Reader Eric was having some problems with his Samsung TV, so when he found Samsung had a firmware update for his LCD TV he did what any reasonable person might and applied the update. Bad move, Eric! Samsung is claiming that the update, which he got off their website, voided the warranty on his TV. Now they won’t fix it. Read his story, inside.

I have been a long time reader of consumerist and I sadly enough need help with a product that I own. I have a Samsung LN-T4061F LCD TV, I have been trying to hook up my laptop to the TV through the HDMI port. I was able to get a picture but unable to get a sound from the TV.

Seeing this problem I went to my Olivia TV and tried hooking my laptop through the HDMI port. The laptop worked on the HDMI port on the Olivia TV so I figured something was wrong with the Samsung TV. I went to Samsung’s website and I noticed that they had a updated firmware available, so I downloaded the update and the instructions. I have flashed the firmware on my Olivia TV and other electronic devices so I figured it wouldn’t be a bad thing to do. I followed the instructions, let the TV do its thing, and when it came back up the picture was messed up.

At this point I called Samsung’s tech support and told them what happened and why I was flashing the firmware. After placing me hold a couple of times, they came back and told me that because I flashed the TV for a reason that is not approved by Samsung, they considered this physical damage thus voiding the warranty. I asked to speak to a manager and they told me the same story and that because I did this, there was nothing that they could do to help me other than to arrange a service call at my expense.

Like I said earlier, I have flashed many devices, and I have done done a bad firmware update before and know to follow the instructions step by step. The firmware update did complete successfully and I did not see anything that specifically said what the firmware fixed.

I will try calling the executive support number I found on the site when they are open. But does anyone have any advice on what I can do to get my TV fixed? I don’t think a company should offer firmware updates on their website if they don’t intend to have customers running these updates.

Please Help!

A quick perusal of Samsung’s website didn’t seem to have much in the way of giant warning signs informing you that installing the update will void your warranty. In fact, the little disclaimer at the top of the page informing you that Samsung isn’t liable if you install the wrong software or install it incorrectly seems to indicate that if you do it right, your warranty remains intact. Try calling Samsung Customer Care at 1-800-747-5618, and if that doesn’t work it’s time for the dreaded Executive Email Carpet Bomb.

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