My Gear S charging cradle doesn't fit anymore, had to send all to Samsung Support to resolve

[xendula]

Now, what is the best way to pop the cradle onto the watch, procedurally? Please note I'll be doing this without taking the watch out of the band.

No idea what the official "right" way to do it is, but guessing since mine lasted so long, I did it right until the plastic just gave in any way: I hold the watch over the cradle, align the top and bottom, then push either top or bottom down, then the other side.

 

[dorrien12]

Hell, I have no problem buying one of the generics. I have at least 3 portable batteries, one of which is a flashlight, and one of which is credit card size which by itself could probably recharge the whole watch at work, so if the generic chargers dont have a battery built in, that's fine. Now, what is the best way to pop the cradle onto the watch, procedurally? Please note I'll be doing this without taking the watch out of the band.

What's the name of the credit card size external battery plz?

 

[JnEricsonx]

http://www.amazon.com/DigiPower-Cha...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU4465292

 

[donnajo62]

I called Samsung. Answered a bunch of questions and then they emailed me the return label. Samsung Product Support & Technical Assistance:
1-800-726-7864

 

[Roger Wilson1]

I decided to buy another cradle from Amazon. I found it for $20 with Prime shipping. It will be here on Monday.

I was going to contact Samsung product support, and still may do so, but I decided to spend $20 and buy another one then deal with the hassle of sending my watch in and waiting for I don't know how long to get it back.

Posted via the Android Central App

I did the same thing because t-mobel game me the run around, sent me to samsung and still no replacement. Very irritated.

 

[Andrew Clark8]

I found the perfect object to wrap charger+cradle around: Sonicare Air Floss !!

Perfect width to keep it firm bUT not so tight as to stretch the plastic. If you already have the air floss and a broken gear s cradle, give It a shot!!

 

[Al Yates]

i had the same problem with my gear s, i just used some velcro from home depo.

 

[Deucesjack]

Got myself a spare cradle on ebay for 19.99 works fine.

 

[ineedcoffeenow]

hi - lets face it - the team that designed the charging cradle for this watch need to be sacked. Great watch, great concepts - but like so many other Watch Owners - I've had to replace the cradle now twice - because regardless of how careful you are attaching and removing it - the little plastic clips on the back of the charger break! Mine is currently held on with a large elastic band! Ridiculous given the price of this watch. Samsung Executives - YOU MUST PROVIDE A SOLUTION TO YOUR GEAR S CUSTOMERS FOR THIS CHARGING ISSUE... This will be an absolute winner in customer service and push Samsung our front of competition in terms of the after sales support for their product. I love this watch, its functional and useful. Reviewers that lambaste the watch functionality and size clearly don't know what they're talking about - the watch is best on the market - but the charger sucks and this is a serious call to Samsung to do something about it! Samsung after sales service in Melbourne Australia have been great - they've replaced the charger for me under warranty - however, I can't keep doign this forever. Samsung listen to your customers!

 

[Deucesjack]

Samsung will never update the cradle. They have a long track record of making great innovative products and then abandoning them. Sometimes I could just kick myself for being a "Samsung Guy". Their customer service is a joke with no escalation department. They really don't care once they get your money they are full throttle on to the next big thing and screw everyone who bought anything from them in the past. Great products when they work but horrible support. They can't even come up with different style bands for the Gear S or at the very least an adapter that lets you use standard watch bands so a newly designed cradle is just not in the cards. Just my humble opinion.

 

[dorrien12]

Samsung will never update the cradle. They have a long track record of making great innovative products and then abandoning them. Sometimes I could just kick myself for being a "Samsung Guy". Their customer service is a joke with no escalation department. They really don't care once they get your money they are full throttle on to the next big thing and screw everyone who bought anything from them in the past. Great products when they work but horrible support. They can't even come up with different style bands for the Gear S or at the very least an adapter that lets you use standard watch bands so a newly designed cradle is just not in the cards. Just my humble opinion.

Yea it's a shame they didn't come up with any bands...but search eBay and Amazon, for gear s bands, they have tons of them for under 20$... nice colors and a few designs.

 

[Deucesjack]

I have seen the ones on ebay but I'm sick of the rubber/plastic look. One would think that a premium device would call for a premium band. That was the great thing about the Gear 2. You could buy any 22 mm band and you were good to go. I must have 10 different bands for my Gear 2 ranging from lizard skin to leather to stainless steel. Every time I changed bands it was like I had a new watch.

 

[DonShock]

I have seen the ones on ebay but I'm sick of the rubber/plastic look....

There is a black metal band offered on eBay that is pretty decent. I've been using it for the last couple weeks and I'm pretty satisfied with it. Even better, it's now $10 cheaper than when I got it.
eBay: Samsung Gear s Stainless Steel Black Metal Band
It's also available from the same seller on Amazon
Amazon.com: Samsung Gear S Black Stainless Steel Metal Band

 

[Deucesjack]

Thanks DonShock. I already have that one and I love it. Definitely a must have if you own this watch.

 

[xendula]

There is a black metal band offered on eBay that is pretty decent. I've been using it for the last couple weeks and I'm pretty satisfied with it. Even better, it's now $10 cheaper than when I got it.
eBay: Samsung Gear s Stainless Steel Black Metal Band
It's also available from the same seller on Amazon
Amazon.com: Samsung Gear S Black Stainless Steel Metal Band

I personally don't like the plastic sides connecting to the metal, and also not crazy about the different colored variations of the same plastic watchband. It makes me sad when I see the premium options Apple watch owners have.

It Apple ever adds a SIM card slot and GPS to their watch, I will get one.

 

[Therealm80]

I purchased a Samsung Gear S on 12/05/2014 and its only been 6 months of use and one of the clip on the charging Cradle broke on regular use. It was NOT DROPPED OR NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE was done to it. It broke on regular use. I googled about it and found this to be common issue. I want Samsung to replace the cradle. I have spoken to their so called tech support and they are referring it to physical damage due to abuse which is not covered by the warranty. I believe that it is manufacturing defect or a very poorly designed cradle. Either way, I expect Samsung to stand by their product and replace the cradle. I am in communication with them and waiting to see what they are going to do about it. Gear S is a nice product but its sad that they had to design the cradle so poor. I hope they start replacing the charger for all the gear S owners if they want their loyalty. This would be my last Samsung product if they do not take care of this. I am open to filing a lawsuit against them.. Anyone here ready to support me?

I had the same thought.

 

[jjzfur]

I'll chime in on this as well... I too have fallen victim to the broken clip on the base charger, and, of course, like others have been given the same story from Samsung - "that's physical damage, so it's not covered" Samsung really needs to step up and start showing they actually stand by their product, and admit to a manufacturing design flaw - there are threads all over the internet with people having their chargers break in exactly the same way - this is not a consumer issue, but an engineering flaw! I use a velcro-style cable tie to hold the charger to the watch while charging... Wanted to pass along a "trick" that has helped me with battery life (again, brought this issue up with Samsung, there only response was for me to send them the watch (including charger) and they would "look at it" ya, that would have taken months.
*** As you can tell, I'm being pretty critical of Samsung support - I can safely say, based on other reviews I've seen, I'm not alone! ***
Loved my gear S when I first got it, an upgrade from the gear 2. but, definitely noticed battery life was much less. But discovered on my own what seems to be working so far... There is a setting on the watch to set how the watch "wakes up" either to a clock face, or to the last screen. Since I was using a custom watch face, I wanted it to be the last screen. After wearing the watch all day, I'd usually be around 10% battery life by 7PM. Worked out fantastic if I did something after work, or was working late, let me tell ya! The other thing I noticed, is that since the "wake up" was the last screen, I was constantly "pocket-dialing" or "pocket-texting" people, especially if I was wearing long sleeves!! For 2 - 3 weeks now, after changing this option to clock instead of last screen has made the pocket call/text issue go away, and by 7PM I'm still at least 60%. This setting, BTW, is under Settings/Display/Wake-Up screen.

 

[DonShock]

....Samsung really needs to step up and start showing they actually stand by their product, and admit to a manufacturing design flaw - there are threads all over the internet with people having their chargers break in exactly the same way - this is not a consumer issue, but an engineering flaw! ......brought this issue up with Samsung, there only response was for me to send them the watch (including charger) and they would "look at it" ya, that would have taken months......

I am both critical and supportive of Samsung support when they deserve it and this post is a good example. Yes, Samsung is dropping the ball when it comes to dealing with broken clips on the chargers. But the mention of weeks of wait when sending items in for support has not been my experience.

I have had to send items in twice and the response has been lightning fast. My Note1 screen failed where every other line of pixels went blank. It was about a week rom mailing it off to being back in my hands. If I had known it was that short I would never have bought a Fusion2 to use while it was gone. And more recently, my Gear S suddenly gave a couple strange beeps and the screen was dark with a bubble underneath, the side pulling loose, and the watch getting very hot. After a call to Samsung, I had a mailing label in a few minutes and was dropping it off at UPS within a few hours of the failure. That was late in the day on July 3rd. Even with the holiday on the 4th; it had been received, tested, found to be a full system failure, shipped back, and I had a new replacement in my hands on the afternoon of July 9th. My only complaint is that the Gear Manager app still shows the old broken one in the list under "Manage Devices" and I can't figure out how to delete it.

So they may be like most other companies in trying to put the blame on the users, particularly with regards to how they are attaching the charger. But when they do agree to investigate a problem they are very quick and, in my experience so far, have been fair in accepting responsibility when the failure is internal with no signs of external damage.

 

[Nova Smith]

Got the Gears on 6/28/15 & yesterday the charge port would not work & took the watch to verizon, and they said call Samsung.
Spoke with Samsung and they said I'll send you a shipping label mail it back to us will fix it or replace it it will take up to 14 days this is absolutely absurd you spend over $300 for device and you have to pay. The consumer is
paying for a line that you can't even use Samsung stop screwing a consumer you can do better with the time of return.
When you find that you have a device that is defective not just for one or two but for numerous peoples step up to the plate.this is making me think about going Apple, better quality & service ! Keeping it real!

 

[Deucesjack]

Call the support line and ask to speak to the executive offices. Make a complaint! The more that complain the better it will get for all of us. Let Samsung know that they are alienating their loyal customers. Do not speak to anyone at the regular customer support line they are not Samsung employees. Samsung has insulated itself from its customers by farming out its support to a third party. (800) 726-7864 follow the gear menu and insist on getting connected to the executive offices, they will do it if you complain hard enough.