Samsung, bunch of *****
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So. I bought a new phone, for which Samsung and a specific retailer are holding a cashback promotion. Buy phone, go to website, enter some stuff, get money back. Sounds easy, right?
Well, it's Samsung we're talking about here... so nope.
First of all...
You can't just submit a form, you need a Samsung Account for that. As part of the registration process, you'll need to come up with a password. So, I fired up my password manager, had it generate a strong password, and entered it into the form.
(I changed
type=passwordtotype=textfor demonstration purposes)Hm.
Of-friggin'-course.After changing it back to the generated password and leaving the password box, I noticed a bit of text underneath it.
Hm. What happens if I truncate my password to 15 characters?
Of course. A shitty regex. Just what we need.
And then...
The registration form itself is bollocks. It's a multi-step form, which uses Angular on the frontend, and it's sloooooowwwwwww... utterly slow. Autocomplete fields (such as 'which product did you buy?') take seconds to come up with input suggestions, and the "validation" step can take up to 45 seconds without giving any feedback about what's going on.There's plenty of tracking going on, as well. Omniture, Samsung's own tracking logic, and even Microsoft's
Visual StudioAzure Application Insights. Which provides nice log entries like this:
From the Application Insights docs:
Daily cap: When you create an Application Insights resource in the Azure portal, the daily cap is set to 100 GB/day. When you create an Application Insights resource in Visual Studio, the default is small (only 32.3 MB/day). The daily cap default is set to facilitate testing. It's intended that the user will raise the daily cap before deploying the app into production.
The maximum cap is 1,000 GB/day unless you request a higher maximum for a high-traffic application.
Use care when you set the daily cap. Your intent should be to never hit the daily cap. If you hit the daily cap, you lose data for the remainder of the day, and you can't monitor your application. To change the daily cap, use the Daily volume cap option. You can access this option in the Usage and estimated costs pane (this is described in more detail later in the article). We've removed the restriction on some subscription types that have credit that couldn't be used for Application Insights. Previously, if the subscription has a spending limit, the daily cap dialog has instructions to remove the spending limit and enable the daily cap to be raised beyond 32.3 MB/day.
I don't think this particular form will get 100 GB/day of tracking data pushed to it, but I will believe 32.3 MB/day. So, someone at Samsung probably decided that putting this in production was a good idea and never bothered to monitor the data rates. Because of this, they're missing out on monitoring data.
And finally...
When I got to the last step of the process, the "Submit" button simply didn't do anything. I did see stuff getting sent to the tracking services, but no other requests were made to log my submission. There were no script errors, either. Which led me to believe that something was failing...I fired up the debugger, waned my way through thousands of lines of Javascript to figure out where the submission was handled, and discovered that there was one final validation taking place. Which failed as I didn't accept the terms and conditions checkbox.
<div class="row ng-hide"> <label> <input type="checkbox" name="termsCheckbox"> I agree with whatever Morbs just said. </label> </div>See that little
ng-hide? That's a way to applydisplay: none;to the element. Samsung's validation logic, however, required this particular box to be checked. Once I removed theng-hidefrom the row and pressed "submit", a spinner appeared and stayed visible for a minute. After that, I finally got confirmation that my submission was successful.Seriously, did they even test this form before it went live?
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@AlexMedia said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Seriously, did they even test this form before it went live?
Hmm... you do understand that the point of cashbacks is to entice the consumer to buy the product, but to make it extremely inconvenient for him/her to actually get their money back, right?
So it seems to be working as designed.
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@Zerosquare i was just about to say that when your comment popped up.
It is, after all, Samsung.
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Let's hope you didn't actually use that now-publicly-exposed password, unless you really don't care about your brand new account™.
@AlexMedia said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Because of this, they're missing out on monitoring data.
How dreadful.
I fired up the debugger, waned my way through thousands of lines of Javascript to figure out where the submission was handled, and discovered that there was one final validation taking place.
I admire your tenacity
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@AlexMedia If you bought a Samsung phone, you have already made the wrong decision, hands down. It is absolute shit and I am never purchasing anything from them ever again. OnePlus, on the other hand, delivers.
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@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
OnePlus, on the other hand, delivers.
... Your data to everybody. How many scandals this year?
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@pie_flavor oh, sorry. Besides the credit card hack, it was slightly more than a year ago they got caught spying on their users. Again...
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@swayde you didn't read it, did you. Not only are the files meant to circumvent spying, they're not even loaded for non-Chinese users and shouldn't've been included in the first place.
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@kazitor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
now-publicly-exposed password
Why do you assume he kept it as given? It's not hard to click the "Now give me another one" button once he got the parameters correct.
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@Tsaukpaetra Hence "Let's hope you didn't [do that]"
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@kazitor Considering he's smart enough to hack Samung's website to the degree it starts working, I'm sure he's smart enough to generate a new password.
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@Deadfast
Hunter2
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@Deadfast Of course. The other possibility is that AlexMedia doesn't care about people getting into superfluous account #293.
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@AlexMedia Aside from any interesting cashback, is there any reason why you wanted to buy a fucking Samsung?
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I hope the cashback was
phonePrice * 2so you could scrap the crappy Samsung phone and get something that actually works instead.I bought Samsung once (a tablet) and never more. Despite being a flagship device, it got fuckall support from Samsung and maybe a year of updates max before they "forgot" about it. And the updates were nearly a year late at that. Iirc it came with Andoid 4.0 and eventually got updated to 4.2, but it was stuck on 4.1 for ages. So instead of the shitty Samsung crap I got a Nexus 7, which was not only a lot cheaper but also a lot better and got timely updates for 3 years.
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I got the S2, S3 and S4, but abandoned them when they started clamping down on the bootloader and made installing custom ROMs more difficult than it really needed to be (not that they made it easy before). If you're not going to provide updates, at least let me get them from third parties.
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@AlexMedia This thread's title.
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@kazitor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Let's hope you didn't actually use that now-publicly-exposed password, unless you really don't care about your brand new account™.
Of course I didn't. I generated a new one right after taking the screenshots.
I admire your tenacity
The Javascript wasn't minified, which made debugging easier. I just wanted to see what was going on when I didn't see any HTTP requests, and the logs weren't showing any errors either.
Plus, there was money to be made.
@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@AlexMedia If you bought a Samsung phone, you have already made the wrong decision, hands down. It is absolute shit and I am never purchasing anything from them ever again. OnePlus, on the other hand, delivers.
@stillwater said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@AlexMedia Aside from any interesting cashback, is there any reason why you wanted to buy a fucking Samsung?
@Atazhaia said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I hope the cashback was
phonePrice * 2so you could scrap the crappy Samsung phone and get something that actually works instead.I bought Samsung once (a tablet) and never more. Despite being a flagship device, it got fuckall support from Samsung and maybe a year of updates max before they "forgot" about it. And the updates were nearly a year late at that. Iirc it came with Andoid 4.0 and eventually got updated to 4.2, but it was stuck on 4.1 for ages. So instead of the shitty Samsung crap I got a Nexus 7, which was not only a lot cheaper but also a lot better and got timely updates for 3 years.
I've had a OnePlus 3T for a year and a half, and I really did like that device. I would buy OnePlus again.
Earlier this year I got a company-issued Galaxy S8. While my initial impressions from playing with it at a retailer weren't that good, once I actually had the device and I started using it I was pleasantly surprised. It was fast, had a good form factor (I've always felt like the the OnePlus 3T was a bit too big), it feels decently built, and the software doesn't have too much bloat in it. And it has wireless charging, which I use a lot.
I have to hand in the S8 this week. Because of the good experience I've had with the S8, I decided to look at its successor: the Galaxy S9. While mostly the same as the S8, Samsung have given it a faster CPU and they've put in stereo audio.
The S9's retailer's list price is € 629. They're running a Christmas promotion which gives € 30 off and I've had a gift card worth € 125, so I ended up paying € 474. I will get € 100 back through the cashback, so the S9 costs me € 374.
And to top it all off, Samsung are running their own promotion: they'll give you a JBL Link 10 smart wireless speaker (worth € 129) when buying a Galaxy S9.
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@AlexMedia They always feel shiny at first. Hold on to one, though, and it'll slow down. Updates are slow as balls and stop eventually. Additionally, once you try to get into customizability, you start noticing just how many little crevices TouchWiz has worked its way into.
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@AlexMedia said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
And to top it all off, Samsung are running their own promotion: they'll give you a JBL Link 10 smart wireless speaker (worth € 129) when buying a Galaxy S9.
A free Internet of Shit device? Can't see what could go wrong...
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@JBert Just yesterday we ran into a proper nob sporting one such device running at full blast in a pedestrian precinct.
Made me wish for a directed EMP. Even the people downblast would have thanked me.
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@Captain said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@Luhmann said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@Deadfast
*******WHO TOLD U MY PASSWORD
What are you talking about? I see only stars
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@Luhmann That's cute but I didn't type my password... and it's on my screen. So who typed it?
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@Captain said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@Luhmann That's cute but I didn't type my password... and it's on my screen. So who typed it?
Russians.
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@Luhmann said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@Captain said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@Luhmann said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@Deadfast
*******WHO TOLD U MY PASSWORD
What are you talking about? I see only stars
💫💫💫💫💫💫💫
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@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Additionally, once you try to get into customizability, you start noticing just how many little crevices TouchWiz has worked its way into.
Not everyone is overly bothered about customisation beyond maybe changing the wallpaper and the ringtone.
@Kian said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I got the S2, S3 and S4, but abandoned them when they started clamping down on the bootloader and made installing custom ROMs more difficult than it really needed to be (not that they made it easy before). If you're not going to provide updates, at least let me get them from third parties.
They do seem to give up quickly but getting LineageOS onto my S5 was easy enough.
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@loopback0 said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Not everyone is overly bothered about customisation beyond maybe changing the wallpaper and the ringtone.
They are once you show em Samsung. Holy shit is it bad. OxygenOS is the first non-google stock launcher I've seen that doesn't suck donkey balls.
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@loopback0 said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Additionally, once you try to get into customizability, you start noticing just how many little crevices TouchWiz has worked its way into.
Not everyone is overly bothered about customisation beyond maybe changing the wallpaper and the ringtone.
I used to customize stuff. Window colors, sounds, etc on my computer. Finally just said fuck-it. Spending too much time on stupid stuff. (now it's just wallpaper, etc - the easy stuff) Same applies to the phone.@Kian said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I got the S2, S3 and S4, but abandoned them when they started clamping down on the bootloader and made installing custom ROMs more difficult than it really needed to be (not that they made it easy before). If you're not going to provide updates, at least let me get them from third parties.
They do seem to give up quickly but getting LineageOS onto my S5 was easy enough.
My S4 stopped getting updates quickly. The S7 is still getting fairly regular updates. (Looks
at AT&T... weird)
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@Atazhaia said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I hope the cashback was
phonePrice * 2so you could scrap the crappy Samsung phone and get something that actually works instead.I bought Samsung once (a tablet) and never more. Despite being a flagship device, it got fuckall support from Samsung and maybe a year of updates max before they "forgot" about it. And the updates were nearly a year late at that. Iirc it came with Andoid 4.0 and eventually got updated to 4.2, but it was stuck on 4.1 for ages. So instead of the shitty Samsung crap I got a Nexus 7, which was not only a lot cheaper but also a lot better and got timely updates for 3 years.
I bought a used Samsung tablet a couple years ago and last week it got a new update
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@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
They are once you show em Samsung. Holy shit is it bad.
It's really not that bad.
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@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
OnePlus, on the other hand, delivers.
Unless you were one of their early supporters. They promised Nexus-like updates, but the OnePlus 2 was abandoned on Marshmallow, while it looks like the OnePlus 3 is getting Pie.
A quick Google suggests that the majority of Snapdragon 810 devices got at least Nougat, with some even getting Oreo.
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@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@loopback0 said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Not everyone is overly bothered about customisation beyond maybe changing the wallpaper and the ringtone.
They are once you show em Samsung. Holy shit is it bad. OxygenOS is the first non-google stock launcher I've seen that doesn't suck donkey balls.
I disagree. Stock Android (or close to it) is clean but a bit boring. And third-party "skins" include some nifty features (my favourite is scrolling screen shots, which may have found their way into official Android). The few times I have used TouchWiz it appeared to me to be different just for the sake of being different, but not that bad.
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This wasn't really a cashback form. This was a form seeking web developers. They'll probably be making you an offer...
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@admiral_p I have stock Android and it is boring indeed. But if I want extra functionality skins I can always download em. Right now i have no skins or launchers and I love the simplicity. Never using anything except stock Android again.
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@loopback0 said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
They are once you show em Samsung. Holy shit is it bad.
It's really not that bad.
We need both of you to baseline this. Better or worse than Discourse?
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@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Stock Android (or close to it) is clean but a bit boring
@stillwater said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I have stock Android and it is boring indeed.
What does this even mean? Is anyone actually entertained by...whatever the fuck you guys are talking about? Like...the battery display or something?
I mean...a hassle to use vs easy to find stuff or whatever I could understand.
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@boomzilla said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
Stock Android (or close to it) is clean but a bit boring
@stillwater said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I have stock Android and it is boring indeed.
What does this even mean? Is anyone actually entertained by...whatever the fuck you guys are talking about? Like...the battery display or something?
I mean...a hassle to use vs easy to find stuff or whatever I could understand.
I think stock Android design is a bit boring. But apart from that, other skins include features that are actually useful. My Huawei phone has the scrolling screen shot for example, but also a handy screen recorder in a quick to reach location, search through the settings, iOS style notifications (the number over the app icon), and other stuff that wasn't part of stock Android (to my knowledge) when I bought my phone over two years ago. Also fine grained permissions and the ability to kill apps when not in use automatically. And I also get the Chinese spying, which stock Android doesn't do. Sorely missed.
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@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I think stock Android design is a bit boring.
Yes, you said that. I quoted you and everything. I recognize all of the words you used, even. But when you put them in that order they don't make any actual sense to me. Is there a phone that always plays videos in the background or something?
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@boomzilla said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I think stock Android design is a bit boring.
Yes, you said that. I quoted you and everything. I recognize all of the words you used, even. But when you put them in that order they don't make any actual sense to me. Is there a phone that always plays videos in the background or something?
Do I have to justify taste?
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@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@boomzilla said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I think stock Android design is a bit boring.
Yes, you said that. I quoted you and everything. I recognize all of the words you used, even. But when you put them in that order they don't make any actual sense to me. Is there a phone that always plays videos in the background or something?
Do I have to justify taste?
You don't have to do anything. I'm just trying to understand what you're trying to say. Are you just saying that the way the stuff is drawn on the screen isn't pretty or whatever?
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@boomzilla said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@boomzilla said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
I think stock Android design is a bit boring.
Yes, you said that. I quoted you and everything. I recognize all of the words you used, even. But when you put them in that order they don't make any actual sense to me. Is there a phone that always plays videos in the background or something?
Do I have to justify taste?
You don't have to do anything. I'm just trying to understand what you're trying to say. Are you just saying that the way the stuff is drawn on the screen isn't pretty or whatever?
It's a bit plain, yeah?
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@admiral_p fair enough. I'm the sort who doesn't even bother changing the wallpaper because I don't really notice it.
I did put in my own ringtones, though. I really hate not being able to tell whose phone is ringing. I was amused by the stuff Dwight had on Backstrom:
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@boomzilla said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
We need both of you to baseline this. Better or worse than Discourse?
Yes.
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@pie_flavor said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
OnePlus, on the other hand, delivers.
I was naive and felt that same way with my OnePlus 5 as well.
Then came the Bluetooth problems.
Then came the camera oil painting effect.I was going back and forth with their support for five months with the Bluetooth problems, sending them debug log, until I finally decided to get me an RMA to replace or repair my phone, and then came the real fun time.
First, my order history kept disappearing from their site in the evening and reappearing in the morning, so it was hard to actually submit the RMA request in the first place.
The RMA was approved quickly and I was told I'd be getting a separate email with the shipping label.
Cut to one month later, with me telling them every few days "Hey, I haven't received the label yet. Yes, I checked my spam folder." and their response alternating between "We'll check and get back to you" or "Oh, you haven't received it yet?".Never ended up getting the label, switched to a different phone instead and now I take every opportunity to complain about OnePlus and their complete and utter lack of support
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@boomzilla said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
@admiral_p fair enough. I'm the sort who doesn't even bother changing the wallpaper because I don't really notice it.
I did put in my own ringtones, though. I really hate not being able to tell whose phone is ringing. I was amused by the stuff Dwight had on Backstrom:
To be honest I don't even care that much either. The novelty of any design wears off soon anyway. That said, it's more an issue of stock Android being apparently a design marvel and every other take on it being terrible. It is not so. And the "competing" skins do sometimes bring something to the table. Like, I said, new features. Instead it always seems as if Google has divine design and their vision is supreme and they can do no wrong. For instance, I hate Gmail for their insistence not to put a bloody "mark as all read" command, and the fact that it's not easy to mark something as a forum or marketing stuff or social stuff, so I have stuff that gets put into the appropriate categories automagically and stuff that doesn't, and you have to set filters and stuff which I'm not even sure you can do from your phone. I don't even mind the ads that much, I realise they gotta make money, fair enough (by the way it's always ads for dating apps), but Gmail is actually annoying to use.
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@admiral_p said in Samsung, bunch of *****:
it's always ads for dating apps
DNA testing and severe weather alerts today, yo. I guess we get different kinds of email?
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@AlexMedia They can easily afford all those cashbacks and promotions since you’ll be the only one who could actually get the money.
