Sprint Galaxy S3 - What exactly is broken?

[volcomgirl]

Yesterday morning I dropped my Galaxy S3 out of my purse onto the parking lot and it hit the ground on the top left corner (the case was not on it of course...) I didnt even notice it was broken until I checked the time. Minor scratching from being tossed around in my purse, but no physical damage other than that. When I turned it on there were different colored lines on the screen and a tiny internal crack near the top left corner visible only when the screen was lit up. When I talked to sprint tech support online, they told me I had insurance and that if they could repair it at the sprint store, it would be no charge, but if it had to be replaced I would have to pay $150 for a new one. I kept the conversation and printed it out for reference.

When I actually went to the sprint store, they looked at it and told me that I had two options:
1. I can pay $150 for a new phone or
2. I can purchase $150 worth of accessories (crap) from the sprint store and they would fix it for me.

What the hell is the point of insurance then?

I didnt like that answer so I took my phone to a different sprint location and they told me the same thing, but then pestered me about it being water damage (I have never seen my phone exposed to water and I watched it hit the pavement, again no water). At this point the lines on the screen have turned into blurry color splotches with a black spot in the corner where it hit. Throughout the day, the black spot slowly spread and now today it is completely black. The phone itself works and I can receive phone calls and my alarm i had set before still goes off. When I blindly unlock my phone, it vibrates as it should when I touch it and my notification light blinks.

Does anyone know what exactly wrong with my phone so I can research this more? I feel like sprint is ripping me off.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Yesterday morning I dropped my Galaxy S3 out of my purse onto the parking lot and it hit the ground on the top left corner (the case was not on it of course...) I didnt even notice it was broken until I checked the time. Minor scratching from being tossed around in my purse, but no physical damage other than that. When I turned it on there were different colored lines on the screen and a tiny internal crack near the top left corner visible only when the screen was lit up. When I talked to sprint tech support online, they told me I had insurance and that if they could repair it at the sprint store, it would be no charge, but if it had to be replaced I would have to pay $150 for a new one. I kept the conversation and printed it out for reference.

When I actually went to the sprint store, they looked at it and told me that I had two options:
1. I can pay $150 for a new phone or
2. I can purchase $150 worth of accessories (crap) from the sprint store and they would fix it for me.

What the hell is the point of insurance then?

I didnt like that answer so I took my phone to a different sprint location and they told me the same thing, but then pestered me about it being water damage (I have never seen my phone exposed to water and I watched it hit the pavement, again no water). At this point the lines on the screen have turned into blurry color splotches with a black spot in the corner where it hit. Throughout the day, the black spot slowly spread and now today it is completely black. The phone itself works and I can receive phone calls and my alarm i had set before still goes off. When I blindly unlock my phone, it vibrates as it should when I touch it and my notification light blinks.

Does anyone know what exactly wrong with my phone so I can research this more? I feel like sprint is ripping me off.

Sounds like you cracked the display panel itself. Insurance will probably be your best option at this point. It's still cheaper than buying a new phone outright.

 

[wemetzger]

Your best bet is probably the insurance. What do the new ones cost, something like $500?

Anyways, also a good example of why insurance is NOT worth the money. First, who knows if you even want the same model phone when you break your current one. More importantly, you can always get a used one off Ebay. I saw the Sprint S3's going for $150-$190. They might have a few more scratches than the one you will get through your insurance, but considering the S5 is coming out early next year, who cares about some scratches? Then you don't have to pay the monthly charge, and more importantly, you can make the decision to get the same model from Ebay, a cheaper model and wait till your renewal comes up, or go with something completely different.... Ebay has lots of stuff. If I were to break it today, I might even go go ebay an original Sprint galaxy with the pull out keyboard, old style 4G, for $25, and then just wait for the S5.

 

[volcomgirl]

I feel like having insurance get me a new phone is a waste since my phone is fine except for the screen is black. I can tell my digitalizer still works and the motherboard isnt damaged as far as I can tell. The Sprint store said they could fix it no problem, so shouldnt my insurance cover that? I only paid $80 out of pocket for the phone originally with my plan so it just seems like a rip-off that they are making me buy $150 worth of stuff from their store in exchange for them to fix it. If insurance doesnt cover the repair on this, then what does it cover? Just the outer screen?

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Two things:

1. You said "I only paid $80 with a plan." The key there is "with a plan." When you sign up for a 2 year contract, the carrier is subsidizing your phone. You wouldn't be able to replace it with a new phone for $80 unless you wait until your two year commitment is up. To replace the phone outright would cost you about $500.

2. Apparently you didn't bother the read the information on the insurance plan you chose. EVERY insurance plan has a deductible, the amount you pay out of pocket before the insurance kicks in and covers the rest. For expensive smartphones like the GS3, that deductible is high. For your insurance plan, $150.

$150 is still a lot less than $500. But I agree that phone insurance is probably a rip-off, especially on a phone that's more than 6 or 8 months old. You could probably replace a broken phone with a used one for no more than the cost of the monthly insurance premium + the deductible.

 

[volcomgirl]

My insurance plan is with Asurion through sprint, it is supposed to cover the repairs of accidental damage unless it is "not repairable" then I would have to pay the $150 deductable. I even had this repeated to me by the customer service support I called before I went to the sprint store. They specifically told me I would not have to pay for anything if they could fix it there. It would be different if they said, yes we can fix it and you will have a $150 deductable, but they told me that I could either pay my deductable and get a "new" phone or they could not say anything to my insurance and fix my phone there if I buy $150 worth of accessories from them. I have figured out how to activate "S Voice" without seeing what I am doing on my phone to make phone calls and even sent a text message so I dont think anything else is broken. I didnt think having one part broken on my phone makes it unrepairable. I know the digitalizer, the glass screen and the lcd display are glued together, but I just watched someone take them apart with a hair dryer on youtube, it cant be that hard with proper tools that I know they have.

Update: I just called sprint again and they told me I had been misinformed by tech support that I wouldnt have to pay anything for the repairs. I call BS.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Perhaps the Assurian warranty terms have changed, but when I had it on a prior phone it very definitely specified a deductible for cracked screens. I hope you get your repaired for free, but a screen replacement is not typically an in-store repair.