So YAY! after a lot of sleepless nights pondering over whom I should give my hard-earned money to, to get their phone, I went with Samsung… with all the appeal and utilitarian advantages of their newly released phablet – the Note 4.
I had always hated the company when it came to their Galaxy lineup for a weird reason, that it was every Tom, Dick & Harry had a Galaxy phone, if not the iPhone! Just hated it… weird, odd, crazy call it what you may, but that’s what it was.
I was using the LG G2 for more than a year before I changed service providers (that itself is another cry) and getting the Note 4. My brother-in-law had bought the Note 3 last year and used it like a laptop, and not like a phone or a little more than that. No seriously, he used the crap out of that phone and it had no issues whatsoever. I mean who posts resumes and applies to around a 100 job application using his phone?! Well, based on his user experience, I decided to go for the Note 4, since I had to get a new phone. My phone service provider (Sprint) sucked big time and had proved to be a joke. Any of you readers plan on going with sprint – DON’T !
So it was the Note 4 or the iPhone 6 plus… well, with the iPhones bending doggy-style everywhere, I thought of going with the more “conservative” and “discreet” phone, and thus bought myself the Note 4 – at the outright price for $805 otd. Very happy, very ecstatic and flying in air with joy on that day I was… oh yes sir!
Bubble Burst # 1:
After using it so very cautiously for 3 weeks and treating it like a first-born child, the phone started acting weird. Apps would open randomly by themselves, esp. the gallery app. Just super random.
Went to the store I got the phone from and the guy ran the “diagnostics” on the device (to be honest, i really don’t think that software does anything… it’s just a make-believe like the Open Door switch in the elevator), and as expected – nothing showed up! “So yeah, we’re sorry, but nothing showed up in the test.” “Please try factory restoring the phone and see if that fixes it?!”
Yeah, thank you very much for nothing! Won’t lie but I’m not sure if that was a “fix” or if my phone just forgot how to malfunction after that, becuz that problem didn’t show up after.
Bubble Burst # 2:
So 2 days ago, I remove the S-Pen to scribe, scribble, draw & paint on the phone. There is a part of the screen that the s-pen wouldn’t write on! Yes, I can use my finger and it works, but the Action Memo and on any other app (Papyrus, ArtRage) I can’t mark using the s-pen in this one area/patch that’s the size of a US quarter! WTF?!?! Yeah, it’s like 2am and I was tired and kinda sleepy, but after this – I’m wide awake!
Nothing I did changed it… so I went ahead and tried the following before deciding to go to the store in the morning again ~
- Factory reset
- Changing the tip of the s-pen itself
- Deleting any apps that I might have downloaded that would’ve been restricting (not that I know why)
- Switching Off & On multiple times and opening it in Safe Mode
I was exhausted and quite honestly, I thought that nothing will change no matter what I did. So I decided to go to sleep, hoping that when I wake up, this will all be just a nightmare!
Woke up and the issue was still there. I called T-Mobile and explained to them what was going on, and they said they couldn’t help me with anything, even though they sold me a freakin’ lemon! They wouldn’t exchange or take back the device and refund me back. The guy at the store suggested that I contact Samsung since it was still under warranty period.
Experiencing Samsung’s outstanding Customer Service
Call # 1
After a lengthy promotional speech advertising the amazing products by Samsung and the unmistakeable customer support the company provides, I finally got a real human speak… and after describing him the situation at hand, I demanded that my phone was defective and it be replaced by a new one. The guy tells me “No sir, we can’t do that! We can only give you a refurbished one.” … straight away without a pause. I reminded him that I purchased the phone brand new and I was entitled to it.
He suggested that I might not have to send it in if I followed his instructions, and if the issue resolved. Made me clear the touchwiz memory and restart the phone after taking out the battery. Must admit, the problem did solve…
… but after just an hour, the same problem came up!
Call # 2
This time around, there was another guy (as always is, ya know what I mean…?) and he suggested I switch off the phone and turn it back on in Safe Mode. I had to disconnect the call as I was using my phone to reach out. Did what he said but it was not a fix.
Tried calling him back but …..
Call # 3
Waited for 20 mins before anyone could answer the phone – no one did. Gave up!
Call # 4
Called again after 5 mins…. waited another 10 mins before someone answered. Asked him to direct to the Galaxy Note 4 dept….
Was put on hold for 15 mins! Things looking real bad by now…
Call # 5
Finally got someone and made her say the words “Samsung Cust. Care is BullShit!”, before having her direct me to the Note 4 dept. …. and yes, someone answered, and was again put on hold for 18 min. (I was counting..).
My PHOTO - RAMBLINGS 