O2 refusing to repair my phone.

sswats

I posted in the mobile section, but I think this is where it needs to go.

3 weeks ago my Samsung Note 2 was stuck on the Samsung Boot Screen.
Switched it off and on took battery off tried the hard reset key combo and nothing worked. After all that it doesn't power on at all. I just get the battery icon if I plug it in.

Took it to an O2 store who sent it to the repair centre. Got a message 5 days later that the repair is not covered under warranty and it would cost £73 to repair.
Went to the O2 shop where we called the repair centre and they say the phone has been rooted. I insisted I hadn't until they said they will reassess.

for the record i have not rooted the phone.

A week later with no response i call the repair centre directly (o2 shop guy gave the number to me). They told me the "request" to reassess was rejected and that the engineer was a senior Samsung engineer and doesn't need to see it again. When i asked for the full diagnostics they said "foreign software" was all that was written and they wouldn't even provide the name of the engineer who worked on it.
They never bothered to tell me this and I had to call them.

They refused to discuss anything further and said i have to call O2 customer services to raise the matter further.

Called O2 Customer services who simply called the same person i spoke to at the repair centre to request more information. I was told i would get it in 4 days.

4 days later i get a call telling me that there was foreign software and unauthorised software which caused damage to the phone. Basically what i had been told a week before. I asked for proof and a full diagnostic report (according to sales of good act where burden of proof is on the retailer). They said that can only be provided if i reject the repair and they send the phone back with the report. Spoke to 3 departments at O2 just trying to get this report sent to me and leaving the phone at the repair centre with no success with the last person saying idiotic things like you may have left it to one side and someone rooted it without you knowing.

The phone is still at the repair centre. My options are-

1-pay the £73 to repair. and have the warranty permanently voided (6 months into a 24month warranty) even though i didn't do anything to void the warranty.

2- request the phone back with the report and send it to Samsung directly.

3- write snail mail letter to O2 head office

4- Request to cancel my contract with O2 for breach of contract. if that is possible.

Any ideas or help to get this moving.
If its the letter what should i write.
Anything i can say to them on the phone that obligates them to send me that report.
Any independent places i can have this report verified as technically accurate (was just going to post it at XDA-developers when i get it).

unholyangel

What date did you get the phone? Is it under 6 months or over? Was it the O2 Shop you purchased it from?

Have you tried rolling it back to a restore point via laptop/pc?

sswats

It was under 6 months when I handed it in. I think tomorrow it goes over the 6 month threshold.
I bought it from O2 over the phone. It was an upgrade.

The PC could not communicate with the phone.

shaun_from_Africa

It's possible that the phone had been rooted, although not by you.

Below is a thread that I started and it's possible that the "new" phone you received was also preowned and rooted by the original owner.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4210723

Chimpofdoom

Bit curious to see how they could say it's routed if you couldn't get it past the splash screen or even power it up....

pulliptears

Chimpofdoom wrote: »

Bit curious to see how they could say it's routed if you couldn't get it past the splash screen or even power it up....

I believe Samsung software now keeps a count of the number of different firmwares that have been installed on to the phone, if Samsung can access the phone in any way this will show so they can now spot rooted phones quite easily.

There is a way of deleting the record so any unofficial firmware doesn't show but of course unless you can get into the phone when it dies a death then you are stuck.

bris

Samsung are usually good with warranty repairs and wouldn't reject it without good cause. You won't get any further with them and 02 will certainly take their side.

The only thing left for you to do is to get your own independent report on the issue and counter them with that.

It is possible you put a piece of software on the phone that without you knowing had some form of one touch root within it that has screwed up the phone.

Buzby

I agree with Bris - there is the possibility that an app you installed has misbehaved and resulted in the situation you find yourself in. Clearly, the ability to resolve the issue remains with the Samsung Repair Centre - SOGA is irrelevant when firmware is tampered with (whether knowingly or unknowingly).

In your shoes, I'd pay the fee and get it restored, being very careful in what you install. None of your other options are realistic or achievable.

ritesh

Just a thought if Samsung phones do keep a log of the number different firmwares installed on to the phone then there is a strong chance that the date of each firmware update is also logged. If you can get an independant engineer to check this then if the phone has been rooted and can be shown to be prior to you receiving the phone then O2 will have some serious explaining to do...........

Just a thought and stab in the dark........

OlliesDad

Chimpofdoom wrote: »

Bit curious to see how they could say it's routed if you couldn't get it past the splash screen or even power it up....

It shows it on the download screen (hold power, volume up and home when switching on), so there is no need to even go to the splash screen.

wealdroam

ritesh wrote: »

Just a thought if Samsung phones do keep a log of the number different firmwares installed on to the phone then there is a strong chance that the date of each firmware update is also logged. If you can get an independant engineer to check this then if the phone has been rooted and can be shown to be prior to you receiving the phone then O2 will have some serious explaining to do...........

Just a thought and stab in the dark........

My understanding is that is is just a simple counter.