Hello there,
Long time reader, first time post-er. I just sent this to Samsung. I know some (most) may disagree, but I felt it needed to be said after spending countless hours reading about the note and modifying it.
Dear Samsung,
I am contacting you regarding several issues I have had with Samsung recently. Normally I do not do this, but I have never had this much trouble with a company for whom I have purchased multiple devices and accessories.
My first issue is the Note 7. I completely understand that mistakes happen and I will credit Samsung for quickly announcing a recall. However, my praise ends there. No one knows when we will get our new devices. All of the carriers are in the dark, while there are new cases of the Note 7 exploding seemingly everyday. The best the consumer has is to go to forums (like androidcentral.com) and read through all of the issues consumers are having and the mixed information being presented by all parties, including Samsung! Additionally, the best Samsung has offered is the ability to swap devices, and a measly $25 gift card if we elect to stay with Samsung. How about a warranty to show that Samsung is willing to stand by their products for a full two or even 3 years? If you want to inspire confidence in Samsung, then show us that you believe in your own products. While you’re at it, include screens in the free warranty. Apple just announced yesterday that their warranty includes TWO (!) screen replacements with their 2 year warranty for only $99 and a $29 deductible for each screen. This bring me to my next point: the Note 7 itself.
The Note 7 is flush with software installed by carriers (pronounced bloatware) that, best case, can be disabled, but never uninstalled. Additionally, you have let Verizon install a piece of software called DT ignite which allows them to install any app on the consumers phone they would like. How is that secure? Apple doesn’t do that. You are large enough that you can tell these carriers, not just no, but ‘HELL NO!’ Instead I am stuck with a phone with which I can never remove certain apps. Speaking of software, there is no reason why a phone that costs almost $900 USD before tax should ever be this slow and full of lag. I have had to spend hours reading how to DISABLE features to optimize my own phone. While I appreciate that ability, why did I have to disable advertised features (animations) to make my phone work in an acceptable manner. I say acceptable because I have had to disable all transition animations to get rid of the lag, and I liked those animations. Additionally, the screen on time is typically less than 5 hours for a phone that has a tremendously large battery. Where is the software optimization?
While on the subject of the phone, how about we discuss this curved display? It’s a great feature. Truly aesthetically pleasing. Yet multiple videos show how week the edges are, thus predisposing them to cracking easier than the rest of the display. This is quite obviously an engineering flaw. Additionally, numerous videos and articles have illustrated that the glass on the back is significantly weaker than the glass on the front. Why is this? There is no excuse in a $900 device for these issues to occur.
I also have a Samsung Gear Fit 2 as part of the promotion. It is terrible. My fitbit is far more accurate in counting steps and monitoring heart rate. My fitbit also calculates calories far better. The spotify app is awful. I figured I would read more forums, and come to find that this issue is everywhere. There is no software update out to fix this, even though it was supposed to have been fixed in the last update. If this weren’t a promotion, then I would return it. However I am stuck with it.
Finally, what prompted me to write this email in the first place: Samsung Pay. The first day I used Samsung Pay I received the promotional $20 gift card. As noted above, I noticed considerable lag and read on one of the forums that loading information using Samsung Smart Switch may have been a cause of considerable lag. So I performed a hard reset. I quickly found that I lost my gift card. Now I understand that, for safety reasons, Samsung Pay only secures information on the device. I called Samsung almost two weeks ago and informed them of this. They kindly said they would elevate the issue and I should have it in a few days. I called again last week. Same issue. This time she provided me with a ticket: ----. Still nothing today, almost two weeks later. I access the online customer support and the rep tells me that they cannot help me. Why is this the case? Also, why is Samsung customer support so fractured and slow?
I have owned the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, and now the Note 7. The S5 was great until marshmallow, the S6 was always terrible, and the Note 7 was supposed to be my solution to a great phone I had wanted all along. Instead it has been one issue after another. That has been my entire experience with Samsung: one issue after another. I just wanted a phone that works without having to get an iPhone. I wanted a phone that was secure, even against carriers installing bloatware. I wanted a phone with great hardware, great software, and great battery life. I thought I had found it in the Note 7, and if it weren’t for terrible customer support and terrible software then I would have been content with the Note 7, even with the battery recall mess (which, again, I praise you for responding so quickly to, but the paucity of information about replacements has made it unbearable). As it stands now I am strongly weighing my other options, even the new iPhone 7.
I would like to take one second to let you know that I am not entirely dissatisfied with Samsung. You have some of the best hardware out there. The screen is top notch, the camera is great, waterproofing is amazing, expandable storage, stylus, design, wireless charging. The list goes on (though I do wish you had included the latest process, more ram, and perhaps quickcharge 3.0).
Thank you for your time,
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