It was announced back in October 2021 that Samsung and Best Buy had teamed up to provide authorized repair service for Samsung devices at select Best Buy stores in the United States. Customers would have the peace of mind that their devices were being repaired by certified technicians with genuine Samsung parts and tools.
Amid the ongoing upheaval in Samsung's US repair program, it appears that Best Buy has decided to end its Samsung phone repair service. Users will no longer be able to get their devices repaired at Geek Squad stations in Best Buy stores.
It seems that Samsung repair partners have had enough
Best Buy's decision to end its Samsung phone repair service comes a couple of weeks after iFixit, the official partner for Samsung's self-repair program, decided to end the partnership on its own.
iFixit even questioned Samsung's approach to reliability and its commitment to making repairs more accessible for customers. This was followed by a serious leak which revealed that Samsung made third-party repair shops kill devices that came in for repairs if they were previously fixed with third-party parts.
Best Buy is now next in line to wash its hands off of Samsung's repair program. The Verge hears that Best Buy is in the process of shutting down its Samsung authorized service provider program. The scribe was informed by a Geek Squad employee that Best Buy has also directed employees to begin returning parts back to the company.
However, both companies have not officially confirmed the end of their agreement. Mario Renato de Castro, head of mobile customer care at Samsung, said in a statement that “We’re in discussions with Best Buy to determine how Samsung can best support our customers moving forward.” A Best Buy spokesperson said that the company is “working together with Samsung to evaluate the best way to support our mobile customers.”
With fewer locations remaining for customers to get authorized repair services for their Samsung devices in the United States, one can only hope that there's going to be more clarity on the matter sooner rather than later.