I found out some info from TMO customer care yesterday that is interesting and worth knowing.
TMO cut the cost to replace a rooted vibrant down to $115 on April 1st, but the insurance still costs $130. So if anyone finds themselves in my situation (totally and utterly bricked in every sense of the word and still rooted) or a similar situation, it would actually be cheaper to just send it in without insurance, even if the damage indicator is red.
However, if they don't get the phone back within 7 days, then the price is still $455 to replace the phone.
This info is for T-Mobile USA. I have no idea if international branches of T-Mobile have adopted the same policy, and I have no idea if this applies to other phones as well (I am just restating what the customer care rep told me.)
So I can crack my screen completely and it will only cost 115 still? Or is that just for rooted devices? Because if you hard-brick the device, TMobile has no way of knowing that it was rooting considering they can't even turn it on.
Also just got mail that the insurance is increasing by $2 to $7.99 but you get free Mobile Security from Asurion included in that....Samsung Vibrant is only included in PLAN D of the insurance which is $130 deductible and a claim limit amount of $1000.
Confused. So hypothetically if I destroy my phone to the point it doesn't even power on, I can call them and send it in to get a refurb one for $115?
Does it apply only if its bricked? If it's broken physically...like screen or something internal, can I still do that?
Mine says LOSS THEFT DAMAGE or MALFUNCTION...Drop in water COVERED..Keypad stop working COVERED..etc etc..
Okay, I can see how my 1st post could have been a little confusing. Here's what you should do if you need to send in your vibrant.
First and foremost, if you CAN flash back to stock, DO IT. That is still the only sure-fire way of not having to pay anything and still get a new/refurbished Vibrant out of it.
Second, T-Mobile will charge you the $115 if they find that the phone has hardware damage (red damage indicator, damaged screen, exc.), but can still be repaired. So, if your phone has a cracked screen, for example, it's a better idea to send it in without insurance because insurance costs $130 plus an additional $8 per month. (NOTE: The FFC mod is an irreversible mod. You have cracked open the phone and therefore T-Mobile considers that "physical damage." You cannot swap out the camera for the stock one and re-paint the camera hole and lens.)
Third, T-Mobile will charge you the $115 if they find that the phone has been rooted or modded in any way in terms of software.
However, the chances of T-Mobile finding anything out about software modification is unlikely. At the T-Mobile processing center, they have some magic way of taking out the internal SD card without triggering the damage indicator. After they have done that, what they are SUPPOSED to do is attempt to find any data on the internal SD card that would reveal whether the phone was rooted or not (working superuser app, exc.). However, this process is long, tedious and boring as hell so what a lot of employees do is just skip the part where they examine the internal SD card and just format the thing without looking at it. To prove it, when I sent in that hard-bricked vibrant, it had a GT-I9000 bootloader on it plus CM7 and numerous ROM.zip files on it. I was not charged anything for that Vibrant.
Moral of the story: Don't buy the insurance for the Samsung Vibrant under any circumstances. Unless it goes down in price (which I seriously doubt it will), it is a complete waste of money. You will save money by going uninsured. Also, don't freak out if your Vibrant has software on it that you can't get rid of for some reason. In all likelihood, T-Mobile won't find anything.
Second moral of the story: DO NOT think that you will only get charged $115 if you choose NOT to send the broken Vibrant back to T-Mobile. They will charge you the ridiculous amount of approximately $455.18.
P.S. If anyone finds out the way that T-Mobile is able to open up the phone without tripping the damage indicator, PLEASE TELL US! If that info gets out, then I will do that FFC mod so fast you won't know what hit you!
I just walked in my tmobil store and told them my phone was messing up. And they sent me a new one. No cost at all to me except for that 8.00. So in my opinion insurance is good. For us if we have the old insurance is fantastic.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
Do you get a brand new phone as a replacement if you have insurance?
Refurbished, most likely previous phones that were sent in from people like yourself and fixed up.
yah mine was refurbished, but brand spanking new! in my opinion the insurance is the best deal tmobile has!
I actually prefer the refurbished units since they are actually tested and everything should work on it (including GPS, mine locks 8 birds within 3 seconds).
30000 said:
Okay, I can see how my 1st post could have been a little confusing. Here's what you should do if you need to send in your vibrant.
First and foremost, if you CAN flash back to stock, DO IT. That is still the only sure-fire way of not having to pay anything and still get a new/refurbished Vibrant out of it.
Second, T-Mobile will charge you the $115 if they find that the phone has hardware damage (red damage indicator, damaged screen, exc.), but can still be repaired. So, if your phone has a cracked screen, for example, it's a better idea to send it in without insurance because insurance costs $130 plus an additional $8 per month. (NOTE: The FFC mod is an irreversible mod. You have cracked open the phone and therefore T-Mobile considers that "physical damage." You cannot swap out the camera for the stock one and re-paint the camera hole and lens.)
Third, T-Mobile will charge you the $115 if they find that the phone has been rooted or modded in any way in terms of software.
However, the chances of T-Mobile finding anything out about software modification is unlikely. At the T-Mobile processing center, they have some magic way of taking out the internal SD card without triggering the damage indicator. After they have done that, what they are SUPPOSED to do is attempt to find any data on the internal SD card that would reveal whether the phone was rooted or not (working superuser app, exc.). However, this process is long, tedious and boring as hell so what a lot of employees do is just skip the part where they examine the internal SD card and just format the thing without looking at it. To prove it, when I sent in that hard-bricked vibrant, it had a GT-I9000 bootloader on it plus CM7 and numerous ROM.zip files on it. I was not charged anything for that Vibrant.
Moral of the story: Don't buy the insurance for the Samsung Vibrant under any circumstances. Unless it goes down in price (which I seriously doubt it will), it is a complete waste of money. You will save money by going uninsured. Also, don't freak out if your Vibrant has software on it that you can't get rid of for some reason. In all likelihood, T-Mobile won't find anything.
Second moral of the story: DO NOT think that you will only get charged $115 if you choose NOT to send the broken Vibrant back to T-Mobile. They will charge you the ridiculous amount of approximately $455.18.
P.S. If anyone finds out the way that T-Mobile is able to open up the phone without tripping the damage indicator, PLEASE TELL US! If that info gets out, then I will do that FFC mod so fast you won't know what hit you!
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Well I didn't get insurance to replace my phone in case of damage via rooting. I got insurance to repalce my phone if I lose it, drop it in water, or if it gets stolen.
Also, what damage indicator are you talking about?
anthonys2r said:
Refurbished, most likely previous phones that were sent in from people like yourself and fixed up.
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Thanks, I have the insurance but haven't used yet. If you get a refurbished phone after paying deductible then its not with it for me, might just cancel mine
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
SamsungVibrant said:
Also, what damage indicator are you talking about?
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it's the liquid damage indicator. it's the white square underneath the battery right by the battery connection. it turns red if it gets wet.
VICosPhi said:
Thanks, I have the insurance but haven't used yet. If you get a refurbished phone after paying deductible then its not with it for me, might just cancel mine
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
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If you pay deductible, you get a new phone not refurb. Only time you might get refurb is when you do a warranty exchange. Warranty exchanges are at no cost. Insurance is 7.99 a month but like any insurance, its there in case you need it. You loose, break, get it wet or it gets stolen then you are covered. Just like car insurance, you could pay insurance for years and never use it, but then again if you are in a wreck or it gets stolen, then you are happy u did. Without insurance, you are screwed. Remember warranty is only for a year w/o extended warranty. Insurance extends your warranty for life of phone
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
+1 on what he said!
funeralthirst said:
it's the liquid damage indicator. it's the white square underneath the battery right by the battery connection. it turns red if it gets wet.
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I know about the liquid indicator, but that's not what 30000 was talking about. 30000 was talking about a different damage indicator.
30000 said:
30000 said:
At the T-Mobile processing center, they have some magic way of taking out the internal SD card without triggering the damage indicator.
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What damage indicator?
Marvlet said:
If you pay deductible, you get a new phone not refurb. Only time you might get refurb is when you do a warranty exchange. Warranty exchanges are at no cost. Insurance is 7.99 a month but like any insurance, its there in case you need it. You loose, break, get it wet or it gets stolen then you are covered. Just like car insurance, you could pay insurance for years and never use it, but then again if you are in a wreck or it gets stolen, then you are happy u did. Without insurance, you are screwed. Remember warranty is only for a year w/o extended warranty. Insurance extends your warranty for life of phone
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This is not true, there is a 95% chance that you will get a refurb. All T-mobile reps will tell you that you will either get a refurbished or new device. They will also tell you right after that, that you will most likely get a refurb. I've talked to them for hours and fought with supervisors and such just trying NOT to get a refurb. I know most people think that the refurbished phones are inspected, this is also a load of bs. They are not inspected, they fix the problem that was there and make sure that and ONLY that is fixed. They do not check any other part of the phone.
mugenfiji0327 said:
This is not true, there is a 95% chance that you will get a refurb. All T-mobile reps will tell you that you will either get a refurbished or new device. They will also tell you right after that, that you will most likely get a refurb. I've talked to them for hours and fought with supervisors and such just trying NOT to get a refurb. I know most people think that the refurbished phones are inspected, this is also a load of bs. They are not inspected, they fix the problem that was there and make sure that and ONLY that is fixed. They do not check any other part of the phone.
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Insurance and warranty exchange are 2 different things. With warranty exchange its new or refurb, cant guarantee one or the other. Most times its refurb. With insurance which is NOT thru T-mobile but thru Assurion, when you file a claim and pay the deductible, you get a new phone.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Marvlet said:
Insurance and warranty exchange are 2 different things. With warranty exchange its new or refurb, cant guarantee one or the other. Most times its refurb. With insurance which is NOT thru T-mobile but thru Assurion, when you file a claim and pay the deductible, you get a new phone.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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Nope failed again. I will call Asurion right now and go through the process of having my phone replaced and record it just to prove it to you if you would like me to. They do not send out new products man, I know this for a fact. Think about it man, if they sent out new devices everytime someone called in for a problem, none of the companies involved would make any money on that phone which is what they want, MONEY. That includes T-mobile, Asurion and Samsung. Every electronics store I have ever bought from uses them as their insurance program. Best Buy,Verizon,T-Mobile etc. Every time I've had something replaced through any of those companys it has and ALWAYS WILL BE a refurb. I work for Verizon and guess what, everytime someone comes in for us to call Asurion for them or even if they call themselves they still get a REFURB. I used to work for Best Buy and on top of that I worked in the Geek Squad for Best Buy and did most of the insurance claims when people came through. Guess what, all of my customers got REFURBS. I'm done arguing with you and I think I have made my point.
Just to give people a heads up that need their EVO's exchanged via service centers or replaced via insurance. For the past few days ALL replacement Evo's that I've had come in have been flashed to the new OTA prior to shipping. There may be instances where some service centers may have some 2.2 Evo's on hand (not likely) but for the most part expect to get a 2.3 Evo if you need to have yours replaced.
got mine replaced and got in Wednesday still had 2.3
sent from my back pocket using an EVO
2.2 sorry type o
sent from my back pocket using an EVO
Just got a replacement EVO,with 2.2 yesterday...actually a replacement for my replacement EVO..
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todah09 said:
Just got a replacement EVO,with 2.2 yesterday...actually a replacement for my replacement EVO..
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What's the refurb date on yours. The ones I'm getting in are no more than a week old.
The biggest complaint about Sprint I could have is that they run everything through insurance. Verizon (who I left to get Evo) would replace your phone with no deductible if it was a defect. IE: not charging, something not working properly etc etc. There basically could be no water damage and the phone had to be less than a year old. I pay for insurance for other reasons, such as loss, theft, drop a brick on it and such.
You guys have the same experience? Just trying to see if its the two stores I've went to that "look" at the phone and say if you want a new one do it through insurance.
i have two repair centers here next to me who always replace my phone for free, as long as there's no water damage, r u sure u r visiting repair centers?
A repair center near me was going to replace my phone for free sure to a speaker defect. No insurance needed. Same for others I've talked to. A long as it is a defect in the phone then they will replace it for free.
Where the phones activated? If so that's why it was 2.3
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david914 said:
i have two repair centers here next to me who always replace my phone for free, as long as there's no water damage, r u sure u r visiting repair centers?
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Yea for some reason they do nothing but want to send it via insurance and charge me $100 for a refurb. Glad somebody is having luck out there
Mantle107 said:
Yea for some reason they do nothing but want to send it via insurance and charge me $100 for a refurb. Glad somebody is having luck out there
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The only time we replace phones is if there are main board issues, everything else we repair in house. Main board issues are cover under the exchange program and we order the exchange right away. If it's shattered screens or water damage the we check to see if the customer is eligible for an upgrade so we can present the customer with options (upgrade or insurance). If they want to file a claim we walk them through it.
PM me where you live and I'll see if I can't track down a decent service center.
Lokifish Marz said:
The only time we replace phones is if there are main board issues, everything else we repair in house. Main board issues are cover under the exchange program and we order the exchange right away. If it's shattered screens or water damage the we check to see if the customer is eligible for an upgrade so we can present the customer with options (upgrade or insurance). If they want to file a claim we walk them through it.
PM me where you live and I'll see if I can't track down a decent service center.
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Thank you so much for the solid info. I'll shoot you a message later after I get out of this meeting. Again, much appreciated.
It's usually pretty cut and dry if you take it to a Sprint Service/Repair Center. If there is physical damage then it will go through Insurance. Hardware defect it is swapped free of charge. They have the option to repair some physical damage...... If you take it anywhere else they will insurance it for the $100 or send you to a Sprint Service/Repair Center. We'll they should remind you, but usually don't.
I have never had to pay a single claim except for when I lost my phone.
I went to a Sprint Repair center once to have my screen swapped (I have the white spots that are a manufacturer defect) and they told me I would have to go through insurance. I haven't tried a different Service/Repair center yet. Know of any good ones in the Miami, Fl area?
After getting this phone I'm freaked out I'm going to shatter it instantly... so have any of you thought about an accidental damage warranty at all? Like square trade or anything? Thanks
ml3000 said:
After getting this phone I'm freaked out I'm going to shatter it instantly... so have any of you thought about an accidental damage warranty at all? Like square trade or anything? Thanks
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I bought SquareTrade 85 dollars for two years
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
$125 plan + $99 deductible for any claim? Is this a joke? Lol. I'd rather risk having to pay $125 more to buy a new phone in the event something does happen and benefit from saving $225 if nothing happens over the next 2 years that won't be covered by the manufacturer. That warranty is a really really poor investment.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
The phone itself just isn't worth the warranty. For the most part, I'll be expecting LG to be replacing the phones that have cracked due to defect and anything related to the radios and whatnot will be covered as well. This is LG's prime time and I'm sure they don't want to mess it up with additional bad press.
My screen cracked making the phone completely unresponsive, at the same time I had my adb-debugging off, so now I can not unroot the phone, nor can I retrieve any data from it. So I was wondering if I can still send LG the phone and go by without them noticing it is rooted, or should I just replace the screen on my own? Also if you know is there a way to enable debugging on this phone by just using the computer? And also if I were to buy a screen could you suggest some places to buy it at? I found this on ebay and was wondering if it would work http://goo.gl/oYhLG? This seems to be the cheapest, if not send me some suggestions, Thank you very much!
You don't need debugging on. Just flash the stock image in fastboot and relock your bootloader.
Check the sticky roll up in general.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Getting a screen replaced from LG isn't under warranty... So having it unlocked shouldn't make a difference.
Mine was stock rooted/unlocked and they had no issues taking my $140 and replacing my screen.
I filled out the request on the web, a rep got back to me within a day, answered my questions and they sent me an RMA number. I shipped my phone to the Fort Worth facility and had it back in a week. Once they look it over, they send you back an email with the details of the repair and you can fill out a form or call and pay over the phone. I chose to call and talked to two very nice and helpful reps. They don't start the repairs until you agree to pay and they do cover that new part for a year I believe.
All in all I had a good experience dealing with LG directly and the screen I got was a new screen of better quality than the one it replaced. I find its easier and safer to just let them take care of it... If they break the screen or the phone during the repair, they replace it at no cost to you. If you break something during the repair, you're in for more than you were originally.
Just my two cents, good luck!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
lwfb said:
Getting a screen replaced from LG isn't under warranty... So having it unlocked shouldn't make a difference.
Mine was stock rooted/unlocked and they had no issues taking my $140 and replacing my screen.
I filled out the request on the web, a rep got back to me within a day, answered my questions and they sent me an RMA number. I shipped my phone to the Fort Worth facility and had it back in a week. Once they look it over, they send you back an email with the details of the repair and you can fill out a form or call and pay over the phone. I chose to call and talked to two very nice and helpful reps. They don't start the repairs until you agree to pay and they do cover that new part for a year I believe.
All in all I had a good experience dealing with LG directly and the screen I got was a new screen of better quality than the one it replaced. I find its easier and safer to just let them take care of it... If they break the screen or the phone during the repair, they replace it at no cost to you. If you break something during the repair, you're in for more than you were originally.
Just my two cents, good luck!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
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Thank you very much for your response!