yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S I9000 General] jpaik:
Legal Recourse

The nightmare of the defective Galaxy S Vibrant sold by Bell is not going to end any time soon. Bell blames Samsung, Samsung blames Bell, and at times both blame the customer.

But, customers in Ontario and likely in other provinces have rights under consumer-focused law.

In Ontario there is the Sale of Goods Act. A retailer is liable to a purchaser for a defective product. From the Osgoode Hall Law School, York University www site:

"...The legal standard is that goods must be merchantable and reasonably fit for their purpose. This includes an implied durability test; that is to say, if a product with an expected life of five years breaks down after 14 months, then it likely was defective at the time of sale. Depending on the particular facts, a consumer may have a right to reject (return) the goods for a refund or keep the goods and recover damages which would be equivalent to the cost of a repair. Under section 9 (3) of the Consumer Protection Act 2002 these obligations of the retailer may not be excluded or waived when selling to a consumer. Any attempt to do so is of no legal effect. Retailers therefore have primary legal responsibility to purchasers. "

Bell typically retails the Samsung Galaxy within the terms of a 3-year contract. Bell expects the Galaxy to be durable for 3 years. So we can assume that if this product breaks down 4 months after the sale, it was defective at the time of sale (IIRC, the sale of the Galaxy S began in August 2010).

I believe the Galaxy S Vibrant sold by Bell is a defective product. There is overwhelming evidence that a significant number of unflashed, unrooted, and otherwise untouched Galaxy handsets become bricked. It is unsalvageable by the customer.

If you purchased this phone and it's broken, you should go to your retail point of purchase and demand a complete refund.

(I am not a lawyer, and nothing in the above should be construed as giving legal advice. Contact your own lawyer or consumer protection agency).
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Takobo:
Got it fixed at service center. drop by 11am, get it back by 1:30pm. they did a full upgrade/flash (from 2.2 to 2.1). the phone is still unlocked, still 3 buttons enable. the receptionist admits a lot of returns, and i see several people came with their bricked SGS while i was waiting.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] evil-doer:
this is NOT a good thing. if the memory is faulty (which is most likely) your phone is just gonna die again in the future.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Takobo:
as they are able to repair it. i can't ask for a new board. i'd just keep using it, maybe a month or 2 later, if it fails, i can go back there, have it change to the new board. i believe at the time, samsung should release a revised board. HOWEVER, we dont know yet if it's really hardware or software problem. let's just wait for samsung/google news. at least to me, it's not 3-6 weeks of waiting time, and no need to deal with Bell. Don't forget, Samsung sold millions of SGS around the world. I don't hear problems from Korea. I don't think Samsung would use different internal memory card, just for the 9000m. Like 9000T, they have 850 band too. Maybe, it's really a hardware flaw, or maybe just a software's. i'm not software engineer, nor pcb engineer. Let them find out.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] TriC_101:
how should I send the phone to repairs with Samsung or Bell??? they will both send it away for me but I wonder who is faster??

Also if you look at your contract its says that you will be offered a phone that is equivalent to your current phone under repair.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] evil-doer:
wow we are at 41% "still working" and many of those people have come back wanting to change their vote to broken.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] que3jxp:
This is EXACTLY why I wanted the poll either reset or a new one launched to see what the most truly up to date status of everyones phones is.

Alas, I was misunderstood and denied....
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Kewjoe:
I'd like to know this as well. Has anyone received a new motherboard in their phone and had this happen again?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] can6rxw:
That would be too much to hope for. Frig...I opened my service order last week and my phone is STILL sitting on my cupboard....Frigging Bell!!

....oh...I stopped in at Telus on the weekend to admire some of their smartphones. :)
[Galaxy S I9000 General] #1RAGE:
Well my i9000M just "died" again. This time I had it in my winter coat while I was at work. It had been in my coat pocket for about 2 hours, then I went to use it and when I reached into my pocket, the phone was alarmingly hot. I have never felt the phone get anything other than mildly warm, and that was during charging. Anyway, now the phone just boots up to black screen and the two touch buttons stay lit up.

Here's a short summary of my phones history.

- Bought it new August 20 (ish)

- Black screen after boot sometime in Sept. Factory reset and it worked again.

- Updated to JK4 when it was officially released

- About 7 days after JK4, apps started force closing, almost nothing worked. Factory reset again.

- Now 3 days later I get the black screen again.

I guess I have to take it in for repair but I don't want to be without a good phone for weeks.

Another possible complication; I bought the phone in Alberta at The Source and I live in Saskatchewan. Hopefully I can do the return at a local The Source.

This really sucks. I can't recommend this phone anymore. There are just way too many failures.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] AllGamer:
That is Exactly! what i found as well

after the phone got into those high crazy temperatures, a few hours later it died.

i'm almost positive it's a power problem with the PCB rather than the internal SD being fried
[Galaxy S I9000 General] AllGamer:
well signing these petitions will be a nice first step to get something going on our direction

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=878043
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Philgag:
Yes I just renewed my 3 year contract with Bell 2 months ago.

It wasnt too hard really first when I called (I'm from Quebec) I had to do six times "0" after selecting french or english. This is important as it bypass all the waiting time and you talk straight to somebody. Dont listen to anything just 0 0 0 0 0 0. first time I called I waited more than 1 hour and got hold of nobody. This trick was given to me from the local bell store.

Then I refused the percentage they offered me off my next month (20%) and said the magic words "I want to cancel my contract" and the lady told me she would transfert me to "solutions depertement" when a gentleman was briefed on my problem was I was on hold and after a polite discussion offered my the pre as the only thing he could do. He wasnt aware of a spread issue with the galaxy S...

good luck! I'm sure the problem will be well known soon and they will have to do something if the phones keeps breaking down. There is no way we can continue like this for 2+ more years.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Spudsicles:
Well I called Bell... the lady was nice on the phone and I tried to get some compensation for all this BS. She wouldn't transfer me to the Solutions Department and I was told that there was nothing she can do for me. I told her that I convinced my friend(you, lol) to get this phone and had even more problems than me and that they were sending you a Palm Pre. She put me on hold and then came back and told me there is nothing she can do for me.

She told me that if I had sent my phone in for repairs instead of bring it to a Bell store, that they might of sent me a phone in the mail. What do you think?... is this BS?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] que3jxp:
Well, I for one, will not be sitting still on this if there is not proper satisfaction. I will take any and all consumer legal options to both get a full refund on the phone and a total no penalty nullification of the remainder of my contract on the premise that Bell refused to meet its obligations and that if I had not got the SGS this past August, I would likely have waited for an HTC phone on Telus and left.

However, there are TWO major things that I am taking away from this: Stick with HTC. Anything they have made under contract or with their brand has been excellent over the last 10+ years. They have rarely had a dud.

Secondly, get an unlocked phone and then go with the carrier you want with no term to deal with. If this means hunting down a Nexus One, then so be it. Bell treats us this way because they think they have us by the balls with their 3 year contracts. Well, in contract law, there are TWO parties that have responsibilities and not simply the customer.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] pr0cs:
They will charge you an additional $45 if you accept their replacement phone while they fix your phone.

Nothing is free with Bell.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] #1RAGE:
Ok I just found out mine is probably really dead this time. The first two times I did a factory reset, my phone worked again for a while. This time in the recovery menu it says "Can't mount SDCARD".
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Skud51:
In a twist of irony....

I texted my brother some days back letting him know of these issues. He just got an SGS through Sasktel two weeks ago. A few days go by and I didn't get a response, until today, because his phone was bricked two days after doing the JK4 update. He went into Sasktel yesterday and they gave him a new phone..

Riley
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Spudsicles:
I thought that's why I got the $7/month extended warranty that this was covered... ah well.

Well maybe it's time to hunt down a Nexus S?!... but it's still made by Samsung and I'm kinda scared since it's specs are basically the same as our SGS's.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] #1RAGE:
I tried calling Bell but apparently they close at 5:00 pm even though their website says they are open until 9. Then I called Samsung and was told I have to take it back to where I bought the phone. I explained that would require 8 hours of driving so she said I could send it to FutureTel but she wouldn't give me any information on how to contact them.

I bought the phone at The Source in Cold Lake, AB. I live in Saskatoon, SK. My 9000M is a Bell phone but Bell does not offer cell service in Saskatchewan (other than roaming). I went into a local The Source store and they told me because they don't sell Bell phones, there is nothing they can do for me. Then I called the Cold Lake store and the girl who answered the phone doesn't know what to do so I have to call back tomorrow and talk to the manager.

This is turning into a nightmare and I have a feeling I'm going to have to swallow the $500 I spent on this phone and buy another phone (probably not a Samsung phone).
[Galaxy S I9000 General] BlackDino:
Edit.. Reading > Me.

Call Samsung again, you might be able to mail the phone to them.

If not you will have to take the phone back to the original retailer.

Why did you buy the phone from Cold Lake? Sasktel has the galaxy s
[Galaxy S I9000 General] #1RAGE:
Samsung told me they do not handle repairs. SaskTel was selling it for $150 more than Bell and it would have been $400 to get out of my existing contract.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] dawen:
i sent my phone for repair about sdcard corruption from edmonton, just over 2 weeks ago, i just got it back last week, basically takes 2 weeks for repair, they sent it to authorzied repair center in BC, I wasnt with bell, it came back they replaced the whole motherboard, updated to JK4, but the old unlock procedure doesnt work anymore, i had to use hex editor on the nv_data.bin file edit to be on rogers network.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] w98seeng:
This is not true. I am in Montreal and there is a Samsung service center here.

Samsung - Service Absolut

3391 Griffith Street,

St. Laurent, Quebec,

H4T 1W5

514-738-8333

I brought my Galaxy in today. They said it needs a new mainboard and it will be fixed by Friday.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] cytherean:
Phone back from bell/samsung

Just picked up my phone from Bell and as the girl is booting up my phone, I notice that it is loaded with Froyo which the Samsung repair shop said they wouldn't do as there were "issues with the software".

So what is the first thing that I see when I touch the phone? A force close, but there were no apps running. Great, I expect to be returning it to the repair shop within the next couple of days. :)

Baseband version: UG JK4

Kernal Version: 2.6.32.9

Shout.lee@sep-09 #1

Build number: Froyo.UGJK4

GPS pulling one satellite (indoor)

Quadrant score:990 (better than 2.1)

I asked Bell if there was a better ROM out there and put it on the phone, would it void the warranty. Her response was only if you "unlock" the phone will it void the warranty, but not if you install "software". Can anyone confirm this?

Also for those of us that were unaware. If you are looking to bring a phone to Bell's network (perhaps a loaner) you can check it here: http://support.bell.ca/en-QC/Mobili...phone_or_smartphone_work_on_the_Bell_network#

I've heard that Doc's ROM was successfully installed on a couple of Bell phones ; was anyone successful at installing DARKY's ROM on their phone?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] TriC_101:
you have to call this Number is your want SAMSUNG to send you a shipping lable and repair the number si 1-888-751-4078
[Galaxy S I9000 General] evil-doer:
good to see theres at least still the nv_data.bin file there with the code intact. im in the same situation as you and worried about it not being network unlockable.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] geeboi88:
is there any way to recover the files before i send it in for repairs??
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Spudsicles:
Wow, I wonder how many others that have got theirs back from repairs that are working phones that have or are going to explode... and for how long?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Takobo:
Today, i got it back with a 2.1, not 2.2. fixed by a flash.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] haloimplant:
Well I brought my dead Vibrant to a Bell store today. The guy was very nice, he acknowledged the problem and gave me a brand new Moto Dext as a loaner for nothing but a security deposit. (Maybe after he noted that my Vibrant was in perfect shape, not a scratch on the screen. He said it scratched easily i have noticed the opposite, I have been careful but there were the inevitable small scrapes and I never noticed scratches after.)

The Dext is no SGS (android 1.5, small screen, no swype) but at least it's android so I can do most of what I could on my SGS. The main downer is that the web browser sucks, many pages don't load and can't even pinch to zoom. (Recommendations for another browser? Didn't really like Opera on my SGS, I hear about Dolphin?)

The Bell guy blamed the Kies software for screwing up the update, not sure if I buy it.

One that was interesting in my case was that the external SD was also 'unavailable' after I got the error message about the internal SD. Then when I put the micro SD card in my computer it was unformatted and I needed to format it. This happen to anyone else? It almost does point to a software problem since if it was just the internal SD unit failing I don't know why it would mess up the external SD as well. Maybe someone more familiar with Android workings or the problem can explain this.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] xxgg:
Currently, latest Official firmware is 2.1, not 2.2.

That is why it was flashed with 2.1 for a reason.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] delly47:
does the sasktel version have the same problems as the bell one?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] pr0cs:
I don't know what the extended coverage gets you. I didn't take it so I was SOL.

No amount of haggling would get my a replacement device for free.

I sort of understand Bell's situation here thankfully I wasn't on a contract otherwise I would be really upset that I had to pay contract fees for a phone I couldn't use.

Samsung really are the bad guys here, they did not do their due diligence regarding the QA on the 9000m devices. I believe there is a hardware flaw and Samsung isn't owning up to it.

It feels VERY similar to the XBOX360 debacle where the company denied a problem until it was blatant that they couldn't ignore it anymore. Sadly 1 android phone in a sea of android phones will make no waves like the XBOX where the public becomes more aware of the issue and forces the manufacturer to fess up and 'do the right thing'.

I like the SGS but Samsung really let it's customers down for the 9000m.

I regret not waiting longer and just buying a HTC device like I was going to in the first place.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] adamge:
delly, yup. Mine died, plus...

://twitter.com/quadracer111

://twitter.com/dkrushelniski
[Galaxy S I9000 General] deezy7:
Hey OP, please change my vote from working to not working as well!!!! DAMMIT, my phone died tonight, one week and a day after updating to 2.2. I was rooted, but no lagfix and no ROMs and oclif or anything at all. Just rooted so that I could use Titanium Backup. DAMN Froyo was awesome. And I don't know what to do now.

QUESTION: What is the best strategy moving forward, for those of us unlocked on Rogers who don't have a Bell account to use to get it fixed? Anyone? Please? :( :( :( Does anyone know of any stores/places in the GTA or downtown Toronto that can repair the phone, and how much it will cost? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!! I want my Froyo SGS back!!
[Galaxy S I9000 General] evil-doer:
the repair is free, take it into bell with your receipt. they dont check if you are a bell customer. at least they didnt with me and many others.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] dentxu:
Bad new, everyone. I am extremely upset.

I went to pick up my repaired phone which I sent out 7 days ago for the black screen after Jk4 update. The Os is erased and reloaded. I inserded the Sim card and external SD card and turned on. The phone died in black screen in the store again. The bell person could not repair after several tries then the phone is going to send back to samsung. What a shame, samsung! It seems not a simple software issue. I am in Vanocouver BC.

Suggest a new categary in the poll: died second time after software repaired.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] terranq:
Delly, yeah, SaskTel buys their devices from Bell. Mine died about 4 weeks ago, still waiting for it to come back.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] deezy7:
I hope this is true...thank you very much for your help. I thought I had read a few posts where people were denied service because they weren't bell customers. I will give this a try tomorrow.

UMMmmm...here comes the worst question. Does anyone know if Futureshop can reprint your old receipts for you? I just moved, and may have lost mine in the process. I usually keep all my receipts for warranties and stuff in one place, but the move may have caused me to lose it!!! This is the worst of the worst situation. ARRGGHHHH Damn you Samsung for making such an awesome piece of crap!!!
[Galaxy S I9000 General] astralmind:
Got mine back today after a 6 weeks wait. Motherboard replaced according to the "invoice". Phone came back with 2.1 which I immediately unlock, rooted and swapped for Doc's latest ROM (JPX)... so far so good but honestly I wouldnt be surprised if it blew up over night. I've also transfered a lot of stuff to fill de 16gb.. if the SD is flaky, it will fail fast because I intend to push it hard.. no point in waiting longer.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Hachi_Roku:
A friend of mine has relatives in Toronto. My phone came from eBay. I have a receipt for the phone to the original owner of the phone. Would the relative be able to just walk into Bell and get it sent for repairs?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] TriC_101:
Bell store wants me to pay a $300 deposit and $25 loaner fee for a loaner phone (Nokia Dumb Phone) that I can get off Kijiji for like $40 bucks.. BELL you suck... i'm going to buy a cheep bell phone from kijiji and send the phone to Samsung.. if you call the Samsung 1-888-751-4078 number they will send you a shipping label to send it in. then you don't have to deal with any Bell BS.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] np3052:
Hi all,

It is my first post although I have been following this thread since its start.

Mine also died one day after upgrading to 2.2 via Kies (has never been rooted or flashed). It took 7 days to be repaired and came back today with the same board (same IMEI) and fresh Froyo. Several hours and it still works. I didn’t have time to check GPS, lag, etc., but will do it tomorrow. All my paid-for apps are missing from the market though. Someone knows how I can get them back?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] chinkpak:
I contacted Samsung Canada, in a matter of 20 mins I had my repair set up, no receipt required or anything, they email you a upc for delivery and you just ship it out
[Galaxy S I9000 General] deezy7:
Did you get it fixed from Bell or from Samsung?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] deezy7:
Goddam that is awesome to hear. I will definitely be doing this tomorrow!!! Thanks again!!
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Nirvana388:
Well Eff, after voting that my phone was still going strong after a couple weeks on froyo, it died today.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] TriC_101:
I'm going to pickup at Samsung S Captivate tomorrow since their are no issues with that phone.. GPS works better and no SD issues.. and I can flash all the i9000 roms to it as well and when I get my i9000 back from repair i'm going to sell it.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] FuryriderX:
I just tried this number 10 minutes ago, and it went to 'samsung social hub support' - the guy there said i was in the wrong place, and gave me a number to call.

Problem is, it was the same number i dialed to get to him! Anyone else who did this, is this the number you called? And if you got the phone repaired this way, what was the turnaround time?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Spudsicles:
Was this the repair depot in Richmond?... it's called Nippon or something like that?
[Galaxy S I9000 General] Spudsicles:
Anyone will to contact the local TV news and tell them you have a story to tell?

I forget who the local guy here in Vancouver is that takes on stories that are not totally news news... Chris Olsen from "Olsen on your side". http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/olsen/
[Galaxy S I9000 General] gemini8026:
Unfortunately yes. I *have* a sasktel version and mine crapped out on Friday. The fine fellow at the store advised he has sent a few back already.

They are good about loeaner phones, no hassle. But still, it royally sucks. Im gonna get my phone back, and its likely gonna die again, along with my family who I recomennded the phone to before realising half of them are dying.
[Galaxy S I9000 General] deezy7:
Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.

1-800-726-7864

Second call got through, first went to voicemail, redialed right away. Talking to them now.

So during the call, I was told that I would have to take the phone back to where I bought it and send it in from there. I then advised the guy I was talking to that I had read that other people were able to get Samsung to send out the shipping label and do the repair. He double checked and confirmed it, and is in the process of preparing the repair order right now. Have the phone handy, because they will ask for the phone's Serial Number (S/N) behind the battery. 7-14 days business days is the estimated repair time, and no cost. He estimated the label will take about 24 hours or less to be e-mailed to me. Hope this information helps. All told the process took about 20 minutes, depending on the knowledge of the csr.

Good luck everyone....
[Galaxy S I9000 General] #1RAGE:
Thank you so much! 10 minutes of the phone and I got my shipping label. They estimate it will take 2 weeks once they receive my phone.