Samsung Warrantee

[MilesCh]

Was about to purchase a Samsung mobile phone Galaxy s2, model i9100 (international). Since I'm in the USA at the moment, and soon will be returning to Chiang Mai as well as travel to other countries, I questioned the warrantee. Was told by two cust.svc people in Canada that corporate policy is that Samsung's warrantee is only valid in the country of purchase. (Was considering purchase on eBay from a seller in Singapore who said it had a UK warrantee. Was also considering buying from ATT or T-Mobile in the USA without a contract.)

Before I toss Samsung out as a bad idea, would like to know if that could also be the fact in Thailand, particularly since I frequently travel to other countries? I know that in days of old my stereo gear (mostly made in Japan) the warrantee was international. Has that changed for all products, or is this limited to Samsung?

[lomatopo]

You really need to review the Warranty documentation that comes with phone. Typically the local entity/subsidiary/representative/sales agent has warranty service/repair responsibility. If you purchase in the U.S.A. then that would be Samsung Telecommunications LLC America in Richardson, TX. I believe the phone/model has a one year warranty.

You would have to return the phone to the representative listed in the Warranty section of the manual that comes with your model. So if you buy in the U.S.A. then Samsung Thailand would likely not offer warranty service/repair.

If you spend the bulk of your time in Thailand I would purchase the phone here. Additionally you would get the international model, which is superior to the AT&T or T-Mo versions, IMO.

FWIW, these things either work or they don't, unless you damage it, in which case the warranty is voided.

[jackbox]

Not only are their warranties only valid in the country of purchase, they won't even work on phones sold in other countries even if you offer to pay them for service. Someone I knew had a Nexus S phone with a problem. The phone was purchased at MBK. The problem was caused by an OTA update corrupting his internal memory due to a low battery shutdown during a factor reset. He went to a Samsung service center. The tech looked at it and said you need a new motherboard. Then he checked the IMEI and said that the phone was originally from the U.S. and not Thailand. He was then told even though they had the parts there and could fix it, they will not under any certain circumstances do any repair work on phones not sold through official channels in Thailand, period. Samsung warranties and service policies are the worst.

Edited November 27, 2011 by jackbox

[TongueThaied]

As far as I am concerned SAMSUNG SUCKS! I will NEVER buy another Samsung product if I live to be 500 years old. I purchased an expensive big flat screen Samsung TV. After two months one of the important keys on the remote went out. They said the remote was not covered by the warranty and it cost me over 2,000 baht to replace the remote. How can you use a modern TV without a remote? And yes, before you say it, I was polite and smiled the whole time.

I had a Samsung washer. Guarantee, one year, motor five years. The motor went out after fourteen months. The motor warranty would be voided. They had a flat service charge to come to my house to look at it, another charge to diagnose the problem (which I already knew to be the motor and not the capacitor – I know how and have the equipment to test). Only after that would they be ab le to tell me the additional service charge to change the motor which would be provided FREE – Ha! I told them to forget it.

I bought my wife and expensive Samsung phone, guarantee one year. Again, at 14 months the screen went out. It cost 1,200 baht for the repair. Six months later it went out again. I threw it in the dumper and bought her a different brand.

A year and a half ago, I bought Samsung's top-of-the-line MP3 player, a YP-P3 with 32 GB of memory. The damned thing cost over 12,000 baht. It was a nice little unit with, you guessed it, a one year warranty. But after only 10 months the touch screen stopped working properly. It seemed like it might have been a software problem. I took it in and they sent it off somewhere. It came back repaired (same unit, same serial number). It worked fine for another six months or so and then exactly the same problem re-occurred. I took it in last week. After some phone calls they told me it was the touch screen and could not be repaired at any price. I was a little taken aback. Apparently, they no longer offer this product, now being obsessed with the marketing of their new Galaxy. They have withdrawn all service and parts for my 12,000+ baht, one and one-half year old MP3 player. Well fuc_k me! I just smiled and walked out of the shop, annoyed, but not surprised.

Edited January 6, 2012 by sbk

[justsumhelp]

Mines that not bad, the S2 seems like a nice product. I suggest you either buy if from the country you plan to spend the most time in, or an online retailer that will cover the warranty if mailed to them e.g. expansys

As far as I am concerned SAMSUNG SUCKS! I will NEVER buy another Samsung product if I live to be 500 years old. I purchased an expensive big flat screen Samsung TV. After two months one of the important keys on the remote went out. They said the remote was not covered by the warranty and it cost me over 2,000 baht to replace the remote. How can you use a modern TV without a remote? And yes, before you say it, I was polite and smiled the whole time.

I had a Samsung washer. Guarantee, one year, motor five years. The motor went out after fourteen months. The motor warranty would be voided. They had a flat service charge to come to my house to look at it, another charge to diagnose the problem (which I already knew to be the motor and not the capacitor – I know how and have the equipment to test). Only after that would they be ab le to tell me the additional service charge to change the motor which would be provided FREE – Ha! I told them to forget it.

I bought my wife and expensive Samsung phone, guarantee one year. Again, at 14 months the screen went out. It cost 1,200 baht for the repair. Six months later it went out again. I threw it in the dumper and bought her a different brand.

A year and a half ago, I bought Samsung's top-of-the-line MP3 player, a YP-P3 with 32 GB of memory. The damned thing cost over 12,000 baht. It was a nice little unit with, you guessed it, a one year warranty. But after only 10 months the touch screen stopped working properly. It seemed like it might have been a software problem. I took it in and they sent it off somewhere. It came back repaired (same unit, same serial number). It worked fine for another six months or so and then exactly the same problem re-occurred. I took it in last week. After some phone calls they told me it was the touch screen and could not be repaired at any price. I was a little taken aback. Apparently, they no longer offer this product, now being obsessed with the marketing of their new Galaxy. They have withdrawn all service and parts for my 12,000+ baht, one and one-half year old MP3 player. Well fuc_k me! I just smiled and walked out of the shop, annoyed, but not surprised.

.

Edited January 6, 2012 by sbk

[m88888]

Warranty declarations are always by country or region. Not to worry though, your phone(s) will became outdated way before resell value would become that

I am personally proud owner of Samsung Galaxy II, never had any problems, so if this is and indicator you should be in no fear. Expect from them muggers....