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

[hrym]

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@froggerty wrote:

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.

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It'll be interesting to see how the OP gets on.  I haven't got the documentation that came with my old S2 now, but I'm pretty sure one of the booklets was a worldwide warranty one.

Edited to add: on the other hand, if you can wait until you get back to the UK, you'd be sure of getting a UK spec phone.

[Martinrobo]

Good luck with Samsung as my s4 got that hot that I dropped my phone trying to get battery out and it cracked the board so now its u/s and Samsung ain't interested ...they know about the problem and sent me a new battery....which is pointless as can't use the phone, but won't fix it as I dropped it...Vodafone and Samsung know about this issue but have done nothing to recall the phones or let the customers know about it...only thing I have learnt from this is not to buy anything Samsung ever again....hope you have better luck than me

[froggerty]

Both Vodafone and Samsung certainly do know about the battery problem, you just haven't seen the reports in the media and it seems that it's only the S4 that has this issue, the others are okay. As far as dropping your phone and damaging it goes that is entireley your responsibility and you should have insured it.

[emmamartin]

I never saw that on the news but thats quite scary....fortunately i has left it on a glass table and for once not in my handbag. I had already complained to vodafone about the overheating and heard nothing back from them as i was concerned it would set fire to something eventually. I have just googled battery fault and it seems to be a popular complaint so i,m off to see samsung in durban and see what they will do for me

[drey_p]

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emmamartin wrote: i,m off to see samsung in durban and see what they will do for me

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Don't be surprised if they turn you away.  It is not uncommon for a manufacturer to only deal with phones supplied in that region and for your warranty to only cover for the region in which you bought the device. 

When are you back in the UK?

As for the emails, as far as I am aware, this has all been removed which why you're not getting a reply.

[drey_p]

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@emmamartin wrote:

Thankyou so much, the battery had expanded and split  overnight

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Had you left the phone on charge overnight?

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@emmamartin wrote:

They have not answered a single e-mail.

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I am not sure how you are emailing Vodafone as there are no publically available email addresses.

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@emmamartin wrote:

If I was in the uk i would take it straight to a vodafone shop.

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When are you back in the UK? I'd recommend taking it to a Samsung Repair Centre when you get back as they will be better placed to sort this out as they are the manufacturer.

[emmamartin]

No I don,t like leaving my phone on over night particularly with the overheating issue i have with it i was too afraid it might burn something. I have been e-mailing them through their e-mail support page which they claim "" e-mails are answered within 48hrs". I have been allocated a reference number and have received notifications of receipt of all e-mails i have sent but no actual reply to any of them. I,m in Durban for another 8 months. So i will visit the samsung store here first and if they can,t help i,ll post it home.

[Martinrobo]

If I had dropped it due to my own fault and not trying to get a hot battery out that was so hot nearly burnt my fingers then yes it is my own fault and should of had it insured but when the fault was with the phone as to and why I was trying to take it apart then no ...sorry Samsung have a responsibility to make sure what they make and sell are fit for purpose and on this occasion they failed to do their job properly

[hrym]

I think any manufacturer would say that it would be prudent to let the device cool down first.  If you'd simply said that the battery had overheated and the board had cracked, they'd probably have accepted that.

[froggerty]

The fact remains that you have admitted to causing the damage to the phone yourself by dropping it, that is out of Samsungs control and they will not take responsability for the concequence of your actions, they will only respond to the battery issue, now you have two problems, your best course of action now is to buy another phone and insure it. but not through your service providor, or any Company's that advertise on the TV but your own independent insurance Company.