14 DAY TRIAL // The one-year-old Sony Xperia Z1 has been advertised as a “waterproof” smartphone since its release on the market back in September 2013.
However, it looks like Sony hasn’t been completely fair with its customers or the Japanese handset maker wasn’t clear enough on the matter. A large chunk of the company’s marketing material mentions the Xperia Z1 is either “waterproof” or “water resistant.”
Now an Xperia Z1 owner filed a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASASA) in which the person claims the smartphone stopped working 24 hours after it was used under water.
Even though all the ports of the Xperia Z1 were closed, the woman owning the smartphone in question claims the next day the device wasn’t working anymore.
It appears that a local Sony repair center did not help either as reps told the Xperia Z1 owner that the phone ports weren’t properly closed, so they will not fix the device under warranty.
As XperiaBlog points out, the next option for disgruntled Xperia Z1 owner was to ask her carrier for a replacement, at which point the operator replied that the Xperia Z1 is only “water resistant” and not “waterproof” as advertised by Sony.
Sony’s official statement mentions that the carrier was in fact wrong and that the Xperia Z1 is not just water-resistant, but waterproof as well, which means it can withstand immersions under 1.5 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
A semantic difference between terms led to this ruling against Sony Mobile
After finishing all her options to repair or replace her Sony Xperia Z1, the woman filed the complaint mentioned earlier to ASASA. Here is the commissions’ ruling regarding the Sony Xperia Z1 waterproof capability:
“The Directorate notes that some of the marketing material available on the respondent’s website indicates that the claim of being ‘waterproof’ is not intended to be an absolute claim.
The ‘White paper | Xperia Z1’ document states, inter alia, that the phone is ‘smart, sleek and waterproof,’” but then caveats this statement by commenting as follows:
- ‘And due to its IP55/IP58 rating, this slim and sleek smartphone is both water and dust resistant …’
- ‘… is protected against the ingress of dust and is waterproof. Provided that all the covers for the micro USB port, the micro SIM slot and the memory card slot are firmly closed, the phone is (i) protected against low pressure jets from all practicable directions … and/or (ii) can be kept under 1.50 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes …’
- ‘… The phone is not designed to float or work outside the IP55 and IP58 classification range that may lead to your warranty being void …’
Given the above finding:
- The word ‘waterproof’ in relation to this phone must be withdrawn; - The process to withdraw the word ‘waterproof’ in relation to this phone must be actioned with immediate effect on receipt of ruling; - The withdrawal of the word ‘waterproof’ must be completed within the deadlines stipulated by Clause 15.3 of the Procedural Guide; and - The word ‘waterproof’ may not be used again in relation to this phone in manner that suggests anything other than water-resistant capabilities.”
While the Xperia Z1 may be in fact a waterproof smartphone, Sony’s inability to deal with this isolated issue led to this ruling that prevents the Japanese company from using the word “waterproof” in all its marketing materials related to this particular smartphone.