The Galaxy S24 Ultra is easily the best Android phone on the market in 2024. But if you want to get the most expensive, non-foldable phone Samsung has to offer, you should be aware of a couple of potential issues with the device. Some Galaxy S24 Ultra early adopters have reported screen and camera defects that plagued their devices. Some of them also encountered pushback from Samsung and their carriers when looking for solutions.
While you’ll probably be able to sort out a replacement or a fix, you should be aware that you might lose your preorder perks if your S24 Ultra is defective.
Galaxy S24 Ultra screen defects
A Galaxy S24 Ultra buyer took to Samsung forums to post a photo (below) of their new device and the screen issues. As you can see below, the display showed two lines that shouldn’t be there: A horizontal white line and a vertical green line.
The user first noticed these lines on the display while watching YouTube videos, and the lines kept appearing on the boot screen after that.
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When contacting Samsung Care Plus, the user was directed to Order Support, as this was supposedly a manufacturing defect. However, Samsung refused to exchange the device, saying the buyer had to return and repurchase the handset. That meant losing their preorder discounts.
After another call back to Samsung Care Plus, the customer was directed to T-Mobile. The purchase involved a T-Mobile-locked device financed by the carrier.
A Galaxy S24 Ultra showing a screen defect. Image source: Samsung Forums
“I’m seeing more and more posts about this same issue. And yes I’ve rebooted, cleared cache, and factory reset,” the Galaxy S24 Ultra owner said. “Why I can’t get a brand new phone exchanged when faulty from the factory. This blows my mind. T-Mobile did not build this phone.”
Over on Reddit, there’s a similar story. This time, it involves a Galaxy S24 Ultra on Verizon’s network with the same problem. A vertical green line appeared on the phone, and the owner tried to have the handset replaced.
A Verizon store reportedly tried to convince the buyer they were at fault:
After calling Samsung, they instructed me to go to Verizon because the phone was bought through them and that they would not fix it because it was a Verizon issue. At the first Verizon store I walked into, the lady said, ‘you damaged the phone and we cannot replace it.’ I asked her to look at the phone and point out the exterior damage that I caused, but she could not. (because there was NONE).
She proceeded to tell me that phones become damaged like this by being in ones pocket and having a ‘pressure pinch’ happen. I told her that the phone was picked up from a desk that I was working at and I had been on the phone a few minutes prior with no issues. Seeing that this was going nowhere and that I was dealing with an idiot, I walked out and proceeded to another store.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra buyer went to a second store, which claimed that Verizon “would do their best to squirm out of any [responsibility for providing the warranty].” The customer eventually bought another device, and the first will be returned and refunded.
However, that refund involves the processing of a trade-in made during preorders. “I expect this to get messy because I already returned an older Samsung phone as a trade in through the mail and do not expect great things from Verizon bookkeeping aspect,” the buyer said.
It’s unclear how frequent the Galaxy S24 Ultra screen issue is, but others have posted images showing the same display issue on Reddit.
The camera issues
That’s not the only problem, however. A PhoneArena report points to Galaxy S24 Ultra owners complaining on social media about the camera.
Anybody is facing image shift issue while zooming from 1x to 5x in #GalaxyS24Ultra?
Portraits from this device is also grainy.
5x and 10x auto images are dull and grainy.
Faulty device? Let me know your thoughts. pic.twitter.com/P0TEKQWdIT
— S M A Sithick (@smasithick) January 30, 2024
A user noticed an “image shift issue” when zooming between the various preset levels of zoom on the Galaxy S24. He also complained about grainy and dull images. Twitter/X user @smasithick tried to have their phone replaced, but representatives from Samsung India stores initially told him the zoom switch was normal.
He provided evidence that the Galaxy S24 models on display in stores did not suffer from the issue.
In subsequent updates, the user claims that the Galaxy S24 Ultra camera issues are known among customer care middle management:
Shockingly, the manager was already aware of the issue affecting many first-batch devices made in India. I was informed that the problem was identified during production and rectified in the second batch. However, @SamsungIndia still opted to distribute defective devices to initial buyers. 🤷 It’s incredibly disappointing.
They also said that Samsung tried to have the user’s tweets detailing the camera issues removed.
While @smasithick might have arranged a replacement, others might not be so lucky, according to the person’s updates. Instead, software updates might fix the issue on other Galaxy S24 Ultra varieties sold in India.
It’s unclear if these camera issues impacted other Galaxy S24 Ultra owners. Apparently, some buyers in Spain and Thailand might be affected.
Others have complained in Korea about the phone’s overall camera quality. A Samsung forum moderator said they’re “in charge” of the Galaxy S24 camera, according to a machine translation. They also claimed that the colors produced in Galaxy S24 Ultra photos are more similar to what human eyes see than previous generations.
Additionally, they said Samsung is keeping an eye on feedback, and software updates might fix the experience in the future. However, this exchange had nothing to do with the camera issues found in India.
If you think your Galaxy S24 model suffers from a display or camera defect, you should have it inspected as soon as possible. Maybe a replacement is required.