Z fold 3 inner screen went bad at 6 months old

[Puffnstuff]

I was teleworking this week and using my primary display with my work laptop so I had my phone open to monitor my personal email. While sitting where I caught something strange out of the corner of my eye that didn't seem right and when I looked down at my phone it had green twinkles on the screen. First I tried running a pixel fixer but nothing changed. Fortunately it was near the edge so it didn't really bother me too much, however, since I have Samsung Care + I immediately filed a claim and had a new phone in less than 24 hours. Even using a cable it took over 3 hours to transfer my things from the old to the new. Good thing I hit it with the super fast charger beforehand and brought it up to 60% else it would have died during the process as it can't charge while transfering data even with the Qi pad.

Having a brand new phone next to my 6 month old phone showed me a couple of things.

First I noticed how much tighter the new phone's hinge is than on my old one and I don't think that I used it very much plus its been in a case since day one. Then I noticed how the fold crease depth on my old phone was much more pronounced than on the new one. I've seen the new folding phones from the competition with the center support that eliminates the crease so Samsung has some work to do in this area. I also get the same weird delay in populating folders when moving from the outside to the inner screen. Maybe I have too many apps for the cpu.

Meanwhile I have an offer from Samsung for the S22 Ultra so I'm torn as I really love the extra screen size but I don't believe that this will be durable like a non folding phone. I might just go back to the smaller screen to eliminate another screen failure as I never had a screen failure on any of my notes in the past.

If you're considering buying a folding phone do yourself a favor and get the Care + warranty with it as you'll hate yourself if you don't and something goes wrong.

 

[Oyeve]

My Z Flip 3's screen protector is coming apart from the screen at the left fold area. Really distracting. I beleive it may be covered under standard warranty but will check. I am pretty much done with this phone as I ordered the S22 Ultra. Should be here next week then this sucker goes in the for sale area.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I remember reading about phones under development at Samsung and they've got a slider version where to solid screens slide out to make a large one. That technology really interests me so I hope they follow through on it. I've got 2.5 years of care + left or 2 more replacements whichever comes first. I'm really hopeful that by next year Samsung or one of the major players will have a viable alternative to the folding phones.

 

[deustroop]

A single screen slider was done years ago. I still use one for talk and text when necessary, supplements the successor phone, IPhone 11.
Blackberry Torch 9810

Amazon.com

 

[shortylickens]

A single screen slider was done years ago. I still use one for talk and text when necessary, supplements the successor phone, IPhone 11.
Blackberry Torch 9810

Amazon.com

Umm, I dont think you understand what Puffnstuff was saying.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Well guys that was a year ago and yesterday I received my replacement for that phone. This time the inner screen protector was separating from the screen in the fold at both ends. These phones are not durable and if you ever get one you'd be wise to get the cares+ warranty with it.

 

[sdifox]

Or just don't get something that is guaranteed to fail.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Care+ shipped me a bad replacement phone and I'm catching hell trying to get them to correct it. Their site won't even let me submit another claim for this unit.

 

[Puffnstuff]

After going round and round with multiple sections in Samsung over the course of the past several days this just might be the straw that broke the camel's back and sent me to the Apple ecosystem. Rumor is that the 15 series will be USB-C.

Today the care+ agent tells me to just take it to the ubreakifix store closest to me and they will repair it under warranty. The store tells me that it will take at least 48 hours for them to verify that Samsung will pay for it....the saga continues.

 

[thilanliyan]

This is why I am forgoing foldables at least for a couple of yrs. Love the tech but I think I'll give it a couple more years to mature.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I just ordered a s23 ultra and used the fold as a trade in so this problem is almost over. Yesterday I was so frustrated that I just peeled the inner screen protector off, it came off like nothing with very little effort, and then I coated it with ceramic sealer - same one I use on my car.

Learn from my experience and just say no to folding phones. When I went to samsung.com to leave a review on the fold 3 there were almost 1.9k reviews and most of them were negative. I couldn't imagine buying a folding phone from a company with no service presence in the states.