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by dyl000 9 days ago
anyone know how you can build a water-resistant phone with a removable battery?
5 comments

Water resistant is a lower threshold than waterproof, the latter being harder.

Many phones are water resistant with manufacturers guidance as to time and depth of water it can survive, eg iPhones https://support.apple.com/en-us/108039

As far as I’m aware, after you go to Apple or Samsung for a official battery replacement, there is no advisory issued to say the repair affected the previous level of water resistance

In practice, repairs affect the water resistance, and Apple Store employees will confirm that to you. They just don't want to say so in the product description as it would raise doubts.
We've had devices like this forever.

A: add a gasket.

B: glueseal everything except for the battery, connected via exposed gold pads.

The current issue with battery replacement is mainly the fact that they're glued to the phone. Which make them very dangerous to replace, as newbie might try to pry off the battery with metal tools (and you don't want to know what happens when a lithium battery is pierced.)

The only thing that will change as far as I know is that battery won't be glued anymore. You'll still have to open the phone with screw like you did before.

> The only thing that will change as far as I know is that battery won't be glued anymore.

Nothing like that will change, not with this regulation, which already exempts any waterproof device like a waterproof phone. Per the article:

> The iPhone was already exempt from the removability rule under the original regulation, thanks to its battery cycle life and water resistance rating.

They can still glue the battery in, they just have to do it in a removable way.

If you've ever swapped a battery in a phone you would know that there are special battery adhesive foils for DIY battery swaps that have a tab that lets you pull on the adhesive foil and thereby remove the the battery much more easily.

It's not even glued, it's like those 3M hooks you can slap on to a wall.

The issue is people thinking they need to use maximum power to RIP it out, damaging everything in the process.

You need a constant slow pull on the adhesive, which heats it a bit, causing it to release cleanly.

Yes, many manufacturers know. I have a number of Motorola Defy phones from 2010/2011 with replaceable batteries, all waterproof. My daughter left hers in her back pocket when she put her trousers in the washing, the thing went through a whole washing + spin cycle and still worked.
I.e. Samsung Galaxy S5 was IP67, Samsung Galaxy Xcover 6 Pro was IP68.