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Poor build quality

ctdog

Member
Feb 14, 2013
66
11
Bronx, NY
My white AT&T Note 3 has black flakes/specks under the back camera assembly. They aren't on the actual lens, so picture quality is not affected. That, in combination with my slightly wonky home button is very disappointing. I'm not going to bother trading the phone in, but I've read so many complaints about build quality on this phone, it is all very disheartening. I love what this device does and can do, but damn Samsung really needs to get it together and lean HARD on whoever they contracted to assemble the Note 3.
 
Actually the Galaxy Note 3 is very well built. I know, I've inspected mine and several others at work. I'm also qualified to make that judgement.

Why Joe Average thinks he's an engineer and knows better than the huge team of designers & engineers at Samsung is very revealing. It's obvious many folks like living in the past before high quality plastics became the norm. They're easily swayed with Apples clever & influential marketing that's got many people believing aluminum is the holy grail.

Like _ all consumer products you get a warranty, since no mass produced high volume product can be perfect. Those seeking perfection at any price point are only setting themselves up for grief.

I am not defending Samsung, merely injecting a little truth and first hand experience into a bash fest about quality.
 
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Actually the Galaxy Note 3 is very well built. I know, I've inspected mine and several others at work. I'm also qualified to make that judgement.

Why Joe Average thinks he's an engineer and knows better than the huge team of designers & engineers at Samsung is very revealing. It's obvious many folks like living in the past before high quality plastics became the norm. They're easily swayed with Apples clever & influential marketing that's got many people believing aluminum is the holy grail.

Like _ all consumer products you get a warranty, since no mass produced high volume product can be perfect. Those seeking perfection at any price point are only setting themselves up for grief.

I am not defending Samsung, merely injecting a little truth and first hand experience into a bash fest about quality.

Fake leather made out of ultra thin plastic is high quality?

Well thats new to me

You dont need to be an engineer to know that a loose home button is bad shotty quality

Nor does "inspecting several at work" mean theyre good

Hell its near impossible to pull out the S-Pen on my phone and most people ive talked to. Pretty sure thats a quality issue

And the speakers are HORRIBLY placed and incredibly weak, its super easy to accidentally cover/muffle the speaker during normal phone use

Im not knocking the phone, I love it its the best phone ive ever owned.

But that doesnt mean its the best quality either, for 300$ + with a 2 year contract I certainly expect better
 
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If I was complaining the center frame piece was several microns askew on one side, or the camera was not dead center 0,0 with equal space in the X-axis both left and right, then I could see how I'd be nitpicking. But visible to the naked eye flecks of debris under the camera glass, coupled with a home button with very obvious play means poor construction and/or the quality specs at wherever the phone was assembled are very loose. That IS a slam to Samsung, because they chose who to do the assembly, so the buck stops with them.
 
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Fake leather made out of ultra thin plastic is high quality?

Considering the alternative is ultra thin plastic that feels like, well, plastic I think the faux leather is a nice touch.

The ultimate design goal for them was not to make the highest quality build they could. That would have involved a lot of platinum, titanium and gold and would have been too heavy and stupid expensive. The goal was keep the weight down and get the highest quality they could out of the least amount of investment. Low price, low weight, nice build quality.

I for one am pretty happy with the quality of the build in the phone I ended up with. Maybe I got a wednesday before lunch model.
 
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My actual phone I love, warts and all, plus I have her set exactly as I like. I'm not expecting platinum and diamonds for what I paid, but better assembly is not at all unreasonable to expect. If I was the only person complaining I'd chalk it up to the odd lemon getting through, but the fact that many others on various forums have similar complaints means that Samsung needs to pay stricter attention to their partners.
 
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My actual phone I love, warts and all, plus I have her set exactly as I like. I'm not expecting platinum and diamonds for what I paid, but better assembly is not at all unreasonable to expect. If I was the only person complaining I'd chalk it up to the odd lemon getting through, but the fact that many others on various forums have similar complaints means that Samsung needs to pay stricter attention to their partners.

It sounds to me like you are not the victim of poor build quality, you're a victim of shoddy or substandard build quality. Yours was out of the norm because they let trash in during assembly which is the kind of thing I would be very unhappy with.

Poor build quality is a result of a bad design or implementation of less than ideal manufacturing practices but that isn't really the case with this model. If I were you I'd take that one back and get one that the guy didn't sneeze on when he was putting it together. You have a valid complaint.
 
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Considering the alternative is ultra thin plastic that feels like, well, plastic I think the faux leather is a nice touch.

The ultimate design goal for them was not to make the highest quality build they could. That would have involved a lot of platinum, titanium and gold and would have been too heavy and stupid expensive. The goal was keep the weight down and get the highest quality they could out of the least amount of investment. Low price, low weight, nice build quality.

I for one am pretty happy with the quality of the build in the phone I ended up with. Maybe I got a wednesday before lunch model.

Im not asking for diamonds

Metal, or even real leather are not that expensive.

And being able to actually remove the spen from my phone would be nice
 
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The first unit I got had dusts underneath the camera lens which didn't cause dark spots on the pictures I have taken. However, I have it replaced because i believe dusts trapped inside the camera or the screen is a factory defect which should merit replacement. The new one I got is white with a robust build quality, home button is firm although the camera cover isn't perfectly aligned in the center but that isn't a deal breaker.
 
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Im not asking for diamonds

Metal, or even real leather are not that expensive.

And being able to actually remove the spen from my phone would be nice
Actually the SPen on mine is also hard to remove which I prefer because I hardly use it anyway and I don't want the Spen rocking or making sound while inside which is the case of the other Note 3 units I have checked.
 
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Actually the Galaxy Note 3 is very well built. I know, I've inspected mine and several others at work. I'm also qualified to make that judgement.

Why Joe Average thinks he's an engineer and knows better than the huge team of designers & engineers at Samsung is very revealing. It's obvious many folks like living in the past before high quality plastics became the norm. They're easily swayed with Apples clever & influential marketing that's got many people believing aluminum is the holy grail.

Like _ all consumer products you get a warranty, since no mass produced high volume product can be perfect. Those seeking perfection at any price point are only setting themselves up for grief.

I am not defending Samsung, merely injecting a little truth and first hand experience into a bash fest about quality.


Wow. First, how exactly are you qualified to rate Samsungs quality control. Do you inspect the sites that manufacture the phones to ensure all QC specs are being followed?

Second, I nor anyone else even mentioned Apple, so I've no idea why you brought them up. You can be a Samsung/Android fan, but at least try to maintain some objectivity towards other brands.

Lastly, the only one doing an "bashing" is you, as you tried to unsuccessfully take a swipe at Apple. Take the time to read the forums; I and many others are happy with the overall execution of the Note 3, but many including myself are somewhat disappointed with the shoddy workmanship.
 
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My white AT&T Note 3 has black flakes/specks under the back camera assembly. They aren't on the actual lens, so picture quality is not affected. That, in combination with my slightly wonky home button is very disappointing. I'm not going to bother trading the phone in, but I've read so many complaints about build quality on this phone, it is all very disheartening. I love what this device does and can do, but damn Samsung really needs to get it together and lean HARD on whoever they contracted to assemble the Note 3.

I would tend to agree with you if these issues involved every phone, but they don't. That's quality control not build quality. I would exchange it.
 
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Poor inspection/poor quality in this context mean the same thing. And keep in mind these forums appeal to a very small section of the phone buying population, so it is within reason to suspect these build quality issues are larger than any of us know. No one is claiming we are endowed with engineering or scientific knowledge and can show Samsung a thing or two, but we are simply stating our gripes with what appears to be an inordinate amount of buyers being displeased with similar build issues.
 
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The HTC One was touted by many as the best built and best looking Android phone to date and yet it was still plagued with build quality issues. There's gonna be bugs with any 1st batch of phones. I agree that the s-pen is just a little harder to pull out than the Note 2, but I'd rather it be too tight than too loose.

I change phones quite often about every 3-4 months, this is the happiest I've been with a phone to date. Thats not to say that it's by any means perfect, it could use a better speaker and a few other little gripes. All in all it's one awesome phablet.
 
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The HTC One was touted by many as the best built and best looking Android phone to date and yet it was still plagued with build quality issues. There's gonna be bugs with any 1st batch of phones. I agree that the s-pen is just a little harder to pull out than the Note 2, but I'd rather it be too tight than too loose.

I change phones quite often about every 3-4 months, this is the happiest I've been with a phone to date. Thats not to say that it's by any means perfect, it could use a better speaker and a few other little gripes. All in all it's one awesome phablet.

I agree. I like mine very much though it came with a crappy home button that wiggles and a crappy single speaker that could use more sound as it can not be heard easily in public places outside. If you live in the city or are driving the. Good luck trying to hear on that speaker:(
 
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I agree. I like mine very much though it came with a crappy home button that wiggles and a crappy single speaker that could use more sound as it can not be heard easily in public places outside. If you live in the city or are driving the. Good luck trying to hear on that speaker:(

People use the speaker on ANY phone to listen to music in their cars? Isn't that what aux jacks and bluetooth stereos are for?

Other phone manufacturers must be getting desperate when they have little else to criticize.
 
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Mine aint perfect either, but I wont be exchanging it for another as I do not want to end up with another unit with other issues ? LOL
Only "manufacturing defect " ( prolly within tolerances ) I see on mine is the gap above the earpiece where the glass meets frame is slightly bigger than wife's note 3. I could only notice this under close observation when I was applying screen film using bright light.
 
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