what should I do when samsung won't honor the warranty?

[Android Central Question]

I bought the samsung tablet 2018. Had it sent to samsung for repair on Feb,2019 because it won't charge properly and the screen is not properly in place. Got it back after two weeks, the screen is in place but in order to charge the battery I had to position it in a certain way. Just recently the power totally went dead and I'm not able to charge it. I sent it for repair but I got a surprise, they said I tampered the software and gave me a quotation for the motherboard replacement.

I had this issue escalated and they still refused to honor the warranty. What should I do for them to repair the tablet at no cost? I don't know anything about software tampering at all.

 

[mustang7757]

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[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! If I were you, I probably would've contacted Samsung immediately when I noticed it wasn't charging properly unless held in a certain way -- that's a sign of a problematic charging port.

Did you ask them why they think the software has been tampered with? Has anyone ever tried to root the device?

 

[wat-eber]

No, I didn't tamper any software nor do I know how.
I'm getting on with age, so I just want simple things I don't want any complication.

 

[wat-eber]

That is the first repair that they did. they even replaced the motherboard.

 

[B. Diddy]

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to succeed in these kinds of "your word vs mine" arguments when it comes to warranty. Your best bet is to continue discussions with higher level representatives in a polite but firm way (i.e., not confrontational and belligerent), giving as much concrete evidence (like photos, invoices, etc.) as possible supporting your side of the story. Emphasize your loyalty to Samsung products, and how you'd love to continue purchasing their stuff in the future. If they still stonewall you, then ask to speak to the next level up.

If you're talking to some 3rd party contractor who takes care of warranty issues and not to Samsung themselves, then contact Samsung customer support: www.samsung.com/us/support/contact/

Good luck!

 

[Mooncatt]

Did you buy this new at an authorized retailer, or from an independent seller? It's not unheard of for independent resellers to make changes that would void the warranty.

I would suggest researching the Magnuson-Moss act if you're in the U.S. The way it would apply in this case is this is an obvious hardware defect with a bad connection, not software related. So Samsung could deny warranty for software related issues, but shouldn't be able to void the warranty for the entire phone. Changing the programming isn't going to cause the charging port connection to break. I'm not a lawyer, so do your own research in this so you fully understand it before bringing it up with Samsung. They can still try to deny, and then it's a court battle to pursue.

Also, have you tried another cable? Those often go bad and have similar symptoms too.