Samsung under fire as Galaxy Z Fold 3 screens crack for no reason at all after warranty expires

It seems that some Samsung Galaxy Fold 3 users are finding that their foldable displays are cracking. As if that isn't bad enough, the damage to the screens is taking place without any trauma or impact to the device and is occurring after the warranty has expired. Technically, with the phone out of warranty, there isn't much that can be done.

I recently received an email from a Galaxy Fold 3 owner whose device suffered a cracked screen even though the phone has never been dropped. While she helps nurse humans back to health, a phone is another matter. And of course, the warranty had already expired. The image of the damaged foldable shows that the crack is almost down the middle of the internal display and the owner of the device is still paying off the $1,100 purchase price.

She got in touch with Samsung and was referred to UBreakiFix who Samsung said would fix the display for $800. That is 73% of the original cost of the phone to fix something that she didn't break. And this has happened to other Galaxy Z Fold 3 owners. A Reddit user with the user name "Snoo" complained last month that after 15 months of "careful ownership", the internal screen on his Galaxy Z Fold 3 also cracked down the vertical axis where the phone opens and closes.

"Snoo" wrote, "15 months in, opened the screen to show a friend who was interested and heard a cracking sound as it was nearly fully opened run along the centre fold. (Phone was not dropped). The right-hand screen no longer responds to any input, the left-hand does. Just saw the price to repair and that is shocking. Pretty gutted as loved the phone and in all honesty, I rarely opened the phone, maybe 2-3 times a week if that. So, I can no longer use the phone when opened up. Sad times."

Yet another Redditor using the handle "Mizderrung" said, "Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Took my phone off the wireless charger, unfolded, and it split right down the middle. The things 3 months old and never been dropped. Took it to Samsung who agreed there was no physical damage and they'd send it off for warranty repair, but now the repairer is saying they've found an impact point and dead pixels so I'm to pay $700 for a repair?"

He continues, "The only thing resembling an impact can be seen in the photo here, to the left of the crease, about 1cm from the top, and it's almost like a piece of glass that was pointing OUT of the screen, not a dimple into the screen. It wasn't present until the Samsung rep opened and closed the phone 3 or 4 times while checking it out. Anybody been able to escalate/ get something like this reviewed? Absolutely fuming."

It appears that this issue is showing up on Galaxy Z Fold 3 models starting a little after the one-year warranty expires with multiple users finding damage to their internal screens around the one-and-a-half-year mark. In all of the cases, and there are a few, the phones did not sustain any physical trauma. In other words, they were not dropped, were not hit, and the screens cracked in the course of using these phones normally.

So what can you do if this has happened to you? Complaining to the lower-level Samsung employees is probably not going to help at all. What you can do is tap on this link which will enable those in the U.S. to write a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of the company. You can even upload your photos. If this doesn't help, contact a lawyer and discuss initiating a class action suit against Samsung.

If you don't live in the states, go to Samsung.com on your browser, scroll down to the very bottom of the page, and under support, look for a listing titled CEO's Office. If you can't find it, call the company and demand to speak with an executive. Try to go up the corporate ladder the best that you can and if Samsung responds to our inquiry, we will update this story.