.
Good luck mate.
Oh and to answer your question : it's not possible for it to become blotchy or anything other than just squares of red/white without water buddy. it's designed for phone companies to , at a quick glance, check water damage cause guess what, besides dropping the phone, is the most common return reason ;-)
yetep said:
I was going to give you similar advice to McKebapp however I thought the easiest option would be to give you common-to-find objects and make it easier as actually locating 99% Isopropyle is next to impossible unless you know exactly what it is!
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Click to collapse
Each Pharmacy should have it for sale.
They maybe ask for what you'll use it.
Simply tell them the truth (cleaning electronics) or say, you'll need it to clean guitar strings from colophony.
Then everything should be fine.
So what happened? How's the phone?
How about the beer test in the good ol' days of the R310s
D3sRtH4mmR said:
So what happened? How's the phone?
How about the beer test in the good ol' days of the R310s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if it is Off Topic...
YMMD
I've still got one orange R310s I still regualry make use of.
You simply can't destroy it.
I once even went snorkeling with it.
*remembering-the-good-'ol,-Sony-free,-pure-Ericsson-times*
McKebapp said:
Even if it is Off Topic...
YMMD
I've still got one orange R310s I still regualry make use of.
You simply can't destroy it.
I once even went snorkeling with it.
*remembering-the-good-'ol,-Sony-free,-pure-Ericsson-times*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, the awesome days of Ericsson phones! My R380s still works!
Back on topic, I hope Tuffy11 managed to salvage the X10.
U can get isopropyl from any pharmacy. You should follow mckebapps guide. Check his posts out, he knows whats up. ;-)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
D3sRtH4mmR said:
Indeed, the awesome days of Ericsson phones! My R380s still works!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine r520m works fine except bluetooth. In 2006 Ericsson didn't support this model anymore, so I switched to k790a that works fine for now. Even now with 3.2 Mp camera it does better job in dark sets, than X10. When I read specs I was surprised that they didn't use xenon flash. It is a kind of a bad joke for flagship model.
Returning to water damage - it is enough just to leave a phone for a week in regular room environment. Of course, I mean average environment, not like in rain season somewhere in rainforest. Alcohol (any kind - regular ethanol or isopropyl) absorbs water, but dries faster, than water, so this bath just significantly reduces water concentration. By the way, don't try to find 99% of consumer ethanol - it doesn't exist. 96% is the best (190 proof in the US or 175 degrees proof in UK). For isopropyl regular distillation gives 87.9% max. Azeotropic distillation produces higher percentage for both these spirits, but I doubt you can find it in regular stores. Closed areas, where water was suck in remain problematic. Moreover, when water finally dries out, it leaves mineral salts. It is not a big deal at circuit plates since those salts are electric safe (except sea water salts), but in clear areas like between screen layers they will be visible.
And again - if you want to kill any electronics most effective way, turn it on when it is wet. If you want to save it - be patient.
Hopefully this will help some poor schmucks that manage to do the #3 in the toilet (common enough so I call it #3).
If there is ****, just let go man, really.
If there is piss, likely more damage has been done so chances of recovery are slimmer (salty water is more conductive).
If clean water then likely the phone will work but some hardware might not survive (like the camera, ....)
In any case, remove the battery IMMEDIATELY!
Wipe battery dry. Leave alone and forget about it for 3-4 days.
Shake out as much water as possible out of the phone and let it dry for a week. You can safely use a hair dryer to warm it up to speed the evaporation. Do it twice a day.
If you want, dunk the phone in 99% rubbing alcohol for 10-20 seconds, swish it around. Take it out and forget you had a phone for 3-4 of days.
I never dropped one into the loo but I did go swimming with two phones and both survived (mostly).

[Q] Wet RAZR

Hi -- my wife's razr took a two-second swim in the toilet. We dried it, blow-dried it on a medium setting, then plopped in it a bag of rice for two days. It appears to now be functioning fine, except that it doesn't seem to be charging, even though the phone indicates that it is charging. The level stays stuck on twenty. It's discharged down to 15, then charged back up to 20, but no further. It doesn't seem like a hardware problem to me, it seems like a faulty battery read, though I of course could be mistaken. The USB connection works fine -- I've transferred all the files off the sd card. Any thoughts? Would a factory reset perhaps reset the battery stats (the phone is unrooted)? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Don't know exactly, but isn't a factory reset just the wipe of all installed data and the return to delivery state? So a "damaged" battery wouldn't be "repared" ?
But have you just tried another battery watching app? maybe this will show the true battery life? than you could be serious that it's maybe just the system app and do a factory reset / reinstall the system battery watching apk?
I've already done the factory reset and will charge overnight and see what happens. I will install a third party app though, great idea, thanks...
just let us know the result
want to know how water proof my razr is
You could try one of the battery calibration apps on the market. They simply delete the .bin file that stores battery information.
Although, I think your battery may have shorted out potentially.
Much easier solution, works on iphones every time.
(iPhones are water damaged 100% of the time when we get them for repairs, whether they've been in water or not)
Get electronics cleaner with oil, spray a small amount in the usb port and stick the usb plug in and out a few times.
Now try charging and see if it works again.
I will try this as it still isn't working. Thanks...
Shadowdancer -- are you saying this works in this situation, where the phone says it's charging but in reality it's only charging at a super minuscule rate?
billku said:
Shadowdancer -- are you saying this works in this situation, where the phone says it's charging but in reality it's only charging at a super minuscule rate?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, virtually anything can be solved with electrical cleaner and a hard reboot on the iphones.
It solves problems with emergency charging mode that stays for 24 hours.
It solves the "This device is not supported" when trying to charge.
Also solves problems flashing the iphones with new firmware.
I also fixed one or two other brand of phones with this, but micro usb is a lot less sensitive to bad connections.
The oil also protects from wear, as the oxidation has removed the protective coating. Which is what causes the charging problems.
If that won't work though, I'd say pop the lid and clean it carefully. You won't get any warranty things through unfortunately.
Tried the electrical cleaner, it didn't seem to help matters. I called a Motorola repair facility, and they'll replace the battery for $85. I suppose it's worth a shot, though if it's not charging (even though it's still indicating that it is), I guess it could be for other reasons than a bad battery.
billku said:
Tried the electrical cleaner, it didn't seem to help matters. I called a Motorola repair facility, and they'll replace the battery for $85. I suppose it's worth a shot, though if it's not charging (even though it's still indicating that it is), I guess it could be for other reasons than a bad battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that sucks, but I guess it might work if you don't want to tear the back off yourself.
That assumes the battery to be the only thing not treated with whatever water repellent they used.
Just tried to get the phone repaired, the circuit on the board that charges the phone is corroded. Not surprised, but if anyone out there considers their phone "waterproof," well, I wouldn't.
normally you should put your phone in a pot, put some rice on it. Cook it at low temp with no oil for exactly 1:50min. Your phone will sustain no water damage.
I won't get into detail why you put rice on it, some people use salt but I wouldn't risk it for a chocolate biscuit.
PS : only use these methods when slam dunking your phone into pond/ river/bath tub/when attempting to flush your phone down the toilet wanting to get an insurance pay out/ dropping your phone in an aquarium.
i actually had this happen to me VERY early this morning. I was having problems with it rebooting it self quite often. I shook it to get the water out. About an hour later it started to operate normally.
I just was reading that you can take the back cover off (voids the warrenty but Im rooted so... ) so I did that to run a fhair dryeer on it at cool/warm to remove excess water. There was no water in the unit. even the little strip that the have with the xxx on it to test if it has been droped in water was untouched.
Love this phone!!!!!
I have read great things about the Bheestie Bag. I have no idea what the name is about, but I read an online article about them that was very favorable.
SallyC said:
I have read great things about the Bheestie Bag. I have no idea what the name is about, but I read an online article about them that was very favorable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a bag full of silicate balls, pretty much the stuff you get in those tiny white packets with harddrives, clothes and shoes etc.
You can get big bags of this at virtually any allround store, moisture out, "damprid" and all kinds of brands. It's a strongly moisture absorbent powder.
Btw, I could be called insane, but I usually treat my phone with "clear vue" and a color less shoe shine pad- (It contains silicone oil and some more moisture repellant.
I do this once a week.
ed: btw, you can get these blue silicate balls with ultra absorbent cat litter, 20$ buys you 10+ litres.
Yes, and they are reusable until the blue beads turn grey. They are supposed to be 700% more effective than rice. I've never needed it but bought one just in case after reading the Amazon reviews.
MattyOnXperiaX10 said:
normally you should put your phone in a pot, put some rice on it. Cook it at low temp with no oil for exactly 1:50min. Your phone will sustain no water damage.
I won't get into detail why you put rice on it, some people use salt but I wouldn't risk it for a chocolate biscuit.
PS : only use these methods when slam dunking your phone into pond/ river/bath tub/when attempting to flush your phone down the toilet wanting to get an insurance pay out/ dropping your phone in an aquarium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have heard of putting your phone in the oven on the lowest setting possible. Do you think that is something that would work?
MischiefsMommy said:
I have heard of putting your phone in the oven on the lowest setting possible. Do you think that is something that would work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a thermometer that you can put inside first, make damn sure it doesn't go over 60 c (140 f)
If it's digital then you can see how much it goes up and down, if it even sniffs at around 70 then you can't use your oven.
If you decide to do it, put it on a piece of cardboard paper at 50 degrees C
for 15 minutes or so.
Thanks for telling me that. I thought the person who told me that was crazy. And no it was nobody from this forum. ;-)

[Q] Found a phone with massive corrosion inside, what to do?

Basically, I found a phone on the side of a road (a Galaxy S2) that has a cracked screen, obvious drop damage (there was a case near it too that I assume took some of the impact), and a bit of water damage. No idea how long it was there, but I'd estimate between a few hours or a day.
I'm somewhat hoping I could get it powered up and use it, but I imagine there isn't much hope at all for it.
I read some guides online, and noticed a few that mentioned vinegar could remove corrosion. I disassembled the S2 as far as I could, and then just dropped it in a small container of ACV, and plan to leave it overnight. There was a good bit of bubble activity when I left, so I assume the vinegar is doing it's work on the corrosion quite nicely.
I'm not really expecting the phone to work at all, but who knows. As long as there isn't any physical motherboard damage and no short-circuiting occured, I would think it would be fine.
As for what happened to the phone, I assume it was dropped, but it's possible it was ran over as well. Ideally, I'd hope the phone was just dropped and the battery came out instantly to reduce the chance of short circuiting.
My plan for now is to just let it sit in the vinegar for about 8 hours, and then check on it in the morning. Depending on how much corrosion is left, i'll either just try to clean up the rest with a tiny brush, or just let it soak some more in fresh vinegar. I'm hoping the vinegar itself doesn't damage anything crucial though.
Potential Water Damage Fix
espionage724 said:
Basically, I found a phone on the side of a road (a Galaxy S2) that has a cracked screen, obvious drop damage (there was a case near it too that I assume took some of the impact), and a bit of water damage. No idea how long it was there, but I'd estimate between a few hours or a day.
I'm somewhat hoping I could get it powered up and use it, but I imagine there isn't much hope at all for it.
I read some guides online, and noticed a few that mentioned vinegar could remove corrosion. I disassembled the S2 as far as I could, and then just dropped it in a small container of ACV, and plan to leave it overnight. There was a good bit of bubble activity when I left, so I assume the vinegar is doing it's work on the corrosion quite nicely.
I'm not really expecting the phone to work at all, but who knows. As long as there isn't any physical motherboard damage and no short-circuiting occured, I would think it would be fine.
As for what happened to the phone, I assume it was dropped, but it's possible it was ran over as well. Ideally, I'd hope the phone was just dropped and the battery came out instantly to reduce the chance of short circuiting.
My plan for now is to just let it sit in the vinegar for about 8 hours, and then check on it in the morning. Depending on how much corrosion is left, i'll either just try to clean up the rest with a tiny brush, or just let it soak some more in fresh vinegar. I'm hoping the vinegar itself doesn't damage anything crucial though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love to know how this turned out. I was planning on trying something like this myself. I have a mildly water damaged s2 lte that still works except for 3 issues:
1. Needs external power to turn on
2. Crashes whenever I use Gallery and occasionally if i switch apps fast.
3. Battery meter always reads 1.
I think this is because there's some mild corrosion somewhere causing a short circuit in certain areas.
Some things I've found through research(but untested):
1. Soak in salt+vinegar solution for < 10min
2. Rinse out with water/baking soda solution
3. Repeat a couple times if necessary.
4. Soak in isopropyl alcohol(99% rubbing alcohol) overnight
5. Dry off in air for 24hours
Scrub lightly with a toothbrush any visible corrosion during steps 1-2.
Optional attach one of those suction cup speakers that vibrates(turning anything into a speaker) to the soaking basin and play some high frequency sounds. Vibrations are supposed to help, but i don't know exact frequency.

Question Data recovery or erasure options when the screen does not respond/phone doesn't boot and USB debugging is not enabled

Good day,
I would very much appreciate help with the following.
The screen on my Xperia 1 III is no longer working after, what I assume to be, water damage that entered via the USB port.
Previously, I have never had an issue with that before and it was whilst waiting for the USB port to dry out that the phone switched off and upon restarting green lines were flickering across the screen and it did not get beyond the Sony logo.
I have tried drying the phone out with silica gel for >48 hours.
Following that there is a single, steady, green line across the top of the screen but nothing else and the screen/phone switches off a few seconds later.
The situation is:
USB debugging is not enabled.
Bluetooth was not enabled at the time of the issue.
The phone was not paired or set to allow data transfer with the laptop I currently have.
I’ve installed the Android SDK (including ADB tools) on the laptop.
The phone was visible n Device Manager and the Sony drivers were then installed.
However, because USB debugging is not enabled it failed to show up when the ‘ADB Devices’ command was run.
Two phone recovery applications were tried but they were not useful and only appeared to be of any value in this situation if it was one of a limited number of Samsung models.
I may have misunderstood but starting in ClockworkMod Recovery mode doesn’t seem to be an option for the Xperia 1 III as the Sony ‘unlock bootloader’ - https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/unlock-bootloader - should have been done beforehand.
What options are there for:
a) Getting the data, Due to the fact it has personal data I am accepting of paying up to £200 providing that I can definitely copy my data over and erase the data or use the phone afterwards.
A replacement LCD + digitiser seems to be around £400 which is out of my budget and, whilst it seems to be ‘only’ water damage to the screen, may not be guaranteed to work.
Or,
b) Erasing it completely. I have had a bad experience with a previous phone insurer years ago when I could not read a phones screen and they had kept the old damaged phone on and collecting data for a long time – a fact I only discovered when checking my Google account and seeing the list of connected devices and the dates… Consequently, I do not want this to happen again and I am concerned that signing out of the phone, from my Google account, is not sufficient.
Many thanks in advance.
Pull the battery asap. Dry it out completely before reapplying power. Think days not hours.
If that fails you be boned.
Otherwise only a data recovery specialist who can hot air the SOC off has a chance at recovering the data.
Assuming the PCB isn't already corroded away, I think your options are one of:
Pry off or break open the back then let it dry somewhere warm
Put it in a vacuum chamber for several hours to evaporate the water. The pump will need fresh oil because only a high vacuum evaporates water. (People use these to degas composite adhesives and casting mix)
Wrap the phone in paper and place it under dry ice so that the water freezes. Boot it and copy everything off while it's still under dry ice. CO2 that gets into the water will form a weak acid and likely destroy the phone once it warms up.
As stated above, get that battery out ASAP.
What I have done in the past with my 1iii (I have broken the screen before and it wouldn't display anything) is connected a usb dongle that has usb, hdmi and ethernet port all on it.
I had a usb mouse and a display connected via the HDMI port on the dongle. I was able to boot the phone with the broken screen unplugged but the external screen and mouse connected.
When a external screen is detected the phone defaults to a mirror display of the main screen.
You can then use the mouse to enter your pin and the external screen and operate the phone that way.
This only works if your usb port is working. Since you state that the computer detected the phone I'd presume that the usb port is working still.
kevinmcmurtrie said:
Assuming the PCB isn't already corroded away, I think your options are one of:
Pry off or break open the back then let it dry somewhere warm
Put it in a vacuum chamber for several hours to evaporate the water. The pump will need fresh oil because only a high vacuum evaporates water. (People use these to degas composite adhesives and casting mix)
Wrap the phone in paper and place it under dry ice so that the water freezes. Boot it and copy everything off while it's still under dry ice. CO2 that gets into the water will form a weak acid and likely destroy the phone once it warms up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dry ice is bad plan. It can fracture solder joints and is beyond the storage specs of all the chipsets let alone operating specs. Not to mention the Li will have little available power.
Anhydrous isopropyl alcohol can be used as a drying agent. Flush with it then drive all the access as possible in a dry, warm room. Allow to dry for 2 days with a fan on it.
Njal31 said:
Good day,
I would very much appreciate help with the following.
The screen on my Xperia 1 III is no longer working after, what I assume to be, water damage that entered via the USB port.
Previously, I have never had an issue with that before and it was whilst waiting for the USB port to dry out that the phone switched off and upon restarting green lines were flickering across the screen and it did not get beyond the Sony logo.
I have tried drying the phone out with silica gel for >48 hours.
Following that there is a single, steady, green line across the top of the screen but nothing else and the screen/phone switches off a few seconds later.
The situation is:
USB debugging is not enabled.
Bluetooth was not enabled at the time of the issue.
The phone was not paired or set to allow data transfer with the laptop I currently have.
I’ve installed the Android SDK (including ADB tools) on the laptop.
The phone was visible n Device Manager and the Sony drivers were then installed.
However, because USB debugging is not enabled it failed to show up when the ‘ADB Devices’ command was run.
Two phone recovery applications were tried but they were not useful and only appeared to be of any value in this situation if it was one of a limited number of Samsung models.
I may have misunderstood but starting in ClockworkMod Recovery mode doesn’t seem to be an option for the Xperia 1 III as the Sony ‘unlock bootloader’ - https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/unlock-bootloader - should have been done beforehand.
What options are there for:
a) Getting the data, Due to the fact it has personal data I am accepting of paying up to £200 providing that I can definitely copy my data over and erase the data or use the phone afterwards.
A replacement LCD + digitiser seems to be around £400 which is out of my budget and, whilst it seems to be ‘only’ water damage to the screen, may not be guaranteed to work.
Or,
b) Erasing it completely. I have had a bad experience with a previous phone insurer years ago when I could not read a phones screen and they had kept the old damaged phone on and collecting data for a long time – a fact I only discovered when checking my Google account and seeing the list of connected devices and the dates… Consequently, I do not want this to happen again and I am concerned that signing out of the phone, from my Google account, is not sufficient.
Many thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can seek help from sony. The manufactor can backup your full data through 9008 mode even your phone brick. If your phone is in care period it will cost less. Then you can fix the hardware problem and restore data.
cscomic said:
You can seek help from sony. The manufactor can backup your full data through 9008 mode even your phone brick. If your phone is in care period it will cost less. Then you can fix the hardware problem and restore data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not with fried mobo. A data recovery specialist might be able to...
blackhawk said:
Dry ice is bad plan. It can fracture solder joints and is beyond the storage specs of all the chipsets let alone operating specs. Not to mention the Li will have little available power.
Anhydrous isopropyl alcohol can be used as a drying agent. Flush with it then drive all the access as possible in a dry, warm room. Allow to dry for 2 days with a fan on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anhydrous isopropyl alcohol on a mostly sealed phone won't leave it in any better condition than dry ice will. It's great for washing modern PCBs but it eventually destroys adhesives, optics, conformal coatings, and some electronic components. You can't easily dry things out by putting them next to alcohol either. The alcohol will migrate towards the water faster than the water will migrate towards the alcohol.
Opening the phone is the only plan where it might survive long-term. A vacuum chamber is the second best bet.
kevinmcmurtrie said:
Anhydrous isopropyl alcohol on a mostly sealed phone won't leave it in any better condition than dry ice will. It's great for washing modern PCBs but it eventually destroys adhesives, optics, conformal coatings, and some electronic components. You can't easily dry things out by putting them next to alcohol either. The alcohol will migrate towards the water faster than the water will migrate towards the alcohol.
Opening the phone is the only plan where it might survive long-term. A vacuum chamber is the second best bet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know what happens when water freezes? It expands... forcefully.
The first thing that must be done is to disconnect the battery to stop electrolysis induce corrosion of the power pathways. Sooner is better.
You must open it up to flush.
Anhydrous isopropyl absorbs all moisture which is why you do it in a dry room. I've used it for over 20 years on electronic assemblies. Any conformal coating is irrelevant at this point. Best judgment should be used. Adhesives wouldn't be damaged from a brief exposure. The cams and if it gets between the display and glass it will leave a stain residue, again irrelevant in this case.
Any water will destroy the device and it will not operate properly if water is present.
Most of the isopropyl will have evaporated in a few hours in a warm (80-120F), dry room with a fan on it. Low pressure air can be used at first to help drive the alcohol out, carefully.
The most important thing is to purge moisture from the BGA chipset contacts including the SOC and the power section. Water will also linger on the ribbon cable connector contacts.

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