Will a new screen solve my water damaged phone backlight? (Moto G5)
Hi there, I have seen a few similar problems here so sorry if I'm repeating! Haven't found same phone model or exactly same issue.
My Motorola Android phone, Moto G5 model, sustained water damage 6 weeks ago, I'm currently travelling in South America. After some time in a bag of rice, it would switch on but the screen was extremely dim even on full brightness.
I took it to a repair shop in Chile and they did what I understood (in my poor Spanish) to be something they called a 'chemical wash' - hopefully this is the isopropyl cleaning I have seen mentioned here. Sadly when I came back they said it hadn't made any impact.
The phone itself functions perfectly as far as I can tell - with an angled light or a bright headtorch, I can see outlines and faint colours which allow me to broadly operate it. I can hook it up to a screencast tool (e.g. Airdroid) on my laptop, and everything works fine - WiFi, apps, sound, etc.
Sadly purchasing either a screen replacement or a new phone in Argentina where I am now is very expensive.
I have family coming out to stay for Christmas. I wondered if they could bring me a replacement Moto G5 screen (cheaper to buy in the UK) and I have it fitted by a repair shop here. But in ordering this replacement screen, the website (replacebase.co.uk) mentioned a damaged backlight or damaged backlight chip in the motherboard may also be at fault.
Is there any way to tell what exactly is causing the issue based on the information above, or ascertain whether a replacement screen will solve the problem? Are there any other replacement components that I should order 'just in case' (I only have one shot since the family is coming out in a few weeks) that I can then have fitted in a shop here ? I was struggling to understand if the backlight is part of the screen or not (apologies, I'm not very technical!)
Any advice gratefully received :) Thank you!
Is this a good question?