u/SolarPowerChihuahua

Shortened version because apparently the original post was too long and got removed by the mods.

On 3/30/2026 I accidentally closed my Galaxy Fold 7 on a tiny pebble. The outer screen still worked, but the inner screen started failing. I have Samsung Care+, so I thought this would be a straightforward repair.

Instead, this has turned into almost 2 months of absolute insanity.

First, Samsung support insisted I clear cache, troubleshoot software, and FACTORY RESET the phone even after I repeatedly explained the damage was PHYSICAL. Then the support rep asked me to send a PICTURE of the phone after resetting it. Not a screenshot. A literal picture of the phone.

Eventually I shipped the phone in, but Samsung accidentally processed it under Warranty instead of Care+, and from there the circus started.

Samsung had my phone for weeks with no updates. I approved almost $500 in repair charges after being told repairs would take about 3 days.

Still nothing happened.

Then on 5/6/2026 I called Samsung and was told my phone was “actively being repaired as we speak.”

About 15 minutes later I got a text saying my phone had shipped back to me.

At that point I knew the circus music was starting again.

The next day Samsung overnighted me… someone else’s phone.

My original phone:

• Blue Shadow Fold 7
• 1TB

What Samsung sent me:

• Random black Fold
• Completely dead
• Wouldn’t power on
• Wouldn’t charge

Samsung then repeatedly insisted the dead black phone WAS my phone and demanded the IMEI from it even though the phone would not power on.

I eventually had to send pictures of my original Fold box showing the color and IMEI before Samsung finally admitted the black phone wasn’t mine.

Now almost 2 months later, Samsung STILL will not answer the most basic question:

DO THEY ACTUALLY HAVE MY PHONE?

When I call with the original service number, they just say the case is “cancelled.”

Ok… cancelled WHERE? WHERE IS THE PHONE?

No answer.

Samsung Executive Care has been useless. The case manager keeps asking the same questions repeatedly, sending irrelevant updates, and ignoring requests for escalation or management callbacks.

At one point Samsung even told me I should have included a LETTER inside the return box explaining the situation so they could understand what was going on.

Seriously.

Every time I contact Samsung I feel like I’m loading into a new side quest.

And the best part?

Even IF I eventually get my actual phone back, Samsung never repaired it. So after almost 2 months of this circus, I’ll STILL need to open another Care+ claim and start the repair process all over again.

At this point:

• Samsung has had my Fold almost 2 months
• No repairs were completed
• They charged me almost $500
• They sent me someone else’s dead phone
• Nobody will confirm where my phone is
• Nobody gives straight answers

The phone repair process somehow became more broken than the phone itself.

I sent Samsung a broken Fold and somehow Samsung returned a broken customer.

This is going to be long winded, but this situation has basically been my life for almost 2 months now. It has been problem after problem after problem. Even while I was out of the country on vacation, I was still making international calls trying to figure out where my phone was and why nobody at Samsung could give me a straight answer.

This all started on 3/30/2026.

I honestly do not even know what to do at this point, so I’m posting this here to see if anyone else has dealt with something this insane from Samsung support.

I have owned every Galaxy Fold since the original Fold. I also own Samsung TVs, appliances, phones for family members, etc. I’ve spent a small fortune with Samsung over the years and this is my first experience actually needing a repair.

It has turned into an absolute nightmare.

On 3/30/2026, I accidentally closed my Galaxy Fold 7 on a tiny pebble that must have been in my pocket. The pebble was literally around the size of the ball on the tip of a ballpoint pen.

Earlier that day I had opened the Fold and everything was completely fine. Then later I closed the phone and noticed it did not fully shut flush. I opened it back up and immediately saw lines forming exactly where the pebble had been trapped.

The outer screen still worked perfectly the entire time. The issue was only the inner folding display slowly failing from the pressure point where the pebble hit. First horizontal and vertical lines appeared, then the display progressively got worse.

I have Samsung Care+ specifically for situations like this.

I originally went to uBreakiFix because they are listed as an authorized Samsung repair center directly through the Samsung Care+ process. My thinking at the time was simple: they would replace the inner screen in a day, I would deal with being without my Fold briefly, and life would move on.

I actually remember thinking to myself how annoying it was going to be to be without my Fold for even a single day.

If I only knew what was actually coming.

Instead, uBreakiFix suddenly claimed there was a “motherboard issue” and said it had to be mailed to Samsung. I honestly believe the tech just did not want to work on the Fold because nothing about the way the damage happened suggested a motherboard failure. The only actual damage was the inner screen.

Honestly, I probably should have realized this was going to become a disaster before I even shipped the phone.

When I first contacted Samsung support trying to get the UPS QR code so I could send the phone in, the support technician kept insisting I perform software troubleshooting steps even after I repeatedly explained this was PHYSICAL screen damage.

I explained multiple times that a tiny pebble had accidentally gotten closed into the Fold’s inner screen and that the display was progressively failing from the exact impact point.

Despite this obviously being physical damage, the technician kept insisting I:

• clear cache
• perform software troubleshooting
• eventually perform a full factory reset

This was clearly not a software issue, but he refused to move forward until I completed the steps.

To make it even more ridiculous, after the technician had me do all of these pointless troubleshooting steps and eventually a factory reset, he then wanted me to SEND HIM A PICTURE OF THE PHONE AFTER THE RESET.

Not a screenshot. An actual picture OF the phone.

Apparently I was supposed to magically take a picture of the Fold using one of the backup phones I keep around specifically for emergencies like this.

The only reason I was even able to continue communicating with support at that point was because the OUTER screen still worked.

Even during the text support conversation, it was obvious the technician was juggling multiple conversations at once because responses were taking 2 to 3 minutes between messages while I was sitting there waiting trying to get help.

At that point I finally stopped responding because it was obvious the support process was going nowhere and nobody was actually understanding the issue.

That interaction immediately gave me the feeling that support either was not reading what I was typing or did not understand the issue at all.

Eventually I just gave up and said I completed everything because it was obvious none of those steps had anything to do with a physically cracked OLED display.

Luckily, or maybe not luckily considering what happened next, I called back the next day and finally got someone who generated the UPS QR code so I could send the phone in.

Unfortunately, that representative accidentally created the repair under Samsung Warranty instead of Samsung Care+, which became the beginning of this entire disaster.

Samsung Warranty then correctly stated they would not repair it under warranty because the screen damage was accidental damage, which I completely understood and agreed with.

At that point, Samsung Care+ (Servify) actually tried helping by coordinating with Samsung Warranty to have the phone transferred directly to them internally since both departments are located in Texas and I live in Massachusetts.

I could not understand why Samsung could not simply transfer the device internally from one repair group to another instead of making me wait for the phone to be shipped all the way back across the country just so I could immediately ship it right back into another Samsung repair process.

I understand Samsung Care+ is technically handled by a subcontractor (Servify), but it still made absolutely no sense that Samsung could not internally move the device between departments.

But Samsung Warranty could not make that happen.

That is honestly the point where I first started feeling like something was wrong internally with my device tracking and that the phone may have already been misplaced or lost.

From there, everything completely fell apart.

Samsung received my phone at the beginning of April 2026. The device was evaluated and then NOTHING happened for weeks.

I called over and over. Nobody could tell me where my phone was or why no work was being done.

I use this phone for my small business, and I told them repeatedly I was leaving the country on 4/19/2026 and needed the phone back before then. I was assured multiple times that would happen.

It never did.

Eventually, even though I already pay for Samsung Care+, I approved and paid almost $500 out of pocket because a rep told me once payment was approved the repair would be done within about 3 days.

Still nothing happened.

Then on 5/6/2026 I called Samsung service again because I still had no updates. During that phone call, the representative literally told me that my phone was actively being repaired “as we speak.”

Then about 15 minutes later I suddenly received a text message and email notification saying my device was being shipped back to me.

At that point I knew the circus music was starting again.

The next day I received an overnight package from Samsung.

And it was NOT my phone.

My original phone was a custom Blue Shadow / Navy Blue 1TB Fold 7 purchased directly from Samsung.

What Samsung sent me instead was a completely different BLACK Fold device that does not even power on. It will not power on from USB charging or wireless charging.

Honestly, if my original phone had actually been Black, I probably would have just assumed Samsung repaired or replaced it and sent it to Care+ to figure out whatever was wrong with it. The ONLY reason I immediately knew something was seriously wrong is because my original Fold was a custom Blue Shadow color ordered directly from Samsung and I still had the original box.

That is what makes this even crazier to me. If I had owned a standard Black Fold, I may never have realized Samsung sent me someone else’s phone until I eventually got the device back and discovered the IMEI numbers did not match mine.

And honestly, that opens up another major concern.

What if the Black phone they sent me had been locked by the previous owner? After everything I already went through, I could have ended up with a phone I could not even access because it belonged to someone else.

My original phone was placed into Samsung Maintenance Mode before I shipped it out, but it still contains my personal and business data. Everything is backed up, but I basically live out of that phone for both work and personal life.

At this point, another major concern is where my actual phone is and who may currently have access to it.

Samsung still has not clearly confirmed whether they physically have my original device in their possession, and after all the confusion and mixed information, it honestly makes me wonder whether my phone, with all my business and personal information on it, is sitting somewhere lost, misplaced, or potentially in the hands of someone trying to access it.

That is not something anyone should have to worry about after sending a flagship phone to the manufacturer’s own repair process.

Then things somehow got even crazier.

Samsung initially refused to even take the Black phone back because they wanted the IMEI number from it. I repeatedly explained that the phone was completely dead and would not power on, so I could not retrieve the IMEI information.

Despite that, they kept insisting the Black phone was my phone.

I had to repeatedly explain:

• My original phone was BLUE
• I still had the original retail box
• I sent them pictures of the box with the matching model/IMEI/color information
• The Black phone they sent me was not my device

Only AFTER I sent pictures of my original box showing the Blue color, 1TB model, and IMEI numbers did they finally agree to take the Black phone back.

Even now, nobody can answer the most basic question:

WHERE IS MY ACTUAL PHONE?

When I call Samsung using the original repair/service request number, they now tell me the case was “cancelled.”

Ok… cancelled where? Where is the phone? Who has it?

Nobody can answer.

I have asked multiple times:

“Do you physically have my original phone in your possession?”

Nobody will answer the question directly.

Instead I get vague nonsense responses like:

“Send the black phone back so we can get your phone back.”

I still have no idea what that sentence even means.

Then things somehow got even more bizarre.

The Samsung Executive Care case manager, Shameia W., started sending me emails that looked like internal communications meant for someone else. One of them referenced “UBIF 131 Webster” and talked about a customer missing a repair appointment.

The email was sent directly TO ME, not CC’d.

I honestly could not even tell if this was another case getting mixed into mine or if she simply does not know how to properly use To, CC, and BCC in email.

At this point, another screw up honestly would not surprise me.

Meanwhile my phone had already been sitting in Samsung’s repair system for almost two months.

Then the service center told me I should have included a LETTER inside the box with the Black phone explaining the situation and asking for my phone back.

Seriously?

They are now acting like I should have opened ANOTHER case just to explain the problem. A case to do what exactly? Cases are for sending phones in for repair, not for writing begging letters asking Samsung to return my property.

I also asked multiple times for escalation or a supervisor callback.

About two weeks ago I was told management would call me. They verified my phone number.

Nobody ever called.

To this day, my phone is still more likely to call me than Samsung management.

The “Executive Care” case manager handling this has honestly been useless. Her name is Shameia W. She barely seems to read the emails before responding and repeatedly asks the same questions over and over.

At one point she emailed asking whether I had sent the Black phone back even after:

• I already sent pictures of the packaged phone
• Sent the UPS tracking receipt
• Sent screenshots showing UPS delivered it

How many times does this need to be explained?

Honestly, at this point I keep asking myself how I could possibly be the one person getting every incompetent person at Samsung throughout this entire process.

What did I do to deserve this kind of luck?

Every single step of this process has somehow turned into another mistake, another contradiction, another delay, or another person who either does not read what I wrote or has no idea what is going on with my case.

Every time I contact Samsung I feel like I’m loading into a new side quest.

And the most frustrating part of all of this?

Even IF I eventually get my actual phone back, it will still have the original broken inner screen because Samsung never repaired it after nearly two months of having the device. So after all this wasted time, stress, phone calls, emails, legal letters, and confusion, I will STILL need to open another Care+ repair claim and go through another repair process just to finally get my phone fixed.

More wasted time.

At this point:

• Samsung has had my original Fold for almost 2 months
• No repairs were ever completed
• They took almost $500 for repairs that never happened
• They sent me the wrong dead phone
• They cannot confirm whether they actually have my original phone
• They ignore escalation requests
• Nobody seems to know what is going on internally

The phone repair process somehow became more broken than the phone itself.

I have had to switch to an old S22+ expecting this situation to last maybe a week or two. Instead it has dragged on for nearly 2 months and has seriously affected my business productivity and day-to-day work due to the smaller screen and incomplete restores/backups.

All of this for a $2,000+ flagship phone with Samsung Care+.

This has honestly made me seriously consider leaving Samsung entirely after years in the ecosystem.

At this point my attorney has already sent Samsung a formal demand letter because nobody at Samsung seems capable of giving a straight answer or taking ownership of this mess.

Honestly, I’m open to suggestions at this point besides “contact the BBB,” because that clearly is not going to help me get my phone back. I need someone at Samsung who actually cares about customers and can take ownership of a situation like this instead of treating it like another checkbox ticket to close or another generic email response to send.

Is this really what people should expect from a flagship product costing thousands of dollars?

Are Samsung customers basically screwed when something breaks because Samsung would rather sell you a new device than make the repair process reasonable?

Because after this experience, that is honestly what it feels like.

I sent Samsung a broken Fold and somehow Samsung returned a broken customer.