Best Buy is ending the Samsung repair program – what it means for Galaxy owners
Unfortunately, fixing your Galaxy phone has become more difficult. Best Buy is officially ending a partnership agreement with Samsung and will no longer be an authorized service provider (ASP) for Galaxy smartphones.
In a new report The edge posted a screenshot of an internal document sent to Geek Squad employees informing them of the program’s closure that reads: “Samsung ASP ending at all SASP locations.”
Below the announcement is a set of instructions telling employees to start collecting all Galaxy phone parts as they are being returned to Samsung. In case you didn’t know, the ASP program allowed Best Buy technicians to repair Samsung mobile devices. It wasn’t that drastic as repairs could only be made in certain locations, but this change does make things more difficult for Galaxy users.
Best Buy is one of the largest electronics retailers in the United States more than 1,000 locationsbut with the company ending support, owners are left with few options.
Continued lockdown
At the time of writing, the program is currently shutting down. Best Buy’s page, where you could previously find any location authorized as a service provider for Galaxy devices, has been wiped clean. All that remains is an error message.
Additionally, all mentions of Samsung repairs have been removed from their website, according to 9To5Google. Samsung itself has done something similar to its service center locator, as Best Buy stores no longer appear in the listings either.
It is unknown why the program is ending and neither company has provided any explanation. We have reached out to both Samsung and Best Buy, but have not heard back from either side.
Best Buy spokesperson Katie Klister told TheVerge that the brand is working with Samsung to find a way to best support their customers going forward. Mario Renato de Castro, head of Samsung’s mobile customer service, echoed the same sentiment, adding that the company offers other repair services such as mail-in fixing.
Analysis: Cost-saving measure
We should mention that Best Buy isn’t the first to do this. iFixit ended its own partnership with Samsung, stating that the tech giant’s “approach to repairability does not align with (their) mission.” Could this be related to Best Buy’s latest decision? Maybe, but it’s hard to say for sure.
At the end of their story, TheVerge references a call from Best Buy CEO Corie Barry, stating that the two companies will continue to work closely together. In fact, they’re expanding their partnership with Samsung by having experts stationed “in appliance departments in hundreds of stores.” It seems like the decision to stop phone repairs was a cost-cutting measure, and maybe that side of the business wasn’t doing so well.
It’s still possible to get a Galaxy phone repaired at a Best Buy, although you must meet certain requirements. You must have purchased your device from Best Buy and purchased a Geek Squad Cell Phone Complete Protection insurance plan.
Alternatively, you can take it to a UbreakiFix location. There are about 700 stores in the United States and you can see where they sell the UbreakiFix locator.
Check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best cheap phones for 2024 if you’re interested in a cheap option.