Samsung smartphones play second fiddle to the iPhone in the U.S., but globally, the Korean company’s handsets are easily the most popular. One disgruntled customer, however, has posted a damaging online video that could put a dent in Samsung’s reputation.
On Dec. 2, Canadian resident Richard Wygand posted a YouTube video in which he claimed that his Galaxy S4 was dangerously defective. “I just plugged it in to charge it,” Wygand says in the video. “Went to sleep, woke up to smoke and a little bit of burning.”
Wygand then shows off his S4's damaged power plug, which appears to be severely burned and warped (see the gallery, below).
Later in the video, Wygand describes his attempt to get a replacement. “We have a service provider; it’s Rogers here in Canada,” he says. “Rogers' seen it, and they freaked out. They even said, ‘You could send it in through us — it’ll take three weeks — or just go see Samsung.' The Samsung reps just said that they need video proof, and now we have to call it in. So we’re gonna upload this, send it to Samsung. We’ll let you know how it goes.”
The video gained wide viewership thanks in part to a Dec. 6 post on Reddit, which was later highlighted on the Daily Dot.
A few days after his first YouTube video, Wygand posted a new video offering an update, which includes a disturbing bit of news.
He said that in order to receive a “similar model” replacement phone, Samsung allegedly asked that he first sign a legal document that would require him to remove his videos from YouTube, remain silent about the agreement and surrender any possible future claims against the company.
Visibly angry throughout his follow-up video, below, Wygand said, “I’m making this aware to any people who are thinking about buying an S4 or have an S4. Be careful with them … This is really sketchy ... I was a Samsung fan until I read this letter."

At one point in the video, Wygand mentions another widely reported incident in Hong Kong, in which a burning S4 allegedly caused a building fire. That report, which cropped up earlier this year, was made by China’s ITHome and Xianguo, and was later picked up by UK tech site The Register. However, the alleged incident has mostly gone unnoticed by smartphone consumers.
Wygand told Mashable that since posting the second video, he hasn’t heard anything further from Samsung.
In response to Wygand's phone troubles, a Samsung spokesperson told Mashable, “Samsung takes the safety and security of our customers very seriously. Our Samsung Canada team is in touch with the customer, and is investigating the issue.”
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Image: Richard Wygand