Galaxy S3: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

[Almeuit]

I have never heard of any smartphone screen cracking for no reason... Such as sitting on a bed and it just somehow cracks on its own.

Just hard to believe for me.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

 

[sectas]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Same here and I understand your doubts. I have been using the phone all day and would have noticed such a change immediately. What I assume, is that the outer casing exhorts permanent pressure onto the glass, causing this crack. There are other users out there, experiencing the exact same issue. If Samsung does not cover this, I will just ask for the unrepaired cell phone to be returned. I just replaced the Digitizer on my HTC Desire Z and will be using that phone in the meantime.

 

[TICKEDINTX]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

I had my S3 less than 24 hours and was on my way to purchase a case. While at the case store the clerk was cleaning my screen and says, "you're screen is already cracked". Yes, in the upper right had corner was a crack from the upper corner to the right side. It was very faint, hairline and I never saw it. Took it to Target where I purchased it. They said I dropped it and can't take it back because it isn't in "sellable" condition. I told them I didn't drop it and they said they didn't sell it cracked and were very indignent. Sprint says it is Target's problem. Samsung says they don't have problems with cracked screens so they won't do anything. The insurance I purchased wants $100 to fix or replace it because I dropped it...I kept repeating that I didn't drop it to no avail!! I like the phone, but sure don't like the glass!! No checking to see if my credit card will replace it or stop payment on the payment to Target. Now I am just plain ticked.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

I dunno .. id have to see a ton more reports of random cracked screens to believe.

 

[oldAGE]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Add another one... Cracked from the lower right hand corner of the earpiece where it protrudes from the glass down on an angle to the mid-point on the right hand side. Not a nick on the phone. No drop, no bounce... not there one hour and there the next with normal handling and never in a pocket.

It will be interesting to see what another 6 months of this phone on the market indicates. We need a "screen cracked" sticky thread. Yeah, if you bounce it, then that's the way it goes but there are plenty out here without cause.

AGE

 

[sectas]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

oldAGE, did you have a case? Also, did you talk to your carrier or Samsung yet? Will you send it in to repair it under warranty or will you pay someone for repairing it?

 

[oldAGE]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Sectas - No case... Read on.

I have a wife who has a very stubborn streak. Her DroidX, compared to the S3, was a battle tank. Her phone is on a table, in her hand, or in her purse. We were literally sitting at our kitchen table messing around with file sharing (via the myriad of ways to share and transfer files -- see my other posts regarding this topic and my primer....) and she put the phone down on the table and walked to our home office. I could see the hair on it and I swiped it away and it didn't move... That's when I realized that when she set it down, the screen cracked.

I took it into our local Corp VZW store and immediately ran into a roadblock with their current store manager. Not to drag this on long, they inspected the phone and found not a nick on it and he still insisted that there is no coverage on the device. A couple of other staff came up with clever ways of making it work and he told me that he wouldn't honor any warranty and then proceeded to tell me how "...he has broken phones, glass, yadda yadda yadda..." This man's method agitates me to no end so I asked, "... are you going to assist me or not..." When he said no, I saw red and found the door.

Well, since I have been fighting with VZW over contracts (I have been a customer since the days of NYNEX Mobile -- I even worked for them turning up cell service in 1983 in NYC) for the past three months over loss of unlimited data, funky accounting for my data usage over three subsequent years, and dinging me for $120 in upgrade charges so that I can spend another $6600 with them for two more years; I have been very price sensitive.

I bought my S3 at VZW with my new every two discount. We then drove to the mall where Radio Shack was discounting all android phones by $50 so I bought my wife's S3 at The Shack (for less than I paid), and my girl's two iPhones at an Apple store. So, I went to Radio Shack with my wife's phone. They gave me the same line BUT, they would help me... And help me they did. Was under 30 days, took it as a return/swap for like product... zero'd out restocking and return fees, and credited an immediate $50 on the cost of the swap since the current unit price is now $199. In the end, I bought an overpriced Otterbox Commuter in black from them and they gave me a $5 coupon to apply towards it. Snapped the Otterbox on the wife's replacement phone and we were on our way....

Moral of the story... My wife needs to have her phone in a good case. The Commuter fits the bill. It's hard as a rock and it's actually hard to get on the phone. That's why I did it in front of the guys in the store. I swear I was going to bust the phone putting it on. That's done. Verizon needs to treat their customers better. If I walk into a store and the phone looks like it was kicked across a parking lot... yeah, that's another story. But if it looks like it did when it came out of the box, then it's "He Said She Said" and the customer should always be right.

I still find their "Insurance" pricing offensive. At $84 per year plus a $100 deductible, that's a huge money maker for them. That's close to a 92% profit rate when you amortize the cost benefit. My credit card would have insured this at a zero cost to me but I have no need for that until I do something worthy of it's need.

So there's my story. I might be done with one of the three VZW Corp brick and mortar in my area. Customer Service rules the day. I am satisfied and I have invested to further protect my purchase. Oh, my phone? Always has a case

 

[Dissappointed Galaxy SIII user]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

I got Samsung Galaxy SIII last friday 21st Sep and used it couple of days and saw a crack on the sceen from right to left. It is a hair line crack. I didnt do anything I left the phone charging and when I removed the cable and took the phone in hand I saw the crack. When I took it to the ATT store they said they cannot do anything and asked me to call Samsung help. They said it is physical abuse of screen and they cannot do anything.I asked the excecutive to transfer the call to his manager. He said some one would be calling me in 24hrs. I'm waiting. This is ridiculous. I repent moving from Iphone4 to Galaxy SIII and not going to IPhone 5 if Samasung customer service is this crappy and the screen is this delicate.

 

[OpenTrackRacer]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

A similar thing just happened to my wife's phone. She put the phone (which is in an Incipio case) into her purse (in it's own pocket) and when she pulled it out a few hours later there was a hairline crack in the glass. She told me she did not drop her purse or bang it on anything and there is nothing inside that could have impacted the screen. The phone doesn't have a mark on it and there is no impact point on the glass either.

Samsung told me to pound sand. I'm working with Amazon (where I bought it) but they're not all that interested in helping either. Fortunately, the credit card I used has buyer protection and I just filed a claim.

I'm starting to worry about the long term durability of these phones at this point.

 

[funkylogik]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

man theres been threads like this since i joined this sight and i dont know if im just being pig-headed but im sure theres a bad batch of glass on some s3s (mostly north american ones from what ive seen)
if a MOD sees this, is there any way we could set up some kind of survey to get to the bottom of this and maybe present it to samsung (people power)
i must sound like a broken record but i throw my s3 (bought in UK) around like dog toy and the screen is literaly flawless (the back is scratched and the fake chrome is chipped)
ive dropped it face down onto a charger from bed height (maybe 2ft)

WHY is there such difference in user experience???

AC forums register pretty high in google searches so shurely we have some "oomph" behind us???

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess

 

[bp3dots]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

I bought my wife's S3 at The Shack

If you bought the phone at RadioShack, why didn't you take it back there in the first place? Verizon had nothing to do with it.

I still find their "Insurance" pricing offensive. At $84 per year plus a $100 deductible, that's a huge money maker for them. That's close to a 92% profit rate when you amortize the cost benefit. My credit card would have insured this at a zero cost to me but I have no need for that until I do something worthy of it's need.

Remember that replaced devices price at full retail, not the discounted price you pay with a renewal. So for a GS3, it's $700 cost. A pretty good deal to get replaced for less than $200.

 

[mssca]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Wow... according to what I read here as well as on several other website, this is a widespread issue. Samsung better come clean because if they hide this issues, it will cost them at the end.

 

[Vonnies]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

I had my Galaxy S III less than 24 hours and all of a sudden I had a crack across the bottom right of my phone. I hadn't dropped my phone or anything. It had been in my small wrist pouch in my backpack next to me for 12 hours of air travel. So much for a getting a new phone and camera for my trip, I should have waited til I got back. As soon as I got settled I found the newest T-mobile (I was in Orlando) who said that I had to take it back to the store I got it (in Oregon), but should not have any issues as long as I did it within the 14 day window. She noted my account saying that I thought it was that way when I bought it so they would know when I go back to Oregon a week and a few days later. When I got back I went in and they refused to do anything, except say I could use my insurance to replace it if I paid the $130 deductible. I refused and said there had to be another option. She found Samsung's number for me. I called them. They are sending me a label to send it in to have it checked out to see if it was cause by over heating, but if it wasn't then I would have to pay to have the screen replaced and it will be more than me deductible for the insurance. This process will take 9 to 14 days. I'm still pissed off and trying to figure out how to get someone to replace my damn pone! I didn't pay that kind of money to have a cracked screen for two years til my next phone.

 

[funkylogik]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

I had my Galaxy S III less than 24 hours and all of a sudden I had a crack across the bottom right of my phone. I hadn't dropped my phone or anything. It had been in my small wrist pouch in my backpack next to me for 12 hours of air travel. So much for a getting a new phone and camera for my trip, I should have waited til I got back. As soon as I got settled I found the newest T-mobile (I was in Orlando) who said that I had to take it back to the store I got it (in Oregon), but should not have any issues as long as I did it within the 14 day window. She noted my account saying that I thought it was that way when I bought it so they would know when I go back to Oregon a week and a few days later. When I got back I went in and they refused to do anything, except say I could use my insurance to replace it if I paid the $130 deductible. I refused and said there had to be another option. She found Samsung's number for me. I called them. They are sending me a label to send it in to have it checked out to see if it was cause by over heating, but if it wasn't then I would have to pay to have the screen replaced and it will be more than me deductible for the insurance. This process will take 9 to 14 days. I'm still pissed off and trying to figure out how to get someone to replace my damn pone! I didn't pay that kind of money to have a cracked screen for two years til my next phone.

nothing i can say pal...
i feel for you

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess

 

[mssca]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

I had my Galaxy S III less than 24 hours and all of a sudden I had a crack across the bottom right of my phone. I hadn't dropped my phone or anything. It had been in my small wrist pouch in my backpack next to me for 12 hours of air travel. So much for a getting a new phone and camera for my trip, I should have waited til I got back. As soon as I got settled I found the newest T-mobile (I was in Orlando) who said that I had to take it back to the store I got it (in Oregon), but should not have any issues as long as I did it within the 14 day window. She noted my account saying that I thought it was that way when I bought it so they would know when I go back to Oregon a week and a few days later. When I got back I went in and they refused to do anything, except say I could use my insurance to replace it if I paid the $130 deductible. I refused and said there had to be another option. She found Samsung's number for me. I called them. They are sending me a label to send it in to have it checked out to see if it was cause by over heating, but if it wasn't then I would have to pay to have the screen replaced and it will be more than me deductible for the insurance. This process will take 9 to 14 days. I'm still pissed off and trying to figure out how to get someone to replace my damn pone! I didn't pay that kind of money to have a cracked screen for two years til my next phone.

If Samsung reacts to this the same way RIM reacts to their recalls, this is bad for them. I feel your pain and I would be mad if this happened to me too. What Samsung should be doing is at last giving you a replacement refrub/old unit to use while they are looking into your phone's issues.

 

[kelley2712]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Same thing happen to me. My phone cracked less then 24 hours of getting it. I took it back and at&t said. I cant return the phone but you can pay 199 detutible. Through an insurance claim and get a new phone.

 

[Psythik]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Add me to the list of people this has happened to. I've had my phone for only a week when I suddenly noticed what looked looked like a small scratch extending from the earpiece to the right side of the phone. I've babied the hell out of this phone so there's no way this could've happened from abuse.

I am going to return it to Walmart today with the excuse that I changed my mind and wanted the white one instead (which isn't untrue). It's only obvious at an angle or when something white is on the screen so hopefully they won't notice. Sucks that I have to be dishonest, but after seeing so many people get screwed (some Googling reveals the this is a common problem) I'm not taking any chances.

 

[GrooveRite]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Add me to the list of people this has happened to. I've had my phone for only a week when I suddenly noticed what looked looked like a small scratch extending from the earpiece to the right side of the phone. I've babied the hell out of this phone so there's no way this could've happened from abuse.

I am going to return it to Walmart today with the excuse that I changed my mind and wanted the white one instead (which isn't untrue). It's only obvious at an angle or when something white is on the screen so hopefully they won't notice. Sucks that I have to be dishonest, but after seeing so many people get screwed (some Googling reveals the this is a common problem) I'm not taking any chances.

Its only a common problem because people ONLY post their problems on the inter webs! If people posted how great their screen has been, you wouldn't think it was a common problem! I've had my phone since July 1 and I've dropped mine 4 times....FOUR TIMES!!!!!....and no scratch or cracked screen!

 

[Psythik]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

Yeah but I've never heard of any other phone cracking for no reason at all. Enough people have mentioned this that it should be considered a defect that SAMSUNG needs to acknowledge.

Anyway, I brought back my phone, with the bull excuse that it was freezing on me; they didn't even open the box to see if I actually put a phone in there. I could've easily scammed them if I was that kind of person! They simply marked it as defective to be shipped back. Hopefully SAMSUNG will get enough of these phones with no other signs of physical damage and address the issue!

Now my theory is that this only happens to the Pebble Blue phones. Can anybody else confirm this?

 

[smooth4lyfe]

Re: Cracked Screen - Defective, not dropped.

For god sake, don't get a Zagg.....unless you want orange peel on your screen.

OP, thankfully you got it taken care of quickly, but I do agree with the others - looks like a scratch to me.

LOL! It does feel like an Orange Peel

She may not have dropped it, but maybe something rubbed on the screen unknowingly like if it was in her purse or pocket