Corrosion problem on charging contact

[xendula]

Over on XDA someone posted that their charging contacts are corroding and the Gear S is no longer charging. I checked, and mine are corroding away as well! Could you all check and report back on your findings? This is kind of crazy!

 

[InfamousUnknown]

Nope, none on mine.

 

[DonShock]

Mine's got the same problem.
If I start having charging problems I'll just try giving the contacts a tinning of silver solder.


Update: I gave the area a thorough cleaning and inspection under a 30x microscope. The good news is that it looks like there's a nice solid chunk of copper under the gold plating. So it's likely that a good cleaning and maybe some light abrasion with a stiff eraser should be sufficient to correct any contact problems. If this had just been a thin circuit board contact wearing through, getting the surface tinned or protected against degrading further would be much more critical. The cause of the pitting was likely minor defects in the gold plating which allowed sweat to get to the copper underneath.
Here's another photo after cleaning.

 

[xendula]

Mine's got the same problem.

Thanks for confirming, the info, and the eraser suggestion!

 

[vic-smokey]

Im having the exact same problem, my gear 2 is not charging anymore, a few weeks prior to not charging, I was feeling a little rash when I was using my gear 2, i took it off and saw I had 2 little red spots in my wrist, i looked at the back of the watch and 2 of the charging pins were corroded , few weeks later one of the charging pins is gone, and my watch is not charging at all, still under warranty, any chance samsung will honor this, i have heard stories about them saying is physical damage, this is clearly a manufacturing defect, because a lot of people are getting this problem.

 

[RC_Cola]

Mine's got the same problem also. Sometimes it would charge and some days it wouldn't charge. I went to the Samsung Service Center in Plano,TX. They said I will be getting a new watch in a couple of weeks.

 

[kieso]

Mine is looking bad also

 

[skatergirl]

I clean my contacts every day with an alcohol pad.

 

[kieso]

That one contact of mine is half gone

 

[RC_Cola]

Just picked up my new watch today. I felt lost without it

 

[xendula]

Wow, it took them 3 weeks to get you a new watch?!

Shudder! I can't even....

 

[islandracer]

Sounds crude but now I put a small piece of masking tape over the contacts. I've been through two gear neo's because of this.

 

[wskks]

same problem on my gear2 and gear fit.. trying to send the gear2 for repairs is it worth repairing?? Won't but this without the extended warranty

 

[Susan Gorny]

Over on XDA someone posted that their charging contacts are corroding and the Gear S is no longer charging. I checked, and mine are corroding away as well! Could you all check and report back on your findings? This is kind of crazy!View attachment 181305

I already had to have mine replaced once, at the 11 month mark. Just checked my "new" one... it is having the same problem, at only the 6 month point.

 

[xendula]

I already had to have mine replaced once, at the 11 month mark. Just checked my "new" one... it is having the same problem, at only the 6 month point.

I sold mine on Ebay before things got worse and I and bought an LG watch Urbane 2 LTE last November. Much better feel (metal vs. silver painted and black plastic) and much better user experience overall, and the contacts look exactly like 6 months ago. Android Wear has more apps, too.

Highly recommend to those of you thinking of an upgrade. I personally would stay away from Samsung after this and the constantly breaking chargers.

 

[RC_Cola]

Yesterday,I sent my Gear S back to Samsung Repair Center. One of the charging plates is not flush with the other plates. Therefore it will not charge. I should get it or another one back in about 10 days.

 

[YoshiNakamura2]

I have the Same problem with my Gear S. It won't charge anymore so I just powered it down. The Battery Contacts on the watch the one on the far end is gone the rest of them are still there but pale looking.
DO you know any shop that could fix it and how much. The Sweating on these Hot California Days just killed the Contacts to corrosion.

 

[YoshiNakamura2]

Me too. I just lost one of the contacts on the back of the watch and it's not charging at all. So because I like the watch and it's features so much I have bought another one off Ebay. It saddens me that nice tech items have such faulty charging apparatus and cheap basel's. But over all I think this is the best watch over the new one. The Gear S2 sucks and I would not waste my time with it. I just watched an overview of it on Youtube and other places and it suck. The only good thing is that it has a Wireless Charging Chipset. I like to find a repair place who can fix this watch, because it's in good condition. Hate to throw it away.

 

[AltoSax]

So, same old corrosion problem here. Samsung Israel said the contacts corrosion is not under warranty. Referred them here, told them I'm not the only one with this problem, they said as long as Samsung does not declare this as a bug they will not fix it. They were willing to sell me a refurbished watch for ~$240... Didn't happen.

Due to the fact Samsung's warranty is useless I decided to fix it myself.
First I tried to re-solder the contacts (1), no success here.
I then opened the watch using a hot air blower (there are several video guides on YouTube).
I found out the contacts are part of a small PCB connected to the back side of the watch. I'd removed it (2) and went online to find a replacement (Search for "sm-r750 charging connector" on eBay).
I ended up ordering 2 PCBs for $6.74 each including shipping to Israel. (We know it will corrode again...)
It arrived today. As you can see, there's a small white plastic you need to peel off from the adhesive (3).
Peeled it off and put it in place (4+5).
Closed the watch and connected it to the charging cradle (6).
Success! It's alive!

 

[skatergirl]

I am still looking for a refurbished S2 at a reasonable price to replace my Gear S since I am sick of using a rubber band to keep my charger on. Samsung totally dropped the ball on this watch.