Samsung investigating claims that Galaxy S7 Active is failing water-resistance tests

The Samsung Galaxy S7 may not be as rugged as Samsung would have you believe, following reports that the handset is failing water-resistance tests. Samsung is now looking into the claims.

Much like the flagship S7, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active features IP68 certification, meaning it is designed to survive being submerged in up to five feet of water for 30 minutes. Yet when put through its paces by product testing website Consumer Reports, the device didn't survive the dunk.

After being submerged in five feet of water for half an hour, the team noticed damage to the S7 Active's display and moisture behind the camera lenses. They also claim to have found water inside the port holding the SIM card.

Consumer Reports tested a second Galaxy S7 Active, only to find that it too failed the test. In the days following the tests, the team said the phone's displays became unresponsive and kept cycling on and off. Neither returned to functionality after being left to dry out.

The standard S7 and S7 Edge models passed the same tests by Consumer Reports and currently top the company's smartphone ratings, scoring 'Excellent' in terms of display, battery life, cameras and other features. The website said it was unable to recommend the Galaxy S7 Active because it failed in one of its key advertised areas.

In response, Samsung said it has had "very few complaints" about water damage, although it added that there "may be an off-chance that a defective device is not as watertight as it should be."

The problem will only effect mobile users in the US, given that AT&T is currently the only operator selling the Galaxy S7 Active. Fortunately, like all Samsung phones, the S7 Active is covered under warranty if it does turn out to be defective. Still, we'd still recommend against taking your smartphone swimming until Samsung has investigated the problem further.