S Pen dead zones on Z Fold main/inner screen

[FrankGPani]

Well, it finally happened to me after 1.5 years on the Z Fold 3. For those unaware, the flex cable on the Z Fold degrades over time and your S Pen, speakers and bluetooth/WIFI starts to go. I just discovered portions of my main screen unresponsive to the S Pen, although the rest of the phone works just fine (for now). Looks like I will be moving to a Z Fold 5 soon, since quite pointless spending a bundle to replace the entire main screen. Fortunately I rarely use my S Pen (finger writing still works) so this is more of an annoyance for now. You can read more about this issue at the post below.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyFold/comments/1204veu/the_two_cables_on_the_hinge_of_the_samsung_fold...

[JP19]

Yeah.. eventually all Z Fold 3 users will suffer from this wifi and mobile hotspot issue. Mine was 3 months ago. Wonder how long my current replaced LCD can last..

[FrankGPani]

Did you have to pay for it, or was it covered under warranty or Samsung Care+?
Come to think of it, I don't know whether I'm partly to blame for my own flex cable issue because I followed some stupid advance on YouTube to slide a piece of paper into the hinge to clean the folding mechanism. Maybe I partially dislodged or damaged the cable myself?! 🤦🏻

Samsung should allow servicing and replacement of the flex cables instead of the entire expensive main display.

[JP19]

Hey, no I didn't pay a single cent for the repair. It was covered under basic warranty. Since I still have Care+ coverage till next year June, so I can always have them repair for free.

But after u slided the paper into the hinge, did the wifi and Bluetooth not work afterwards?

Sadly, they don't replace only the flex cables and they won't bother to identify the individual flex cable issue. Instead, they would rather replace the entire LCD, since the cables are all nicely connected with the LCD.

[FrankGPani]

Good go hear it was covered and they didn't give you some BS about you dropping or damaging the phone. Only the S Pen had some issues on parts of the main display. BT, WiFi, Sound all OK for now. I don't know exactly when problem started to be honest, as I rarely use the S Pen.

[JP19]

Yeah the customer service rep didn't ask whether I dropped it. They seemed to know that this is a common issue among all the Z Fold 3 users.

Ah I see.. yeah I don't think anyone can even recall or know exactly what causes these issues.

[JP19]

Yeah.. every customer service officer will provide different answer and solution. To reach the request to the manager level is not easy and most of the time, the staff will just reject the customer by saying the damage is out of warranty.

[FrankGPani]

Looks like my last comment on Samsung Care+ and screen replacement cost got deleted 🤔
Must have hit a nerve with Samsung...

[JP19]

Yeah the comment sometimes not showing.. I have to click the first comment of the conversation and click reply from there, then the comment won't disappear alr.

I feel that if people are considering to get a Flip or Fold phone, purchasing 2nd year Care+ is worth it, because it can cover the 2nd year of repair and most likely, replacement of the screen will be free.

[FrankGPani]

Yes, highly recommended to get 2yrs of Samsung Care+. Especially as in my deleted comment, starting with the Z Fold 4, Samsung Care+ now includes 'Screen Care which allows for a one time $100 replacement of either screens for out of warranty situations. There is significant difference in replacement price from $100 to the listed screen replacement cost, even with 50% off.

Until the durability of folding screens improve, it will be a case of when the folding mechanism will fail, not if. I have pretty much accepted that like anything I own with moving parts (bicycle, car.. etc) something will fail eventually. A lot of buyers for the Fold & Flip phones dont realise that and keep comparing durability with non-folding phones. I will just enjoy my phone while it works and replace/repair it when it doesn't.