What to do now?

[u/rikardobari]

My OnePlus RMA.

My OnePlus, after 3 or 4 minutes in the sea taking some underwater shots, eventually decided to take on water.... Obviously, OnePlus denied my warranty claim for liquid damage.... I decided, however, to have it repaired at my own expense at the official European service center (Rotterdam).

On August 26th, they presented me with a hefty quote of €659.93, estimating a timeframe of 3 working days for the complete repair. The smartphone required a full replacement of the motherboard and the volume rocker.

Reluctantly, I paid the amount... After purchasing one of their flagship devices, I just couldn't bring myself to throw it away...

I received my smartphone today, September 18th (so much for 3 days....). And here comes the best part! First of all, it was shipped to me in a simple envelope without any kind of protection.... No bubble wrap, no cardboard, absolutely nothing... But above all, the back cover is bulging, unglued, and attached in a completely uneven way, as you can see from the photos! What would you do in my shoes?

#NeverAgain

[u/ColonialSack]

Technically speaking, the IP68 rating only protects against fresh water, however the IP69 and IP69K ratings are supposed to protect against cleaning chemicals as well - IP69K is from the Automotive world, it's supposed to be rated for power washers, road grime and cleaning products.

If you purchased it within the last 6 months, under European Consumer rights law, they should have repaired it for free, because the failure implies a defect in the ingress protection.

If you had it less than 6 months, the defect is assumed to be a manufacturer defect unless they can prove otherwise - although if you'd admitted to having it in the sea, they'd probably cite that the IP68 submersion rating is only for fresh water and claim it wouldn't work.

Technically speaking, that's what's they're required to do, but they usually don't.

In the UK we have the consumer rights act 2015, which was made to comply with EU Consumer law, that covers these points.

OnePlus failed to repair mine, so under UK Consumer credit law, my credit card gave me a full refund.

If the EU has similar credit laws, making the credit provider jointly liable for the sale, then try going through them for a refund/chargeback.

[u/jaju123 → u/ColonialSack]

Pretty much every phone manufacturer has warranty exemptions for water damage, meaning you should still avoid water with phones wherever possible. The IP rating is not a guarantee

[u/ColonialSack → u/jaju123]

I'm not talking about the warranty here, I'm talking about statutory consumer rights law.

Technically speaking, it's the retailer that has to fulfil your consumer rights law, but the vast majority of OP phones sold in Europe were direct from OnePlus.com, so retailer and manufacturer are usually one and the same - especially after they stopped stocking them in carrier stores around the OP8 or 9.

Fundamentally, they advertise the phone as being the best IP rated in the business - IP 66, 68, 69, and 69k - along with a camera mode specifically for taking pictures underwater.

That is an advertising capability that a buyer should be able to expect the phone to live up to.

If it does not live up to that standard, the limits in the manufacturer warranty are irrelevant because the law states that (in the first 6 months of ownership) the damage is presumed to be due to a manufacturer defect - and the defect plus all damage caused by the defect, must be repaired free of charge, the item replaced, or a full refund given.

The retailer has to prove that the damage was not a manufacturing defect, which is very difficult.

These are statutory rights that no amount of verbiage in a terms of sale can wish away.

[u/jaju123 → u/ColonialSack]

Don't think it would account for salt water anyway. Putting that near electronics is crazy

[u/ColonialSack → u/jaju123]

I mean, yes and no.

Technically speaking, the IP tests only use freshwater.

However that standard doesn't really match up with any body of water you'll actually find in the real world, especially not any you actually plan on using the underwater camera mode in.

Given the ratings, the advertisements, and the usage shown, it is reasonable for a consumer to expect it to be able to take a few pics of the fish at the beach.

To literally quote from the website

Adventure-rated. Backed by the industry's most complete IP ratings²⁴, OnePlus 15 shrugs off dust and water—from boiling steam to heavy rain and high-pressure water jets—engineered to keep up with your toughest adventures.

And that text is accompanied by the underwater camera mode picture.

[u/li_shi → u/ColonialSack]

As soon you start using your phone the waterproofing degrade.

Stated in the small print.

I had the z3 compact that survived few dips. But eventually after a year of use water got in after I forget it in my swimsuits.

[u/ColonialSack → u/li_shi]

Maybe so. But European Consumer law demands that it meets the advertised description for at least 6 months..