I am in a weird position.  I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone which I have owned for 13 months.
 
The issues:
 
1) The proximity sensor hasn't worked for approximately six months.  What I mean is: when I make or answer a call, the screen won't turn on when I remove the phone from my face.  This means that I can't "press 2 to blah blah blah" and so forth.  It's a very annoying problem; but I didn't replace the phone earlier.
 
2) The GPS has started to become very flaky. It will lose my position pretty often and won't find it until I exit all apps/reset GPS/restart phone.
 
The kicker:
 
I can't get my phone replaced since it is one month past its 1-year warranty.  Apparently, I should have replaced it right away when I started having issues.  Now, I either have to pay a $100 deductible to get a replacement phone through insurance (even though I have not caused the phone to be damaged) or buy a phone upgrade and go through all that mess and fees and added expense/annoyance.
 
The question:
 
How can a phone service provider hold you responsible on a 2-year contract for a phone with only a 1-year warranty?  If my phone died completely, I would have to keep on paying the bill for the remainder of the 2-year contract -- even if I had no phone to use.  Why do I have to buy a new phone upgrade or pay for a defective phone replacement while I am still in the contract?  How is that even legal!??!  Shouldn't the phone's warranty be for the same length as the contract? Is Verizon Wireless completely blind?  Or do they purposely rig it this way to make more money?
 
I understand why I would be responsible for the expense if I had broken the phone.  But I didn't break the phone.  It is simply defective/non-functioning.  Shouldn't the phone coverage be for the length of the contract?  If the contract doesn't provide me with a phone, what is the purpose of the contract?  Otherwise, I should have just bought the phone outright (retail price) from the start without a contract.  This is ridiculous!
 
In summary:
 
I pay full price on the contract (over the life of the contract) for the privilege of being able to use a phone for only half of the contract?  What?
Does anyone have a legal view on this matter?
 
Thank you for your advise and opinions.

I never tried a factory reset because I was afraid of losing my data.  But I did call Verizon Wireless technical support and exhausted all of the solutions provided.

If you have no working replacement, what does your contract provide you with?  My phone insurance is not through Verizon Wireless.  The insurance is from an third party who I am paying directly to protect against loss or damage (not intended to be used for defects!).  Which means, if I have no replacement phone and my current phone doesn't work, what is my contract for?  What am I paying for?  What is Verizon contractually obligated to provide me with?  Nothing?  I am paying them to provide me with nothing?  I have a contract with them and am paying them.  I am the consumer.  They are supposed to be serving me and fulfilling the contract.  .. Not the other way around!
 
My contract rights (joke):
I am contractually obligated to ensure that my phone bill is paid throughout the entire contract period.
I am contractually obligated to ensure that my phone works throughout the contract period.
If my phone does not work properly for any reason during the contract period, Verizon has no obligation to do anything.
If every one of Verizon's satellite dishes and network connections blow up and not a single Verizon customer has service anywhere in the world, Verizon has no obligation to fix their service.
In the event that the above happens, Verizon will collect all payments throughout the remainder of customers' contract period, slowly lay off their Verizon employees, and will go out of business once every last contract is fulfilled.
 
If I purchase a phone upgrade through Verizon to replace my defective phone, Verizon voids my current contract and I have to sign up for a new contract.  It seems like Verizon has complete control over the customer and are there to take money any way they can, in all situations possible.  The contract only serves Verizon.  How did we ever get lulled into accepting this?  We don't hire contractors for anything else in our lives and expect this sort of disservice.
 
Are they completely blind to see how this hurts their customers?  Verizon should ensure that the device they are providing is covered against defects for the length of the contract.  It should not be the customers' responsibility to purchase an extended warranty.  It's a disservice and shouldn't be considered acceptable by the consumer.  If the device does not have a manufacturer's warranty for the entire contract period, Verizon should be obligated to purchase an extended warranty to ensure that the device they are contractually offering to their customer is covered against manufacturer defects for the entire contract period.  It's the least they could do considering that they have complete control over screwing over their customer in all other respects.  If they are providing a service, the least they possibly could do is ensure that the customer is able to use the service -- as long as the customer uses the service appropriately and is not the one who causes any service interruption.

The only thing that a contract from a wireless provider guarantees you is that the monthly cost will be the same for the full term of the specified time, and that your features will not change. Other than that it can get you your phone at a discount. You mentioned that you had insurance from a 3rd party. If that is a service you are still paying for and is up to date than talk to them regarding a replacement.  

It's your only option at this point. You said you began having issues inside Samsung's warranty. I'm looking at your situation as an unbiased party. I agree that larger businesses conduct themselves relative to bottom dollar rather than customer satisfaction but again this is not Verizon's fault. You can try to take it up with Samsung, but your best bet is your 3rd party insurance.   

Clergy
It's your only option at this point. You said you began having issues inside Samsung's warranty. I'm looking at your situation as an unbiased party. I agree that larger businesses conduct themselves relative to bottom dollar rather than customer satisfaction but again this is not Verizon's fault. You can try to take it up with Samsung, but your best bet is your 3rd party insurance.

Unfortunately, I assumed -- as any reasonable human being would also do -- that Verizon would replace the defective device at any time during the contract period.  I had no idea that the phone only had a 1-year manufacturer's warranty.  I sure wish someone at Verizon would have told me this when I spent hours on the phone trying to diagnose the issue.  I assumed that Verizon would serve the customer at least to the point of ensuring that the device they provided their customer would either work or be repaired/replaced during the contract period as long as any issue was not a result of neglect on the customer's part.
 
This is pretty much true then?

My contract rights (joke):
I am contractually obligated to ensure that my phone bill is paid throughout the entire contract period.
I am contractually obligated to ensure that my phone works throughout the contract period.
If my phone does not work properly for any reason during the contract period, Verizon has no obligation to do anything.
If every one of Verizon's satellite dishes and network connections blow up and not a single Verizon customer has service anywhere in the world, Verizon has no obligation to fix their service.
In the event that the above happens, Verizon will collect all payments throughout the remainder of customers' contract period, slowly lay off their Verizon employees, and will go out of business once every last contract is fulfilled and every last penny has been deposited into the bank accounts of the remaining highest-ranking positions within the company.

 
I pay them for the honor of getting the least amount of support possible and for the reassurance that they will try to get every extra penny out of me that they possibly can; and the contract is there to ensure that I remember that I once thought this was an honor.

I always cancel my phone insurance after about the first 6 months, cause the deductible over top of a 8-10 dollar fee per month are not worth it after that. You are pretty much just giving the company money at that point. For example... Your situation. You have to pay $100 deductable for the phone, over top of the $100 or so you've all ready paid through monthly fee's to maintain your phone insurance. So now, you are paying $200 for a replacement phone that you could get for $160 on craigslist. Another thing they don't point out is, most of the time that replacement phone is refurbished. It's a whole load of crap. They contract out the insurance plans and the insurance companies are focused on profit like they should be. But to expect Verizon to give you a device to utilize all of the features on your plan is like expecting your Internet company to provide you with a desktop.
 
You can contact Verizon, ask to speak to a retention specialist to see if they can assist with your issue and hope they are willing to work with you and maintain you as a customer. You have the option to switch to another provider, many of them are buying out contracts to gain customers... So you have that option.
 

2 year warranty in the UK on S4 contract phones. Makes a change for us not to be the ones being ripped off!

Yes a 12 month warranty in the US is weak. Unfortunately if your phone should fail after the 12 months there is nothing you can do. In the EU 24 month contracts with a new phone come with 2 years warranty.

ty_ger07

RainStryke
Backup your data and do a factory reset, it will probably fix most of your issues.

Thank you for the advice.
 
For the purpose of this thread, I would like to focus discussion on the gross lack of any commitment or feeling of responsibility towards the customer on the part of the service provider.

They are providing you the agreed upon service. They're under no obligation to provide you anything else. The warranty is between you and Samsung, not Verizon.

That said, if you politely raise your concerns, they may still help you out.

Justin

Glad they took care of you, IMO it's in their best interest to help you out. Hope that ne lasts awhile for you.