Some third-party chargers are causing the paint to peel on the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and possibly other Samsung phones. The company has attributed the issue to third-party chargers not being properly grounded, but it could still be a design issue.
Samsung claims that when the phone is charged with a high-speed third-party charger that is not grounded properly, “the leakage current can the leakage current can affect the anodisation, which may slightly delaminate the paint.” In other words, the charger damages the protective coating on the paint, and the paint melts. The official solution is to use Samsung chargers exclusively. The company says this is only an issue for cheap chargers and should not be a problem with a company that “adheres to the Qi standard.” Even still, they recommend using Samsung chargers exclusively.
Some users have taken to social media and Reddit to express their frustration with Samsung’s response. Many have argued that it is unreasonable to expect consumers to be solely responsible for preventing paint peeling if it’s a widespread issue. Some users have also questioned Samsung’s decision to exclude a charger from the box with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and other phones because this often leads users to buy cheaper third-party chargers. While it could be seen as Samsung telling users to buy more products to prevent the $1,899.99 phone from experiencing damage, you can just buy any charger with Qi certification.
The documentation Samsung provided to fix this issue suggests that users hold their phones properly when charging them to prevent damage. This has reminded users of when Steve Jobs told users they were holding the iPhone 4 incorrectly, and that’s why it had issues. This isn’t the first time paint peeling has been an issue. For example, there have been reports from users of the Samsung 23 and Tab S8 about the paint peeling or melting. It became a big enough problem for users that Samsung released this documentation on the likely cause, so it may be a growing issue.
Source: Mishaal Rahman (Mastodon)
