Re: Here We Go Again: Galaxy Fold Display Damaged After One Day Of Use
Edelira Longinotti
But despite a number of improvements over the years, there's one aspect of Samsung's foldable that still needs a lot of work: durability. Last year, after purchasing my own Z Fold 2, I documented some of the issues I faced after owning it for 10 months. And after upgrading to the Z Fold 3 last fall, I'm here to report back on how Samsung's latest flagship foldable is holding up just shy of one year later.
The phone was purchased through Vodafone in may 2020. Kept in great condition and after 6 months of use, boom. The screen just burst along the join between the top and bottom.
Didnt think that much of it being a new technology etc.. Off it went to Samsung, no questions asked just repaired and returned without any issues what so ever.
Another 6 months passes and low and behold wake up one day, unfold the phone and its got a crusty looking crack again right through the center. Screen still worked and didnt seem to be effected despite the gastly looking line through it but took it into Vodafone who looked over it and recommended just using the phone as normal as its likely just the covering ontop of the glass screen and shouldnt cause any more problems down the track.
About a week of use and the dreaded dead pixles and funny looking black stuff started coming out all over the bottom of the screen again rendering the phone unuseable, again.
We asked the question this time, saying is this a common fault with these phones as its barely over a year old and already been replaced once. They couldnt say in store as they had only sold a couple of them personally.
This time Samsung came back and said, yes the screen has broken same as the first time and they will fix it under warranty. However the charge port had a bent or broken pin or something inside that would cost extra to repair. I said, its not a big concern we only use wireless charging on them 99% of the time anyway but sure I paid the extra couple of hundred $ to get it done at the same time.
Another 8-9 months later... Here we are again, big crack through the middle of the screen.
This time we made it known to vodafone, we dont want this fixed again. We want a refund or a replacement phone as this is clearly an ongoing issue that we didnt want to continue dealing with.
This time Samsung decides that the exact same issue that has been repaired twice already under warranty is now an issue we have caused somehow. And that the phone again mysteriously has a broken charge port again.
Liquid damage (the black stuff from the screen popping) I can only assume. To which they said yes it is from the screen because you broke the screen.
And said, pay the $900+ to repair it or take the phone back useless and go away.
Vodafone and Samsung have been equally useless in trying to get this issue sorted despite a clear history of this issue on our phone and documented here and plastered across youtube/google and many forums.
Good luck if you ever buy any of the samsung flip phones and need to get it repaired under warranty.
DONT BUY THE FLIP/FOLD phones from Samsung. They will do all they can to reject a warranty repair.
I waited for the 2nd generation of the Z Flip 3 phone after seeing how poorly the 1st generation flip phone performed. As soon as the zip flipped 3 arrived I purchased one only to find out 4 months down the line the screen started lifting from the fold, 5 months down-the-line I noticed what appeared to be hairline cracks on either edge of the hinge. I initially thought was a fault with the screen protector therefore I carefully remove the screen protector with the aim of getting it replaced by ee or at a samsung store only to find that the actual screen had the hairline fractures at the corner of each hinge along the fold! Month 6 and I can now see little cracks all along the fold! Due to this major fault with the screen happening only 5 months into my purchase I decided to have the phone sent back to EE for a warranty repair.
I keep all my Tech Gear in top condition and look after everything I own with a high degree of care. The phone I sent to EE was in immaculate condition with not a dent or mark on the device. A few days later I received the paperwork advising that my phone was user damaged and that there will be a charge of 360 pounds to replace the screen! I argued the case with EE and took it as high as I could but they advised that the phone is not covered under warranty because it is user damaged? I asked on what grounds was the phone rejected and deemed user damaged when it is in immaculate condition bar the the screen cracking at the fold? They would not respond stating that their technicians make this diagnosis which EE have no control over. Ee offered 50 which I rejected, and i asked to take this further.
I was advised that I will need to reach out to the Ombudsman and also Samsung directly. I called Samsung Who advised that I would need to take my phone in to Samsung repair centre at Newcastle-upon-Tyne where they will inspect and have this repaired on the day.
After calling the Samsung centre at this location and informing them of what has happened so far the agent advised me to bring the phone in, which was a good 1 and a 1/2 hour journey. After I got on site they looked at the phone assessed it and advised the phone is in great condition but because the screen protector has been removed the warranty is void and that there will be a charge of 270 pounds to repair the phone. At this stage I was fuming due to poor advice from the Samsung centre wasting my time travelling in with a child to turn down the repair. I asked why they didn't ask if the protector was removed over the phone, to which the assessor just smiled! At this stage was quite angry and advised that this is an unacceptable level of service and very unprofessional, but got no response from the woman and was only given a number to call Samsung directly.
I called Samsung a technician took the case reference number and also half an hour of my time to listen to the problems I have faced to date only to advise me again that there's nothing they can do as the warranty was voided due to the screen protector being removed.
Again I argued the case that the screen is fatally flawed, and that I actually use the phone at most 10 times a-day which is a far cry from the claims of the phone enduring a 100 flips A-day! They were straight down the line with voided warranty and wished me a wonderful day!
My home is reliant totally on the Samsung ecosystem with the exception of this device which has been a major letdown. I have always purchased high end Samsung technology looking at forums I can see that it's not just an isolated case, these phone screens are failing for many people. I can imagine a recall for the flawed device being very costly for Samsung therefore the excuse of the screen protector being removed voiding the warranty is a successful cop out! Buy this phone at ur own risk, I have wasted too much of my time and energy in trying to getting this phone rightfully repaired at no cost to me and failing. I will be reaching out to the Ombudsman who will independently assess the issue.... let's see if this works?
The Galaxy Fold's launch event kicked off in February 2019, with all the usual Samsung pomp and circumstance. Once the phone hit the hands of early reviewers in April, though, signs appeared that something was very wrong. Of the limited amount of Folds sent out to the press, two broke within the first few days after regular usage. In one case, the display pixels just started dying along the crease in the display. In the other case, debris worked its way inside the sizable gaps in the phone hinge, landed under the display, and damaged it from behind. Several other reviewers also accidentally damaged their Fold review units by peeling a protective layer off the top of the display, which, thanks to exposed edges, just seemed like a screen protector used for shipping. With so many problems present in the initial shipment of Galaxy Folds, Samsung doesn't seem like it spent enough time to properly test the device.
There are several other users that are experiencing the same issue with the display of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but there is no official comment from Samsung on this matter. Moreover, looking at all the user reports, the issue shows up right after the warranty expires, while some users find the damage appears around the one-and-a-half-year mark.
This is the last repair you should try before sending your phone in for service. It's a drastic option because it erases all of your phone's data, including photos, videos, and other files, and installs a fresh version of Android.If the green line is caused by a software problem, a factory reset will resolve the issue. If the green line remains, it means you have a hardware failure.Make a backup of your Android phone before performing a factory reset.If there is no update, it is best to revert to an earlier version of the operating system. Why? Because the green line on the screen could have been caused by the most recent system update. As a result, returning to the factory state should solve the problem. Resetting your phone to its factory settings will erase everything on it, so make sure you back up your files .If it was a software issue, the screen should no longer display the green lines after the reset.
All figurative rough edges and bumpiness aside, the Pixel Fold also has some literal rough edges and bumpiness in its physical form. Like most current foldables, the inside screen sports a very noticeable crease in its center that's obvious to both the eye and the touch, whenever your finger slides over it. You do get used to it after a while, but it's a glaring imperfection inherent to this form and something you'll never not notice.