Don't put your pen in backwards!

[GalaticBoar]

I like the idea of giving each Note 5 owner one free repair ticket for this problem. Let's hope.

Perhaps Samsung can make a little plastic snap-in thing that you can snap into the end of the pen to prevent it from going the wrong way? Then then can send it out to all current Note 5 owners and also include in any new Note 5s being freshly packaged from the factory? While they are at it, add a prominent warning in the packaging to ask users to either put on the plastic protector, or face the risk of putting it in the wrong way and paying the repair cost themselves.

I can understand why they don't want to make a fix to the phone or stylus itself. Then they will have the problem of having two Galaxy Note 5 versions and the accompanying headaches. No one will want to buy V1 and the existing V1 owners will cry foul and demand free exchanges to V2, etc.

 

[centerwaters]

I just left the Best Buy store. I asked the Samsung guy
about this. He apparently had no idea what I was talking
about. I told me that the S-pen can get stuck if inserted
in reverse. He gave me this look like I was some crazy
old man. He said it was impossible. I told him to go
ahead and try it. His face turned rosy red when the
S-Pen wouldn't come out. He asked the other Samsung
guy for help. I wish I had taken a video of their reaction.
Hah... who was the old man now? As I left, he was still
trying to get the S-Pen out...

Now that I think about it, I guess I am a mean crazy old
man. (in my defense, I did warn him... he just didn't
believe me)

 

[Almeuit]

I just left the Best Buy store. I asked the Samsung guy
about this. He apparently had no idea what I was talking
about. I told me that the S-pen can get stuck if inserted
in reverse. He gave me this look like I was some crazy
old man. He said it was impossible. I told him to go
ahead and try it. His face turned rosy red when the
S-Pen wouldn't come out. He asked the other Samsung
guy for help. I wish I had taken a video of their reaction.
Hah... who was the old man now? As I left, he was still
trying to get the S-Pen out...

Now that I think about it, I guess I am a mean crazy old
man. (in my defense, I did warn him... he just didn't
believe me)

Those are just sales people -- They aren't trained for every scenario. His job is to sell and what he gave you before that was just his opinion thinking he was right. I never ever put faith in what sales people have to say about a product.

 

[centerwaters]

Those are just sales people -- They aren't trained for every scenario. His job is to sell and what he gave you before that was just his opinion thinking he was right. I never ever put faith in what sales people have to say about a product.

They do remind me when I was in high school. Back then, I don't listen to
"old" people. I sure learned my lessons the hard way.

If I can go back in time, I'd like to go to the Samsung event on August 13.
I want to ask the Samsung guy on the stage unveiling the Note 5 to try to
insert the pen. Backwards. If he's dumb enough to do it, can you imagine
how many views that video will have on YouTube? Probably as many as
when Bill Gates was on live TV and Windows 98 crashed right in front of him?

 

[GalaticBoar]

Where can I find this manual? The "manual" (Getting to Know Your Phone sheet) that did come with my phone has no such warning.

Anyway, this says Samsung did know about this! And they chose not to do anything other than stick a warning in a manual that most users will never read. Grrrr!

Answering my own question... per this Ars Technical article, this "manual" that Samsung refers to didn't ship with the device. Ars Technical was able to hunt down a PDF version online. In the paper guides that I did receive with the phone, there was nothing about not inserting the pen in wrong, nor having to read an online manual first for important information before use.

So Samsung's official response is to point to page in a manual that doesn't ship with the device that most users don't even know about? I don't think that will fly with a jury in a class action suit. I know it will probably cost Samsung a ton load of money but they should just come clean and at least offering free repairs.

 

[LeoRex]

No.. this is how it is going to go down....

Right now, Samsung is blowing people off.... If you call them up, they'll fix it and charge you for it. Assurion or whoever may underwrite any kind of phone insurance will pretty much do the same thing. Remember, this all just happened.

But, it is starting to spread...

The major Android sites have reported it and I just saw earlier that it showed up on Gizmodo, so it is starting to gain a little bit of steam and move beyond just the enthusiast sites. It might show up in a segment on a national outlet, like some CNN Technology piece or something. At that point, regardless of whether or not it is a real thing, it becomes 'news'. And 'news' loves NOTHING more than crapping all over some big corporation who is screwing over their customers, whether it is real or imagined.

Samsung will then end up saying "We are going to do right by our valued customers" and cover repairs under warrenty, maybe one of those 'one time' kind of deals.... meanwhile, behind the scenes, they tell he Note hardware team to address the problem in the Note 6. Maybe they issue a voluntary recall with an updated s-pen that won't break things, that is also a possibility.

But I assume that it'll get a response. Samsung pushed up the date so they could avoid running into any iPhone noise and the last thing they are going to want is to have their Note flagship in the middle of some silly 'gate' controversy when the iPhone 6S launches.

 

[mrjspeed]

If I didn't have kids, I would totally be interested in a Note 5. Even now, in light of #pengate, I would still get one. I doubt I'd accidentally put the pen in backwards. Stuff like that just doesn't happen to me, just like I never drop my phone (most of the time).

However, I guarantee my kids would break this device within a month. I also guarantee that this is going to happen to a lot of Note 5's. Not enough for Samsung to recall the lot of them, but enough to eventually get a response from Samsung. They'll just replace the broken ones and move on. If I had to guess, 95% of devices will never have this happen. #bendgate will die down and be forgotten. This reminds me of how the Wii-mote got a condom.

It's an easy fix for the next gen. Just make the tip of the pen (and top of the hole) ~0.5 mm bigger in diameter, while leaving the shaft and silo the same. That would prevent it from being inserted backwards and it will look essentially the same.

 

[centerwaters]

It's an easy fix for the next gen. Just make the tip of the pen (and top of the hole) ~0.5 mm bigger in diameter, while leaving the shaft and silo the same. That would prevent it from being inserted backwards and it will look essentially the same.

There another alternative.(but I doubt Samsung would do it)
Just make a new S-Pen design specifically for the Note 5.
The top clicky part will be slightly larger than the entry hole,
so nobody can insert it the wrong way. It will not sit flush
with the bottom of the Note 5, but that's a necessary evil.

Include the new pen in future shipments of Note 5. Set up
a website so current Note 5 owners can enter their IMEI
number and have the new S-Pen shipped to them.

Problem solved.

Like I said, I don't think Samsung will do this. Kind of reminds
me of when Nintendo was forced to ship out rubber cases and
hand straps for Wii remotes when peopel were smashing their
TV screens while playing Wii games.

 

[Katrina White1]

Not bashing anyone in any way. I just can't believe enough people are doing this to warrant this kind of fall out.

Why did this not happen with the N4? The Spen certainly fits. Haha...I tried it but just enough to see if the tip fit.

Did one person try it, tell others what happened and then they tried it too? Or did this many people actually mistakenly do it? When I saw the first article after this thread, I was like this can't be happening to lots of people. But it is!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[tonyr6]

Tune into twit.tv right now. Leo Laporte on Macbreak weekly who has a Note 5 just broke his by inserting backwards very easy to do on live tv. You can watch the podcast later archived.

 

[goin_nil]

Samsung rushed the Note 5 to market. Normally they are a month behind Apple (Oct). Now they are a month ahead (Aug).

They dropped 2 months off the schedule which could have contributed to this (not enough testing...testing always gets cut short at the end to meet deadlines).

 

[Katrina White1]

Haaaahhh. He said he thought it would be harder and he needs some ky jelly. I cant believe this is real. That just happened.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[tonyr6]

Maybe you can shave off some of the sides of the stylus to prevent this. It may not go in tight but it should not get stuck if inserted wrong.

 

[centerwaters]

Tune into twit.tv right now. Leo Laporte on Macbreak weekly who has a Note 5 just broke his by inserting backwards very easy to do on live tv. You can watch the podcast later archived.

where on that website is the video you're referring to?

I love Leo but I have no idea that he's still around. (not after he left G4TV or something)

Thanks!

 

[Lightshield]

My heart as a gadget fiend does truly hurt for everyone dealing with this, but I've gotta say that I'm absolutely flabbergasted that his appears to be as widespread of a problem as it does. I could understand maybe one or two instances, but it appears to be a huge problem just from perusing the usual Android threads.

 

[LeoRex]

Not bashing anyone in any way. I just can't believe enough people are doing this to warrant this kind of fall out.

That's how these things work. It might not be a common occurrence, but once it happens, and it is verifiable, then the story takes on a life of its own.... and everyone starts to scramble to get ahead of the thing so they can get the hits, the views, the traffic...

It's like a tech TMZ.

 

[tonyr6]

where on that website is the video you're referring to?

I love Leo but I have no idea that he's still around. (not after he left G4TV or something)

Thanks!

He is not talking about it anymore. However the Macrumors show will be archived later on Twit.tv and Youtube. Also I know they will talk about it on All about android.

 

[centerwaters]

He is not talking about it anymore. However the Macrumors show will be archived later on Twit.tv and Youtube. Also I know they will talk about it on All about android.

cool... thanks!

 

[Josh Arem]

Stay away from SAMSUNG and the Note 5 !!!
I have been a long time Samsung Customer having bought the S2 note 2,3,4,5 note tablet 2014 and gear S watch the note 5 will be the last time I give my money to Samsung. I thought the phone was grate untill I put the S-Pen in backwards and the nightmares began.
I also have put the S-pen in backwards by accident while in a meeting taking notes on my phone. when I called Samsung they were willing to do nothing about it except they offered to have me ship my brand new phone off to a repair center for at least 2 weeks which is absolutely ridiculous. the note 5 is going to be the last Samsung product I ever purchase. T mobile has also been no help whats OS ever they wanted to charge me 175 dollars to replace the 5 day old phone.and will be leaving them as well Samsung should be ashamed to treat a customer so poorly certainly one who purchases their most expensive devices.

 

[bassplayrguy]

So you are mad because they won't pay to fix what YOU broke through YOUR negligence? Sounds about right.