Just got the phone, went swimming, does NOT work

[MyHTC8MyS4]

And they mention on the site "Aqua Mode Means You Can Capture Your Poolside Experience from Inside the Pool".

They go farther than that. They specifically say "Aqua Mode lets you take pictures under water".

I have seen Liquipel phones tested under water for longer than they mention. I think they are just playing it safe since the company is young. I would cringe if I put an s4 sctive under water, but I wouldn't hesitate putting a Liquipel phone under water at all. I know someone who made their money back from a Liquipel phone by betting someone. Liquipel is also looking to use this tech on other things like clothing and airplane wings, ect. It's cool tech and can only get better with time.

 

[BrakeTurnAccelerate]

I just got bit by this too!! I lightly rinsed it off in the sink, and there's water in the phone now. I made 100% sure that the rear cover was on properly before rinsing it.

There's 100% a problem with the design. I am thinking it leaked in from the three buttons up front.

 

[anon(220176)]

I just got bit by this too!! I lightly rinsed it off in the sink, and there's water in the phone now. I made 100% sure that the rear cover was on properly before rinsing it.

There's 100% a problem with the design. I am thinking it leaked in from the three buttons up front.

Did water went INSIDE the RUBBER seal? If not, I think you're good.

This is the same thing with my phone but as long as water do not go inside the area protected by the rubber deal, I am good.

 

[BrakeTurnAccelerate]

Did water went INSIDE the RUBBER seal? If not, I think you're good.

This is the same thing with my phone but as long as water do not go inside the area protected by the rubber deal, I am good.

Yes, water penetrated past the rubber seal, but I don't believe the seal is at fault. I personally think it came in through the front three buttons up front, as those stopped working first.

Two of the three moisture sensor stickers are now bright red.

 

[BrakeTurnAccelerate]

Sorry to spam the thread, but for those of you with still working GS4A's, make sure this seal on your phone is properly seated. It's a very poorly designed rubber seal/grommet/plug that covers a hole directly into the phone. This wasn't the issue on mine, but after disassembling it, I noticed how poorly done this bit is, and how it could ruin your day quickly.

 

[Almeuit]

After reading this thread it's safe to say one seems to be a hit or miss on it being resistant or whatever.

Sent from my Sprint HTC One using AC forums.

 

[anon(52425)]

After reading this thread it's safe to say one seems to be a hit or miss on it being resistant or whatever.

Sent from my Sprint HTC One using AC forums.

I would not take a few users who have had problems out of the thousands that have been sold and that are probably working just fine as your deciding factor. We are a very small group that takes to these forums compared to the countless others out these. To each his own though.

 

[androidalais]

Yeah, this isn't normal. Isn't there a possibility that this was a defective device?

Sent from my pure Google Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Or that he didn't have the back cover on correctly? I read on ac that you have to push the back down a specific way for the rubber ring to seal to make it waterproof.

 

[anon(52425)]

Or that he didn't have the back cover on correctly? I read on ac that you have to push the back down a specific way for the rubber ring to seal to make it waterproof.

It's easy to hear the seal on the perimiter of the phone (snaps) but some don't hear the snap in the center under the flash. It's also important to look at the border all around to make sure the seal is flush with the phone...or the battery door is flush I should say.

 

[TheRealCBONE]

I would not take a few users who have had problems out of the thousands that have been sold and that are probably working just fine as your deciding factor. We are a very small group that takes to these forums compared to the countless others out these. To each his own though.

I think the more likely scenario is that people are not actually getting them in water right away. Of the few that are, a significant (statistically) number of them are having problems, and of those, a very small number are on this particular forum complaining. I think a good percentage of those with malfunctioning phones are being told "GTFO w/that water damaged phone" at the corporate stores like I was, but don't have a forum to complain in. I had a ton of problems swapping my Active out that had water behind the screen from the headphone jack, and came out into the gasketed area from the hole above the water damage indicator on the battery. None of the damage indicators were triggered, but that didn't stop them from telling me to go pound sand. I had to complain to the warranty dept at at&t.

Between all the various forums people are complaining in, that's a pretty high percentage for seal failure.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ghostshell]

I own the active and on my first try i had my wife video me taking off the back, putting it back on as shown on the sticker and dropping it in water in case it broke, it DID NOT. since then i have taken off the back multiple times and shown others by putting it in a 1ft of water that it was water proof, even called it while on under water no issues at all, you do have to put the back on a special way and then press on the spot under the flash

 

[nyc_rock]

Got my Active last Friday. Saturday took it in the pool and shot some great underwater pictures and video's. No issues at all.

 

[joshuadjohnson22]

seems hit or miss... just seal it up and hope that it will hold tight... My first active worked perfectly for hours of pool time fun

 

[Alistair Santiano]

This happened to me this weekend.... first time, it was fine. 2nd time, it still worked but would not hold a charge. In the end, i looked up how to open this thing on youtube then proceeded to do so.
The USB flex cable thingy got swimming pool water ( I think this water is worse than tap water for electronics) and the metal points on its pcb had nasty oxidation. Sprayed it with wd-40 and now my phone is 100%. I will NOT intentionally drop this in any type of water from now on as a LOT of things has to be done pefrectly to waterproof it. One snap missed or USB cover not all the way in and you are done....
I'll just use my waterproof olympus camera for under water photos.

 

[Timback]

Well, I had a lot of people saying that I had a defective phone, I didnt put the cover on right, well like I said before my ATT store had 7 out of 10 returns on the crappy , poorly designed phone, I am the original poster of this thread and I still believe nobody should waste their money on this phone, even if some of you had no problem with it, I promise you , you will..
Look what samsung and att did , they saw the major screw up this phone has made .

Samsung and AT&T to reportedly exchange water-damaged Galaxy S4 Active handsets

 

[planoman]

Well, I had a lot of people saying that I had a defective phone, I didnt put the cover on right, well like I said before my ATT store had 7 out of 10 returns on the crappy , poorly designed phone, I am the original poster of this thread and I still believe nobody should waste their money on this phone, even if some of you had no problem with it, I promise you , you will..
Look what samsung and att did , they saw the major screw up this phone has made .

Samsung and AT&T to reportedly exchange water-damaged Galaxy S4 Active handsets

Took mine back after a week. I was amazed at how you could do everything correct with that phone and still have damage. After I spent $640, no thanks. Got a lifeproof case for my iphone to use near and in water & sand.

Now I will spend $90 and get the Seidio Obex for the S4 which starts shipping next week.

 

[wamsille]

Well, I had a lot of people saying that I had a defective phone, I didnt put the cover on right, well like I said before my ATT store had 7 out of 10 returns on the crappy , poorly designed phone, I am the original poster of this thread and I still believe nobody should waste their money on this phone, even if some of you had no problem with it, I promise you , you will..
Look what samsung and att did , they saw the major screw up this phone has made .

Samsung and AT&T to reportedly exchange water-damaged Galaxy S4 Active handsets

Before leaving for out of town the week before last, I purchased the Galaxy S4 Active based upon the fact it was a water resistant device. I was headed to Orlando and would be near swimming pools and would be making a trip to Sea World. Before you ask, no, the phone didn?t spend time in Sea World on water rides. I did, however, take it with me to the pool.
After owning the phone for a few days, I had to make a separate and special trip to AT&T to return a water damaged Active. The phone was sealed but water still managed to get in through the lower lefthand corner. The battery?s moisture indicator went off but the phone still showed nothing at that point. It took driving to two AT&T stores and being on the phone for nearly an hour before I got to a location that was willing to help. 90 minutes later I got a new Active. It took 90 minutes for the store to help me because they had never done an S4 Active exchange ? I was their first. The other locations wouldn?t help despite Customer Service directing the reps to the AT&T employee portal message about the exchange policy.
The second Active lasted until last Friday, when it died after being used in the pool. This time I had a bumper case to cover the edges but apparently that was only good enough to keep both moisture indicators from going off. The phone won?t recognize a charger being attached. It says the battery temp is too high and refuses to charge. The battery was fine.
AT&T told me that since I am within my 14 days I can return the device to any corporate store. I am doing that tonight and from there I am going back to Windows Phone. I?d rather have a stable device where all the advertised features work versus taking my chances with repeated replacements. No, I won?t get a regular Galaxy S4 after the issues I encountered with the Active.