TV & Home Theater

[misty3717]

Yah I have talked with samsung and they were no help. They know its a common prob with their TVs but they arent willing to help you at all... I think its the biggest bunch of crap. I am NEVER going to buy another samsung product again. They will cover the repair if the model number is with in a certain range, if its not then your on your own and they dont care. I think its the most ridiculous thing I have ever herd. They might as well say this TV will start having probs right after your warranty is up and we dont care and wont help. My husband look up the chip and its like 200 and most ppl can do it them selves.

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[AugustG]

Misty,

I Just found out from the "authorized service rep", with whom Samsung hooked me up, that the repair will cost between $430 and $450 dollars.  I paid $1900 for this television less than four years ago.  SAMSUNG SUCKS!

[ed455]

We have a 56" Samsung DLP that's not quite 4 years old, and no - it's not on the "approved to repair" list.  After reading posts on the internet, it's obvious that Samsung has a product defect on their hands.  Unfortunately, they're making every consumer play the game of calling or e-mailing Samsung, and either trying to sweetly coerce or forcefully convince them to fix your TV.  I've read HUNDREDS of posts from people in the same boat as us.  A lot of them have had success at getting Samsung to fix their TV free of charge.

I tried that route last night.  The Samsung rep acted like they had never heard of the white dot problem.  Yeah, right.  After I got nowhere with her, I asked to speak to her manager.  I wasn't ugly or rude, but I wasn't going to take no for an answer.  The next level (ECR - Executive Customer Response team, I believe) knew exactly what I was talking about, and yet the best they would offer me was for me to pay for a diagnostic check.  If it turned out the problem was the same as everyone else had been reporting, Samsung would pay for the repairs (but not the diagnostic check).  I asked if I had any other option, and they told me I could just open a service ticket and be 100% responsible for the cost of any repair.

I told them that I'd like to pursue the 3rd option - having Samsung pay for the whole thing.  She disagreed, so I asked to speak to her manager.  After several minutes of waiting, the same woman came back on the line and told me Samsung would pay for the repair.  A service ticket was created by them, and the tech called us today and will be out to repair the set tomorrow.  We shall see if Samsung's promise of no charge holds true.

[AugustG]

Ed,

Since my last message, I had nearly the exact same experience that you described, including the Executive Customer Response.

As it turned out I did the same as you, I remained polite and eventually I was able to get the television repaired - four days ago!

It was to have cost me the cost of the service technician $95 but he said no charge.  IM still waiting for that call for the $95 but at least samsung paid for the new part.

Bottom line is that you have to run through the gauntlet.  1). You have to make a formal complaint to samsung with purchase date, television model and serial number.  2). Then you  have them recommend an authorized service tech and get a service number.  3). talk to the service tech where they will tell you its a $450 repair.  4). call back to samsung with the service number in hand and complain that you are not going to pay another $450 for what seems to be a factory defect.  5) then they will agree to pay for parts if you pay for the technician.

If one is willing to run that gauntlet, it seems that it will get reparied.

Thanks for your info.

[ed455]

August,

The Samsung Authorized Technician came out last night.  As soon as he walked in the door, he took one look at our "Starry, Starry Night" screen and said "These are the classic symptoms of the bad chip.  This won't cost you a thing.  I'll have it fixed in no time.".  He finished his work, and we have our TV back again.  No white dots!  It is funny that we had the exact same problems others are having, but our TV is not on the official list.  Why not?

My longer term concern is wondering if/when they will come back.  I saw a post from someone on another board saying that Samsung was addressing only the symptom - not the problem itself.  Time will tell.

I'm glad Samsung stepped up to the plate and took care of us (after me pressing the issue), but there are hundreds of people out there that have been told no, have paid for it themselves, or that continue to get the runaround from phone support ("White Dot Problem?  Never heard of it.").  When they realized they had the problem, they should have either recalled the units and fixed them, or at a minimum, trained their support personnel on what to say/do, and immediately offered up a fix for it.

I love the TV and am glad it's fixed - just wish I didn't have to go through all that..............

Ed

[AugustG]

Ed,

Im with you 100%.

Aug

[badabing897]

Thank you everyone for your advice and posts.  I called for service in 2009 after my warranty expired on my TV and was told I was out of luck.  I did not argue at that time because I figured it was not a common occurrence and kept the TV in case I decided to fix it myself.  After reading this thread, I decided to call Samsung today as all of you have previously.  After 10 minutes and relative ease, Samsung advised they will fix the TV for free.  A tech should be contacting me within the next day or so to schedule an appointment.  Without this thread, I'd have a Tv in my closet collecting dust.  I'll post again once the repair is complete.  Thank you.

[AugustG]

Bada,

The exact think happened to us.  IT started gathering white pixels, we called, they told us it was out of warranty and we gave up immediately.  As it collected dust for almost a year we got angry enough to not take no for an answer.  So we began calling politely but determined - and after some effort we, like you, got what we needed.   Seems like almost a month since its been fixed.

Good Luck.

[Suecoho]

I just have to say that I am so impressed with Samsung on this issue.  I had one small (about 1/4 inch) dot on the screen, and another at the bottom of the screen that had just started to appear.  I contacted Samsung via the support page and within 2 weeks a tech was at my house replacing the chip in my 2006 TV at no charge to me.  Not only is the dot issue resolved, I am pretty sure that the color and quality of the picture is much better than it was with the old chip.  I have told everyone I know about this excellent customer service.  Thank you, Samsung!

[rjsgsyc]

I started seeing white dots on both my HLT5076SX/XAA and HLT6187SA/XAA TVs that I purchased two years and three years ago from a reputable electronics store. Both TVs started having an issue with white dots appearing on the screen. I did some research and discovered this issue had been reported on CNET by others with similar TVs. I called Samsung Support (1-800-SAMSUNG) asked about this problem. The support representative put me on hold while she traced my models and serial numbers and came back with this information: "Your TV is out of warranty and this issue has not been reported for your model. I will go ahead and set an appointment to have your TV serviced, but it will be at your expense."

I was a bit upset that I had spent so much on both TVs, just to have them start failing after a few ears of service.  This really left a bad taste for Samsung's customer support. So, had the problem escalated to the 'Executive Support' line and got the same resolution. "I am sorry to hear about your issue, and I understand your frustration. But you will have to pay for the service." When I asked to speak to a manager that might be able to help me, he responded that it was the management support line and my call basically can't be escalated.

There are a ton of reported issues with these models of DLP and the issue is exactly the same as mine. I have been a loyal Samsung customer for many years and even recommended them to others.

I chose Samsung because of the quality of product that they seem to produce. I haven't really had a chance to use their customer support services until now, and I am just amazed at the lack of willingness to confirm and repair a known issue with their product, which is obviously a defect due to so many complaints about the same issue. I replaced a ten year old 51 inch Toshiba with the 61 inch Samsung to get a smaller footprint and now I understand what a huge mistake I made not sticking with Toshiba.  I will never purchase nor recommend Samsung again. By the way the cost for servicing the two TVs is nearly $900.