Hopefully this is not a trend...
My daughter, who is away at school, received a notice on her phone a couple of weeks back that there was an updated available. She was a bit nervous about doing it so waited until she was home over the weekend a week and a half ago and asked me about it. I told her to go ahead and do it. She hit the button to install the update. It downloaded, displayed an error message and the phone turned off. It wouldn't turn back on. We searched a bit, tried all the known key combinations to reset it, but it was a brick.
So the next day I headed over to the AT&T store. They tried a few things and agreed that it was dead. They checked the phone over and stated there was no physical or water damage. They contacted the warranty center over the phone, arranged for the return and handed me the phone handset to agree to terms. Turns out the only way they would warranty the phone is if I sent them the phone and agreed, in advance, to pay $459 if they decided it was not a warranty issue. I asked for clarification, repeated what had happened, and they just kept saying that was the requirement. I mentioned that the store rep and manager had already checked the phone, that there was no physical or water damage, and tried to understand why I would still have to agree to these terms. I asked if they would just agree to send the phone back if there was any other problem. They just kept repeating the same thing, I had to agree to the $459 potential charge with no recourse. They kept stating that I "would probably not be charged." I would not agree and asked the agent and manager on duty if there were any other options. They mentioned an AT&T service center about a half an hour away.
The store wrote me a referral to the service center and told me they could replace the phone on the spot. So off I went. A half an hour car drive and a wait in line and I was informed by the service center staff that they do not stock the Captivate and it would have to be returned to a warranty center. I said, do it. They said, no, I have to return it and that meant -- you guessed it -- agreeing to the same terms. Needless to say I was a bit frustrated at this point. So a half an hour drive home to cool off... or not.
The following day I started searching and found stories of people getting warranty service through Samsung. Wondering what their warranty terms are, I phoned Samsung's number. After repeating the phone death story, they said it was a warranty issue and emailed me a shipping label to send it back. Happy that things were looking up, I boxed it up and sent it off.
Fast forward a week and I just received a notification from Samsung that the phone is being returned, unrepaired. Here is the verbage used:
"Original Problem:
Technical Inquiry
Power
No Power Up
Problem found:
CORROSION, LIQUID DAMAGE
ABUSE / CORROSION
Solution:
BER
BER (Beyond economical Repair) Comments:
An attempt was made to repair your phone which was liquid damaged. This repair was unsuccessful due to excessive corrosion, or the failure of related components. The factory warranty has been voided."
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I get on the phone with Samsung, inform them the phone has never been wet, that both I and the AT&T folks looked at it and the water indicators showed no exposure. They explained that their service personnel do "a very thorough inspection" and that is their determination. Done. Discussion ensued, but there was absolutely no willingness on their part to take another look at the phone, explain further, or otherwise help.
So I'm out $200 plus a two-year contract or ETF fee with AT&T on a three month old phone. My daughter is quite meticulous with this sort of thing and trustworthy and tells me the phone has not been wet. I believe her. The liquid indicators agree. The phone died during an update that I now see is notorious for bricking phones. Both AT&T and Samsung would rather push it off on a customer than stand behind their product. I've been a Cingular/AT&T customer for over ten years, but apparently that's irrelevant.
So that's my story. Consider yourself warned.
BTW, if anyone figures out how to "unbrick" a phone in this state (won't turn on at all after failed update) I'd love to hear about it as the phone is physically fine.
Should have dealt with wal-mart, I got my captivate from wal-mart and for whatever reason my usb port stated that it was connected all the time. I could not boot my phone without physically plugging in and waiting for the battery charge indicator to come on. If I tried to get into recovery mode it would automatically boot into download mode so this told me that there was an actual physical problem with my usb port somewhere somehow. Took it to wal-mart explained to them what was going on they replaced it on the spot no questions.
That's odd. Happened to me too and att store exchanged it right away. Did you purchase it from att or a retailer? If from att, call cs, they will replace it. If you didn't buy from att, you are stuck with samsung...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
You get 1-year warranty from AT&T, not Samsung. And the terms you mentioned are normal terms for warranty exchange. Typically, they mail you the replacement, a refurb, with mailing labels and instructions for you to mail back your old phone. Track the mail and make sure your phone arrived at AT&T facility and you're done. If the phone is lost in the mail or you failed to mail it back in time, you will be charged by that amount.
Nothing special. That's how warranty exchange works all the time. Many here has made exchanges couple times.
qwertyaas said:
That's odd. Happened to me too and att store exchanged it right away. Did you purchase it from att or a retailer? If from att, call cs, they will replace it. If you didn't buy from att, you are stuck with samsung...
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Yes. Purchased at AT&T retail store. Returned there with the problem. They would not replace it at the store. Their terms were that I had to agree to potential $459 charge with no recourse if they determined that it was not a warranty issue before they would issue an RMA. Spoke with CS on a telephone while in the store. The store employees had already checked the phone for damage and found none.
foxbat121 said:
You get 1-year warranty from AT&T, not Samsung. And the terms you mentioned are normal terms for warranty exchange. Typically, they mail you the replacement, a refurb, with mailing labels and instructions for you to mail back your old phone. Track the mail and make sure your phone arrived at AT&T facility and you're done. If the phone is lost in the mail or you failed to mail it back in time, you will be charged by that amount.
Nothing special. That's how warranty exchange works all the time. Many here has made exchanges couple times.
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I've never been asked to agree to the replacement price of a new item before they even looked at the inoperable one. A reasonable bench charge, sure, but that they will just charge me for a new one if they so decide with no further notice. I don't think so. And I was returning the phone first, there was to be no cross shipment. Those terms are why I turned to Samsung as the manufacturer and based on their warranty which you can find here: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/s...d_mdl_cd=SGH-I897ZKAATT&prd_mdl_name=SGH-I897
a golden rule to buying from ATT just so you will know. Always buy the 4.50 a month insurance they add it to your bill and you hardley even notice the difference...that way if there is an updat to the phone and you try it and it bricks you phone you can get it replaced for about 50.00 through there insurance dept.
stewart2568, Thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I'll be buying any more phones from AT&T, though.
stewart2568 said:
a golden rule to buying from ATT just so you will know. Always buy the 4.50 a month insurance they add it to your bill and you hardley even notice the difference...that way if there is an updat to the phone and you try it and it bricks you phone you can get it replaced for about 50.00 through there insurance dept.
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Click to collapse
Actually the replacement fee with AT&T insurance on the Captivate is $ 125.00.
jmore said:
I've never been asked to agree to the replacement price of a new item before they even looked at the inoperable one. A reasonable bench charge, sure, but that they will just charge me for a new one if they so decide with no further notice. I don't think so. And I was returning the phone first, there was to be no cross shipment. Those terms are why I turned to Samsung as the manufacturer and based on their warranty which you can find here: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/s...d_mdl_cd=SGH-I897ZKAATT&prd_mdl_name=SGH-I897
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It pains me to say it but AT&T warranty department is much better than Samsung warranty department. You're just simply mis-understood the terms. A lot of ppl here on the board get their replacement just I described above.There is no cross shipping. They ship to you first, then you mail your back. Of course you have to agree to certain payment in case you never mailed yours back. And they always insist on inspect the phone for water damage before finally grant you warranty. That's just normal practice of buziness. You certainly have the option to ask the phone back instead of pay the $500 charge if they deny your warranty.
So far I didn't see any evidence that AT&T denied your warranty. You're just in a panic mode. Dealing with inpetent Samsung support doesn't help much. FYI, the phone you bought is AT&T branded which means AT&T take care of all the support and services. You can talk to Samsung all you want, you will just get run around like already have.
This is like how Samsung wanted to charge me for their product failure. It was just a month after I got my Captivate and one of the volume rocker buttons got stuck. I called Samsung to have it fixed, and they said it was "physical" damage. The guy said he could transfer me so I could find out how much it would cost, but that he needed to take my credit card first... WHY would customer service take your credit card number BEFORE they told you the cost??
Anyways, it caused me to open the phone up myself just to fix the button, instead of Samsung having my credit card number before I knew what I'd be paying them.
foxbat121 said:
It pains me to say it but AT&T warranty department is much better than Samsung warranty department. You're just simply mis-understood the terms. A lot of ppl here on the board get their replacement just I described above.There is no cross shipping. They ship to you first, then you mail your back. Of course you have to agree to certain payment in case you never mailed yours back. And they always insist on inspect the phone for water damage before finally grant you warranty. That's just normal practice of buziness. You certainly have the option to ask the phone back instead of pay the $500 charge if they deny your warranty.
So far I didn't see any evidence that AT&T denied your warranty. You're just in a panic mode. Dealing with inpetent Samsung support doesn't help much. FYI, the phone you bought is AT&T branded which means AT&T take care of all the support and services. You can talk to Samsung all you want, you will just get run around like already have.
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I asked for clarification on the terms, explained them back as I understood them, and the phone representative confirmed that I had to agree to the charge if they determined it was not a warranty issue. I specifically asked about the option of them just returning the phone instead of charging me for a new one and two different individuals, one on the phone and one in the service center, told me that they could not modify the terms in that way. Interestingly, I asked the phone rep for a copy of the terms in writing, as I was dumbfounded by her reading of them, and she refused to provide me a copy saying she did not have the capability to do so. (huh?!)
I have to disagree about panic mode. I am irritated, but have basically written off my loss at this point. You are right that AT&T did not deny the warranty, as I wouldn't agree to the terms up front to even get to that point. The phone is clearly branded by both AT&T and Samsung. Samsung didn't give me much run around, just went through their process and gave me the response "The factory warranty has been voided." Nice. Once I get the phone back, I will be doing a tear down to see if I can find any evidence of water damage or corrosion. I know that the indicators showed none before the phone was shipped to Samsung and from my discussion with them apparently still didn't when they had it.
I really only posted here so that others could be made aware. If these sorts of problems are common, perhaps something can be done. I've asked both AT&T and Samsung reps for further recourse and have been offered none. So in my case, I'm at a dead end. I'm moving on, checking on my ETF and considering my options regarding a new phone or a new carrier.
Im really sorry to hear you were treated so unfairly. Im an AT&T rep for Radioshack, and I know a few tricks for anyone who has this problem or any other unjust hardware exchange problems.
First, like that other guy posted, shop at Sams Wal Mart or Radioshack for cheaper prices, no mail ins and painless exchange policies.
Second, if you still can't get an exchange, call customer service and chose option 4. (Cancel service) This ofcourse is a bluff. Tell them that they can help you or your family is going yo Verizon. This is how I got them to exchange my Tilt I bricked for 80$ instead of 450$.
Third, If you go to the right Radioshack, they will ship it, straight to Samsung free of charge. Most stores don't know how but all have the ability. Just tell them to ship under NARDA.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
jmore said:
Hopefully this is not a trend...
My daughter, who is away at school, received a notice on her phone a couple of weeks back that there was an updated available. She was a bit nervous about doing it so waited until she was home over the weekend a week and a half ago and asked me about it. I told her to go ahead and do it. She hit the button to install the update. It downloaded, displayed an error message and the phone turned off. It wouldn't turn back on. We searched a bit, tried all the known key combinations to reset it, but it was a brick.
So the next day I headed over to the AT&T store. They tried a few things and agreed that it was dead. They checked the phone over and stated there was no physical or water damage. They contacted the warranty center over the phone, arranged for the return and handed me the phone handset to agree to terms. Turns out the only way they would warranty the phone is if I sent them the phone and agreed, in advance, to pay $459 if they decided it was not a warranty issue. I asked for clarification, repeated what had happened, and they just kept saying that was the requirement. I mentioned that the store rep and manager had already checked the phone, that there was no physical or water damage, and tried to understand why I would still have to agree to these terms. I asked if they would just agree to send the phone back if there was any other problem. They just kept repeating the same thing, I had to agree to the $459 potential charge with no recourse. They kept stating that I "would probably not be charged." I would not agree and asked the agent and manager on duty if there were any other options. They mentioned an AT&T service center about a half an hour away.
The store wrote me a referral to the service center and told me they could replace the phone on the spot. So off I went. A half an hour car drive and a wait in line and I was informed by the service center staff that they do not stock the Captivate and it would have to be returned to a warranty center. I said, do it. They said, no, I have to return it and that meant -- you guessed it -- agreeing to the same terms. Needless to say I was a bit frustrated at this point. So a half an hour drive home to cool off... or not.
The following day I started searching and found stories of people getting warranty service through Samsung. Wondering what their warranty terms are, I phoned Samsung's number. After repeating the phone death story, they said it was a warranty issue and emailed me a shipping label to send it back. Happy that things were looking up, I boxed it up and sent it off.
Fast forward a week and I just received a notification from Samsung that the phone is being returned, unrepaired. Here is the verbage used:
I get on the phone with Samsung, inform them the phone has never been wet, that both I and the AT&T folks looked at it and the water indicators showed no exposure. They explained that their service personnel do "a very thorough inspection" and that is their determination. Done. Discussion ensued, but there was absolutely no willingness on their part to take another look at the phone, explain further, or otherwise help.
So I'm out $200 plus a two-year contract or ETF fee with AT&T on a three month old phone. My daughter is quite meticulous with this sort of thing and trustworthy and tells me the phone has not been wet. I believe her. The liquid indicators agree. The phone died during an update that I now see is notorious for bricking phones. Both AT&T and Samsung would rather push it off on a customer than stand behind their product. I've been a Cingular/AT&T customer for over ten years, but apparently that's irrelevant.
So that's my story. Consider yourself warned.
BTW, if anyone figures out how to "unbrick" a phone in this state (won't turn on at all after failed update) I'd love to hear about it as the phone is physically fine.
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Click to collapse
Assuming that the phones hardware is is working condition you should first try to put the phone in download mode. To do this first hold down BOTH volume keys simtulaniously and plug in the usb coard to the charging jack on the phone while it is attached to a computer. If you see a yellow man holding a shovel with yellow writing saying download you can recover this device. If you get this far post here and we can show you how to reinstall the ROM.
Best of luck
Samsung was right... AT&T warranty terms still ridiculous
Samsung was right and has my sincere apology. I got the phone back from Samsung service and disassembled it. It looks like liquid got into the USB port. It appears to have been a very small amount, perhaps a single drop. There is some corrosion internally on the connector between the back of the port and the PCB. That is the only damage I see, but it would have been enough to short the connection. There was no indication of water elsewhere in the phone.
I am still dumbfounded by AT&T's warranty policy. I have spoken with two more individuals at AT&T about the policy and they stand firm. You must agree to a full charge replacement of the device before they will even determine if it is under warranty or not. If they determine it's under warranty, all is well. If not, you pay for a new device, whether you want one or not. :-(
Anyway, sorry Samsung. A few more details about what you found would have been nice, but you're still OK with me. I have nothing nice to say to you, AT&T.
Oh, and keep that little door over the port closed when you can... it could save your phone.
Still sounds fishy to me. You had a working phone before the update, so why is the cause of the failure water damage. Was your daughter doing the update outside in the rain?
I deal with AT&T all day, on a day to day basis. They are pain as many of you already know. You might want to try this, if you have a Facebook account, become a fan of their page and then post up your experience/situation for everyone to see. It might just put some heat on them. Hopefully, a competent Rep could help with a resolution. Just a suggestion.
I actually prefer AT&Ts warranty as opposed to using a manufacturer. At least they send you the replacement phone first so you are not out a phone for at least a week.
I remember sending my Xperia X1 into SE, it took 3 weeks and when I finally heard back from them they they informed me my phone had liquid damage. Similar story: they sent pictures of the corrosion back with my old phone and there was a tiny spec of rust.
rajendra82 said:
Still sounds fishy to me. You had a working phone before the update, so why is the cause of the failure water damage. Was your daughter doing the update outside in the rain?
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As odd as it sounds the voltage level could of fluctuated up high enough to cause the short and fry the port among other things.
jmore said:
It appears to have been a very small amount, perhaps a single drop. There is some corrosion internally on the connector between the back of the port and the PCB. That is the only damage I see, but it would have been enough to short the connection. There was no indication of water elsewhere in the phone.
Oh, and keep that little door over the port closed when you can... it could save your phone.
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Click to collapse
I had the same problem as another poster, with the toilet incident.. except the water wasn't so clean *cough*
Anyway, I have the same recommendation.
KEEP YOUR CHARGING PORT SHUT WHEN NOT IN USE!
I'm positive it would have saved my phone from water damage for the tenth of a second it took me to ninja snatch it from submersion. Same situation; none of the litmus papers (water damage indicators) were red.
The only additional advise i can give is to buy the third-party insurance that AT&T offers at some locations at the time of purchase (or know someone that will sign you up for it afterwards). It covers water damage it's $5.99/month and the deductible is $75 for smartphones.
Oh and don't bother with the Mobile Locate service AT&T offers..Theft Aware does that and way more, AND it's like $6 ONCE!
EDIT: yea i thought about that too. It seems kinda strange that it only went berserk during the update. Maybe a wire in the phone only gets used when doing something like an update and when it had voltage applied to it..it fried
So I sent my phone in to HTC to get repaired, got an email today saying it'd cost me either $185 to get it repaired and sent back, or $35 to get it sent back, not fixed or anything. Here's what the repair tracking said:
Code:
Repair Description
We have diagnosed your device and have determined that due to the following reason(s), your device is out of warranty:
• Case Damage not covered by warranty
In order to properly repair your device, the following action(s) will need to be taken which will require payment due to the out of warranty diagnosis:
• Replace Device Main Board
When I called to get my phone repaired, the guy said it was under warranty until the 28th of January (3 days ago), but since I called before that, it'll be under warranty even if it gets there after.
The amount of case "damage" was incredibly small, and I don't really need it to be replaced, and replacing the device main board sounds more of a manufacturers defect, not something I did, considering I never opened the phone up, and it would turn on (though I could be wrong).
From what I'm reading, I'm being charged because of the case damage, and if that wasn't there, I wouldn't be charged. So does anyone know if I can have them JUST replace the main board so I don't get charged?
I'd rather not pay $185 to get this repaired, and I don't want to pay $35 to have them tell me something was wrong with it, since I already knew that.
If I do decide to pay $185 to get it repaired, would replacing the main board also replace the eMMC chip?
Thanks