Galaxy S5 "Water Resistant" How "Resistant" is it?

[SporkLover]

The major benefit of the claim of "water resistant" may be not in using it underwater but that should the phone get dropped in water - and stop working, that the damage would be covered by the warranty.

Without the water resistant claim, if there was water damage inside the phone, they might not cover the phone repair/replacement.

Indeed. And if anyone has tried to use a capacitive touch screen under the water anywho should know that even with waterproofing, such as a lifeproof case, the touch screen doesn't register touches at all. Any level of water resistance or water proofing is more or less to protect the phone from accidental exposure not allow you to use it submerged.

 

[Cobravision]

If you set the camera to use the volume rocker as the shutter button, you can take underwater pictures. That's how the Active took pictures underwater.

The capacitive screen will not work underwater nor will it work properly if it's wet. You can use it like a shower radio, but you won't be able to access transport controls.

 

[GalaxyNexus]

Hey everyone. I actually had the guts to try and test the Galaxy S5 and its IP67 certification. It actually held up for over thirty minutes submerged in water which is pretty impressive.

Even after thirty minutes the BT, WiFi, and audio was perfect. The initial couple minutes were a little bit jittery but after rebooting the phone it was good as new.

 

[GalaxyNexus]

Just did a pool test as well.

 

[Shocky]

The three best devices announced/released this year all offer some water resistance, it's good to see all manufactures adding this but it's a shame the devices have to get larger to make it work.

In case anyone wants to know.

Xperia X2 - IP58
Galaxy S5 - IP67
HTC One M8 - IPx3

Test Level Definitions

IPX-0 No special protection

IPX-1 Protected against falling water Equivalent to 3-5mm rainfall per minute for a duration of 10 minutes. Unit is placed in its normal operating position.

IPX-2 Protected against falling water when tilted up to 15 degrees, same as IPX-1 but unit is tested in 4 fixed positions - tilted 15 degrees in each direction from normal operating position.

IPX-3 Protected against spraying water - Water spraying up to 60 degrees from vertical at 10 liters/min at a pressure of 80-100kN/m2 for 5 min.

IPX-4 Protected against splashing water - Same as IPX-3 but water is sprayed at all angles.

IPX-5 Protected against water jets - Water projected at all angles through a 6.3mm nozzle at a flow rate of 12.5 liters/min at a pressure of 30kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters.

IPX-6 Protected against heavy seas - Water projected at all angles through a 12.5mm nozzle at a flow rate of 100 liters/min at a pressure of 100kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters.

IPX-7 Protected against water immersion - Immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter.

IPX-8 Protected against water submersion - The equipment is suitable for continual submersion in water under conditions which are identified by the manufacturer.

 

[CafeKampuchia]

This is fun:

Video: Galaxy S5 resists 1 hour in the pool and 1 hour in the washing machine

 

[Shocky]

This is fun:

Video: Galaxy S5 resists 1 hour in the pool and 1 hour in the washing machine

I suppose leaving your mobile in your pocket is within the realm of possibility, at least it's better than hitting it with a hammer.

 

[Mikestony]

Merged 2 other threads dealing with water resistance and the S5 into this thread
Thanks!
Carry on

Edit: removed a couple posts for the video links as they were dupes after merging

 

[Phandroid Phan 1]

Even phones that are fully submersible are not always a good idea. Especially when you're dealing with something as pricey as a new phone, id say you should never fully submerse it, especially not on purpose.

 

[bluemsw]

This video sums it up for me.

Ultimate Samsung Galaxy S5 Water Test! - YouTube

 

[whatatrip2]

I put my galaxy s5 in water and find that water do get between cover and phone. The head phone jack has to be drain out or you will get a tinny sound from the speaker that is my experience.

 

[smith058]

This video sums it up for me.

Ultimate Samsung Galaxy S5 Water Test! - YouTube

Wow... what a test!!! An hour in the pool and another hour in the washing machine!!!!

 

[Firewill10]

Indeed. And if anyone has tried to use a capacitive touch screen under the water anywho should know that even with waterproofing, such as a lifeproof case, the touch screen doesn't register touches at all. Any level of water resistance or water proofing is more or less to protect the phone from accidental exposure not allow you to use it submerged.

This is false. I used mine in the pool and had no problems with the touch screen reacting the same as if it were dry. I took my case off checked seals and it was good to go. Takes great video under water

 

[RyanSupertramp]

I got my S5 a couple days ago and jumped in the pool with it. Dunked a couple feet underwater for about 5 seconds. I did that twice and haven't had any problems with my phone at all. Seems to work well. With that being said, underwater the screen is pretty much useless as far as navigating and such. But I took a video of my doing it. I would link it, but it's posted to Facebook, not Youtube.

Now, will I continue to test how waterproof it really is? No, but if you spill something on this phone or drop it in the sink I think it's going to be just fine!

 

[FLAWLESSVW]

FWIW, Rolex is the only company (well, watch company at least) who is permitted to label their products as "waterproof". The story as I heard it was that back in the day they started labeling them waterproof and the US government said you can't put "waterproof" on anything as it's false advertising or whatever and told them it has to say "water resistant".

So Rolex being Rolex strapped one of their watches to the side of a nuclear submarine, sent it to the bottom of the ocean brought it back up and with it still ticking said "now we're putting WATER PROOF on our watches".

 

[DoomGuy1701]

I read on various news websites that it can be submerged in 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. Does this mean its okay to get that phone wet/submerged regularly?

I know with the S4 Active the camera had an underwater mode to take pictures underwater such as in a pool. I haven't read whether or not the S5 has an underwater camera mode. It makes wonder if it is okay to use phone underwater often the way people could with their S4 Active's. I'm thinking since an underwater camera mode has not been mentioned specifically, maybe the S5 isn't for real underwater use the way the S4 Active was.

Another theory is that Samsung is not going to give an underwater camera mode to the S5 because they could be planning to realize an S5 Active although it seems unnecessary if the S5 is "Dust Resistant".

I guess most of these questions cannot be answered until reviewers get to spend real time with the S5 but for now we can speculate!

As seeing this already been answered, and kinda an old post, I just want to share my experience. Being a Galaxy S5 owner for nearly 2 years, I only needed to replace my phone once due to water /rear camera damage, however it is not from some abuse I put it through. The camera part was from being stupid and not having a case on, but the water damage was from an accident at work. It is not internal damage, but only the USB port does not charge. So basically I survived from using a battery charger until I got my replacement from Asurion. What's funny is that I can count at least 10 times where I've dunked (Left it in for half a minute) my phone into the work sink which held sanitizer (Dishwasher job) both from my current and previous job. It survived, no issues besides the speakers being muffled, but that went away after an hour. So yes I can say the Galaxy S5 can be submerged in water, but I wouldn't do it on a regular basis, if by that you mean daily. I give it a personal shower once a week for cleaning, no harm there.

 

[AZgl1500]

I have owned two of the S5 phones since VZW released them on April 14th, 2014....

One still has the door, but it is never used. always on a Qi charger.

Mine has been thru a million miles of wear and tear, I am a hard user of phones, have to recharge it seveal times a day when I get busy with taking a lot of technical pictures, etc.... get a lot of phone calls almost every day....

the USB port cover broke on it last week. at first, I thought "oops!" and then I decided, "hey, this is a good thing. now I can use the USB charger cord easier".

as for being water proof? never tried to find out.