[Samsung Infuse 4G] bella92108:
So GTG was very helpful with me working through accidentally having bricked my Infuse 4G. After trying everything from re-partitioning to step by step trying to recover it, it just didn't seem possible, so here's what happened.

Samsung Repair\Service - 1-888-987-4357

On June 6, I called, and basically told them my phone was stuck at the Samsung logo, and that I bought the phone from AT&T and they say it's a Samsung Warranty Issue, so they referred me to Samsung.

After they troubleshooted, they sent me a prepaid label via email to send it to Plano, TX. Unfortunately the label was UPS Ground, which they assured me that the phone would be back in my hands within 6 business days (not quite sure how).

On June 7, I sent in my phone. It was delivered June 13, and there was no ticket status change on June 13, or June 14.

The executive office number for Samsung is 972-761-7000 (and asked to be transferred to Executive Customer Relations). I called them, and expressed concern that my phone hadn't changed in status, and 3 people at their Philippine Call Center (the 888 number goes to the Philippines) had told me I'd have it back within 6 business days. The rep told me I had been misinformed, and that there was not much they could do, as it was in it's third day of "evaluation"... they promised to open an "expedite request" on the phone, but couldn't guarantee anything.

On June 15, I called Executive customer relations again, and they stated that the phone was "Awaiting Replacement Part" which they said may be coming from the east coast, or Korea... HUH?!?! Why would a software bricked phone need hardware... and why would they not just replace the damn phone when it was only a week and a half old.

Anyhow, they said they said check back in 24 hours, so I called yesterday (June 17), and she said it was still awaiting parts. I got a bit pushy and told her I need more information or I want my phone back in it's existing state and I'd be filing suit in court for selling defective product and stalling on warranty (hehe)... she then said ok let me call the repair center (not sure why she didn't do that the previous 2 days).

She came back on the phone after 10 minutes, stated that the part was in stock now and that they'd be doing the repair and shipping out the phone once done. I asked what part they were replacing and she said the "PBA Assembly" which she explained is the entire main circuit board of the phone.... everything inside the phone except the screen and plastic housing... WOW... why would they not just send replacement phones in these cases, but okay.

So last night I got a notice that my phone was shipping back to me today, with the diagnosis of this:

Original Problem:

TECHNICAL INQUIRY - PHONE FREEZING / LOCKED UP - FREEZE/DELAY BETWEEN MENU FUNCTIONS

Problem found:

LOCK UP DURING OPERATION (SW)

Solution:

REPLACED PBA

So not really sure why they'd replace the main board, but whatever... so they've sent back to me via UPS Ground.... annoying! Guess it'll be next Wednesday or Thursday until my phone is actually delivered back to me.

So the summary... it's going to take 2-3 weeks if you use Samsung to repair your phone, and you'll have to call them daily and pester the hell out of them just to get it done in a reasonable timeframe... and make sure you use the escalation number above and be persistent.

I'm kinda over Samsung at this point. It's not so much that I dislike the process, but I dislike companies who chose to outsource their support overseas and then have no continuity in information between US and overseas support reps. It drives me nuts. One guy even claimed he was in the US (even though I could hear people speaking Tagalog in the background), so I asked him what the weather is in TX where he claimed to be (in Plano, TX), and he said "it's summer here in the US, very hot, very humid" ... and I was like "wow for someone with a Filipino accent, you think 28% (I checked) humidity is HUMID??!?!" ... Moron...

Anyhow, hopefully my story helps... I think I'm going to try and avoid Samsung phones in the future. HTC was a lot easier to deal with (they overnighted everything to and from their repair center, and if a part broke they sent a free replacement overnight without expense for shipping)... HTC was just a lot more customer-centric than Samsung... at least in my experience :-)