S7 Edge + Water = Damaged Speaker. wait, what? noooooooooo

[cbreze]

The bigger question is why in the shower? Are people so glued to their phones? Wait, Maybe they're utilizing the vibrate feature. Doh! All makes sense now. Carry on.

 

[jeetu4444]

I had brand new s7 edge and I went for a holiday to Dubai and used it in the pool and water slide to record my videos...phone is working great...yes the speaker volume had become low but after an hour or soo it was fine...

 

[Declan Bryant]

Remember when you were a kid? You just knew that you shouldn't put your tongue on those battery terminals... but you did anyway!

Bear in mind, the S7's are water resistant and not waterproof. Big... huge, difference.

I can't wait for the post that starts, "Help! I took my S7 to the swimming pool for an hour, underwater..."

Lol i just got out from doing that. Speakers waterlogged but it'll dry. Was taking pics and videos underwater with a friend for like 3 hours. I even broadcasted live with a lot of friends underwater

 

[flstructuraleng]

This looks like it could generate at least the same, if not a bit more pressure than water, merely falling from a faucet, onto the phone, at a relatively close distance:

https://youtu.be/l5aF23XpBwU

 

[omgitselaine]

It amazes me that people take the phone into a showers. The IP rating for these phones is for cold water at a specific depth.

Ummmmmm for ....... " shower selfies " ??

Granted not under a strong stream of water but hmmmm you get the picture no wink wink ??

 

[Alanhd]

Ummmmmm for ....... " shower selfies " ??

Granted not under a strong stream of water but hmmmm you get the picture no wink wink ??

Hahaha.

That's why they invented the GoPro, it's not called the "Action" cam for nothing. Lol.

 

[omgitselaine]

Thank you !!

Note to self ........ look into purchasing a GoPro

Though not for nothing ....... it's so much more convenient using one's cell since we always seem to have that on hand !?!?

 

[Morty2264]

Phew! So glad your phone is okay!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[arunma]

Just bought an S7 Edge a couple days ago. Of course I couldn't resist giving it a quick dip in some tap water to test out the IP68 (otherwise I wouldn't be on this thread, of course!), and after a couple hours of not being able to charge it or use the speaker properly, it dried out and everything works just as it did before my ill-conceived experiment. So no harm done...but I would hesitate to try it again.

I was curious enough about this that I contacted both Samsung and T-Mobile about this. After some lawyer-y responses, the answer I was able to divine from them was that the water resistance use case here is accidental exposure to water. In other words, as many wise souls on this thread have said: don't go dunking this phone in the pool.

 

[pontypool]

Water resistance isn't water proof.
The clue is in the English.
Resistance is exactly that, it resists it
Its not the same as being proof, ie completely protected.

People that make this mistake are the reason batteries have a warning not to swallow.

 

[arunma]

Water resistance isn't water proof.
The clue is in the English.
Resistance is exactly that, it resists it
Its not the same as being proof, ie completely protected.

People that make this mistake are the reason batteries have a warning not to swallow.

I hear you, but I think one issue here is that in the past, Samsung has been a bit unclear with their language. For example, remember the Galaxy S4 Active? I quote from their own website:

Enjoy the freedom of being able to take your smartphone almost anywhere. An IP67 rating means the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Active is resistant to dust and moisture.

Source: Samsung Galaxy S4 Active | ATT Android Smartphone | Samsung Mobile​

Now if you recall, the S4 Active was marketed specifically for people who wanted to take their phones in the pool. It even had an aqua mode for taking photos under water with one of the side buttons. Curiously, the IP rating is less protective than the IP68 given to the S7 Edge. According to the Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code), a second digit of 7 refers to safe immersion up to one meter, whereas for an IP68 certified device "The test depth and/or duration is expected to be greater than the requirements for IPx7." If you look at the UK version of the Samsung page for the S4 Active, the title (i.e. the HTML title, not visible on the page itself) even says "waterproof smartphone." So we have an S7 Edge with an IP68 rating called water "resistant" and an S4 Active with an IP67 that is alternately called water resistant or waterproof, and which is marketed for use under water, not just for protection against accidental water exposure.

All of this leaves the consumer very confused; or at least it confuses this customer. Realistically, I'm pretty sure I could take my phone into non-chlorinated, non-salinated water with impunity, so long as I don't drop it or do anything else to damage the internal rubber gaskets. But since the factory warranty doesn't cover water damage, and since I'm not an avid underwater photographer, it just doesn't seem like the best idea. I suppose one could argue that taking your phone swimming is akin to taking it rock climbing or cycling: if you're careful the phone should never need to be serviced in the first place. But I would really prefer that Samsung cover water damage to this phone under their default warranty, since they market this phone as water proof/resistant/whatever.

Don't get me wrong. After four days with this phone I have zero buyer's remorse. It's the best phone I've ever owned and I'm glad for the water protection. But some clarity from Samsung on this matter would be good.

 

[msavic6]

There is huge legal issues around the use of terms like waterproof especially in today's lawsuit based society.

The issue stems down to liability and educating the mainstream customer. The moment you tell someone their device is waterproof or "anything proof" for that matter you have placed all liability upon yourself in case your claims do not stand up to the test.

While the majority of customers will not expose their devices to such conditions, there will always be a select few who will take it to the extreme. There will be users who take their "waterproof" smartphone deep sea diving or wash it with a high pressure hose and then as soon as it fails which is to be expected, you, the manufacturer are liable to replace their device or face litigation for false representation and claims.

Regardless of what the ingres protection rating is, no manufacturer will be willing to take full liability and guarantee the device against any damage as a result of water and dust intrusion especially on high profile mainstream devices that sell in the millions.

 

[Cyncere]

If it's water proof you'd want to see if it works. I did the same with mine and it still works. There's only one ***** here and it's not action316

 

[arunma]

Yesterday I spoke with Samsung's Twitter account (which I hope is a real human), and they pointed me to this document: Is my Samsung Galaxy S7 dust- and water-resistant (IP68 rating)?

This gives me a bit more confidence in Samsung's water resistance rating.

 

[Deezjuevos]

Water probably got on the "water resistant" membrane. Once it dried then it cleared up.

This is exactly the reason. It sounds scratchy till the phone is dried. The phone is designed to keep all openings sealed including the ports there is a membrane that keeps water oht of the speaker and microphones the port is in fact designed to sense moisture and wont charge if wet to prevent shorting out the hardware its pretty clever seeing as the current from the cable continues to flow but the charge port itself lets the electricity pass through so no damage can be done if you get a screen replacement forget about keepibg it waterproof cuz they made it so the front and back panels are secured with a special ashesive that cannot be replace by normal repair shops

 

[pontypool]

But didn't you just admit in the past they have been unclear? Excuse me but if I buy an expensive new phone and I'm not clear about its water protection.
Ill
A = look it up
B= avoid water
As its water resistance it usually just means splash resistance , meaning a few droplets if rain.
Some wrist watches are like this, only splash resistance, the water proof ones specify 50 m water proof. I hope thus clarifies to anyone else reading this, if you lose a mobile and personal data ur can be very inconvenient and upsetting , if you had irreplaceable photos

 

[Alanhd]

Samsung has always been clear about the IP rating of the phone and it's water resistance, the trouble is there are so many ways that can increase the water pressure beyond its rating. Eg water pressure out of a tap, jumping into water etc.

 

[OrangeJoe3000]

Long story short I got a S7 edge in on June 1st, smashed the screen on the 4th of the same month. I had insurance and got my replacement yesterday. I was excited to finally be able to use its water resistant features. So I placed it in a baking pan with less than an inch of water in it. I marveled at it for no more than 90 sec and took it out. I dried it thoroughly and let the charge port and speak air dry for well over an 2 hours. Everything was fine. I loved it. Many many hours later around 1am I had plugged my phone in to charge and went to bed.

In the morning I checked my phone and the display was flickering wildly and the all the colors are washed out and yellow tinted. And both cameras had excessive fog on the inside of the lenses. The water trip sensor is also untouched. I talked to the insurance company and they are replacing it under warranty. I cannot see why the little I put it through would damage the device so badly.
(edit) Phone is completely dead now. The display only shows a fuzzy green color, completely unusable.

 

[jtowndawg]

Ummmmmm for ....... " shower selfies " ??

Granted not under a strong stream of water but hmmmm you get the picture no wink wink ??

Please upload "shower selfies" jk

 

[Nel2122]

Phone's brand new covered with warranty so use it at maximum. Take it to pools, lakes or even sea make videos take pictures, to quickly dry put it infront of blow heater or hair dryer or radiator. And if it breaks or dont work proper TAKE IT BACK TO SAMSUNG. They will happily replace it for free.

I used my s7 in d pool d other day and theres water logging in d front camera. Samsung says that water logging is not covered under warranty.