A better question you should be asking is WHY THE LOUDSPEAKER WENT OUT TO BEGIN WITH! I just fixed mine at much time, money and stress. The phone is less than two years old!
I won't buy a Samsung phone again.
Their customer service sucks.
Please discus because I think it is appalling that something like this happens so frequently on such an expensive device. I am a light user. The phone has never been dropped or gotten wet.
That is BS.
Sam
I would just like to address this one here...
First, it's a moving part inside a rather delicate electrical device. Speakers can sieze, I've seen cell phone speakers sieze, I've seen speakers in a Benz just suddenly go (not being "cranked" or anything). Sometimes it's dust, sometimes it's moisture (regular air humidity). It happens, that's why the insurance covers things like that.
The speaker is a very easy repair for anyone willing to take the time to just pay attention to what screws went where. It pops out, and a new replacement (that should only be a couple dollars online) put in. If you found the repair difficult and stressful, I recommend you have someone else work on your phone next time you have a problem with it.
I'm sure when you buy your next phone, you'll end up bashing HTC or LG, or any other manufacturer. These issues are NOT specific to just Samsung. Go sell your Epic and use the money to get something from a different manufacturer. Wash-rinse-repeat...
Sprint's customer service, bad?? Really? I've had nothing but good experience with them. A few months back my Epic suddenly just shut down for good. I walked into the store, they looked it over, and promptly ordered me a replacement, at no cost (tep) to me. They told me if I didn't have TEP it would have only been $35. Most minor repairs are cheap there if you don't have tep, and free if you do.
They have won awards for having one of the highest rated customer service departments overall. The phone reps have been nothing but helpful whenever I've had the odd issue with my account (for instance, I was getting charged call to call with another phone on my account, pushing me over minutes. They looked at it, and promptly fixed it. No hassle at all).
Sprint
For each of those awards, you can go to their source and verify them.
Aside from my rather long rebuttal, I don't feel there needs to be much discussion. The failures we see with the epics are far and few between (although gathered into a forum, because that's where people go when they have a problem).