I love how Samsung tries to ignore the ACL

SirFlibbled on 09/02/2014 - 20:44

This is more of a vent thread.

I bought a Samsung S4 Active back in September. Never 'tested it' as being water proof but always treated it right etc. Shortly after New Years, I was yabbying in a river. It was low tide and the water was only ankle high. My wife left her phone in the car and asked if I wanted to do the same.

"Why would I want to do that. Worst case scenario, my phone is water resistant" I commented while double checked the seal near the USB.

As we were Yabbying, I stepped in some quick mud and my foot sunk. As I struggled I went deeper into the mud until I was knee high. About 1 minute later I realised the phone was in my pocket and submerged. I pulled it out of my pocket and it seemed ok. I eventually freed myself and went back to shore.

About 10 minutes later my phone started feeling hot. I wouldn't respond to commands. I shut it down and put it in rice over night. The next day I booted it up and plugged it in to be charged. It was working some what but the USB was definitely not responsive and the phone was heating up. In short it was certainly water damaged.

I took my phone into JB Hifi (where I bought it) and submitted it for repair. 5 weeks later I chased it up with JB Hifi who get back to me to let me know that Samsung have denied a warranty claim as it's water damaged… of course it was I told them it was.

It seems their Warranty doesn't cover water damage. Which is laughable as its sold as a water resistant phone. So JB has escalated. But after Samsung's crap performance I'm considering demanding a refund under the ACL and buying something else.

Currently thinking of a Sony Z1. Anyone know what their customer service is like? I used to have an iPhone but they're too expensive for my needs. Thoughts?

Mobile

Comments

  • Mikinoz on 09/02/2014 - 20:54
    +5

    I'm afraid Sony will be the same, they claim water resistance but getting it replaced under warranty is another thing unfortunately.

    • leonheart1 on 09/02/2014 - 21:03

      Yes, I've heard horror stories from Sony too. Definitely false advertising: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O2i28DU7fY

    • ozhunter on 09/02/2014 - 22:37

      Yea I wonder how these warranties work. Anyone nearing the end of the 1 year warranty could put it under warranty and try to claim a replacement.

      Of course there's the possibility of water seeping through somewhere but also the chance of the user not closing the ports properly.

    • DrStinge on 09/02/2014 - 23:12

      Yes.. this happened to my mates Z1; took it in the shower but the back half of the screen was raised (defective unity), "water damaged". Thanks Sony.

  • djones145 on 09/02/2014 - 20:55

    I got a Z1
    great phone
    I was told by a friend who works in a Telstra store that it only covers fresh water (i.e glass of water or toilet….)
    it cant be placed in salt water etc (it damages the phone, leaves particles when it dries I guess)

    u might want to read up the warranty and cover before you buy

    however generally the phone is quite good. had a S3 before and the built quality is chalk and cheese

    the screen is also quite good

    have to say the camera is ok (cant beat iPhone cameras, don't know how they do it)

    • djones145 on 09/02/2014 - 20:56

      haven't tested the phone under water, that friend had a z and she tested it in the pool and it was ok…)

  • whooah1979 on 09/02/2014 - 21:05
    +1

    D. This Warranty does not cover water damage to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Mobile Phone where the water damage was caused by:

    improper closure of the back cover of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Mobile Phone; or submersion of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Mobile Phone in water for 30 minutes or more; or the depth of the water at which the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Mobile Phone was submerged was greater than or equal to 3 metres.

    http://www.samsung.com/au/support/warranty/warrantyInformati…

    • SirFlibbled on 09/02/2014 - 21:18

      I was just told "they don't cover that type of water damage". \

      Thankfully my contract is with JB Hifi so they'll have to make good on it.

  • whooah1979 on 09/02/2014 - 21:20
    +1

    nice to see you outside of wp.

  • bs0 on 09/02/2014 - 21:53

    is it actually waterproof or water resistant? similar to watches, there's a subtle difference..

    • SirFlibbled on 09/02/2014 - 22:33

      Resistant for 30 minutes and up to 3 metres. It was submerged about 10cm at the most for about 1 minutes. Wasn't even close to it's supposed limits.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/02/2014 - 23:16

    I personally wouldn't be bothered buying a "water resistant" phone, because manufacturers would just use the "oh you didn't close the cover/seal properly" to avoid warranty, even if you did seal it tight.
    I've seen too many horror stories…

    • SirFlibbled on 10/02/2014 - 09:29

      Yeah I'm not going to take that as an excuse. I paid $700 in AU when I could have gotten it cheaper to ensure I had proper consumer protections for something that lasted 3 months. For the $50 it'll cost me I will take JB to small claims court over it if I have to. But it's early days yet. I need to first see what Samsung HQ say and then I'll have a discussion with JB.

  • cat06969 on 10/02/2014 - 07:49
    +1

    Two months ago, my 2 week old Nokia 1020 got dropped in the Pacific Ocean. It killed it stone dead, of course. Pity I thought, as it was an incredible phone. I sent it in for repair, and told Nokia honestly and straight out that it had been dropped in the ocean. Clearly salt water immersion isn't covered under warranty, so I figured there'd be a repair charge for me to pay. Nokia didn't even question me on it - they just gave me a brand new phone. Just like that. I couldn't believe it! The new one is firing - and is a knockout of a phone. So there is still great customer service to be had out there..!

    • SirFlibbled on 10/02/2014 - 09:30
      +1

      This is what I like about Apple's service. Even if it's your fault for about $200 you can get it replaced on the spot.

    • TheGMan on 16/02/2014 - 23:24

      I remember back in the day when I got my 7210, 3 hours after getting it I dropped it in the toilet, and found out that Nokia have a no questions asked 30 day replacement. But that was year and years ago.

  • pax on 10/02/2014 - 08:13

    The Sony is definitely only in fresh water, as my colleague got stung by that, but the is a difference in the rating between the S4 Active (IP67) and Z1 (IP55), so I would think that as long as you sealed it OK, then the S4 should be fine.

    Be interesting to know where the water came in from if you are adamant that you sealed each of the ports up OK.

    Pax

    • SirFlibbled on 10/02/2014 - 09:34

      The seal was faulty I reckon. I couldn't have sealed it up any better than I did. I even checked it with my Wife before I went in the water (as I'd never taken it into the water before I was being extra precious with it).

  • [Deactivated] on 10/02/2014 - 09:45
    +1

    Unfortunate situation.

    Did you catch any yabbies?

    • SirFlibbled on 10/02/2014 - 10:14

      Nah turned out the pump was broken (it was my grandmothers I used as a kid) so it was a very unsuccessful excursion all around.

      • [Deactivated] on 10/02/2014 - 17:31
        +1

        Bugger. Commiserations x 2.

  • noone on 10/02/2014 - 11:05

    I remember looking at some website on how Sony processes water damage claim. On the website it says they will test with all flaps closed and if there's leakage that means the flaps are faulty and they will fix it. But if it is water tight with the flaps closed then clearly it's damaged due to user fault.

    I'm hoping they will do this when I send in my Xperia Z with a loose back casing.

  • mitcheo on 10/02/2014 - 12:35

    sony customer service is a joke. 1 month old xperia dies. they dont fix it and there try and charge $50 for looking at it. phone goes in bin.

    • Cheeper on 16/02/2014 - 23:05

      I've got one of those sony paper weights here also. Mine was a very expensive one at the time and I expected better than what I got. All show, no go… Never again, with any product of theirs.

  • SirFlibbled on 17/02/2014 - 08:36
    +2

    So I finally got resolution. After 6 weeks (in which I had to follow it up) I had a conversation with JB and they ended up giving me a refund.

    I've gone back to iPhone. Life's too short to have to deal with bad customer service.

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