Galaxy s2 warranty for USA users

Techvir · May 25, 2011

There has been a lot of discussion about warranty for galaxy s2 for users in USA.
I have found some definite answers. Summary is : none of them will get warranty in usa but needs to be shipped to UK/Europe.
I was planning to buy one handset but holding back due to the lack of warranty.

However if someone has got other info please add it here

1. Handtech : I sent a mail and this is the reply that i got.

If you needed to claim on the warranty for the Galaxy II then it would more than likely have to come back to us I'm afraid as it is only covered by a UK warranty. However, sometimes Samsung in Europe will help but we obviously cannot guarantee this as it would be their decision.

2. Expansys-usa - Talked over the phone -
Told me they will help me ship the phone to UK. But i dont know how fast that is going to be.

Hope this someone here

JJEgan · May 25, 2011

Pretty much as is and as has been reported .
Two warranty suppliers one the seller and two Samsung .
Samsung have said in the past that they cover warranty within Europe providing user has receipt from authorized seller .

jje

BarryH_GEG · May 25, 2011

My company buys $10MM a year in Samsung TVs. My global account rep checked with the retail electronics group and said it would be serviced at any Samsung repair center worldwide. I'd take that over a shop clerks statement.

Here's an excerpt from the e-mail I received:

In the event that warranty service is required on your Samsung Mobile product and you are located outside of the country where it was originally purchased, the local Samsung entity in the foriegn countries listed below may be able to provide you with warranty service (labor or parts) during your warranty period.

Any warranty services rendered shall be in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of the Samsung Mobile Products Limited Warranty. Warranty services performed outside the country of purchase may take longer if parts are needed to repair.

JJEgan · May 25, 2011

Samsung posted a reply to a consumer and that was the basis of my statement regarding warranty in Europe .

So one part of Samsung differers with another .
Personally if its an international model i would expect warranty to be covered worldwide .

Buy one from Europe break it take it to Samsung USA service centre will be the test .

jje

BarryH_GEG · May 25, 2011

JJEgan said:
Buy one from Europe break it take it to Samsung USA service centre will be the test .

jje

So true. That's the only real test. Personally, I'd rather not be first.

robstunner · May 25, 2011

I was sending tweets to @galaxyssupport and they wouldn't give me the time of day. Referred me to SamsungUK as "its not a US market phone." SamsungUK has yet to repsond to me. That was a few days ago.....

NextNexus · Jun 9, 2011

Anybody have updated info on this? I bought from Expansys and would like to know who I would talk to regarding a warranty covered issue. Thanks.

ownersway · Jul 13, 2011

jmwein said:
Anybody have updated info on this? I bought from Expansys and would like to know who I would talk to regarding a warranty covered issue. Thanks.

What is the issue you are having? I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on one from Expansys.

Thanks

benivolent · Jul 13, 2011

Not sure if this is helpful, but I bought from Handtec, had to return it for replacement (screen issue diff from ring or yellow). They shipped back using Royal mail, took forever b/c of the Canada post lockout.

The point is shipping back and forth for issues on a phone that seemed to have a propensity for initial quality errors, could get expensive.

kbiz90 · Jul 13, 2011

benivolent said:
The point is shipping back and forth for issues on a phone that seemed to have a propensity for initial quality errors, could get expensive.

How much did it cost and how long to did it take befoe you had a working phone again?

benivolent · Jul 13, 2011

kbiz90 said:
How much did it cost and how long to did it take befoe you had a working phone again?

Cost me approx 79.10cdn to ship back via Fedex. (Canada Post would have cost me $69 but they were on strike &or locked out).

Sent it back June 16, 2011 and received my phone July 11, 2011. (i had my old phone to use in the meantime)

It was just super annoying to check tracking and seeing that it hadn`t left UK for weeks because of the mail lockout, esp when they could have shipped it fedex. Oh well, at least I have it back now.

3_D · Jul 14, 2011

I just went with SquareTrade. Cost $94 for 2 years with ADH. Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) coverage.
https://www.squaretrade.com/

Techvir · Jul 14, 2011

3_D said:
I just went with SquareTrade. Cost $94 for 2 years with ADH. Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) coverage.
https://www.squaretrade.com/

did the samething.

pachi72 · Jul 14, 2011

I cannot believe this phone has not come out here.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Oat23 · Jul 14, 2011

3_D said:
I just went with SquareTrade. Cost $94 for 2 years with ADH. Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) coverage.
https://www.squaretrade.com/

If you're in the U.S. might want to look into that. I called them before and because it doesn't have a standard U.S. warranty, it is not covered by Squaretrade.

Of course they have no way of knowing if your phone has warranty here in the U.S. or not, so they let you set it up. Make sure you can keep it, if not cancel it before the 30 free days are up.

kbiz90 · Jul 14, 2011

You can buy a SGS2 at Amazon right now for $673 with free shipping (if you have Amazon Prime). Probably won't have to pay tax either unless you live in WA state (or some other unlucky state). Amazon has a 30 day return policy.

So, total Amazon cost without warranty is most likely $673.

If you buy from Expansys USA, you pay $700 plus tax. The tax for my state is $54. In addition, I give another online vendor my personal information and billing details.

So total Expansys USA cost is most likely $754. For me, it's an extra $81 over Amazon. Or 12% more.

What do you get for that $81? You probably get a two year warranty against manufacturing defects. Amazon is one month. It's unclear whether you have to ship it back to the UK. If you do and you pay the same as benivolent (thanks for the info, benivolent), you'll pay another $70 or so and wait at least 10 business days.

So, if you to ship it back the UK, total Expansys USA cost is most likely $824. For me, it's an extra $151 over Amazon. Or 22% more.

Even if you have to replace the screen which costs $350 (according to BarryH_GEG), the actual savings is $199 if you have to ship back to the UK or $269 if you can get it repaired at a Samsung service center. Of course, if a button fails after the first month, the savings will be much less or nothing at all.

So, from a breakeven standpoint, paying up for the warranty only makes sense if you think there is more than a 12% or 22% chance of something major breaking after the first month.

For me, the more like scenario is I drop or lose my SGS2.

Let's say we can get SquareTrade accidental damage from handling coverage for $94 or 14%. It might be useful if you drop your SGS2 in a puddle or drop it without a protective cover. In that case, you definitely want to buy from Amazon. However, that coverage is questionable given what Oat23 said. Your SGS2 may not be covered since it doesn't have a standard U.S. warranty.

Nothing will cover you if you lose your SGS2.

Personally, I never damaged any of my phones from dropping them and I never lost one. So it has paid for me in the past to forego insurance. That's hundreds of dollars in savings. If I continue my good luck, I'll save a minimum of $81 on my SGS2 purchase. Of course, whether you want to pay up for a warranty or insurance is a personal choice. However, they say the safest driver is one with a cop in the rearview mirror. Maybe the safest SGS2 owner is one without a warranty.

BarryH_GEG · Jul 14, 2011

kbiz90 said:
You can buy a SGS2 at Amazon right now for $673 with free shipping (if you have Amazon Prime). Probably won't have to pay tax either unless you live in WA state (or some other unlucky state). Amazon has a 30 day return policy.

So, total Amazon cost without warranty is most likely $673.

If you buy from Expansys USA, you pay $700 plus tax. The tax for my state is $54. In addition, I give another online vendor my personal information and billing details.

So total Expansys USA cost is most likely $754. For me, it's an extra $81 over Amazon. Or 12% more.

What do you get for that $81? You probably get a two year warranty against manufacturing defects. Amazon is one month. It's unclear whether you have to ship it back to the UK. If you do and you pay the same as benivolent (thanks for the info, benivolent), you'll pay another $70 or so and wait at least 10 business days.

So, if you to ship it back the UK, total Expansys USA cost is most likely $824. For me, it's an extra $151 over Amazon. Or 22% more.

Even if you have to replace the screen which costs $350 (according to BarryH_GEG), the actual savings is $199 if you have to ship back to the UK or $269 if you can get it repaired at a Samsung service center. Of course, if a button fails after the first month, the savings will be much less or nothing at all.

So, from a breakeven standpoint, paying up for the warranty only makes sense if you think there is more than a 12% or 22% chance of something major breaking after the first month.

For me, the more like scenario is I drop or lose my SGS2.

Let's say we can get SquareTrade accidental damage from handling coverage for $94 or 14%. It might be useful if you drop your SGS2 in a puddle or drop it without a protective cover. In that case, you definitely want to buy from Amazon. However, that coverage is questionable given what Oat23 said. Your SGS2 may not be covered since it doesn't have a standard U.S. warranty.

Nothing will cover you if you lose your SGS2.

Personally, I never damaged any of my phones from dropping them and I never lost one. So it has paid for me in the past to forego insurance. That's hundreds of dollars in savings. If I continue my good luck, I'll save a minimum of $81 on my SGS2 purchase. Of course, whether you want to pay up for a warranty or insurance is a personal choice. However, they say the safest driver is one with a cop in the rearview mirror. Maybe the safest SGS2 owner is one without a warranty.

Whoa, lot's of info.

For purchase, I'd go a third route - clove.co.uk. It's $415 GBP ($670 USD) delivered in three days. It'll be fresh UK stock. If it has a defect, you'd be stuck with one-way shipping but someone else had a problem and Clove was good to work with. By purchasing it in the country of intended sale it's covered by the two-year warranty. My company does a lot of business with Samsung and I was told that the phone could be repaired in the U.S. under their Global Warranty program. It's yet to be tested though. If I bought from Amazon it would be through them direct, not an affiliated seller. To your point, if the first phone's defective in any way, they'd be the cheapest and fastest way to get an exchange. Expansys-USA would be second but they'd be more expensive. Both Amazon and Expansys have shipped phones from funky places like Poland and Chile. I got my phone from the UK and it was perfect. I'm guessing with 3MM sold your chances of getting "perfect" would be a lot higher than "crappy" if you went the UK route.

As for SquareTrade they do cover grey market phones. If you can Google a 30% off coupon it's $94 for $600 of coverage for two-years. It's also transferable which makes the phone more valuable on eBay if you ever want to sell it. I'd bet they'd cover the cost of shipping to the UK for warranty repairs also - it's cheaper than them having to eat the phone at the full $600 of coverage. The screen alone is $450 to replace so, to me, the $94 is worth the piece of mind and as a back-up to the Samsung warranty.

FishTaco · Jul 15, 2011

Oat23 said:
If you're in the U.S. might want to look into that. I called them before and because it doesn't have a standard U.S. warranty, it is not covered by Squaretrade.

Of course they have no way of knowing if your phone has warranty here in the U.S. or not, so they let you set it up. Make sure you can keep it, if not cancel it before the 30 free days are up.

You are correct. I checked as well a couple of months ago and they said if it is a UK version of the phone, Squaretrade will not cover it in the U.S.

One way they will know it does not have a US warranty is if you purchased it from and overseas vendor since Squaretrade requires you send in a copy of the purchase receipt. The other problem is even if you bought it from a US vendor and the phone fails in the first year, Squaretrade will tell you to work with the manufacturer since it is "covered" in the first year warranty period.

I guess another option is if you bought it from a U.S. vendor and you have an Accidental Damage policy you could smash the phone with a sledgehammer, accidentally, and try to submit a claim and pay any deductible. But if that doesn't work, all you have are pieces of the phone left.

FishTaco · Jul 15, 2011

BarryH_GEG said:
As for SquareTrade they do cover grey market phones. .

The only time Squaretrade "may" cover a grey market cell phone is if it was purchased through eBay. Squaretrade has specialized warranties for eBay purchases. Otherwise, Squaretrade will not cover grey market cell phones.

On the cell phone warranty sign up page, in the fine print it states "The SquareTrade cellphone warranty prices listed above are applicable to new Cell Phones (with a full 1 year manufacturer warranty) purchased from authorized outlets."

Then on the grey market FAQ it states "SquareTrade honors every valid claim, and only voids a warranty if the item was never eligible for a Care Plan or in cases of outright fraud."

In the case on of a non-ebay grey market phone, it is never eligible for a Care Plan in the first place.

That is what they told me when I asked a couple of months ago. If you hear differently from Squaretrade I would love to know (and a contract name and email for Squaretrade to set me up).

BarryH_GEG · Jul 15, 2011

FishTaco said:
You are correct. I checked as well a couple of months ago and they said if it is a UK version of the phone, Squaretrade will not cover it in the U.S.

From their U.S. terms and conditions:

If the manufacturer refuses to honor their warranty because they consider your item grey market or not purchased from an authorized retailer, we will still cover you.

Here's a link to their full terms and conditions.

http://www.squaretrade.com/merchant/learn/summaryPopup.html

I sent them my UK receipt to have on file so I can go paperless if I need to file a claim. My policy has been updated online to show "receipt received and on file." I checked a lot of different options and their the only ones I could find that would cover a grey market phone.

Galaxy s2 warranty for USA users

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