Sony Loses Class Action Lawsuit on the waterproofness of their Z series phones/tablets

[Mr.Meerkat]

Well looks like Sony's getting bitten in the ass by misleading advertisement by advertising phones as "waterproof" however due to the nature of how the seals and mechanism works, its closer to "water-resistant".

Quote

The lawsuit alleges that Xperia owners were misled by Sony’s marketing verbiage, as the devices aren’t designed for underwater use and are more on the water-resistant level of protection. The class action seeks a 12-month warranty extension for recently purchased devices, or a reimbursement of up to 50 percent off the affected device’s suggested retail price. However, this may not be the final value the company is liable to refund. Sony will still need to settle with the court again on December 1st and agree on final terms, so the figures may change depending on how aggressively Sony fights back.

 

Warranty extension for up to 6 months if the device is no longer under warranty

The lawsuit is also calling for Sony to make changes to its packing, labelling and advertising. 

Devices included in the class action include the Xperia Z2 Tablet, Xperia Z3 Tablet, Compact Xperia Z4 Tablet, Xperia M2 Aqua, Xperia M4 Aqua, Xperia ZR Xperia Z Ultra Xperia Z1, Z1s, Z1 Compact Xperia Z2 Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact, Xperia Z3v, Xperia Z3+, Xperia Z3+ Dual, Xperia Z5, and the Xperia Z5 Compact.

 

Here is the list of affected devices/how much you may get refunded (sorry for how its slightly highlighted...)

Spoiler

(sourced:  http://www.xperiawaterproofsettlement.com/DocumentHandler.ashx?DocPath=/Documents/Manfacturer_s_Suggested_Retail_Price_MSRP_at_Issue.pdf )

 

I guess this specifically affects Z series owners such as me! Oh wait...

Quote

The class action only applies to customers in the United States

Well I guess RIP everyone that's not in the US then...however, if you are in the US, you may get more warranty/"free" money!  

 

Anyway, my thoughts and reaction on this is well...how to put it..."huh?". I've seen the threads and what not complaining about the waterproofing of sony phones however as mentioned before, I have a Z3 compact (which I've owned for 2.5 years) and well apart from getting the plagued headphone port which was promptly repaired by Sony under warranty, I've had no problems with its waterproofing. Granted, I have changed the top flap/seal/cover on my Z3C however that was only due to the seal being so worn out, it wouldn't even close properly. Its been in a pool about 6 times, been in the shower 500+ times, been washed in the sink countless of times (as I seem to love dropping it in mud...I had once dropped it 3m into mud ), in other words, its been dashed with a little bit of water and well its still here, playing music so in my experience the waterproofing for my particular Z3C seems to be fine.

 

To be fair, I would not have complained about a free warranty extension or free money but too bad its limited to the US only ;-;

 

Sources:

https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3016081/sony-slapped-with-class-action-lawsuit-over-phony-waterproof-claims

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/22/16186052/sony-xperia-class-action-lawsuit-refunds-waterproof-claims

https://www.xda-developers.com/sony-lawsuit-waterproof-xperia-z/

[Syntaxvgm]

anything's waterproof if you put it in a ziplock bag or two first. 

[Blebekblebek]

I don't understand why electronic manufacturer makes claim their product to be waterproof.

I understand if they claim it's a bit durable from water splash or just say it what is is, water resistant.

 

But waterproof? even waterproof Pump for fish can be failed inside water.

 

[Mr.Meerkat]

3 minutes ago, Blebekblebek said:

I don't understand why electronic manufacturer makes claim their product to be waterproof.

I understand if they claim it's a bit durable from water splash or just say it what is is, water resistant.

 

But waterproof? even waterproof Pump for fish can be failed inside water.

 

Well to be fair, if an electronic device is able to be submerged fully and not die, I'd say its waterproof for the simple fact that IP ratings are just like the ratings on a waterproof jacket, its only "water-resistant" to a certain point  

I mean a waterproof jacket has "waterproof" in its name...although its clearly not "waterproof"...

[ResidentRad]

Sonys own damn fault. It doesn't matter how robust the IP rating is, its a consumer good and a phone; and most consumers are STUPID. They will test your limits intentionally or otherwise. 

 

My 7+ has successfully survived 5 foot deep pools AND salty oceans. Do I seriously think Id be covered if it went wrong? Nope. Its peace of mind, or for idiots like me it lets me do a little bit more. The days I sincerely think I need it near open water, I shove it into a Lifeproof case, or just get my actual waterproof camera rig with me. And even those multi thousand dollar rigs for DSLRs can go hilariously wrong; I just don't get why Sony would even advertise any aspect of the water'proof' nature of their devices. 

[goodtofufriday]

Not surprised. I have seen a number of post on reddit anput some z3 phones with water damage inside. Its hard for me to still vouche for sony but they are the only ones making compact high end phones...

[SpaceGhostC2C]

Can we now get rid of all the "waterproof" nonsense in electronics' marketing?

[Mr.Meerkat]

Just now, goodtofufriday said:

Not surprised. I have seen a number of post on reddit anput some z3 phones with water damage inside. Its hard for me to still vouche for sony but they are the only ones making compact high end phones...

Says who?  

Last "high-end" compact phone made by Sony is the Z5C which is considered old AF by now...

 

And yes, the X compact doesn't count however the XZ1 compact may say otherwise...

[goodtofufriday]

Just now, Mr.Meerkat said:

Says who?  

Last "high-end" compact phone made by Sony is the Z5C which is considered old AF by now...

 

And yes, the X compact doesn't count however the XZ1 may say otherwise...

I have the x compact. I think it counts =[ 

[Mr.Meerkat]

Just now, goodtofufriday said:

I have the x compact. I think it counts =[ 

Sorry, with a S650 and not a S8xx SOC, I can't let it count  

 

I mean "high-end" in my book is basically anything with flagship specs there it must have a S8xx chip of some sort...sorry 

[goodtofufriday]

1 minute ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

Sorry, with a S650 and not a S8xx SOC, I can't let it count  

 

I mean "high-end" in my book is basically anything with flagship specs there it must have a S8xx chip of some sort...sorry 

Fair enough. I think close enough. I was disappointed that it wasnt a S8x chip. Maybe I faked myself out aha

[Guest]

Waterproof is not Water resistant (which is what all phones are, when QA worked well lol) after all , but oddly enough many people that review phones keep saying "waterproofing" even tough that is completely misleading to consumers who are watching the review and think they can do the same with the Apple Watch Series 2 or the recently announced Gear Fit 2 Pro which go up to 50M.

[dtaflorida]

Too bad, I really liked their product placement in Avril Lavigne's Rock-n-Roll

[Zodiark1593]

So my Dads Z3 he brought underwater and killed almost three years ago?

[Mr.Meerkat]

19 minutes ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

Can we now get rid of all the "waterproof" nonsense in electronics' marketing?

Well...I guess this is my opinion on it...

29 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

Well to be fair, if an electronic device is able to be submerged fully and not die, I'd say its waterproof for the simple fact that IP ratings are just like the ratings on a waterproof jacket, its only "water-resistant" to a certain point  

I mean a waterproof jacket has "waterproof" in its name...although its clearly not "waterproof"...

Yes, no electronics will really ever be waterproof without having to rely on things that could fail (such as seals) however I think the problem isn't just marketing for electronics specifically but marketing for everything.

 

23 minutes ago, ResidentRad said:

I just don't get why Sony would even advertise any aspect of the water'proof' nature of their devices. 

As you've said, its for both a peace of mind and for people to do stupid things with it and it works so they do it I guess...

 

2 minutes ago, Goku-sama said:

Waterproof is not Water resistant (which is what all phones are, when QA worked well lol) after all , but oddly enough many people that review phones keep saying "waterproofing" even tough that is completely misleading to consumers who are watching the review and think they can do the same with the Apple Watch Series 2 or the recently announced Gear Fit 2 Pro which go up to 50M.

Thing is, some people uses those two words interchangeable and nothing is ever waterproof as they are only ever "water-resistant" to a certain degree. Take my waterproof jacket example from above, although it has "waterproof" in its name, its clearly only "water-resistant" so...the problems isn't just limited to specific companies/people. 

[Mr.Meerkat]

Just now, Zodiark1593 said:

So my Dads Z3 he brought underwater and killed almost three years ago?

Yep  

May as well sign up and hope he could maybe get a bit of compensation...I mean 50% of its MSRP is actually quite a lot...

[dtaflorida]

3 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

May as well sign up and hope he could maybe get a bit of compensation...I mean 50% of its MSRP is actually quite a lot...

How are they validating? by serial number? Quick, how much are the broke ones going for on ebay?

[Mr.Meerkat]

Just now, dtaflorida said:

How are they validating? by serial number? Quick, how much are the broke ones going for on ebay?

No idea, you'd probably want to do a little research into it however when I RMAed my Z3C, they went by the date my Z3C compact on sold on their system (i.e. serial number) rather than asking for a POP so...maybe it would work?  

[dtaflorida]

As it turns out, you either have have submitted a water damage claim in the past, or file one now. In any case it only applies to warranty claims that were denied. And warranty coverage was only for 1 year anyways. The impact of this lawsuit is gonna be tiny. And the future impact will only be to accept more phones for warranty service really. 

 

On the other hand, it sets a nice precedent where all water damaged phones must be repaired under warranty if it was claimed waterproof.

[8uhbbhu8]

2 hours ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

 

I guess this specifically affects Z series owners such as me! Oh wait...

Well I guess RIP everyone that's not in the US then...however, if you are in the US, you may get more warranty/"free" money!  

 

Gah!!!!! I live in Canada and have an M4 Aqua....  Found out the hard way how weak a phone it is. I want money too!

[PlayStation 2]

Generally, I'd say 'technicalities bit them in the arse' but this time it does seem more like misleading the consumer rather than straight technicalities.

[sof006]

Make revisions of packaging on phones they no longer make/sell? Sure okay no problems. 

[Mr.Meerkat]

4 minutes ago, sof006 said:

Make revisions of packaging on phones they no longer make/sell? Sure okay no problems. 

Oh yeah...didn't think about that  

 

However I'm pretty this probably includes new devices as well so...

[Grinners]

On the topic of other phones;  I'd argue that water resistant actually gives you a less accurate impression of the capability of most phones than water proof.

 

I know technically water proof is not achieved by phones but to the average consumer I'd say water resistant gives them the impression of "can survive a light rain'....

 

Maybe a term somewhere in the middle would be more appropriate.

[Tech_Dreamer]

love these kinds of lawsuits against major companies , they get too cocky with competitive advertisements & don't think of the product from consumers perspectives .