Multiple reports last month revealed that the Galaxy S7 Active's waterproofing claims did not hold up. Samsung initially said that it “stands behind” the waterproofing certification of the Galaxy S7 Active but later conceded that it had found an issue on a production line that exclusively manufactures this handset and that the issue had been resolved. It also promised to replace Galaxy S7 Active units with water damage as long as they are within the standard one-year warranty but the company will not provide a lifetime warranty for faulty units.
This is a problem as both Samsung and AT&T, the carrier that exclusively sells this handset, don't appear to be willing to replace a faulty Galaxy S7 Active if the one-year warranty is up. It's a problem because they have not revealed any identifying information like serial numbers which could help customers find out if they have a faulty unit. The only way for customers to find out if they have a faulty unit is to dunk it in up to 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes and see if it survives. If they do have one and it takes on water damage after the warranty is up they won't be able to get anything from AT&T or Samsung. Both companies are also yet to provide assurances about whether all of the units in their inventory now are those that were manufactured after the production line issue was fixed.
There has been no comment on this yet by Samsung, it has reiterated its position that “At this point all we have to say is that the production issue has been resolved and we have received very few customer inquiries. Any owner with water damage will receive a replacement under the standard limited warranty.”
