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Help Dropped Vibrant
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SamsungVibrant
Android Expert
Several Options. I'm assuming you don't have insurance.
Can you please describe the problem in more detail. Are you getting any image, describe clearly.
The drop may have simply loosened up a ribbon connector. Simply doing some minor surgery on your phone, and putting the ribbon back, will fix it.
Another option, if the screen is truely bust for some reason. Replace it yourself, you can get a replacement screen 60-80 bucks.
Next option, call samsung, let them know what happend, ask them how much it would cost them to fix it.
Can you please describe the problem in more detail. Are you getting any image, describe clearly.
The drop may have simply loosened up a ribbon connector. Simply doing some minor surgery on your phone, and putting the ribbon back, will fix it.
Another option, if the screen is truely bust for some reason. Replace it yourself, you can get a replacement screen 60-80 bucks.
Next option, call samsung, let them know what happend, ask them how much it would cost them to fix it.
GalaxyS_Superphone112
Member
wow you gotta treat this phone like you holding a baby im never tryna drop it. but yeah if you dont have insurance best bet will most likely be tryn get it fixed yourself samsung probably will charge much more then a store you can go to.
SamsungVibrant
Android Expert
you know what, you might get a warrenty exchange. you had it protected, and 4 ft is a very small drop, it shouldn't be doing that. I would say the phone was probably defective and just waiting for a any tiny drop to go haywire on you. If there is no physical damage, I would call t-mobile and do a warrenty exchange. There is no reason why a phone should do that from a 4 ft drop.
robo21
Android Expert
Sorry about your loss. Tmobile will give you a break on a replacement if you approach them correctly. Be polite, call Customer Care and explain what happened. They prefer to keep you as a happy customer or build customer loyalty with you. If you don't have a working phone you will not be a very happy camper.
One of my employee's (warehouse manager) often drops his phone, occasionally the results are catastrophic. Tmobile has always been very understanding and offered him at the very least a discount on a replacement or a free replacement with a contract extension. I know this because we usually make a 3-way call where he authorizes me to explain his situation and negotiate a solution. I've been very pleased with the results. Tmobile's customer care is top notch.
I would NOT try a warranty claim as you did drop the phone and they will not look kindly on you if the rep you talk to thinks you are trying to scam them. While a 4 foot fall may not superficially sound like much, a lot of factors determine what actual damages may result from such a fall. And accidental damage or abuse is not typically covered under warranty although I did read of one forum member who claims to have received a warranty replacement on a phone that was allegedly water damaged. This is different and I have quite a bit of experience dealing with Tmobile on these issues. Screen damage from a fall is definitely a completely different issue.
One of my employee's (warehouse manager) often drops his phone, occasionally the results are catastrophic. Tmobile has always been very understanding and offered him at the very least a discount on a replacement or a free replacement with a contract extension. I know this because we usually make a 3-way call where he authorizes me to explain his situation and negotiate a solution. I've been very pleased with the results. Tmobile's customer care is top notch.
I would NOT try a warranty claim as you did drop the phone and they will not look kindly on you if the rep you talk to thinks you are trying to scam them. While a 4 foot fall may not superficially sound like much, a lot of factors determine what actual damages may result from such a fall. And accidental damage or abuse is not typically covered under warranty although I did read of one forum member who claims to have received a warranty replacement on a phone that was allegedly water damaged. This is different and I have quite a bit of experience dealing with Tmobile on these issues. Screen damage from a fall is definitely a completely different issue.
GeeWillikers
Lurker
Sorry to hear about that man. That would kill me.
SamsungVibrant
Android Expert
With all do respect, everyone drops their phone. EVERYONE, I don't think their is one person alive who will not drop their phone at least once during their 1st yr of warranty service. By that logic, everyone should have voided warrenties. As long as there is no physical damage, inside or out, then I do not see why you shouldn't get a warranty claim. Guess what, T-mobile is going to turn right around, file a claim with samsung, to recoup the costs.
Keep in mind, T-mobile does not want to take any financial hit by sending you a free phone out of their pockets. I'm 99.9 percent sure the rep will ask "well does it have any physical damage, water damage?" and if it doesn't, the rep will file a Samsung warranty claim and send you a free phone. Trust me, unless you want to accuse T-mobile of doing warranty fraud, I promise you, if there is no physical damage, they will pass the financial cost onto samsung, and send you a warranty replacement.
Your phone should be able to withstand a 4ft drop, if it doesn't I think warranty fraud is the last thing to worry about. This is coming from someone who is against any type of fraud.
robo21
Android Expert
OR you might be totally blowing any chance you have at getting any mercy from Tmobile.
Sammy, how would you know without opening the phone whether there is any physical damage internally. Trust me, they aren't stupid. And just because they can pass the cost along to Samsung doesn't mean they will. They are trained to spot impact damage.
{Edit} I just spoke to my employee to sharpen my memory on a "warranty exchange" we tried on one of his Samsung flip phones with an external "mini screen." Between the two of us we recalled exactly how it went down: What happened is this, he dropped his phone on the warehouse floor. The only apparent damage to the phone was that the external screen went "funny" not unlike path's (OP) Vibrant's screen. In other words, the external mini screen still backlit but didn't display fully and half the screen had some kind of distorted dark image when the screen "tried to work." The other problem was that the phone seemed to drop a LOT of calls. It was a reall pain.
I called in on behalf of my employee and spoke with Tmobile, we went through the usual routine of troubleshooting. They said they would send out another phone immediately under warranty at no charge "pending inspection of the returned, damaged phone." "So long as the damage to the external screen was not impact related you will get the new phone at no charge under warranty." This is the one and only time that they EVER gave that disclaimer in spite of the fact that there had been numerous claims on this account. Note: They do not have to give a disclaimer, all warranty exchanges are subject to such inspection. We sent the phone in, they determined that the phone was dropped! They charged him full pop for a replacement phone.
My point is that once you go the warranty exchange route and you do not fess up to dropping the phone, then you blow any chance of getting a "mercy" break of any kind. My opinion (formed after almost 8 years of dealing with Tmobile on this topic) is that they KNOW what kind of damage cause such symptoms EVEN with no external evidence. Remember there was no physical external damage to the mini screen on my employee's phone. There may very well be internal shock damage evidence on the Vibrant.
My best advice is that honesty is the best policy, tell them what happened, that you need the Vibrant for whatever reasons, and is there anything they can do to help you as you cannot afford the full cost of a new Vibrant. Because if you send the phone in for warranty and they subsequently see the internal impact damage you will end up being billed full pop for a new phone anyway and then it will be much harder to justify mercy after you have LIED to Tmobile.
This is my opinion born out of experience, YMMV. Good luck.
SamsungVibrant
Android Expert
well I guess the goal now is the find out if there is an impact sensor or not, find out what the threshold for the impact is, then as Nancy Grace says, unleash the lawyers. There has to be a certain threshold allowed for drops, I mean seriously, everyone drops there phone. Phones should be able to withstand a 4 ft drop.
robo21
Android Expert
Not really, please read my edited post above. While I agree the phone should be able to withstand a 4 foot drop there are many conditions that affect the actual impact velocity and subsequent damage. It might only be 4 feet but maybe it was accelerated and not just released. Who knows? And the "should be able to withstand a 4 foot drop" is a good argument when asking for mercy.
There doesn't have to be a "sensor" for them to make such a determination. See above revision. I think the screen IS the impact sensor...
HadouGhost
Android Expert
also he had on a silicone case (i have a hard case with a rubber feel on mine) and you would think that the vibrant with its ''omfg wtf bbq sauce gorilla glass screen'' would be able to handle 4 feet with a case on it. you would also think the case, be it hard or silicone, would reduce the damage a bit.
T-mobile's customer service is excellent. they arent blowing smoke when they say that jd power associates ranks them #1. yes they are a company that intends to make a profit, but they do understand that in order to KEEP making money you have to keep your customers HAPPY. And yes, that means sometimes biteing the bullet.
T-mobile's customer service is excellent. they arent blowing smoke when they say that jd power associates ranks them #1. yes they are a company that intends to make a profit, but they do understand that in order to KEEP making money you have to keep your customers HAPPY. And yes, that means sometimes biteing the bullet.
howetechnical
Android Enthusiast
Good to hear
Regarding your broken phone, it's not that it was more flimsy that the rest of ours, as it's the same device made from the same manufacturing plant. It was just the luck of the draw...the phone simply happened to fall at the right speed, angle, and bounce just right to cause the damage that it did. Most drops will not do this, but yours was one of the unlucky ones.darksandz93
Member
so they're sending out a new replacement phone knowing you dropped it with no charge whatsoever?
wearespacepeople
Member
Jesus, from a 4 foot drop? That sucks bro. I'm pretty careful with my phone but I didn't think I had to be that careful haha.
HadouGhost
Android Expert
yay!!! me = happy for you!
The thought of me dropping my vibrant gives me the same feeling i feel when i see some guy on a stupid video get hit in the nutsack.
The thought of me dropping my vibrant gives me the same feeling i feel when i see some guy on a stupid video get hit in the nutsack.
robo21
Android Expert
Way to go Tmobile! That's the way to build customer loyalty.
robo21
Android Expert
