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Very unhappy with Samsung support - any suggestions?

K

kat.hayes

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
1,447
52
I've previously had a note 2, 3 and currently a 4. I've been thinking of switching to an iPhone, and have run the pros/cons of both platforms through my head many times. I was not overly excited by the note 5, though the deciding factor for me came a few days ago when my note 4 became useless. Menus and apps randomly open on screen with rebooting and battery pulls doing nothing. Next it stopped charging making it even impossible to update. After spending 30 minutes on the phone, Samsung offered for me to pay to ship it back to them and they told me they could repair it since it is still under warranty and it will take about 14 days to get back. I was shocked. What the hell am I supposed to do, rent a phone for 2 weeks? Apple swaps out phones at their stores and Samsung stores are located at best buys and there is one right down the street from me right now, though they will not help me. I am also on vacation away from home, making it even more difficult. My only choice seems to be to send it back to Samsung, though I want to find a way to wipe it first, though there is only around 3% battery left (might be even less now) and it will not charge.

Has anyone sent a phone to Samsung for service? If so, did it take around 14 days? Any suggestions for wiping it before sending it back? Is there a quick shortcut without going to settings, etc.? I'm afraid if I turn it back on it could be around 1% and by the time it boots and I get to the menu option too format it, it might turn off and if it won't charge I will have to send it back with all my data, which I really do not want to do.

Thanks.
 
Aika

Aika

macrumors regular
Apr 7, 2006
207
177
That's definitely one of the advantages of the iPhone.

It does make you wonder what the point is of Samsung's retail presence!
 
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Technarchy

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
Send a phone back to Samsung? Why?

I walk to my carrier store and tell them to give me a new phone. Usually done within 25 min.
 
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MRU

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
To be honest that's basically how Samsung support works here as we don't have Samsung stores. And yes it takes around two weeks as your talking 'working days' so exclude 2 weekends in that figure and also shipping so take another 4 days out if it which means they are actually doing the job in around 6 days.

Sending back to Samsung you will likely get a repair only (no swapping it out).

I just hope they don't decide its been modified or been tampered with software wise which would mean they may not even fix.


---

That all been said, have you tried doing an emergency software recovery from your computer ? If its not charging are you using the official Samsung cable and charger? I would try and see if I could resolve that, get it charged or charging and then run a firmware recovery via Kies or SmartShare apps on the computer. If that doesn't work - you have no choice.
 
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Gav2k

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
kat.hayes said:
I've previously had a note 2, 3 and currently a 4. I've been thinking of switching to an iPhone, and have run the pros/cons of both platforms through my head many times. I was not overly excited by the note 5, though the deciding factor for me came a few days ago when my note 4 became useless. Menus and apps randomly open on screen with rebooting and battery pulls doing nothing. Next it stopped charging making it even impossible to update. After spending 30 minutes on the phone, Samsung offered for me to pay to ship it back to them and they told me they could repair it since it is still under warranty and it will take about 14 days to get back. I was shocked. What the hell am I supposed to do, rent a phone for 2 weeks? Apple swaps out phones at their stores and Samsung stores are located at best buys and there is one right down the street from me right now, though they will not help me. I am also on vacation away from home, making it even more difficult. My only choice seems to be to send it back to Samsung, though I want to find a way to wipe it first, though there is only around 3% battery left (might be even less now) and it will not charge.

Has anyone sent a phone to Samsung for service? If so, did it take around 14 days? Any suggestions for wiping it before sending it back? Is there a quick shortcut without going to settings, etc.? I'm afraid if I turn it back on it could be around 1% and by the time it boots and I get to the menu option too format it, it might turn off and if it won't charge I will have to send it back with all my data, which I really do not want to do.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

  1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Vol Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
  7. When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
  8. The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin
 
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Truefan31

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,589
835
Sorry to hear about your frustrations. Honestly I think the support Apple provides is a big reason for their continued success. They mostly stand by their products and they swap phones/computers out all the time. Typically you can use express service and they'll ship u a phone before u send one back to them. And its overnight.

So honestly what's the point of the Samsung experience stores I see in bb? There's an apple section too but soon they'll start offering AppleCare service and support there too.
 
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MRU

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Gav2k said:
  1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Vol Up key.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  6. Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Vol Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
  7. When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
  8. The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin
Click to expand...
Just additional, this will only work if your phone can take a charge as your device has to have over 80% battery ... So your still going to need to try and sort that (not charging) issue out first.
 
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G

Gaugerer

macrumors member
Jan 5, 2013
67
6
Because apple are the manufacturer and retailer they are solely responsible for warranty claims but unfortunately my nearest apple store is 120 miles round trip away.

If you buy your Samsung phone through a retailer, which most people do, then it is the retailer who is responsible for the warranty not Samsung.

I usually buy my phone from Tesco/PC World online where I can easily collect and return without difficulty to my local store and the price is very competitive

I suggest in future you don't buy direct from Samsung where the price is usually more expensive anyway.
 
Last edited:
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jamezr

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,077
19,077
US
kat.hayes said:
I've previously had a note 2, 3 and currently a 4. I've been thinking of switching to an iPhone, and have run the pros/cons of both platforms through my head many times. I was not overly excited by the note 5, though the deciding factor for me came a few days ago when my note 4 became useless. Menus and apps randomly open on screen with rebooting and battery pulls doing nothing. Next it stopped charging making it even impossible to update. After spending 30 minutes on the phone, Samsung offered for me to pay to ship it back to them and they told me they could repair it since it is still under warranty and it will take about 14 days to get back. I was shocked. What the hell am I supposed to do, rent a phone for 2 weeks? Apple swaps out phones at their stores and Samsung stores are located at best buys and there is one right down the street from me right now, though they will not help me. I am also on vacation away from home, making it even more difficult. My only choice seems to be to send it back to Samsung, though I want to find a way to wipe it first, though there is only around 3% battery left (might be even less now) and it will not charge..
Click to expand...
It sucks when you phone is on the fritz! What carrier are you with? Can you go to one of your carrier stores?
I have had a couple of phones replaced at carrier stores in the past. I had a S4 replaced because the video went out on it. Walked into an AT&T corp store and was in and out in 15 minutes with a replacement phone. They even transferred the info from my old phone to my new one.
 
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