muditha

Hi,

I upgraded my Galaxy S3 to S5 about 14 months back. After about 8 months since i bought, front camera was defective and sent for Samsung repair centre for repairs. I received the phone back after about 2 weeks since repairs. It was all good. But after about 3 months from repair same defect came back with front camera. Then i had lot of arguments with Samsung and finally sent it back for assessment 2 weeks back. Since i sent it back again, i chased Samsung via calling & FB to get an update. Nobody really gave me a proper update rather than saying it is with repair centre. Finally last Wednesday, i received a call from Samsung and told me that the camera is defctive due to an issue with the phone.(manufacture defect, not any issue with usage). Then i asked them to issue me a replacement phone since it is the 2nd time in 14 months and it is a manufacurer fault. But samsung refused and gave me 2 options,
1. no repairs, return the phone as it is
2. repair the phone and return it

But no time frame was not given about when i will get the phone back. Already 11 business days passed since the phone handed over 2nd time. Since i bought the phone, i already lost about 4 1/2 weeks already without a phone.

My argument with Samsung was this is the 2nd time same defect came up and it is a manufacturer fault and already i lost about 4 1/2 weeks of phone time if you combine 1st and 2nd repair(still i don't receive the phone yet, so lost time will increase further). I'm very angry with Samsung way, but is there any option for me rather than wait until they repair the phone and return it back.

renth

Took them 6 months and about 4 "engineers" to attempt to fix my Samsung dishwasher before they gave up and gave me a refund - 6 months of doing dishes the old fashioned way.

That's why I'll never buy another Samsung product, which is a shame because they make some pretty good stuff!

Beoz

Not sure any of the other companies would be any different. The wife's Sony Experia screen cracked a few weeks back with no force and the internet is littered with cases of this happening. 2 weeks gone by and its still in for assessment. Assessment meaning whether they will fix it FOC or not. Sony don't even have a service centre in Australia.

GarryP

The unfortunate reality is most warranties are pretty worthless since they represent a cost to the manufacturer. So they tend to do a slow, poor, job to avoid getting repeat returns. Hence the reason they swapped out the camera in 2 weeks first time, but this time are dragging their heels.

In general it's best to avoid having to deal with service centres direct - they are a cost centre and thus a nightmare to deal with. Keep your POC with the store if possible - you can hassle in person, loudly, on a Saturday if necessary.

You can try telling them that since they have admitted the phone is a lemon, you either want a complete replacement, or your money back, within two weeks. In dealing with such people it's generally best to be very polite, but very firm - they will try to push 'their policies' as law; they aren't. You can try threatening them with the ACCC (though they are pretty useless too).

More generally? Don't buy Samsung phones! Find out what the developers buy and use - they'll generally be better supported all round.

SoCalDon

Had a similar problem with my iPhone 6 - one of the cameras packed up. The Apple store tried to fix it but gave up after a couple of hours and replaced the phone with a new one.

The most pleasing aspect about this experience was that very morning I got a new glass screen protector from China for about a tuppence ha'penny and the Apple store replaced it with a Belkin one that costs about half a million dollars if you pay for it.

I hate Apple with a vengeance but couldn't fault their customer service on this occasion.

keel

Went from 5 years using and iPhone to a Samsung S5 in Nov 2014. Although the Samsung had some good points I could never get the hang of it. 12 months and 1 day I got myself out of the contract and got a new iPhone S6. Bliss.
I know that the apple screens are crap compared to Samsung, and they charge like a wounded bull, but it all works great. 12 months of using the Samsung and I hated it.

Dorothy

Me too. I'm 11 months into a 2 year contract with my S5 and hate it immensely. I would be very interested in getting out of the contract and getting back to an iPhone.

Bermudashorts

I have finally got Mr BS all Apple'd up with an iPad for Christmas and he just this weekend swapped his Samsung for an iPhone. He is one of those geeks that thinks Apple is very uncool and it has taken me a long time to make the argument that whatever he thinks at least it works and is easy to work!

Honestly he has moaned and moaned about not being able to do things with his old phone and tablet, I never have problems with my iPad and iPhone but it has still taken forever for him to convert.

OP there is probably only one thing you can really do, vote with your feet and don't buy Samsung again.

fraser

We still have never owned a dishwasher.

Mrs and kids have Samsung phones i hate them.

GarryP

If he moaned about not being able to do things with and Android phone & Tablet, he's going to be throwing the apple stuff against the wall.

Honestly, they are terrible for walled gardens and proprietary (overpriced) **** that lock you out of doing what you want.

fraser

I have an xperia z3 and I love it

quoll

Interesting thread! I had a Samsung phone once (back in the early days) and said "Never again!" But on holiday in Aus right now bought a throw away, bottom of the range Samsung with a really good text, message, data arrangement etc and, apart from a crappy camera I could almost be persuaded to change from my iPhone when I upgrade. But hearing these stories - perhaps not! I've always been very happy with AppleCare and their NQA replacement service!

Bermudashorts

Time will tell. The iPad seems to be going ok so far, I have had both for years with no complaints, but then I also have very simple needs!

SoCalDon

I have both an iPhone and an iPad and, apart from replying to the occasional email I do anything serious or needing to look posh on my PC. The Apple stuff is really just for entertainment - Facebook, weather and playing bridge and sudoku in bed.

It's a shame but Apple make it so bloody difficult to do stuff without downloading a shed load of different apps and even then it's a bloody miracle if you're able to save it in a format that any other bugger can see.

Beoz

The funny part is the comparision of old Samsung phones against new iPhones.

Isn't marketing a wonderful tool

I've been doing some photography using the time lapse feature on the Samsung Note 5 and while its on the tripod I run around doing some other photography with the wifes Samsung S5 (her sony is in the shop). The Note 5 compared to the S5 is like chalk and cheese but back in the day it was the best.