What to do if your Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) keeps showing the “moisture detected” warning [Troubleshooting Guide]

The moisture detected error in your Samsung Galaxy A5 is actually a warning so that you won’t charge your phone because it’s probably got in contact with any form of liquid and as we all know, water and electricity don’t mix well. At least, that’s the most common scenario if you’re getting warned like this.

We, however, have encountered similar issues with other devices wherein this very same error or warning popped up even if the phone didn’t suffer from liquid damage. In those cases, the warning was triggered by the firmware or something in the system caused it to pop up. So, in this post, I will walk you through in determining what the real problem with your phone is and why it’s getting this error. We will take into consideration every possibility and rule them out one by one until we can pinpoint the problem. This way, we can try to formulate a solution that might fix it for good.

But before we go to our proper troubleshooting, if you happen to find this page because you were looking for solutions to a different problem, then I suggest you visit our Galaxy A5 troubleshooting page as we’ve already addressed the most commonly reported issues with this phone and you may find what you’re looking for in there. Feel free to use the solutions and workarounds we provided. If they don’t work for you or if you need further assistance, fill up our Android issues questionnaire and then hit submit and we’ll do our best to help you.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy A5 with moisture detected warning

We will try to troubleshoot to see if we can fix this problem on our own and save you from taking a trip to the shop and wait in line or for the tech to finish fixing your phone. Don’t worry, there are no complicated steps here and everything we suggest is safe and based on our experience. Here’s what you need to do about it…

Step 1: Check the USB port of your phone

If the phone got in contact with water one way or another, then this error shows up because the USB port or the pins in it has some moist and somehow messing up with the circuit. The error would also pop up if one pin got bent and touches the other that’s why it’s imperative you check the charging port of the phone to see if there’s some moist in it or it’s a case of a bent pin.

Assuming you can see some traces of liquid in it, get a small piece of tissue paper and insert it into the port. Leave it there for 3 minutes so that it can absorb the moist. Once you’re convinced the port is dry, reboot your phone and wait for the error. If it doesn’t show, then the problem is fixed.

In the case wherein one pin is bent and touches the other, turn your phone off first. Get a pair of tweezers and try straighten the bent pin to position it back to its place. Be very careful not to damage or break it though. If it’s not possible for you, then it’s time you need help from a technician.

Step 2: Check the charger and the cable

Assuming the charging port of your phone is dry and that there’s no bent pin or corrosion, then try to check for the charger and the cable especially if the warning shows up after you tried charging your device. There’s a chance the charger or one end of the cable got some moist and got detected by the phone, which triggered the error.

You can always use the tissue to dry them off but a blast of compressed air will do the job as well. Also try to look for crooked or broken pins as that could also be the cause of this problem.

Step 3: Check the Liquid Damage Indicator of your phone

Again, let’s assume that everything looks good in your phone’s charging port as well as with the charger and the cable. If the warning still keeps popping up, it’s possible your phone is suffering from liquid damage. I understand your Galaxy A5 is IP68-certified but such rating is only for water and dust resistance. Meaning, your phone isn’t waterproof so there’s a chance water can find it’s way into it.

One way to verify this is to check the Liquid Damage Indicator. It’s a small sticker that can be found inside the SIM card slot. If the phone has some sort of liquid damage, the white sticker will turn red, pink or purple and if this is the case, there’s nothing much you can do about it but bring your phone back to the store and have the tech take a look at it.

Step 4: Start your phone in Safe mode to know if the warning still shows up

You only have to do this if everything in your phone’s charging port and LDI is looking good, meaning there’s no sign of liquid damage whatsoever. The reason behind this is that we will try to rule out the possibility that this error is triggered by one of the apps you installed.

When in Safe mode, all third-party apps are temporarily disabled so if one of them is the culprit, the error shouldn’t show up in this mode.
Here’s how you boot your A5 in safe mode…

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the screen with the device name.
3. When ‘SAMSUNG’ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
7. Release the Volume down key when you see ‘Safe Mode’.

Assuming the warning doesn’t show up in this mode, then you should find the app that’s causing the problem and then uninstall it. That should fix the problem…

1. From any Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Applications.
4. Tap Application manager.
5. Tap the desired application
6. Tap Uninstall.
7. Tap Uninstall again to confirm.

On the other hand, if the problem still persists even in this mode, then you have no other choice but to reset the phone.

Step 5: Backup all your important files and data and then reset your phone

This is your last resort and if the problem is with the firmware, a reset should take care of it. This is also a preparation just in case the problem still occurs after it; at least, you can delete all your personal information in your phone before a tech will take over.

But prior to the reset, make sure you make a backup of your important files and data as they will be deleted. Also, disable the Factory Reset Protection so that you won’t be locked out of your device after the reset. Follow the steps below…

1. From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Accounts.
4. Tap Google.
5. Tap your Google ID email address. If you have multiple accounts setup, you will need to repeat these steps for each account.
6. Tap More.
7. Tap Remove account.
8. Tap REMOVE ACCOUNT.

And follow these steps to reset your Galaxy A5…

1. Turn off the device.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the device logo screen displays, release only the Power key
4. When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
5. Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
6. Press Power button to select.
7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

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