Galaxy S4 Unusable due to exploding battery and over heating

[emmamartin]

I have been a vodafone customer for 11 years and have always been happy with the service I have received, however I am having a dreadfull time getting anyone to deal with a huge issue I have with my S4. I am unable to visit a store as I am in south Africa on business so am reliant on the internet to deal with issues.Maybe someone on here can help me instead. My phone overheats even when it is just sitting in my handbag. I tried removing all my apps when this did not work i tried a factory reset which did not work.It then started to black out as soon as the battery reached 94% and would not charge fully. Then overnight the battery exploded forcing the screen out and bending the back of the phone off, I have been unable to use the phone for over 6 weeks. I have e-mailed vodafone on the 20/1,26/1,30/1 and I have received no reply.I have tried their 24/7 live chat and it always says theres nobody there try again later.My vodafone sim does not seem to work in a S.A handset so i have had to buy a payg phone.Can someone advise me on what I should do ...all I want is vodafone to supply me with a phone that works and refund me for the weeks I have not been able to use the phone.I have photos of the phone and battery but no where to e-mail them.I have no issues sending the phone back to the UK.

Emma Martin

[froggerty]

There have been issues with the battery in this specific phone for some considerable time now and has been blamed on both Vodafone and Samsung. Vodafone was blamed for a system update causing the problem and Samsung for faulty batteries, whichever the true answer is both Vodafone and Samsung have been replacing these batteries with new free replacements however Vodafone would be likeley to tell you they have no stock left and you will need to buy a new battery yourself or approach Samsung for one. However, this does not solve the exploded phone situation. If the phone is less than 6 years old then you are entitled to a new replacement from both Vodafone and/or Samsung, that is your consumer right. You may, if you have a policy, claim on your insurance, if you have insurance through Vodafone they should honour it but if it's covered by your house or independant insurance you may be asked for proof that you own the phone, 'proof of purchase'. However, the contract that you have with Vodafone will continue regardless of weather you can use the phone or no as this is for the service provided, not the phone. I hope this is of some help.

[drey_p]

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@froggerty wrote:

Vodafone was blamed for a system update causing the problem and Samsung for faulty batteries, whichever the true answer is.

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froggerty - Both answers are true but they are 2 different issues.  There are issues with faulty batteries in this handset which Samsung have acknowledged.  This was caused by a change of suppliers.  You can easily identify a faulty battery as they are slightly swollen when you look at them.

The other issue was a software update containing Rich Communications Suite.  This lead to massive battery drain and is a totally seperate issue from the faulty batteries that Samsung were dishing out.

As for the exploding battery - this is the first time I think that I have seen mention of that.  So far the batteries have only caused strange behaviour such as random rebooting, freezing or one minute having full charge, the next nothing.

You mention the fact that the OP would be entitled to a replacement if the phone is less than 6 years old.  We both know that isn't going to happen as it isn't reasonable to expect any modern mobile phone to last that long.  As you are also aware, outside of the six month purchase window, the onus is on us as consumers to prove that the fault was present at the time of purchase.

I would recommend that the OP gets in touch with Samsung, as the manufacturer they can be a lot more lenient than Vodafone who are a 3rd party repairer.  The option of claiming on insurance is also a good one and something that the OP should persue if they don't get anywhere with Samsung.

[emmamartin]

Thankyou so much, the battery had expanded and split  overnight [it looks like a a slightly torn very overstuffed pillow] resulting in the screen being forced off the righthand side of the handset and buckling the back of the phone ruining the handset.If I was in the uk i would take it straight to a vodafone shop.I,m just bitterly disappointed in their customer service. They have not answered a single e-mail.I will contact Samsung to see if i can get a new battery. As for the phone it is only 16months old and in really good condition[or should i say was] so i will continue to wait on vodafone replying to my query.

[froggerty]

Vodafone will most probably, reading other posts with a damaged phone issue, fob you off and say that you must send it to them for repair whereupon it may dissapear into thin air forever but as the supplier of the phone it is Vodafone's responsibility under the Law, your contract was with them, not the manufacturer.

There were several reports in the media last year of the battery exploding and catching alight, one woman had her bed burnt and another girl burnt herself with it catching in her pocket, someone obviously has not been paying attention to the media!

My advice to you Emma would be to bypass Vodafone completeley and persue this through Samsung and your insurance and, if you don't already, insure your phone with your independant insurance Company. As an aside, another thing you can do is to Google search 'Samsung Battery Fault' and read reports and others experiences of this issue, there will be a lot more there than just reading the posts on this forum about the problem, not everyone uses this forum, far from it.

[drey_p]

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@froggerty wrote:

There were several reports in the media last year of the battery exploding and catching alight, one woman had her bed burnt and another girl burnt herself with it catching in her pocket, someone obviously has not been paying attention to the media!.

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Or perhaps didn't see any of the articles you mention????  It's no physically possible to see or read every single news report made and if I was away at the time this was reported in the UK, it is unlikely I would know about it. Considering I am actually away for a fair bit of time, it is likely that this would the reason I missed it. 

[froggerty]

There's some good news Apps you can install on your phone. Are you not up to date with mobile phone technology? If you're like me, there's more to life than playing with a phone constantly, trying not to be too serious here.

[emmamartin]

LOL!! I think modern technology is the devils work, mobiles are nothing but electronic tagging devices. However they are a necessary evil in this day and age particularly when you are in retail and on the road a lot. I don,t really use any apps except for messenger so i can stay in touch with my parents.Plus being on secondment in Durban has it perks...the outdoor life and amazing weather being two of them.

[froggerty]

Samsung is still Samsung wherever they have a base in the World and should be able to sort it out regardless of where the phone was obtained. I don't think we can put anything more into this Emma until you have approached the Samsung oulrt where you are. Good luck.

[emmamartin]

Thanks i,ll let you know how I get on and whether I get it resolved