8 ms·

I swore to never buy Samsung after an ordeal with their warranty repair. Some of the data pins on its USB port wore out, so my Android Auto and fast charging be

I swore to never buy Samsung after an ordeal with their warranty repair. Some of the data pins on its USB port wore out, so my Android Auto and fast charging became extremely flaky. It was still under warranty so I took it to their authorized repair centres. They did not have a fast charger and showed me that the standard charging was working, and refused to admit a problem. Finally I mailed it to Samsung, and they said that the display needed to be replaced because of some water damage (it worked perfectly fine!) as well. Finally I got some local electronics repair guy to just solder a new USB port onto the circuit board and that fixed everything. But never buying their phones again.

Nerada 2y ago
I stopped buying anything Samsung for essentially the same reason. I was overseas and my S7 switched off and wouldn't turn back on. I walked into the flagship store and was immediately turned away because I didn't purchase it in that country.
- taosx 2y ago
  I had a different experience, I bought a S21U overseas. While in UK the screen wouldn't turn on while the phone was on. I went to Samsung KX in London and a day later I had my S21 with a new screen and battery for no cost.
  - cjk2 2y ago
    I think it's worth comparing to Apple here. I bought an iPhone from Amazon in UK and the screen developed a defect. Walked into an Apple Store after 19 months, without AppleCare and they gave me a new phone and migrated all the stuff over for me right there and then. Not sure if they're that good now but I sure hope they are.
    - varjag 2y ago
      The UK has strong consumer warranty laws (extending to several years), and that rather than Apple's kindness of heart could be the reason. Thank the famous European red tape!
      - daniel_iversen 2y ago
        It’s probably a mix. I’ve had lots of stuff incl AirPods fixed for free well beyond warranty multiple times (I think because Apple knew they were prone to a defect causing cracking) and an Apple phone case replaced that others would probably say is “normal wear and tear” but legitimately degraded quicker than it should have etc. Apple online chat is also awesome!
        cjk2 2y ago
        Actually when I got my iPhone 13 Pro they said they said keep the receipt for the case in case it falls to bits so they can replace it free. YMMV.
      - nottorp 2y ago
        19 months is less than the 24 month minimum warranty for consumers across the EU (which used to include the UK).
        gambiting 2y ago
        There is no such thing anywhere in the EU, it's a very common misconception. What there is is a 24 month(actually 6 years in some cases) seller's responsibility for the product against manufacturing defects and being "not as described"(which can include lack of described performance too). What the law also says is that within the first 6 months(12 in the EU) any defect is automatically presumed to be a manufacturing fault and the seller has to rectify it free of charge. After that time the seller is also responsible, but you as the buyer have to prove that the defect happened because of a manufacturing problem. If your macbook stops working 23 months after purchase the seller doesn't have to fix it unless you can prove that it's because of a manufacturing problem.
    - RegnisGnaw 2y ago
      Same here. I have Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max with AppleCare+ which I broke during a trip to US (I'm in Canada). They were able to swap it with replacement at the Apple store in LA without any hassle. Too bad the SIM Card was also busted though :(
m3kw9 2y ago
Get an iPhone, swallow your pride and just get one.
- Loggias 2y ago
  [dead]
- pixelpoet 2y ago
  Pride? It's a just a phone. Man, the cult-like aspect of Apple is such a turn off...
  - daniel_iversen 2y ago
    It’s the opposite :-) the poster said “swallow your pride” … the cult-like aspect of Apple haters is such a turn off
  - rootusrootus 2y ago
    Is English not your first language? "Swallow your pride" means giving up the pride. > Man, the cult-like aspect of Apple is such a turn off... It does not sound like this was intentionally ironic, but it works.
    - joshuaissac 2y ago
      > Is English not your first language? "Swallow your pride" means giving up the pride. To me, it read like GP is criticising as cult-like the very suggestion of pride being the motivation behind buying or not buying a particular phone.
      - pixelpoet 2y ago
        Exactly correct, hence the "it's just a phone". English is my fourth language and I speak/understand it just fine, thanks.
- stctw 2y ago
  Anecdotes work both ways. Apple recently locked and forced a reset of Apple ID accounts for no reason.[0] This happened to my elderly mother at an incredibly inconvenient time, making her phone completely unusable, and the phone was set up for her by my elderly father, who had had strokes since then, and couldn't remember the account password, and had lost access to the email address. I spent hours on the phone begging Apple to help, and they could do nothing but direct me toward recovery Web pages that had long, mandatory waiting periods. It took weeks for my mom's phone to no longer be a useless brick, and it very nearly didn't work (they already denied one request without explanation). Even sending them proof of purchase from the mobile carrier, as they demanded, was rejected. All in the name of "protecting" the user. I provided the link to the Forbes article to multiple representatives, including a senior advisor. None of them admitted to knowing anything about it, even a week later. It was reported on various Apple news sites as well. So, no, I cannot in good conscience recommend buying an Apple device. Even if you pay for it, it effectively does not belong to you, and Apple may suddenly disable it at any time, for any reason, without warning. 0: https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/04/28/apple-id-password-reset-issue-hitting-iphone-ipad-and-macbook-users/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/04/28/apple-id...
talldatethrow 2y ago
You swore to never buy Samsung. I swore to never buy a pixel again. My gf swore to never buy an apple again. I'm using a Motorola to type this and I wonder when it'll let me down in unforseen ways.
- p1necone 2y ago
  I've bought nothing but mid-range Nokias and Motorolas for the past 10 years or so and they've been great. Always stock or near stock android and security updates for 3+ years. I have a habit of doing stupid things with my phones (mostly accidentally submerging them in seawater) and haven't attempted fixing them after that though.
  - colordrops 2y ago
    I've been using LineageOS for years, and recently got a Motorola G 5G 2024 as a temporary phone while I addressed some issues with my main phone. I was blown away by the amount of custom bloatware on the thing. It nagged me at least 30 times about various features it wanted to introduce me to. If that's "near stock", then I'm staying away.
    - LightBug1 2y ago
      That's a shame to hear. Can that be right? I diverted recently, but I used budget Moto G's for a decade and couldn't have been happier with the stock OS. Maybe they finally succombed in 2024.
      - NoGravitas 2y ago
        I think it was whenever they stopped giving the Moto G series numbers (G5, G7, etc), and just started making them "Moto G (Year)". Official LineageOS support has gotten worse since then, but I don't know if it's because they can't find maintainers or what.
- TheNewsIsHere 2y ago
  I’m concerned that you’ll soon run out of otherwise reputable phone manufacturers. I sport an iPhone, but sometimes I think it’s a shame Microsoft so deeply lost focus on and then abandoned mobile.
amelius 2y ago
I have a Samsung TV that is now more than 15 years old. And it still works ok.
- naasking 2y ago
  11.5 years for me. Their products are generally solid, but I'm not surprised their service policies are crap. Whose policies aren't consumer-unfriendly crap these days?
canada_dry 2y ago
Tip: use magnetic ports/cables on your USB devices. Moved to these after that happened to me years ago and love them - quick and easy to connect/disconnect, and less worry about tripping over the charge cord flinging the device across the room. The only disadvantage is I haven't found any that support high amp/watt charging.
- autoexec 2y ago
  There's a good reason they don't support high amp/watt charging. https://old.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/motlhn/magnetic_usbc_cables_are_not_recommended/ https://old.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/motlhn/magnet...
- frenchman_in_ny 2y ago
  Wasn't there an issue that with magnetic cables the ground pins aren't the first pins connected / disconnected? (Edit -- autoexec had the same memory of the same thread as I did)
bastardoperator 2y ago
I'm thankful for the New Jersey division of consumer affairs that sued Samsung for faulty home appliances. I'll never buy Samsung anything except nvme drives.
- Tijdreiziger 2y ago
  Their SSDs have suffered from prominent firmware bugs.

Nerada 2y ago

I stopped buying anything Samsung for essentially the same reason. I was overseas and my S7 switched off and wouldn't turn back on. I walked into the flagship store and was immediately turned away because I didn't purchase it in that country.

taosx 2y ago
I had a different experience, I bought a S21U overseas. While in UK the screen wouldn't turn on while the phone was on. I went to Samsung KX in London and a day later I had my S21 with a new screen and battery for no cost.
- cjk2 2y ago
  I think it's worth comparing to Apple here. I bought an iPhone from Amazon in UK and the screen developed a defect. Walked into an Apple Store after 19 months, without AppleCare and they gave me a new phone and migrated all the stuff over for me right there and then. Not sure if they're that good now but I sure hope they are.
  - varjag 2y ago
    The UK has strong consumer warranty laws (extending to several years), and that rather than Apple's kindness of heart could be the reason. Thank the famous European red tape!
    - daniel_iversen 2y ago
      It’s probably a mix. I’ve had lots of stuff incl AirPods fixed for free well beyond warranty multiple times (I think because Apple knew they were prone to a defect causing cracking) and an Apple phone case replaced that others would probably say is “normal wear and tear” but legitimately degraded quicker than it should have etc. Apple online chat is also awesome!
      - cjk2 2y ago
        Actually when I got my iPhone 13 Pro they said they said keep the receipt for the case in case it falls to bits so they can replace it free. YMMV.
    - nottorp 2y ago
      19 months is less than the 24 month minimum warranty for consumers across the EU (which used to include the UK).
      - gambiting 2y ago
        There is no such thing anywhere in the EU, it's a very common misconception. What there is is a 24 month(actually 6 years in some cases) seller's responsibility for the product against manufacturing defects and being "not as described"(which can include lack of described performance too). What the law also says is that within the first 6 months(12 in the EU) any defect is automatically presumed to be a manufacturing fault and the seller has to rectify it free of charge. After that time the seller is also responsible, but you as the buyer have to prove that the defect happened because of a manufacturing problem. If your macbook stops working 23 months after purchase the seller doesn't have to fix it unless you can prove that it's because of a manufacturing problem.
  - RegnisGnaw 2y ago
    Same here. I have Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max with AppleCare+ which I broke during a trip to US (I'm in Canada). They were able to swap it with replacement at the Apple store in LA without any hassle. Too bad the SIM Card was also busted though :(

m3kw9 2y ago

Get an iPhone, swallow your pride and just get one.

Loggias 2y ago
[dead]
pixelpoet 2y ago
Pride? It's a just a phone. Man, the cult-like aspect of Apple is such a turn off...
- daniel_iversen 2y ago
  It’s the opposite :-) the poster said “swallow your pride” … the cult-like aspect of Apple haters is such a turn off
- rootusrootus 2y ago
  Is English not your first language? "Swallow your pride" means giving up the pride. > Man, the cult-like aspect of Apple is such a turn off... It does not sound like this was intentionally ironic, but it works.
  - joshuaissac 2y ago
    > Is English not your first language? "Swallow your pride" means giving up the pride. To me, it read like GP is criticising as cult-like the very suggestion of pride being the motivation behind buying or not buying a particular phone.
    - pixelpoet 2y ago
      Exactly correct, hence the "it's just a phone". English is my fourth language and I speak/understand it just fine, thanks.
stctw 2y ago
Anecdotes work both ways. Apple recently locked and forced a reset of Apple ID accounts for no reason.[0] This happened to my elderly mother at an incredibly inconvenient time, making her phone completely unusable, and the phone was set up for her by my elderly father, who had had strokes since then, and couldn't remember the account password, and had lost access to the email address. I spent hours on the phone begging Apple to help, and they could do nothing but direct me toward recovery Web pages that had long, mandatory waiting periods. It took weeks for my mom's phone to no longer be a useless brick, and it very nearly didn't work (they already denied one request without explanation). Even sending them proof of purchase from the mobile carrier, as they demanded, was rejected. All in the name of "protecting" the user. I provided the link to the Forbes article to multiple representatives, including a senior advisor. None of them admitted to knowing anything about it, even a week later. It was reported on various Apple news sites as well. So, no, I cannot in good conscience recommend buying an Apple device. Even if you pay for it, it effectively does not belong to you, and Apple may suddenly disable it at any time, for any reason, without warning. 0: https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/04/28/apple-id-password-reset-issue-hitting-iphone-ipad-and-macbook-users/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2024/04/28/apple-id...

talldatethrow 2y ago

You swore to never buy Samsung. I swore to never buy a pixel again. My gf swore to never buy an apple again. I'm using a Motorola to type this and I wonder when it'll let me down in unforseen ways.

p1necone 2y ago
I've bought nothing but mid-range Nokias and Motorolas for the past 10 years or so and they've been great. Always stock or near stock android and security updates for 3+ years. I have a habit of doing stupid things with my phones (mostly accidentally submerging them in seawater) and haven't attempted fixing them after that though.
- colordrops 2y ago
  I've been using LineageOS for years, and recently got a Motorola G 5G 2024 as a temporary phone while I addressed some issues with my main phone. I was blown away by the amount of custom bloatware on the thing. It nagged me at least 30 times about various features it wanted to introduce me to. If that's "near stock", then I'm staying away.
  - LightBug1 2y ago
    That's a shame to hear. Can that be right? I diverted recently, but I used budget Moto G's for a decade and couldn't have been happier with the stock OS. Maybe they finally succombed in 2024.
    - NoGravitas 2y ago
      I think it was whenever they stopped giving the Moto G series numbers (G5, G7, etc), and just started making them "Moto G (Year)". Official LineageOS support has gotten worse since then, but I don't know if it's because they can't find maintainers or what.
TheNewsIsHere 2y ago
I’m concerned that you’ll soon run out of otherwise reputable phone manufacturers. I sport an iPhone, but sometimes I think it’s a shame Microsoft so deeply lost focus on and then abandoned mobile.

amelius 2y ago

I have a Samsung TV that is now more than 15 years old. And it still works ok.

naasking 2y ago
11.5 years for me. Their products are generally solid, but I'm not surprised their service policies are crap. Whose policies aren't consumer-unfriendly crap these days?

canada_dry 2y ago

Tip: use magnetic ports/cables on your USB devices. Moved to these after that happened to me years ago and love them - quick and easy to connect/disconnect, and less worry about tripping over the charge cord flinging the device across the room. The only disadvantage is I haven't found any that support high amp/watt charging.

autoexec 2y ago
There's a good reason they don't support high amp/watt charging. https://old.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/motlhn/magnetic_usbc_cables_are_not_recommended/ https://old.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/motlhn/magnet...
frenchman_in_ny 2y ago
Wasn't there an issue that with magnetic cables the ground pins aren't the first pins connected / disconnected? (Edit -- autoexec had the same memory of the same thread as I did)

bastardoperator 2y ago

I'm thankful for the New Jersey division of consumer affairs that sued Samsung for faulty home appliances. I'll never buy Samsung anything except nvme drives.

Tijdreiziger 2y ago
Their SSDs have suffered from prominent firmware bugs.