Samsung says magnets will damage phone!!

[CBCstillmatic]

Well I just called Samsung to inquire about the pouches with the magnetic flips and messing with the NFC chip. They said yes it would not only mess with the NFC but will also damage the motherboard in the phone!! I am shocked as I have always used these kind of pouches and never had it kill the motherboard in any phone. What do they want us to put these phones in then? I really don't know what to think about this cause I was only concerned about the NFC chip and got that response. So Verizon and every provider sells these pouches knowing they would damage the phone?

Any thoughts on this? I am not sure if I should believe this or not. They are the makers of the device but according to them a pouch with a magnet will eventually damage any smartphone?! Shell and holster combo it is then I guess.

 

[NxTech3]

blackberries rely on magnets for some of its features. I cant speak for the NFC thing but magnetic pouch wont harm the board, ive never had an issue with the crapload of smartphones ive owned over the years

 

[Johnly]

Delete

 

[tntdroid]

I had the Verizon magnetic case for my x and it fits great with the nexus. I don't see it hurting the phone. Not sure on the nfc but I like my case so I'll see what happens.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[CBCstillmatic]

I'm in shock with the response also and have used these pouches for every phone. I thought I would get the no they are ok response so I could ease some minds but now they got me wanting to return my pouch and get one of the velcro types instead.

I mean I know big magnets are no good but the tiny ones in these pouches should not be powerful enough to do any damage to anything. She didn't know herself and admitted to this being the first time being asked this question. She then put me on hold to ask and check and probably asked if magnets would do damage which is an obvious yes instead of asking if the pouches with little magnets are ok.

I am going to call again tomorrow and ask again

 

[CBCstillmatic]

I had the Verizon magnetic case for my x and it fits great with the nexus. I don't see it hurting the phone. Not sure on the nfc but I like my case so I'll see what happens.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I was using that one as well but it was to snug and I found if I even brushed the top of the case it was enough to activate the power button and my phone was turning on inside the pouch killing my battery quick. My new pouch has a little more room and now I have no issues.

I wish I could find a nice one with a button snap or something that I wouldn't mind. I just don't want velcro cause it eventually wears.

 

[CBCstillmatic]

After reviewing their own website I found all of their own pouches sold for their Galaxy line of phones all have magnetic flaps!! I am definitely calling tomorrow to get more info on this before I go nuts and return or order any more pouches.

 

[CBCstillmatic]

Ok so this is interesting. I started a LIVE chat to see what response I got from someone else and this is the exact convo

Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.

You are now chatting with 'Pamela'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today.

Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK5640469517X

Pamela: Hi, thank you for contacting Samsung Technical Support. How may I help you today?
Steven: I actually have the Galaxy Nexus but it was not a available model to be selected
Pamela: Please go ahead with your question regarding your Samsung mobile phone.
Steven: I have an question regarding leather pouches with the magnetic flaps and if they are safe for the phone
Pamela: I understand that you are looking for information on leather pouch for the phone. Am I right?
Steven: Yes I have a standard pouch but I hear they may be bad for the NFC chip in the phone
Pamela: May I know the model number of your phone ? You can find the model number beneath the phone's battery which generally starts with SGH, SCH or SPH .
Steven: SCH-I515
Pamela: Thank you for the information.
Steven: It is a universal leather side pouch like the ones you sell on your site for some of your other models but I have read that some people are unsure if the tiny magnets in the flaps that hold them shut will actually cause any damage to the NFC chip or phone itself
Pamela: The pouch you would effect the phone hardware.
Pamela: Not*.
Steven: So the tiny magnets in the pouch that hold the flap close would not affect the hardware at all correct?
Pamela: Yes, you are right.
Steven: Thank you. I had a friend who called you 1-888 # and a rep told him it would damage the mother board and not to use them so I wanted to check for myself
Pamela: I am sorry, but that would not effect the phone.
Steven: Thank you very much for the info. Have a very Happy Holiday
Pamela: You're welcome. Is there anything else I can assist you with?
Steven: No thank you again
Pamela: It was a pleasure assisting you. Thank you for contacting Samsung Technical Support. If you have a minute, please click on the blue “X close” button to receive a transcript of your chat and fill out a brief survey to help us serve you better. Have a wonderful day!

So there you have it!! The complete opposite from what the phone rep said. I think the phone rep was mistaken with what I was asking, or the person she asked was mistaken, or she asked them with the wrong wording, or the Live chat rep is wrong...lol...either way I am keeping my pouch.

 

[Terrigno]

lol. These samsung employees will say anything and still get paid for it. Ive never herd of a magnetic flap from a holster effecting the phones motherboard. Dont worry about it, you should be fine. Better yet, you should have Insurance on that phone. I know I do lol

 

[DJCBlue]

Magnets and computers don't mix in general, regardless of make or model. Since a magnet can alter the tiny mechanical parts and electrical currents in a computer, it is typically recommended to avoid contact with each other.

However, it would take a very strong magnet and the right conditions for a magnet to destroy the hardware. I've tested this with a decently strong magnet and a computer motherboard and couldn't get it to cause any damage. Such a weak magnet that is not in direct contact with the computer components themselves is still a risk, but the odds of it causing damage is minuscule.

 

[CBCstillmatic]

I decided to check one last time out of curiosity to see what response I would get this time.

Please wait for a Samsung Agent to respond.

You are now chatting with 'Patsy'. There will be a brief survey at the end of our chat to share feedback on my performance today.

Your Issue ID for this chat is LTK5640471503X

Patsy: Hi, thank you for contacting Samsung Technical Support. How may I help you today?
Steven: Hi I have a question regarding my Galaxy Nexus and leather pouches
Steven: Will the leather pouches with the magnetic flaps cause and harm to the NFC chip or phone itself?
Patsy: I understand that you want to know whether leather poucher with magnetic flaps cause harm to chip system of phone, am I correct?
Steven: Yes the pouches like the ones Samsung sells for their other models on the website. Or like regular universal leather pouches.
Patsy: Thank you for confirming.
Patsy: Let me check this and gather the information for you.
Patsy: Do not worry, leather pouches do not cause any harm to the chip set of the phone.
Steven: Ok thank you. I had called and the rep on the phone said it would not only damage the NFC chip but would also damage the motherboard
Patsy: It is normal for the phone and you can use it.
Patsy: You're welcome. Is there anything else I can assist you with?
Steven: Nope thank you very much
Steven: have a happy holiday!!
Patsy: It was a pleasure assisting you. Thank you for contacting Samsung Technical Support. If you have a minute, please click on the blue “X close” button to receive a transcript of your chat and fill out a brief survey to help us serve you better. Have a wonderful day!

Well that's another rep that says they are perfectly safe to use so I will continue to use mine. I always have insurance on my phones but was also willing to just get a different case if they were that bad for the phone but now no need to worry.

Only problem I ever had with any pouch was with my X when it would throw it in dock mode every so often but the phone had a sensor for the magnet on the charging dock.

 

[Stallione]

I am also using a magnetic leather pouch for my newly bought Galaxy Note.
Im very happy with the pouch for giving the protection with style as I personally prefer. But even I was stunned to see in the manual saying not to use magnetic cases!
I accidentally found out.....
I switch on the compass mode in Google maps and when I close the magnet-inside flap, the direction changes!!!
I also tested it with a separate compass software, it also changes directions when the flap cover's magnet come near to the display (screen).

But Ive seen people using magnet flap cases with their smart phones for ages with no damage. That compass thing keeps me worrying because when I keep the flap closed, It is placed right on the display (screen)!

Is it gonna kill my phone?

 

[Stallione]

I am also using a magnetic leather pouch for my newly bought Galaxy Note.
Im very happy with the pouch for giving the protection with style as I personally prefer. But even I was stunned to see in the manual saying not to use magnetic cases!
I accidentally found out.....
I switch on the compass mode in Google maps and when I close the magnet-inside flap, the direction changes!!!
I also tested it with a separate compass software, it also changes directions when the flap cover's magnet come near to the display (screen).

But Ive seen people using magnet flap cases with their smart phones for ages with no damage. That compass thing keeps me worrying because when I keep the flap closed, It is placed right on the display (screen)!

Is it gonna kill my phone?

 

[S3_user]

Sorry for digging this month-old post up but I was checking this out myself and it might help someone. My S3 manual p29 says

Do not store your device near magnetic fields
Your device may malfunction or the battery may discharge from
exposure to magnetic fields.

Magnetic stripe cards, including credit cards, phone cards, passbooks,
and boarding passes, may be damaged by magnetic fields.

Do not use carrying cases or accessories with magnetic closures
or allow your device to come in contact with magnetic fields for
extended periods of time

Although this does seem to appear in a few manuals for different phones so is not specific to S3, but it is a Samsung warning

 

[zkSharks]

Here's the reality, plain and simple:

Electronic technology is inherently sensitive to high-strength magnetic fields. Small magnets, however, will not cause any sort of drastic damage to your phone as the posts of this thread express concern over. It's possible that very high-strength fields could damage your phone's main board, but it is highly unlikely -- and you are very unlikely to come in contact with magnetic fields of that magnitude. NFC technology does not in any way rely on magnetically stored information (such as that of a credit/debit card), because NFC is simply a close-proximity radio frequency data exchange standard. Though strong magnets may produce interference to active NFC exchanges, the type of magnets used in phone accessories will not cause any such interference. In fact, you can purchase magnetic NFC stickers/tags online; they'll work perfectly.

I switch on the compass mode in Google maps and when I close the magnet-inside flap, the direction changes!!!
I also tested it with a separate compass software, it also changes directions when the flap cover's magnet come near to the display (screen).

But Ive seen people using magnet flap cases with their smart phones for ages with no damage. That compass thing keeps me worrying because when I keep the flap closed, It is placed right on the display (screen)!

Is it gonna kill my phone?

Most modern smartphones use a magnetometer to determine which cardinal direction your phone is facing. Magnetometers act very much like a traditional compass; they sense the magnetic fields present at your location in order to determine the direction of magnetic north. Even though the magnet on your phone's case is very weak compared to the magnetic field of our planet, having it right next to the magnetometer results in a much stronger perceived strength. Try moving your case's magnet around a traditional compass -- it's the same as what's happening with your phone.

So no, it's not gonna kill your phone.

 

[VXR888]

Here's the reality, plain and simple:

Electronic technology is inherently sensitive to high-strength magnetic fields. Small magnets, however, will not cause any sort of drastic damage to your phone as the posts of this thread express concern over. It's possible that very high-strength fields could damage your phone's main board, but it is highly unlikely -- and you are very unlikely to come in contact with magnetic fields of that magnitude. NFC technology does not in any way rely on magnetically stored information (such as that of a credit/debit card), because NFC is simply a close-proximity radio frequency data exchange standard. Though strong magnets may produce interference to active NFC exchanges, the type of magnets used in phone accessories will not cause any such interference. In fact, you can purchase magnetic NFC stickers/tags online; they'll work perfectly.



Most modern smartphones use a magnetometer to determine which cardinal direction your phone is facing. Magnetometers act very much like a traditional compass; they sense the magnetic fields present at your location in order to determine the direction of magnetic north. Even though the magnet on your phone's case is very weak compared to the magnetic field of our planet, having it right next to the magnetometer results in a much stronger perceived strength. Try moving your case's magnet around a traditional compass -- it's the same as what's happening with your phone.

So no, it's not gonna kill your phone.

Hi, I'm new to this site, just because I was searching about the affect from magnetic to our beloved phone. I'm using Galaxy S atm, soon will have Note2 or S3, but this is my real experience in the past;

I like the universal pouch cases with the magnetic as a lot of people do, they look elegant and more executive. I also use my S as GPS because the Google map is so precise and reliable, but one day it failed and failed badly, the blue arrow(your current position) was flicking around to all the directions, it lost the sense completely, I was scratching my head to find the cause......
A picture suddenly popped up in my head about my childhood, I was playing an old-school compass with a magnetic stone, and the compass was malfunction as the same way like the GPS. So ran a phone test in the hidden page *#0000#, the magnetic test was failed, from that point I realised the magnetic from the pouch case caused this problem.
The usual manual reset didn't cure the problem, I had to send it to the specialist to do the tricks, so I would strongly advice any phone user to stay away from those magnetic pouch cases, even though they look classy.

Andy

 

[Everlyse Tay]

I briefly heard it from a friend that S3 have a newer function which allow transferring of information with another phone by placing two s3 back to back which is why there would be magnetic fields behind... hence you cannot put magnetic cards or items near the phone as it will damage it. Not sure which other phones have that function. You should go Google it up to see it is true. It should be the case for the newer phones (S3 onwards)

 

[gnr_2]

I briefly heard it from a friend that S3 have a newer function which allow transferring of information with another phone by placing two s3 back to back ...It should be the case for the newer phones (S3 onwards)

You are referring to the NFC feature referenced in several responses above. The S3 wasn't the first to have it and it is standard on several Android phones, not just Samsung models. My friends were "doing the bump" years ago. Samsung just decided to use it as a marketing tool.

Someone above also pointed out that NFC works on radio waves so magnets aren't going to harm it.

You should never put credit cards or anything with a magnetic stripe near any of these electronics. I learned that having a Palm!TX and a hotel key in the same hand many years back.


Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[skim32]

Hmm. This is a very interesting thread. What about Wireless Charging? They rely on magnetic fields to generate an inductive charge. For instance, the palm touchstone compatible devices. I actually modded a palm pre touchstone to work with my Galaxy Note 2. And have used it for the past couple of days. The Note 2 is held onto the touchstone via magnets. My note 2 hasn't seen any issues so far. I found the magnetic hold that the touchstone has on my phone to be adequate, but wanted to upgrade it by adding some neodymium magnets into my phone, but now I'm a little concerned. But the way i see it, phone don't use any magenetic storage or tech (besides the compass) so I would figure it wouldn't be such a big deal. Even the ipad smart case has rather strong magnets in them as well.

 

[zkSharks]

Hmm. This is a very interesting thread. What about Wireless Charging? They rely on magnetic fields to generate an inductive charge. For instance, the palm touchstone compatible devices. I actually modded a palm pre touchstone to work with my Galaxy Note 2. And have used it for the past couple of days. The Note 2 is held onto the touchstone via magnets. My note 2 hasn't seen any issues so far. I found the magnetic hold that the touchstone has on my phone to be adequate, but wanted to upgrade it by adding some neodymium magnets into my phone, but now I'm a little concerned. But the way i see it, phone don't use any magenetic storage or tech (besides the compass) so I would figure it wouldn't be such a big deal. Even the ipad smart case has rather strong magnets in them as well.

I'd still be careful with neodymium magnets. At least start with very thin and small ones. I have, though, successfully used inductive charging setups with neodymium magnets and NFC stickers all in close proximity. I noticed no unexpected side-effects, though I was not using such a setup for an extended period of time.

Consider adding the magnets on the side of the holder/dock instead of adding thin magnets behind the battery door. It should provide a slightly stronger hold without the downside of neodymium disk magnets in your phone all the time.

Edit: and welcome to AC. Enjoy the forums; it's a great place to be!