On one of my trips abroad recently I decided to hit the sun kissed beaches of Croatia, a place I had been itching to try for years now. So naturally I decided to take my inspiration, light, and life partner (no not my girlfriend), the Xperia Z2!
All I wanted to do while on holiday was the usual boring nerd stuff, you know, the stuff which would bore the average holiday maker to death. Testing my Xperia's battery to its limits, seeing how well its new IPS screen handles in high sunlight conditions, and of course, testing the camera capabilities...Oh, and maybe some sight seeing too, I suppose!
Sadly, there was one special feature on the Xperia Z2's camera which I regret testing and that of course was the water proof capabilities.
As many of you know, the Xperia Z2 has the highest water Ingress Protection (IP rating) possible on the electronic market, with a handsome IP58. This gives it protection against immersion in water for reasonably long periods of time.
I am so conditioned in to doing everything in my power to avoid getting my phones wet in any shape or form that it took me weeks for me to build up the courage to run it under a tap. Eventually I started to use it in the shower and the occasion bath and the phone worked a treat.
Using my Z2 in the sea however was the ultimate test, and considering how nervous I was, you would have thought that I would have read the instructions before use, as it clearly states in the user manual and official Xperia website; YOU SHOULD NOT USE IN SEA WATER.
So I take full responsibility for what happened and this is by no way a shot at the build quality of Sony's Xperia line.
That being said there are many stories floating around in the media of the Xperia Z2 surviving horrendous conditions in the sea (
here and
here) so, why not? Maybe its one of those legal things where Sony aren't allowed to say its sea water proof but generally its ok?
It does beg the question how many people will be making the same mistake as me and how little I have seen Sony advertise that sea water should not be used on their adverts.
I made sure the flaps on my phone were shut tight and jumped in the sea after a long day of walking around the town of Pula. I took some pictures of my friend swimming under water and the results were fantastic. The phone didnt spend long under water, I was probably only in there for half an hour, in which the phone was in there for probably half of that.
Once I got out I gave my phone a quick dry and thought nothing of it. The pictures turned out great and the phone continued to work perfectly. Once I get back to my hostel several hours later I had noticed some unusual behaviour with my mobile phone, the phone kept turning itself off, the phone was over heating and I had noticed huge amounts of condensation on the inside of my camera lens.
Example photo
The Damage:
The camera never worked from then on. Sadly I couldn't throw my phone in a bag of rice over night like a lot of people would suggest on forums after water damage. Being on holiday and in a country in which I looked EVERYWHERE for rice and found none, I was stuck.
It struck me as strange as I made sure the flaps were closed tight yet its clear that lots of water had got in somewhere!
The phone was dead for 2 days, I really thought my phone was gone forever.
After a few days it did turn back on. The phone booted up and seemed to be running normally (except the camera).
After a while I noticed that the battery was running out incredibly fast, say 1% every minute? Even on Stamina and Low Battery mode. Not only that but the phone would even go down when on charge. Even more annoyingly, the phone could only charge up while turned off, and that was still incredibly slow. I would have to charge the phone over night (say, 8 hours) for about a 55% charge. A 55% which would run out within an hour of usage.
The Xperia Z2 would also be subject to random battery shut downs too, after spending hours and hours charging I would get the occasion battery wipe out where it would jump from 20-30% to zero.
TIPS:
A tip from my good friend Graham, one of my fellow moderators for the
Xperia Z2 Facebook group.
"
I've seen a good trick to check your phone for being airtight. You open the diagnostics function and using the barometric pressure sensor... Press on the screen and check pressure increases. If it doesn't then your phone isn't watertight."
Which this
useful link will tell you, and I quote;
"you can test waterproofing WITHOUT water:
1) close the flaps
2) dial *#*#7378423#*#* (7378423 = SERVICE)
3) service tests/pressure sensor
4) press on the screen with your finger, pressure will rise
5) open a flap, press, pressure does not rise."
So there are many options, that being said, usually from my experience closing the flaps on the phone is good enough to keep it safe and dry, but with a phone of such class and expense, you can never be too sure!
A month later:
Its been a month now since my holiday and the camera is still broken. The battery has improved slightly, now it can stay on a steady charge if you charge it and stick it in low battery mode AND stamina mode AND use Battery Doctor to close all unwanted apps. If you do not do all these things then the battery will eventually go down.
The phone over heats every time I turn it on and still occasionally shuts down because of it (which is horrible in your pocket as it nearly burns your leg). The random shut downs from 20-30% have stopped but the phone will never ever be the same again.
Since my phone is used as an alarm clock I have now had to buy an old fashioned alarm clock to use until I get a new phone as it wont last through the night. I can leave it on a steady charge over night but then my battery doesn't go up, so if I use my phone even just a couple of times a day then I lose about 20-30% each day (and we are talking about turning my phone on and using it for 20-30 mins a day to check messages, emails, calendar and voicemails).
I can receive calls but since my phone has to spend 90% of its time off to charge I usually have to contact people through texts or voicemails and get back to them.
Its been a real killer not being able to use my camera. Its been particularly hard considering I have two blogs which require a lot of photos. As you can tell by this blog post that the pictures stop at the time I use my Xperia Z2 in the sea.
My advice?
Don't use your phone in sea water!
I am sure it can survive if need be, like if it falls in by accident, but its not worth risking a £500 phone for a couple of decent photos. I know insurance companies can be a real bitch when it comes to water damage too.
Always read the instructions before use and damn well follow them!
I am gutted.
:(
