Consumer Reports: Samsung won't support defective S7 Actives

TylerLV76

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Gotta ask why didnt you go for the edge since the cost is the same as an active
I had an s7 edge originally and hated the curved screen. Constantly touched buttons on the sides and couldnt find a screen protector that fit right. Curved screens and me dont mix.
 

Kelly Kearns

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Spoke to soon, its shot. Now to deal with At&t all over again.
I would go ahead and call Samsung Plus, do a ticket about this one, tell them about the previous problems and how you just want one manufacturered.a certain date. You might want to include that AT&T isn't helpful in getting a device to you that was made after the problem was corrected.

That way you have a record of reporting those issues and the phone issue and you wanting a phone made after the correction. It would help if more would do the same because it will trigger an investigation at Samsung after a certain number of calls (number of different individuals reporting, not number of calls).

Get the ticket number.
 

Kelly Kearns

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I just hung up with warranty repair, rentention and supervisors from both departments. They will only send another s7 active. I told them TMobile will buy out my contract and both the supervisor and rep both said they were sorry to lose a customer.

Now understand I didnt ask for anything for free or crazy. I asked them to send me a standard S7 and thats is. No refund on the $130 difference or nothing, just send me a phone that hasnt had issues. They refused to do anything except send another phone. Im headed to best buy shortly to buy an unlocked S7 and when I get my replacement Active Ill be switching phone providers.
You really should check with TMO. Also with the replacement from AT&T, test it and this time send it to Samsung if there is a problem. You can request they replace it. They might make you get 3 repairs for the same problem first. There is a chance though since they know there is a issue, they might end up replacing it for you.
 

bkrell

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Forgot to add a tidbit on my situation, AT&T Priority Mailed my replacement. It didn't go out till late Thursday night and evidently Priority still only ships on business days so it's slated to arrive today.
 

bkrell

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Got the phone in. Build date July 18. Samsung claimed they fixed the problem approximately 1 week after the July 8 story, lol. Hmmmmmm.......
 

TylerLV76

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Got the phone in. Build date July 18. Samsung claimed they fixed the problem approximately 1 week after the July 8 story, lol. Hmmmmmm.......
Once they receive your returned one Id test the new one. Id put it in at least a foot of water for a good 15 minutes at least. I dont trust the active line right now what so ever. Im still stuck waiting for USPS to deliver my returned one to At&t, until then Im stuck with the damaged one.
 

Law2138

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Got my S6 Active back yesterday. I know this is a S7Active thread, but I feel like I've been with you all every step of the way. I figured I'd share some good news. Apparently, the Samsung Service Center has stepped up their game. Despite having to wait 10 days for a parts hold, they basically honored the warranty for water damage and replaced a majority of components in the phone. They provided a detailed repair statement showing all the work done, and sent it back in a nice padded box. I'm impressed.

Switching back from the Moto X pure's 5.7 inch screen was a bummer, but the performance and screen quality is what makes the S6 Active better. I've really missed this phone. A part of me wants to have the Note 7 sometime next year, but a Nexus would probably suit me better.

IMG_20160816_080855390 (1).jpg
 

htcrazy

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Darn. My local Best Buy has a left over S6 Active in blue camo. I was almost tempted to buy it. Now I find out the S6 Actives were defective too.
 

Law2138

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Darn. My local Best Buy has a left over S6 Active in blue camo. I was almost tempted to buy it. Now I find out the S6 Actives were defective too.

Not trying to sell you on one, but the S6 Active is a great phone minus the water resistance issue. Samsung needs to make their S8 line completely waterproof next year.
 

Phoneguy108

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I couldn't agree more.
Samsung should ID all defective units and offer replacements. Period! If they can't ID the units (which would be a significant issue in and of itself) then all unites manufactured prior to the fix should be offered to be replaced.

My time is valuable. I don't get paid to "test" their product and if it fails take it back to the store. That's hours of my time. Who will compensate me for that?

Bottom line is Samsung had a real opportunity to shine here and instead they followed up one failure (manufacturing) with another failure (customer satisfaction).

Amen
 

Phoneguy108

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The phone is rated IP68. That's not some random number open to interpretation. Go google it. IP68 is a two part rating. The 6 is for protection from ingress of solids aka dust. The 8 is for protection from ingress of water. An "8" rating means an object is capable of being immersed in water under conditions specified by the manufacturer without suffering adverse effects. So they can be squishy about the warranty but if so, they should stop using the IEC's standards to advertise their products. IP68 even allows water ingress. However, it can't harm the product. The reason Samsung reacted to CR's articles is because the devices plainly didn't meet the standard and they know they can't brush off Consumer Reports with some wishy-washy legalese. They obviously don't want to honor water damage because there is no way they can know if the damage occurred within the constraints of IP68.

Kelly I'm just referring to the info you were speaking of in post 34. But it's like I said, I think we know the difference between water proof and water resistant. But if you say it's water resistant within the confines and definition of IP68, then that has a specific, internationally-recognized definition. If the product doesn't meet that standard, you are committing fraud.

I would agree with that
 

Phoneguy108

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OK
-Called AT&T, spoke with customer care. Got nowhere. Said I could only exchange a damaged phone.
-Asked for retention. Told retention my story. They said they'd gladly do a warranty exchange. I said, "Wait, I thought I could only exchange the phone for water damage?" Response was, "Well, that's what you're calling about right? The Active has issues with a defect. You don't want water damage" "Uh, YEAH!" I replied.
-Got transferred to warranty. They asked me if my phone was turning on at all. I rehashed the issue. They said, "Oh, ok. Yeah, you don't want an Active that's not water proof!" Told me I was getting a certified LIKE new phone. I flipped out. I Wanna new phone! I wanna new phone! I wanna new phone!"
-Ok, no, I didn't say that. But the rep told me the certified like new S7 Actives are coming from Samsung and are not returns from consumers. She said they are phones that may have been taken out of the box for testing, inspection, or other reasons. But they are unblemished and not refurbs.
-So I said ok...IF I could ascertain the build date of the phone and verify it was post-defect...roughly.
-She said "Sure!" You can exchange it as much as you want within your warranty. Or, within the first ten days, just let them know I'm not keeping the phone I got and send it right back.

At this point, I agreed. Heck, I may even dunk it to verify. I'm still not thrilled with "Like new" but at least they will liberally interpret water damage...at least in retention and warranty.

I think "like new" is unacceptable. ATT needs to get it together on this issue.
 

bkrell

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I think "like new" is unacceptable. ATT needs to get it together on this issue.

I'm placated by their explanation of "like-new" The phone obviously hasn't been out in the wild too much (if at all) if it was only manufactured a month ago tomorrow. Given the fact that it seems to take a week from the time the devices are manufactured until the are in AT&T's hands, that means it could only have been in AT&T's hands for a max of two weeks and a couple of days more than a normal new device.

BUt adding insult to injury in this whole debacle, I came home yesterday to find the front of my yard completely excavated by AT&T contractors for gigapower internet...
 

TylerLV76

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Yesterday while waiting for my flight I called At&t to see if they received my returned phone yet from USPS. They hadnt but agreed this situation was past ridiculous and decided to send me out a new phone anyways. They overnighted it using Fed Ex and is on the Fed ex truck out for delivery today. I decided to give the Active one more chance after speaking to a Samsung rep I met in Florida. His logic was pretty simple. I could go to the S7 and "probably" not have any water issues however if I do it will be on me to either pay my insurance deductible to get it replaced or I could get another S7 Active and essentially abuse the hell out of it for the next year and have it replaced for free since it now has a water warranty attached to it.

I'll let you guys know if I get a refurb, new or what not and what the manufacturer date is once it shows up.
 

Phoneguy108

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I'm placated by their explanation of "like-new" The phone obviously hasn't been out in the wild too much (if at all) if it was only manufactured a month ago tomorrow. Given the fact that it seems to take a week from the time the devices are manufactured until the are in AT&T's hands, that means it could only have been in AT&T's hands for a max of two weeks and a couple of days more than a normal new device.

BUt adding insult to injury in this whole debacle, I came home yesterday to find the front of my yard completely excavated by AT&T contractors for gigapower internet...

Down with AT&T :-!
 

Phoneguy108

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Yesterday while waiting for my flight I called At&t to see if they received my returned phone yet from USPS. They hadnt but agreed this situation was past ridiculous and decided to send me out a new phone anyways. They overnighted it using Fed Ex and is on the Fed ex truck out for delivery today. I decided to give the Active one more chance after speaking to a Samsung rep I met in Florida. His logic was pretty simple. I could go to the S7 and "probably" not have any water issues however if I do it will be on me to either pay my insurance deductible to get it replaced or I could get another S7 Active and essentially abuse the hell out of it for the next year and have it replaced for free since it now has a water warranty attached to it.

I'll let you guys know if I get a refurb, new or what not and what the manufacturer date is once it shows up.

Good luck! Keep us posted!
 

TylerLV76

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I got what looks to be a new phone not in a retail box. Manufacturer date is 6-21-16 so once again they sent a phone that most likely will fail.
 

FLTimmyB

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TylerLV76 what are you doing to get them to fail...I took mine out to the pool and put it in a foot of water or so for about 3 min or so with no issues. and mine has a earlier production date.
 

TylerLV76

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TylerLV76 what are you doing to get them to fail...I took mine out to the pool and put it in a foot of water or so for about 3 min or so with no issues. and mine has a earlier production date.
First one failed in a cup of water for less than 3 minutes.

Second one failed in the pool 6 inches to 1 foot below the surface for less than 1 minute.

The 2nd one didnt fog up or even qctivate the LDI in the sim tray. It acted fine for a few then all of a sudden the home button wouldnt work but on the screen it was acting like I was pressing it non stop. The power button stopped working as well and it restarted every few minutes. Then after about 6 hours it started working as normal.
 

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