I got my new E4GT on Jan 21, and I fount on 23th that it doesn't receive any GPS signal 'at all'. I guess you guys might have some tweaks to fix this issue but I didn't. So I just sent it to Samsung service center on 24th, which was my biggest mistake.
They recieved my phone on '30th' because they are using UPS 'Ground', which I think is ridiculus for a repair service dealing a product costs more than $500. And it's now Feb 6, and it was still being repaired.
So I called them and asked how long would it take more to get it back, and the representative said 'Another week or two'. Wow. Taking a month to finally use a new phone.
So I called Sprint who I originally talked to when I found the problem. At that time one of the representatives told me to send my phone to Samsung since it's a 'technical issue' of the mobile product of Samsung. I explained how my phone's being taken care of, and they said my phone just could have been replaced without additioanl charge since it has an original defect if I brought it to Sprint store right away rather than sending it to Samsung. What Sprint told me they can do is by the way that only once I get my phone back from the Samsung repair shop and bring it to them, they will be able to take care of it because they need the phone in their hands.
So I called (...) Samsung again to claim my phone back right away regardless of whether it's completely repaired or not. But what the first representative I talked to told me is that 1. there's no way to send the product back to the customer while it's under the repair process because it is related to the liability issue(what?!), so I will need to WAIT until my phone is completely fixed. 2. also there's no way to expedite the shipping process because the UPS 'Ground' is the only way of portal service they are using 'from the shop' to the customers. (I even told him that I'm willing to pay additional charge or anything for that)
That was what he kept arguing until I asked him to transfer me to his supervisor or anyone has higher level authority of support. Although he argued that it would be the exactly same if I talked to anyone else, the higher support representative immediately canceled my repair and sent it back to me throught UPS 2nd day air service.
I'm not sure if it's okay to post this kind of complaining here, but might be helpful for those of you who have repair issues.
DO NOT SEND YOUR PHONE TO SAMSUNG. WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THE TOTAL PROTECTION WITH SPRINT, BRING IT TO THEM.
luvnpce said:
I got my new E4GT on Jan 21, and I fount on 23th that it doesn't receive any GPS signal 'at all'. I guess you guys might have some tweaks to fix this issue but I didn't. So I just sent it to Samsung service center on 24th, which was my biggest mistake.
They recieved my phone on '30th' because they are using UPS 'Ground', which I think is ridiculus for a repair service dealing a product costs more than $500. And it's now Feb 6, and it was still being repaired.
So I called them and asked how long would it take more to get it back, and the representative said 'Another week or two'. Wow. Taking a month to finally use a new phone.
So I called Sprint who I originally talked to when I found the problem. At that time one of the representatives told me to send my phone to Samsung since it's a 'technical issue' of the mobile product of Samsung. I explained how my phone's being taken care of, and they said my phone just could have been replaced without additioanl charge since it has an original defect if I brought it to Sprint store right away rather than sending it to Samsung. What Sprint told me they can do is by the way that only once I get my phone back from the Samsung repair shop and bring it to them, they will be able to take care of it because they need the phone in their hands.
So I called (...) Samsung again to claim my phone back right away regardless of whether it's completely repaired or not. But what the first representative I talked to told me is that 1. there's no way to send the product back to the customer while it's under the repair process because it is related to the liability issue(what?!), so I will need to WAIT until my phone is completely fixed. 2. also there's no way to expedite the shipping process because the UPS 'Ground' is the only way of portal service they are using 'from the shop' to the customers. (I even told him that I'm willing to pay additional charge or anything for that)
That was what he kept arguing until I asked him to transfer me to his supervisor or anyone has higher level authority of support. Although he argued that it would be the exactly same if I talked to anyone else, the higher support representative immediately canceled my repair and sent it back to me throught UPS 2nd day air service.
I'm not sure if it's okay to post this kind of complaining here, but might be helpful for those of you who have repair issues.
DO NOT SEND YOUR PHONE TO SAMSUNG. WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THE TOTAL PROTECTION WITH SPRINT, BRING IT TO THEM.
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If you would have asked first then we would have told you to go to sprint..... In and out no problem
We are not like the international g$2 the carriers overseas usually don't do this but all the carriers in us do the carrier work ...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Unless you bought it used off of Craigslist, why would you not return to the store where you bought it?
Sprint has a 14 day return on new devices, no questions asked.
But yes I agree. Samsung customer service is garbage. As much as I would like the Nexus, I won't buy it as Samsung makes it. I will wait for HTCs next phone.
Your lucky it wasn't Motorola, they would have said were working on an update and hung up.
Sometimes you learn things the hard way, but seriously, assuming you bought your phone at a Sprint store or authorized dealer, and did not take it to a Sprint store or repair center first, especially during the 14 day return period, well ... you already know the rest. Sending ANY kind of electronics back to the manufacturer should be the last resort. I'm at a bit of a loss why you would have sent your phone to Samsung 3 days after you bought it. Sprint cares about you way more than Samsung, and that isn't exactly saying much.
Still, I can't shake the feeling that there's something to this story you're not telling us.
I first contacted Sprint and sending it to Samsung was their suggestion. That's why. Even the Sprint representative I talked to today didn't know why the first representative told me to do that way. That might be the missing point here. After talking to him, his supervisor called me and apologized for the bad advise from the first one. If I knew or heard that it couldve taken care of by Sprint, I would definately have dont that way.
Work at sprint here, yea, withing 14 days we always swap it for you instore. Past 14 days, free with insurance, or $35 without.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Why would you think to try and repair a defective phone within your return/exchange period??
Step 1-Got to Sprint store
Step 2-Exchange phone for brand new one
Step 3-Love new working phone
I'm not trying to be rude, but there is 14 days for a reason
luvnpce said:
I first contacted Sprint and sending it to Samsung was their suggestion. That's why. Even the Sprint representative I talked to today didn't know why the first representative told me to do that way. That might be the missing point here. After talking to him, his supervisor called me and apologized for the bad advise from the first one. If I knew or heard that it couldve taken care of by Sprint, I would definately have dont that way.
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You dont contact Sprint, you take it to Sprint, the store you bought it at or any other store ... I guess you did learn your lesson
I buy all my phones on craigslist or ebay. If I break one, usually I find some way for it to be manufacturer error or whatever (faulty usb connection, faulty screen, faulty keyboard). I have insurance through sprint, so I take it to an authorized repair center(I have 3 in town), and they replace it free of charge because its manufacturer error. Usually I get my replacement device the next day.
luvnpce said:
I first contacted Sprint and sending it to Samsung was their suggestion. That's why. Even the Sprint representative I talked to today didn't know why the first representative told me to do that way. That might be the missing point here. After talking to him, his supervisor called me and apologized for the bad advise from the first one. If I knew or heard that it couldve taken care of by Sprint, I would definately have dont that way.
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I see. Sorry you got bad advice, but sometimes you can get better advice from the drunk bum pushing a shopping cart full of cans and bottles down your street than you do from a service call center rep. Often times they're new, under trained, or just don't give a **** and want to get you off the phone.
If it's any consolation, I guess it's safe to say you learned something through this experience, which is always a positive. I hope you get your phone back soon.
My Epic 4g Touch is connected through Credomobile. I have Credomobile's 3rd party insurance. The phone I have is little more than a month old. My question is will the Sprint Store honor warranty, exchanges or repair of my Epic 4G Touch? I have been unfortunate enough to brick my phone by 'trying' an ICS ROM and then wiping (or attempting to wipe) said ROM to reflash a GBread ROM to it. To top it all off I used CWM Touch to do it. Anyway the phone is bricked. Won't go into recovery or download. I've been following the 'Bricked' threads and think taking the phone to my nearest Sprint Store is in order. But will the Sprint Store honor phones from it's resellers(Credomobile)? It would be alot easier to just walk-in to a Sprint Store and show what's happened versus explain over the phone to Credomobile...
If I was a betting man, I'd bet on sprint saying it wasn't their problem.
No, if you have 3rd party insurance, you have to go through them to make a claim. If you had TEP through Sprint, then you could go to a Sprint store.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
I doubt it. Credo is a good company but they are an MVNO so you probably have to buy insurance through them. I would have used their service (since it's just Sprint with some activism involved) but I couldn't figure out if I could port a Sprint phone over. The problem with all these MVNOs is that they aren't given access to the higher end handsets so they are only good if you want a low-to-mid-range phone or hack a Sprint phone over.
I used to have credo and have taken my phones to the sprint store for certain things. i found that the majority of sprint store employees have no i idea what credo is. if they don't need to pull up your account they won't know. for your situation a warranty replacement would use your account info so you couldn't go to the sprint store, but you could stop by a sprint repair center and try to find someone who could flash your phone with their pst tool. May or May not work.
As for taking a sprint phone to a credo account they won't do it even if it is a phone they carry. they told me that the esn has to be sold from them to be in their database.
I used to have credo but switched back to sprint. really is the same service except credo donate 1% a month to progressive causes. i found that i was paying 20% more a month on a plan compared to a a a plan on sprint just to donate 1%. They are nice though.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the replies
Thank you to all that answered. Definitely NOT what I wanted to see!
is tmobile just replacing all t999 phones for any issue? I was having battery issue and customer service just decided to replace the phone no questions asked and i would receive it within 3-5 days, has anybody had there phone replaced recently since the t999l came out?
Hmm so they gave you the LTE version of the phone, no questions asked? Might have to give tmobile a call lol
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
reypowers said:
is tmobile just replacing all t999 phones for any issue? I was having battery issue and customer service just decided to replace the phone no questions asked and i would receive it within 3-5 days, has anybody had there phone replaced recently since the t999l came out?
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I highly doubt they're going to send you a T999L - that would be a BNIB phone. You'll most likely end up with a refurb T999 with more issues than you can count.
if its not the t999l im just sending it back i dont need a refub phone since its just battery i just needed my battery replaced but ill keep everyone posted
reypowers said:
if its not the t999l im just sending it back i dont need a refub phone since its just battery i just needed my battery replaced but ill keep everyone posted
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Please do because I'm ready to go off on T-Mobile for all the lies about LTE support on my current S3.
Dude I doubt they will send the t999l the only way they will do it is if they run out of t999 refurbish ones.
reypowers said:
is tmobile just replacing all t999 phones for any issue? I was having battery issue and customer service just decided to replace the phone no questions asked and i would receive it within 3-5 days, has anybody had there phone replaced recently since the t999l came out?
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Question, how you guys do warranty exchange? From below after 14 days (CA 30 days).
they will charge handling for the phone under manufacturer warranty and restock fee
If you recently purchased a new T-Mobile phone
You have 14 calendar days for discounted purchases with an annual plan at retail stores (30 in CA), 20 calendar days for online purchases via t-mobile.com, and 30 calendar days for full price purchases from the date of purchase, to return purchased equipment to the point of purchase.
Equipment must be in good working condition with original contents and packaging to be eligible for a refund of the purchase price. This return policy applies to the purchase of new equipment from T-Mobile or its authorized dealers. Proof of purchase is required.
We may charge a restocking fee. A different return period may apply to accessory purchases. Prepaid cards, software, or games are not refundable.
If your phone is defective and still under the manufacturer warranty
If your phone is defective and still under manufacturer warranty, you can return it directly to the manufacturer. T-Mobile can assist you by providing you with a replacement phone and submitting your phone to the manufacturer for you. This is a service that T-Mobile provides as a supplement to the manufacturer warranty that may come with your phone.
T-Mobile charges a processing fee for this service. If you would like T-Mobile to provide you with a replacement phone and to send your defective phone to the manufacturer for you, contact Customer Care to order a replacement. Please note that when you call, Customer Care will first attempt to troubleshoot your phone issues. For this reason, please make your initial call to Customer Care from a different phone or you may limit the ability to troubleshoot.
I recently had warranty service on my Note 4 through AT&T. The process turned out to be considerably more difficult - and potentially financially risky - than I expected. There are a lot of things that I know now, that I wish I had known at the beginning of the process. Therefore, I'm writing this summary to help prepare other AT&T customers who need service for their Samsung (and probably other) products.
If you don't care about the back story, just scan for the bolded TAKEAWAY lines below, or skip to the SUMMARY section at the end.
THE ISSUE
I bought a new (not refurbished) Note 4 a few months ago. From the moment I got it home, away from the blazing fluorescent lights and full screen brightness in the AT&T store, I noticed the dreaded pink tinted screen issue. The effect was minor at first, but grew in intensity over the subsequent weeks. It was bad enough within just a couple of days that I couldn't see the right-most digit of my alarm clock app at all when I had the brightness turned way down for nighttime (this would be at the top of the screen, they way it sits horizontally on my stand).
Having had a similar, but more severe, screen issue that rendered my Galaxy S4 unusable, I was particularly sensitive to screen quality and resolved to get this fixed.
MY OPTIONS
I had two primary options for fixing the problem (probably in addition to purchase protection on my business credit card):
1. Samsung warranty: Covers manufacturer defects for one year
2. AT&T insurance policy (well, 3rd party policy that AT&T sells): Covers virtually any kind of defect, damage, or loss, after paying the deductible
I decided to pursue Option 1, for two reasons. Firstly, the problem was clearly (to me, at least) a manufacturing defect. Secondly, the insurance policy had a $200 deductible. So, I stopped by the AT&T store in my local mall to get the phone fixed under warranty. No problem, right? I mean, my parents have had like a half-dozen iPhones fixed or replaced at the Apple store in their mall just by walking in off the street...
AT&T'S PROCESS
I learned my first lesson in the threshold of the door to the AT&T store:
TAKEAWAY 1: AT&T RETAIL STORES DON'T PROVIDE WARRANTY SERVICE FOR THE DEVICES THEY SELL
Huh? Given the aforementioned problem with my S4, I was shrewd enough to ask about the warranty before buying the Note 4. The AT&T person told me that it had a 1-year, manufacturer warranty. This was entirely correct. My mistake was interpreting this to mean that I could go back to the store where I had just bought the phone a few weeks prior and have it fixed under warranty. That's not the case. Instead, the person at the store handed me a business card with the toll-free number for AT&T Wireless support.
I went back home and called the number on the card. The person who helped me was prompt and professional. She logged the details of my issue, and explained the next steps to me as follows:
AT&T sends a new phone body
I swap my battery, SIM card, S Pen, and back cover to the new phone
I repackage my old phone body in the same box and mail it back to AT&T, postage pre-paid
So far, so good. But...
An AT&T person receives and evaluates the old phone
If the problem is deemed to be a manufacturer defect, the process ends for me here, and AT&T ships the broken unit back to Samsung
If the problem is deemed to be caused by physical damage, AT&T ships the old phone back to me, charges me the full retail price of the replacement phone, and I keep both phones!
Say what?! I asked what would happen in the unlikely case that the phone left my hands undamaged, but was damaged during shipping. She confirmed that AT&T would send the broken phone back to me and that I'd be stuck with both the old and new phones - and would have to pay for the new phone.
Dumbfounded, I asked for a way to mitigate the risk of my getting stuck with two phones. She recommended that I go back to my local store and have an AT&T employee inspect the phone, and add notes to my account stating that the phone is not physically damaged. Then, if it arrived damaged at the warranty center, they'd know that it had to have been damaged in shipping. She said that she'd leave my case open in her computer system, and that the next person I spoke with could complete the process after I returned from the store.
That sounded reasonable (enough). So, I went back to the retail store, an AT&T person looked at the phone, concluded that it was not physically damaged, and annotated my account accordingly.
I returned home, called the toll-free number again, and picked up where I left off. The person I spoke with this time reiterated the process to me, and confirmed that if the old phone arrived damaged, AT&T would send it back to me and I'd be stuck with it, stuck with the new phone, and charged for the new phone. "Except in this case", I added, "because the notes in my account said that the phone isn't damaged, right?"
Wrong.
If the old phone arrives damaged, I own both phones. "Why did I just go to the [email protected]#$ing store then?" He said that I shouldn't have, and that the previous customer service rep shouldn't have told me to do so. He said that I might damage the phone after leaving the store, before I ship it back to them, and therefore that the notes in my account meant nothing. He's right, of course.
After a spirited discussion, he made another good point - the warranty is from Samsung, not AT&T. AT&T provides warranty service as a "courtesy" to its customers. For phones with defects, AT&T can send them back to Samsung and get reimbursed. For physical damage, though, Samsung won't accept the phone under warranty. Therefore, AT&T needs some way to guard against getting stuck with a broken phone. Before proceeding, let's pause for another takeaway:
TAKEAWAY 2: AT&T DOES NOT WARRANTY SAMSUNG PHONES, SAMSUNG WARRANTIES SAMSUNG PHONES
This makes perfect sense, and I definitely see the problem from AT&T's point of view. Still, the original unresolved issue persists. So, I asked the guy what I could do to protect myself against the possibility of the old phone getting damaged in shipping. He offered that perhaps the manager at my local AT&T retail store could pack and ship the old phone for me. I agreed to that, and asked what would happen if it arrived broken due to shipping damage. He said I'd get stuck with both phones, same as before.
Flabbergasted, I stated that I was willing to assume the risk of damage during shipping, and changed topics.
Next I asked what would happen if the phone arrived at the AT&T service center intact, but that the person assessing the problem concluded that the pink screen problem was due to damage, rather than a manufacturing defect. He said I'd get stuck with both phones, same as before.
I asked how to determine, definitively, whether the issue was manufacturing-related or damage-related, prior to sending the phone back to the AT&T service center and starting the inexorable process that may lead to me getting stuck with two phones. After all, the person in the retail store who annotated my account said that it was a manufacturing defect? He said that AT&T retail employees are not qualified to distinguish between manufacturer defects and physical damage. Another takeaway:
TAKEAWAY 3: AT&T RETAIL STORE EMPLOYEES ARE NOT QUALIFIED/TRAINED/AUTHORIZED TO ASSESS WARRANTY-RELATED ISSUES
(Makes all you AT&T store employees out there feel valued by your employer, eh?)
Fortunately, the guy on the phone was trained to make these types of assessments. Based on our call so far - and never having seen my phone in person - he says that the pink screen was most likely due to physical damage. With steam coming out of my ears, I told him that I wasn't even going to debate whether the issue with the handset was a defect or damage, but rather would stick to trying to understand the Kafkaesque service process.
Specifically, I said that the previous phone rep who I spoke to said that she thought the issue was due to a defect. So, regardless of who is right and who is wrong, the dilemma is that two different AT&T people made two different assessments about the root cause of my phone's problem. In one case, I could get it fixed for free. In another case, I end up spending over $1,500 for two phones, one of which is broken.
Naturally, I asked what my recourse was if the AT&T warranty center person determined that the issue was due to physical damage, but that I still thought it was a defect. He said I'd get stuck with both phones, same as before. I asked if there was an appeals process. No, there isn't. Next takeaway:
TAKEAWAY 4: IF AT&T SENDS YOU A NEW PHONE UNDER WARRANTY AND YOU SEND THE OLD ONE BACK TO THEM, THE PROCESS WILL RESULT IN ONE OF TWO OUTCOMES, AT AT&T'S SOLE DISCRETION:
A) AT&T DETERMINES THE ISSUE TO BE A DEFECT, AND YOU KEEP THE REPLACEMENT PHONE FOR FREE
B) AT&T DETERMINES THE ISSUE IS DUE TO DAMAGE, THEY SEND YOU YOUR OLD PHONE BACK, CHARGE YOU FOR THE NEW PHONE, AND YOU KEEP BOTH.
Period. End of story. No appeal. No recourse. Just roll the dice and pray that the AT&T warranty person who you've never met and never get to talk to ends up looking at the phone and coming to the same conclusion as you.
Unconvinced that a company as big and mature as AT&T didn't have some reasonable solution, I inquired, yet again, about options. There were two remaining:
1. Send the phone to Samsung for warranty service by mail
2. Take the phone to an AT&T Device Support Center for in-person service
The first option would leave me without a phone for a week or two. But, Samsung wouldn't stick me with an extra phone the way AT&T would.
TAKEAWAY 5: YOU CAN SEND YOUR PHONE DIRECTLY TO SAMSUNG FOR WARRANTY SERVICE, WITHOUT INVOLVING AT&T IN THE PROCESS
I don't know how easy or hard it is do work with Samsung, or what their process is if you think there's a defect and they think there's damage, etc... I'll leave that for someone else to explain.
But, this second option sounds good - an AT&T Device Service Center. As it turns out, this is what I was looking for all along! It's a real building, with real AT&T employees, who are qualified to assess warranty issues, and able to repair/replace defective phones. Perfect! The closest one to me is 225 miles away (which took the phone rep 10 minutes to find, because their system is only set up to offer this option if the Center is within 50 miles), but I GLADLY drove down there to get my phone fixed. The person there looked at my phone, immediately judged the issue to be a defect that was covered by warranty, and in 2 minutes had me set up on another Note 4 with a spectacular screen. So:
TAKEAWAY 6: YOU CAN TAKE YOUR PHONE TO AN AT&T DEVICE SERVICE CENTER FOR IN-PERSON WARRANTY SERVICE
TAKEAWAY 7: THERE ARE VERY FEW AT&T DEVICE SERVICE CENTERS, SO YOU MAY NEED TO TRAVEL A LONG DISTANCE TO GET TO ONE
SUMMARY
To summarize the preceding dissertation, AT&T customers with Samsung (and possibly other) phones who need warranty service should know:
The phone's warranty is from Samsung, not AT&T
AT&T provides in-person warranty service, on behalf of Samsung, through Device Service Centers only, not through retail stores
AT&T Device Service Centers are few and far between, so be prepared to travel
Warranty service by mail through AT&T is not a viable option, because you can get stuck paying for two phones, at AT&T's sole discretion, and have no recourse
Oh, and two more:
The pink screen issue is for real - and really obvious when it happens; folks who are adamant that it's imaginary, that we're looking at our screens crookedly, or that we're otherwise obsessing over something minor are just lucky enough to have units with good screens
A good Note 4 screen is AMAZINGLY good - if you have the pink screen issue, go through the hassle to get it replaced; you won't regret it
Some AT&T stores do provide warranty right on sight, for instance I work at one that doesn't have warranty on site but two hours away there is another AT&T that handles all warranty in store. And a one year manufactures warranty is just that, the manufacturer is responsible for the warranty, so you can go through samsung or you can go through att except for Apple products, anything past the 4s is handled by Apple exclusively. With that being said as long as you don't send a device with signs of phisical or water damage you won't be charged for warranty by either company. The nice thing if you're close to a service center is you can get a new phone same day, regardless of which way you go, att or sammy, if you mail it out expect to wait for a phone. Just remember, manufacturer does not mean att, verizon, sprint and t mobile are responsible for the issue, they will do an exchange by mail as a courtesy, not because they promise the device will work with no hardware faults. The only phones att takes responsibility for are the unbranded att phones we sell l, but again that's not in store, unless it's a service center, otherwise there is too much overhead to hold that much inventory reserved for warranty issues.
Here is a link where you can find device service centers for AT&T, its near lower down on the page and will list places by state http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB91429
It will download a pdf with the locations
thanitos said:
Some AT&T stores do provide warranty right on sight, for instance I work at one that doesn't have warranty on site but two hours away there is another AT&T that handles all warranty in store.
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QUESTION: Is this second store considered a "Device Service Center", or is it just a regular, retail AT&T storefront?
According to 1) the guy at my retail store 2) the first customer service phone rep and 3) the second customer service phone rep, only the Device Service Centers are able to do warranty service. Perhaps some are co-located with retail stores, but they were pretty clear to me that retail stores, per se, couldn't service warranty issues.
thanitos said:
Just remember, manufacturer does not mean att, verizon, sprint and t mobile are responsible for the issue, they will do an exchange by mail as a courtesy, not because they promise the device will work with no hardware faults.
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Understood. But, when I buy a drill from Home Depot, they don't send me to Hitachi for service when it breaks. They don't make me drive three states away to an authorized Home Depot service center to have it fixed. I go to the store where I bought it, with my receipt, and they fix or replace it. Same with my tablet from Best Buy, auto recall at the car dealer, rotten fruit from the grocery store, everything I buy from Amazon, even stuff from eBay where I haven't reached an amicable settlement with the seller. They all honor the manufacturers' warranties in-house, or provide equivalent service for the products they sell in the infrequent cases that they prove to be defective.
My concern with AT&T is that they don't have my back - especially as a small business owner. I buy a new phone - the most expensive phone that they had in the store, mind you - and as soon as they swipe my card, that store is out of the picture. Subsequently, I have to follow this Rube Goldberg process to fix the problem if something goes wrong 5 minutes later.
I re-read the insurance policy during this whole process, as well, and I have the same concerns there. I haven't been through the insurance claim process, so I can't say first-hand whether it's easy or hard. But, the language definitely doesn't give me the impression that I can just walk into the store where I bought the phone, pay my deductible, and walk out with a new one. Maybe I'm wrong; if you know how the insurance claim process works, I'd be interested in hearing about your first-hand experiences as an AT&T employee.
To conclude, don't take my preceding comments the wrong way. I'm not some hater; on the contrary, I've been an outspoken advocate of AT&T because they've treated me so well. I've had generally excellent experiences with AT&T over the years and, consequently, I've recommended AT&T to many, many friends, family, and colleagues. Based on this experience, though, I'm looking at switching carriers - certainly when my current AT&T NEXT term is up, and possibly before (U.S. Cellular has a deal right now where they'll pay off my existing contract. I had them previously and loved them as a carrier). Having a cool new phone and lots of LTE coverage is great, but what's most important to me is the security of knowing that when something goes wrong, it'll get fixed promptly. That wasn't the case this time, and I don't have confidence that AT&T will be there for me the next time.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to provide some feedback. Have a good day.
If you need to file a claim for insurance, it is done online or over the phone. You do not do in person at an att store.
I've done lots of warranty exchanges by mail with att over the last 13 years and I've never had an issue.
Honestly, I have AT&T and have had my a Note 4 replaced 2 times already. One due to charging just stopping at 35% and the other was a combo of the pink tinted screen and dead pixel in the top left. I went directly through Samsung. Their support is amazing. I went out and picked up a cheap ass Go Phone and activated that while Samsung had my devices. They even offer over night shipping if you want to pay for it. AT&T is just a horrible provider and I've only stuck with them since they were Cingular because they ALWAYS got the top brand phones. Now it seems T-Mobile and Sprint are getting the top brand phones more and more now so after this contract its time to say goodbye.
TL;DL
Always use Samsung warranty over AT&T warranty. More professional and less phonecalls/headaches.
DamageSource said:
I went directly through Samsung. Their support is amazing...Always use Samsung warranty over AT&T warranty. More professional and less phonecalls/headaches.
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I'm glad to hear that Samsung is this good about supporting their hardware. They're definitely not interested in hearing what customers have to say about their software (I have a thread on that topic somewhere around here). If this new Note 4 needs warranty service, I'll definitely call Samsung, in addition to AT&T, to see who has the better support option at that point in time. Honestly, I didn't even really consider calling Samsung for support this time around, because the phone was so new and I just assumed that AT&T would support the products that they sold in their stores.
From looking at the Samsung support site, they only have seven service centers in the whole U.S. I thought AT&T Device Support Centers were sparse, but I'd have to get on a plane to get to a Samsung one. All else being equal, I'd prefer to have in-person service for my devices. Especially for something like the pink screen issue - which drove me crazy, but that my wife could care less about - I think it's important to be able to demonstrate the problem to the service person face-to-face and explain how/why it impacts me. To that end:
QUESTION: Has anyone bought a phone from somewhere like Best Buy, Radio Shack, Costco, etc. and been able to get in-store warranty service/replacement?
I'm asking about service per the manufacturer warranty, not the type of paid extended warranty that Best Buy typically offers on their electronics (though the latter might be an alternative to the AT&T insurance). I'd actually stopped by the local BB to shop for the Note 4, but they said that they couldn't add it to my AT&T business account (despite my having called BB customer service first and confirming that my local store did service AT&T business accounts. Sigh...). Back to the point, I'd be interested in buying from a real store, with real product in-stock, who is willing to provide warranty service right from the retail location.
Anyway, I'm going to be upgrading another phone on this account soon, and I'm open to recommendations about where to buy the hardware (even if it means switching carriers). It probably won't be another Samsung, given the quality control issues I've had with both of my Galaxy products. But it might be. I'm open to alternatives. Thanks for your feedback.
mcmannion said:
QUESTION: Has anyone bought a phone from somewhere like Best Buy, Radio Shack, Costco, etc. and been able to get in-store warranty service/replacement?
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My brother only buys from Best Buy and he says that they replace the unit in store right there if it's in stock and if not you can go to an alternative location and pick it up if it's close by for you.
it is done online or over the phone. You do not do in person at an att store.
I can tell you from experience that Costco does replace phones. It is a 3rd party company that runs the phone kiosks in Costco warehouses and Costco themselves paid for a phone exchange for me because when I exchanged my S3 it was not on sale at the price it was on a Black Friday when I purchased it.
I have had AT&T phones for over 10 years & have exchanged defective units by phone/mail through AT&T too & never had a problem. AT&T normally sends a refurb rather than a new unit but as long as it works I'm satisfied.