Samsung blames third-party chargers for paint peeling off of the Galaxy Z Fold 6

Ben Schoon | Aug 28 2024 - 1:15 pm PT

Some buyers of Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 6 have noticed flecks of paint chipping off of their devices, a problem that Samsung is assigning blame to third-party chargers and other accessories.

Over the past few weeks, some Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 owners have noticed that their shiny new $1,900 foldables are having chips of paint come off of their devices. The problem has been posted in the r/GalaxyFold subreddit by a small number of users.

It’d be frustrating to see this happen on any smartphone, but it’s especially hard to simply accept on something as expensive as the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

In response to the growing issue, Samsung has assigned blame for the problem not to a defect, but rather to using a third-party charger with the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

Through a support page published to its website (in Canada, UK, and some other regions) Samsung explains that using “a high-speed third-party charger that is not properly grounded” can affect the anodized finish of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, resulting in “slight” delamination of the paint. Samsung specifically says that “leakage current” is to blame when you are holding the phone, showing the graphic below to illustrate its point.

Samsung says this may also happen when using an “EMS massager” that is powered by your phone.

The post mentions multiple times that users should use an official Samsung charging brick with their Galaxy Z Fold 6. That requires a separate purchase as Samsung stopped including chargers with its pricey foldables in 2021.

Beyond that, the post also says:

Generally, if a third-party charger comes from a reputable company, is of high quality, and adheres to the Qi standard, using it with your Galaxy device should not be a problem. However, there are third-party and counterfeit chargers on the market that do not meet those requirements and can corrode the metal of your device. This type of damage can be caused by a leak in the electrical current. The best advice is to use an authentic Samsung charger that is designed to work with your specific device.

One key problem there is the mention of Qi, a wireless charging standard which has nothing to do with wired charging which is what Samsung mentions throughout the rest of the post.

This is certainly a strange issue, as charging methods have never had this kind of effect on other Samsung devices. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 does have a new matte finish this year, but it’s odd that “leakage” could have this sort of impact, especially as Samsung leads off this support post in bold lettering saying that its products “undergo rigorous testing.”

Before being released to the public, Samsung devices and accessories undergo rigorous testing to ensure they are safe and function properly. However, if a user attempts to use an incompatible third-party product with their Samsung device, there is a risk of inadvertently causing damage, such as paint peeling, to the device.