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Officially released on November 10, 2023. This is budget-friendly smartphone boasts a large 6.74-inch display with 90Hz refresh rate.

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How to minimize battery drain, possibly related to the loudspeaker

I’m experiencing abnormal battery drain that may be related to the loudspeaker or its circuit.

This issue started after the phone was exposed to water and briefly short-circuited.

Symptoms: When the speaker is connected, it heats up to around 42°C in less than 5 minutes, while the phone itself remains cool. During this time, the display briefly changes color from black to gray.

The speaker output is heavily distorted (similar to a damaged TV speaker) and extremely low in volume, even when set to maximum

After disconnecting the speaker, the battery drain still persists. Even in idle mode, the battery can drop by approximately 10–15%.

I would like to ask

  • What could cause current leakage in the loudspeaker circuit?
  • Could a faulty speaker, amplifier IC, or power line cause battery drain even after the speaker is removed?
  • Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
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Hi @rndm36804

Did you check the status of the LDI to see if it has changed colour indicating the the water has penetrated further and possibly damaged more than just the speaker?

The impurities in the water causes corrosion and provides circuit paths for the electricity which were not in the phone's operating design and could damage the components. The corrosion starts immediately and is ongoing until it is completely cleaned away

Do not try to charge or to turn on your phone again and then remove the battery as soon as possible from the phone to minimize any further damage.

Then you need to dis-assemble the rest of the phone and clean all the affected parts using Isopropyl Alcohol 99%+ (available at electronics parts stores) to remove all traces of corrosion and water. If possible do not use "rubbing alcohol" as in some cases this is only 70% IPA or less, can contain additives which may leave conductive residues and is not as effective. If you do have to use it check the label to verify the amount of IPA. The higher the percentage of IPA the better

Here is a link that describes what happens. Electronics Water Damage

As always with electronics, especially surface mounted pcb be gentle when handling and especially when brushing away the corrosion. You do not want to remove any components from the board. Remove the shields that may be covering some components as the water may have got in under there. The ends of any flex cables and their connectors need to be cleaned as well

Hopefully after you have done all this the phone might possibly work correctly again.

Here is a teardown video that may help.

If this process seems too daunting, take your phone to a reputable, professional phone repair service, experienced in liquid 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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3 Comments:

Thanks for the explanation.

I didn’t check the LDI, and honestly I couldn’t locate it on this model. However, after the water incident, the phone was fully disassembled and thoroughly cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. Any moisture and visible residue were removed.

At this point, the phone is operating normally. It boots, charges, and runs without any short-circuit symptoms or overheating in other areas. The only remaining issue is related to the loudspeaker/audio path.

When the speaker is connected, it heats up quickly and the audio output is severely distorted and extremely low, even at maximum volume. Even with the speaker disconnected, there is still noticeable abnormal battery drain.

Because the device is otherwise stable, I believe the water damage has already been addressed, and the problem is now limited to either the speaker itself, the audio amplifier IC, or a related power rail affected by the earlier short circuit.

I’d appreciate any advice on which part of the audio circuit should be checked first

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@rndm36804

You could try testing the speaker by connecting audio to it.

Looking at the speaker it's only a 2 wire circuit. Just be careful as to how much power you apply to it as you don't want to drive it too hard. It only works on about 3V ;-)

As for the other components you would need the schematics

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@jayeff Thanks for the clarification.

Just to add more information: audio output via wired earphones and Bluetooth works perfectly normal. The issue only occurs on the loudspeaker output.

prob fault is isolated to the loudspeaker path, most likely the speaker amplifier IC or its output circuitry affected by the earlier water short.

Since the speaker itself has already been replaced with no change in behavior, I suspect the amplifier may be producing a DC offset or leaking current, which could explain the heating and battery drain.

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