Salt Water Damaged Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 Restoration

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[two_tier_gary_rumain]

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.

[mirkopacchioni]

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

[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.

[Klwin]

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

[GDoggProductions]

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

[emilyrodzinyak]

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

[Jazzy-kzwd]

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

[pablouribe]

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!

[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.

[TheSpotify]

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

[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!

[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.

[moe_]

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. 😎

[two_tier_gary_rumain]

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.

[jacydesica]

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. ^^

[traviswalker]

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.

[melvinmccoy]

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

[sentagustafsson]

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

[anemone]

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?

[abidshaikh]

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