Did I waste my money ?

[Gary A]

My wife's Galaxy S3 quite working a while back. The phone still seemed to work but the screen was black. I threw it in a drawer and since I was making a trip to Jomtien, I brought it with me. I went to Tukcom and got a price to repair it. Naturally the touch screen was shot. It cost 2,700 baht for the new screen. It now works like a champ again. The question is how long it will continue to work. I had doubts about spending 2,700 baht to repair a four year old phone.

[guzzi850m2]

Well your choice but I would had binned it and used the money towards a new phone with newer technology.

[Gary A]

3 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Well your choice but I would had binned it and used the money towards a new phone with newer technology.

 

You're probably right. That S3 is a really good phone and I like it a lot. I had two S4 models that died because of failed mother boards. I gave my wife my S5 and so far it has been dependable. She won't give the S5 back, she loves it. If the old S3 dies again, it will go in the trash for sure. If I get another year out of it, I'll be satisfied. I won't buy another expensive phone. To be honest, both S4's were refurbished. I also won't make the mistake again.

[sulasno]

S4 not a good phone. One mobo went bad and I got 3500 for the other. The battery overheated. I got the J7 and happy with it

Sent from my SM-J700F running Android 6.01 using Tapatalk

[mtls2005]

I guess it depends on what you or your wife use the phone for?

 

The screen replacement was probably not as good as the original. Deep repairs can often result in subsequent failure.

 

The SGS3 does not support 4G.

 

If you or your wife are happy with the results then it probably wasn't a waste of money. 

[hkt83100]

6 hours ago, sulasno said:

S4 not a good phone. One mobo went bad and I got 3500 for the other. The battery overheated. I got the J7 and happy with it

Sent from my SM-J700F running Android 6.01 using Tapatalk
 

 

Problem of the J7 is the missing compass. That makes it a bit harder to use for navigation and Geocaching, since it detects the direction by GPS while moving.

If you don't need this feature, it is quite ok, especially the battery life is good. I will keep my second hand S5 for as long as it will live... Another one being worth a look at is the Zenphone 2. Lots of memory and really fast!

Edited August 6, 2016 by hkt83100
added more phones.

[Gary A]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

I guess it depends on what you or your wife use the phone for?

 

The screen replacement was probably not as good as the original. Deep repairs can often result in subsequent failure.

 

The SGS3 does not support 4G.

 

If you or your wife are happy with the results then it probably wasn't a waste of money. 

 

My wife REALLY uses her phone. She is on all the social sites and uses Line and Skype. The camera is very good.  I don't use any of those things other than the camera so the S5 was massive overkill for my use. The S3 also has a good camera. Unfortunately 4G is not available where we live so that capability means very little to me. The AIS 3G is OK and suits me. 

 

My old Lenovo stopped working after 13 months. No way would I have spent any money having it repaired. It was glitchy even when new. I got some satisfaction bouncing it off the wall. I retrieved the SIM and memory cards and threw the pieces in the trash.

 

I use Pao Mobile phone repair shop in Tukcom. Maybe one of the honest shops. They told me the S4's were not worth replacing the main boards, too risky for the cost. They thought replacing the touchscreen on the S3 was worth taking a chance. They gave me a 30 day guarantee. If the S3 lasts for a year, I will consider it as a good investment. The Samsung service center in Udon Thani gave me crazy prices.

[dddave]

2 hours ago, Baguette said:

I think it was a waste of money if you got it done at Tukcom...should have gone straight to an Samsung authorized service center. It would have probably costed a little more but with 100% peace of mind.

Ha!!  I once took a Samsung smartphone with touch problems to Samsung Repair, was told it needed a new display screen. One month later, done.  I paid B1300 and got the phone and a little bag with the "replaced" parts. Phone worked OK but noticed the display was scratched and scuffed...just like the old one.  As a matter of fact, it was the old one.  The parts bag contained a crystal clear new screen, even the gasket goo was untouched. I pointed out to the manager that I was charged for a new screen I didn't need; he shrugged and walked away.

"Peace of mind" my ass. 

[sulasno]

 

Problem of the J7 is the missing compass. That makes it a bit harder to use for navigation and Geocaching, since it detects the direction by GPS while moving.

If you don't need this feature, it is quite ok, especially the battery life is good. I will keep my second hand S5 for as long as it will live... Another one being worth a look at is the Zenphone 2. Lots of memory and really fast!

I was offered to pay additional 4000 to trade in for the 2016 model which I am still considering

Sent from my SM-J700F running Android 6.01 using Tapatalk

[Gary A]

1 hour ago, dddave said:

Ha!!  I once took a Samsung smartphone with touch problems to Samsung Repair, was told it needed a new display screen. One month later, done.  I paid B1300 and got the phone and a little bag with the "replaced" parts. Phone worked OK but noticed the display was scratched and scuffed...just like the old one.  As a matter of fact, it was the old one.  The parts bag contained a crystal clear new screen, even the gasket goo was untouched. I pointed out to the manager that I was charged for a new screen I didn't need; he shrugged and walked away.

"Peace of mind" my ass. 

 

It took  Pao Mobile  one hour to repair the S3. Udon Samsung said they had to send the phone to Bangkok. Pao also replaced to outer case. The phone looks like a new one.

[lvr181]

Can u still make phone calls? Can you still send SMS? Use a chat app.?

 

If so, then what is wrong with a four year old phone?

 

Or does "bling" concern you? 

[guzzi850m2]

1 hour ago, lvr181 said:

Can u still make phone calls? Can you still send SMS? Use a chat app.?

 

If so, then what is wrong with a four year old phone?

 

Or does "bling" concern you? 

Has nothing to do with bling, I just bought a 4gb ram 32gb rom, 2 sim card slots (or one sd card & one sim), full hd, android 6.0, usb c, 5.5" & 4G phone for 200$ at Gearbest. 

 

Dropped it on the tile floor in the house the other day but for a very small dent on the Alu casing, all is okay.

 

The phone is serious good for the money. I believe the overpriced J7's in Thailand still run 2gb ram and not 3?

 

The Bling boys buys Samsung, I owned the first Note1 and it lasted 1.5 years but after my wife dropped it, I had endless problems with it, so no more Samsung phones for me.

Edited August 7, 2016 by guzzi850m2

[Scotwight]

On 8/6/2016 at 11:45 AM, Gary A said:

 

My wife REALLY uses her phone. She is on all the social sites and uses Line and Skype. The camera is very good.  I don't use any of those things other than the camera so the S5 was massive overkill for my use. The S3 also has a good camera. Unfortunately 4G is not available where we live so that capability means very little to me. The AIS 3G is OK and suits me. 

 

My old Lenovo stopped working after 13 months. No way would I have spent any money having it repaired. It was glitchy even when new. I got some satisfaction bouncing it off the wall. I retrieved the SIM and memory cards and threw the pieces in the trash.

 

I use Pao Mobile phone repair shop in Tukcom. Maybe one of the honest shops. They told me the S4's were not worth replacing the main boards, too risky for the cost. They thought replacing the touchscreen on the S3 was worth taking a chance. They gave me a 30 day guarantee. If the S3 lasts for a year, I will consider it as a good investment. The Samsung service center in Udon Thani gave me crazy prices.

Did you do the latest android upgrade for the S5 a few days ago.  Makes it better - Android 6.01

[lvr181]

6 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Has nothing to do with bling, I just bought a 4gb ram 32gb rom, 2 sim card slots (or one sd card & one sim), full hd, android 6.0, usb c, 5.5" & 4G phone for 200$ at Gearbest. 

 

Dropped it on the tile floor in the house the other day but for a very small dent on the Alu casing, all is okay.

 

The phone is serious good for the money. I believe the overpriced J7's in Thailand still run 2gb ram and not 3?

 

The Bling boys buys Samsung, I owned the first Note1 and it lasted 1.5 years but after my wife dropped it, I had endless problems with it, so no more Samsung phones for me.

   May I suggest that whatever mobile phone you drop is likely to cause problems unless you have a "tradesman" type protective cover in use. I had a guy demonstrate one of these covers to me one day - VERY expensive, fitted it to his mobile phone and promptly THREW it (not dropped) on the tiled floor picked it up and said that is why they are expensive. So, not Samsung fault but your wife fault for dropping it and causing endless problem.

 

Latest stats (IDC quarterly stats. end of July) have Samsung with 24% of total market share worldwide, with Apple on 11% and Huawei on 9% followed by a heap of other manufacturers. Windows phone didn't make the stats. And I think Apple is slipping somewhat also.

 

Try not to cut off your nose to spite your face, comes to mind. 

 

But have a nice day.

[guzzi850m2]

Well my UMI super survived the drop but rest assured that either was "a test" but an accident, those happens as you might know

 

Why should I care about that Sammy have 24% of the market WW?

 

You have a nice day too.

Edited August 7, 2016 by guzzi850m2

[Gary A]

The S5 is water resistant and I bought a Spigen case to protect the phone from drops. I thought that 1,000 baht was expensive for the case but considering the cost of the phone, decided it was worth it. I don't touch her phone. If she has a problem she'll let me know. No way would I consider updating the operating system. If something didn't work exactly like it did, it would be my fault.

 

I have an Omega custom debloated rom on the old rooted S3. Battery life is good and it works just fine. I plan to use the repaired phone until it quits. Most new phones are packed with crap that I would never use. I have just a few things that I want. Good battery life is important as well as a very good camera. Call quality is usually pretty good on all the phones and signal strength is also important. I also want memory card capability and a removeable battery. Some people talk about beautiful phones. That is ridiculous. How is one phone more beautiful than another? The big face thing means nothing to me. I don't have to impress anyone. If a phone does everything I want, it could be branded Micky Mouse, I wouldn't care.

 

ADDED - My wife wanted an iPhone. I talked her out of that by telling her the iPhone is overpriced and gave her my S5. She does love the S5 and since it is a Samsung, her face is big enough.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Gary A

[lvr181]

22 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Well my UMI super survived the drop but rest assured that either was "a test" but an accident, those happens as you might know

 

Why should I care about that Sammy have 24% of the market WW?

 

You have a nice day too.

 

Thanks.

And I don't really care either if you do not want a decent phone. Samsung seems acceptable to most of the world - but each to his/her own.

[guzzi850m2]

On 8/8/2016 at 11:23 AM, lvr181 said:

 

Thanks.

And I don't really care either if you do not want a decent phone. Samsung seems acceptable to most of the world - but each to his/her own.

Saying that the UMI is not a decent phone is a very bold statement, did you try one?

 

I am extremely happy with mine and for 200$, very very decent, the 4000mA battery lasts for days, one of the most important things for me on a phone and the usb c charge it very fast.

 

What decent Samsung smart phone can you get for 200$ where the specs comes near the UMI S?

 

I am well aware of that the S7 is a very good phone and will blow the UMI out of the water but it should; considered the hefty price tag.