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The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (called the Note5) is a phablet-style phone with stylus, manufactured by Samsung, released in August 2015.

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Water damage, everything works except for the screen

I recently inquired this Galaxy Note5 from my mother's friend. She said she believes the phone was dropped in water. I've tried plugging it up and the little light at the top lit up red then changed to blue after charging for a few minutes. It even vibrates when you hold the power button down, as if it was turning on. But the screen doesn't do anything, just stays black. Does that mean I need to only get the screen replaced ?

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Hi @theresahotz ,

Not necessarily, there could be a host of other problems yet to be found

As you now know, water and electronics and electricity are not a good mix.

The minerals in the water cause corrosion and the water also provides circuit paths for the electricity which were not in the phone's operating design and could damage the components. The corrosion process starts immediately and will not stop until it has been thoroughly cleaned away

First do not turn on your phone and then you need to with the phone turned off, remove the battery as soon as possible from the phone to minimize further damage.''

Then you need to dis-assemble the rest of the phone and clean all the affected parts using Isopropyl Alcohol 90%+ to remove all traces of corrosion and water. Do not use "rubbing alcohol" as in some cases this is only 70% or less and is not as effective. If you do check the label to verify the amount

Here is a link that describes the process.

Electronics Water Damage

As always with electronics, especially surface mounted PCBs be gentle when handling and especially when brushing away the corrosion. You do not want to remove any components from the board.

Here is a link to the ifixit Samsung Galaxy Note 5 guides for your phone which may be of some help.

If this process seems too daunting, take your phone to a reputable, professional mobile phone repair service experienced in water damage repair and ask for a quote for a repair. If you decide to do this, do it sooner than later.

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