Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the broken camera glass

[German]New trouble for owners of a Samsung flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra. Smartphone owners are currently complaining about cracked glass covers on the rear camera. These are not isolated cases that are being reported. Samsung has probably not yet made a statement on this.


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There is this thread in the Samsung Consumer Forum, which now has eight pages of user feedback about a cracked camera glass on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. The thread creator has a hairline crack in the camera cover on the back and asks if others have it and if something like that is covered by the warranty:

Broken rear camera glass s20 ultra

while in my packet the glass of the camera broke. like a hair line that goes from one side to another, someone else have the same problem? And what can i do now? There is any warranty that cover that?

Normally, mechanical damage is attributed to user fault and the manufacturer refuses warranty. But the user is not alone. Here is a typical feedback:

I have the same problem , I contacted Samsung and they said its not their fault. The camerq is so fragile that it will break without dropping it . I'm going to get it fixed then return this garbage phone

Samsung has informed the affected person that it is not the fault of the smartphone manufacturer. The user remains sitting on the damage even though he did not drop or knock the device – he said. Another user wrote in mid-March 2020 that he wanted to have the camera glass repaired, but Samsung does not have replacement glasses.

I heard they didn't yet‼️ I went to take a picture and my camera's glass was broke. I didn't drop it, and it's in a good case. I tried to get it fix as soon as I noticed it today, but they don't have the class available yet. I was told to check back in 3 weeks.

A product expert with the alias jellodragon states that there are certain repair points for broken equipment: 

Hello,

there are Samsung Care Authorized Repair Centres (UBREAKIFIX & Samsung Experience Stores) throughout the country that can perform all types of repairs on Samsung products. If your back glass is broken, they can make sure they replace it with OEM parts, and not only that, but also make it water resistant again. They also run tests on it after the repair to make sure the phone is in as-new condition.

To see the authorized repair centres near you: 

https://www.samsung.com/us/support/service/

Let me know if this helps. Thanks!

Looks like it's gonna be an expensive affair. A user states in this post that he was hit by the issue only after 2 weeks, even though the Galaxy S20 Ultra was contained in a thick protective cover. As the camera glass cover has to be exchanged with the glass back, the whole thing will probably become quite expensive. There were 100 US $ mentioned, I have also seen 300 dollars.  

I have only had my phone for 2 weeks and have experienced the same issue. I have a very thick case on my phone as well, but the camera protrudes so much that setting the phone down on the table could have caused my camera lens glass to crack. Since the back glass and camera glass are all one peace you will need the buy the entire part. Unfortunately, you cannot get parts for this phone anywhere besides Samsung's repair HQ in Texas. They won't sell you the part and will charge $100 to ship it out to them for repair. Now I have to deal with a cracked camera lens glass until 3rd parties get the replacement back glass in stock.

Samsung employees admit this is an issue but will read off the same script telling you that its your fault and that you will need to pay to get it fix. Its mind boggling that this could happen from normal use. I feel like as more cases are reported Samsung will acknowledge this and not charge people for this repair.

I have checked multiple sources for this replacement back glass with no luck.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Broken camera glass
(Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Broken camera glass, Source: Samsung)


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Within this post someone showed the above photo. It shows the disassembled glass backside that was removed in a Samsung repair shop and shows a massive hole. Another photo in this post shows hairline cracks in the glass cover – which is based on this tweet

Other people have documented similar things in response tweets. A search on Twitter reveals more nice photos.

Also here you can find a photo of a broken glass, which was themed on reddit.com. At reddit.com someone posted this text – there it is mentioned that the zoom could not be set to 50x magnification. And the more the glass cover broke, the lower the zoom level that was still usable. Possibly something bumps against the glass cover mechanically and causes mechanical tension.

Anyway, I think the whole thing is a problem, where the users put down about 1.400 US $ for the device and after a few days they find a broken glass back. This reminds me of other cases where the display of Samsung Galaxy models spontaneously cracked. Possibly the next debacle for Samsung? Because in the meantime media like Android Police have picked it up. Let's see if Samsung has something to say. Anyone affected?

Similar articles:
Samsung Galaxy S20: GPS issues and Firmware Update
Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ has touchscreen issues
Black Hat: Millions of Smartphones vulnerable


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10 Responses to Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the broken camera glass

  1. Mayank says:

    Nice article. I have a S20 ultra and had my camera glass shattered from a fall of 1 feet while sitting on a chair. The phone was in a cover supplied by Samsung and it fell on a flat surface. Surely there is something wrong with the glass quality. They charged AUD 375 for that. I think it is totally unreasonable. And implies the camera glass is 1/4th the phone cost. Strange….
    I have contacted Samsung for this and awaiting reply.
    P.s. my camera glass shattered very similar to the picture used in this article

    • David says:

      Hi Mayank,
      A hairline crack abruptly appeared on my back camera glass and, along with a lot of other people, I did not drop the phone and had it in a good quality protective case that covered and protected the camera. Samsung have also quoted me AUD $375 for repairs. I have lodged a dispute and am wondering how you went with your dispute?
      Regards,
      David

  2. Joe Frisina says:

    My camera glass has broken not once but twice. Samsung didn't stand behind it either time. They told me to have it repaired at my cost again and if it happened again they would see about a return or replacement. I have not dropped my phone either time and have an OtterBox Defender case. Nuts that a $1400 phone would have such and issue and Samsung won't back it.

    • Azma Issadeen says:

      I'm definitely facing the same issue! Couldn't believe my eyes when the glass covering the camera cracked not once, but had to be replaced twice! plus camera zoom features really don't work well at all. Recall please! what bogus nonsense is this Samsung! Been using phones for over 20 years and suddenly can't stop my camera glass from hairline cracks and shatters! I can smell 'Defective' a mile away!

  3. sami says:

    I have had my S20 ultra for three days and without any fall there's a hairline fracture on the camera lens. So very disappointed in quality of the product. For $1200 i paid i expected a more decent product.

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  5. Jeff says:

    i had the s20 ultra for a week was in my pocket in a case loose jeans sat down to eat dinner took out phone to put on table and noticed a hole in the camera. same exact hole pictured above in the twitter post. I call Samsung they tell me any physical damage is not covered under warranty and this is clearly physical damage. So then i asked her what about the pages and pages of people with the same exact issue as me. She then said they are aware of what people are saying but i still have to go through the same process. Of sending my phone to them and they put a hold on my credit card and if they deem no physical damage i dont pay. so not only do i have to go without a phone for nobody knows how long i will have to pay for them to put more defective glass on my phone that will break in another week

  6. Asta says:

    I also have the same issue with Samsung Galaxy A71. It was my fault, I must admit, it dropped, but the main issue is the protrusion of the camera glass from the main body which cannot be protected by a case. Luckily, my phone isn't as expensive as S20, but apparently the last series of Samsung phones all have the same camera design issue which makes it very vulnerable.

  7. Cherokee72 says:

    I also have the cracked camera glass issue. Phone was placed in to protective case straight from unboxing and has never been dropped. I took it off the Samsung-provided charger and observed the cracked camera glass. Employee at Samsung store in Australia did not even look at my phone, stated it was not covered under warranty and dismissed me. The retail store where I purchased believe it is a manufacturing flaw and from charging heat. Phone has since been sent off to a Samsung for assessment. I would expect better consumer support from Samsung and especially given this is a $2000AUD device.

  8. egesa george says:

    i also have the same problem my s20 ultra camera glass has a hairline affecting the picture quality

  9. Richard Wong says:

    I to had the rear camera glass on my s20 Ultra get a hairline crack 3 weeks after getting the new phone. Again like most of the posters here there is no physical sign of damage. I believe it is a manufactures defect. Either to thin or to much pressure from the sides. Funny how it looks like all the hairline cracks seem to be in the same direction and area. Samsung should take note and make a one time repair with a improved product. As it is we are also suffering from a faulty design for auto-focus. So far they have tried 2 time s and it is not any better. so frustrating- I believe my next phone may be an APPLE

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