Alternatives to the Apple Store

[convergent]

I am a few days into my venture into Android, and larger attempt to extract myself from dependency on the Apple ecosystem. One of the things that Apple does so well is their Apple Store and support model. For those of you that have non-Apple smartphones, what do you use as an alternative to the Apple Store (for support)? I'm planning to get a SquareTrade contract for my Note 8 as a catastrophic failure/breakage insurance policy. But assuming something breaks, where do you go for repair? The AT&T store said they can handle that stuff, but I'm skeptical. Do you use local repair shops, chains like Best Buy, carrier stores?

 

[co.ag.2005]

I am a few days into my venture into Android, and larger attempt to extract myself from dependency on the Apple ecosystem. One of the things that Apple does so well is their Apple Store and support model. For those of you that have non-Apple smartphones, what do you use as an alternative to the Apple Store (for support)? I'm planning to get a SquareTrade contract for my Note 8 as a catastrophic failure/breakage insurance policy. But assuming something breaks, where do you go for repair? The AT&T store said they can handle that stuff, but I'm skeptical. Do you use local repair shops, chains like Best Buy, carrier stores?

I typically use square trade as my source of a warranty. But beyond that, there's really not a whole lot other than relying on that manufacturers 1 year (sometimes 2 year) warranty, which can be hit or miss depending on how they view your issue. I don't think there is any other OEM (that I'm aware of) that can offer support in the way Apple can. It's not a deal breaker for me when I'm on android devices, but definitely something to have to battle in case there is ever an issue.

 

[Puddled]

Samsung's warranty in Europe is a clearly defined and honoured 2 years. Not sure what it is elsewhere.

Samsung has a world wide network or authorised repair centres which are (in my experience) excellent. They will readily repair stuff either in or out of warranty.

 

[co.ag.2005]

Samsung's warranty in Europe is a clearly defined and honoured 2 years. Not sure what it is elsewhere.

Samsung has a world wide network or authorised repair centres which are (in my experience) excellent. They will readily repair stuff either in or out of warranty.

We don't have many samsung repair shops in the states. I wish we did have more.

 

[ultravisitor]

I'm planning to get a SquareTrade contract for my Note 8 as a catastrophic failure/breakage insurance policy. But assuming something breaks, where do you go for repair? The AT&T store said they can handle that stuff, but I'm skeptical. Do you use local repair shops, chains like Best Buy, carrier stores?

I pay for Asurion through my carrier. The one time I broke a screen (6 or 7 years ago), I just filed a claim with them and received a new phone the next day.

 

[mi7chy]

http://support-us.samsung.com/cyber/locator/asc_locator.jsp

 

[bopajuice]

http://support-us.samsung.com/cyber/locator/asc_locator.jsp

Zero repair facilities in my area. Zero.

 

[Puddled]

We don't have many samsung repair shops in the states. I wish we did have more.

You won't find them. Samsung use "Authorised services centeres". These are local repair services which have been trained and equiped to repair samsung.

Much like Apple do outside of the US
[doublepost=1507213777][/doublepost]

Zero repair facilities in my area. Zero.

https://www.service-center-locator.com/samsung/missouri/samsung-kansas-city-missouri.htm

 

[co.ag.2005]

I pay for Asurion through my carrier. The one time I broke a screen (6 or 7 years ago), I just filed a claim with them and received a new phone the next day.

The last time I looked at Asurion, the prices are outrageous. You pay like $10-$15/month for the premium and the deductible is on the order of $200-250, right? Just curious.

The nice thing about square trade is you just pay 1 price up front (currently $129 for 2 years) and then it's a $100 deductible for a claim. And if you ever cancel the warranty during the term (say you sold your phone), they send you a check for a prorated amount of the premium. If you do 2 years of Asurion and never make a claim, that's at least $240 where 2 years of Square Trade is $129.

maybe it ends up working out to be the same depending on how long you use phones but I think the high monthly premium costs and high deductible for Asurion always gets me. Unless they've become cheaper since the last time I checked them out.
[doublepost=1507213886][/doublepost]

You won't find them. Samsung use "Authorised services centeres". These are local repair services which have been trained and equiped to repair samsung.

Much like Apple do outside of the US
[doublepost=1507213777][/doublepost]
https://www.service-center-locator.com/samsung/missouri/samsung-kansas-city-missouri.htm

Interesting... I'll have to do more digging.

wait, Rent-A-Center as a samsung repair center?? lol

 

[SigEp265]

I typically use square trade as my source of a warranty. But beyond that, there's really not a whole lot other than relying on that manufacturers 1 year (sometimes 2 year) warranty, which can be hit or miss depending on how they view your issue. I don't think there is any other OEM (that I'm aware of) that can offer support in the way Apple can. It's not a deal breaker for me when I'm on android devices, but definitely something to have to battle in case there is ever an issue.

Have you ever had to use the square trade warranty? I'd like to hear some real world experience with their service.

 

[co.ag.2005]

Have you ever had to use the square trade warranty? I'd like to hear some real world experience with their service.

I have. Most recently, I had cracked my iPhone 7 Plus display. So I made an appointment with the genius bar and they replaced my phone and charged me I think the $179 replacement fee or something like that. I made a pdf of the receipt (that was emailed to me), uploaded it to my square trade claim, and they sent me the money back (minus my deductible) for the repair done. It was pretty easy, actually. Now, if it's a non-Apple replacement, I'd imagine you'd have to get your replacement from them via mail and send back the damaged product. The latter method I had to use back in 2013-2014 when I had cracked my iPhone 5s screen. That was before they'd do the Genius repair thing. But they sent me a replacement 5s and then I just had to send back the old 5s.

I haven't used them a lot but I haven't had a reason not to, based on my past experiences. But I do figure that Asurion is likely an "easier" option since you can just swap out at a carrier store, it's just not worth the extra cost to me.

 

[SigEp265]

I have. Most recently, I had cracked my iPhone 7 Plus display. So I made an appointment with the genius bar and they replaced my phone and charged me I think the $179 replacement fee or something like that. I made a pdf of the receipt (that was emailed to me), uploaded it to my square trade claim, and they sent me the money back (minus my deductible) for the repair done. It was pretty easy, actually. Now, if it's a non-Apple replacement, I'd imagine you'd have to get your replacement from them via mail and send back the damaged product. The latter method I had to use back in 2013-2014 when I had cracked my iPhone 5s screen. That was before they'd do the Genius repair thing. But they sent me a replacement 5s and then I just had to send back the old 5s.

I haven't used them a lot but I haven't had a reason not to, based on my past experiences. But I do figure that Asurion is likely an "easier" option since you can just swap out at a carrier store, it's just not worth the extra cost to me.

Thats awesome! How much is the square trade deductible?

 

[ultravisitor]

The last time I looked at Asurion, the prices are outrageous. You pay like $10-$15/month for the premium and the deductible is on the order of $200-250, right? Just curious.

I pay $9/month and the deductible varies depending on the type of phone. The newest iPhones and the Pixel XLs are more expensive at $200.

I've thought about going with SquareTrade, and I might for my Pixel 2 XL. The problem is that with Asurion I'm paying for convenience. It's totally brainless as all I do is send them the phone and get a replacement the next day. I don't have to have a repair person visit me or go find a repair shop and then submit a receipt for a claim, which I'd have to do with SquareTrade.

 

[co.ag.2005]

I pay $9/month and the deductible varies depending on the type of phone. The newest iPhones and the Pixel XLs are more expensive at $200.

I've thought about going with SquareTrade, and I might for my Pixel 2 XL. The problem is that with Asurion I'm paying for convenience. It's totally brainless as all I do is send them the phone and get a replacement the next day. I don't have to have a repair person visit me or go find a repair shop and then submit a receipt for a claim, which I'd have to do with SquareTrade.

yeah, the convenience factor is nice. good to know there's options, at least. and thanks for the price clarification.
[doublepost=1507216116][/doublepost]

Thats awesome! How much is the square trade deductible?

usually $99 for most smartphones. https://www.squaretrade.com/all-plans1

Sometimes, if you are just fixing a cracked screen and it's an Apple product, they'll just pay to have the screen replaced by apple and not the whole phone. My iP 7+ scenario was a little different in that the impact point of the glass crack was on the frame too, so there was slight frame damage, so the Apple Genius replaced the whole phone and wrote up the repair as it needing to replace the whole phone and not just the screen.

 

[convergent]

The last time I looked at Asurion, the prices are outrageous. You pay like $10-$15/month for the premium and the deductible is on the order of $200-250, right? Just curious.

AT&T who I think uses Asurion is $12/month, but it also covers loss/theft. So that is more coverage than something like AppleCare. I'm not looking for that coverage though. The good part with going with them is then I could just go to an AT&T store for service.

Have you ever had to use the square trade warranty? I'd like to hear some real world experience with their service.

My daughter has used SquareTrade and made claims, and they were great. I think she got something repaired locally and they reimbursed her.

But the main question I had was about the physical store / service center. I would rather not have to rely on mail... but that may be the only option.

How do you find out where the authorized Samsung repair facilities are? Looks like you have to call their 1-800 number.