Jason K. wrote to MySamsungEpix.com with his experience dealing with AT&T over his frustrations with the Samsung Epix. His e-mail does a wonderful job of highlighting the Epix’s problems and what AT&T is willing to do to resolve these issues.
Big thanks to Jason for the write up, please feel free to leave your own experiences in the comments if you got fed up with the Epix and how/if AT&T was able to help you resolve your issues. Comments on how to trade in your Epix for a different phone after 30 days are of particular interest.
Click to read my story of how AT&T replaced my Epix for a HTC Fuze.
Jason wrote:
I’ve had my Epix since late April. Like many, I had issues with notifications and the ascending ring. Your website helped me with the ascending ring “fix” until Samsung finally released ID1. And like many, I’ve had issues since ID1.
- GPS would take a long time to get an initial fix, then would be good until the next soft reset
- Battery would drain like crazy after using GPS, unless I did a soft rest (damned if I did, damned if I didn’t!)
- Since I don’t use GPS often on this phone, those problems didn’t bother me. However, this new audio issue really killed me. For no reason, the phone’s audio would just stop working. I couldn’t hear the phone ring, or music from Windows Media player, etc. Removing the battery was the only fix, and after doing so, the audio would still go out. Sometimes after 5 minutes, other times after 2 days, regardless, it would happen again.
So, I decided to call AT&T’s warranty services (1-800-801-1101). The process was clean. Simply have ready the IMEI number (located on the phone box, or under the battery) and the color of the water damage indicator (should be a little white square above the battery, but under the battery cover). AT&T will ship a refurbished phone to you at their expense, and provide you everything you need to ship the faulty phone back to them, also at their expense. I did this and went through 6 (yes, SIX!!!) refurb Epix(es) in about two weeks. Here’s what I’ve learned, and there is hope for Epix users.
- All refurbs came pre-installed with ID1 (check this by typing *#1234#)
- Not all phones suffer from the GPS issues. I had 2 refurbs that got a near instant lock on the first try, even after another reset.
- Battery drain after GPS usage is still there on all phones.
- My audio issues were there on every phone, and although my current one hasn’t exhibited it yet, I’ve only been using this one for about 6 hours.
- Some Epix(es) were faster than others. I had one that was very sluggish when using SPB Mobile shell 3.0.1, and a pair that were very fast. The one I’m using now has instant response to touches, and I’m not sure I want to give it up, even if it does end up having the audio issues.
- On your 3rd attempt at a refurb, AT&T will offer to swap your Epix out for any of the following at no cost to you; Blackberry Bold, HTC Fuze, or Nokia E71x. The Nokia is considerably cheaper than the Epix, but the other two are considered to be superior phones. So many Epix users might consider it worth a shot. The Samsung Jack as of this time hasn’t been out long enough to be offered as a warranty replacement, and likely won’t be until November or December.
- If you refuse one of those phones, and elect to take another Epix (as I did), they’ll still offer you those phones after every refurb attempt.
- Also after 3 refurb attempts (AND 6 months of active service with AT&T), you can ask to be referred to an account cancellation rep, who will offer you a new phone at the 2-year contract price, any phone of your choice EXCEPT iPhone. Normally, you’d have to wait 20 months for this.
For me, I decided that none of those phones are ideal for my needs, though the E71x would have been, had AT&T not gimped it. So I’m working a BBB complaint against AT&T for not allowing me to switch out my phone within the first 30 days as their policy allows. But hopefully current Epix owners can use my experience to swap out their faulty post-ID1 Epix for one with a snappier UI or GPS, or another phone entirely. If I can get off of my contract, I’ll likely just go month to month with an unlocked E71 or E72. The nice thing about those unlocked phones is that you can get the unlimited data plan for $15/month rather than the usual $30.
- J
