GoPro Tips: How to Avoid Damaging them & how to repair them if you do! by Drew Gregory | Dec 27, 2012 | Fishing | 44 comments So, I posted a photo on Facebook of about 7 GoPro cameras that I have recently had to take apart and try to repair. Several questions arose from the post such as, “Drew, how does this happen so i will know what not to do?” or “Drew you are too hard on your gear! Lol.” I figured it is a great winter time topic to explain what not to do with GoPros, why I made those mistakes which fried my cameras AND what to do if you do fry one. Out of the 7 pictured, I got 4 revived and I still have hope for at least one or two of the others that my second round of treatment may bring them back to life. WHAT NOT TO DO: Ok, I guess I need to set the stage first. So, I usually film with 3 GoPros on my kayak, one on the front facing me in the built in Jackson Kayak GoPro mount (Angler Cam), one on a boom behind me (Sky Cam) and one on a suction cup on the side of the kayak behind me facing forward that I can either duck underwater (Underwater Cam) or have it capture right at the water line (pictured to the right with Sky Cam). When I have it set right I can purposely lean to the right to film underwater and if I decide not to lean I can keep the shot right at the water line. This camera is also on the side I “typically” land fish on as well. The intro to this video will show you all 3 angles if you are unclear as to where they are on my kayak – One Fish, Many GoPros: Episode 1, “Jump” 1.) In my quest for, not just the best “video,” but the best audio I have been tempted to use the open air housing on the Sky Cam and on the Angler Cam. I still have yet to flip or fall out of my kayak (except when the goose happened) so I feel(felt) pretty comfortable using those housings. However, “things happen” and what has happened is this – I’ve hit some BIG waves and enough water has still gotten into the housing to fry the Angler Cam camera, even if it is working fine when I get off the water. The eventual corrosion and rust works its way in causing it to malfunction. However, on Sky Cam waves NEVER get that high obviously, so how have I ever fried that one due to having it in the open frame housing? Well, a couple ways; sometimes when you pull it out of your flush mount to change the battery the weight of it, when it finally pulls out, will surprise you and the camera end of the boom will fall into the water. Even though it may be ever so briefly, all that matters is that it went in completely and especially while it is running it will fry it. Or, I’ve pulled the boom out successfully to extend to get a boom shot of a friend and I just lose focus for a second as I’m trying to paddle with one arm and hold the boom with the other. It just takes one second for me to let it accidentally go into the water and ZAP its done! Lesson Learned: Use underwater housing, even when you don’t think you need it. If you absolutely want to have a camera in the non-waterproof housing make sure you put RED tape on it to reming you not to stick it underwater because, I know it sounds crazy, in the heat of the moment you just forget and are in a hurry because you know you have a very short amount of time to get cool shots with a fish before you have to release it healthy. 2.) However, I’ve fried most of mine when I WAS USING the waterproof housing! How in the world did this happen you might ask…read on. So, one of the tips to getting good footage (I’ll share more in another article later) is to always check your camera to make sure it has no water spots on the lens or to make sure that it is not fogging up. Unfortunately for kayak anglers we film in a wet environment where, when you open the case to change batteries or whatever, you will inevitably leave a “trace” or drops of moisture in the waterproof housing. When you do this, regardless of whether you have the GoPro “anti-fog” strips in there or not, you will, especially in hot/humid environments, see some fogging on the lens very soon after you close the housing making all your work/time/effort in filming effectively wasted. Many times when I’ve run out of the fog strips I have “cracked” the housing so that it airs out. This is done by partially opening the mechanism that fully opens the camera’s housing. It will not flop completely open and just stays “cracked” to let some air in. This is where my problem has always begun! Even though after about 10 minutes the fog usually goes away I sometimes forget to close it back up. All the sudden I have an a sweet fish on the line and my side camera that I can stick underwater is there and I want to capture the moment underwater; I reach over and shove it down in the water in excitement forgetting that it is still cracked because it had fogged earlier!!! FRIED! Or, I don’t even have a fish on but run into some mangroves or limbs and it knocks the suction cup off the kayak (I still have it tethered by rope) and the camera goes into the water!! FRIED! Recently in the keys I had the waterproof housing on the “Angler Cam” but had cracked it because of the fog issue and then Chris Funk caught a nice shark and it was the easiest camera to pull off the kayak with the simplicity of the Jackson Kayak GoPro mount so I ran over in the water and “thought” I was getting great underwater shots with it. However, I had forgot to seal it back all the way! FRIED! 100% user error but if you’re not careful the same thing can happen to you! Lesson Learned: If you have to crack it to let it de-fog you will end up forgetting to close it back up at some point so your best bet is to buy a ton on the “anti-fog” strips and put at least 3 in each camera housing when in warm/humid environments AND to have a dry towel with you to clean and dry your hands BEFORE you open your GoPro and changing batteries/SD Cards while on the water. And, use the extra battery pack and at least a 32gb card to minimize the time you will have to open up your GoPro while filming all day. Aside from all this I’d try using some “anti-fog” spray/liquid like this video here shows. This does the trick. 3.) I’ve just fumbled a couple. A couple times I was just clumsy and after getting them out of their case to change batteries/SD Card I just dropped them and they fell in the water. Lesson Learned: Not much to learn here except if I had gone over to a bank, gotten out and changed them over dry land I would still have those cameras working. HOW TO FIX THEM! 1.) Immediately after they have been in the water take the battery and SD card out and dry all 3 off. Shake them as much as possible to get all droplets out of the inside of the camera. Put in a dry safe location on your kayak to deal with later. 2.) If you were in freshwater don’t read this step until after you’ve done #4. So, you’ve dropped it in saltwater, don’t fear, it can still be salvaged. Obviously the salt starts corroding immediately and you have to stop that process from continuing further into the cameras components. For the Hero1 and Hero2, remove the back cover of the GoPro by opening the battery compartment and finding the 4 screws that hold the cameras “silver” cover together. Once this happens you’ll see the circuit boards. If you already see corrosion then get a toothbrush and clean those areas off then rinse with a little white vinegar. And, if you see corrosion or know you REALLY SOAKED this unit then go ahead and take out the other 3 screws that are holding it still onto the front “silver” cover. Two screws are obvious as they are on the corners and then the last one is hidden on the opposite side of the GoPro and on the lower circuit board (of the 3). Once you remove that one you’ll have it basically free enough to completely submerge into white vinegar for about 5-10 seconds. Shake it around in there and make sure the vinegar coats every part of the camera. Vinegar is a weak acid and will eat at and stop the corrosion. Take the camera out and leave out by a window or somewhere safe for it to dry out for a few days. I don’t like to put it in rice when its opened up because I want to vinegar to really stay on and do some work, and I don’t want rice to get lodged down inside all the areas it has access to when your GoPro is open like this. If you have the HERO 3, the good news is that it on its own, without a housing, is much more water resistant than the HERO 1 or 2 so you have a great shot at recovering it. However, it is not easy to get into unlike the HERO 1 or 2. All you really can do is pry open the front panel (lens side) which reveals some of the most exposed and vulnerable components and if you have the proper micro hex screwdriver then you can dig into it deeper (but most people don’t even have a micro screwdriver let alone a micro hex!). However, there are plenty of open air areas that lead to the other circuit boards to where I feel confident when you dunk the camera into vinegar for 5-10 seconds it will coat everything inside. Then, simply let it air dry for a few days and then turn it on to test. 3.) Make sure you clean off any corrosion on your battery (if you want to try to save it. A lot of times its not even worth saving) and dry your memory card. If you so desire you can clean the battery corrosion and dunk it into vinegar as well to stop the corrosion and that may help bring that battery back. Then put the battery and memory card in a bag of rice and seal it for a few days. After you’ve dried the battery out in rice you can help it regain strength by putting it in the fridge overnight. Then, recharge it with the charger and test it in a GoPro to see if indeed it does last as long as it used to. 4.) If you just dunked your GoPro in freshwater you should be able to recover it so long as it wasn’t in the water too long. After you’ve finally got home put it into a bag or tupperware container of rice and seal it. Let it dry for 3 days, open and test with a battery you know to be charged. If it still doesn’t work, go up to step #2 which is for severely damaged cameras or cameras that were dunked in salt water. 5.) If you can’t wait 3 days and need it to work asap, you can try the “quick method” which is to place the GoPro in the oven at 175 degrees (or “warm”) for 3-5 minutes. This will quickly dry it out. Then, let it sit for 10 minutes. Then, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Assuming you have a “good” battery around go ahead and put it in and give it a shot. Again, only try this if you HAVE TO! Hope this helps someone out there because you don’t want to spend days fiddling with opened up GoPros like I’ve had to do! 44 Comments Brian Motschenbacher on January 2, 2013 at 12:35 am Thanks for saving me from possible mis-haps…. And staying away from freindly “Geese” Good Luck in 2013 Reply billy on January 6, 2013 at 10:30 am hi, i dropped my go pro hero 2 in salt water about 2 weeks ago. i then put the gopro in rice about (20mins) after dropping it in the water. the go pro is not working, it will not turn on the only thing it does now is when i plug it into my computer the red light turns on but nothing else. any ideas on what i can do. Cheers. Reply Drew Gregory on January 28, 2013 at 6:08 pm How long did you put it in rice? Also, did you try any of the other tips in the article yet? You may have tried turning it back on too soon and didn’t let it dry out well, which could have fried it for good. Reply steven on March 11, 2013 at 10:02 am well, if this doesn’t work I feel better that I only fried one camera and not seven….not yet any way. Reply Brian on May 6, 2013 at 9:50 am I put my go pro with the incorrect housing and LCD screen turned on into the sea water for a few seconds and as soon as I heard bubbles, I went ‘oh Shit’. My go pro froze and I could not turn it off. I took out the battery and rebooted it again… (I was not thinking as I was in panic mode). As soon as I went home, I tried getting the water out and tried rebooting again. Red light flickers. LCD screen is just showing bright white. I then took the battery and sd card out and placed into a bag of rice. Very tempted to test it again but don’t k ow how long to leave in the bag of rice. Does anyone know if I still have hope or its home case:( anyone experienced the same? Thanks. I didn’t soak in fresh water too, hopefully it’s ok. Thanks Reply Cody Brown on May 7, 2013 at 3:55 am While I was in the ocean I had to open my gopro because the SD card was locked, as soon i I locked it back up seconds later it turned off and woudnt turn back on. I noticed a little bit of moisture was inside the waterhousing because I placed my wet hands on it while in the ocean. Is it possible that there was enough moisture trapped in the case to make it turn off and not turn back on? I placed it in rice for the past day or two but it wasnt sealed and I was just wondering if I should try the vinager method or just be pacient and allow the gopro to be sealed with rice for a couple days? Reply Clay Wright on May 28, 2013 at 3:17 pm Hey Cody – If yours is a Go Pro 3 there’s a chance you got one of the ”bad” ones they have been struggling with. Contact Go Pro or your local dealer for sure as we saw several 3’s go down due to battery failure I think just a week from purchase. I’ve had my box fully foggy with no effects on my Go Pro 2. Good Luck! Clay Reply cam zap on August 9, 2013 at 1:28 am Useful info. Fortunate me I discovered your web site accidentally, and I’m surprised why this twist of fate didn’t happened in advance! I bookmarked it. Reply hal sessions on May 29, 2013 at 5:36 pm I dropped my gopro hero3 silver edition, it landed on a rock that broke the glass screen on the front. You can no longer read anything on the screen and it clearly needs to be replaced. Where do I send it, does the factory do repairs? Who do I contact? Any ideas? Hal Reply Clay Wright on May 30, 2013 at 3:22 pm Google and contact Go Pro Repair or better yet give your dealer a call and get the contact info from them (so you can say you did and they might help with the process). Many electronics today are so integrated it’s easiest to just replace the camera than a lens, so you’ll have to find out if this screen replacement is offered and cheaper than the camera. Good Luck! Clay Reply Willie on June 5, 2013 at 1:57 am My gopro wont read sd cards anymore . They get stuck and scratch up the bottom of the sd card so now it wont read them. I noticed inside the slot where u enter the sd card has something that came lose that isnt flush with the side of the inside wall. looks like some sort of metal sticking out and may be the reason for the scratches on my sd cards. Do you know if it is repairable or anyone who repairs. Reply Stephen Wright on June 5, 2013 at 2:34 am contact gopro customer service. I’m sure that they’ll take a look at it for you. Stephen Reply Kathy on February 15, 2020 at 12:16 am Hi snapped off the clippers where you fit the ad card and charge it if wont or I cant clippers it back on for some reason?? Reply Andrea D Spigelmeyer on June 16, 2013 at 5:12 pm I have an original GoPro Hero which is used to film motocross. It has survived many wrecks. Today when they went to turn it on E E L (the first E is minus the top horizontal line) appears on screen. It won’t turn do anything…even turn off. Before this happened it worked fine. No recent wrecks. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks Reply Jameson Redding on July 2, 2013 at 3:10 am Andrea I work closely with Drew and neither of us have ever experienced this problem before. I would look into hitting GoPro up with that one. Most of the issues that we encounter are directly related to getting them wet. Good Luck! Jameson Reply Bradley on June 19, 2013 at 9:23 pm Hi, I recently dropped my gopro hero 3 black edition in my pool and the housing broke and it soaked my gopro. I washed it with distilled water after taking the battery out an it has been left in a ba of rice for three days, and it will turn on, but the lights flash and then a thermometer pops up on the screen and then it powers off. Is it fried? Or is there still a chance of reviving this $400 camera? Reply Jameson Redding on July 2, 2013 at 3:32 am Bradley, Sorry about that man. The only thing I know to try would be to take it apart and soak it in white vinegar for several minuets and then try the rice again. That may help if it is a corrosion issue. Good Luck Jameson Reply Marc on July 22, 2013 at 9:56 pm My SD card won’t click in my gopro origina, how can this be fixed? gopro is asking me a proof of purchase that I do not have as it was a gift Reply Drew Gregory on August 20, 2013 at 5:36 pm I would take it to a local camera repair store and see if they can fix it. If you have the ability you could also take it apart yourself and see what may be in the way causing your card not to click in properly and then clear it out. The last option would simply be of course to get a new one. On the bright side the new ones are way better than the originals anyway! Best of luck! Reply Marc on July 22, 2013 at 9:57 pm my SD card won’t click in and out can you guys provide any insight thanks Marc Reply Clay Wright on July 23, 2013 at 1:05 pm Hey Marc – contact Go Pro as I’m not an expert and haven’t had that problem yet. Sorry ! Clay Reply Ribeiro on August 5, 2013 at 4:35 pm I have my go pro’s shot button damaged, where can i find a replacement one? Go Pro does not sell electronic spares! Please help Reply Brooks Beatty on August 20, 2013 at 4:42 pm Hey Ribeiro, I would check in with a local camera shop to see if they can repair it. This is probably your only shot. Good luck. Reply Kevin on August 7, 2013 at 6:40 am Just wanted to say thanks for the great info on how to repair a water logged GoPro. I have a 2 week old Hero3 that I dropped in a pool. Needless to say it was looking very sad after I couldn’t get it to turn on after putting it in vinegar and rice for almost two days. HOWEVER, using what you mentioned about opening it up and using a toothbrush and white vinegar to get the corrosion off of the components, I was able to save it! WOO HOO! I will add that using the iFixit Teardown (http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/GoPro+Hero3+Teardown/12457/1) as a guide on how exactly you take apart the entire camera, helped a ton. I highly recommend caution and precision when taking the camera apart. There are a lot of small and delicate components that need to be handled carefully so that you don’t damage anything in the process. After putting the camera back together I was able to turn it on and it worked great. I did have a little trouble with the SD Card reader on the camera, so I just hit it again with the tooth brush and vinegar and it worked. So thanks again. You saved me $400 and a lot of embarrassment. Hope my added info helps anyone who does the same. Reply nadine on October 24, 2013 at 8:56 pm cooked or uncooked rice? Reply Stephen Wright on October 27, 2013 at 12:56 am Nadine, Pretty sure uncooked…that way it absorbs the moisture. Stephen Reply Crewchief22 on August 24, 2013 at 7:58 pm I was surprised to find that the vinegar bath worked. My gopro was dunked in a fresh water river a week prior and sat in a bag of rice for most of the week with no results. I found your site after searching for gopro repair and gave it a try. Disassembled, gave a 15 second bath and let set to dry for about 6 hours. I was just about to bid on a replacement when I got it to come back to life. Very cool. Thank You. Reply Jonatan on August 28, 2013 at 5:51 pm Thank you for some great tips. I’v had a leak in my hero 3 case and nothing seemed to work. I dried it for a couple of days in rice, but nothing happened. I then took the chance of removing the front and dipping it in vinegar for about 10 seconds. After 3 days I actually got it started, but as I used my thumb directly on the metal the button didn’t seem to work more than once. I then applied vinegar again and now it seems like it is working. There are still some issues with the wifi-button and connecting to the computer but I’ll see if that’s not gonna come around aswell. Reply Drew on September 16, 2013 at 8:21 pm Found this article while searching for a solution to my dilemma. My original GoPro 1080 got freshwater dunked this weekend. I have it dried out and the camera is working fine. BUT, I have lost/stripped all but one of the small black screws that hold the casing together. Can’t find anything online about where to get them or even what size they might be. Sent GoPro a message asking for the size or a source. Thanks… Reply joy on October 2, 2013 at 10:10 am My gopro hero3 silver splashed in a freshwater lake. i imidiately dried it and it was fine for 3 months.oneday I found the the battery was fully discharged even when the cam was off. I used a multimeter to see the resistance between the power leads in the camera and it read about 400ohms.a few weeks later now it shows almost 0 ohms, and the camera doesnot switch on but works while charging. Can u please help me Reply Marianna on October 10, 2013 at 4:19 pm I just fixed a water damaged gopro hero2 by disassambling it, dipping to distilled water, then to isopropanol, then to 12% acetic acid and letting dry overnight in the oven at 30-40oC with air. I am so excited it worked again, thanx so much for the tips! Reply Frank on October 28, 2013 at 11:32 pm Hi If any would like to sell me or donate a Black Hero 3 I would really appreciate it as I have my main board is gone. email me at – strata2688@gmail.com Reply Matt on November 12, 2013 at 4:18 am Hi, I forgot I didn’t have the waterproof backing on my camera and put it under water for no more than 5 seconds. I immediately took the battery and SD card out and dried of with a hair dryer for about five minutes then put it in rice over night. And BOOM it started working again, then after a few minutes it said NO SD, I have tried other SD card but still no good. Can I fix this by get the SD slot (or reader I’m not sure) replaced..? Thanks Reply Emily Jackson on March 19, 2014 at 4:32 pm Not sure- you may need to contact GO PRO about that. I would assume they could fix the SD reader EMily Jackson Reply tommy on April 7, 2015 at 3:20 pm I have the same problem. Dropped it in water. After drying it, the camera works fine but it cannot detect the SD card. I know the SD card works because my computer can detect it. I’ve tried formmating it on the computer and I’ve tried deleting it and formatting it in the go pro device, but no joy. Any help would be appreciated. Reply Nate on January 5, 2015 at 10:01 pm THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was surfing in Costa Rica last week with my Hero 3 Black. I went to turn it off after a shot and found it flooded with salt water. I got right out, opened the case and removed the battery and SD card. I shook out all of the water and tried to dry it out as best. I could. I then put it in rice for 24 hours and tried it, but nothing… Just a flashing red light on the back. I then kept it on rice for about a week, trying it again each day, once again… No luck. Yesterday I came across Drew’s suggestion to soaked the camera in vinegar. I have to admit, it kind of scared me to take off the cover and soak it, but the camera was dead anyway so I did it. The silver cover came off easily with just my fingernail. I sloshed it around in a cup of white vinegar for about 15 seconds and then set it next to a heater vent to dry out. Today after work. I came home and stuck in a fresh battery. The light did not flash on the back, was that a good sign? I hit the power button and it fired right up. I couldn’t believe it. I hit the wi/fi button and the blue light lit up. I connect it to my phone and went through the settings… everything seemed to be in order so I shot some video and took a photo. When I plugged it in to my computer I found that the USB connection would not work correctly. I then inserted the chip directly to the computer and everything is perfect! It is amazing, the camera did not work for a week and I thought all was lost. I bet that with a little more cleaning I will get back the USB as well, but if not I can still use the camera without it. Once again, THANK YOU DREW! You saved my camera! Reply David on January 12, 2015 at 9:15 am Hey guys if anyone needs a GoPro repair I can highly recommend these guys https://www.repairsuk.co.uk/other-repairs/camera-repairs/gopro/ Reply cyril on January 17, 2015 at 8:47 am Hi guys. I recently droped my gopro hero (one of the first versions), and I cracked the lcd display screen. I was wondering if there is anyone out there who has a spare or a gopro hero that is broken and are willing to sell that part to me. Reply julie on May 4, 2015 at 2:58 am I dropped my go pro hero 3 sliver in the ocean today. I didn’t realize there was a leak in my housing due to a crack on the clip at the top. I immediately took out the battery, SD card and tried to shake out as much water as I could and had let it sit out to dry while we were still at the beach. About 3 hours or so layer I tried to put a battery in and power it up just to see if it worked but it did not power up or make any power up sounds but in the back, on the top left by the battery door I saw a blue blinking light (where they claim the death red light is) and then it slowly faded away. I’m home now and I have it rice to see if it’ll work in a few days. Do you think I tried to power it up too soon? I just read a recent post in this thread and didn’t know I shouldn’t have had powered it up too soon. Reply Katherine on January 28, 2016 at 6:51 pm Hi, I have a gopro3+ and when I turn it on it will flash all lights on the device red. It will keep doing this. I have charged it up connected to the camera. I was able to get that to stop but only when the SD card is not in the camera.What is going on???? Thank you, Katherine Reply Damian on February 2, 2016 at 2:10 pm Not sure if this is of interest to anyone buy trying to find a repair shop is rare for the GoPro lol i have found this place that repairs them though in the UK http://www.trustedrepairs.co.uk/united-kingdom/gopro-repair Reply pam on March 5, 2018 at 9:39 pm back display screen on my black shattered and I was wondering if there was anyway to replace it. Don’t really care about functionality of the screen just ant to be able to still take it under water Reply Dan chouinard on March 13, 2018 at 9:53 am Hi,I would like a solution for my Hero 4 silver, after 6 months not in use,recharged the battery, bought new battery, Hero 4 Will still not turn on.tried with and without card.nothing happens .my hero4 is STILL like NEW, never hardly Been user. Please help. Surely warranty expirer. Reply ometv on October 3, 2020 at 12:02 am Hi,I would like a solution for my Hero 4 silver, after 6 months not in use,recharged the battery, bought new battery, Reply Submit a Comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ
Brian Motschenbacher on January 2, 2013 at 12:35 am Thanks for saving me from possible mis-haps…. And staying away from freindly “Geese” Good Luck in 2013 Reply
billy on January 6, 2013 at 10:30 am hi, i dropped my go pro hero 2 in salt water about 2 weeks ago. i then put the gopro in rice about (20mins) after dropping it in the water. the go pro is not working, it will not turn on the only thing it does now is when i plug it into my computer the red light turns on but nothing else. any ideas on what i can do. Cheers. Reply
Drew Gregory on January 28, 2013 at 6:08 pm How long did you put it in rice? Also, did you try any of the other tips in the article yet? You may have tried turning it back on too soon and didn’t let it dry out well, which could have fried it for good. Reply
steven on March 11, 2013 at 10:02 am well, if this doesn’t work I feel better that I only fried one camera and not seven….not yet any way. Reply
Brian on May 6, 2013 at 9:50 am I put my go pro with the incorrect housing and LCD screen turned on into the sea water for a few seconds and as soon as I heard bubbles, I went ‘oh Shit’. My go pro froze and I could not turn it off. I took out the battery and rebooted it again… (I was not thinking as I was in panic mode). As soon as I went home, I tried getting the water out and tried rebooting again. Red light flickers. LCD screen is just showing bright white. I then took the battery and sd card out and placed into a bag of rice. Very tempted to test it again but don’t k ow how long to leave in the bag of rice. Does anyone know if I still have hope or its home case:( anyone experienced the same? Thanks. I didn’t soak in fresh water too, hopefully it’s ok. Thanks Reply
Cody Brown on May 7, 2013 at 3:55 am While I was in the ocean I had to open my gopro because the SD card was locked, as soon i I locked it back up seconds later it turned off and woudnt turn back on. I noticed a little bit of moisture was inside the waterhousing because I placed my wet hands on it while in the ocean. Is it possible that there was enough moisture trapped in the case to make it turn off and not turn back on? I placed it in rice for the past day or two but it wasnt sealed and I was just wondering if I should try the vinager method or just be pacient and allow the gopro to be sealed with rice for a couple days? Reply
Clay Wright on May 28, 2013 at 3:17 pm Hey Cody – If yours is a Go Pro 3 there’s a chance you got one of the ”bad” ones they have been struggling with. Contact Go Pro or your local dealer for sure as we saw several 3’s go down due to battery failure I think just a week from purchase. I’ve had my box fully foggy with no effects on my Go Pro 2. Good Luck! Clay Reply
cam zap on August 9, 2013 at 1:28 am Useful info. Fortunate me I discovered your web site accidentally, and I’m surprised why this twist of fate didn’t happened in advance! I bookmarked it. Reply
hal sessions on May 29, 2013 at 5:36 pm I dropped my gopro hero3 silver edition, it landed on a rock that broke the glass screen on the front. You can no longer read anything on the screen and it clearly needs to be replaced. Where do I send it, does the factory do repairs? Who do I contact? Any ideas? Hal Reply
Clay Wright on May 30, 2013 at 3:22 pm Google and contact Go Pro Repair or better yet give your dealer a call and get the contact info from them (so you can say you did and they might help with the process). Many electronics today are so integrated it’s easiest to just replace the camera than a lens, so you’ll have to find out if this screen replacement is offered and cheaper than the camera. Good Luck! Clay Reply
Willie on June 5, 2013 at 1:57 am My gopro wont read sd cards anymore . They get stuck and scratch up the bottom of the sd card so now it wont read them. I noticed inside the slot where u enter the sd card has something that came lose that isnt flush with the side of the inside wall. looks like some sort of metal sticking out and may be the reason for the scratches on my sd cards. Do you know if it is repairable or anyone who repairs. Reply
Stephen Wright on June 5, 2013 at 2:34 am contact gopro customer service. I’m sure that they’ll take a look at it for you. Stephen Reply
Kathy on February 15, 2020 at 12:16 am Hi snapped off the clippers where you fit the ad card and charge it if wont or I cant clippers it back on for some reason?? Reply
Andrea D Spigelmeyer on June 16, 2013 at 5:12 pm I have an original GoPro Hero which is used to film motocross. It has survived many wrecks. Today when they went to turn it on E E L (the first E is minus the top horizontal line) appears on screen. It won’t turn do anything…even turn off. Before this happened it worked fine. No recent wrecks. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks Reply
Jameson Redding on July 2, 2013 at 3:10 am Andrea I work closely with Drew and neither of us have ever experienced this problem before. I would look into hitting GoPro up with that one. Most of the issues that we encounter are directly related to getting them wet. Good Luck! Jameson Reply
Bradley on June 19, 2013 at 9:23 pm Hi, I recently dropped my gopro hero 3 black edition in my pool and the housing broke and it soaked my gopro. I washed it with distilled water after taking the battery out an it has been left in a ba of rice for three days, and it will turn on, but the lights flash and then a thermometer pops up on the screen and then it powers off. Is it fried? Or is there still a chance of reviving this $400 camera? Reply
Jameson Redding on July 2, 2013 at 3:32 am Bradley, Sorry about that man. The only thing I know to try would be to take it apart and soak it in white vinegar for several minuets and then try the rice again. That may help if it is a corrosion issue. Good Luck Jameson Reply
Marc on July 22, 2013 at 9:56 pm My SD card won’t click in my gopro origina, how can this be fixed? gopro is asking me a proof of purchase that I do not have as it was a gift Reply
Drew Gregory on August 20, 2013 at 5:36 pm I would take it to a local camera repair store and see if they can fix it. If you have the ability you could also take it apart yourself and see what may be in the way causing your card not to click in properly and then clear it out. The last option would simply be of course to get a new one. On the bright side the new ones are way better than the originals anyway! Best of luck! Reply
Marc on July 22, 2013 at 9:57 pm my SD card won’t click in and out can you guys provide any insight thanks Marc Reply
Clay Wright on July 23, 2013 at 1:05 pm Hey Marc – contact Go Pro as I’m not an expert and haven’t had that problem yet. Sorry ! Clay Reply
Ribeiro on August 5, 2013 at 4:35 pm I have my go pro’s shot button damaged, where can i find a replacement one? Go Pro does not sell electronic spares! Please help Reply
Brooks Beatty on August 20, 2013 at 4:42 pm Hey Ribeiro, I would check in with a local camera shop to see if they can repair it. This is probably your only shot. Good luck. Reply
Kevin on August 7, 2013 at 6:40 am Just wanted to say thanks for the great info on how to repair a water logged GoPro. I have a 2 week old Hero3 that I dropped in a pool. Needless to say it was looking very sad after I couldn’t get it to turn on after putting it in vinegar and rice for almost two days. HOWEVER, using what you mentioned about opening it up and using a toothbrush and white vinegar to get the corrosion off of the components, I was able to save it! WOO HOO! I will add that using the iFixit Teardown (http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/GoPro+Hero3+Teardown/12457/1) as a guide on how exactly you take apart the entire camera, helped a ton. I highly recommend caution and precision when taking the camera apart. There are a lot of small and delicate components that need to be handled carefully so that you don’t damage anything in the process. After putting the camera back together I was able to turn it on and it worked great. I did have a little trouble with the SD Card reader on the camera, so I just hit it again with the tooth brush and vinegar and it worked. So thanks again. You saved me $400 and a lot of embarrassment. Hope my added info helps anyone who does the same. Reply
Stephen Wright on October 27, 2013 at 12:56 am Nadine, Pretty sure uncooked…that way it absorbs the moisture. Stephen Reply
Crewchief22 on August 24, 2013 at 7:58 pm I was surprised to find that the vinegar bath worked. My gopro was dunked in a fresh water river a week prior and sat in a bag of rice for most of the week with no results. I found your site after searching for gopro repair and gave it a try. Disassembled, gave a 15 second bath and let set to dry for about 6 hours. I was just about to bid on a replacement when I got it to come back to life. Very cool. Thank You. Reply
Jonatan on August 28, 2013 at 5:51 pm Thank you for some great tips. I’v had a leak in my hero 3 case and nothing seemed to work. I dried it for a couple of days in rice, but nothing happened. I then took the chance of removing the front and dipping it in vinegar for about 10 seconds. After 3 days I actually got it started, but as I used my thumb directly on the metal the button didn’t seem to work more than once. I then applied vinegar again and now it seems like it is working. There are still some issues with the wifi-button and connecting to the computer but I’ll see if that’s not gonna come around aswell. Reply
Drew on September 16, 2013 at 8:21 pm Found this article while searching for a solution to my dilemma. My original GoPro 1080 got freshwater dunked this weekend. I have it dried out and the camera is working fine. BUT, I have lost/stripped all but one of the small black screws that hold the casing together. Can’t find anything online about where to get them or even what size they might be. Sent GoPro a message asking for the size or a source. Thanks… Reply
joy on October 2, 2013 at 10:10 am My gopro hero3 silver splashed in a freshwater lake. i imidiately dried it and it was fine for 3 months.oneday I found the the battery was fully discharged even when the cam was off. I used a multimeter to see the resistance between the power leads in the camera and it read about 400ohms.a few weeks later now it shows almost 0 ohms, and the camera doesnot switch on but works while charging. Can u please help me Reply
Marianna on October 10, 2013 at 4:19 pm I just fixed a water damaged gopro hero2 by disassambling it, dipping to distilled water, then to isopropanol, then to 12% acetic acid and letting dry overnight in the oven at 30-40oC with air. I am so excited it worked again, thanx so much for the tips! Reply
Frank on October 28, 2013 at 11:32 pm Hi If any would like to sell me or donate a Black Hero 3 I would really appreciate it as I have my main board is gone. email me at – strata2688@gmail.com Reply
Matt on November 12, 2013 at 4:18 am Hi, I forgot I didn’t have the waterproof backing on my camera and put it under water for no more than 5 seconds. I immediately took the battery and SD card out and dried of with a hair dryer for about five minutes then put it in rice over night. And BOOM it started working again, then after a few minutes it said NO SD, I have tried other SD card but still no good. Can I fix this by get the SD slot (or reader I’m not sure) replaced..? Thanks Reply
Emily Jackson on March 19, 2014 at 4:32 pm Not sure- you may need to contact GO PRO about that. I would assume they could fix the SD reader EMily Jackson Reply
tommy on April 7, 2015 at 3:20 pm I have the same problem. Dropped it in water. After drying it, the camera works fine but it cannot detect the SD card. I know the SD card works because my computer can detect it. I’ve tried formmating it on the computer and I’ve tried deleting it and formatting it in the go pro device, but no joy. Any help would be appreciated. Reply
Nate on January 5, 2015 at 10:01 pm THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was surfing in Costa Rica last week with my Hero 3 Black. I went to turn it off after a shot and found it flooded with salt water. I got right out, opened the case and removed the battery and SD card. I shook out all of the water and tried to dry it out as best. I could. I then put it in rice for 24 hours and tried it, but nothing… Just a flashing red light on the back. I then kept it on rice for about a week, trying it again each day, once again… No luck. Yesterday I came across Drew’s suggestion to soaked the camera in vinegar. I have to admit, it kind of scared me to take off the cover and soak it, but the camera was dead anyway so I did it. The silver cover came off easily with just my fingernail. I sloshed it around in a cup of white vinegar for about 15 seconds and then set it next to a heater vent to dry out. Today after work. I came home and stuck in a fresh battery. The light did not flash on the back, was that a good sign? I hit the power button and it fired right up. I couldn’t believe it. I hit the wi/fi button and the blue light lit up. I connect it to my phone and went through the settings… everything seemed to be in order so I shot some video and took a photo. When I plugged it in to my computer I found that the USB connection would not work correctly. I then inserted the chip directly to the computer and everything is perfect! It is amazing, the camera did not work for a week and I thought all was lost. I bet that with a little more cleaning I will get back the USB as well, but if not I can still use the camera without it. Once again, THANK YOU DREW! You saved my camera! Reply
David on January 12, 2015 at 9:15 am Hey guys if anyone needs a GoPro repair I can highly recommend these guys https://www.repairsuk.co.uk/other-repairs/camera-repairs/gopro/ Reply
cyril on January 17, 2015 at 8:47 am Hi guys. I recently droped my gopro hero (one of the first versions), and I cracked the lcd display screen. I was wondering if there is anyone out there who has a spare or a gopro hero that is broken and are willing to sell that part to me. Reply
julie on May 4, 2015 at 2:58 am I dropped my go pro hero 3 sliver in the ocean today. I didn’t realize there was a leak in my housing due to a crack on the clip at the top. I immediately took out the battery, SD card and tried to shake out as much water as I could and had let it sit out to dry while we were still at the beach. About 3 hours or so layer I tried to put a battery in and power it up just to see if it worked but it did not power up or make any power up sounds but in the back, on the top left by the battery door I saw a blue blinking light (where they claim the death red light is) and then it slowly faded away. I’m home now and I have it rice to see if it’ll work in a few days. Do you think I tried to power it up too soon? I just read a recent post in this thread and didn’t know I shouldn’t have had powered it up too soon. Reply
Katherine on January 28, 2016 at 6:51 pm Hi, I have a gopro3+ and when I turn it on it will flash all lights on the device red. It will keep doing this. I have charged it up connected to the camera. I was able to get that to stop but only when the SD card is not in the camera.What is going on???? Thank you, Katherine Reply
Damian on February 2, 2016 at 2:10 pm Not sure if this is of interest to anyone buy trying to find a repair shop is rare for the GoPro lol i have found this place that repairs them though in the UK http://www.trustedrepairs.co.uk/united-kingdom/gopro-repair Reply
pam on March 5, 2018 at 9:39 pm back display screen on my black shattered and I was wondering if there was anyway to replace it. Don’t really care about functionality of the screen just ant to be able to still take it under water Reply
Dan chouinard on March 13, 2018 at 9:53 am Hi,I would like a solution for my Hero 4 silver, after 6 months not in use,recharged the battery, bought new battery, Hero 4 Will still not turn on.tried with and without card.nothing happens .my hero4 is STILL like NEW, never hardly Been user. Please help. Surely warranty expirer. Reply
ometv on October 3, 2020 at 12:02 am Hi,I would like a solution for my Hero 4 silver, after 6 months not in use,recharged the battery, bought new battery, Reply
