Samsung S4 mysterious malfunction and cracked screen!

Missjmn

Hi
Has anybody had problems with their Samsung S4? After 6 weeks of having this phone the screen went blank and then days later small hair line cracks appeared under the screen! I sent it off to Vodafone to be repaired after tireless phonecalls to them, but they sent it back still broken and said the damage wasn't covered by the warrenty so I'd have to pay to have it repaired.
I haven't dropped or damaged the phone in any way but cannot prove it so as you can imagine I am very frustrated! I really don't want to pay as I am convinced it's a fault with the phone after doing research on the internet and discovering it is a common problem with this particular make and model. What are my rights as a consumer?

UnderPressure

Having a look on the old Google it is fair to say that there seem to be a few broken screens out there and a good few people who are shocked at how easy they seem to crack.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=samsung+galaxy+s4+screen+crack&rlz=1C1CHFX_en-GBGB553GB554&oq=samsung+galaxy+s4+screen+crack&aqs=chrome..69i57.6267j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

It is unfortunate but is the standard squeal from the networks and manufacturers that broken screens are not a warranty repair, not much you can do really, if you have some spare cash and time you could try bringing a small claims court claim against vodafone or samsung in the UK and hope the presiding judge has recently had a broken screen but alas with no guarantee of winning and the cost both financially and time wise it may not be an option.

Have you established how much it is going to cost to repair? There are lots of repairers on Google offering services just make sure they have good independent reviews for their services.

If it is just the outer glass that is broken and you are a bit techy minded then you can pick up kits on ebay for as little as a tenner with the replacement glass in and do it yourself, there will be loads of videos out there showing you how, if it is the actual LCD that has broken then again you can buy a replacement for around £140 and fit it yourself.

Failing all that sell it on EBay as is, you will probably still get £200ish and use the funds to buy something else.

Good luck.

Earthworm

Missjmn wrote: »

Hi
Has anybody had problems with their Samsung S4? After 6 weeks of having this phone the screen went blank and then days later small hair line cracks appeared under the screen! I sent it off to Vodafone to be repaired after tireless phonecalls to them, but they sent it back still broken and said the damage wasn't covered by the warrenty so I'd have to pay to have it repaired.
I haven't dropped or damaged the phone in any way but cannot prove it so as you can imagine I am very frustrated! I really don't want to pay as I am convinced it's a fault with the phone after doing research on the internet and discovering it is a common problem with this particular make and model. What are my rights as a consumer?

I thought the responsibility of proving there was no fault with the handset within the first 6 months was Vodafones?

JJ_Egan

Go back to the seller complain product is not fit for the purpose .

Fail then independent engineers report and small claims court .Or some proof that it is a known manufacturing defect that may be hard to find amongst the multiple google i never dropped my phone posts .

Yes its hard to prove you did not drop it and any goodwill regarding this sort of complaint evaporated a long time ago . Thats all down to the users who did drop but swear black and blue they never did .

Personally i would be asking trading standards for advice .

mattyprice4004

So many people break screens and then vehemently deny any wrongdoing - when working for the repairs team in a large mobile retailer I placed a customer on hold (she had a broken screen and denied doing it) only to hear her boast to someone else in the room about getting a free repair even though she broke her screen.

I had her on mute, not hold. Silly woman didn't get anything. She wasn't too happy when I told her she wasn't on hold at all...

dcb2000

Hi

I purchased an S4 just over a week ago, and have had the same problem. It was in my pocket, got it out and the screen had cracked internally. There is not a mark on the phone, and it was in a case.

I took it into the O2 shop and the guy agreed with me, and said it should be under warranty. They sent it off for repair. Their repair centre said it would be £125 to fix it, and it is not covered by the warranty and that it was 'accidental damage'.

I did not agree to pay it. I bought it online through Carphone Warehouse, so i could try taking it back there, but I know they will say the same thing. I understand the phone shops point of view. I think it is really an issue for Samgsung to resolve. However, i am not hopeful in getting this resolved based on the resesarch i have done online, which i will paste below.

I will now have to pay £125 to get it fixed, and take out insurance in case it happens again. I have found some insurance on this site for about £65 which i will use, so that is one plus! I suppose the lesson I have learnt is that you should always take insurance out on expensive phones.

There seems to be little to no media coverage of this issue, not much on this site or watchdog etc. despite thousands of posts on internet forums from other users that it has happended to.

Samgsung need to admit to this manufacturing fault and replace the phone for affected users. This is appalling and it appears that consumers essentially have no rights in this situation. If its happened to you, you'll know it is a fault with the phone.

I am considering sending the phone to Samgsung, but their 'engineers decision is final' they said in the email, so they will just say what O2 said. i think I will be complaingi about this to Watchdog, Which magazine, trading standards etc. and if i had the money I would sue them.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd be grateful to hear them. Unfortunately, as a new user on this site a am not able to post the links here, so i cannot show you the evidence, but google
‘samsung s4 screen cracked internally’ you will find hundreds of posts on forums about this problem.

Thanks

gjchester

dcb2000 wrote: »

Their repair centre said it would be £125 to fix it, and it is not covered by the warranty and that it was 'accidental damage'.

In all honestly the most viable cause for a damaged screen is a bump, drop or jolt. I have once smashed a screen (bumped my old Razer V3 against a table,) the phone was in my pocket, the outer shell untouched but I knew I'd done it as I remember bumping the table.

Glass is an odd substance, think about a pint glass, sometimes they bounce when knocked off a table, sometimes a light tap will smash it apart, its all about how the force hits the glass, NOT how much force.

dcb2000 wrote: »

There seems to be little to no media coverage of this issue, not much on this site or watchdog etc. despite thousands of posts on internet forums from other users that it has happended to.

Samgsung need to admit to this manufacturing fault and replace the phone for affected users.

Knowing this, and the fact than many many people before have tried to claim warranty damage on a user inflicted damage then this (and damaged charger ports) are almost always put down to user damage.

Samsung have sold in excess of 40 million of these, so cases a few hundred or thousand of broken screen these does not point to a global manufacturing fault, although it could be a batch of faulty components.

If you really believe it was not your fault you would need to pay for an independant report, aqnd if they agree with you, you can then sue O2 for a repair, remembering O2 are the retailer and your issue is with them, you have no contractual right to sue Samsung, that would be for O2 to do if they wish.


Good Luck

dcb2000

Thanks for your reply. I actually bought it online via Carphone Warehouse, not O2, but on O2 chat online they said take it to O2 shop.

Annoyingly i cant post links on here, but i have found probably thousands of posts of the same problem, but as you say it is probably a very small % of total S4s sold.

i actually think their 'gorilla' glass maybe not as strong as advertised, or the underneath of the screen is weak. It could just be a faulty batch. There are a lot of people that have reported this that said they were in their car, and had it in their pocket. I also think it could be temperature related, as i was outside then inside, so perhaps that affects it. I was super careful with it, and have never dropped it or knocked it on anything.

If you go to youtube and search 'Samsung Galaxy S4 Screen Defect Crack, Verizon Fails to Uphold Warranty' you will see a demonstration by someone of the problem.

I'll probably get Carephone Warehouse to fix it and pay for it, then send all the online forum evidence to Samgsung, not that it will do any good.

Oh well, I will be taking out insurance in future! I think if a phone os worth over a certain amount they should just include insurance in the monthly cost or make it mandatory.

JJ_Egan

Many of those posts are repetitions of the same posts .
I also see many posts where users have dropped the phone and are trying to claim warranty .All saying i never dropped it ever so help me .
Is your phone the Verizon model as they are usually different .

From experience of many forums my conclusion is that the larger screen phones are more at risk of user damage .
Might be the reason Samsungs limited warranty rejects any warranty of any component if the screen is scratched .
But it matters not what Samsung say your Soga and any claim is against the vendor .

dcb2000

I dont know the exact model. This is what is in the email:
Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB - O2 £27, 24 months
product code 18648707.

the screen isnt scratched. its underneath the screeen - the LCD display.

mije1983

dcb2000 wrote: »

I think if a phone os worth over a certain amount they should just include insurance in the monthly cost or make it mandatory.

In my experience, most retailers try to sell you the insurance anyway! It's just that a lot of peope automatically say no without thinking about it and making a considered decision.

With your suggestion, who would decide the trigger amount to include the insurance? What is expensive to me may not be expensive to you for example.

Including it in the monthly cost would just increase your monthly payment by the same amount. Some people don't want to insure, others 'self-insure' so by making it mandatory, it removes their choice