I got a new S3 on contract just over 9 months ago. It's still under warranty and so will yours be. A couple of days ago, I noticed a hairline crack just where the charging port is on the pale blue rim only - the screen was intact. I hadn't dropped my phone and I haven't been rough with it when connecting the charging lead. I called O2 (I bought it online from them) and was told to take it to an O2 shop where they would send it off for repair under warranty. The next day, I called O2 again just to confirm that it would be fixed under warranty and got told something different! They said that the previous person had given me incorrect information and that the screen is not covered under the warranty. I was really irate with the guy since my phone was still in pristine condition and if they took a look at it, they would see that it hadn't been dropped.

Anyway, I decided to call Samsung directly to see how much it would cost me to have it replaced (I know it was only a hairline crack but I didn't want it to get worse having read other peoples posts on lots of websites about the S3 screen cracking of its own accord). Luckily, I was close to an official Samsung service centre and so I took it there. The guy there took a look at it and then went to speak to someone. When he came back, he said they would repair it under warranty. The part would take 48 hours to arrive.

I have just had it repaired and the rim of it looks a shade lighter than the original one - apparantly, they replaced the whole screen because that's how the part is. Although it looks slightly lighter than before, I can't complain having seen from the internet the number of people that have had this problem and haven't been able to have it fixed. I am really happy with the service they gave me and pants to O2. Network operators are just interested in taking your money and then don't want to know you after that.

I would suggest you contact Samsung directly (if you haven't already sorted this out given that your post is from August last year). I asked the rep at Samsung if they have come across this before and he said no. Obviously though since so many people have had this issue, Samsung are not going to broadcast it every where given the millions of S3s thay have sold.

Anyway, good luck to you if you decide to get in touch with Samsung.

I love the S3 but this screen cracking on its own is a very real problem. I spend half an hour on my phone looking at pictures, facebook and news while my girlfriend watched a tv program and there was definitely no crack.

When celebrity juice started I put the S3 on the arm of the chair next to me, the adverts came on and I had a hair stuck to my screen, wait it’s not a hair it’s a crack from the headphones jack to just under the volume button which is smack bang half way along the edge of the phone.

Nobody touched it and it was in front of me the whole time so it cracked on its own.

I found 3 pictures of this same crack and 2 others just talking about the same issue before I went to bed that evening. I have never had a cracked screen and have never dropped my S3 but 3 weeks into my contract its cracked on its own.

Cant wait to see what the Three shop say first thing in the morning...

Personally I would take them up on their offer, you have your old phone that you can put your sim in so at least you can use some/all of your contract, you would not be able to take them to CISAS IF you do not follow the complaints process of the company. A quick look on google it seem the S3 has a very real problem with the glass/plastic front screen with many report of it breaking, not just in the UK either, I would say you have a very strong case for fitness for purposes and manufacturing fault or design fault. (It seems that they have tried to make it too thin just to shave a few more grams off of the final weight of the phone).

Had nothing but problems when I was with T-Mobile although they was better than Orange, but I can only say that since I didn't in the end need to take them to Ombudsman (CISAS) like I did with Orange. I have now gone with Tesco who piggy back off of O2 and thus far have had no problems.

I would say you should carry on going through the T-mobile complaints process, make sure you document EVERYTHING when you interact with T-Mobile, if after a time they do not give you satisfaction (repair, replacement, money back) then take them to CISAS with your collected documentation of how inept they are, phone is not fit for purpose. If they are anything like Orange the day before your case goes to judgement with CISAS they will phone you up and give you almost anything. CISAS will not take a case unless you have exhausted every means of the offending companies complaints process though so be prepared to slog it out and send recorded letters proving you are registering complaints I was told at the time e-mails don't count.

I had my contact cancelled, all monthly bills refunded (in my case not one month of the 4.5 months I was with them did they supply my complete contract), they gave me the phone as a sorry and I got compensation for stationary, cost of recorded mail, my time spent fighting case at an hourly rate and a written letter of apology explaining why they are completely inept.

T-Mobile no help (Customer services rep didn't phone back when he promised he would - not that I really expected him to). Samsung no help either - they basically said that the glass on the S3 doesn't crack. Insurance wont cover it as its a "cosmetic" problem.

So I'm left with a 2 week old phone with a cracked screen with 102 weeks left on the contract (which I doubt the phone will actually survive to the end of). Its not fit for purpose as far as I'm concerned but I'm basically stuck between a rock and a hard place. Won't ever consider any Samsung product again and wont recommend them to anyone . Also pretty much had it with T-Mobile who have messed me round for the past month with ineptitude after ineptitude over my new contract.

It sounds like a design fault. Glass expands and contracts so it needs a good rubber frame or seal. It's the same with window frames. If there isn't enough space for the glass to move, it will eventually crack.

The LCD screen is more fragile and it is that, in my opinion (and experience), that would be more likely to break if you sat on the phone.

On the S3 the glass is bonded to the digitiser and can't be separated, or rather it can if you are extremely careful and extremely lucky.

Maybe I should just go back to my 2 year old HTC desire which has scrapes on its metal case or maybe use my wife's old blackberry which has been dropped several times.

I just can't get over how apparently fragile this "mobile" phone is.

If it's the glass screen that's cracked, rather than the LCD display or touch screen digitiser, then these cost around £12 or £15 on eBay. If you open up the phone to fit it yourself, it may invalidate the guarantee (is the guarantee worth that much?).

You can get a plastic adaptor off ebay cheap (99p ish) that converts your micro sim to the normal size, the micro just fits snugly in the plastic insert so you can slide the whole lot back into a normal sized sim phone.

Thanks for that.

I've been doing some more research and others have reported the same sort crack - its actually curved which is very odd and you'd swear it was a very shallow surface scratch until you get the light at the right angle and you can see it goes right through the glass as a clean sheer.

I'm off to T-mobile tomorrow morning. Not sure what they will do and as this phone uses a micro SIM I'm not sure how they intend to give me a substitute phone.. I can't afford to be uncontactable for the length of time they say it will take (and having had to send a previous phone back twice they really don't hurry things)

This previous thread below has a lot of information that is relevant to your particular problem. Although evidence to suggest these Samsung phones may have either a inherent design fault, a failure in the manufacturing process or may have used inferior materials is mounting.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/mobile-phone-am-i-protected-against-accidental-da-52240.aspx

The difficulty you have is acquiring enough evidence to show beyond a reasonable doubt, that based on probability of the known facts, that the cause or the fault rests with Samsung...... or whether you could have just quite easily accidentaly damaged this item without realisation?

What they have suggested is reasonable, although inconvenient. They are at least prepared to send it off for a full inspection to first investigate the cause rather than rejecting your claim. If it is determined to be a fault in the materials or the manufacturing process, they will be obliged to offer either a repair, a replacement, or a partial refund if neither of those two options were viable.

PS - Have you checked the fine print to see if there is a accident damage clause in your phone contract. Or do you have accidental damage cover on your home insurance for accidental cover to such equipment?

I got a new S3 on contract with T-Mobile just under 3 weeks ago. Two days ago I noticed a fine crack in the glass which runs from of headphone socket to the volume control. I did not put the phone in my back pocket or sit down with the phone in my pocket and when I do put it in my pocket I make sure I put nothing in there with it.

I have not dropped the phone or done anything I can think of to cause this crack. There is no damage to the case or the bezel, there is no damage to the glass such as an impact point and in fact the crack is so fine you can barely feel it with your finger nail.

T-Mobile refuse to exchange the phone saying it must go away for "upto 8 weeks" so someone can asess if it's been broken by me or if it is a defect in the phone.

Personally I feel that if this phone is so fragile that it can apparently break for no obvious reason then it's not fit for purpose.. it is a mobile phone afterall and not a china ornament..

Do I have any options open to me apart from accepting T-Mobile's offer ?.