Flagship smartphones today get IP certification that tells the degree of abuse a phone can be subjected to when subjected to water or dust. Samsung started rolling out water-resistant smartphones many years ago and in fact, it has improved over the years now and its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series which are flagship are secured and the users don’t have to worry about water seeping into the phone causing harm in any way.

Although it is not a common occurrence, you might see the “moisture has been detected” which is a sensor going off when the phone is liquid damage due to any reason. This warning pops up whenever you’ll try to connect the charger to the phone. The question is, what is it and how to fix it? Here’s a detailed guide on how to fix the moisture that has been detected an error on Samsung Galaxy devices. It is probable that water or even a tiny droplet might have escaped into the charging port, speakers, or microphone which are the only vents that flagship devices have since all come with a closed back panel. Here’s what you need to know about.

Samsung Galaxy IP certification devices

In order to gain the status of having a phone with water and dust resistance, Samsung had to gain Ingress Protection or IP certification. The South Korean launched Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge that were its first-ever official IP rated smartphones. Henceforth, Samsung has been getting an IP68 rating on all its flagship devices which means the phone can survive in water at a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. There are a number of ways Samsung managed to achieve this IP rating for its Galaxy S10, S10 Plus, Note 10, Note 10+, S9, S9 Plus, Note 9, Note 9+ and all the way to S7 and S7 Edge.

First of all, the back panels of these smartphones are closed so there’s no removable battery. The company uses adhesives to seal the back panel and front panel wherever it is necessary. All the vents such as speaker grille, ports, microphones that can allow water to enter are fitted with a mesh grille that traps the water outside which prevents any component from getting damaged internally. Phones with official IP rating does have to adhere to the guidelines where the protection might suffer which is universal across any smartphone you buy.

Water and Dust Resistance Guidelines

Here are some of the instructions that users need to adhere to when it comes to water and dust resistance of any Samsung Galaxy smartphone even after an official rating.

  • First of all, it is not recommended to immerse the phone over the time limit and more than 1.5 meters of depth.
  • Exposing the phone to the forces like taps, waterfalls, sea waves, etc could cause water to seep into the ports or any other pathway thereby damaging any components it comes in contact with.
  • In case the phone is subjected to water, soft and clean cloth is enough to clean it since it is not recommended to forcefully try to clean the ports and other orifices.
  • Water that has escaped over the mesh of the speaker might not damage it but can cause the sound to be a little dull. Keep it to try for a few minutes and hopefully, the water should evaporate o anything returning the speaker to its original audio.

What is Moisture detected Error on Galaxy Devices?

Your Samsung Galaxy device is fitted with a number of sensors that detect if there’s any liquid damage or not. Your Galaxy S10/S10+, Note10/Note10+ or any other Galaxy device is not an exception. Once the phone detects water, it will showcase the “moisture has been detected” error on the phone whenever you try to connect the charger to juice up the battery. This is basically a protection measure that Samsung or any other OEM has fixed the phone with.

Some Tips to Fix the moisture detected error on Samsung Galaxy Devices

Check out these methods that can help fix the issue on your device.

Use Vacuum Cleaner

First of all, take a vacuum cleaner and set it on a light setting and use it to suction any water or moisture and dry out all the vents including earpiece, headphone jack, speaker, charging phone, and buttons. Hopefully, this might take the warning away.

Rice & a zip lock bag

This is a popular and easy to do method where you take a zip lock bag and put your phone in it and fill it up with uncooked rice. Since rice is a very good moisture absorber, this should allow the rice to suck all the moisture hopefully fixing the problem on the way.

Hair Dryer

A hairdryer can vaporize water as the air passing through it is hot. This can help you achieve the goal of suctioning the water or moisture trapped in the various ports and openings on your phone. Use it to eliminate the water as the hot air will easily vaporize the moisture without sending it further into the system that could otherwise cause internal water damage.

Use a different charging cable

No doubt that many things can trigger the moisture detected error. Why not use a different charging cable that might not set off the warning.

Use a wireless charger

Wireless charging is basically a new way where you keep the phone on a charging pad and the phone automatically starts charging. If your phone has this feature, do try it to charge the phone to prevent the moisture detected warning to go off.

Taking a professional’s help

If the “moisture has been detected” warning goes off when you connect the phone to the charger even though the phone was never water damaged, I recommend that you take professional’s help for the same. If indeed there was water damage, the professional aka the technician at Samsung’s authorized service center will be able to diagnose the cause and provide a solution for the same.