AT&T and Samsung quietly recalling Blackjacks?

We're still hunting down hard info on this one, but according to users on AT&T's official support forums, Samsung Blackjacks manufactured between November 2006 and February 2007 are the subject of a quiet recall due to an antenna issue. Apparently certain internal components are wearing oddly over time and causing the antenna to loosen and disengage, causing dropped calls and poor signal strength. A service advisory has apparently gone out to warranty centers, so if your Blackjack is acting a little flaky, now's the time to get on the horn.

Update: Okay, we've gotten our hands on the service advisory. Like we said, it's all i607 Blackjacks manufactured between November 2006 and February 2007 -- the date is printed on a label under the battery in YY MM format.

[Thanks, Douglas and Curtis]

[Kurt MacD @ Nov 26th 2007 12:51PM]

Well NOW it isn't QUIET now is it?

[vips_10 @ Nov 29th 2007 3:40PM]

Hi...i got the samsung black jack around januvary and i got it through letstalk.com website....r they still gonna replace my phone...i hv had thousands of dropped cals in last 6 months...even now the busy or call dropped thing appears...advice

[thudson @ Nov 27th 2007 11:29AM]

Hey guys. Contrary to the Engadget post, it's not ALL BlackJacks manufactured between November 2006 and February 2007. It is a small number of devices. You can determine your manufacture date on the lower right side of the identification sticker on the battery compartment in the YY.MM. format.

For those who fall in this range and are experiencing the antenna problem can contact AT&T's Exchange by Mail program at 1-800-801-1101. Not all individuals with phones manufactured between the dates need to contact AT&T, only those who are experiencing the antenna problems.

-- Travis Hudson, MWW Group on behalf of Samsung

[Jesse S @ Nov 26th 2007 12:52PM]

That just sounds like normal ATT performance.

[Rich @ Nov 26th 2007 12:58PM]

Maybe they can return my blackjack with WM6 on it... Mine falls into that timeframe if I understand the sticker as 07.01 (January of 2007), and I get plenty of dropped calls.

[Eric @ Nov 26th 2007 2:41PM]

I think you are correct on figuring out when your device was made. I have already had my phone replace once for this very reason and they sent me back a new phone that was made in Dec 2006.

I first started having issues about 4 months after I got the phone, now that I have had this one for a few months I am starting to have issues again... Guess who will be calling AT&T soon...

[Grizz @ Nov 26th 2007 1:03PM]

Does this require service? I have one with no service...

[Ty @ Nov 26th 2007 2:35PM]

According to the guy I spoke to it does.

[velocet @ Nov 26th 2007 1:16PM]

no cHANGES?

[Connor @ Nov 26th 2007 1:37PM]

dove soap

[gg3568 @ Nov 26th 2007 1:38PM]

yes its known, and no it wouldnt be att performance, its a smasung device thats why, samsung gsm=garbage

[Brodie @ Nov 26th 2007 1:38PM]

Thats not the antenna causing poor signal strenght and the phone to drop calls... Its AT&T's crappy network that is...

[Hrshycro @ Nov 26th 2007 1:41PM]

Yea well mine is 06.12 so thats Dec 2006...and i dont get that many droped called just sometimes i can not get a damn signal or its very low...so im going to take them up on this off...and i want WM6 on it when i get it back!

[michaelportent @ Nov 26th 2007 1:43PM]

Allow me to predict the next cell phone recall headline: "Blackberry Pearls Recalled Due To Crappy Pearl Operation". You heard it here first, folks.

[Lady Bates @ Nov 27th 2007 8:40AM]

Oi - the Pearl rightly sux I agree. I think it's a dag on shame they recall these things quietly - like trying to avoid replacing any phones - how's that for corporate image?!? I like LG as a manuf.

[Neon Jebus @ Nov 26th 2007 1:56PM]

Dropped calls...poor signal strength. Well, that sounds like my LG500V all weekend. And my girlfriends and my roomates Sync, and the Motorola that my friends dad has.

And we are all having this problem on the south side of Indianapolis. But it HAS to be our SIM cards, or our phones...it CAN'T be their service. Or at least that is what I am told time and time again for the past 5 days.

Can't make calls, can't get calls, can't use data.

Sounds like this recall is for a phone that perfectly supports their network.

[P @ Nov 26th 2007 2:03PM]

Yes there is a service advisory, not a recall. The attachment point of the antenna is failing. You just have to call at&t XBM and they will set up a warranty exchange. I already did and sent my broken one back. I would assume you do have to have current at&t service, because it goes through their warranty exchange, not Samsung.

[jmpro04 @ Nov 29th 2007 1:26PM]

so how does the exchange by mail work? do they send the new phone first then we send in our broken one?

[mike_feinstein @ Nov 26th 2007 2:16PM]

Official posting on AT&T forums confirms this:
http://forums.wireless.att.com/cng/board/message?board.id=samsung&message.id=44638#M44638

Text of post:
Thank you all for taking the time to post and I apologize for the inconveniences and frustrations this may have caused you all. As the OP has stated, an issue was identified with the Samsung BlackJack i607 manufactured during November 2006 through February 2007. There is no actual recall on the device, instead an advisory, in which the Warranty department is exchanging customer's devices experiencing these issues.



The issue deals with the internal antenna loosening due to the wearing down of internal components; which is what is causing the poor signal and drop calls. The date code can be found on the lower right hand corner of the label under the battery. The code will be in decimal format where the first two numbers are the year and the last two numbers are the month in which the device was manufactured. If your device was manufactured during that time frame and have been experiencing poor signal and dropped calls, please contact the Exchange by Mail department at 800-801-1101 and they will be able to assist you with processing your exchange order.


Message Edited by WirelessForeman on 11-13-2007 08:22:02 AM

[Hrshycro @ Nov 26th 2007 2:16PM]

ok so do i take it in to a store of theres...or just call them?

[Kodd @ Nov 26th 2007 2:20PM]

Where can I find when mine was made? Is the sticker in the battery compartment, or on the box? Any help is appreciated.

[Ty @ Nov 26th 2007 2:30PM]

right next your serial number under your battery in the bottom right. You will see a year and month. Very obvious number when u are looking for it. Today was the first time I ever saw that info.

[Ty @ Nov 26th 2007 2:28PM]

I just called and they are shipping me a replacement out. Have the IMEI number AND if your connectors to your battery are clean AND the color of the round sticker next to your battery connections AND the date your phone was manufactured.

[Hrshycro @ Nov 26th 2007 2:30PM]

so u dont have to send your bad one in to them?

b.c i dont want to give mine up for more then about 3 days :(

[Ty @ Nov 26th 2007 2:33PM]

Yes, but AFTER you receive the replacement. You put it in the postage paid box and just send it back out. The guy told me instructions are included but mainly to take your sim card to the new phone and any removable storage.

[Alvaro @ Nov 26th 2007 2:34PM]

They send you a new phone, then you send yours back.
If they see that there is physical damage on the old one, the will charge you for the replacement.

[Ty @ Nov 26th 2007 2:37PM]

What kind of physical damage? I have a nick on mine plus the usb connector cover has come off.

[Hrshycro @ Nov 26th 2007 2:35PM]

ok and is there any e-z way to copy all my contacts? b.c i have over 250 and i dont want to hand copy all of them!

[Jay @ Nov 26th 2007 2:46PM]

Copy Contacts:

Send them to the new phone via bluetooth
or

Activesync to computer and then sync the computer with the new phone

or

Copy to SIM, SIM to phone

This should get you started with the right keywords for a gooogle search on detailed steps to do it, I would go with the the Sync process.

[Joe Blo @ Nov 26th 2007 2:44PM]

That`s what they get for trying to copy my Moto Q
No problemo with the Q ;)

[Gh3tt0 Child @ Nov 26th 2007 2:49PM]

doesnt sound good

[Tommy Crashwreck @ Nov 26th 2007 2:49PM]

"a antenna"

Come on, guys.

[Rich M @ Nov 26th 2007 3:30PM]

I am on my third one now for that reason alone.

[Greg R @ Nov 26th 2007 4:38PM]

The antennae is not the problem, its Cingular/AT&T's terrible network. They claim the fewest dropped calls but if you actually do research on that, their big claim to fewest dropped calls was before they shut down half the towers they have when Cingular merged with AT&T and made the largest and shittiest network available. Go to Verizon or T-Mobile, the best 2 providers (for the USA)

[dv8reality @ Nov 26th 2007 5:19PM]

Shut down half the towers to make the largest network?

I have a blackjack, but I use t-mobile and have had no service problems at all. A friend (who worked for cingular at the time), gave it to me claiming it got poor reception. We do live in different states however.

[Greg R @ Nov 27th 2007 11:17AM]

Yes. When AT&T and Cingular merged, it made them the largest network....but then they shut down half of the towers and it made the largest network a terrible one.

I might've had it worded wrong in the original post.

[andre juenau @ Nov 26th 2007 6:07PM]

They are sending me a new "Refurbished" one. Thanks for the heads up guys.

[Hrshycro @ Nov 26th 2007 6:28PM]

yea im getting a refurb one now too!

[protijy @ Nov 26th 2007 6:50PM]

mine phone is notorious for dropped calls, random v-mails (aka someone called but phone never rang, and dropped internet service....

I guess I'll call its well documented as I've called At&t a couple times with this issue....

[Hrshycro @ Nov 26th 2007 6:59PM]

Yea thats what was up with me...is that V-mails would just show up at random and i was like WTF? and then sometimes they would be like a day late too...never had a prob with texting though!

[mark balcerak @ Nov 26th 2007 8:37PM]

my phones safe, made in may of 07.

[Hardeep @ Nov 27th 2007 10:55AM]

I had mine switched out for a treo several weeks ago.

[darren @ Nov 27th 2007 12:59PM]

Ever since I bought my Blackjack I have been having signal problems.. Many trips to the Cingular store and even more unsuccessful calls and nothing.. They made me feel like I was doing something wrong. When I read this I called AT&T.. The first 3 calls NO ONE KNEW ABOUT IT !!.. Finally after trying to cancel my service they knew what I was talking about.. Their customer service for the most part is HORRIBLE..

[Hrshycro @ Nov 28th 2007 9:59PM]

yea well i got mine today...seems al nice and fine and was made in June i think!

[patricia @ Nov 29th 2007 6:26AM]

Greetings All,
I am so happy to have found this site, of all the complaints I am reading about I have encountered about 75% of them. The Samsung Sync was the worst, couldn't even complete a call to ATT CSR. Kept sending refurbished phones, finally they relented & sent new Razor. Phone is fine but network is still pitiful. I loved Cingular, had been with them > 5 years. Now I think of changing companies almost everyday except all friends & family on ATT so I would have to have monster minute plan. Thanks for heads up. Merry Christmas to all & a blessed New Year.

[Lindsay @ Nov 29th 2007 9:38AM]

Hey, I have a blackjack made in that time frame, Dec. 06. But I have a huge crack in the screen which apparently voids the warrant. Do you think I could still get help? What do they do for 'infected' phones? (I wouldn't mind a brand new blackjack since seeing the screen is a bitch and all the numbers have half rubbed off) Maybe it's iphone time.

(if you know for sure please email me, thanks!)

[john thill @ Nov 29th 2007 11:52AM]

i have the cingular 8125 windows computer phone. why do i have the same problem? is my antenna loose? why do i loose my signal? why do i have dropped calls? isit my phone or just at&t?

[Lod @ Nov 29th 2007 4:01PM]

Those who post saying it's just AT&Ts network do not understand the problem. Yes, the network is not great. However, if your phone has the problem this article is talking about, you will get even worse reception and even more dropped calls. Lots more. My phone was the joke of all my friends, it rarely allowed me to speak with anyone for more than a few minutes at a time and often would not ring when people called (or ring only once). For a couple months I assumed it was just AT&T's network. I finally decided I could not stand it anymore and called AT&T. They sent me a replacement Blackjack, and it is a world of difference. Same network, same model phone, but very different results. I can generally make and receive calls. I drop a call maybe once a day instead of basically at least once a call. It is acceptable now. Night and day difference.

[jeff f @ Nov 29th 2007 4:44PM]

be careful, be very careful when dealing with AT&T, I recognized my phone as being one of these and now have some clarity on its poor performance. One problem I also have that was not mentioned is a poor connection to a charger (& I have tried several)so I cannot use it when charging - it must remain in one particular position and not be touched. Anyway, they will replace my warranteed phone - FOR $265.00 - MORE THAN IT WOULD COST ME TO PUCHASE WITH A NEW CONTRACT. The warrantee technician had me read off the color of the round sticker next to the battery connections - which was 3/4 white & 1/4 orange (rather than 100% white) - and he told me it had liquidity damage - DO NOT TALK ON YOUR PHONE IN THE RAIN....... AS THIS IS HOW IT HAD TO HAVE HAPPENED.
BUYER BEWARE !!!!!!!!!

[Aaron Davies @ Nov 30th 2007 1:43PM]

I've had mine since August 2007, and ever since I purchased it I noticed that the reception is horrible. Manufacturing date is 06/07, so I guess my phone isn't a "bad" one. Must be AT&T....