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Update: we’ve discovered the truth about the Galaxy S5 IP67 Certification.
Ever since it was announced people have been asking- how waterproof is the Galaxy S5? As seen in our full review, its weather resistance is one of its best new features. Or at least it’s supposed to be. This morning I woke up to find my front and rear camera had some odd bubbles forming all over each lens.
That doesn’t look good. At all. So we tested a picture.
And a screencap of the screen for safe measure.
Samsung describes the S5 as “resistant to sweat, rain, liquids, sand and dust, so your phone is protected for any activity and situation,” but the technical designation is IP67 Certification. That means water damage should not be possible in liquid immersion up to 1 meter.
I subjected my Galaxy S5 to liquid submersion twice:
- I gave it the toilet treatment in my Galaxy S5 Review
- I ran it under the faucet in my S5 vs M8 Comparison
That was several days ago.
I’m the first to admit that waterproof and water resistant are two different things, and I would normally never purposefully put my phone in harms way, but IP67 designates that this phone should not face water damage under these circumstances. Testing these types of things is why we do these reviews.
The Galaxy S5 is very good about reminding you close your charger door snugly and make sure your battery cover is snapped on COMPLETELY before continuing. This is a message you shouldn’t dismiss (although it allows you to) because the reminder is a good one. I can say with confidence that during both water tests my phone back cover and battery port were completely secured.
Somehow, though, water snuck its way into my battery.
After cleaning it off, snapping the cover back on, and firing up the camera… the drama continued.
Twenty minutes later the camera begun loading again, but not without bubbletastic cloudiness ensuing.
So now I’m at a crossroads. This seems like a problem that will not correct itself. It also seems like a hard case to prove the water damage didn’t happen due to fault of my own. I could have separated the battery cover and gone deep sea diving for all they know.
I joke of course, but these types of water tests have been popping up all over the web, with some people even going swimming with the device.
I’m not exactly sure how this happened or how the story will end, but I felt it was a development worth sharing. I want to point out that this has been MY experience but in no way am I claiming it’s indicative of a Galaxy S5 problem as a whole. Have any other Galaxy S5 owners had similar situations? Has your Galaxy S5 been put to the water test? Head on over the Galaxy S5 Forums to share your stories!
Until further notice, we would have to say this is a case of user error, at least until other reports starts coming in
Sounds more like a specific device problem. If you subject a device to conditions it’s supposed to handle and it doesn’t but other users aren’t reporting the same issue then it could be a specific dud device.
It’s not hard to fathom with the volume of devices shipped that the odd device may not be sealed properly or have any number of other random defects.
Agreed
I agree. I don’t think – or at least hope it’s not – a larger problem. I tried to position this as a personal device issue and hope that came across clearly. I feel like getting g the word out will either help collect similar stories or relegate this to an individual case.
Yes, I should also have said a device specific issue, since it may not be the user at all
That or a case of that one in a million situation
THX for sharing this experience Rob!
I’d at least report it to SAMSUNG,might give them the chance to trace defects to a specific lot of stock experiencing similar results.
You’d actually be doing them & us a favor,so that they may better the manufacturing process.
Just wanna say I dunked my phone in the sink to show off its water resistance and is working 100% fine, with no water seeping into the phone. Tough to say what happened in your case, but I’m sure Samsung is expecting to get a lot of reports like this (even if user error).
Did dunking it in water help the TouchWiz lag resolve also…?
It may have been the streams from the faucet. Some types of water contact (e.g. gentle submersion, pants getting wet from rain, etc.) are not as forceful as others (e.g. streams of water from shower heads, hoses, etc.). The pressure behind the latter can get water past water resistant seals so that’s one possible explanation for how water got past the exterior of your phone.
By the way, for those who don’t know, one of the best ways to get water out of the insides of a phone is to bury it in a container of dry (uncooked) rice for a day or two. The rather absorbent rice will draw out the water in many cases. I’ve used this method myself to recover phones and other electrical devices from water penetration – although damage may be done if the device isn’t quickly powered off and the battery removed before rice treatment.
Agreed. The faucet test wasn’t “submersion”, it was exposure to pressured water.
This is a good point. Very well could be the case regarding the water pressure. It would also mean galaxy s5 users should protect their phones in heavy rain.
I will reach out to Samsung for a response on monday.
I was about to post this. I believe this is the cause as well.
Dry rice is a life saver! I’ve saved a device in past along with a couple of friends’ in the past with this method. The key is to be patient.
A better way to remove moisture is to use a bunch of discussant bags. (the little bags you find in things like the box your new shoes came in) Place them in a baggie with the phone, back and battery out of course. One it draws out moisture much better than rice will and its in a bag so it doesn’t get in any of the ports like the headphone jack, charging port.
Granted, discussant bags would be more effective – but I’m willing to bet most people don’t have a decent supply of those stored. I think I’ll start saving those instead of tossing them in the trash.
I have the S4 active (same IP67) – the day I picked it up I went straight to the pool, had it in there for a while… taking pictures and making sure it wouldn’t have problems down the road. Since then I have had it in the shower, the pool some more, and under running water from the sink. No issues to report, still running like a champ. I picked up the GS5 yesterday…hopefully wont experience this same problem, however if I do I will be sure to share.
While I love having a removable battery, I have to say that Sony’s design on the Z series of devices seems far superior for water resistance.
Well, it DOES have a different rating.
I’m thinking there’s a different between accidental, and deliberate in terms of the kind of water it can handle
Ah the toilet. Exactly where the S5 belongs.
LOL
I’ve had no issues with mine and I did test it. Also I’m not sure but the pic under the fosit looks like the back is not fully on. I could be mistaken and could be a shadow but looks like it’s not on properly. I poped that part off on mine and very much resembled the picture. I could be wrong though.
These are good points Rob. Samsung has created a conflict in this due to the fact that they have insisted on maintaining a removable back cover while obtaining IP67 certification. I could see some lawsuits over this due to the fact that they will likely refuse service for cases like this but cannot definitively prove that you didn’t have the cover firmly in place. If they were going for IP67, they should have done away with the removable cover imo
S5 is obviously junk. I will stick with Nexus line
See how that Nexus 5 stands up in the toilet.
Probably about the same, based on what I just read
Um, I’m just going to simply refrain from putting my phone in the toilet. And for the S5’s off-contract price I can just about buy 2 Nexus 5’s.
The GS5 is a piece of junk in my eyes, and I didn’t even need an article to tell me that. Nothing about the GS5 is desirable to me, it just lacks the refined class and smoothness of other handsets such as the m8 and Z2 and quite frankly not in the same league at all. My opinion of course, yours may differ.
Ah the Z2. That device feels so nice in the hand. True craftsmanship there.
Mine does differ :)
I already knew this because usually devices with removable backs aren’t waterproof period
They never claimed it to be. It’s water resistant.
Tell that to my Sony Xperia A, it has a removable back and battery. It is totally fine in the shower.
what are you doing with a phone in the shower?…….never mind……
Listening to podcasts on the weekends when I have time to clean the bathroom or when I am washing the dog.
Ip67 is rated for water immersion, not direct pressure. There are other ip ratings for direct water pressure.
Similar to the so called water resistance as the S4 Active….make sure all the clips on the backplate are firmly snapped in place including the center of it.
Gross! Couldn’t you have tested and submerged it in water elsewhere? Why the toilet? Gross.
Some other places that you touch more often are actually dirtier than the toilet, such as your room’s door knob.
At least the toilet looks clean LOL!
That’s a hotel room toilet… they look clean..but when you use a blacklight….we all know what cums up….no pun intended.
Samsung next tagline…. Next is what? A gutter test to
check the device, if it is working fine there or not! Toilet test is successful
I think. Well thanks for explaining the difference between the water resistant
and water proof. I am using Galaxy S5 that I purchased along with flip case and qi wireless charger from almost 1 week and it is the best phone I have even had
till date. Forgot about the water test just choose the best.
I was in my local Best Buy Mobile store today and a customer was returning his S5 because it was water damaged.
i am happy to know that my s5 might survive in my pocket in case of a torrential rain and me getting drenched.but going to the length of putting it in a dunny to prove if its “waterproof”
or not is beyond me.its a phone you do calls with it or surf the net,not giving swimming lessons……….
Sounds like the Galaxy S5 is having the same issues with the rubber o-ring on the battery door that the S4 Active did. Samsung will have to replace defective units like they did last year with the S4 active and maybe they need to stop using that design for the IP67 rating
The IP67 standard is a little misleading. 1 meter under water for 30 mins, but that is a static standard. Once you start moving the water around, or moving the phone around under water, all bets are off.
I ruined a 100m water resistant watch in a swimming pool.
Agreed. People need to take “water resistance” with a grain of salt. Even while being water reistant, I’d never get my phone near water.
hey rob,
here is one for you,try to work out why the sphere camera shot can not be assembled properly after you just spent 5 min to do the full 360 shots
The whole GS5 was a fail.
well i put my S5 to the water test and it pass all of them .Iran it under water for a while and put it in a pot of water for at least 20 min and took it out and no water under the back cover at all may be you got a bad rubber seal
The One M8 is water resistant too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhwvXTVQoPM
Geez, calm down there, it’s a phone, not the savior of mankind.