Broken Overheating Samsung A50 phone! What can I do? Samsung screwed me over!

[Winston]

I have a big problem with my Samsung Galaxy A50 phone, which I thought was a quality phone but turned out to be crap. Everytime I turn it on, it shuts down in about 30 seconds and says the battery is overheating at 194F and needs to shut down for safety. But I know the battery is not really overheating because no matter how cold the battery is, it keeps saying that every time. Even when I put the phone in the fridge for a while to make it very cold, it still says that. I also took it to the phone repair shop in Taiwan and the technician said the problem is in the CPU, not the battery. So it's a deeper problem that only the Samsung Service Center can deal with. However, I cannot use my warranty because I bought the phone in Cambodia, and Samsung does not let you use its warranty in another country that the phone was not bought from. I already contacted Samsung and its affiliate stores and asked about it. See here: http://www.happierabroad.com/forum/view ... 34&t=42084 . So basically I'm screwed.

I would guess that the temperature sensor in the phone is broken or defective. So the question is: How do I disable it? Obviously not in settings. So I would have to root the phone and then go into the firmware or core system and disable the temperature sensor or automatic shutdown program there, right? I tried Googling "how to disable temperature sensor in phone" and got a few webpages and forum hits, but no one had an answer about how to do it.

Any suggestions? Is rooting a phone for experts only? Can anyone learn how to root their phone? What's the risk? Would a factory reset help? What can I do? Should I even try to fix this? Or just wait til I go to Cambodia again and use the warranty? Another option is to have a Samsung store here mail the phone to a Samsung Service Center in Taiwan, and see if they can repair it. If they can, they may charge me for it since the warranty doesn't cover this country. If they can't, they will just send it back to me.

Here are some apps I found that claim it can disable the sensors on the phone, though I am not sure if that includes the temperature sensor or not. However, these apps require that the phone be rooted.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... prox&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... roid&hl=en

I'm not sure what this is. It looks like it's for developers, not laymen. Is it a code for developers?

https://developer.android.com/reference ... EMPERATURE

Also, another problem I have is that I cannot back up the data in my phone since it shuts down after 30 seconds. So how can I back up my WhatsApp chat archives for example? It requires a few minutes at least to back up the chat archive and upload it to the cloud. Or even my sms archive and address book in contacts. But unless the phone is on, I cannot even transfer files or do anything, even with a USB cable. So what can I do? Would going into safe mode or recovery mode help?

I ought to file a complaint with the BBB against Samsung for this. They really screw people over on these things. They have no international warranty, which seems to penalize expats and international travelers. It's as if Samsung has something against expats and international travelers. Their excuse is that each country has different parts for Samsung phones, even for the same model phones, but I don't buy that. That sounds like a lame excuse. A phone is a phone and a technician should be able to repair it regardless of where it was made and should be able to get the parts he needs from somewhere or from Samsung itself. So their lame excuse doesn't hold water.

Would this android recovery program help? Even if the phone can't power on? I would imagine a recover program can only work if the phone can power on right? Otherwise the USB cable cannot transfer anything right?

https://androidphone-recovery.com/samsu ... -recovery/

https://www.samsung-android-transfer.co ... tware.html

https://techidaily.com/broken-android-p ... xtraction/

Some links about how to root a phone:

https://rootmydevice.com/root-samsung-galaxy-a50/

https://android.tutorials.how/root-samsung-galaxy-a50/

https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-root-a-S ... m-recovery

But even if I root the phone, how would I know how to disable the temperature sensor or the automatic shutdown protocol? No one has explained how when I searched for the info online.

Finally, why did my Samsung break so easily like this? Usually my phones don't break. I thought Samsung was a good quality brand, everyone says? Could it be that they ship lower quality phones to Cambodia or send defective batches there?

[Shemp]

It's a little late, but let me tell you my philosophy, based on 40 years experience with computers.

1) All delicate electronics eventually breaks. (Non delicate electronics means stuff like heavy industrial diodes, which are almost as sturdy as the thick copper wiring they connect to.)
2) Therefore you should back up constantly. Daily at a minimum, though ideally programs would back up automatically every few minutes.
3) Backup media must be separate from the device itself, such as cloud storage or removable micro-SD card, precisely because you can't backup once the device broken.
4) Backup media can fail, so daily backup should be to 2 or more separate media devices and/or cloud.
5) House might burn down, destroying all electronics in the prices, so always keep recent backups off-site, either cloud storage or sets of 2 or more micro-SD cards, one of which stored off-site. Swap backup sets frequently.
6) Since you might need an existing phone to buy a new phone (such as to move money into your back account) always have two phones, primary and spare. Spare can be previous generation phone.
7) Best to buy cheap stuff, like $200 phones and $300 laptops, and then just throw them in the trash when they break. Trying to get repairs is frustrating.
8. If electronics has a manufacturing defect, it usually shows up in the first week. So extended warranties are not worth it. Just take it back of it fails in the first week and throw in the trash if later.
The
For the record, I'm using a Motorola 5gs+ myself, with 128GB Samsung micro-SD for non-secure media storage and backup (MP3s, JPEGs) plus Google Drive for cloud backup of personal documents (text, spreadsheets, etc), plus sturdy case. Phone cost like $200 a few years ago. Cheap camera but otherwise works fine. Each micro-SD (I have about 6, for multiple backups of my precious media files) was like $40 then but they are much cheaper now.

[TruthSeeker]

Do a factory restore. This should fix your issue.

[Winston]

Do a factory restore. This should fix your issue.

Not if the problem is in the hardware or CPU. Plus that would erase my data and I need to back it up first. The techies in Taiwan aren't as smart as in the PH. So I gotta take it there to get better help. Especially since the phone won't even power on now, so it's even worse now. I should have backed my data up before taking it to the phone shop in Taiwan, but at the time I thought a simple battery replacement would fix it, and I didn't know it would get even worse. Stupid Samsung. Why is their phone so shitty and crappy and defective? I don't usually have problems with phones like this before. I thought everyone said they're a good brand?

[Winston]

Angry letter I sent to Samsung and its CEO. Can you believe their rep in Taiwan gave me a website that doesn't even exist! Crazy!

Dear Samsung,
I'm very angry and pissed off. My Galaxy A50 phone broke after a few months of use, and I cannot use the warranty because I bought it in Cambodia but I'm in Taiwan now. So you guys won't help and my phone broke for no reason and I'm screwed! You guys cheated me! Why do you sell such shitty phones that break so easily? I thought Samsung was supposed to be a quality brand? WTF is going on? This problem has cost me many hours of lost time and frustration! And now I can't even back up my data and chats and contacts in my phone, because it won't even power on anymore!

At first, the battery kept overheating and shutting down the phone, even though the battery wasn't hot at all, so it was a false temperature sensor reading. I tried to get it fixed in Taiwan at a repair shop but they couldn't fix it, the tech guy said the problem was in the CPU, not the battery. He made it worse. Now it won't even power on at all, and even when it did, it would shut down after 30 seconds, which is not enough time to back up any data!

Why do you sell such shitty phones? I never had phone problems like this before. I thought your supposed to be a good quality brand? Now my phone breaks for no reason and I can't do anything about it. You basically screwed me over. I'm going to complain to the BBB and file a report against your company, and also file a report on RipoffReport.com too! It serves you right for screwing me over and not even letting me use my warranty!

I contacted your Taiwan office and they told me to contact the Cambodian office. But there is no Cambodian office, it doesn't exist. The Samsung rep on the phone told me to go to www.samsung.com/co to get to the Cambodian office, but that site doesn't exist. So your stupid reps give me URL's to NON-EXISTENT Samsung websites? What the hell is going on???!!!

What can I do now? Send it to the Taiwan service center to see if they can fix it? If they refuse, can you order them to fix it? Otherwise I'm complaining to the BBB since you screwed me over and scammed me! Or should I contact the Cambodian office and ask them if I can ship the phone to them for warranty? If so, how? No Cambodian Samsung office exists and your rep gave me a Samsung site that doesn't even exist! How could he be that stupid?! Is the Cambodian office under the Thailand site? Can I use the warranty if I mail the phone to the country it was bought from? What are my options?

You'd better fix my phone buster! I ought to SUE you for all the frustration and trouble and damage you caused me! So you better try to help me or give me a special VIP service to fix my phone! I prefer it to be fixed, not replaced because I need to back up the data inside too! I didn't back up the data before because I thought this could be fixed with a simple battery replacement. Please give me special assistance as if I was Bill Gates or the President of the US or some VIP person. I'm sure for those people, you'd fix their phone right away no matter what. You can give me VIP service if you want to. Otherwise, I'm gonna file a complaint with BBB. You caused me a lot of trouble with your shitty phones and manufacturing defects!

The ball is in your court. What to do now?!

I also posted a shorter version of my complaint in the Samsung Community site here:

https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Oth ... 987#M26824

It wouldn't let me submit the post unless I removed all the cuss words first. lol

[Winston]

My report against Samsung on the BBB website. I'm posting it here so I can copy and paste it for the Ripoff Report complaint too.

Tell Us About Your Problem:

My Samsung Galaxy A50 phone broke after only a few months of use, and I cannot use the warranty because I bought it in Cambodia but I'm in Taiwan now. I don't get why Samsung phones are so defective. I thought Samsung was a quality brand? This problem has cost me many hours of lost time and frustration and data loss too!

At first, the battery kept overheating and shutting down, even though the battery wasn't hot at all, so it was a false temperature sensor reading. I tried to get it fixed in Taiwan at a repair shop but they couldn't fix it, the tech guy said the problem was in the CPU, not the battery. He made it worse, because when I got it back, the phone kept saying the internal temp was 194F even when it was very cool, and would shut down after 30 seconds, which is not even enough time to back up any data! Then it got even worse and now will not even power on or charge at all!

I never had phone problems like this before. Now my phone is busted and I can't do anything about it. Samsung told me I had to go back to Cambodia to fix it. But no one should have to fly abroad to fix a phone! They basically screwed me over. I contacted Samsung's Taiwan office and they told me to contact the Cambodian office. But there is no Cambodian office, it doesn't exist. The Samsung rep on the phone told me to go to www.samsung.com/co to reach the Cambodian office, but that site is for Colombia, not Cambodia!

What can I do now? I'm screwed with a broken phone due to Samsung's shoddy quality control and lost over 300 dollars on it. I took very good care of the phone, so it wasn't my fault. Samsung's excuse for not offering international warranty is that the parts for the phone are different in each country, but that doesn't hold water, and even if true, could easily be gotten around. It's not an excuse to refuse to honor a warranty! They can fix my phone if they really wanted to, I'm sure. They just won't because of their dumb "policy" which is unacceptable and illogical and makes no sense, and sounds like a lame copout.

Desired Outcome:

Obviously the solution would be for Samsung to fix my phone and stop making excuses. They can if they really wanted to. I'm sure if I was Bill Gates or the President of the US, they would fix it for me if I was VIP. It's all a matter of the will to do it. I'd like them to do what's right and order the Taiwan service center in my area to fix my phone, no excuses. Their CEO or headquarters in Korea or regional manager could issue the order if they wanted to, like a general giving orders to his officers. Either fix it or replace it or reimburse me for the cost of it. I prefer it to be fixed though, because there is data on it that was not backed up before it failed. So they should do whatever it takes to fix the phone, inc giving me VIP treatment if necessary. They could easily do so if they really wanted to. We all know that. They need to take responsibility for their manufacturing defects and shoddy quality control system. I'm gonna post this on the Ripoff Report website too. Hope they listen to reason.

[Winston]

Check this out. On the BBB site, Samsung has an A+ rating from the BBB, but a very low rating from consumers, a one out of five stars, the lowest rating possible! LOL. Geez how can that be? Sounds like either corruption or the BBB has low standards in giving top ratings or makes it too easy for any company, especially a big one, to receive a top rating with them.

https://www.bbb.org/us/nj/ridgefield-pk ... 21-1004901

https://www.bbb.org/us/nj/ridgefield-pk ... er-reviews

https://www.bbb.org/us/nj/ridgefield-pk ... complaints

As you can see from the link above, over 9800 people in America alone have filed complaints against Samsung! Wow.

[Winston]

Just posted my complaint about Samsung on Ripoff Report:

https://www.ripoffreport.com/report/sam ... xy-1493498

[TruthSeeker]

Hey Winston, did you check the serial of your Samsung? Maybe the one you bought in Cambodia is a knockoff and that's why it crapped out.

[Winston]

Hey Winston, did you check the serial of your Samsung? Maybe the one you bought in Cambodia is a knockoff and that's why it crapped out.

Yes I checked the IMEI number online and it is a legit Samsung phone. You can check your phone's IMEI here:

https://www.imei.info/

[Winston]

It's a little late, but let me tell you my philosophy, based on 40 years experience with computers.

1) All delicate electronics eventually breaks. (Non delicate electronics means stuff like heavy industrial diodes, which are almost as sturdy as the thick copper wiring they connect to.)
2) Therefore you should back up constantly. Daily at a minimum, though ideally programs would back up automatically every few minutes.
3) Backup media must be separate from the device itself, such as cloud storage or removable micro-SD card, precisely because you can't backup once the device broken.
4) Backup media can fail, so daily backup should be to 2 or more separate media devices and/or cloud.
5) House might burn down, destroying all electronics in the prices, so always keep recent backups off-site, either cloud storage or sets of 2 or more micro-SD cards, one of which stored off-site. Swap backup sets frequently.
6) Since you might need an existing phone to buy a new phone (such as to move money into your back account) always have two phones, primary and spare. Spare can be previous generation phone.
7) Best to buy cheap stuff, like $200 phones and $300 laptops, and then just throw them in the trash when they break. Trying to get repairs is frustrating.
8. If electronics has a manufacturing defect, it usually shows up in the first week. So extended warranties are not worth it. Just take it back of it fails in the first week and throw in the trash if later.
The
For the record, I'm using a Motorola 5gs+ myself, with 128GB Samsung micro-SD for non-secure media storage and backup (MP3s, JPEGs) plus Google Drive for cloud backup of personal documents (text, spreadsheets, etc), plus sturdy case. Phone cost like $200 a few years ago. Cheap camera but otherwise works fine. Each micro-SD (I have about 6, for multiple backups of my precious media files) was like $40 then but they are much cheaper now.

Shemp,
How do you backup everything? What's the easiest way? I do see an auto backup to cloud on my phone. Does that mean it will backup everything? Including big files? It doesn't say specifically what will be backed up. And wouldn't it take a long time and drain a lot of battery to be backing up a lot of data, especially big files, to the cloud? How do I just back up chat data only?

Also how do I check to see what's on the cloud? I remember uploading stuff there before and then it's gone and I can't find it. So I don't trust clouds anyway. Why should I trust a friggin cloud that's not under my control and is not even transparent? lol. It's like putting your faith in some cloud you can't see. Doesn't feel safe.

How do you back up everything usually? Do you have to tediously select what to backup? Do you have to select certain folders or apps?

I hope they make the process of transferring all data from one phone to another a lot easier now. It used to take many hours where I'd have to use a USB cable to transfer lots of folders, one at a time, to the laptop and then to the new phone. Would take many hours and was tedious. Especially if you don't know where the data or archive is because its encrypted, like with WeChat. Some apps have too many folders and you don't know which folder does what. Like WhatsApp has a lot of folders under media and they contain numbers only so you don't know what is what unless you open each file, which could be in the thousands.

I can't imagine the average person able to do all this or have the time. Surely there must be an easier way. iphone users tell me they only need to upload everything to the cloud to backup and restore it all to a new phone. What's the easiest way with Android? How can you make the process more automated?

At least with big sd cards, I can now just put all the photos and videos and audio files on there, so then all I have to do is put the sd card into the new phone. But even the sd card contents have to be backed up onto a flash drive or external hard drive, because if you lose your phone or it gets stolen, then the sd card will be gone too.

[Winston]

"Dear Samsung Headquarters or Service Center,

I have an URGENT problem I need help with ASAP! My Samsung Galaxy A50 phone that I bought in Siem Reap broke in February and the warranty is expiring soon. I have been trying to contact a service center in Cambodia for months but none of the stupid Samsung reps I called knew how! I have no way to use my warranty to fix or replace my phone, because I'm not in Cambodia where I bought it from. I cannot go to Cambodia now since it is locked down and the airport will make me pay a deposit of $3000 and get a Covid19 test, which no one wants to do and is insane. So I am hoping to mail the phone to Cambodia to ask a friend to take it to the dealer to turn it in for the warranty, but my friend said the post office is closed and only DHL is operating. So I think, maybe I should just mail the phone to the Samsung Service Center in Cambodia directly. But the problem is, there is no Samsung office or service center or website for the Cambodia region. When I select country on the Samsung site, it only has Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. No Cambodia. So how the heck do the Samsung stores or dealers in Cambodia turn in phones for warranty then? I've called Samsung a number of times. I called the Taiwan service center and the US customer service line, but no one there knows anything or what to do about my situation. When I ask them how to contact Samsung office in Cambodia, no one knows either. They just draw a blank. Stupid!

So I'm at a dead end now. This is an impossible situation! Stupid Samsung! What can I do? This is so stupid I swear! What am I supposed to do in such an impossible situation? Can you extend my warranty a little bit since you put me this impossible situation which I haven't figure out how to solve since February when my phone broke? And also because of the virus pandemic which doesn't allow me to go to Cambodia to use the warranty, or mail it there? Since this is an impossible situation and the pandemic won't allow me to solve this problem, can you extend my warranty? Otherwise I lose a $300 phone for nothing just because of your stupid policy and because of the pandemic. That's not fair and you know it! I been trying to fix my phone since February and there's no way to do it! You should just give me a new phone for all this trouble since you owe me one! It won't cost you anything. Come on. How would you feel if you were me? Think about it. Please solve my problem ASAP! My warranty is running out and I am in a no win situation!

Winston"

Service centers for Cambodia given to me via live chat with Thailand reps:

Service Center TAING MENGSEANG IMPORT EXPORT Telephone : (855) 93-567-024 / 11-877-775

Service Center KHMER LEADER DISTRIBUTION (KLDis) Telephone : (855) 70 999 896 (855) 23 997 163

Finally found a Facebook page for Samsung Service Center in Cambodia. Why didn't they tell me this months ago? Samsung reps are soooooooooo STUPID!!!!!!! I think I googled "Samsung Cambodia" back in February when my phone broke, but nothing came up back then, only now does something come up. Weird.

https://www.facebook.com/SamsungOfficialServiceCenter/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category ... 822840147/

https://www.facebook.com/Samsung-Cambod ... 889467855/