[PLaBar]

Sink or swim: Samsung's Galaxy S7 Active drowned when we put it in the pool - CNET

They are not scientific test, but to me they don't need to be. Phone should have easily passed both bucket tests.

As Samsung says ...' the world is mostly water". If your going to boast about water resistant in commercials then back it up.

I paid for a phone that should be water resistant. I have a phone that I am now worried about using around water. Yes they will fix it (for only 1 year), but I don't want to even take the chance of getting it wet due to the fact I could be without the phone for weeks while it's getting fixed.

If Samsung really wants to make it right they need to do the following...
1) Find out and fix the problem (obviously)
2a) Allow anyone that purchased a phone prior to #1 above to exchange for a new one.
or
2b) If people chose not to exchange it give them a fully covered 2 year extended warranty on any / all damage. This would basically be Samsung saying - you purchased an "Active" phone, now go be Active, we got your back for 2 years.

Edit: Samsung sells a Protection Plus product for Gal S7 and S7 Edge that covers water damage, breaking, screen cracks for $129. Providing this at no cost to S7 Active owners would cover 2b above and not require any special procedures.

[LonestarROB]

Thanks for the heads up.

[htcrazy]

I agree 100%. I feel cheated and afraid to even get a drop of water on it and I'm obviously past the 14 day return period. They should offer us a new Active or S7 or S7 Edge.

[jlczl]

I agree 100%. I feel cheated and afraid to even get a drop of water on it and I'm obviously past the 14 day return period. They should offer us a new Active or S7 or S7 Edge.

I came from a S7 Edge and I would not want to go back. I would love an extra year of warranty but the fact they have gone on record saying they will repair or replace water damaged S7 actives is good enough for me to go about my business and be "active" with mine. I have plenty of devices available to me that can serve as a backup while it's getting repaired if it comes to that. I would imagine once the phone has been out longer the turn around period won't be as long as it has proven to be to some on this forum who have experienced issues.

[PLaBar]

jlczl - I have 3 days left on my 14 days. Probably going to keep my S7 Active, but wondering why you would not go back to Edge?
If I do return it I was going to get Edge.

[jlczl]

jlczl - I have 3 days left on my 14 days. Probably going to keep my S7 Active, but wondering why you would not go back to Edge?
If I do return it I was going to get Edge.

The Edge is pretty but very fragile. I managed to break the screen on it even with a case on it. The edge itself also activated with the palm of my hand frequently since I like using my device one handed. One example was as I deleted emails from the Gmail app. I would accidently open them while swiping to delete them. The keyboard was also a little too sensitive on the edges as I typed which made a case absolutely necessary. Even with the case I managed to break the screen though. Not saying the Edge isn't good, it's actually a magnificent device but since I really prefer something rugged to me the Active is everything that is good about the S7 series without the fragility.

Check out this drop test:

[PLaBar]

SOLD! ... yeah 400ft onto concrete (was black-top actually) and no damage.
That works for me. I saw another one that dropped it 50 times from 5ft onto concrete and no damage.

What I was looking for was a phone that could take a few drops without shattering. This fits the bill.
I'll just be careful around water and be happy. Thanks for sharing.

[103Softail]

If it breaks or drowns claim it on your contents insurance with your home. You DO have insurance don't you?

[PLaBar]

If it breaks or drowns claim it on your contents insurance with your home. You DO have insurance don't you?

Most homes have deductibles that are probably around $1,000. Never looked to check what my policy has. Also I don't think breakage is covered, stuff like fire and theft is though.

[103Softail]

My "deductible" called "excess" here in AU is $100 and it covers accidental breakage like when I dropped my SLR years ago on a trip. You need better insurance

[planoman]

jlczl - I have 3 days left on my 14 days. Probably going to keep my S7 Active, but wondering why you would not go back to Edge?
If I do return it I was going to get Edge.

Your worry and as others have said fear of what might happen cannot be compensated. Only when it happens. Some companies might do what you a describing but not most by a long shot.

You said you can return your s7 active. I would return it and wait a few months to get one that is made after issues are corrected or buy your self a cheap backup phone if you do not have one and have fun with your S7 active. Maybe check out square trade? Definitely covered by water and I thing guaranteed to have a phone within a week or something like that, maybe sooner.

[Slade8525]

I came from a S7 Edge and I would not want to go back. I would love an extra year of warranty but the fact they have gone on record saying they will repair or replace water damaged S7 actives is good enough for me to go about my business and be "active" with mine. I have plenty of devices available to me that can serve as a backup while it's getting repaired if it comes to that. I would imagine once the phone has been out longer the turn around period won't be as long as it has proven to be to some on this forum who have experienced issues.

gf initially got an S7 edge (smaller hands), and HATED it as she kept launching/changing stuff, and noticed 2 coworkers with S6 edge had cracked them easily. i went in for an S7A and she had me return hers for an S7A; even though its bigger she loves it. we've taken them swimming, kayaking, camping etc and rinse or wash them off in the shower, sink, creek, whatever. put glass screen protectors and cheap tpu case on them mostly to save the polycarb screen and keep them somewhat safe from scratches etc from drops or bonks or put/slid on rocks etc.

we used to roll our phones up together with thin packaging foam between then around them and double bag them in ziploc-type bags (neither of our old phones was water resistant at all; had em for over 3 years) on trips. now we just make sure we zip our pockets so they dont fall out and get lost. no worries, no problems. initially i thought you couldn't disable bloatware or change the active key at all; also had no idea they shot RAW photos. once i realized i could shoot RAW and jpeg same time, played with the camera and the image quality and OIS was outstanding, battery lasted longer than my old rooted/ROMed/tweaked/5200mah battery S4, and i could disable apps, set permissions/notifications as i wanted easily, and i could assign the active key to whatever apps i wanted, there was no way i was returning it. i dont like big phones, in fact the S4 is the biggest phone ive ever owned before, but i really really liked the S7 Active features, and i can compromise a bit, or use one-handed mode (which surprisingly i do). we both have 200GB SD cards for media and whatever else; zero complaints other than the activity zone compass/map issue.

we also jointly drafted a legal letter to send to samsung regarding water ingress issues as shes an attorney, i studied law and work in advertising, just in case and to help others that are having issues. between family and friends i know of 7 S7 Active users and none of us have had problems; all have gotten wet, a few soaked, one in salt water and rinsed off with no ill effects.

[Phoneguy108]

Your worry and as others have said fear of what might happen cannot be compensated. Only when it happens. Some companies might do what you a describing but not most by a long shot.

You said you can return your s7 active. I would return it and wait a few months to get one that is made after issues are corrected or buy your self a cheap backup phone if you do not have one and have fun with your S7 active. Maybe check out square trade? Definitely covered by water and I thing guaranteed to have a phone within a week or something like that, maybe sooner.

I am going to wait a few months to ensure I get a phone that has been corrected. I don't want to deal with the water logged S7A issue.

[Slade8525]

I am going to wait a few months to ensure I get a phone that has been corrected. I don't want to deal with the water logged S7A issue.

same here; i will be replacing both of ours and making sure my folks' gets replaced, in about 5-6 months, as well.

[FLTimmyB]

I was planning on giving mine a good test in a few months as well. I thought I read that if it fails you can take it back to ATT is that correct.

[Phoneguy108]

I was planning on giving mine a good test in a few months as well. I thought I read that if it fails you can take it back to ATT is that correct.

Yes you can take it back. However, I don't want to deal with the headache. I'd rather just wait until the newer fixed phones are rolled out.

[FLTimmyB]

I was thinking in about 3 more months, well with in the first year of warranty and enough time to have the old units rolled out. I did read in another thread that someone said that ATT was directed to pull the old phones off the shelf...can anyone verify that?

[LonestarROB]

I was thinking in about 3 more months, well with in the first year of warranty and enough time to have the old units rolled out. I did read in another thread that someone said that ATT was directed to pull the old phones off the shelf...can anyone verify that?

Can't really verify but yea that was me. I've been told 3 times by 3 different ATT reps that the faulty ones were to be pulled. Was also told the revised version is out. I just don't believe them yet.

[Phoneguy108]

I was thinking in about 3 more months, well with in the first year of warranty and enough time to have the old units rolled out. I did read in another thread that someone said that ATT was directed to pull the old phones off the shelf...can anyone verify that?

I haven't heard that but that would be good news obviously

[callihan_44]

Im kinda wondering where the leak is occurring , but also why is this such a big deal? is everybody wanting to go swimming with their phone? About the only time my phone would ever get wet is if I happen to get caught in the rain while hiking (which has happened with my note 4) but I still have a waterproof storage bag I put it in to protect the phone in my pack

[bkrell]

Im kinda wondering where the leak is occurring , but also why is this such a big deal? is everybody wanting to go swimming with their phone? About the only time my phone would ever get wet is if I happen to get caught in the rain while hiking (which has happened with my note 4) but I still have a waterproof storage bag I put it in to protect the phone in my pack

I can't speak for anyone beside myself but it sucks for me because I bought this phone specifically after suffering water damage to my iPhone 6 Plus. I had traded in my original S4 Active when I got that phone. I figured it would be good to go in a Lifeproof case. Worked fine for a year and a half but got a significant amount of water in it after ten minutes of submersion in about 2.5 feet of water.

Yeah, I could have gotten any Galaxy now and had IP68 protection. But with the Active designed to be more rugged out of the box combined w/ the physical buttons, I figured it'd be the best choice for me, again.

[FLTimmyB]

Samsung has not said where the leak is happening but I did hear somewhere it was around the power port. Now the reason its causing such an uproar is that it was sold as ip68 certified and it doesn't hold up. Some folks here are saying even a little splash on the phone is causing it to go all wonky obviously if that happens its a problem. I live in a environment where we get rain all the time, so the ability to with stand water is important. I went with the Active because I have tile floors in the whole house and I am a clutz so better safe than sorry. Its still in a unicorn beetle sup case for added protection. No I don't want to take mine swimming but if it gets wet by a pool or at a activity it should hold up to it. Hope that helps, I cant speak for everyone but that's my two cents. (and probably overcharging at that lol)

[bkrell]

And it's not just swimming and/or dunking the phone in water. The reason I bought my S4 Active was because two years of carrying my iPhone 4s while running basically caused the bottom half of the phone to completely rust away.

I think the real reason for the uproar, if you can call it that, is just because of the way Samsung and AT&T are responding to this. I mean, this was caught quick and Samsung has repeatedly stated they believe it was only a small amount of phones affected. If they KNOW it's a defect that could lead to failure, why not offer those that want it a new replacement without having to prove our phones failed? And, unless we all went over to consumer reports and complained there, there are folks making the very same point in their comment section.

[FLTimmyB]

Whats the Consumer Reports link, we should be posting there too, they do carry some weight with companies.

[bkrell]

Here's the original article: Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Fails Consumer Reports Water-Resistance Test - Consumer Reports

Here's the follow-up after Samsung started to respond: Samsung Announces Fix to Galaxy S7 Active Phone in Response to Consumer Reports Dunk Test - Consumer Reports

The author of the article is Mike Gikas. His email is mgikas@consumer.org