Magellan Explorist GC Not Waterproof?

[+Storming Jericho]

Today, I was hunting for Alaska holds my 25th, which is a cache right on the edge of a river at the bottom of a very steep ravine. When I got close to ground zero, I slipped and dropped my GPS (a Magellan Explorist GC), which fell about four feet down the rest of the hill and into the river. I threw off my shoes as quickly as I could and dropped into the river after it, and, with some luck, had it back in my hands in under five minutes.

 

The problem is that now my GPS device will not turn on. It was only in the water for between two minutes and five minutes, and the water went up to my knees, which means that it was about half a meter deep.

 

What frustrates me is that when I got home, I looked at Amazon's Magellan Explorist GC page and was confirmed that my GPS clearly advertises that it is waterproof. It says this not only in the title, but also on the product's description, where it says that it is waterproof to IPX 7 standards.

 

A quick look at "IPX 7" standards reveals this page, which says the following:

 

"Protected against water immersion - Immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter."

 

According to the listed standards, then, I should be completely fine. The GPS was in water that was only half as deep as the maximum depth, and was immersed in the water for about a sixth (or less!) of the time that is supposed to be able to be immersed.

 

I suppose my questions, then, are these:

 

Has anyone dropped their Magellan Explorist (either a GC or another kind) into water to find that it still works?

Has anyone else had an experience where their "waterproof" GPS turned out not to be waterproof at all?

If I can't ever get my GPS to work again, can I contact Magellan about it and get a refund for their faulty product?

 

Any other advice or information that people have relevant to this topic is greatly encouraged.

[+Little Green Men1]

Maybe it had more to do with the drop and impact than the water...

[+Storming Jericho]

Maybe it had more to do with the drop and impact than the water...

 

I did think about that and admit that it is possible. However, it didn't "fall" far. It fell from where I was holding it (1-4 feet off the ground) and then rolled down the rest of the incline and dropped into the water. The GPS is supposed to be "rugged" and be able to hit the ground after being dropped and still work. The place where it fell was not rocky; it was dirt and leaves and the worst it could have fallen on was a stick.

 

What really makes me think that it was not the fall was the fact that it was still all held together when I pulled it out of the water. In fact, I didn't see any water in the battery area which means that the device did not come apart at all.

 

About two hours after the submersion, though, I noticed condensation coming onto the screen from inside the device. That really makes me think that water got in there ....

[+mpilchfamily]

The unit is Water Resistant not water proof. Being submerged for a couple of minutes could have been enough to allow some water in. Place the unit in a zip-lock bag of dried rice or pasta and place it in the fridge. Leave it there overnight and that should be enough to get all the moisture out of the unit. Then hope that it will turn on and didn't completely short out.

[+dfx]

The unit is Water Resistant not water proof. Being submerged for a couple of minutes could have been enough to allow some water in.

 

That's not what the IPX7 standard says though.

[+Storming Jericho]

The unit is Water Resistant not water proof. Being submerged for a couple of minutes could have been enough to allow some water in. Place the unit in a zip-lock bag of dried rice or pasta and place it in the fridge. Leave it there overnight and that should be enough to get all the moisture out of the unit. Then hope that it will turn on and didn't completely short out.

 

I have done that with the rice and I'm leaving it in there for a few days just to be sure.

 

Just for stubbornness sake' I want to point out that there is a difference between some devices in the Magellan Explorist line (such as the Magellan Explorist 500) which are labeled "water resistant," and the devices in my line, which (whether or not they are actually waterproof) are called "waterproof to IPX-7 standards" on their pages and in the owners' manual, and are supposed to be able to be submerged in water six times as long as my device was and twice as deep and be okay.

 

I'm not the sort of person to blindly trust a claim like that, and this is not something I would have ever willingly tested. But it is frustrating to discover that this designation, which is written as if it were a scientific fact on the webpage, actually doesn't turn out to mean very much of anything.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Storming Jericho

[+Bullygoat29]

I had a PN-40 that suffered a similar fate. We tipped a canoe in knee deep water and it went over. It was under for all of two minutes and it died shortly there after. The PN-40 also has IPX7 standards. I believe IPX7 testing is in stagnate water, not flowing water like a river or stream. I think the flowing water increases the pressure on the seals allowing water to penetrate.

[+charlieromeobravo]

I would call Magellan support. If it's supposed to perform at XYZ standard and it's not meeting that standard they may be willing to replace or repair it for you. Worst case scenario you're out the coast of the call...

[+gelfling6]

I'd take a even wilder stab, at the point that it is not waterproof.. the cover for the USB socket itself, is fairly loose, and if you happen to not fit it back exactly, you're leaving the USB socket wide open, which is a fairly good route for water to enter into the device. I imagine the beeper holes through the case back and the case itself may not be entirely sealed to prevent water entry either.

[+Storming Jericho]

Aye -- actually my magellan's USB port does not seal well at all no matter what I do and it did get water in it through the USB port (I remember shaking some water out of it from that opening after I got it out). I don't know if I have a defective USB port or if mine just got bent at some point but I can't get it to completely seal.

 

At any rate, I contacted Magellan via email and they asked a few questions and hopefully will send me a new device. The rice trick didn't work -- its fried.

[+Storming Jericho]

For those curious, Magellan allowed me to send the old and broken GPS unit and are sending me a replacement.

[+Indotguy]

I would expect that devices such as these are tested for water resistance under controlled laboratory conditions with all covers, etc. torqued to manufactured settings. The first time the battery compartment is opened or the device is dropped all bets are off.

[+gelfling6]

For those curious, Magellan allowed me to send the old and broken GPS unit and are sending me a replacement.

 

I usually push one side of the cover in 1st.. the side towards the back of the device.. This way, it seats in correctly.. Though, I've already ripped the end tab off.. It's just not made solid..

 

I imagine the reset button hole (right next to the USB port) is also not waterproof.

 

I'm also pretty sure the speaer ports (the 3 holes through the back cover, and to the upper-left of the battery compartment) are either. the beeps from mine are clear as day, so that leads me to believe they're straight through the case, with no seal what so ever.

 

I've always had a lanyard on mine since the day I got it. Worse that's happened, is dropping it on the pavement, but it survived, save for a few scratches to the rubber, but never dropped it in any water (yet, and not that I'm planning on it.)

The face could use a little Rain-X lie application to shed water, instead of beading up on the display.

[+FoxSki]

I had pretty much the same issue this weekend. Kinda got twisted coming off of a bank and ended up tripping into a creek. The Explorist GC was in my right hand and once I hit the water(about calf deep) my hand instinctively shot up. Unit could not have been under water for more than a couple seconds. My first reaction was to dig into my pocket for my wallet and cell-phone and both were dripping wet. I got to the other bank and got my phone dried off(no problems at all) and went back to my search. Well, not so fast. It never powered up again. It was only a week old so I took it back to the store(Fry's) and was getting myself prepared for a hassle from them. I was ready because the receipt even had the phrase "IPX-7 waterproof" in the product description. They took it back without any issue even though it seemed like they were skeptical and possibly going to deny it at first. No more in stock, but I was able to get an Explorist 310 for only $13 more after a price match from Amazon even though it listed for $60 more. Same style but a few more features. They asked if I wanted the extended warranty but I told them if I had any problems that I would submit a claim to Magellan as being defective. So, you aren't the only one, and I hope the new one hold up better than the first. I like the unit,so I hope the lack of waterproofness is not going to be a continuing issue.

[+Socal ZukiCachers]

I had pretty much the same issue this weekend. Kinda got twisted coming off of a bank and ended up tripping into a creek. The Explorist GC was in my right hand and once I hit the water(about calf deep) my hand instinctively shot up. Unit could not have been under water for more than a couple seconds. My first reaction was to dig into my pocket for my wallet and cell-phone and both were dripping wet. I got to the other bank and got my phone dried off(no problems at all) and went back to my search. Well, not so fast. It never powered up again. It was only a week old so I took it back to the store(Fry's) and was getting myself prepared for a hassle from them. I was ready because the receipt even had the phrase "IPX-7 waterproof" in the product description. They took it back without any issue even though it seemed like they were skeptical and possibly going to deny it at first. No more in stock, but I was able to get an Explorist 310 for only $13 more after a price match from Amazon even though it listed for $60 more. Same style but a few more features. They asked if I wanted the extended warranty but I told them if I had any problems that I would submit a claim to Magellan as being defective. So, you aren't the only one, and I hope the new one hold up better than the first. I like the unit,so I hope the lack of waterproofness is not going to be a continuing issue.

 

One thing to be very careful about with these units is to make sure that the USB connector cover is on securely. Because of the way that they’re made they have a tendency to not always get sealed correctly, at least not until you get used to sliding the one side with the lip in before the other side. This can often be the cause of water damage on these units.

 

David

Magellan Insider