My S4 died - warranty void when done nothing wrong?

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IronH

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#153746 6-Oct-2014 19:59

My S4 died yesterday. I took it out of my pocket to check the time and it was turned off. I tried turning it back on but it never got past the boot screen.

It then stopped even turning on. I tried my battery in a mates phone and it worked. I tried his battery in my phone and it still wouldn't turn on.

After trying several different sequences of removing battery and pressing the home+vol up+power button I can finally get it to show the splash screen. When I attempt to go into recovery mode it also never gets past the splash screen.

I can get to odin mode, however it shows
current binary: custom
Knox void warranty: 0x1

After googling what this means it looks like a counter has been tripped and voided my warranty (phone is 4mnths old). I have never attempted to flash a custom ROM, I haven't even updated from Android 4.3 that came stock on the device, can anyone advise how this counter could have been tripped? Am I basically screwed with warranty? should I now try and flash a custom rom to see if I can recover my phone?

Thanks for any advice.

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#1148566 6-Oct-2014 20:04

habe you taken it back to shop and been declined?, under the CGA it shouldn't matter if knox tripped if it can be proved that it hardware not software.

Looks like it has custom recovery on it

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IronH

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#1148577 6-Oct-2014 20:18

I have to send it back, Ive got an RMA but they may charge a fee if it is found to be a user caused fault, and I am afraid they may claim this based on what the odin screen shows. I am concerned how this got tripped though as I have never tried to flash a custom ROM. I have however used a custom launcher (Next 3D launcher) and I've also installed Linux Debian (no root required) both downloaded and installed from the google play store, could either one of these have tripped the counter?

freitasm

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#1148595 6-Oct-2014 20:29

Where did you buy this handset from?

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IronH

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#1148605 6-Oct-2014 20:38

freitasm: Where did you buy this handset from?

Auckland parallel importer

Inphinity

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#1148608 6-Oct-2014 20:41

Plenty of cases of Samsung honouring hardware warranty on Knox-tripped devices. Different story if it's a software issue.

gzt

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#1148609 6-Oct-2014 20:43

Don't believe everything you read online. Take it back and give them an opportunity to honour the warranty. If they don't then come back.

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jeffnz

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#1148613 6-Oct-2014 20:47

most of the stuff you read online about knox being tripped negates warranty is from overseas where they don't have the CGA.

Still looks like custom recovery on there, not being scaremonger but could it be a recon unit

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IronH

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#1148647 6-Oct-2014 21:22

gzt: Don't believe everything you read online. Take it back and give them an opportunity to honour the warranty. If they don't then come back.

They may charge a fee if found not to be something covered by warranty, + courier fees, so I'd rather avoid this where possible.

jeffnz: most of the stuff you read online about knox being tripped negates warranty is from overseas where they don't have the CGA.
Still looks like custom recovery on there, not being scaremonger but could it be a recon unit

It came in a pre opened box, they claim they open boxes to ensure the device is working before shipping, so there is every chance it could be.

IronH

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#1148655 6-Oct-2014 21:31

Also, I don't know if the current issue is hardware or software, earlier on in the day I installed several app updates through the play store, could something have corrupted the device? Should I try flashing myself, because if the issue is software and they see the counter they will likely claim it isn't covered by warranty.

Yabanize

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#1148696 6-Oct-2014 22:12

Since its parellel imported they probably dont have a normal samsung warrenty therefore they wont care about the knox counter?

Anyway you could try flashing stock firmware from http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/1/ where you choose the model number (is it gt-i9505? ) You unzip it and flash the PDA file using ODIN

This is weird because it sounds like sudden death syndrome but that was only supposed to affect S3's

timmmay

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#1148840 7-Oct-2014 07:41

You've done nothing wrong. Your only option is to send it back for them to look at, repair, or replace. There are no other options, just do it.

You might include a short letter telling them what happened, and that you've never loaded a custom firmware or boot loader.

If the response isn't "here's a new phone" or "phone has been repaired" you should call them once and talk to them nicely, but tell them you're filing with the small claims court immediately if they don't make things right. But give them the benefit of the doubt until then.

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IronH

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#1148846 7-Oct-2014 07:47

Someone on another forum suggested it was the parallel importer who may have flashed it. "some online retailers in NZ gets their stock from from grey market/oversea and reflash them with local ROMs". I suspect this is the case, I will question them about it before I send it back.

IronH

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#1148847 7-Oct-2014 07:49

gzt: Don't believe everything you read online. Take it back and give them an opportunity to honour the warranty. If they don't then come back.

Yes, normally this would be correct, however I would like to avoid the fee they will charge as a ransom before giving the phone back if they say it is a user fault, they clearly state this is what they do if they believe it is user fault, and based on the counter being tripped they have evidence on their side to say that it was me who caused the fault - how do I prove otherwise.

Dingbatt

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#1148904 7-Oct-2014 09:11

If you bought it from a bricks and mortar shop then you should go and talk to them. If your main concern is the Knox counter and a custom rom then you need to ask them if the research you have done is correct and it is the retailer that has flashed a custom rom. To my way of thinking, if that is the case, then you have a valid warranty claim because nothing you have done had contributed to the failure of your device. Then you can decide to proceed with your warranty claim, pay your security, etc.
When my phone had to go in for a warranty claim the retailer took a security deposit to ensure that they were not out of pocket if you abandon the phone and refuse to pay the cost of the inspection if you were at fault. This doesn't sound to be the case in your circumstance and you aren't going to abandon a $500 phone until all avenues are exhausted.
I'm not super familiar with Samsung devices, but is there a way in the modes you can access to do a factory reset? If you can, it may fix the problem if it is software related. And it will also get rid of your personal data before it goes in for repair if it doesn't fix the problem.

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gzt

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#1149045 7-Oct-2014 12:07

Agree with above. The case as presented is very simple from my pov. You did not flash it. The warranty is not void. If they want to investigate then that is what they will find. It is not up to you to prove anything.

You have to start the process at some point. It might as well be sooner than later. Just send it back already ; )

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