The Defect: 

The inner portion of Samsung’s Fold 3 phone breaks under normal usage. When the inner screen breaks, the screen cracks around the inner hinge, and it develops dead pixels around the center of the phone. This occurs without the user dropping or otherwise damaging the phone in as little as one month after purchase. The subreddit dedicated to Samsung Galaxy Fold contains dozens of threads of users discussing their experience with the phone’s inner screen cracking and developing dead pixels. 

Warranty: 

Customers have complained that Samsung’s warranty does not cover damaged or defective Galaxy Z Fold3 inner screens. Repairing the inner screen for accidental damage costs $479.

One user said they were told Samsung only covers factory defects and that the user bears the cost when they cannot prove if it is a factory defect or user damage. In other cases, the warranty does not seem to cover a malfunctioning screen if there is even slight damage to any other part of the phone.

Arbitration:

Samsung’s terms of sale when buying the phone from Samsung.com, do not contain an arbitration provision. However, if customers create an account with Samsung prior to purchasing the phone, the account terms and conditions contain an arbitration provision. Samsung’s voluntary screen repair offer also contains an arbitration provision. 

The screen repair offer for Galaxy Fold products gives eligible customers the opportunity to repair their phone screen for $149 within one year of purchase, “except [for] damage Samsung determines to be due to abuse or misuse.” 

Apple settled a lawsuit in 2022 that claimed the company did not replace faulty products as promised under its warranty.