They refused to accept responsibility. And believe me, I went borderline stalker - called daily for weeks to figure out status, complain, etc. They would not budge. They falsely claimed that there was physical damage to the exterior of the phone despite me attaching very detailed photos of every angle of my phone (taken w phone sitting in the box I shipped it back to them in, to establish timeline), which demonstrated zero scratches or damage. Furthermore, interacting with their support team is pretty terrible - just disorganized, lack of communication, etc etc etc.
My sense is they don't even really inspect the phone to determine the root cause, they just see the black line and automatically classify it as user error (knowing full well it's a manufacturing issue).
I ended up paying $400 for them to fix the phone (I had no insurance). For that amount, they literally send you back what looks like a brand new phone (though the serial number is the same). Every single panel, both touch side and back side were seemingly replaced.
During the month they had my phone I trialed a few other androids including S21, Pixel 7 pro... and in the end decided to keep the zflip lol (I know I know) - its still the coolest phone to me (I'll get the zflip5 too tbh). Managed to add device insurance during ATT annual open enrollment period a month ago for the added piece of mind.
I fully expect it to break in this manner again, but at least I have insurance now. Honestly if it doesn't break in this same manner again, it would suggest to me even more strongly that this was a manufacturing defect that they have a known fix for (assuming you're willing to pay $400).
Long winded but hope this helps!!
