Galaxy S7 corrosion problems

[MemeMagic]

I have some corrosion issues with my S7. As I understand it has an IP68 rating, and is fully waterproof (i.e. submersion for a reasonable length of time). My job is sometimes messy (and I'm not always the neatest and I'm pretty OCD), so my phone sometimes get dirty. I will rinse it under the tap (max 30 seconds) and occasional uses mild hand soap if something is sticky. Afterwards, I dry it with towels paper and shake/tap it until all the water is out of the ports/jack (a good 30-45 seconds). I'll also usually play a short video to help dry it/clear speakers.

Yet, every time (I've had about 5 S7s, for various reasons) it seems to corrode inside the charging port and jack. I haven't looked with a magnifier, but it at least seems that the metal elements have oxidizes (its green). Why is this happening, since I never leave it wet for more than a minute or two, and it doesn't seem to have rusted? Is there any way to stop this? Some kind of protectant or coatings?

Thanks

 

[mikedt]

If it's going green, sounds like the base metal in the contacts is copper and the moisture is getting to it, it's verdigris. Could try treating it with rubbing alcohol, which is supposed to dissolve verdigris.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdigris

A famous example of verdigris.

OK on copper statues, not so good in USB ports and headphone jacks.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Submersion in standing water and actively rinsing under a tap are two different things. In any event I would never clean a device this way regardless of whether or not it has an IP rating. I have an S5 and it's never been deliberately dunked or rinsed.
My suggestion for the future is to keep the phone in a case that will completely enclose it, like an Otter or Lifeproof. Then you can clean the case while the phone itself remains clean and dry inside (or take the phone out of the case before you clean it). I'd think you'd want this type of case to begin with if you work in a dirty environment.

 

[PurrsSW]

lol You wash your phone like your dishes? I don't know about all the new cases available - I'm beginning to look now and wish I had several for my S7 Edge - but the first thing I do when I order a phone is order the Otterbox Defender to go with it. I live out in the country and this is a tough climate with some frightening temperature differentials too. The dust and wind never quite stop and both manage to find me in places I'd never think they could get. I know that Samsung says the S7's are 'waterproof' but if I ever dropped mine in a puddle or horse trough, I think I'd keep a hair dryer on cool, gentle settings handy to dry out anything I can't see just in case.

Phones can take a surprisingly long time to really get dry! I dropped a flip phone in one of my dogs' water pans once and thought the phone was ruined, for it sure wouldn't work after that so I gave it a decent laying-out under a towel, for a proper wake, you know, out on the porch and then about three days later, I turned it back on and it behaved as if nothing had happened.

You might also try some white vinegar on that verdigris. It's gentle enough if there be plastic parts, that will show up these days in so many places one wouldn't expect to find them. A small screwdriver or little kitchen icepick, covered over with soft cotton or silk (silk is best for it sheds no lint) like you may have in your underwear drawer, will do nicely to apply it.

 

[Slug]

IP68 is not "waterproof", it is "water-resistant" to a specified depth/time limit e.g 1.5m for 30mins. It's also only resistant to low-pressure ingress, so even the flow from a household tap could be strong enough to force water inside.

Tbh, I'd suspect a reaction to something in the water. Is your supply heavily chlorinated, for example?

 

[Gmash]

I look at water resistance as an insurance policy against accidental drops in water, I don't think it was really intended for a daily washing. Invest in a microfiber cloth and a bottle of lens cleaner like you use on glasses and that should be enough for 99% of your phone cleaning needs.

 

[mikedt]

You might also try some white vinegar on that verdigris. It's gentle enough if there be plastic parts, that will show up these days in so many places one wouldn't expect to find them. A small screwdriver or little kitchen icepick, covered over with soft cotton or silk (silk is best for it sheds no lint) like you may have in your underwear drawer, will do nicely to apply it.

I'm not sure that white vinegar is such a good idea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdigris

"Verdigris is the common name for a green pigment obtained through the application of acetic acid to copper plates"

Vinegar on copper is how you make verdigris, not get rid of it I think. That's why I originally suggest rubbing alcohol, surgical spirit, etc. as that's not corrosive. But don't try strong solvents like 1-1-1 trich , because that can eat plastic parts like polycarbonate.

 

[Rob]

It's the water pressure that's causing the damage (as others mentioned). The water resistance is based on the water pressure of your phone being submerged in STILL water. What comes out of a faucet is much more forceful.

In the future, try plugging your sink and gently rinsing your phone off in a shallow pool of still water. I bet that'd prevent this problem.

 

[PurrsSW]

I'm not sure that white vinegar is such a good idea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdigris

"Verdigris is the common name for a green pigment obtained through the application of acetic acid to copper plates"

Vinegar on copper is how you make verdigris, not get rid of it I think. That's why I originally suggest rubbing alcohol, surgical spirit, etc. as that's not corrosive. But don't try strong solvents like 1-1-1 trich , because that can eat plastic parts like polycarbonate.

For your sake, I hope you wouldn't rely upon the editable-at-whim wiki to run your household for your own family, not if you're doing any of the work yourself. It's just fine for quick cleaning and needn't be left on there, a dilluted solution of refined white or rice vinegar wiped off with a soft cloth isn't going to 'corrode' anything - if you doubt that, give your ears a spritz of it to clean them, or more delicate parts, and it won't hurt you a bit. If, contrary to all expectations, you turn out to be a special exception and turn green anyplace, please upload a photo and we'll cherish it as a new Android meme.

From what OP told us here, vinegar had naught to do with how he got the verdigris in the first place. That commercial 'hand soap,' now, has some solvents in it worth watching for they are really strong detergents, for cutting grease, not plain soap. Do we even know that the tarnished metal parts are copper at all? An alloy is more likely. What does Samsung have to say about what those metals are? Did anyone think to ask? I sure would if my phone were turning green! My dear husband, God rest him, would sometimes drive around lost for a long time before it occurred to him simply to stop and ask directions and that's just what this thread reminds me of.

OP, call Samsung and tell them the damp weather is doing a number on your phone - and absolutely nothing else - and demand an accounting, with just enough element of wringing of hands to elicit sympathy. Don't worry yourself, hard-working man as you are, when you can delegate that to somebody else. Then take the excellent advice proffered here: buy the proper microfiber cloth, a good lense cleaner and a hardcore protective case and sin no more. Your phone will forgive you if you treat it kindly from now on.

 

[mikedt]

There's almost certainly copper in the contacts, otherwise it wouldn't turn green with verdigris otherwise. Whether it's pure or not doesn't really matter I think. and probably is an alloy like bronze or brass or something, flashed with gold quite often in these things.

Oh yeh, the Wiki is editable by anyone, but on the other hand you must provide citations from reliable proven sources of information. And it wasn't vinegar that turned the Statue of Liberty green. LOL

 

[Gmash]

For your sake, I hope you wouldn't rely upon the editable-at-whim wiki to run your household for your own family, not if you're doing any of the work yourself. It's just fine for quick cleaning and needn't be left on there, a dilluted solution of refined white or rice vinegar wiped off with a soft cloth isn't going to 'corrode' anything - if you doubt that, give your ears a spritz of it to clean them, or more delicate parts, and it won't hurt you a bit. If, contrary to all expectations, you turn out to be a special exception and turn green anyplace, please upload a photo and we'll cherish it as a new Android meme.

From what OP told us here, vinegar had naught to do with how he got the verdigris in the first place. That commercial 'hand soap,' now, has some solvents in it worth watching for they are really strong detergents, for cutting grease, not plain soap. Do we even know that the tarnished metal parts are copper at all? An alloy is more likely. What does Samsung have to say about what those metals are? Did anyone think to ask? I sure would if my phone were turning green! My dear husband, God rest him, would sometimes drive around lost for a long time before it occurred to him simply to stop and ask directions and that's just what this thread reminds me of.

OP, call Samsung and tell them the damp weather is doing a number on your phone - and absolutely nothing else - and demand an accounting, with just enough element of wringing of hands to elicit sympathy. Don't worry yourself, hard-working man as you are, when you can delegate that to somebody else. Then take the excellent advice proffered here: buy the proper microfiber cloth, a good lense cleaner and a hardcore protective case and sin no more. Your phone will forgive you if you treat it kindly from now on.

Ask Samsung? Now what fun would that be?

 

[PurrsSW]

There's almost certainly copper in the contacts, otherwise it wouldn't turn green with verdigris otherwise. Whether it's pure or not doesn't really matter I think. and probably is an alloy like bronze or brass or something, flashed with gold quite often in these things.

Oh yeh, the Wiki is editable by anyone, but on the other hand you must provide citations from reliable proven sources of information. And it wasn't vinegar that turned the Statue of Liberty green. LOL

Gold! Of course. The Eternal Metal, the one that never tarnishes, though when it's pure, it's very soft. Considering what they charge for these phones, they may as well be gold.
So, I brought you a link or two. How about a 'wiki-how?'
http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Copper
And here's a vid for cleaning your copper pots with vinegar and salt - if they're really grungy.

Here's Mother Nature Network weighing in: http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/stories/how-to-clean-copper-naturally
Would you like one for cleaning your ears? http://www.livestrong.com/article/91907-remove-ear-wax-vinegar-/

 

[PurrsSW]

Ask Samsung? Now what fun would that be?

You don't see the fun in dumping your problem on Samsung and letting them fuss about for you even when it was clearly you who screwed up? I do, but maybe I've got a mean streak you could drive a truck through.

Ôl ysgrif / P.S. None of us is perfect and there's a first time for everybody in learning about these devices and their operating systems. This is going to sound 'sexist,' but nothing I can do about it: I'm an older woman and if I call them up and say I washed my phone in my dishwater and start crying, they'd let me get away with that, especially if it's a man on the phone, and not be cruel about it. If a man does that, they may give him hell because he's 'supposed to' know better - am I right or not? That's why I suggested that OP admit to nothing. We don't live in a 'fair' world.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

It's the water pressure that's causing the damage (as others mentioned). The water resistance is based on the water pressure of your phone being submerged in STILL water. What comes out of a faucet is much more forceful.

In the future, try plugging your sink and gently rinsing your phone off in a shallow pool of still water. I bet that'd prevent this problem.

This is what I regularly dowith my S7 Edge, and I'm not seeing any corrosion or any other negative effects.