Salt Water Damaged Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 Restoration

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[@mirkopacchioni4158]

Compared to repairing an Apple watch it's like taking a walk, nice video as always.

[@MikeCobweb]

For reals. I can't see anyone defending Apple for their design decisions except for the sheep deep in the cult.

[@myyoshistory]

Seeing how a lot of Samsungs products are engineered it boggles my mind that Apple can have a very similar product yet over-engineer it to the point of being nearly unrepairable.

[@creamylulu3427]

I don't think apple is over-engineering its product, they do that for a reason. I have a exact same watch and never took it into shower, however, after 9 months of daily use, samsung's crappy adhesive fails and the watch's ecg sensor and hrm sensor stopped working. I won't purchase any samsung products anymore.

[@TheTenchiOni]

Apple wants more money, but Samsung wants more customers. So it makes more sense that Samsung sells replacement parts while Apple wants to sell more devices.

[@possamei]

It is deliberately engineered to be unrepairable.

[@ProjectFraz]

@@creamylulu3427 question. How many apple products do you have? Trying not to jump straight to calling someone an apple fanboy

[@edwardfletcher7790]

That's not over engineering, that's under engineering, glue is a bad engineers best friend. The genius is in making something repairable !

[@gary_rumain_you_peons]

2:01 "Do not disassemble your device. The water- and dust-resistant features of the device can be damaged." Traditional wrist watches that are waterproof have a rubber or silicone O-ring under the back (and/or crystal face) and the crown. When they are put in place, they are rubbed in some silicone lube to reduce friction against the rings while being assembled. When such a watch is opened up, the rings invariably get damaged in some way because the lube would be long gone. So the usual practice while being serviced is to replace the rings using the same method as at assembly. You can see this being done in countless videos on YT. Suggest Wristwatch Revival channel or The Nekkid Watchmater channel to understand what I mean. With this watch, the back doesn't screw on (although it is screwed down) so there would be no real friction against the waterproof seal. It doesn't even look like the traditional O-ring. However, it might still be a good idea to put some silicone lube along it, in case any part of it is worn. If there is a replacement part for it, it would probably be a good idea to get a new one. I would also examine the buttons. They would have to be waterproofed as well. After all, salt water did get in.

[@abdulmuhaimin5274]

Spoiler Alert: You watching a video, except a link.

[@gary_rumain_you_peons]

@@abdulmuhaimin5274 ???

[@abdulmuhaimin5274]

@@gary_rumain_you_peons you didn't add a video link.

[@gary_rumain_you_peons]

@@abdulmuhaimin5274 For what?

[@J4yy_]

@@gary_rumain_you_peons I'm assuming that they thought that you stole the info from a video, then wrote it down as a comment without linking the video itself. Either that, or they were grumpy that you didn't link to Wristwatch Revival and Nekkid Watchmater's channel?

[@K3lwin]

I've literally just repaired that same watch a couple days ago! Disassembly process is a breeze compared to other smartwatches, and internal layout is very sensible. Mine developed a weird touchscreen issue, so I bought a not working unit and swapped all of the components from my watch to a case with display of a dead one, so at least I got my daily watch working fine again. That non-working unit turned out to be water damaged and corrosion got up to button contacts, so I ran a jumper wire from a button to the board, cleaned it and assembled it in the case with bad display. It booted, but touchscreen is still dead on the bottom half. But hey, that's one and a half working units, that's fine by me :3

[@Jazzy-kz6wd]

i am impressed how repairable this was, good on you samsung (this once)

[@iddra1868]

Pretty much all of their phones are repairable, and they open from the back, so you won't destroy the screen.

[@Jazzy-kz6wd]

@@iddra1868 that's not really true, go look at ifixit's smartphone repairability scores and they are almost at the bottom, often featuring heavy adhesive. of few redeeming qualities, at least they don't (yet) pair components like apple does...

[@iddra1868]

@@Jazzy-kz6wd I would rather remove adhesive than a fragile screen. The most important thing to me is that you can easily replace all the components without breaking any others. That makes it a 10/10 in my book.

[@leandro804]

@@Jazzy-kz6wd I would rather crack a 10€ back glass rather than crack a 300€ display for face id to not work anymore, iFixit ratings are shit

[@GDoggProductions]

my goodness! sometimes you gotta thank Samsung for just making things straightforward to get into 👏 Great video as always

[@CrayCrayslab]

Thank you for showing this! I never knew these watches were so easy to repair! I might buy a couple to work on myself.

[@sentagustafsson7204]

Always serious, sober, effective ! Well done, congratulations!

[@emilyrodzinyak6811]

Hey Hugh, I really love you're work. Thank you for being a honest and trust worthy person.

[@travisash8180]

He tried and this time he did not fail.

[@tattoosteveneo]

Just a hint. If you do a watch like this again use some silicone grease on the seal. It’s helps it slide in place and will aid in waterproofing. But as always great videos.

[@traviswalker8933]

Glad that there are 100 or 50 metre water resistant smart watches now from brands like Sunnto and Garmin which also provide excellent battery life.

[@kevins4229]

Wow! Crazy easy repair on that one!

[@ggh_st]

Nice clear video. After wearing my Active 2 in a hot tub, it got stuck on the "Rebooting..." screen. Figured it had to be water damaged. Following this video, I was able to take it apart and dry and clean it (I just used isopropyl alcohol). Now it's back on and charging!

[@alessioacri.]

wow... that watch literally is repairability heaven!

[@anemone7601]

Hey Hugh, great video and repair, I was curious how you handle broken parts on arrival, like the back button. Since this one worked out is it just "no harm no foul" rather than working with the sellers?

[@dhoonham]

Your videos are so satisfying.

[@OliTheRepairDude]

That is the same watch I repaired. It had a bootloop. I tear it down and found it having water damaged. I dunk the entire logic board into alcohol and allow it to dry after removing it from the alcohol. Reassembled and it worked despite the screen having some dead pixel that I can live with it

[@gshockbabe6144]

And Hugh does it again!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@TheSpotify95]

That looked to be simple and straightforward - just how repairs on smart devices should be. Great job!

[@farhankhalil7208]

Hello Hugh you make very interesting and entertaining videos and they’re so interesting to watch

[@dave4shmups]

Incredible work as always Hugh!

[@alisonsmith4436]

Hi Hugh love your videos

[@bookworm81151]

Thank you. This was very helpful.

[@Microang]

This damage surprised me, my Fossil Sport is 3 years old and I've swam with it in the ocean many, many times and it's still working like new. Apart from being dog slow and the battery being super crap...

[@edwardfletcher7790]

The ex owner either dived down 10ft with it or the seal wasn't seated correctly in the factory.

[@hellsing0999999999]

Many things can do it, maybe an odd strike to the side moved the seal a little, maybe he moved his arm in a weird motion underwater and the pressure was directed to the microphone part.

[@Microang]

Well, it's luck of the draw on build quality, I had a Ticwatch C2 that died completely after 2 trips to the beach, and it's got the same water rating as my Fossil Sport. Suffice to say I'll never buy another Ticwatch. Waiting for the Fossil Gen 7 to drop. I guess a watch manufacture knows something about making watches properly waterproof, compared to a tech manufacture...

[@tyf.4399]

My old Gen 5 had a broken screen for a year before I replaced it with a gen 6 recently. Swam with it in the ocean as well. Hours at a time and it was never a problem. Waves hitting it, diving in a pool, the whole 9 yards. Even with the cracked screen, it kept working even after being abused underwater. Really surprised to see the Samsung watch have problems with it. Definitely don't want to form my entire opinion on their watches based on one, but considering the gen 5 and 6 are completely sealed, I'd make a guess they're probably more water resistant. Though, as a result, you lose repairability. Hard to say which I prefer. Edit: you lose repairability*

[@edwardfletcher7790]

@@tyf.4399 I guess my point is. What use is a smart watch when you're swimming in the ocean ?

[@thegsmsolution1]

Really informative one.

[@pablouribe1522]

Every time Hugh fixes something, there is a bit less ewaste around, he is saving the planet from the greed of manufacturers! Keep doing such great work!

[@BillAnt]

Except for the large packing box the replacement parts came in. lol (of course it's mostly biodegradable)

[@waqarrashid8392]

Btw, for future watch repairs, you can use the dialer to enter the test mode *#0*# to test colours and touch as well as if the bezel works

[@ianwakeling4863]

Thank you for your video. It really helped me to fix my wife's watch after we had claimed on the insurance. My good lady now has an upgrade while I trial her old 2 active. May yet need to get a new screen.

[@Sixtytwo]

Can’t believe James Mayer has less than 5k Subscribers and you have almost 1 million.

[@EGG_MusicMadness]

What are the tools recommended for this yo work? I just got back from a beach trip and my watch active 2 is done.

[@kyokazuto]

How is this so much more repairable than any recent smartphone.

[@juriaanoussoren]

120 buckss, VS 140 for a watch 4 But you did it man you fixed it and saved 20 bucks 😁

[@etherjules]

Hey kid! This repair was a piece ok cake

[@nicholashoi3155]

Sweet, I have this exact watch

[@derteytuta]

dude, those picks are OBSTRUCTED

[@moe_1886]

Great video Hugh... if only you had done this 3-4 months ago, I would have made sure to be more careful with the power button ribbon cable when attempting to repair my water damaged Samsung Gear S3 Classic! 🤣😂 Everything was going along fine, after opening it up, I could see where the water damage was, so cleaned it up as best I could, then reconnected everything, however it didn't turn on. Decided to buy a new battery (don't have a multimeter), to start with, so when it arrived, I attempted to take out the old one, which I couldn't work out how to do initially, so was a little rough with it, and to my horror, I discovered that the power button ribbon cable had come off! 😭 Fortunately I have a soldering iron... unfortunately, I have never attempted anything of this minute scale, so gave up and bought a second hand Samsung Galaxy Watch (2019) instead.🤣 I've kept everything though for a rainy day, but might get a new board and screen, if I can find any. Thanks Hugh. 😎

[@Rafay7001]

I have a Gear S3 Frontier

[@thewillsfamilyaccount6486]

Nice one!!

[@jacydesica4069]

Hi guys, welcome back to another Jacy commentary. This is the first Watch disassambly I saw. Never thought of watching one before, only Smartphones and other stuff. Nice to see this. Also I like the completley different sounding "and we´re done" compared to how Hugh talks the second before. So relaxing. ^^

[@asmabutt]

This was great! Does anyone know someone in the UK who can do this kind of repair? Thanks :)

[@chrztl]

Can this be done witb galaxy watch 4? Im thinking about doing this before taking it to the repair

[@cuaumuz]

Can you link where you bought the replacement screen from? Mine came unglued somehow and now it doesn't respond to touch.

[@nigelholland24]

Great video

[@sajjadhussain8506]

where from you buy the watch panel? share me link

[@potat9081]

Hey, can you please tell me from where you've bought the display? I have the same watch with the same issue that was damaged while used in the specified parameters by Samsung and warranty won't cover it apparently.

[@dazzamac70]

Hey Hugh, any chance of letting us know where you purchased the replacement screen and housing from? The screen of my Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 has recently stopped working (but the watch is still operating as it's synced to my phone)...😱

[@PCJesus0]

Sweet!

[@stevenbyde]

I have Gear Sport watch and it had similar salt water damage. Opened it up and cleaned it but bezel does not select things as you turn it. Is the vibration motor related to the bezel selection?

[@georgiaobrien4267]

I have the first Samsung watch active the one before this one and I’m wondering if that’s easy to change the battery on mine because it’s honestly not as good as what it use to be

[@cbkenison]

Preceding or proceeding?

[@VanityFerret]

I Have a Gear S3 Frontier and it stopped displaying, I tried your methods and finally got the watch to display when I pressed both buttons while watch was resting against charger. The S3 has a full charge, but each time I selected something to reset from the reboot - like turn on bluetooth, or change date ( it defaulted to December of 2015 and 7 o'clock - not the standard 10:10 I am familiar with when coming out of an update or complete power down. I think the watch is toast. My Gear S2 continues to work faithfully. thanks for your hints even though I was not completely successful. Guess I can use it as a paper weight.

[@o0KCCO0o]

What do you use to clean the salt water damage off?

[@gandalfwiz20007]

It looks like an easy repair. As a watch, I can say the S3 Frontier is a better Samsung smartwatch, it has all the features of this one, plus 5 days battery life.

[@jmcan21]

Did a battery change on this exact model. It was quite tedious

[@humbertopatch6545]

Wish I would have seen this before I replaced my active 2 that nobody in my area was willing to fix. Still have that active 2 and might try to open it up and see what is possible.

[@alantamez6032]

I have a question, my watch suddenly gave me a black screen but you can feel the vibration from the watch when you scroll on the screen, any suggestions to what can be wrong ?

[@breixo13]

Hello Hugh what is your daily driver phone and SmartWatch?

[@kitsyj1265]

I'd love to have you restore mine. Just needs a new battery and glass 🤣

[@PS-bo6bv]

Does someone know that clock theme?? Damn it's nice

[@melvinmccoy72]

Question. What are you using to clean up the saltwater damage? Rubbing Alcohol?

[@illestgod13]

You need to show how to repair the rotating bezel on the Galaxy watch 4

[@DigitalBhangari]

Can we perhaps get a tour of the lab some day?

[@jozsefizsak]

Fascinating.

[@Drakesonone]

Dose it work with a Iphone?

[@quicktech9168]

From where i get the screen? Can u send me a link i want to order plz send me

[@abidshaikh1511]

Wont the watch be subject to damage more easily now due to moisture or water as the back water resistant seal was not reinstated .

[@travisash8180]

That's a good point.

[@PolosRavros]

Are there easy repairable smartwatches without using special instruments?

[@gary_rumain_you_peons]

3:15 Not sure where you're looking for those refurbished screens, but those prices are crazy. I've found them a lot cheaper on eBay and from FMA.

[@scyntaxx]

Fma? What's that?

[@gary_rumain_you_peons]

@@scyntaxx Fix My Apple. A local company. They sell on eBay as well but the prices on their own website are cheaper.

[@gabytro]

Is norma screw?

[@maabym]

Anyone knows where I can get that watch face?

[@Justice_Akbr]

You forgot to put waterproof glue around it before closing it, to make it waterproof again. And around buttons too.

[@CarlCostelloPlays]

Nice 🙂👍

[@rafaelpascal1489]

What product do i use to remove the salt water residues?

[@DougHigby]

Several times he says to clean it, but with what?

[@TikusTakusen]

Dont know if this is related, but my samsung s7's screen immediatly died after tuching ocean water but it had no external damage. The screen then slowly turned purple but the phone underneath was still working when a mouse was plugged in. Have you seen anything like this happen before to AMOLED? I was also going to fix it, until i realized that it cost 70% of what i paid for it new to replace the screen. I just love technology 😅

[@blackwing1362]

Yea so, if you really liked the s7. You could get a new one for like 50 dollars. Samsung has always had the best screens on the market, and thus even the old ones are expensive to manufacture even today.

[@CocoaEm]

not a fan of oled due to the more fragile nature of the displays and the higher cost of replacement. but thats just me, someone who uses their phone as more of a tool than a entertainment device.

[@RealNaomiMizushima]

It's amazing that samsung can engineer a beautiful watch while being very easy to repair And also impressed that they did the same with the Buds I like that it's easy to repair.

[@davidkay6631]

Hi m8 my Samsung watch has flashing white screen do you know whst it could be

[@alexitosrv]

What is the screw driver reference for the first part? It seems three wing, but I don't have the driver for that so I wonder which size should I get. Thanks!

[@knaughtyknight2970]

I have the Watch4 Classic so I've never seen the Watch Active interface and I don't think I would have liked my Galaxy Watch as much as I do if it had that interface.

[@TheKingfish86]

What did you use to clean the salt water corrosion off the motherboard. I have a active 2 watch that also got salt water in it. Thanks

[@jreyna1770]

I wondered this as well; found that you can use rubbing alcohol with soft bristle brush to remove. thank!

[@florintherepairman9873]

I have a galaxy watch active1 , it doesn't hqve the plastic back and the touchscreen sometimes it is "touching" itself

[@xxSLAV33xx]

That was surprisingly easy.

[@rozasupreme]

Seems there was a small crack on the back which MAY have caused the water to get in

[@michal5869]

Samsung does not accept the warranty if water gets in to watch. But it happens when you swim in the pool very often, the water-resistant is 5 ATM and Samsung let users swim with it in commercials and manual instructions, so this is a problem where Samsung doesn't take responsibility and lies to users. I think is much better to buy a Huawei gt2 for swimming, it is also 5 ATM but I did around 100 km in the water and the watch still works, not like active 2 which stopped working after a few minutes in the pool.

[@Qwerty-uiop]

Cool

[@afshin3k3]

What did you use for removing salt residue?

[@jreyna1770]

I wondered this as well; found that you can use rubbing alcohol with soft bristle brush to remove. thanks!

[@jarsky]

I read Samsungs website BEFORE I went swimming in a Swimming Pool a few weeks ago. I specifically checked and it said its resistant for pool swimming and should be fine, just dont dive it put it under forced water. I just dipped in and was just swimming around, and then it rebooted..and kept rebooting then switched off... I let it dry out, then opened it up and it looked fine inside, no corrosion but a little bit of water still so i wiped it all down with IPA (99.3%) and some cotton buds and let it dry for a day. When I tried it again it eventually turned on. It bugged for a bit, but then after like 2 days it stopped charging. It detects that it's on charge however the watch discharges and doesnt take in any new charge. I thought maybe it was the battery so got a replacement. I then replaced the battery. It powered on and works perfectly. All the touch, the sensors, and bluetooth/wifi work all fine. I tried factory resetting it, but still it wont charge. Unfortunately ive had it since 2020 so its out of warranty. Ridiculous that Samsung say yes you can go swimming in it, when light swimming in the pool (not salt water) straight away killed it. So I just had to fork out $500 for a new smart watch, thanks Samsung zzz.

[@DGTelevsionNetwork]

I actually needed this video to replace the battery in mine. Been out of service for a few months.

[@thatslowranger5878]

okay so where do you get these replacement parts???

[@mik11112]

Most likely on Ebay or Ifixit.

[@TheMrGamer1]

OMG I HAVE THIS WATCH AND THE TOUCH JUST RANDOMLY STOPPED WORKING TODAY!!

[@sniper346]

What's the name of the watch face pls

[@Agent311]

The silver plate came off on my watch after a few minutes in the shower a few years ago. Samsung did reattach back on for free but I found the adhesive to be of lesser quality than the original.

[@kelosrobi3770]

Did we buy from the same place??? My touch screen won't work.

[@derrick.l1870]

I have a Samsung active 2 watch that needs repaired. What's the price on it?🤔

[@allusarath6945]

Can you please share the watch face?

[@go4al3]

Happened with mine too, after a day at pool, back button often made contact without beeing pressed. Opened up and cleaned out. Water infiltrated from speaker. Now at least i know... no waterproof

[@ganendranpillay3283]

i recently had to open a gears s3 to change the battery. it was easy with the whole repair costing me about USD 30 and battery lasts at least 2 1/2 days. Samsung outright refused to repair such an "old" watch and 3rd party repairers wanted about usd80 for it.

[@MYTHofficialChannel]

Does anyone know the watchfaces name?

[@CARLOSLUIS07]

I need to fix mine. How can I send it to you?..

[@Harsha04120]

I’m wearing this boi rn.

[@Harsha04120]

I also just realised that mine has the same writing on the straps too

[@nicolaehirzob1093]

My galaxy watch active 2 stoped response touch after updating... Can you tell me please what can i do?

[@leahadele5006]

I can't remove the screws, any tips?

[@josephbennett3482]

They're security screws they are designed specifically to keep individuals that don't know what they're doing away from the internal components of the device , the repairs are only to be done by a certified repair technician.