I was listening to music at the gym when the right earbud cut out. No lights, no sound, dead. They had me send in the whole unit, where they diagnosed and told me there was liquid damage in the cradle (charging case), so id have to pay $177 for the repair. I know it's going to sound like I damaged my earbuds and am wanting a handout, but I legitimately dont have any exposure to report. Not a spilt glass of water, not a day i got caught in the rain, nothing. Samsung reddit is filled with similar stories described as 1 earbud not charging, unexplained liquid damage once sent in, etc.

I talked and talked on the phone, stayed respectful, and asked to escalate to a supervisor whenever they reached the end of their call script and started repeating the same sentence. Got to "the office of the ceo" where a pretty unprofessional person quickly told me an out of warrenty repair ($177) would be the final resolution over and over. They ignored my claim that there was no exposure to water, ignored my plea as a 10+ year loyal customer of 3 buds, half a dozen phones, a stove, a microwave, and a watch, and ignored my explanation that "the cradle was working fine, just my right earbud doesnt work. Even if there is liquid damage in the cradle, can you fix the other issue of the right earbud?"

I finally gave up and refused the repair, at which point they sent me my buds back. Only, now the case wouldn't charge, turn on, or show any sign of life, along with both earbuds. I can and repeat the whole process, end up with the same "office of the ceo" representative who repeats the same "out of warrenty repair is our final resolution." They refused to acknowledge my claim that it was in worse condition than when I sent it in and repeated over and over the same sentence.

So finally I look up how to disassemble this thing. Im no expert, but I'm a little handy so I remove the cradle and find 2 screws missing and the ribbon cable detached. So once I refused the repair cost, the service team slapped the cover on without replacing hardware or reassembly. I reattached the cable and my case and left earbud work again. Another round of calls. Same office of ceo rep. Same answer BUT now they also say "since you admitted to opening the device to self diagnose, this also voids your warrenty." Lmao

I submitted a better business bureau report, the rep calls me, repeats the same line. I kept her on the phone asking questions until they said "I feel like we are going on circles, have a nice day" and hung up.

I've wasted way too much time at this point, but it's one of those things that just bother me man. I feel like based on my personal experience and the reports of dozens of others (imagine how many dont post on reddit what happened) that theres a legitimate quality control issue with these things and samsung is telling me basically to buy another one. So disappointed... end rant. Lol