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Showered with iPhone, Sound Quality Diminished??

N

NewtonPippin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 18, 2015
174
353
Hello all,

I walked into the Apple Store yesterday and came out with a 256GB Matte Black iPhone 7 Plus. I also have two other configs on pre-order. Anyway, i was testing the device since then, and this morning I took a shower with it (water resistant). It was not an absurdly long amount of time - Maybe a 20-30 minute shower? Later I played a YouTube video from the new speakers and.... the sound quality has clearly been impacted. :mad:

Was Apple lying when they said its water resistant? Should I go to the Apple Store and get it replaced?
 
I guess I don't understand the need to test something like this.

I got new glasses a while back and they put an anti-scratch coating on them. I felt no need to take a brillo pad to my glasses to see if the anti-scratch coating worked.

You purposely put an electronic device together with moisture. Apple still doesn't cover water damage.

Don't know what else to tell you.
 
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Some people will never learn. Water and electronics don't go hand in hand.

Yes, the 7 was made with some water resistance, but that doesn't mean you can shower with it.

Are people really so attached to their phones that they have to take them to the bathroom with them? Leave the phone in a cool, dry place, take care of your business and return to it later when you're done.

Seems pretty simple to me, idk
 
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NewtonPippin said:
Hello all,

I walked into the Apple Store yesterday and came out with a 256GB Matte Black iPhone 7 Plus. I also have two other configs on pre-order. Anyway, i was testing the device since then, and this morning I took a shower with it (water resistant). It was not an absurdly long amount of time - Maybe a 20-30 minute shower? Later I played a YouTube video from the new speakers and.... the sound quality has clearly been impacted. :mad:

Was Apple lying when they said its water resistant? Should I go to the Apple Store and get it replaced?
Click to expand...

Just a tip. Women are made for showering with. Phones, not so much... ;)
 
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A speaker can't be sealed because it needs air to produce sound, and this happens all the time with the IPX7-rated Apple Watch. Water resistant means that the iPhone as a whole is resistant to water ingress, not that the speakers are impervious to water (which is impossible by design). They'll be back to normal once dry.

That's why the new water-resistant-to-50-meters AW Series 2 has a mechanism in place to eject water from the speaker once you emerge from water.
 
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cwwilson said:
Seems pretty simple to me, idk
Click to expand...
Agree!

I don't have the spare cash to be replacing iPhones left and right because I can't be disconnected for the 15 minutes it takes for a shower/getting ready.

I know it's just a device, but it's an expensive one and being careless with it is not something I can afford.
 
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What kind of filth were you washing off yourself that warranted a 30 minute shower? You probably have water still in the speaker housing, so it needs to dry out. Apple says the phone is water resistant, they never told you to take an electronic device in the shower with you for a half an hour. Don't be that guy at the genius bar either starting a scene, because you decided to intentionally soak your phone in hot water and now it has liquid damage..
 
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JayLenochiniMac said:
A speaker can't be sealed because it needs air to produce sound, and this happens all the time with the IPX7-rated Apple Watch. Water resistant means it's resistant to water ingress, not that the speakers are impervious to water (which is impossible by design). They'll be back to normal once dry.

That's why the new water-resistance-to-50-meters AW Series 2 has a mechanism in place to eject water once you emerge from the water.
Click to expand...

All true but I would really say the steam from even a warm shower may be able to penetrate the device.

The spears are only fine mesh that uses surface tension of droplets of water to keep water out. Steam is VERY fine particles and possible could get in still.

Shower is a REALLY bad idea.
 
The phone is IP67 certified, it means 1 meter for up to 30 minutes (a.k.a spill proof and dropping it in a puddle). It doesn't mean it survivies steam or the water shooting out of the shower head. Most likely you have water in the speakers and it just need to dry (put it in a bag of rice for quicker results).
 
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Just give it a few hours and it should sound normal. I have owned Sony's and the S7 with water resistance and the speakers always sound bad after they get wet but work just fine once they have dried.

Try getting you phone wet and making a phone call straight after that..
 
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Ries said:
The phone is IP67 certified, it means 1 meter for up to 30 minutes (a.k.a spill proof and dropping it in a puddle). It doesn't mean it survivies steam or the water shooting out of the shower head. Most likely you have water in the speakers and it just need to dry (put it in a bag of rice for quicker results).
Click to expand...

Exactly, steam is a whole other thing than water.
The iPhone is water resistent, not shower resistant.
 
stulaw11 said:
All true but I would really say the steam from even a warm shower may be able to penetrate the device.

The spears are only fine mesh that uses surface tension of droplets of water to keep water out. Steam is VERY fine particles and possible could get in still.

Shower is a REALLY bad idea.
Click to expand...

Many MR members have been showering with their IPX7-rated Apple Watch with no ill effects (except for the muffled speaker until dry).

But, yes, it's not rated for showering, and Apple has a disclaimer that states they'll refuse to replace water-damaged iPhone 7 under warranty (I'm curious if they'll actually enforce this). They do replace water-damaged Apple Watch under warranty though.
 
Same thing with my Galaxy S7 Edge. I dunked it in water one time and the speakers sounded awful and extremely low volume. It took a few hours to dry out but after that it was fine.
 
I wouldnt be surprised if Apple has a water sensor near the speaker, so even if there is no internal water damage, they can tell the phone got wet and you wont be able to replace it.
 
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