Samsung Note 8

[co.ag.2005]

Too late in the cycle to get a note 8 now?

I’m tempted to pick 1 up but not sure if I should just hang on for the note 9 now

I don't think it's too late in the game. We still have quite a while before the Note 9 comes out. Might as well get the 8 and enjoy it! It's a fantastic phone. Also, you can get some gently used (and new) Note 8's from Swappa for a pretty good price compared to full retail.

 

[yui4]

I don't think it's too late in the game. We still have quite a while before the Note 9 comes out. Might as well get the 8 and enjoy it! It's a fantastic phone. Also, you can get some gently used (and new) Note 8's from Swappa for a pretty good price compared to full retail.

Only thing with used is Samsung customer service is usually a cause for concern, especially without the original owner proof of purchase

 

[co.ag.2005]

Only thing with used is Samsung customer service is usually a cause for concern, especially without the original owner proof of purchase

FWIW, Samsung customer support for the original owner sucks too. I've had many issues where getting something resolved with Samsung is like pulling teeth.

 

[Tsepz]

Too late in the cycle to get a note 8 now?

I’m tempted to pick 1 up but not sure if I should just hang on for the note 9 now

Not at all. It's never too late to get a Note until the next Note arrives as there is nothing that comes close to it. Heck, the Note5 itself is still up there wit the best 2017, the Note8 will continue to be a major rival for 2018 phones until the Note9 arrives.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

So for anyone who read my earlier post...I was finally able to return and receive a refund for my defective note 8. The return was started on November 15 roughly.

I never received a reason as to why the phone was returned to me, and the original return rejected. It was just a “mistake”.

Roughly 3 months, and at least 30+ hours on the phone/typing emails. I received an Friday that return was being credited, finally.

I doubt I will ever buy directly from Samsung again. A word of advice, if you do, don’t use their financing. You give up all leverage/protection as TD bank is useless.

The only reason I finally successfully returned the device was because the stat attorney general stepped in.

 

[koigirl]

Gosh that’s an awful testimony and confirms my initial apprehension about an unlocked Note 8. I have the ATT version along with carrier insurance and hope this will prevent me having to deal directly with Samsung when /if I have issues. Annoying ATT bloatware aside, I’m glad I chose this option. I suspected as much bc it took my husband and me a full 8 weeks, maybe longer, to receive our free gifts (SD cards) from Samsung after we got our new phones. Samsung said to allow 6-8 weeks for delivery and it took every bit of that time. I think they really need to up their customer service game, at least here in the US, in order to better compete with Apple. It is my only remaining misgiving with switch from IPhone to Note 8.

 

[Klyster]

You mean SD cards?

I always buy from a store, Samsung sound horrible to deal with directly.
St least with the store I can stand there and physically moan if something isn't right, this tends to get the ball rolling.


That said, I've never had to moan much, consumer laws are strong in NZ.
Two year warranty is the legal minimum, the law is usually on the consumers side.
[doublepost=1517768590][/doublepost]

So for anyone who read my earlier post...I was finally able to return and receive a refund for my defective note 8. The return was started on November 15 roughly.

I never received a reason as to why the phone was returned to me, and the original return rejected. It was just a “mistake”.

Roughly 3 months, and at least 30+ hours on the phone/typing emails. I received an Friday that return was being credited, finally.

I doubt I will ever buy directly from Samsung again. A word of advice, if you do, don’t use their financing. You give up all leverage/protection as TD bank is useless.

The only reason I finally successfully returned the device was because the stat attorney general stepped in.

That sounds terrible, I would have lost the plot way earlier.
I'm glad you finally have a resolution.

 

[co.ag.2005]

So for anyone who read my earlier post...I was finally able to return and receive a refund for my defective note 8. The return was started on November 15 roughly.

I never received a reason as to why the phone was returned to me, and the original return rejected. It was just a “mistake”.

Roughly 3 months, and at least 30+ hours on the phone/typing emails. I received an Friday that return was being credited, finally.

I doubt I will ever buy directly from Samsung again. A word of advice, if you do, don’t use their financing. You give up all leverage/protection as TD bank is useless.

The only reason I finally successfully returned the device was because the stat attorney general stepped in.

Yep, Samsung support is worthless. I've spent way too many hours just on hold with them last year, let alone all the waiting time for them to figure their sh*t out.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

You mean SD cards?

I always buy from a store, Samsung sound horrible to deal with directly.
St least with the store I can stand there and physically moan if something isn't right, this tends to get the ball rolling.


That said, I've never had to moan much, consumer laws are strong in NZ.
Two year warranty is the legal minimum, the law is usually on the consumers side.
[doublepost=1517768590][/doublepost]
That sounds terrible, I would have lost the plot way earlier.
I'm glad you finally have a resolution.

Yeah...my patiences have/had disappeared a long time ago. But the prospect of paying $1000 for a phone that I could use kept me going. Hell, I woundn't have been able to sale it for more than parts, since the phone was defective.

I had to file claims via the BBB and Attorney General, as well as raising hell on their own forums. There are a lot of unhappy people on Samsung's support forums...so I only added fuel to an already blazing fire there.

I am glad that the ordeal appears to be over (I mean, I am still waiting for the refund to post), but I will never understand/get over the fact that they sent back the phone on the intial return, rejecting the return with no explanation provided (then or ever). Their support team literally could not get an answer to as why it was rejected, and apparently it is a seperate department (I actually believe it may be a third party company, as the address is the same address that HTC uses for Digital Rivers logisitics, or something like that, for shipping their own phones directly to customers).

Here are some of my favorite moments (sarcasm) from the ordeal.

-*Call # 27 to the support team*, the rep literally said "Sir, this is all very confusing, I belive it appears to Samsung that you are trying to scam us, and we will not tolerate that". --This incedent lead to me getting a $50 gift card to Samsung.com....so I guess Ill buy a wireless charger for my iPhone X, since the ordeal has passed.

-During a support call (in which fedex wouldn't accept the invalid label Samsung kept sending me) "Sir, the TWO SEPERATE fedex stores you visited, and attempted to return the products, were wrong. The label is good, please go to another store"

-My favorite is shown below, with a screen shot of a snip of my conversation with the Samsung support team via Twitter (which was useless).

-----

All in all, lesson learned. Don't put your trust in buying directly from a company, unless they have the appropriate infrastructure (Apple), and a history of superb customer service (Apple, Google...and Microsoft from my limited interactions). My wife and I will not buy phones from a carrier, because we are unwilling to be beholden to a carrier via a contract/phone lease. So that leaves Apple and Google for us (I have an iPhone X and her a Pixel XL 2).

I have had nothing but positive experiences from Apple and Google, and highly recommend them. During this whole Note 8 ordeal, I switch back from Sprint to T-Mobile. Sprint messed up something with the IMEI of an iPhone 8 Plus I had bought via Apple's upgrade program, two months prior. I intended on selling the iPhone, since I had picked up an iPhone X. Apple couldn't fix the phone issue that was somehow locking the phone to Sprint, and Sprint couldn't help either. So Apple literally gave me a full refund for the iPhone 8 plus, that I had purchased two months prior. It is a stark contrast to the ordeal I went through with Samsung.

 

[yui4]

@BlueGoldAce would you still purchase a Samsung through a carrier or is that you done?

 

[BlueGoldAce]

@BlueGoldAce would you still purchase a Samsung through a carrier or is that you done?

I am done with Samsung, in general, for now.

The iPhone and Pixel lines always appealed to me due to the quick updates and the OS running as "it was meant to be". But the Galaxy's always caught my attention.

This incidient will serve as the extra needed experience to sway me away from Samsung. My agrivation aside, even if you purchase through a carrier, you may have to depend on Samsung support for a warranty repair. Visit the Samsung support forums, and you will see stories worse than mine, directly related to warranty repairs (one guy had sent his phone in two months ago, and they "couldn't find a record of the repair" and had yet to send him a new phone...if ever).

If I were to buy a Samsung phone, and I have zero intentions of doing so, I would buy it through a carrier, most likely with a carrier or third party protection plan (square trade, for example) so that I could avoid anything reliance on Samsung support.

 

[Klyster]

I won't buy from carriers here in NZ, way too expensive and thier prices stay at new retail for nearly a year and their service usually sucks.
Stores have the best prices here and even though they use the same repair channels as Samsung NZ, and there's physical people to deal with, that is no small thing.
At least that's what I've found to be true for me.

I've never dealt with Samsung support fortunately, I have dealt with their repairers though, at least they know what they're talking about.

 

[vine-boating]

Settings - Apps - click on the app that opens as default for pdfs. Scroll inside its entry to where it says it launches as default. Click on the button that will clear its defaults.

The next time you click on a pdf you should get choices again.

Hi I've did what you said
But this time when I try to open a PDF file from the web....the options that come up once you select 'open' are 'Drive PDF viewer' and 'write on PDF'
Adobe doesn't appear at all......

 

[mib1800]

Hi I've did what you said
But this time when I try to open a PDF file from the web....the options that come up once you select 'open' are 'Drive PDF viewer' and 'write on PDF'
Adobe doesn't appear at all......

out of curiosity did you install adobe pdf app?

 

[yui4]

I am done with Samsung, in general, for now.

The iPhone and Pixel lines always appealed to me due to the quick updates and the OS running as "it was meant to be". But the Galaxy's always caught my attention.

This incidient will serve as the extra needed experience to sway me away from Samsung. My agrivation aside, even if you purchase through a carrier, you may have to depend on Samsung support for a warranty repair. Visit the Samsung support forums, and you will see stories worse than mine, directly related to warranty repairs (one guy had sent his phone in two months ago, and they "couldn't find a record of the repair" and had yet to send him a new phone...if ever).

If I were to buy a Samsung phone, and I have zero intentions of doing so, I would buy it through a carrier, most likely with a carrier or third party protection plan (square trade, for example) so that I could avoid anything reliance on Samsung support.

Did you have access to a Samsung shop / repair centre?

 

[Newton’s Apple]

Note 8 is a wonderful device with very nice display.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

Did you have access to a Samsung shop / repair centre?

No I did not, so I can’t comment on that experience.

—-

As a side comment, the Note 8 is a wonderful device. While it lags in updates, it excels in other areas. I don’t blame anyone for buying it.

 

[mellofello]

I agree having real stores is the last missing piece for Samsung. They should really hire at least one tier 2 support person for each of their best buy locations to facilitate exchanges, and trouble shooting.

I had the water in port issue with my s8+. Phone support was no help and I could only find bandaid fixes online. I ended up trading the phone in at TMobile for a note 8.

The proposed solution was to mail them my phone for 3 weeks. There are a lot of devices I can go 3 weeks without. My phone is not one of them.

 

[nviz22]

I agree having real stores is the last missing piece for Samsung. They should really hire at least one tier 2 support person for each of their best buy locations to facilitate exchanges, and trouble shooting.

I had the water in port issue with my s8+. Phone support was no help and I could only find bandaid fixes online. I ended up trading the phone in at TMobile for a note 8.

The proposed solution was to mail them my phone for 3 weeks. There are a lot of devices I can go 3 weeks without. My phone is not one of them.

Never understood why Samsung would consider inconveniencing people like that? Terrible customer service and terribly long repair times. My mom's old S6 edge started crashing. She sent it in for repairs. Samsung sent it back saying the warranty was void because it had liquid damage. The phone was never dropped in liquid. Plus, it came back with rooted access. She never roots her phones. It was the craziest situation possible.

In my years of owning a smartphone, Google and Apple are the best with phone warranty support.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Cool mic quality test. Note 8 the clear winner. XZ1 is impressive for the lack of background noise.

 

[HerdJC]

Sold my iPhone X last night and picked up the Note 8. So far I'm really impressed with the device. I really missed the larger size phone. I also loved the S-Pen back in the day when I had a Note 3, so having it again is a great thing for me. Just having one problem though. I disabled iMessage on my phone before I wiped it, but a lot of my contacts can see my texts to them but it still has them respond via iMessage which means I'm not receiving replies. So there's one little quirk I'm going to have to look into further.

 

[jamezr]

Sold my iPhone X last night and picked up the Note 8. So far I'm really impressed with the device. I really missed the larger size phone. I also loved the S-Pen back in the day when I had a Note 3, so having it again is a great thing for me. Just having one problem though. I disabled iMessage on my phone before I wiped it, but a lot of my contacts can see my texts to them but it still has them respond via iMessage which means I'm not receiving replies. So there's one little quirk I'm going to have to look into further.

If you turned off imessage in settings on the iphone x before you wiped it then try this.

https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/

 

[HerdJC]

If you turned off imessage in settings on the iphone x before you wiped it then try this.

https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/

Thanks, I tried that this morning and it says "Your phone number is not registered with iMessage." So it definitely disconnected on my end, but others iPhones are still trying to send me iMessages.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I disabled iMessage on my phone before I wiped it, but a lot of my contacts can see my texts to them but it still has them respond via iMessage which means I'm not receiving replies. So there's one little quirk I'm going to have to look into further.

Tell your contacts to delete the message threads on their phones they have with you. That always works for me when iMessage is stubborn to let go.

 

[jamezr]

Thanks, I tried that this morning and it says "Your phone number is not registered with iMessage." So it definitely disconnected on my end, but others iPhones are still trying to send me iMessages.

@LIVEFRMNYC is right. Sometimes you have have people delete the text messages that were sent from imessage and start over. Sucks.....but sometimes thats the only way