Help me with warranty issue on Samsung Galaxy S5

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Help me with warranty issue on Samsung Galaxy S5

camgoon

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#195625 27-Apr-2016 11:04

Hi my first post here

I've got a Spark Samsung S5 which I purchased in November last year. A few weeks after getting it I attempted to root it with CF-autoroot, but this was unsuccessfull, however it did burn the KNOX/efuse counter, and so voided the warranty.

The phone worked perfectly for 4 months (suggesting that my root attempt was most probably unrelated) and then the display stopped working. When booting the phone will flash some lines of brown and then go black again and will not show anything. I sent it to Telegistics the Spark samsung repairer via my local samsung booth, and they have said it will cost $250 to fix and will not be covered by warranty because I voided the warranty.

I understand that the warranty is void, but it seems to me like it becomes a matter of the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA), because if the phone screen stops working after 4ish months of use then it was not of acceptable quality, and I shouldn't have to pay for repair/replacement.

Does this seem like a valid case to you GZ's or have I misunderstood the CGA?

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#1542659 27-Apr-2016 11:16

It is common knowledge that if you choose to root the phone then you take 100% of the risks with it from that point forward.

I doubt you have any chance of being successful as you knowingly voided the warranty so I doubt the CGA will apply. It might sound unfair...

But you could give it a go and see what happens.

Jase2985

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#1542660 27-Apr-2016 11:19

do you know if its a hardware of software issue that's causing the screen to not work?

I think you are probably out of luck with a warranty or CGA claim

timmmay

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#1542710 27-Apr-2016 12:06

If it can be proven to be a hardware fault then it should be covered. You may have to pay to get it repaired, ask for a full report, and claim it back later - via disputes tribunal if necessary.

Lias

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#1542712 27-Apr-2016 12:11

Your CGA rights outweigh the manufacturers warranty. The device worked for 4 months after your attempt to modify the software, which is reasonably conclusive proof it's a hardware error. You have every right to expect the hardware to be replaced/repaired for free under your CGA rights, and should absolutely insist on that.

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linw

2849 posts

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#1542759 27-Apr-2016 13:42

Then there's their second line of defence - moisture ingress!

travlockhart

66 posts

Master Geek

#1542870 27-Apr-2016 15:48

You're probably out of luck.

Section III (A) of Samsung NZ Warranty:

"If you consider that the Samsung consumer product which you have purchased is not of acceptable quality, has a latent defect, or is otherwise not compliant with the conditions, warranties, undertakings, and legal rights given to you under New Zealand Law (for example, it appears faulty, or does not work at all or properly), you can make a claim under this Warranty."

http://www.samsung.com/nz/support/html/warrantyinformation/warrantyinformation11.html

At the same time, CGA also mention that as a Manufacturer:

"They will honour any written warranty that comes with their products."

The warranty information also mentions CGA all over it, but it's this bit that stops you from using CGA against it because CGA is part of the warranty itself. Since warranty is already void, then CGA doesn't apply in this case.

If you hadn't tried to root the phone, then that would be a different situation.

mattwnz

20164 posts

Uber Geek

#1542887 27-Apr-2016 16:15

travlockhart:

You're probably out of luck.

Section III (A) of Samsung NZ Warranty:

"If you consider that the Samsung consumer product which you have purchased is not of acceptable quality, has a latent defect, or is otherwise not compliant with the conditions, warranties, undertakings, and legal rights given to you under New Zealand Law (for example, it appears faulty, or does not work at all or properly), you can make a claim under this Warranty."

http://www.samsung.com/nz/support/html/warrantyinformation/warrantyinformation11.html

At the same time, CGA also mention that as a Manufacturer:

"They will honour any written warranty that comes with their products."

The warranty information also mentions CGA all over it, but it's this bit that stops you from using CGA against it because CGA is part of the warranty itself. Since warranty is already void, then CGA doesn't apply in this case.

If you hadn't tried to root the phone, then that would be a different situation.

So are you saying that because the CGA is in their warranty, and they have voided the warranty, that it also voids any claim under the CGA?

I don't believe manufacturers can contract out of the CGA for consumer goods in their own warranties.

Would a computers hardware not be covered under the CGA, if you decided to install linux on it, instead of the software it was installed with (eg windows?) A phone is a computer so I can't see how this is much different.

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thecatsgoolies

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#1542914 27-Apr-2016 16:42

Not much to add here other than you void your warranty rights if you jailbreak or root a device. Your consumer rights become void also.
I'm a mobile mentor and deal with bright point and telegistics on a daily basis and they will not touch any device that has been altered. I have had customers try to sneak devices passed us with faults caused by themselves. Easily spotted.

mattwnz

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#1542916 27-Apr-2016 16:47

thecatsgoolies: Not much to add here other than you void your warranty rights if you jailbreak or root a device. Your consumer rights become void also.

What is that based on, in terms of CGA legislation?

Lias

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#1542963 27-Apr-2016 18:33

thecatsgoolies: Not much to add here other than you void your warranty rights if you jailbreak or root a device. Your consumer rights become void also.
I'm a mobile mentor and deal with bright point and telegistics on a daily basis and they will not touch any device that has been altered. I have had customers try to sneak devices passed us with faults caused by themselves. Easily spotted.

Unless you can produce a single piece of case law to back that up, I'm going to call BS. No matter how much you want it to, you can't contract out of the CGA, and if the issue is a hardware fault, the phone should be CGA repaired free of charge.

hyperman

418 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1542977 27-Apr-2016 19:14

Lias:

thecatsgoolies: Not much to add here other than you void your warranty rights if you jailbreak or root a device. Your consumer rights become void also.
I'm a mobile mentor and deal with bright point and telegistics on a daily basis and they will not touch any device that has been altered. I have had customers try to sneak devices passed us with faults caused by themselves. Easily spotted.

Unless you can produce a single piece of case law to back that up, I'm going to call BS. No matter how much you want it to, you can't contract out of the CGA, and if the issue is a hardware fault, the phone should be CGA repaired free of charge.

It is not contracting out of CGA

The OP has modified the software warranty void END OF STORY!

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer

radomatic

93 posts

Master Geek

#1543072 27-Apr-2016 22:08

Lias:

thecatsgoolies: Not much to add here other than you void your warranty rights if you jailbreak or root a device. Your consumer rights become void also.
I'm a mobile mentor and deal with bright point and telegistics on a daily basis and they will not touch any device that has been altered. I have had customers try to sneak devices passed us with faults caused by themselves. Easily spotted.

Unless you can produce a single piece of case law to back that up, I'm going to call BS. No matter how much you want it to, you can't contract out of the CGA, and if the issue is a hardware fault, the phone should be CGA repaired free of charge.

I believe from a legal perspective this is the correct answer. If the hardware is at fault, the CGA would apply regardless of any software modifications that had taken place.

Obviously if it is a software modification at fault, then the CGA would not apply.

I have been dealing with the CGA for many years now.

1101

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#1543207 28-Apr-2016 09:28

A comparison with CGA & another product

Say, I buy a Win10 laptop. I wipe Win & load Linux. The screen fails 4 months later. Of course we would all expect that laptop
to still be covered by both warranty & the CGA .

Why would a ph be any different ?

joff_nz

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1543258 28-Apr-2016 10:23

The phone could be different because it could be a fault caused by software, which has been tampered with.

I expect this is not the case, it's simply a hardware fault, & I think it should be covered by warranty / CGA however it's not as clear cut as that.

camgoon

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1543275 28-Apr-2016 11:03

So the failure was the LCD, and they have indicated that they believe it is most probably not caused by "unauthorised software", so they have gone ahead and replaced the LCD for free under warranty.

However they want me to pay $250 to get the mainboard replaced which will remove the unauthorised software, but I've said no to this.

Telegistics haven't been as bad as I was expecting given reviews on here and reddit.

Thanks for your contributions

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