Database Users

Problems with battery cover?

Anyone had problems with the battery cover? I took mine off when I first got it and when I tried to put it back, it only clipped into 3 corners, 1 was loose and slide on and off so was never flush.
I've sent it back to Mobilephonesdirect for them to "assess" and see if a replacement is needed. Bloody hope so, its faulty!

Nope, no problems here although i had to open & close the cover several times to reset the device.

Other than finding it the worst battery cover design ever made by HTC, no. I did notice that when putting it back on you put the right side in first and then snap it all down evenly, that it left one corner up and it simply needed a gentle push and it all went flush.
I am concerned about the long term use of the cover, it is difficult to get on and off at best and certainly not designed for ease of use.

The cover is metal but the phone it snaps onto is plastic....and the plastic contact points will wear, that's if the metal battery cover itself doesn't relax its shape a little and get less tight. It seems a bad solution to me but HTC aren't alone in this, I see that battery covers are becoming cheaper and nastier across all brands. At least the HTC cover is metal. I try not to remove my cover...ever.

Yeah, it's a little tight for my liking, if you swap out the sim or memory card a lot it could cause problems. Second battery too.
Hopefully the back case will be available to buy somewhere. It must cost pennies to make.

arfster said:
Hopefully the back case will be available to buy somewhere. It must cost pennies to make.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but they'll probably be available on eBay for about £25, despite that.

I thought I was doing something wrong when I could not budge mine.
On a new phone it takes quite a bit of brute force.

battery cover
Yep, mine stays up on one corner too. Just a little nudge and its back on flush!

Technique is King
Everything requires a technique, then it becomes easy!.
Really all one needs to do is slide your thumbnail under the cover's edge; from one end to the other till there is a millimeter gap, then voila! simply pull off!
If you try to pull it off using the indented 'tab' then good luck to you, Frustration Guaranteed!

sunking101 said:
I try not to remove my cover...ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unforyunately my phone already got stuck a couple of times and the only way to bring it to live again was removing the cover and soft reset or remove the battery.
A shame that the reset button is not reachable from the outside. It might be easy to make a small hole in the cover right above the reset button.

nicelad_uk said:
Anyone had problems with the battery cover? I took mine off when I first got it and when I tried to put it back, it only clipped into 3 corners, 1 was loose and slide on and off so was never flush.
I've sent it back to Mobilephonesdirect for them to "assess" and see if a replacement is needed. Bloody hope so, its faulty!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem with the cover on mine. I found that I must have slightly bent the cover when i first removed it, when i bent it back (to make the fit a bit tighter) it never happend after that.

sunking101 said:
I try not to remove my cover...ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try not too. However if the phone locks up I'll have no choice but to remove the cover and press the red button.

ya i also think the battery cover is design in a wrong way
it took me awhite to open it...
u know i scare i open to hard will spoilt it

Some of the covers are a bit loose. Thank goodness the shop I bought it from, replaced mine for me.

Xperia Z3 Water Damaged in seconds

Here's a video of an Xperia Z3 damaged by water. It's so sad.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154692523715398&set=vb.653365397&type=2&theater

I've done the same and mine didn't die.

Run_dawn10 said:
I've done the same and mine didn't die.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's so sad to recieve a defective unit. I'm really saving for this one.

Hustlervanz said:
It's so sad to recieve a defective unit. I'm really saving for this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Best thing you could do is check if the Phone is waterproof BEFORE putting it in water. Hint is not mine but I forgot who posted it before, sorry. To check it you have to close all flaps and call *#*#7378423#*#*, then go to service test and pressure sensor. With all flaps closed press gently on the screen, if pressure will increase that means the Phone is waterproof

Genial! thx!

Nothing unusually from sony ,

B.K.Q said:
Nothing unusually from sony ,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...and that means?

the app CPU-Z shows the pressure sensor data too if you don't want to have to remember that code every time. :good:

enjoinick said:
the app CPU-Z shows the pressure sensor data too if you don't want to have to remember that code every time. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, that is what I used.
The pressure spiked up so I assume mine's watertight.

I also tried to do a test with CPU-Z ... yes, the pressure sensor returns a value higher than nominal at that time. The same thing happens if I press the center of the screen with the phone on a table, if I press the edges, if I press the frames inward etc ... I tried to do another experiment: with the phone on the table, I put on screen a weight (whatever, the important thing is that you see the value of the pressure) and the pressure is increased, then return a little later to the previous value. Try that and let me know. I've got a screen display with a little on the right side beetween screen and frame. By the way, if the test is ok, my z3 should be waterproof.

gallardo5 said:
The Best thing you could do is check if the Phone is waterproof BEFORE putting it in water. Hint is not mine but I forgot who posted it before, sorry. To check it you have to close all flaps and call *#*#7378423#*#*, then go to service test and pressure sensor. With all flaps closed press gently on the screen, if pressure will increase that means the Phone is waterproof
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh. Thanks for that tip. I'm really eyeing for this device. I'm wondering if this phone would easily bend if placed in the front pocket. And in that way if the phone bends a bit, it may take away the waterproof of the phone.

I would say checking the Barometer reading on the phone is a good way to determine whether the phone is waterproof or not. I pressed on the screen with the flaps open, there is no increase in pressure.

Easy way to remember the code
the code is actually a name shortcut using T9 dialer
so if you press *#*#SERVICE#*#* it's the same code, this way it's easier for you to remember

I wonder if the test pass (like the pressure is increasing in that *#*#SERVICE#*#*. Then I put it into the water and it's not resist and dead, will I get warranty?

Run_dawn10 said:
I would say checking the Barometer reading on the phone is a good way to determine whether the phone is waterproof or not. I pressed on the screen with the flaps open, there is no increase in pressure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you expect a change in pressure with the flaps open? There's no change in pressure.

Hustlervanz said:
Ahh. Thanks for that tip. I'm really eyeing for this device. I'm wondering if this phone would easily bend if placed in the front pocket. And in that way if the phone bends a bit, it may take away the waterproof of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanna mention that my phone did bend while in my front pocket. I took pictures of it somewhere but cannot find it. It was the area just behind the volume rocker. I was out barhopping the night before and was wearing tighter jeans than normal. The phone was never dropped and there were no other marks on the phone besides the bulging of this one area as it became separated from the back glass. It did not, however, affect the water resistant properties of the phone as far as I could tell. I ran it under some water in the sink and it remained functioning. I since sold it cause I could not tolerate the imperfection....my new one has had no issues for the past week even traveling in the same jeans pocket all day.

chetly968 said:
Just wanna mention that my phone did bend while in my front pocket. I took pictures of it somewhere but cannot find it. It was the area just behind the volume rocker. I was out barhopping the night before and was wearing tighter jeans than normal. The phone was never dropped and there were no other marks on the phone besides the bulging of this one area as it became separated from the back glass. It did not, however, affect the water resistant properties of the phone as far as I could tell. I ran it under some water in the sink and it remained functioning. I since sold it cause I could not tolerate the imperfection....my new one has had no issues for the past week even traveling in the same jeans pocket all day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Does the bend really that obvious like the ones in the iphone 6+?

Water damage to Z3
Hello guys,
Sony z3 user from singapore here.
Got my phone on the 10th of December 2014. On the 19th of December, I went swimming with the phone. Before I went into the pool, I ensured that the flaps were sealed tightly. The first 5 minutes were all fun and laughter as I was able to take some underwater shots. But not even 10 minutes later, the screen begins to flicker and I was scared that the phone had water damage. Cut the vacation short and went home with a heavy heart. Tried to put it inside rice to dry but the phone screen didn't come to life.
Everything else bout' the phone still work. People could still call me and I can hear my ringtone (but I could not accept the call as the screen wasn't responding.), charging still work as vibration, sound and charging notification light till work. Even my alarm rang at the exact time. When I went to check the water ingress indication in the usb and sd card/sim card port, it is still white and not pink (which meant that the water didn't even enter from the port).
This is very disappointing as IPX8 rating was the only reason i bought the sony Z3. Currently I have sent it to the service center in Singapore. WIll keep you guys updated.

Maybe it some went through gaps in the frame/front or back glass. Two Z3s I exchanged you could see the glue intermittently along the frame and had severe light bleed when seen at night. So it could have been that, some Z2s had water leaking in from the camera area.
So its important to do the pressure check.

There's also countless dedicated barometer apps in the play store that do the same thing without having to go through any menu's. I prefer barometer+.
---------- Post added at 03:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:44 PM ----------
Karstine said:
Hello guys,
Sony z3 user from singapore here.
Got my phone on the 10th of December 2014. On the 19th of December, I went swimming with the phone. Before I went into the pool, I ensured that the flaps were sealed tightly. The first 5 minutes were all fun and laughter as I was able to take some underwater shots. But not even 10 minutes later, the screen begins to flicker and I was scared that the phone had water damage. Cut the vacation short and went home with a heavy heart. Tried to put it inside rice to dry but the phone screen didn't come to life.
Everything else bout' the phone still work. People could still call me and I can hear my ringtone (but I could not accept the call as the screen wasn't responding.), charging still work as vibration, sound and charging notification light till work. Even my alarm rang at the exact time. When I went to check the water ingress indication in the usb and sd card/sim card port, it is still white and not pink (which meant that the water didn't even enter from the port).
This is very disappointing as IPX8 rating was the only reason i bought the sony Z3. Currently I have sent it to the service center in Singapore. WIll keep you guys updated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you swimming in a chlorinated pool? Pretty sure chlorine is a no no.

Discovered a manufacturing defect in the waterproofing of at least two D6653 phones

Hey,
Just making this post to bring to light a common manufacturing defect I've discovered in at least two Xperia Z3 D6653 phones around the wrist strap hole. Apparently it's not completely sealed, and will leak air and water. As a hacky solution I've taped over the hole with electric tape, and that seals the device. I assume it's present in many more phones if the same problem showed up in mine. Just wanted to get the info out there before people start submerging their new phones.
I've made a video to demonstrate the issue:
(remove the spaces in the link. I'm having to obfuscate because I don't have the requisite post count)
htt
p://ww
w.youtube.co
m/
watch?v=6VpuMfpxCrQ

Wow. I can get the same thing to happen when I press against the lanyard hole vs not. However, before finding out about this, I previously dunked this phone in water with a video playing for about a minute and it continued to work fine. Was it only a matter of time before water would get it and make my phone fail? I'm not sure. But there I can't think of a good reason why the pressure will increase and stay high with the lanyard hole closed vs open and the pressure equalizes. I have the D6616.

lvlonkey said:
Wow. I can get the same thing to happen when I press against the lanyard hole vs not. However, before finding out about this, I previously dunked this phone in water with a video playing for about a minute and it continued to work fine. Was it only a matter of time before water would get it and make my phone fail? I'm not sure. But there I can't think of a good reason why the pressure will increase and stay high with the lanyard hole closed vs open and the pressure equalizes. I have the D6616.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I previously used the first phone underwater very briefly (about 30-60 seconds), and it seemed just fine. Though I tried it later for about 5 straight minutes and it started getting very hot in the lower left hand corner and it made a buzzing sound from that same area around the hole. It also wasn't very deep at all, only about 3-4 inches of water.

Fixed the video link for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VpuMfpxCrQ
Manufacturing defect. The Z3 is full of it! :/
Attached is mine with an uneven flap.

hanime said:
Fixed the video link for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VpuMfpxCrQ
Manufacturing defect. The Z3 is full of it! :/
Attached is mine with an uneven flap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 3rd one had that lol, 4th one so far seems aesthetically good.

abhinav.tella said:
My 3rd one had that lol, 4th one so far seems aesthetically good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying to get another exchange from the ebay seller. Here goes nothing. Sorry for the off-topic.

Mines goes from 1007 to 1116 and straight back down to 1007. Should I be worried?
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app

I was the one on your YT vid that suggested using black RTV silicone, in place of electrical tape, to seal up this apparent hole. RTV silicone is rubbery when dry and yet can easily be removed when needed and will not damage the phone. As well, it is black so it will match the phones body to some degree. If needed, get a toothpick and pop out what you filled in. If not, leave it forever and seal up the hole.

That's a good idea but I'm annoyed by the fact that we have to resort to these fixes for something that shouldn't be a problem in the first place.

How are you 100% positive that just because it leaks air, it is not waterproof. I fish a lot and wear breathable wader that do not let water in but it is not air tight since it lets water vapor/air out. Water molecule is relatively large compare to air molecule.

Someone should make a tiny rubber plug, I'd buy one just to ease my paranoid side.
aquaholik (interesting SN to point this out) made a good comment as well, things can be watertight but not necessarily airtight and this could be by design to let the internals breathe

Agree with aquaholik. And the most important part, shouldn't the barometer sensor have access to air? How else can it measure the pressure of air?

lvlonkey said:
That's a good idea but I'm annoyed by the fact that we have to resort to these fixes for something that shouldn't be a problem in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed 100%. But I will take my idea over a piece of tape any day
se1000 said:
Someone should make a tiny rubber plug, I'd buy one just to ease my paranoid side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use my RTV Silicone idea and you will get just that. It will form the area and make an impression and IF you opt to take it out, you would have a "plug" of sorts.

My phone has this behaviour as well. I already had it in water briefly.
This might be a seal/mebrane to account for heavy pressure changes.

Bäcker said:
My phone has this behaviour as well. I already had it in water briefly.
This might be a seal/mebrane to account for heavy pressure changes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm copying my response to a reddit post I made about the video...
...the first (now non-functional phone) only lasted about 5 minutes in about 3-4 inches of water. When I pulled it out of the water, it was buzzing and really hot in the lower left corner, which is exactly where the lanyard hole is.
This is very strong evidence that water got in through that hole, especially since the rest of the phone is so well sealed. Plus lasting only 5 minutes at that depth is clearly below the rated performance of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
When I got the first phone, I tested the waterproofing of the device by putting it in a dish of water for about a minute, and it seemed just fine after coming out. So I assumed it was sealed, but it simply took much longer for water to enter.
Given my experience with the first phone, I'd rather play it safe and just tape over the hole than risk damaging yet another device in conditions that are well within spec.

Yeah, I totally understand where you are coming from. But if there was indeed a membrane/valve to counter dramatic pressure changes, then closing this pathway could lead to new problems.

Bäcker said:
Yeah, I totally understand where you are coming from. But if there was indeed a membrane/valve to counter dramatic pressure changes, then closing this pathway could lead to new problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true if it's by design. Which it may still be.
However, I'm going to just run 100% with it plugged and see if anything happens. I really can't afford to lose yet another phone in just a few weeks, and If I do get any negative side effects, I'll be sure to report back.

I'm so paranoid. After reading everywhere complains about the questionable waterproof of the Z3, I decided to give it a ride and check out if it really survives, as I still have the return policy and I was really scared but I put it in water, not to deep, took a little bucket and filled it with about 10-15 cm water and waited for about a minute. As I expected it survived well and I didn't see any abnormalities. Then I dried it up using a microfiber towel and everything works fine. I'll see the next days if I find something strange but everything seems fine. Speakers and microphone work well.

Send your other one through sony repair.
They should cover it as long as the indicators arent red.
They repaired my original Z which displayed water damage, but because the indicators didnt turn, fixed it.
Its clearly a manufacture defect if it is the lanyard hole being open which is causing the problem.

killa78 said:
Send your other one through sony repair.
They should cover it as long as the indicators arent red.
They repaired my original Z which displayed water damage, but because the indicators didnt turn, fixed it.
Its clearly a manufacture defect if it is the lanyard hole being open which is causing the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they should cover it even if the indicators are red, they market it as a water resistant device.

So my S5 got wet..

Bummer too because I just set it up how I like it.
I was fishing today and I had my S5 in my pocket.
Anyway to my embarrassment I actually fell in the water when I was trying to untangle my lure from some fishing line some asshole had just cut off his rod and left in the water.
The thing is, whilst the S5 is supposed to be IP64 certified or whatever, mine has lost the flimsy bottom cover...
I was in the water with the phone in my front jeans pocket for about 15 seconds. The phone barely had any water on it (it was also in a full case) though it did seem that some had gotten into the charging port.
I took the battery out, and left things to dry. Got home about an hour later after wiping the phone down and I used a hairdryer on it for about 15 minutes (not letting it get too hot though). After that I threw it with its back off in a bowl filled with rice and put it next to a slightly warm heater.
My girlfriend said when she was trying to turn it off (I told her to take the battery out but she was panicking) that the hardware buttons (back and recents) weren't working any more. She also said that she noticed the date and time was wrong. It said April 24 2006 and the SIM card icon had a circle with a line through it (No reception). The home button she said worked fine though.
What chance do you think I have that the phone will work after it's been in the bowl of rice next to the heater?
EDIT: Found 3 packets of silica gel, I ripped those open and threw that stuff in there with the rice too.

leijonasisu said:
Bummer too because I just set it up how I like it.
I was fishing today and I had my S5 in my pocket.
Anyway to my embarrassment I actually fell in the water when I was trying to untangle my lure from some fishing line some asshole had just cut off his rod and left in the water.
The thing is, whilst the S5 is supposed to be IP64 certified or whatever, mine has lost the flimsy bottom cover...
I was in the water with the phone in my front jeans pocket for about 15 seconds. The phone barely had any water on it (it was also in a full case) though it did seem that some had gotten into the charging port.
I took the battery out, and left things to dry. Got home about an hour later after wiping the phone down and I used a hairdryer on it for about 15 minutes (not letting it get too hot though). After that I threw it with its back off in a bowl filled with rice and put it next to a slightly warm heater.
My girlfriend said when she was trying to turn it off (I told her to take the battery out but she was panicking) that the hardware buttons (back and recents) weren't working any more. She also said that she noticed the date and time was wrong. It said April 24 2006 and the SIM card icon had a circle with a line through it (No reception). The home button she said worked fine though.
What chance do you think I have that the phone will work after it's been in the bowl of rice next to the heater?
EDIT: Found 3 packets of silica gel, I ripped those open and threw that stuff in there with the rice too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have had better results with letting it dry in open air, under the sun....take the back off (ofcourse the battery aswell) and place it under the sun with screen facing downwards.....let it dry for an hour or so...check

You need to leave it in a moisture absorbing product (dry rice/silica granules) for a LOT longer than an hour or so.....24 hours OR LONGER is more realistic. Preferably in an airing cupboard too......
It's going to take a lot longer to dry out than leaving it in the sun for an hour, as I assume you weren't able to start the drying process immediately and the water would have had time to get further into the phone.......
In cases like these, it's always best to let it dry for 'too' long than not long enough....
Sent from my rooted, debloated stocKK kn0x0 SM-G900F

Thanks. I let it dry for 15 hours, I guess it wasn't enough. Also yeah it took at least an hour for me to get the phone back to my apartment. The antenna seems to work fine but the hardware buttons are indeed screwed. I know I can use those on-screen hardware buttons if I toggle them somewhere from Xposed or an App or something. So not all is lost, but I'd really like my normal ones back. At this time I just guess that some water got into the bottom of the phone and shorted out the touch sensors or something. I wonder how much it would cost to get this repaired or if I could get away with having it replaced on warranty or something... Everything else on the phone seems to be fine. Screen, antenna, etc. it doesn't seem like any water got very far in.
Either way I am going to put it back in the rice/silica gel combo and see how that goes. I'll leave it in for 24 hours this time.

Okay so the capacitive buttons at the bottom (menu and back) are definitely broken from getting wet.
What chance do I have at returning the phone and just claiming that they just stopped working? Left the phone in rice and silica gel for what seems like forever and there doesn't seem to be any traces of moisture or water at all.
Worst case scenario Sammy sends the phone back and states that it was water damage and they won't fix it? Best case they fix it under warranty??

Highly unlikely it'll get fixed under warranty......
These phones have stickers placed 'strategically' inside them which change colour if they get wet.....Samsung will take one look at your phone and say.....yeah right......NO chance....
Sent from my rooted, debloated stocKK kn0x0 SM-G900F

Well I'm going to have a try at it, the white square that marks if it got wet down the bottom corner where the battery goes is completely white, and not red. Worst case they won't fix it for free. If it costs anything less than €100 to fix then I will get it fixed, otherwise I'll shop around and see if I can get a third party to fix it or sort out what my options are. I'm flashing it back to stock now and I'm going to clean the phone and then take it into the store and ask them to fix it.
Normally if they won't fix it under warranty they will send me a text message telling me how much it is going to cost to fix, and then if I want to pay. At the very least I should probably pay, as long as it isn't upwards of around €100 because it restores the resale value on my phone and I can make more than the amount back when I eventually sell it.
I really think Samdung should have put more thought into the bottom USB cover though. Mine and my friend's broke within about 2 months.
Anyway I'll post back on what happens later on.

If you can prove it drowned due to a faulty charger cover, you might have a case

I told the guy in the shop I bought it from what happened and he looked at it and said there is no sign of water damage. He said it should be repaired under warranty but not to 'quote' him on it happening. I'll report back in 2-3 weeks and say what happened.
I couldn't really complain about a 'faulty usb cover' when the whole damn thing fell off about 6 months ago.
I looked at a bunch of disassembly videos of the S5. Seems there are 3 main water damage stickers. 2 which are visible from the back. One behind the battery, one behind a little 'square' on the left-hand side of the phone. Both of mine were pure white. There's also another on the battery, except that mine didn't have a spot for it which was weird. The battery was a stock one I got from the same store.
That leaves 1 more which is in the middle of the phone behind the circuitry which I cannot see and I doubt very much that it is anything but pure white. So I think I have a good chance to have it replaced under warranty.
Also the bottom part of the phone's PCB is actually remove-and-replaceable. So if something there shorted out behind the capacitive buttons perhaps they will just throw that piece away and click in a new one.
Who knows.

Yeah, although this phone has ip67 protection, it doesnt do much with samsungs "engineering capabilities" - i have this phone too, and i can say, that this phone has at least 3 weak points, that makes ip67 to ip20 (first number is resistance to dust, second is resistance to water, higher is better) - so, the weak points are : 1) usb connection cover does not fully close, it is stuck out by like a 1-2mm, which i believe leaves some kind of space for water to flow in; 2) back cover does not fully stick to the back of the phone near the camera, you can press in that place to feel that there is empty space, which makes protection gum on back cover kind of useless, because it does not fully stick to the phone and will let water flow; 3) that corner of back cover, which was made to start removing back cover, does not fully stick to the phone, which leaves an empty space of about 1mm for the water to flow in. So to add everything up, even if s5 has ip67, i do not recommend testing it, because it only might work only with a new phone, but when you use your phone, some parts of phone gets out of the shape really fast, like usb connection cover, so it will decrease resistence to water a lot. Anyway, if you are above the water with your phone, i recommend doing good old trick, whick works with all phones - put your phone in a baloon or a condom - this protection will be 100 times better than anything that samsung will offer us in 1000 years.

I don't care if they tell me it is 100% waterproof, under 100 miles of water, for 100 years - I`ll still keep that theory for the day I accidentally drop it in a puddle - Im not going to purposely put any phone in water, no matter how 'safe' Im told it is

About a month ago, I knocked a pint of beer over my phone.......I had a moment when I started panicking about the phone......then I remembered IP67 and rinsed the phone off under the tap......then I started cursing myself for wasting a pint of beer........
Sent from my rooted, debloated stocKK kn0x0 SM-G900F

The outer area under the back cover is not sealed. May still contain some beer for emergency situations.

Lol.....that'd look really good wouldn't it?
Me walking down the street sucking my phone....
Sent from my rooted, debloated stocKK kn0x0 SM-G900F

I used the S5 plenty in the rain and I didn't worry putting it next to the sink or something. I don't think I ever actually fully wet it, but the screen did get covered in water at times in the rain. To me the IP67 rating was always something that meant the phone wasn't made of 'paper', in that it wouldn't be ruined in the rain, but I shouldn't exactly take a bath with it. I've read blogs etc. however that state that it is prone to some pretty nasty moisture damage if you take it into the shower or sauna with you. Though I suppose that is stating the obvious.
Point is, I think the water protection on the S5 is pretty garbage. On paper (no pun intended) it might look good that it is IP67, but let 1 drop into the bottom USB port with the cover off and you've lost both capacitive buttons as well as gained an issue that the phone constantly thinks that it is overheating after the screen turns off (funnily enough doesn't happen unless the screen goes black) and will try and reboot itself continuously. You can't even charge the phone because in a hilarious work of irony, it states that the battery is too cold!
Everything is only as strong as its weakest component and I found that usb cover to be about as weak as it gets. It only took 4 weeks for it to stop closing properly, and another 4 weeks for it to actually fall off... all just with regular use. Anyone is free to look around the web and see similar complaints of how cheap and flimsy the cover is. It would have made much more sense if it closed magnetically, or even if they had made the bottom cover replaceable so when they wore out, they could be replaced. To me it just feels like a typical scenario of Samdung trying to cover as many 'bases' as they can with regards to 'listed perks' without actually thinking about things from a long-term constructive or realistic point of view.
You can see from the S6 and the Note variants that they have abandoned further development towards water resistance and have saved it purely for their 'active' variants. I would have gotten one of those despite how ugly they are if they didn't come with a dumbed down CPU and Camera.
This will be my last Samsung phone anyway. I'll go the HTC or LG route after this.

The S5 is useless in the rain for me, a few drops on the screen and it thinks I'm pressing buttons, phone becomes self-aware and does what it wants until I turn the screen off and dry it, then it works until the next raindrop hits it

Lol.....as long as it doesn't turn into one of those nasty little decepticons out of Transformers you're fine.....
And the S5 will be my last Samsung device too.....not happy with certain aspects of the S6 that look certain to appear on further generations of Samsung devices in the future....
Sent from my rooted, debloated stocKK kn0x0 SM-G900F

Wouldn't surprise me if it did
Been a few times I've pulled it out of my pocket and it's been all set to call someone, just needed to hit the call button and I'd have the borrowers talking to me from my coat

I treat the ip67 rating like I treat the air bags in my car. It's nice to know is there in case of an accident but I'm not going out of my way to test it.

Tybalt said:
I treat the ip67 rating like I treat the air bags in my car. It's nice to know is there in case of an accident but I'm not going out of my way to test it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This ^^
Safety net, not a feature

Essential PH-1 Back cover is peeling away. Battery Swelling? Bad Adhesive? Fix?

Recently, my back cover (upper left corner down to about the center of the phone as viewed from the front) has begun to peel away from the bezel. It appears to have affected the signal strength. It can be pressed closed, but will not (obviously) stay that way. It may have been the battery swelling...but perhaps not. I tried to contact Essential service...but no answer.
So Sad,
This phone is in perfect condition, not a scratch on it, been in a cover it's entire life. Purchased directly from Essential!
Still works fine, but likely will not survive long term with the case being open.
I am looking for a replacement in the same form factor/size with a same sized-or larger screen.
I would have kept this phone for a much longer time, if not for this issue.
Fixes?
Rick

blackice000 said:
Recently, my back cover (upper left corner down to about the center of the phone as viewed from the front) has begun to peel away from the bezel. It appears to have affected the signal strength. It can be pressed closed, but will not (obviously) stay that way. It may have been the battery swelling...but perhaps not. I tried to contact Essential service...but no answer.
So Sad,
This phone is in perfect condition, not a scratch on it, been in a cover it's entire life. Purchased directly from Essential!
Still works fine, but likely will not survive long term with the case being open.
I am looking for a replacement in the same form factor/size with a same sized-or larger screen.
I would have kept this phone for a much longer time, if not for this issue.
Fixes?
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Up to you, but you can get a screen with the glue and battery for about $30. The tear down is pretty simple once you watch a video. The glue will be enough for the screen and back. I just did my wife's, hers was well used. and after, it's like brand new. Just a thought.
Edit: I forgot to mention. If you take this route. some clothes pins with some paper towels help keep the screen and back, nice and tight while the glue cures.

Oddly, my screen is adhered perfectly...just the back section is coming apart.
Perhaps it's time to search out a "same form factor/slightly larger" phone with the better or the same basic specs?
Rick

blackice000 said:
Recently, my back cover (upper left corner down to about the center of the phone as viewed from the front) has begun to peel away from the bezel. It appears to have affected the signal strength. It can be pressed closed, but will not (obviously) stay that way. It may have been the battery swelling...but perhaps not. I tried to contact Essential service...but no answer.
So Sad,
This phone is in perfect condition, not a scratch on it, been in a cover it's entire life. Purchased directly from Essential!
Still works fine, but likely will not survive long term with the case being open.
I am looking for a replacement in the same form factor/size with a same sized-or larger screen.
I would have kept this phone for a much longer time, if not for this issue.
Fixes?
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happened to me when it launched. It's more than likely just the adhesive. There's nothing behind the back cover. You might want to get new adhesive and work on peeling the rest off and re-attaching it. Battery is behind the screen and if it were swelling, the screen would begin lifting too.
Just be careful removing the back, if you choose to. It's ceramic, so it's hard but usually hard also means brittle. The screen is also held on by adhesive, so using heat could weaken it under the screen too, depending where you apply the heat.
Also, Essential went out of business in February. No one there's gonna read your emails.

Any idea what the adhesive is??
Rick
gk1984 said:
Happened to me when it launched. It's more than likely just the adhesive. There's nothing behind the back cover. You might want to get new adhesive and work on peeling the rest off and re-attaching it. Battery is behind the screen and if it were swelling, the screen would begin lifting too.
Just be careful removing the back, if you choose to. It's ceramic, so it's hard but usually hard also means brittle. The screen is also held on by adhesive, so using heat could weaken it under the screen too, depending where you apply the heat.
Also, Essential went out of business in February. No one there's gonna read your emails.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

blackice000 said:
Any idea what the adhesive is??
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, sorry. When it happened to me, I warrantied it. Wish I could help more. Try looking at some teardowns. But the iFixit teardown was done completely wrong - Essential addressed that in a Reddit AMA shortly after launch. iFixit tried to freeze it to remove the screen and gave a bad rating as a result when you remove the screen with heat. The Essential is put together very similarly to a PIxel, actually. But, it is what it is.
One of the teardown guides/videos might show or mention the adhesive used.

I used black b7000

So, it appears in addition to the back coming off, the battery is swollen as well. I am bummed. I actually LIKED this phone.
Will have to get another cell phone to replace it, but what is the about the same size with a bigger or same sized screen?
Rick

blackice000 said:
So, it appears in addition to the back coming off, the battery is swollen as well. I am bummed. I actually LIKED this phone.
Will have to get another cell phone to replace it, but what is the about the same size with a bigger or same sized screen?
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not bad to replace the battery. It's cheaper than a new phone anyway