It's been quite a day here at SamMobile as we try to wrap our heads around the sheer incompetence displayed by Samsung's support staff in Germany. As many of you are aware, Samsung's Android Pie beta program was supposed to go live yesterday. The company confirmed at SDC 2018 that it would launch the beta program in November. It didn't confirm a date but subsequent reports revealed that the first batch of supported markets would get it on November 15.
Samsung's support staff was the primary source of that information. The representatives gave out November 15 as the launch date on more than one occasion. The beta was to go live in the United States, South Korea and Germany in the first phase. It did indeed go live yesterday, the beta is now available in South Korea as well as for carrier devices in the United States.
Support staff is causing confusion about the Android Pie beta
Germany, the only European market in the first phase, should have received the beta yesterday as well. There hasn't even been a peep about it from Samsung. Users who have been waiting for it are understandably expressing their frustration on the official forums in Germany. Discussions have reached a fever pitch with some members apparently being banned by moderators for using indecent language. Others contend that even those who used appropriate language to inquire about the beta were banned as well.
To add to this confusion, one moderator is now claiming that it was merely a rumor that the Android Pie beta would go live in Germany yesterday which spread like wildfire. The moderator adds that they do not have information about when the beta would be launched. With this, the fact that this date was being spread by Samsung Germany's support themselves has been effortlessly swept under the carpet. Not to mention that this expectation was completely justified as Samsung had confirmed on stage at SDC 2018 that Germany would be in the first wave of countries to get the beta.
No rumor was the basis of users' expectations for the beta yesterday. Samsung Germany's support reps had repeatedly confirmed the date. It's evident that this is a miscommunication of epic proportions and all this is doing is confusing users. It's shameful that Samsung is not being forthcoming with information. It needs to tell users if the German launch for the Android Pie beta has been delayed for whatever reason. If that's not the case, at least it needs to acknowledge that the support reps were giving out incorrect information. The way this has been handled so far makes it feel like the users are at fault for believing what they were told.
We have long pointed out that Samsung's support reps often don't know what they're talking about. They kept insisting that the Galaxy S6 would be updated to Oreo when it clearly wasn't compatible and they were also wrong about the unlocked US Galaxy S7 not getting updates. Moreover, the reps are still insisting that the Android Pie beta will be available for the Galaxy Note 9 too. That is incorrect.
We really hope that Samsung HQ in South Korea takes notice. Its users and fans deserve better. Samsung Germany should own up to this episode of incompetence instead of passing the buck to users.
