Chosen Solution
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 that won’t power on. It was my daughter’s and got submerged in water. It was usable after that, but less so over time, until now, it will not boot at all. I’ve tried the conventional troubleshooting (different battery, boot to recovery mode, etc) without any success. She’s since gotten a new phone, and having come across ifixit.com, I thought it would be a good exercise to see if I can fix it. Not sure where to begin, though. I’d appreciate any guidance on how to proceed.
Darryl Whitmore sounds like you are dealing with the after effects of the water damage. I’d start with that. Use these guides to disassemble your phone. Once disassembled use this guide to help you clean your logic board. you have to remove all EMI shields. That guide was written for an iPhone but all the points are still pertinent to your phone as well. Of course if you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner then you want to get it cleaned that way. While you are cleaning it, pay close attention to the components on the logic board. Make sure that there are none missing or that you have a burned/charred looking component. Once it is cleaned, you do want to use a new battery. That way you have a known good starting point. Now comes the fun part, troubleshooting what works and what does not. You will have to have a multimeter for that. Start off with the power section. Here is a document that flowcharts the no power on situation Galaxy-S3-no-power-on..pdf water damage is the hardest to diagnose and to repair since virtually any part my have failed. Definitely a challenge and a great exercise.
Well I think I’ve found the problem. Check out the attached images of the motherboard, and especially the first one where I’ve marked what I think the problem is. Looks like some of the components on the motherboard are fried:
I didn’t see any other obvious areas of damage on the motherboard, but I’m guessing that the whole thing will need to be replaced anyway. So I think my next move is to order the Samsung S3 Verizon motherboard and install it by reversing the disasembly steps that I took to remove the damaged motherboard. Simple as that, or is there more to it? Also, dumb question: what about the Android OS? Is it stored somewhere on the damaged motherboard that is going away, or elsewhere on the device? If somewhere else, I would think that there is no problem with swapping out the motherboard. But if it is on the motherboard, I have other questions (such as will it be present on the replacement motherboard, and if so, what version, and so on).
