Samsung Smart Call Spam Blocker Not Accessable

[Captnronn]

I recently upgraded from a Galaxy 7 to a Galaxy S20 FE 5G. My old phone had a Samsung Smart Call spam blocker. I looked up the instructions on the Samsung web site for how to activate it on my new phone. The instructions say to go to settings on the phone App and select Caller ID and Spam Protection. On the instruction it is the second choice down under Block Numbers. When I go to that location on my new phone the Block Numbers selection is not there. I contacted a Samsung support agent on a chat, she indicated I must contact my carrier to have it activated. I went to the Sprint/TMobile store and they tell me is it a Samsung software issue. The Smart Call system APP is in the phone but there is no way to activate it. I re-contacted a Samsung support agent via chat who transferred me to a "Samsung Care Pro". The Care Pro agent kept me sitting on the chat session for over an hour without so much as any indication as to what must be done to resolve an obvious Samsung software issue. Further, I found information on the web confirming this is a known Samsung problem. I contacted Sprint/TMobile and they also verified this is a known Samsung issue.

I attempted to contact Samsung directly. I emailed a Mr. Christopher Kim-Vice President Customer Relations, (copy attached) and requested a read receipt along with the email. I received the receipt confirming the message was read, unfortunately I have not received a response from Mr. Kim or anyone else at Samsung. My next course of action was to file a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB submitted the complaint to Samsung but never received an acknowledgement. Consequently, the case was closed (see attachment).



I would appreciate any assistance your organization can provide to bring closure to this issue.

Note- attachment deleted because it contained personal information.

 

[weihlac]

I recently upgraded from a Galaxy 7 to a Galaxy S20 FE 5G. My old phone had a Samsung Smart Call spam blocker. I looked up the instructions on the Samsung web site for how to activate it on my new phone. The instructions say to go to settings on the phone App and select Caller ID and Spam Protection. On the instruction it is the second choice down under Block Numbers. When I go to that location on my new phone the Block Numbers selection is not there. I contacted a Samsung support agent on a chat, she indicated I must contact my carrier to have it activated. I went to the Sprint/TMobile store and they tell me is it a Samsung software issue. The Smart Call system APP is in the phone but there is no way to activate it. I re-contacted a Samsung support agent via chat who transferred me to a "Samsung Care Pro". The Care Pro agent kept me sitting on the chat session for over an hour without so much as any indication as to what must be done to resolve an obvious Samsung software issue. Further, I found information on the web confirming this is a known Samsung problem. I contacted Sprint/TMobile and they also verified this is a known Samsung issue.

I attempted to contact Samsung directly. I emailed a Mr. Christopher Kim-Vice President Customer Relations, (copy attached) and requested a read receipt along with the email. I received the receipt confirming the message was read, unfortunately I have not received a response from Mr. Kim or anyone else at Samsung. My next course of action was to file a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB submitted the complaint to Samsung but never received an acknowledgement. Consequently, the case was closed (see attachment).



I would appreciate any assistance your organization can provide to bring closure to this issue.

Until Samsung comes up with a global patch for this issue you should not expect them to respond any time soon with a solution to you. New tech often has many unanticipated software glitches with legacy apps that take time (months to years) to get fixed. This is like a bug in the newest MS operating system.

In the meantime, there are many other android spam call blocker apps, some free, others for a fee, that are likely to be as good or better than the Samsung blocker.

spam call blocker for android - Android Apps on Google Play

Enjoy millions of the latest Android apps, games, music, movies, TV, books, magazines & more. Anytime, anywhere, across your devices.

play.google.com

 

[VoR61]

I agree with weihlac, and will add one feature that I think is a must for any call blocking app: the ability to block calls that are "not in your contact list". That way we don't need to add specific numbers. We specifically looked for and found one with that feature and have since upgraded to the pro version (no ads). This has been a wonderful add-on for us.

The great part about a third-party app is that it provides consistent functionality whenever you upgrade your phone (operating system must be identical, i.e., Android to Android). Since we typically do that every 2-3 years, it's comforting to know that the call blocking setup will be the same. We strategically install other apps for the same reason.

By way of a technical note, these apps do not really block numbers. They simply send them to voice mail.

 

[Captnronn]

Until Samsung comes up with a global patch for this issue you should not expect them to respond any time soon with a solution to you. New tech often has many unanticipated software glitches with legacy apps that take time (months to years) to get fixed. This is like a bug in the newest MS operating system.

In the meantime, there are many other android spam call blocker apps, some free, others for a fee, that are likely to be as good or better than the Samsung blocker.

spam call blocker for android - Android Apps on Google Play

Enjoy millions of the latest Android apps, games, music, movies, TV, books, magazines & more. Anytime, anywhere, across your devices.

play.google.com

Please note this is NOT new technology. As mentioned in my post, my old phone (which I purchased over 4 years ago, a Galaxy 7) had the Samsung Smart Call feature imbedded in the phone and I used it. When you look up Smart Call on the Samsung web site they tout it as an included feature with instructions as to how to activate it. When I contacted the Samsung Help Desk the agent I spoke with insisted I had the feature included with the phone but could not tell me how to activate it. As I also mentioned, the Samsung Smart Call App is imbedded as a System App in the phone.

 

[Bobthebuilder]

If you're a T-Mobile (formerly Sprint) customer, they now provide free access to their call blocker app: https://www.sprint.com/en/landings/scamprotection.html

 

[Neil Maley]

Who is your cell phone provider? Have you reached out to them? Each provider seems to have instructions on setting it up. https://www.verizon.com/support/kno...&mboxSession=7e753485b90e4796ae8a9e39c0bf30c5

Here is Verizon’s - maybe you should contact whoever you use or do a search online for your providers instructions-

 

[weihlac]

Please note this is NOT new technology. As mentioned in my post, my old phone (which I purchased over 4 years ago, a Galaxy 7) had the Samsung Smart Call feature imbedded in the phone and I used it. When you look up Smart Call on the Samsung web site they tout it as an included feature with instructions as to how to activate it. When I contacted the Samsung Help Desk the agent I spoke with insisted I had the feature included with the phone but could not tell me how to activate it. As I also mentioned, the Samsung Smart Call App is imbedded as a System App in the phone.

The Galaxy S20 FE 5G is NEW technology. The Samsung Smart Call spam blocker is a legacy app. Legacy apps often do no play well with new hardware and operating systems whether on a phone or PC.

 

[Captnronn]

My provider is T-Mobile/Sprint and I am using their Spam Blocker. However, from my experience the Samsung Call Blocker was a far superior product. T-Mobile/Sprint confirmed the issue is a known Samsung issue.

 

[smd]

If you check the Sprint support boards, there are a number of people complaining about this. It appears that Sprint disables Samsung Smart Call since it competes against their own feature. This was confirmed by Sprint's community manager in one of the threads.

Search - Sprint Community

community.sprint.com

 

[smd]

If you check the Sprint support boards, there are a number of people complaining about this. It appears that Sprint disables Samsung Smart Call since it competes against their own feature. This was confirmed by Sprint's community manager in one of the threads.

Search - Sprint Community

community.sprint.com

Samsung Smart Call is licensed from Hiya. Even though Sprint blocks the Samsung feature, you can install the actual Hiya call blocker directly from Google Play:

Hiya - Call Blocker, Fraud Detection & Caller ID - Apps on Google Play

Call blocker, fraud detection & phone number lookup - meet Hiya, your reliable protection from fraud numbers and spoof calls, with integrated caller ID. Block spam calls for good! Get FREE spam call alerts and block spam phone calls automatically. Hiya shows you the true caller ID so you always...

play.google.com

Hiya has both a free and a premium version--I'm not sure what additional functions the premium version has.

 

[Neil Maley]

If you check the Sprint support boards, there are a number of people complaining about this. It appears that Sprint disables Samsung Smart Call since it competes against their own feature. This was confirmed by Sprint's community manager in one of the threads.

Search - Sprint Community

community.sprint.com

That seems to be the issue. It’s likely your provider, not the app.

 

[Captnronn]

According to the Samsung user forum there are numerous folks with the same phone and different carriers who have the same complaint. I also spoke with several technical folks at T-Mobile/Sprint. They claim the problem is a Samsung issue, not a carrier issue. I also tried Hiya, although Samsung Smart Call uses Hiya technology the functionality is somewhat different.

 

[Barry Graham]

It says in the app description "Note: The Smart Call feature may not be available on all carriers or models." On my Verizon Galaxy this feature is not there, and this must be what's happening on your TMobile phone.

 

[Captnronn]

That may be true, however according to Samsung Support and articles linked to the Samsung web site and other articles it should be available. Further, it is included as a system app, but no way to turn on the functionality.

 

[jsn55]

I avoid issues to do with phones ... if I can talk on it and text, I'm happy. But I work in an office. You've contacted Samsung and received no reply. What did you ask them for? From reading this thread, I don't pick up on what you're looking for. Other than the obvious, Samsung should make your phone work like you want it to work. Seems that they haven't done that, and they're not going to announce what their plans are. Do you want them to give you a phone that will work the way you expected?

 

[smd]

That may be true, however according to Samsung Support and articles linked to the Samsung web site and other articles it should be available. Further, it is included as a system app, but no way to turn on the functionality.

As I mentioned before, Sprint has disabled this feature in their phones. This has nothing to do with Samsung. It is a business decision by Sprint--not a technical issue.

If it's not too late, you can return the phone and buy an unlocked version from Samsung that contains all the features. Or you can download the Hiya free or premium application to get the functionality.

 

[Captnronn]

What I want is for the phone and it's imbedded features to work as the manufacturer claims it would.

 

[Neil Maley]

Then you might have to change providers.