Published in Mobiles

Sony’s waterproof Xperia court case was not watertight

by on23 August 2017


Users might be owed $300

Sony has lost a class action lawsuit for claiming its Xperia phones were "waterproof" when in reality they were only "water resistant".

This means that if you owned one of the original Xperia Z smartphones, Sony might owe you up to $300.

Sony was one of the consumer sector pioneers for more "rugged" gear. In 2012, it introduced the Xperia Z line of the devices. The phone overhauled the look and feel of the devices they had in favour of the glass slab that they offer now. But, despite its fragile appearance, most of their offerings were drop-tested and were able to withstand a substantial amount of mistreatment.

The Sony Xperia Z was also the first commercially available phone from Sony to me, marketed as "water resistant" with an IP56 rating for water and dust ingress. As far as protection goes it was not that great. It would keep your phone going in spite of an accidental drop in the beach or in the pool but don’t expect to make a call underwater – not that would be much of a thing anyway.

But Sony made the mistake of advertising the phone which made it look like it was waterproof and not water resistant. This led to a lot of water-damaged devices, which Sony ignored and eventually, a class action lawsuit was filed (and won) against Sony.

There were 24 models involved and not the original Z. The first was the ZR, which was a close cousin of the original Z and going all the way to the Xperia Z5. A few tablets are also involved.

The settlement goes on to state that there are a few things that you can opt for: warranty extension for up to a year if the device is within warranty period; warranty extension for up to six months if the device is no longer under warranty, half your money back if the device is listed among the ones on the Sony lawsuit. If going for the cash you will have to apply by 30 January.

Last modified on 23 August 2017
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