S8 serial number charge after screen repair

[Mini500]

Hello,  I sent in my S8 for screen replacement when it fell. When it came back the IMEI number is the same but the serial number is not. Software was replaced though it was still working perfectly and now the battery doesn't last long as it used to. 

The insurance company is asking me to send them a copy via email of my purchase contract which states the IMEI and original serial number so they can check what happened at the repair shop (supposedly an official Samsung repair shop).

So my question is if it's safe to hand over my original serial number? They already have the  IMEI . And how can this even happen should anyone have any ideas or previous experience of such a sudden change. Have they changed the motherboard or just swapped mine for another? 

Hope someone can advise/  assist in this so I can go ahead with what's needed next to get my phone back. 

[AndrewL]

@Mini500: The serial number is a key identifier of your phone and shouldn't have been changed as part of a screen replacement. Did you arrange the repair by contacting Samsung directly or by using the authorised service locator on their website? https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/service-centre/

[Mini500]

Hi Andrew, thank you for your quick reply. I don't live in the UK but need answers in English so I wrote here. The insurer is working with an official Samsung service provider though I don't know who. I've been in touch with Samsung Germany and they also seemed confused that my serial number is different. 

Do you know which component is the serial number a key identifier, motherboard or? Here they keep using the IMEI as the main and well only identifier of a mobile. 

What confuses me further is my original serial number is composed of only 13 digits with no letters  included while the current one is a mixture of numbers and letters totaling 11 and reading up on all this for the last few days, I learnt the serial number is usual the latter.  

Should I provide them with a copy of my contract containing the serial number as they've requested? Any thoughts...

[Mini500]

Anyone?

[AntS]

@Mini500 :The serial number identifies the whole and completed product from a manufacturing point of view (e.g. it can pinpoint when and where it rolled off the assembly line).

Can't vouch for your insurance company, but it's standard practice at our end to ask for as much relevant info as we can when investigating any oddities regarding repairs - so in this case requesting the number that appears on your original purchase documents is  expected.

Out of curiousity, where did you purchase the phone from? And was the serial number in the Settings (Settings > About Phone > Status)  changed from before you sent it for repair to what it is now - or is the difference just in the numbers written on the back of the device itself now?

[Mini500 · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your answering me. I bought it in Germany through my sim provider. This morning everything got cleared up, thank God. In their paperwork they right the IMEI number under serial number but when I got back the phone their paperwork was switched around. Plus the contract stated the IMEI as the serial number. 

Gosh, I can't even make sense trying to explain it. 

I sorted and combined all the numbers from all their paperwork then checked it again against the internal info of my mobile and realized where the confusion came from. 

Thanks to everyone who answered and tried to help. 

Have a nice day, 

Greetings, 

Minnet

[AntS]

LOL. No worries, Minnet - glad you managed to sort the confusion. 

[Mini500]

Hi AntS, thank you for your kind comment, endorsing my answer and giving me a kudos... lol I felt so silly not realizing it earlier and getting into a panic it's not my mobile... I depend on it for so much as you can imagine. You made my day