S7 edge screen damaged by Gear VR - any prospect of Samsung repairing it?

[Shankitage]

I used my S7 edge in my gear VR today. After removing the phone from the accessory, I noticed that artefacts/burned pixels had appeared on the screen. They weren't there beforehand and were easily discernible in bright daylight as soon as I looked at the screen after removing it from the VR.

It's clear from looking at the damage that it occurred when running in VR mode as the damage is mirrored exactly on the top and bottom of the screen. Does anyone have an opinion on whether or not it's worth asking Samsung to repair it given that I was using the phone as intended within a Samsung accessory and that the phone is 1 year and 1 day old?

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

Hi,


It doesn't cost anything to pose the question to Samsung.

I've not come across anything similar to what's happened to your phone.

Samsung phones have a 24 Month Manufacturing Warranty.

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

Hi,


It doesn't cost anything to pose the question to Samsung.

I've not come across anything similar to what's happened to your phone.

Samsung phones have a 24 Month Manufacturing Warranty.

 

[Shankitage]

So, I returned the phone to my nearest Samsung Service Centre and they have had one of their 'technicians' inspect the phone. They've now called me to advise me that they believe the damage was caused by pressure being applied to the screen!

1) The damage occurred when the phone was inside my Gear VR - the screen can't even be touched to have any pressure applied to it while it's inside the Gear VR! It was fine when it went in and damaged when it came out 10 minutes later.

2) The damage is duplicated on the 2 halves of the screen! They seriously appear to be claiming that it's possible to achieve identical pixel damage patterns on 2 halves of the screen by applying pressure to it! It's utterly preposterous! I'd be very interested to hear an explanation for how 2 identical damage patterns could be achieved by applying pressure to the glass. Alternatively, could it possibly, perhaps, maybe be the case that the phone overheated/malfunctioned in some way while it was in the Gear VR (when it was displaying similar/almost identical images on both halves of the screen) which resulted in the damage shown in the photo above?

I've bumped it up to their escalations department but the next stage if I don't get a satisfactory result will be to get the phone independently assessed and take them to the County (small claims) Court - something it's easy/cheap/viable for the small man to do in the UK against giant corporations. If anyone has any recommendations for someone I can pay to assess the damage, I'd be grateful to hear. Thanks!

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

It's a shame they are taking this stance but it is their right to do so I expect.

Personally I'd look through this help link > Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Which? Consumer Rights

And possibly seek further advice from Citizens Advice. I think they have a Contact Us section on thrir website where a person can put everything across for them to look over. Saves waiting in a waiting room.

Yes you could go down the small claims court route but there isn't any guarantee they'll comply even if you win the case. I hope the escalations team at Samsung come up with a reasonable option for you.

 

[escenkay]

I used my S7 edge in my gear VR today. After removing the phone from the accessory, I noticed that artefacts/burned pixels had appeared on the screen. They weren't there beforehand and were easily discernible in bright daylight as soon as I looked at the screen after removing it from the VR.

It's clear from looking at the damage that it occurred when running in VR mode as the damage is mirrored exactly on the top and bottom of the screen. Does anyone have an opinion on whether or not it's worth asking Samsung to repair it given that I was using the phone as intended within a Samsung accessory and that the phone is 1 year and 1 day old?

View attachment 256266

I know it's been over a month but do you remember where you were when using the Gear VR? There's a chance the phone was plugged into the Gear VR and the lenses (magnifying glasses) were exposed to direct sunlight or a light source equally powerful and might have caused a burn in. I say this because I own the S8+ and just got my Gear VR today and noticing similar issues after using. Lucky for me, my spots are much smaller but they are in the area where the lenses were. I had the Gear VR (phone attached) in hand when I went out for a smoke break.

After doing some research it turns out that the manual states to not to have the device out in sunlight. Would be nice if there was a warning prop within the device when attempting to use.

Anyways please update us on your warranty case. Hope this helps anyone experiencing similar issues.

 

[Growsomepauls]

Hi! Got my Samsung VR Gear for Christmas. First time I used it in my lounge with my Samsung S8 within 1 minute I felt a hot phone.. take it off and find just like you identical burn spots patterns in the middle and bottom of the screen! Can't be a coincidence! Phone is 3 months old! Samsung VR gear is less than a month! How did your complaint to Samsung go? Would love to know please... thanks Paul (Like you shocked because Samsung approved gear I was using)