Where can I get an international Galaxy S8 fixed?

[Android Central Question]

I purchased an unlocked, international Galaxy S8 last summer and a few months ago it stopped connecting to wifi. I have spoke to Samsung a lot of times but because it is international they tell me they cannot get it repaired, that it needs to go to the country of origin. I did purchase it on Amazon in the US. At this point is a month out of warranty and I would just like to get it fixed. Anyone has any leads? I'm in Texas.

 

[SpookDroid]

Unfortunately, they are correct. If you purchased directly from Amazon/Samsung, then it's not an international model. If you purchased through a 3rd party seller IN Amazon, then you could try contacting them and they could help you, but legally, Samsung is right: international unlocked models can only be repaired under warranty in the country/region they were intended for sale. So, if your specific phone was supposed to be sold in Brazil, for instance, and someone brought it in the US for re-sale, the warranty still needs to be processed by Samsung Brazil.

If it's out of warranty, any repair shop should be able to help, including official Samsung ones for a fee.

 

[mlpassarella]

Ah, do you know how to find out which country? I tried contacting the seller via Amazon but have not gotten any response back.
I have taken it in to two official repair shops and both told me that because it is international they cannot repair it, not even for a fee, because they don't have the "codes" for it.

Thanks!

 

[SpookDroid]

Unfortunately, I don't know. I recall seeing somewhere that there was a tool that allowed you to do that for country of manufacturing using the IMEI, so I think there should be something similar for intended region, but I couldn't be certain. Sometimes the exact model number can also tell you which region it was intended for.