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essexman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
29
1
If you are someone who wants to jump from iPhone to Android i request thou tread this before you make that all important jump. I have used both phones but have been using the Galaxy phones more than iPhones as i like Android better and like the customisations. I bought a gs3 about 8 months ago. It had the occasional freeze and restart without warning but i ignored it for the features. If you aster not aware gs3 having been dying suddenly so much it had been given the name as well sudden death syndrome. Initially the reports were people were having their handsets replaced no questions asked. Later Samsung refused to replace but repaired there handsets replacing the motherboards. Now there are scores of reports of Samsung not repairing or replacing the faulty handsets just blaming it on liquid damage. I unfortunately have a similar problem with my s3 and i can vouch it has never come on contract with water or any other liquid other than occasionally cleaning the screen worth a damp cloth and immediately drying with dry towel later. Samsung delegates repairs to third party companies unlike apple. For me this is the end of the road with Samsung (my house is filled with Samsung products). Although Samsung charge the same price for their phones as Apple (at least in the UK) their service is far from Apple.
 

Fanaticalism

macrumors 6502a
Apr 16, 2013
908
158
If you are someone who wants to jump from iPhone to Android i request thou tread this before you make that all important jump. I have used both phones but have been using the Galaxy phones more than iPhones as i like Android better and like the customisations. I bought a gs3 about 8 months ago. It had the occasional freeze and restart without warning but i ignored it for the features. If you aster not aware gs3 having been dying suddenly so much it had been given the name as well sudden death syndrome. Initially the reports were people were having their handsets replaced no questions asked. Later Samsung refused to replace but repaired there handsets replacing the motherboards. Now there are scores of reports of Samsung not repairing or replacing the faulty handsets just blaming it on liquid damage. I unfortunately have a similar problem with my s3 and i can vouch it has never come on contract with water or any other liquid other than occasionally cleaning the screen worth a damp cloth and immediately drying with dry towel later. Samsung delegates repairs to third party companies unlike apple. For me this is the end of the road with Samsung (my house is filled with Samsung products). Although Samsung charge the same price for their phones as Apple (at least in the UK) their service is far from Apple.

Theres patches in the phone as well as the battery that show if a phone has water damage. They aren't guessing, they are telling you based off fact.
 

PollyK

macrumors regular
Apr 18, 2013
197
0
For me this is the end of the road with Samsung (my house is filled with Samsung products). Although Samsung charge the same price for their phones as Apple (at least in the UK) their service is far from Apple.

Well sir, if what you say is true, then Samsung and Apple may be very much alike. Read Here.
 

essexman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
29
1
Theres patches in the phone as well as the battery that show if a phone has water damage. They aren't guessing, they are telling you based off fact.
There is no liquid damage indicator on the battery but the one on the phone is intact no change.
Its just not me the internet is filled with similar stories.
 

kevinof

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2008
742
157
Dublin/London
You are in the UK? If you believe you right then file a claim take them to the small claims court. That's what its there for.


If you are someone who wants to jump from iPhone to Android i request thou tread this before you make that all important jump. I have used both phones but have been using the Galaxy phones more than iPhones as i like Android better and like the customisations. I bought a gs3 about 8 months ago. It had the occasional freeze and restart without warning but i ignored it for the features. If you aster not aware gs3 having been dying suddenly so much it had been given the name as well sudden death syndrome. Initially the reports were people were having their handsets replaced no questions asked. Later Samsung refused to replace but repaired there handsets replacing the motherboards. Now there are scores of reports of Samsung not repairing or replacing the faulty handsets just blaming it on liquid damage. I unfortunately have a similar problem with my s3 and i can vouch it has never come on contract with water or any other liquid other than occasionally cleaning the screen worth a damp cloth and immediately drying with dry towel later. Samsung delegates repairs to third party companies unlike apple. For me this is the end of the road with Samsung (my house is filled with Samsung products). Although Samsung charge the same price for their phones as Apple (at least in the UK) their service is far from Apple.
 

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
I've got to agree with the above posters.

Consumer protection laws in our country are on our side so use them.

Any links to these scores of reports at all? We had an S3 Which had the sudden death suceptible memory controller which was prevented from happening via a firmware update. AFAIK, the only devices still suceptible to sudden death were custom firmwares using older bootloaders and kernels. Was yours stock or modded in any way?
 

Krimsonmyst

macrumors 6502
Dec 18, 2012
302
1
I've got to agree with the above posters.

Consumer protection laws in our country are on our side so use them.

Any links to these scores of reports at all? We had an S3 Which had the sudden death suceptible memory controller which was prevented from happening via a firmware update. AFAIK, the only devices still suceptible to sudden death were custom firmwares using older bootloaders and kernels. Was yours stock or modded in any way?

I had an S3 that suffered from Sudden Death syndrome. I took it to my carrier store and they advised me that Samsung had authorised free repairs on any handsets purchased within certain dates that were affected.

They referred me to an authorised repairer and within 48 hours I had my phone back with a brand new motherboard in it (apparently the sudden death was caused by corrupted bios firmware).

I would also like to see links to all these examples of Samsung refusing to honour their warranties, because in my case they handled my situation very well.
 

KentuckyHouse

macrumors 68030
Jan 29, 2010
2,715
986
Lexington, KY.
If you aster not aware gs3 having been dying suddenly so much it had been given the name as well sudden death syndrome.

Funny. I've had my S3 since late June of last year (so 11 months, give or take), I'm constantly on XDA, here in the Alternatives section, on Android Central, and various other tech forums...

AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER HEARD OF THIS ISSUE.

Anyway, good luck to you OP. I hope you get your water damaged phone fixed or find a replacement.

:rolleyes:
 

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
Funny. I've had my S3 since late June of last year (so 11 months, give or take), I'm constantly on XDA, here in the Alternatives section, on Android Central, and various other tech forums...

AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER HEARD OF THIS ISSUE.

Anyway, good luck to you OP. I hope you get your water damaged phone fixed or find a replacement.

:rolleyes:

It only affected certain 16gb Exynos (imternational) models with a dodgy memory controller.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1993044

I believe the U.S ones were Snapdragon based and were unaffected. It is real but Samsung have already solved it. :D
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
Where did you get the phone from and who were you talking to, the retailer or directly to Samsung? If you got the phone from somewhere like Carphone Warehouse, the warranty always comes from the manufacturer so try just talking directly to Samsung because a lot of the big tech retailers are known to have poor customer service.
 

essexman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
29
1
I have the phone back from Anovo (Samsung sent it over there). I have opened the phone and i cannot see any moisture its bone dry. Also there are 4 indicators which are all normal. I will post some pictures soon. I will go to small claims court. The phone was switching on and was able to go to recovery earlier but now nothing it will not power on at all. So they made it worse.
Its stock not a custom rom but was rooted long time ago without any problems. I did not update it via kies for the firmware patch.
 
Last edited:

bursthead

macrumors 6502
Apr 9, 2010
282
3
If what another poster said was true, that the issue is only with the international version.

There lies your answer, I do not believe Samsung USA honors the warranty of any International Samsung Device. To have a repair made you might have to send it to the country of origin.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,386
24,130
Wales, United Kingdom
Although Samsung and HTC make superb phones, one thing they don't seem to be able to rival Apple on is customer service. I found the 'we have to try and fix it 3 times before you get a replacement' policy rather frustrating when I had a HTC.
 

essexman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
29
1
If what another poster said was true, that the issue is only with the international version.

There lies your answer, I do not believe Samsung USA honors the warranty of any International Samsung Device. To have a repair made you might have to send it to the country of origin.

I am in the UK and I both bought it here in the UK and sent it to UK samsung repair (they dont it themselves but ask a third party to do repairs in my case it was sent to a comapny caleed ANOVO)

----------

Although Samsung and HTC make superb phones, one thing they don't seem to be able to rival Apple on is customer service. I found the 'we have to try and fix it 3 times before you get a replacement' policy rather frustrating when I had a HTC.

Probably true, my friend had a problem with his iphone, took it to apple store and was given a brand new replacment no further questions asked. Although this is just one episode and I cannot justify that apple care is better than samsungs by this one episode.

----------

I had an S3 that suffered from Sudden Death syndrome. I took it to my carrier store and they advised me that Samsung had authorised free repairs on any handsets purchased within certain dates that were affected.

They referred me to an authorised repairer and within 48 hours I had my phone back with a brand new motherboard in it (apparently the sudden death was caused by corrupted bios firmware).

I would also like to see links to all these examples of Samsung refusing to honour their warranties, because in my case they handled my situation very well.

Can you tell me which repairer you took it to? Thanks

----------

Theres patches in the phone as well as the battery that show if a phone has water damage. They aren't guessing, they are telling you based off fact.

The patches (about 4 in total inside) are all intact within the phone now that I have opened it. the purple colour has not "bled" so I assume it has not been activated.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,386
24,130
Wales, United Kingdom
Probably true, my friend had a problem with his iphone, took it to apple store and was given a brand new replacment no further questions asked. Although this is just one episode and I cannot justify that apple care is better than samsungs by this one episode.

Well I can say they are pretty consistent when issuing replacements. My wife was 3 weeks away from the end of her warranty on an iPhone 4 when the home button stopped working. She was given a replacement with very little questions asked. They could see the phone was well looked after. She has an iPhone 5 now like myself and has had 3 already. Sounds bad I know lol. The first time the camera rattled a bit which I have found is fairly normal, but Apple replaced it no questions. The second time she had a single dead pixel so we tried it again and got a replacement. The final time there was a speck of dust in the camera and again a replacement was issued. Very good customer service IMO and her final iPhone has been great for the past 4 and half months.

I never had a problem with my S3 but have friends who had difficulty getting Samsung to acknowledge faults. My experience with HTC was not so great and I sent a couple of HTC phones off to be repaired and was left without a phone for 2 weeks on one occasion and told they had to attempt to fix it 3 times! I didn't feel that was good enough when I'd paid over 200 quid for a phone.
 

essexman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2012
29
1
I've got to agree with the above posters.

Consumer protection laws in our country are on our side so use them.

Any links to these scores of reports at all? We had an S3 Which had the sudden death suceptible memory controller which was prevented from happening via a firmware update. AFAIK, the only devices still suceptible to sudden death were custom firmwares using older bootloaders and kernels. Was yours stock or modded in any way?

yeah man, use your rights, take them to court.

I will, Although I have to spend a bit of money initially to take them to court I believe I have a strong case. I will get it looked by an independent repairer for a report. The courts say I have to file a complaint with Samsung first and try all means to resolve the issue before taking their time, so will do a complaint with all the pictures and intact water damage indicators. If they still dont budge will fight it out in the courts. Majority of customers do not want to waste the time money and energy to go to court and they know it, but I will even if it means spending a lot of time.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,386
24,130
Wales, United Kingdom
I hope you get the right result mate I really do. I hate it when you buy something in faith and then get screwed. I would get it fixed and sell it on if I were in the position. I stuck my S3 on eBay when I switched to the iPhone and the demand was quite high. When they work they are brilliant and mine worked absolutely fine. I had people sending me private messages to sell away from eBay but let the bidding run and got a decent price. Good luck :)
 
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