Button / Keyboard Problems
After a phone gets wet, its very common for buttons to malfunction. Malfunctions include buttons not responding when pressed, having to press the button hard in order to be detected, or sometimes when you press a button, another button will respond (ex. you press the number three, but the number nine shows up on the display).
All the above problems are signs that liquid has entered the keyboard, and as it dried, oxidation has developed. Oxidation can block connections, or short out connections, leaving you with a broken keyboard.
We can professionally clean the keyboard to remove any debris / oxidation that has built up, which will fix the problem.
Send us your broken phone today!
A button is nothing more then a switch. A keyboard is just a series of switches. When a switch is activated, the phone interprets each signal received as a number. Lets see how a cell phone keyboard works, and how liquid effects it.
This is what the keyboard looks like in a typical phone. Some phones have detachable keyboards, other phones have them built into the circuit board.
Notice the white padding all around the keyboard. Its made of plastic, and the bottom is very sticky (it sticks to the keyboard). Underneath them are silver pads (they are really just saucer shaped metal pads).
Here, the white padding is removed. The metal pads are saucer shaped, and acts as a switch when pressed. Pressing the metal saucer creates a connection between the inner and outer circles on the circuit board, When the connection is made, the phone interprets the corresponding number.
The saucer shaped metal pad always make contact with the outer ring of the circuit. Since the metal pad is saucer shaped, it doesn't make contact with the inner metal circle until the button is pressed. When its pressed, the metal saucer acts as a conductor, and passes electricity to the center pad (inner circle) where the phones circuit board detects the signal received as a number.
What causes the button to malfunction after getting wet?
Once the phone gets wet, liquid gets between the keyboard and the keypad, and eventually the liquid makes way underneath the metal disks. Soon as liquid, metal and oxygen combine, a process called oxidation occurs. Oxidation builds up on any metal surface, so so when you press the buttons, the signal is not being passed properly due to the oxidation blocking it. Below are some images of what a liquid damaged keyboard looks like.
Note the debris on the metal- especially in the center. This is more then enough oxidation to prevent the signal from being being made- resulting in no response when the button is pressed, or resulting in you having to press the button very hard in order to get a response.
If your numbers are not being detected properly (for example if you press "3" but "6" shows up on the LCD, or if your keyboard is not working at all, then liquid may have entered the connector plug. This is where the keyboard plugs into the circuit board. Below you can see oxidation present, which can short out the circuit. If a circuit is shorted out, the wrong signal can be sent, or even no signal at all.
Notice the liquid damage that has developed- the areas that have lots of debris are all being shorted out.