s7e fried and Samsung's response

[fantasist2016]

My s7e's USB port was fried when I had it for only 10 days, please see pictures.

After sending it in to Samsung for inspection, I got a inspection report email this morning:

"Thank you for contacting us regarding the problems you experienced with your Samsung product.

We arranged for the unit to be inspected by a Samsung Approved Service Centre

Once the engineer inspected the unit they noted that the water resistance test has failed caused by the burnt USB connector. The 5pin header of USB cable is burnt. There is dirt/dust and liquid residue inside the USB connector and cable. The speaker on rear case is damaged and melted next to the USB connector.

The engineer has concluded that the device has liquid damage to the USB connector which has caused a short circuit during charge resulting in heat and burns to the device and cable. I can appreciate that the S7 is advertised as being water resistant, however the product specialist has confirmed to us that the device has been found to be tampered with in some way causing the water resistance test to fail.

In situations where evidence of liquid ingress and/or physical damage is found, this invalidates the terms and conditions of the Samsung Warranty supplied with the unit as this is not a manufacturing/component failure.

The engineer has noted the unit is repairable.

As the results of this inspection are based on physical evidence as opposed to opinion we are unable to over-turn this position and we apologise for any problems and inconvenience that this process caused.

A service centre called Anovo will contact you with a quote, if you are unhappy with this you can contact them using the details provided with the quote to request the device be returned to you un-repaired.

I am sorry that we cannot offer a more positive outcome for you."

Below was how the port got fried and I posted that on xda some days ago...

"I put it on charge overnight, and I noticed it was switched off in the morning. So I switched it back on, there was a pop up message saying the phone had to shut down because of overheat and I saw the battery was charged at 100%. I didn't pay much attention and kept using the phone until that night when I tried to charge it again, I discovered the charging pot and the official cable tip were black and burnt. The phone wouldn't charge anymore and the usb connection couldn't be discovered on a pc either.

Please look at these attached pictures, it looks like it could've started a fire...

After searching extensively on the internet, I learnt that it was highly likely caused by water damage?! I don't understand why... it was dry and charging normally during the night. And even if it contacted water, the moisture sensor shouldn't allow it to charge, and it was charged to 100% and overheated."

I don't think the inspection report makes much sense. I didn't tamper anything and I don't think the speaker was melt because it was working when I sent it in.

 

[RichBrown68]

Although I have been vocal in my praise of this phone, this response would infuriate me. I would do what you're doing, only a lot more of it . that is, post your story in as many places as you can think of that Samsung might see it. It's probably a long shot, but maybe at some point, someone will understand where you're coming from and ask you to contact them.
EDIT, I just noticed that you said you had it only 10 days. Can you not return it for the $14 refund?

 

[fantasist2016]

thanks for your reply, I'm trying to get people aware what's going on here. You are right that I had it for less than 28 days, I should've been able to get a replacement from the retailer. However, I bought it from very.co.uk and from the reviews on the internet, they are as bad. I thought Samsung might be better. Guess I was wrong.

A detailed story is posted at xda-developers. If you are interested, please read it there,

s7 edge charging/usb port FRIED... | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

I forgot to mention that I did contact the retailer where I bought it from (very.co.uk). They refused to replace for me and asked me to contact Samsung which is their standard policy.

 

[zocster]

It's luck of the draw I guess. I bought my wife's note 5 via a carrier and mine from another.

Wife's device had defective s pen and that got replaced along with the sensor free. Mine had to pay...

I guess with yours, the slightest moisture can cause such.

 

[ded1945]

Sorry for your damage. Are you sure there was no food or moisture on the connector when you plugged it in? Maybe a wet finger, drop of saliva, piece of pizza?

That particular connector has been in use on millions and millions of phones without problems.

 

[anon(238680)]

Moisture is also my question. The OP has stated what happened except for how water got into the charging port. Also, would be nice to know how the engineer inspector determined the phone had been tampered with, which is apparently why they refused to honor the warranty.

 

[fantasist2016]

I don't believe anyone checks the connector for moisture every time before charging their phone. I wasn't doing anything abnormal and I was charging the phone just like what I was doing every night. I only noticed the phone was shut down in the morning because of overheat (pop up message on the screen) and the phone was charged to 100%. Is it normal if there was a short circuit, the phone would still charge fully before frying the port? (I read in so many places that s7/edge has a moisture sensor, it wouldn't even charge if it was wet.)

I had xperia Z1 and galaxy s5 before, I even took Z1 to take pictures in the swimming pool, nothing bad has happened to those phones and I'm back with my s5 at the moment. I haven't done anything even close to what I did with those other 2 phones (it was only 10 days old, normally I wouldn't treat something new with dangerous actions) I actually took extra care of the s7 edge, got a full body protector, leather case and the clear case. I really don't believe Samsung could blame me in this case.

And, if you read their inspection report carefully, it doesn't even make sense. The way they are trying to blame their customer for all the faults makes me really angry. When I buy the phone, I buy the brand, buy the reputation and the customer service. Otherwise I could buy a similar spec Chinese phone for less than 1/3 the price. I thought I was buying Samsung like buying from Apple. I was wrong.

 

[oks10]

I wonder if he said "tampered with" because of the body protector right next to it?... Still doesn't make sense though...

 

[SophiaPetrillo]

I know the S6 has problems with the charger heating during fast charging, so maybe that affects the S7 too. Although Samsung states the problem is water damage related, it may be related to the fast charging epidemic. I'd press for a free replacement, especially since they market the phone as waterproof and you're well under the warranty.

 

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I've heard too many stories already about Samsung denying warranty on the S7/S7E due to water damage. I can't believe a lawyer hasn't picked up on it yet. They advertise the damn device being used completely submerged in water for crying out loud. Most of their advertisements consist of getting the phone wet. But they will deny your warranty claim if their water resistance fails and ruins your phone. For this reason, my "water resistant" S7E will never even see a raindrop.

 

[JHStewart1023]

That sucks Samsung should replace the unit- I would put up a fight their product was faulty. But that's just me.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[fantasist2016]

Im definitely not giving up, they replied to me via twitter that out of warranty was their final decision and they stood by their engineer's decision.

I'm waiting for their full report and I'll write to them first, then report them to trading standards. And take them to small claim court if necessary.

I'll gather all the docs together and send to every tech blog and ask them to post how samsung is treatimg their customer.

I didnt spend all that money for a phone that only lasts 10 days and gettimg screwed by Samsung.

 

[felloffthetruck]

Have you put the phone in water prior to this happening?

Plus the charge port looks mighty dirty and hairy.

 

[sqa4life]

The department that handled this issue was too stupid. They will loose a lot of customers if this story spread on the internet. It would be smarter business decision to just replace the device.

 

[Wizzy]

Sounds like water got into the phone by their description and this is what caused the fault. The phone is water-resistant, not waterproof. You went swimming with your other phone, did you also go swimming with this phone? I look upon the water-resistance as insurance, not as a Gopro type camera.

Posted via the Android Central App from my S7 edge

 

[ded1945]

It would be real easy to just blame Samsung, but every story has two sides. Call me a cynic if you like, but I've seen too many people try and take advantage of the system by either not 'fessing up to something they did or leaving out some crucial detail that may have caused the problem. As I said in an earlier post, that connector has been used on millions of phones and there doesn't appear to be any trend of problems with it.

 

[Alanhd]

My 2 cents worth, I notice in your first post you mentioned Anovo, These are the repairers O2 use and from reading the discussion boards over there its a known joke that anything you send them is always down to water damage and thus not covered. even the mods over there recommend that nothing goes to them.

 

[fantasist2016]

Have you put the phone in water prior to this happening?

Plus the charge port looks mighty dirty and hairy.

I actually think it got more hairy and dusty after the port was burnt.

My 2 cents worth, I notice in your first post you mentioned Anovo, These are the repairers O2 use and from reading the discussion boards over there its a known joke that anything you send them is always down to water damage and thus not covered. even the mods over there recommend that nothing goes to them.

unfortunately, I learned it was ANOVO after posting the phone to them. I was tracking samsung repair on Samsung website, and ANOVO's contact details were given...

I knew they had a bad reputation, and I knew for sure that when I sent it in, the speaker was working fine, it wasn't melt. Because I bought a wireless charger to use it for a few days after it was fried.

 

[fantasist2016]

It would be real easy to just blame Samsung, but every story has two sides. Call me a cynic if you like, but I've seen too many people try and take advantage of the system by either not 'fessing up to something they did or leaving out some crucial detail that may have caused the problem. As I said in an earlier post, that connector has been used on millions of phones and there doesn't appear to be any trend of problems with it.

At this stage, all I am trying to find out is for Samsung to give tangible evidence that there was water damage indeed and to tell me how their moisture sensor failed to work. I can't accept that Samsung just dictates my fate on their contracted service centre engineer's written report. ANOVO already has a bad reputation.

Without tangible evidence, it's just their word against mine. And I don't trust them from reading reviews on the internet.

I am now actually regretting to have agreed to send it in to repair.

Before sending it in, I bought 2 wireless chargers, 1 for on the move, 1 at home, I was planning to use the phone without a working charging port, because everything else worked quite well, there was no battery drain, I could easily reach a screen time of 8 hours or so. It was the Samsung customer service agent who convinced me to have it sent in, he was asking me whether it has caused any smoke, fire, was any valuables damaged, and he was asking me to help Samsung to identify the problem, so it wouldn't happen again. And that's why I agreed to send my phone in. Now they are turning it against me...

 

[fantasist2016]

Update from Samsung 03/05

Samsung infuriates me, called Samsung today to ask for a detailed report on why my 10 days phone was out of warranty. I was transferred to ANOVO, ANOVO told me it was a public liability case and they couldn't tell me anything, and they could only repair my phone once I paid their quoted price (£44.99 for a USB port, charger and a speaker), I paid for the repair since it wasn't that much compared to the phone's value. But I also wanted to chase to the bottom of this case. Therefore I was trasnferred back to samsung, they again told me only their engineers (ANOVO) could help me. After telling them I'm being put in a loop and half an hour of heart to heart conversation, he agreed to put me down on a sheet that his manager would call me within 24 hours. But he asked me again to call ANOVO and speak to a manager... And I was told there is nothing they could do even if I speak to the manager, their engineer's decision is final and I could only write to Samsung's HQ.

I NEED HELP PLEASE, I NEED HELP PLEASE, I NEED HELP PLEASE

Although I have paid the repair cost, I'm not willing to take the punch and let the big corporate get their way. All I wanted at this stage is to see tangible evidence backed by science that my phone was indeed water damaged and it was my own fault. Then I'll probably just ask them why their moisture sensor failed to work and I will probably end it there.

However, at the moment, they are just dictating on their customers and I DON'T LIKE IT. It's their word against mine and why they could tell me my £639 purchase was out of warranty after merely 10 days use. Can anyone with experience help me?