The Story of my Bricked Omnia and How I Got It Fixed

[Guest Mark_in_VA]

Edited 2 Oct. Please don't call these Samsung folks any more - they are getting hammered with phone calls and emails, and it's my fault. They really are not in a position to do anything to help, and collectively we will have to find another repair source. Sorry about that. I edited this post to obfuscate the names, and asked Paul to edit the remaining posts that repeat my original.

I won't share the numbers and names I have, so please don't ask. I am sure you understand.

I'll leave my story up for anecdotal support. This makes it all the more important that we have a thread that collects the 'non-800' numbers for local Samsung service centers, so we can return our handsets from whence they came and get them fixed (when required).

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I was an early Omnia adopter back in August, and bricked it with the first firmware upgrade. I was successful in getting Samsung to fix it, and since then I've been asked to share the secret, because Samsing (in the USA) when called, still says "we don't support the Omnia because it isn't sold here."

I received my Omnia from phonesource-usa.com. After having it a week, I attempted the first firmware upgrade and bricked it. Although I bought the 2-year warranty from Phonesource, I was advised (by them) that it didn't start until after expiration of the factory thirty-day warranty. So, if I could be patient, I could get a new phone.

Well, I'm not the patient type. So I started searching for other solutions.

When it got bricked, I called Samsung's help number (on the web site) for suggestions, and was told "we don't support it - it wasn't sold in the USA." I called a couple other Samsung support numbers and got the same answer from different people. I needed to look further.

The Way That Worked:

So I dug around through the various Samsung web sites, but all I could find were '800' numbers in Singapore or Malaysia that don't work when called from the US. So I was out of luck that way. [REQUEST: if there are local country people reading this email, please determine the local, non-'800'-number phone number for Samsung service in that country and post it to this thread.]

I figured out the time difference was 12 hours, bit the bullet and called Samsung's general number in Seoul, Korea.

Who I reached was an extremely helpful young lady that took all my information via email and agreed to forward it to 'somebody' in Samsung that would help me. This was the day before Korea's national day, August 15.

Somehow, in that short span of time, the message lit a fire under someone and they told Samsung somewhere else to contact me. They called and emailed, and send a prepaid mailer to me that I received and used to overnight the phone back to them. They seem very interested in helping me, and said that if they can't unbrick it, they'll get me a new one from Korea. Either way, they'll also upgrade the firmware to the current version. Fantastic!

As it turned out, they had to retract the offer to replace the phone with a new one, but they didn't give a reason. I suspect its because they have no stock of Omnias in the US.

Over the next week, I received regular emails from the Samsung representative that sent for my phone. He emailed that he got it, that he was testing it, that they determined the problem, and that Samsung was sending it to Korea for repair. I never felt like it had gone into a black hole - in fact, I would opine that this is some of the best service I've ever received.

My Omnia went to Korea, and they used a Samsung-proprietary tool to recover the damaged boot sector (I learned this because I asked whether the motherboard needed replacement). It was corrected, the current firmware loaded into it and they shipped it back to Texas. Texas shipped it to me, packaged so as to survive Hurricane Katrina. They even left the screen protector in place! I asked that Texas set it up for AT&T before shipping and they did (alas, no 3.5G). Perfection!

So, I got it back and it worked perfectly! Then, of course, being a glutton for punishment, I upgraded it (without problems) to DXHH1. Still works great. Can't get the clock to indicate "AM" or "PM" (see my post "Wacky Clock", below), so I reported this as a bug. I also told them that I wished the backlight would turn completely off when the handset is locked, to save battery life, and then turn on again when the universal-key is pressed.

I tried to get the ever-efficient person (in Texas) to pass along his supervisor's email and name, but he refused, and humbly said he was just doing his job. I think he went above and beyond the call of duty, and wish I could tell someone about it. If anybody can determine that person, I still want to send a thank you note, or Cuban cigars or something.

The Way That Didn't Work (I think):

As noted above, I was trying to locate a local number for Samsung I could call. I did discover the name of Samsung's public relations agency in Singapore, and a few names associated with it. These were on the bottom of press releases that I found in the Financial section of Samsung's Singapore web site.

I also called Samsung Singapore's PR agency, and reached a woman who agreed to send a message to the right people in Singapore to get it fixed. I don't know whether these messages coalesced in Texas, or the one in Singapore got ignored. In the process of doing all this, I learned that the IMEI number will reveal where the phone was sold.

Edited October 2, 2008 by Mark_in_VA

[Guest msjfb]

Interesting story... It is nice to know that there may be a way to obtain warranty service in NA for the Omnia.

However, my immediate interest is in trying to find a good contact at Samsung to submit bug/annoyance reports, and that these (legitimate) comments be passed along to the proper team.

Specifically, the fact that the Omnia does not support Bluetooth voice commands for MicroSoft Voice Command. Something is broken in their implementation of the Bluetooth stack, and I would at least like to inform them that it is a very important issue in terms of security when driving. I am using one of the latest firmware (DXHI1).

Secondly, in the annoyance department, the fact that the keyboard locks-up after 10 seconds into a call, and that it keeps re-locking, makes for a session of listening to your voicemails an exercise in button pushing. It would seem to me that after an initial unlock, it should stay unlocked until we activate it again, not automatically come back on after 10 seconds.

So if you think that the people you dealt with can ensure that reasonable comments get to the right people, could you let us know ?

Thanks.

[Guest Massive Attack]

i think what worked is you got through the CSR, employees usually are helpful and customer oriented, unlike the CSR of the company who usually filter the customers, and if ever CSR forward your email to the person concerned, it only comes as an automated request email (like a job order), unlike what i think HyCho did which sent a personalized email to someone, and that someone thinking that its a favor for HyCho forwarded it to someone higher.

I once have been a witness to this kind of email, which brushed fire right through the higher rank, managers answering the email as if they want to punish those who are at fault and want to satisfy the customer right away.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Massive Attack

[Guest Schwack]

Mark in VA,

Thank you very much for your detailed story and information! When I started "researching" this particular phone a few months ago, I came across your posting with interest since living in the States (actually Colorado) I wondered what would happen if I purchased it and bricked it. When you stated you'd report back on the process and what happens, I was hoping you would.

Thanks for the story and congrats on getting your phone repaired. I'm, now, going to hold out for the Omnia release (if it's actually true) in October but still checking the European version.

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

I have snipped the e-mail addresses, I don't think the people concerned would appreciate them being posted in the public domain...

P

[Guest Mark_in_VA]

I have snipped the e-mail addresses, I don't think the people concerned would appreciate them being posted in the public domain...

P

How about noting that I'll supply them if requested in a PM (because, as I may have obscurely noted, these people should be thanked).

Also - I reported two bugs to Eundo Park. I'll let you know what he says.

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

OK cool.

P

[Guest Geronymous]

Also - I reported two bugs to Eundo Park. I'll let you know what he says.

Well, as you obviously have the right contacts, you can maybe also enquire about these other 3 "bugs" ;) :

- geotagged pictures get ZERO LATITUDE AND WRONG LONGITUDE (and altitude I think). This has been confirmed by several users and is clearly an issue of DXHI1.

- device is NOT charging from USB port with standard USB cable, neither in ActiveSync mode nor in USB mode.

- With DXHI1, when GPS is switched On for geotagging, the camera does not start until it has a GPS fix... in previous versions the camera would start even without a fix (grey sat icon), and would indicate when it had a fix (white sat icon), which is far more user friendly in case you want to geotag sometimes (outside) and sometimes not (inside).

Thanks in any case for the detailed report!

[Guest Hydroxpert]

don't stress samsung too much with bug reports they probably know haha....hi1 fixed alot but in the process caused some problems...minor for me but im too lazy to turn on gps anyway and tag photos. haha.

[Guest Reuben (MY)]

Malaysia

Tel: +603-2263 6600

Fax: +603-2263 6666

Careline: 1-800-88-8899

p/s: you can always go to http://www.samsung.com and select your country, then search for support number.

Edited September 26, 2008 by Reuben (MY)

[Guest Mark_in_VA]

Until I get other emails and phone numbers, Samsung has asked that I no longer give out the email addresses and phonenumbers I have. Sorry about that.

This makes the posting of local numbers even more important!!

[Guest secany]

If you look at some final step of the upgrade exe files, you can see it downloading some usb boot sectors. All phone completly death was caused by corrupt/mismatch version with the pda boot. It can be repair by downloading the boot sectors agian, via JTAG.

If anyone have ideas working with JTAG, please contact me via PM. Thanks.

[Guest citrix]

hello Mark_in_VA:

I saw your story, it was interesting. i have 2 bricked omnia. ;) 1 from singapore and 1 from phonesource-usa.com. they all have same problem.

I have contacted samsung in US, they told me they do not support it since it is no manufactured in US. I looked up samsung singapore website, the support page shows only a 1-800 number. I called that number, and the customer support in texas picked up. I tried to contact samung in sigapore, there is no email, only option there is a support link that open up a email message box, it direct to a email system to the customer service to singapore, each time a different person pick it up and answer something else and dont answer my question completely. i have sent many messages in the last few weeks, each a different person pick it up and dont answer my question completely, each message takke 2-3 days to get answer. very annoying. :(

the final answer is that they do not support the handset because it is exported handset, it does not come with warranty card. only those handsets sold in local stores in asia countries have warranty card with them can be supported by samsung.

do you any detail information about who you did contacted? name, email and phone number. if you cant post here, please pm me for further information and suggestion. thanks. :wacko:

Edited October 1, 2008 by citrix

[Guest broughs]

If you look at some final step of the upgrade exe files, you can see it downloading some usb boot sectors. All phone completly death was caused by corrupt/mismatch version with the pda boot. It can be repair by downloading the boot sectors agian, via JTAG.

If anyone have ideas working with JTAG, please contact me via PM. Thanks.

Secany

Can you provide more information on the corrupt mismatch versions to help people avoid bricking their devices whilst updating with incompatible versions in the PDA Boot area.

What is and is not compatible !!!

Stu

[Guest citrix]

Edited 2 Oct. Please don't call these Samsung folks any more - they are getting hammered with phone calls and emails, and it's my fault. They really are not in a position to do anything to help, and collectively we will have to find another repair source. Sorry about that. I edited this post to obfuscate the names, and asked Paul to edit the remaining posts that repeat my original.

I won't share the numbers and names I have, so please don't ask. I am sure you understand.

I'll leave my story up for anecdotal support. This makes it all the more important that we have a thread that collects the 'non-800' numbers for local Samsung service centers, so we can return our handsets from whence they came and get them fixed (when required).

hello 'Mark_in_VA':

I just saw your edited notes. after this experience, I learned that samsung has poorest customer service I ever seen. I would like to share my story here too.

samsung support website from different countries always show the 1-800 number, canada, US, singapore, all the same. I have been dealing with samsung for last few weeks. first I called the 1-800 number, texas picked up and told me that they only support device made in US, dont want help. I contacted samsung singapore. singapore said those are exported device do not carry warranty card, same as anywhere else in the world.

yesterday I saw your story here want to give it another try. guy in texas picked up told me try to call canada, sansumg in canada can service international handsets. I had to call long distance to canada. lady in canada picked up say we only support devices in canada. she transfered me a lady speak korean in texas since the phone is made in korea.

up to now, I still dont have solution for this. there is a lot of people out there all have the same problem. you just edited your story warning not to contact them, they will not help, I think that is true. but where should we turn for help? any suggestion.

People out there please share your experiences. if you have any solutions please share. ;)

I suggest people do not download those firmware from this site. :wacko: wait for official release. :(

[Guest Ingvarr]

I suggest people do not download those firmware from this site. ;) wait for official release. :wacko:

Since several people bricked their phones exactly with official firmware releases, you may as well suggest not to buy grey imported phones.

Edited October 2, 2008 by Ingvarr

[Guest Reuben (MY)]

hello 'Mark_in_VA':

samsung has poorest customer service I ever seen

maybe their service are still not up to our standard and expectation, but they aren't the worst though... if you dealed with iphone support before. it takes ages to get a response.

i usually get prompt support with some connections, pressing them from the top level.

[Guest citrix]

Since several people bricked their phones exactly with official firmware releases, you may as well suggest not to buy grey imported phones.

official firmware release can brick phones too? this model or models samsung too? I did update on DXHG4. not problem, but the ones said to be official on this site did brick my phones, 2 of omnia, 2 different version both said to be official. on HH3, i read the review for days, none of people did have problem, so i tried. if official release will brick omnia too, then it is not a good choice. if other samsung model can get bricked, then samsung is not good choice.

HTC is much flexible, I tried many 'cooked' rom on xda, never had problem.

[Guest Mark_in_VA]

hello 'Mark_in_VA':

... I learned that samsung has poorest customer service I ever seen. ...

Honestly, I must disagree with you, although I understand how you might feel differently. I own two Samsung products (that I am aware of ;) ). On the two most used (the DSP TV and the Omnia, I've found Samsung's service to be excellent in answering my questions and fixing things they were under no obligation to fix.

While I find it inconvenient that local numbers are not listed for in-country service centers, I realize that those service centers are set up principally to serve the local population. It isn't intended to service gray market users, of which we are many. So setting up phone numbers of convenience for local users is another example of Samsung making it easy.

Did I realize the risk of buying a gray market phone and having to get it fixed? Yes - that's why I bought phonesource-usa's warranty. Still, I took the risk of buying it, spending a pile o'money and being out of luck.

Although Samsung is certainly justified in not servicing a handset where they have no experienced engineers to do so, and no inventory to replace it with, it seems they are also trying to work with us and get the handset fixed in the country of origin, if we can get it delivered there. That's not true about a lot of gray market products. It's not about cost, either - try getting your gray market Porsche 959 fixed anywhere except Germany. Porsche'll disown you, and Samsung does not.

Is it inconvenient in a world where we expect one-stop-shopping? Sure is, but that is the risk I took in being the first on my block to own a fully functional Omnia (and its a darn good phone as well - it I ever get it to run 3.5G it'll be perfect). I could have been stonewalled, and was not. In my case, they went beyond the call of duty. I realize they can't do this for everyone - the staff just isn't that big. If I were to make a suggestion, it would be that phonesource-usa compile the needed phone numbers for us, and perhaps even assist with service issues (after all - they are making all the profits and know where the phones come from). It would be nice if somewhere in Samsung's hierarchy, the local numbers were available, but our dedicated team of gray market users here can surely compile that sort of list on our own.

Am I defending Samsung because I know they read this board? Perhaps, but it is also about integrity for me. I think their service is far better than a lot of others. I won't say something I do not believe is true, or that I can support.

My standard isn't "they do what I want, when I want it." It is "that they perform reasonable service considering the circumstances, and help the customer get what he should be receiving."

Edited October 2, 2008 by Mark_in_VA

[Guest Ingvarr]

HTC is much flexible, I tried many 'cooked' rom on xda, never had problem.

How "flexible" is it? XDA-dev forums are riddled with threads and posts about bricked devices here and there.

No device is safe against bricking, even on official firmware.

Maybe Samsung is somewhat worse on this respect, but I haven't seen any actual statistical figures about this.

Edited October 2, 2008 by Ingvarr

[Guest citrix]

Mark:

we are not judging or arguing about samsung's service quality. we all share true experiences here. maybe is worked out for you easily, but for me, it did not. maybe samsung is just setup that way.

as samsung described, only handsets sold in local stores in asian countries have warranty. no warranty for exported handsets anywhere else in the world. so all the user will have the same problem. if you purchased warranty through phonesource-usa, or international warranty, so there is still cost for warranty.

when you hunt for service, you had to call those local numbers for samsung in asian countries, you did to pay for long distance, and you had to watch out time zone difference too. that wasnt easy after all.

[Guest Jokes On You]

Ok my phone bricked when I updated from the Samsung website do you think that calling the service center will help me?

[Guest edo79zg]

i have tried just about any advice i came on this site..nothing helped me...

so i have decided to offer following in hope someone is there ready and willing to help me solve my issue...

but 1st...here is short story of my problem...i tried to flash my german acio2 rom to dxhi2...i downloaded modem drivers..updater..phone was plugged in...process started...shortly it came to a point when it said..sdram write failed error..after that i couldnt start my omnia..all i get is red light on power button that doesnt change at all..screen is blank,black...i tried win control as someone suggested in here..

bottom line is i cant get my phone to get dettected once plugged in usb...

so if anyone has time and wish to help me save my omnia and get it to work again...am ready to place a not to big but hopefully not to small reward for work and effort...