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Call AT&t Mobility to have Captivate shut down issue resolved with a new phone

So after months of shutdowns and BS from AT&T and Samsung, AT&T has finally come through. I spoke with someone in the "Office of the President" and after checking into the issue, they overnighted me a NEW Captivate (my phone was purchased in August, so I am well out of the 30-days). Their statement was that the defective phones are not supposed to be in the new lots or refurb lots, as it is against their procedures to knowingly sell defective phones. I would suggest taking your complaints there. The number is 1-800-331-0500. Be firm and upset, but be respectful. They will work with you.
I hope this helps to resolve the issues you are all having with swapping out your defective phones with a NEW Captivate.

It will help...eventually. I did the same thing, the first phone they sent me started doing the same thing (worse even) and rebooting withing 48 hours. I called them back complaining and the woman told me they knew of the issues and unfortunately they were recycling the phones that had issues for a while. She assured me this would not happen this time around. They sent me a 3rd one at that time (with next day shipping) and I recieved it on Monday. I'm happy to say I haven't had any problems with it...YET.
We'll see. I could tell the first one they sent me was an obvious refurb (the label under the battery had only one string of numbers and nothing else on it). The one I recieved this Monday was labeled and looked like an actual new one. The other one also seemed to have had a different screen, not near as good of color and would look bad at an angle, this new one seems perfect thus far.
Good Luck!
I still have until July if I have more problems to get even more Captivates as they told me they will keep sending them and will NOT replace for a different phone.

I'm just curious, when you do this, how long do they give you to send the old phone back?

rpicaso said:
I'm just curious, when you do this, how long do they give you to send the old phone back?
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You use the same shipping box to send it back, prepaid. If I remember correctly it's about a week before they will follow up and then after about two weeks you get charged the full price for a new phone.

The paperwork in my box stated you have 10 days.

They tried to talk refurb, but I had already gotten one of those and it shut down on me 5 times the first morning I had it. I sent that one back with a nasty note. This is definitely a new phone, with orginal packaging. The build date is 12/26/2010 (according to Samsung website) and it's a 1012 revision. I am hopeful...

smyrnaheather said:
They tried to talk refurb, but I had already gotten one of those and it shut down on me 5 times the first morning I had it. I sent that one back with a nasty note. This is definitely a new phone, with orginal packaging. The build date is 12/26/2010 (according to Samsung website) and it's a 1012 revision. I am hopeful...
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Cool! let us know how it goes.

Does ur build. 1012 have 3 button recovery/download mode? Did it come loaded with Jh7?
smyrnaheather said:
So after months of shutdowns and BS from AT&T and Samsung, AT&T has finally come through. I spoke with someone in the "Office of the President" and after checking into the issue, they overnighted me a NEW Captivate (my phone was purchased in August, so I am well out of the 30-days). Their statement was that the defective phones are not supposed to be in the new lots or refurb lots, as it is against their procedures to knowingly sell defective phones. I would suggest taking your complaints there. The number is 1-800-331-0500. Be firm and upset, but be respectful. They will work with you.
I hope this helps to resolve the issues you are all having with swapping out your defective phones with a NEW Captivate.
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Click to collapse
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

born_fisherman said:
Does ur build. 1012 have 3 button recovery/download mode? Did it come loaded with Jh7?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Comes loaded with JH7. I have no idea what the 3 button download thingy you mention is. I haven't gotten into rooting phones, and etc.

What do you think of this:
I went to a warranty center and had my phone exchanged, only to find out (not until I got home) that the IMEI of the replacement phone also falls within the range of potentially problematic phones.
So, rather than settle for what they gave me, I went back the next day and asked if they had any newer phones or, more specifically, any that weren't in the range of IMEIs that have been identified by Samsung as possibly having the shutdown problem. They didn't, so then I called the 800# and talked to their Android specialist.
The specialist told me that I shouldn't worry about it, since all of the bad phones had been removed from inventory. I found that hard to believe, but was at a loss for what to say, so I ended up doing the master reset and was scheduled to talk to them again to see if that did the trick.
Should I leave it at that and assume he was correct telling me that all of the bad phones had been removed from inventory, or should I force the issue and "demand" a newer phone, so as to avoid possible problems 3, 4 or 5 months down the road (or worse, after the warranty is up)??
Anyone have any first-hand knowledge of whether AT&T took all of the bad-range phones or I'd stock? Anyone been told something similar by AT&T?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I am on my 4th replacement from the warranty department. They have not removed the affected phones from inventory. This 4th phone has it and is going back. I am in the middle of trying to get them to send me a new phone. I had called. they referred me to some specialist and they took my info and are scheduled to get back to me... I hope it all ends well.

Only refurbished phones
Hi,
I talked with android specialist on their warranty dept number, but they are adamant and reiterating that they can only give refurbished phones. My phone is 32 days old. 2 days over their normal 30 days return period
I feel being cheated. Is there a way to do something about it?

bulletguy said:
Hi,
I talked with android specialist on their warranty dept number, but they are adamant and reiterating that they can only give refurbished phones. My phone is 32 days old. 2 days over their normal 30 days return period
I feel being cheated. Is there a way to do something about it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried bringing it back to the AT&T store? They're usually a little lenient about the 30 days.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

This phone was purchased from amazonwireless.com. After talking with 3 different reps I was able to convince them to send new replacement phone. But they didn't promise to send me a new phone (IMEI not in defective phone's range). Lets see how it goes with new phone. Else my only option would be to get refurbished phone from AT&T.

Contact the better business bureau, the FTC, and any other complaint site. They actually responded to my BBB complaint - so it may be the best one to go thru.

After my THIRD one I got lucky and when I went to the AT&T store there was a Corp rep there. They didn't believe me at first that the warranty department told me I have to keep getting the same phone, then they called for me. After they found out I wasn't joking I got a replacement...not just a replacement, but a different phone all together (NOT the Captivate). Seems everyone at ATT is well aware that basically this phone has major defects.
Oddly I do know two other people that have one, and they have never had a problem, funny how I had a problem with my original and ALL 3 replacements....Then again, this 3rd Captivate I had when at the att store I found out was actually my original phone shipped back to me again!!! WTF!

Damn, I bought my phone on launch date and not a problem (now that GPS is fixed with custom roms for me )
Looks like those jokers at ATT just cycling defective phones and hoping for customers to just give up on wasting time and stop contacting them.
Thats ATT for you, or any big corporation for that matter.

If it weren't for the custom roms, I would feel similar. Wasn't very impressed after using stock captivate for a while. I'm glad I didn't go through that!
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

man, i'll have to check if my gf's captivate is still having the reboot issue, if so, I'll have to push for a new phone.

Fall0n said:
man, i'll have to check if my gf's captivate is still having the reboot issue, if so, I'll have to push for a new phone.
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Have her call 877-707-6220 to explain. It's the Executive Level of customer service. I have come to learn that the people in this department can do anything - if you are nice enough to them. And, they are well aware of the shutdown issue.

Verizon will replace phones with random reboots.

I just called Verizon and told them after updating I have been getting random reboots. The tech said its happening to certain phones and is sending a replacement, no questions asked. Im sure my phones not defective I agree with those that say its a radio issue. I even mentioned that to the tech and he said he doesn't think so. Kinda sucks I got to restore to stock, and reroot and what not. I'll be sure to let everyone know if the replacement has the same issues.
Update: Just so you know I've gotten two replacements, and it didn't help my situation. So no point in getting one unless you got a little cosmetic issue with your phone. Htc is working on a fix for these pesky reboots. It's in testing stages right now supposedly.
Sent from my Thunderbolt

It may be a pain to return to stock & root the new phone, but at least verizon is swapping your phone for free. It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't try to blame it on the owner & charge for the exchange

Yeah the tech was real cool about it. Free overnight fed ex and everything.

Do you have to send your current phone back to them, then, or what?

Interesting that they're doing this. I thought this was happening on all TBs, not just individual ones. Maybe I should call. Anybody else had this experience with the techs? Or did ajd88 just happen to catch a tech that had already put in his 2 weeks notice and didn't care.

I called this morning. Having a new one next-day shipped to me. My phone has become unusable.

My phone has rebooted maybe 3 times total since I installed the leaked radio when it first was leaked, you guys think I should try and get a replacement just to be on the safe side?
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

While my phone isn't randonly rebooting it does loose 4G all the time, rarely goes into 3G and 1x seems to be the norm. I live in Chicago so I know it has a solid 4G signal. Wonder if it's worth the trouble of swapping out. But knowing my luck they will give me a refurbished phone...

sublimaze said:
It may be a pain to return to stock & root the new phone, but at least verizon is swapping your phone for free. It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't try to blame it on the owner & charge for the exchange
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Click to collapse
in my experience, verizon has always been really good at replacing phones. I had a droid since launch day before upgrading to my TB, and it had been replaced 2 times.
The first time the camera stopped focusing, the second time it just stopped turning on.
I walked in to a VZW store on a Wednesday, and I had fedex at my door delivering new phone on thursday afternoon. badass!

You know he funny thigh here is. It probably is happening on all thunderbolts or some people just arent ppaying attention and not realizing that this is happening. It even happens on my wife's fascinate. So ineradicable of sending back my non defective phone that random rebooted once in a while for a "refurbished" phone. Ill keep my new out of box one. Not one someone else has allready had. Just because of a software issue.

Well it seems like I get the short end of the stick with VZW on a daily basis. I called and explained it all to the rep and explained how this is a known issue and that there are plently of reputable community sites (like XDA) confirming this and there is rarely a common thread between two devices. Apparently, the rep I spoke to, said that this isn't a known issue.
Got told to factory reset and if it comes down to an exchange, I'd be getting a "certified like-new device" a.k.a. crappy refurb. Again, IF it comes down to that. Awesome. Now they want me to wait it out and see if it keeps acting up. Fun.

I asked the tech if i was gonna get a refurb, he said no. He better not be lying.
Of course theres a gb leak right after, probably with a new radio that fixes it lol.

ajd88 said:
I asked the tech if i was gonna get a refurb, he said no. He better not be lying.
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Click to collapse
You'll most likely get a "Certified Like-New" It's a refurb. But, a refurb with a working power button is better than what I have now so I'm going to give this a go.

ProTekk said:
Well it seems like I get the short end of the stick with VZW on a daily basis. I called and explained it all to the rep and explained how this is a known issue and that there are plently of reputable community sites (like XDA) confirming this and there is rarely a common thread between two devices. Apparently, the rep I spoke to, said that this isn't a known issue.
Got told to factory reset and if it comes down to an exchange, I'd be getting a "certified like-new device" a.k.a. crappy refurb. Again, IF it comes down to that. Awesome. Now they want me to wait it out and see if it keeps acting up. Fun.
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Click to collapse
I just got the same response. Tech support said not a known issue. They want me to see if I can make it happen again. I guess random reboot isn't telling. I know they have to go through their troubleshooting process and I'm not upset about that, but i can see where this is going. I won't get another reboot today which will tell them I don't have a problem. Alright, I'm off the soapbox.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

ERIFNOMI said:
You'll most likely get a "Certified Like-New" It's a refurb. But, a refurb with a working power button is better than what I have now so I'm going to give this a go.
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Yeah my power button is F'ed too. Whatever if they send me a phone thats in worse shape then the one i got ill just send it back rather than my old one.

Busphan said:
I just got the same response. Tech support said not a known issue. They want me to see if I can make it happen again. I guess random reboot isn't telling. I know they have to go through their troubleshooting process and I'm not upset about that, but i can see where this is going. I won't get another reboot today which will tell them I don't have a problem. Alright, I'm off the soapbox.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App
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The guy i spoke to asked if I did a factory restore, I lied told him yes. So there was no troubleshooting. I told him its all over google, he put me on hold came back and said he looked on google and confirmed with me he sees that some people are having problems. After that he told me he was confident a new device would solve my problems and thats it. I guess i might have just got lucky.

It is possible that physical defects in the phones are contributing to the issue. Something like a bad run of filter components could cause the radio to operate ever so slightly out of spec, but still within QA tolerances. Then, if they then tweaked the radio parameters a bunch in the update, it could have pushed the performance requirements of the RF hardware closer to the device tolerances - suddenly revealing a whole bunch of bad components they did not see previously.

I got my new phone today and no reboots and my screen is a lot nicer and brighter. I'm happy
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

Can someone explain the nature of the reboots that they are experiencing? I had a reboot on Friday but it was much more then just a reboot, after the phone was finishing powering back up I had no ability to call out as if there was no service. I tried numerous battery pulls and even had Verizon do a reset on there end, nothing helped yet I was still able to receive and send data. Finally after about an hour my service was back. Then the same thing happened again yesterday, I went through the same processes with no success yet. I have tried all the different radio choices and nothing is working, does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!!!
Also I am rooted and using the stock rom

Couple different things I'd like to point out. Most vzw employees at the sales level will replace your phone if they actually see it reboot on its own. Some, though, chalk it up to being just a part of the device. I, myself, am a vzw employee and would most definitely exchange your device if its rebooting. However, rooting your phone voids the manufacturers warranty, so you better have insurance. Also, certified like news are not refurbished phones. They are phones that are brought back within the 14-day return policy because the customer either didn't like it or didn't understand how to use it. They're cleared out, tested, and repackaged as CLNRs. Certified pre-owned are, in fact, refurbished. Just thought I'd clear that up.
Sent from my HTC RootedBolt running CM-7.0.

Stupid enough not to put the phone back to stockbefore returning it to ATT

Hi Guys, this is my story
Recently I have saw a black mark on my screen that would not go away. In addition there were some spots that were also visible.
I have went to a ATT service spot and ask for a replacement, the guy looked at my phone and agreed to give me a refurbished phone.
I am worried about two things:
1. the guy said that if the spots were caused by water I will pay 500$. Truthfully, the phone was anywhere near water but it does look like water damage....
2. The phone that ATT took was rooted.
Do you think that I have a big bill coming on?
* really worried...
Regards
B

borisb said:
Hi Guys, this is my story
Recently I have saw a black mark on my screen that would not go away. In addition there were some spots that were also visible.
I have went to a ATT service spot and ask for a replacement, the guy looked at my phone and agreed to give me a refurbished phone.
I am worried about two things:
1. the guy said that if the spots were caused by water I will pay 500$. Truthfully, the phone was anywhere near water but it does look like water damage....
2. The phone that ATT took was rooted.
Do you think that I have a big bill coming on?
* really worried...
Regards
B
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my discussions with the att warranty department (ie. last three days), anything that they can constitute as user damaged, they will charge you 399 dollars for the refurbished phone.
So technically since the phone was rooted, unless the att tech reflashed it before sending it out, you have voided your warranty.

Even if its a HW issue?
What are the chances that they will reflash it? probably zero.....
Has anyone had something like this?

borisb said:
Even if its a HW issue?
What are the chances that they will reflash it? probably zero.....
Has anyone had something like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if its a hardware issue, while the phone is rooted the warranty is voided.
I am not sure never worked at att, but I am guessing they just put it in a box and ship it.

The most they do is wipe user data.
In all honesty, I would argue with them if they do charge. Reason: " the guy at the stand did not check it first. " all blame should fall on him because he furnished you with another phone without checking it first.
ATT rep.. The phone you provided us is no longer under warranty due to it being voided.
You.. The guy at the store gave me a new phone and said everything was ok. Why am I now being charged. Did he break it? .
ATT Rep.. I am sorry for the confusion.........
Something like that, just play really dumb like you have no idea what there talking about, and chances are the will void the charge due to employee negligence.
Now if you signed something agreeing to take the phone with the chance of being charged anyways, you may be **** out of luck. But its worth a shot. I know when it was cingular, our returns department never even checked the phones, the most we checked for was the water mark stickers. And even that was not always checked. When we sent them off to the manufacturer for exchanges we shipped them out in bulk and by doing so they realy couldnt tell what came from who.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB using Tapatalk

xKrisx said:
Now if you signed something agreeing to take the phone with the chance of being charged anyways, you may be **** out of luck. But its worth a shot. I know when it was cingular, our returns department never even checked the phones, the most we checked for was the water mark stickers. And even that was not always checked. When we sent them off to the manufacturer for exchanges we shipped them out in bulk and by doing so they realy couldnt tell what came from who.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB using Tapatalk
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The last part of that has changed since they use imei's now.

I think you will be fine. You giving the Warranty Department too much credit. You will be fine.

i guess it matters on how hard the warranty guyz wana work... hopefully they will get the phone on a friday lol good luck

A year or so ago i was buying a mytouch 3g in a tmobile store and the guy selling me the phone told me about how i could root the phone and wireless tether for free!
I even asked him if it would void the warrenty and he said it wouldnt!

I hope it will be OK.
Do they sent it to ATT o directly to HTC?

mudknot2005 said:
Even if its a hardware issue, while the phone is rooted the warranty is voided.
I am not sure never worked at att, but I am guessing they just put it in a box and ship it.
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Click to collapse
Right. He taped it up before me (for one of my earlier captivates) and when I asked if they would reset or anything like that, he said it'll go directly to Samsung. Its a good thing I always wipe data before I return any phone.
So my guess is, for phones returned within 30 days that wud come as refurb, they will be within AT&T. But for any hardware issues they won't even bother to look into it and simply return the phone to manufacturer.

I sent a rooted Samsung captivate (told them it had random shut down issue which was a known issue it didn't have that prob gps was crappy) in that was rooted and nothing happened. A lot of times its not cost effective for a manufacturer to check all that stuff. Remember they have to pay a tech by the hour to do all that. Its usually more cost effective to just refurb and either resell or use as a replacement. I'm betting you'll be ok. I wouldn't worry about it until you hear from them. And like the other guy said play dumb.

Carlrobling said:
I sent a rooted Samsung captivate (told them it had random shut down issue which was a known issue it didn't have that prob gps was crappy) in that was rooted and nothing happened. A lot of times its not cost effective for a manufacturer to check all that stuff. Remember they have to pay a tech by the hour to do all that. Its usually more cost effective to just refurb and either resell or use as a replacement. I'm betting you'll be ok. I wouldn't worry about it until you hear from them. And like the other guy said play dumb.
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Click to collapse
AT&T doesn't bother until the manufacturer comes back. I remember reading on Captivate forums where some people got billed full amount after a couple months cos Samsung came back to AT&T charging them.

diablo009 said:
AT&T doesn't bother until the manufacturer comes back. I remember reading on Captivate forums where some people got billed full amount after a couple months cos Samsung came back to AT&T charging them.
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Click to collapse
I'm sure it has happened. Not everyone gets lucky. I will say this ATT techs aren't very bright. When i first got my inspire (used from craigslist) i put my sim in and it said it had a sim lock. I called tech support they told me they didn't know what it was. Then tried to tell me it was cause someone tried to root it and failed. I later figured out on my own that it was a bad sim and after having it replaced it worked perfectly. So i wouldn't count on ATT but Htc its a roll of the dice. Keep us posted let us know how things turn out.

Some of you are giving far too much credit to the warranty department. I can't speak for AT&T as I don't work for them...But I do, do tech support for Philips Electronics... In all honesty, 1 out of every 15 people here is technologically advanced. Most people work here because its a job.
The way our warranties work is 2 ways.
1. We either say screw it and send another product
or
2. The product comes in for testing, we test it...If it works, it goes back, if not, we replace it. 99.99% of the time, the people testing the product are not smart enough to look for alterations to the software.
Again, this is how we work here, and I can't speak for AT&T.

tribalartgod said:
Some of you are giving far too much credit to the warranty department. I can't speak for AT&T as I don't work for them...But I do, do tech support for Philips Electronics... In all honesty, 1 out of every 15 people here is technologically advanced. Most people work here because its a job.
The way our warranties work is 2 ways.
1. We either say screw it and send another product
or
2. The product comes in for testing, we test it...If it works, it goes back, if not, we replace it. 99.99% of the time, the people testing the product are not smart enough to look for alterations to the software.
Again, this is how we work here, and I can't speak for AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only not smart enough but like you said its just a job and they don't even bother to care. Like i said earlier there techs aren't very bright and tried to tell me someone tried to root the used inspire that i had. He even went around and asked other techs that's the only problem it could be he said. After some trial and error I figured it out called tech support back told the lady this time what i figured out she agreed and made note on my account that i could get a free sim. Glad i don't bother believing everything i hear lol and would rather do my own research first.
P.S. Its like that everywhere you go. People are all the same from job to job you see the same things everywhere lol.

BAleR said:
A year or so ago i was buying a mytouch 3g in a tmobile store and the guy selling me the phone told me about how i could root the phone and wireless tether for free!
I even asked him if it would void the warrenty and he said it wouldnt!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if the rep said that they will give you a free phone every 6months you would believe that too?

jaw2012 said:
And if the rep said that they will give you a free phone every 6months you would believe that too?
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Click to collapse
Never said I believed it, just quoting him

When htc gets the phone they will wipe it and put it back to factory because there is no need of anything on the phone and anything done on the phone software issues could be the problem, so always best from there stand point to have it back to factory. That is exact reason any time u call about anything with pc or phone they want u to restore to factory.

New Verizon policy on replacing 4G devices?

So on Saturday i called Verizon to complain about my proximity sensor not working... i couldn't take hanging up on my friends anymore, and I did try blowing it out with compressed air... No dice.
We went through the normal troubleshooting routine. "Did you try pulling the battery?" "Lets try a Factory Reset" "Call #237 and try to trip the sensor" "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?" with exception to the last one... IT Crowd anyone? Well once the rep was satisfied that I wasn't BS'ing him, we started the replacement process. I gave my address and the whole normal routine, i was placed on hold for a few minutes as the "order wouldn't go through" or something....
At that point I was told that a new policy had been put into effect with replacing 4G devices.... Verizon was going to have to send me a "Recovery Box" where I had to send back my Thunderbolt, and they would send me the replacement within 3 to 5 days. WTF! I explained that this was ridiculous and such, and kindly asked to speak to a supervisor who told me the same thing.
Today, i received the "Recovery Box", and will be sending my Thunderbolt back. What interested me was this paragraph that was in the "RETURN INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR 4G LTE DEVICE" pamphlet: (I will gladly scan and post if there's interest...)
"NOTE: For problems covered under the manufacturer's warranty, you will receive a replacement device within 3-5 business days after shipping your defective device. Your replacement device may be reconditioned.
For problems not covered under the manufacturer's warranty, your defective device may be returned to you in the same condition."
I'm wondering if after all of the issues with rebooting phones simply being a software upgrade, if Verizon is doing this to prevent any more of their CPO phones going out.... and if those reboot phones will just be updated and sent back to customers... Anyway, that was my story. Anyone else have this issue.... or was a lot of smoke just blown up you know where?

Never seen that before mine was just sent in like a few days back with no problems
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

It's probably so they can avoid replacing phones for things like water damage or dropped phones (i.e. obvious user inflicted problems).

I believe they are trying to force us to use the insurance if we have it and screw us if we dont. I have a TB, but just had more or less the same thing happen with my sons Casio phone. The Casio needs a battery but verizon doesnt have them and can not find one for it. Was sent the like new referb #3 and told to put old battery in #3 then file insurance claim because of battery. Doesnt this sound a wee bit like fraud. Still has manufacture warranty on it. My thought is that we still have the manufactures warranty on our TBs maybe we should try contacting HTC for that warranty,
as verizon doesnt seem to want to stand behind the products they sell any more. Or pay the $99. 00 deposit and loose our TBs. I am very unhappy with verizons customer service and I believe that like Sprint was 3 years ago we will get told to go screw ourselves live with your junk phone, shut up and pay your bill any way. Thats why I left Sprint after 8 years. Verizon is #1 now and will forget about us customers that got them there. I feel bad things coming in the near future
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I had to get mine replaced and they sent me one overnight with no issues. I had to pay 12.99 for the overnight shipping instead of waiting for snail mail to bring me a new phone. I had no issues with anyone on the phone. This was last week btw. Sounds like either have had a couple replaced and they want to check it first or you got some person being a prick on the phone.

Get bestbuy insurance. They will replace it in the store. Mine had a speaker problem and they took about 15 minutes to review it and showed geek squad while I walked around the store. 15 minutes later I hear my name is needed in mobile. The said ok we do see there is a technical malfunction and you will get a replacement.

Sounds like user error to me...

SOUNDS LIKE RULE CHANGE 101.
Is the recovery box for t.e.c. cause the reason its purchased is to always have a phone shipped next day if under 12pm.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

I had mine replaced last week with no problems, and again on Monday (the 2nd replacement) which I should have on my doorstep when I get home. Last week they sent it ground for free and I would've had to pay $12 for overnight, yesterday they did overnight for free.
Edit: the first time I called they said I had to go into a store to have them check it out, I was rooted and running BAMF. I put it back to stock to take it into the store and had no problems from then on.

Were you rooted/running a different Rom? That may be why they told you that.

It's probably so they can avoid replacing phones for things like water damage or dropped phones (i.e. obvious user inflicted problems).
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Click to collapse
Well then they would charge the customer $500+... isn't that a 'win' for them?
Get bestbuy insurance. They will replace it in the store. Mine had a speaker problem and they took about 15 minutes to review it and showed geek squad while I walked around the store. 15 minutes later I hear my name is needed in mobile. The said ok we do see there is a technical malfunction and you will get a replacement.
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I had nothing but trouble with their "Black Tie" insurance a couple years ago...
Is the recovery box for t.e.c. cause the reason its purchased is to always have a phone shipped next day if under 12pm.
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Yeah its TEC, if you mean i'm sending it back to VZW. *confused*

eraursls1984 said:
Were you rooted/running a different Rom? That may be why they told you that.
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Before my call to Verizon, yes I was rooted.... but I unrooted, made sure the problem was still there, and then called in to troubleshoot with Tech Support

Topher227 said:
Before my call to Verizon, yes I was rooted.... but I unrooted, made sure the problem was still there, and then called in to troubleshoot with Tech Support
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I think he meant did you tell them you were rooted. I mean that should be obvious not to, but you never know

No, i didn't tell them i was Rooted....
"Whats Rooting?"
would have been my response, if asked by VZW tech support....

Hmm this is a first for t.e.c. diag hard reset prob still there reman sent out.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

I went to the store last night and had them confirm the problem I was having. They put me on the phone with the rep and after paying the overnight fee had my replacement at 12:30 today, just have to send the old one in.

Sounds like u got the "special treatment".
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App

I'm just hoping that their system was down and the rep was too lazy too fix the problem.... and just made me jump through some additional hoops....
I really hope this isn't a new policy.

rickyrick3513 said:
Get bestbuy insurance. They will replace it in the store. Mine had a speaker problem and they took about 15 minutes to review it and showed geek squad while I walked around the store. 15 minutes later I hear my name is needed in mobile. The said ok we do see there is a technical malfunction and you will get a replacement.
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Best Buy does have the best insurance. I will never buy a phone from Verizon or their crappy insurance. I seriously don't know how they can legally get away with calling their insurance "insurance" I have had multiple phones and two PS3's replaced by buying their "Black Tie" insurance. It is always a smooth transaction if something goes wrong with anything covered.

Had two replacements both with overnight shipping free.

Frustration with customer support

So. Yesterday, I had to call tech support because my home button no longer functions. And when I say that, I mean that it no longer presses down, and it feels incredibly loose. Now, let me go on by saying that I haven't dropped the device, and it hasn't been exposed to water. So the first rep that I spoke with said, "Okay, no problem! We'll send you out a new one!" Verified my address, contact number, etc. etc. So today when I get home, what do I find on my door step? A Galaxy Nexus. Already frustrated, I call tech support back and explain the issue. They exaggerate how terribly sorry they are, and base the mix-up on how closely the phones resemble each other.
So this rep puts me with a higher up, who honestly sounds like Forrest Gump. He basically re-assures me that they made a mistake, and will get the correct device shipped to me. He hurries me off the phone though, without verifying my address and contact information, and just tells me it's on its way to me. So I think okay, maybe they still have my information pulled up from the last ticket, I won't worry about it.
Four hours pass and I still haven't received a confirmation email with my FedEx info. So here I am, calling tech support again. This time, the rep sounds genuinely upset about the situation and tries his best to fix it. This is when he pulls up my order information. He does see that an order was placed, but notices that the status is still pending. He sees that the order has been confirmed by FedEx, but that's the only progress. He 'thinks' that I should receive the device before 3pm tomorrow, so I ask him if the phones are on back order, or if there is limited supply. He quickly dodged the question by reassuring that the phone should ship tomorrow, and ended the call with the generic closing statement.
Would I be crazy to call again, or should I wait it out? At this point, I'm not upset that I'm stuck with the same phone. It's more the fact that my carrier service is having a difficult time understanding the issue, and resolving it. If the phone is in limited stock, I would rather they just have said so, and told me instead of dicking me around, saying that it WILL ship today and BE THERE tomorrow.

Nit3mare said:
So. Yesterday, I had to call tech support because my home button no longer functions. And when I say that, I mean that it no longer presses down, and it feels incredibly loose. Now, let me go on by saying that I haven't dropped the device, and it hasn't been exposed to water. So the first rep that I spoke with said, "Okay, no problem! We'll send you out a new one!" Verified my address, contact number, etc. etc. So today when I get home, what do I find on my door step? A Galaxy Nexus. Already frustrated, I call tech support back and explain the issue. They exaggerate how terribly sorry they are, and base the mix-up on how closely the phones resemble each other.
So this rep puts me with a higher up, who honestly sounds like Forrest Gump. He basically re-assures me that they made a mistake, and will get the correct device shipped to me. He hurries me off the phone though, without verifying my address and contact information, and just tells me it's on its way to me. So I think okay, maybe they still have my information pulled up from the last ticket, I won't worry about it.
Four hours pass and I still haven't received a confirmation email with my FedEx info. So here I am, calling tech support again. This time, the rep sounds genuinely upset about the situation and tries his best to fix it. This is when he pulls up my order information. He does see that an order was placed, but notices that the status is still pending. He sees that the order has been confirmed by FedEx, but that's the only progress. He 'thinks' that I should receive the device before 3pm tomorrow, so I ask him if the phones are on back order, or if there is limited supply. He quickly dodged the question by reassuring that the phone should ship tomorrow, and ended the call with the generic closing statement.
Would I be crazy to call again, or should I wait it out? At this point, I'm not upset that I'm stuck with the same phone. It's more the fact that my carrier service is having a difficult time understanding the issue, and resolving it. If the phone is in limited stock, I would rather they just have said so, and told me instead of dicking me around, saying that it WILL ship today and BE THERE tomorrow.
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Click to collapse
id say wait til tomorrow and see what happens. I kept getting the throw around over twitter with my device. My phone has the screen gap, and I had 3 reps tell me to take it to a store to make sure "its not water damage" and they would help me get a replacement. I then openly posted on their feed that I felt like I was being pushed away from help, and literally right away someone DM'd me for my shipping information, and 20 minutes later a confirmation email.

Are you ****ing kidding? Let me tell you the story of how ****ing inept Verizon has been lately...
My phone was delivered when I wasn't around. Someone signed for the package, and I didn't know who had so I called VZW to alert them- nobody is at my house, someone may have stolen the phone. I won't know if it's there or not until I get there, so, what can you do? ***** asks me to trouble shoot FedEx's website cause on her end it doesn't show who signed for it. I told her it doesn't matter who signed for it or what FedEx website says- the fact is, it was delivered and signed for by or to an unknown party. Put a hold on the MEID #. She can't do that. She says, because the website says I signed for it- I am responsible. No, I'm not within 3 hours drive of the location the phone was delivered to- I'm using my VZW phone- verify the tower I'm on- verify what tower I've been on and how long I've been here. She says "someone else may have your phone." I said, oh, the one I'M CALLING YOU ON RIGHT NOW? I asked for a manager and he was like.. WTF?
So, I spend nearly 20 hours on the phone with VZW Tech support trying to figure out a wifi/data drop/ texts received hours later/ oscillation in the voice of the person I'm talking to issue. After my 4th or 5th call, they decide to send me out a new SIM Card- that must be the issue. I'm 9 days into my 14 days, which supposedly started the date of activation, so, they offered to send me out the SIM Card overnight. Awesome. Day goes by, nothing. Another day goes by, nothing. I call for a tracking number. "Oh, we sent it out priority mail. you should get it 5-7 days." No, it was supposed to be shipped overnight. WTF? "Well, sir, your account isn't noted as that so I don't know what you were told." Mam, I'm now 11 days into my 14 day worry free guarantee. My phone doesn't work correctly. You (vzw) were supposed to send me a new sim card overnight so I can see if it fixes the device before I return it- "Sorry" she tells me. Management offers to send me a 3rd SIM card overnight. Fine, just get it here. Two days later, my 13th day, I get my 3rd SIM card. Activate it, plug it in and the phone's still ****ed up.
Back on the phone with VZW, they tell me to wait it out. "Sometimes it takes a while to activate.. just be patient." I called again the next morning. Phone was still ****ed up. I'm told, maybe it's the network you're on. Can you drive somewhere else and see if being in at a new tower fixes the problem? **** it, I say- I'll drive into town, where the closest VZW corporate store is, 1.5 hours away from me and see if it works, right there in their store with one of their display s3's right next to it.
So we make the drive. I walk into the store and I run a speed test on each S3, back to back, simultaneously, whatever and I keep doing this until a rep calls my name, and, I finger him over to where I'm standing. I had run 14 speed tests, at the same time, with the phones side by side. The one is the store is pulling 1200kbps down, mine, 300. I ask him, what he can do for me. We walk over to the counter and he starts digging around in the phone. First words he asks- what ROM are you running? WTF? I hadn't even rooted the god damn thing yet. No ROM other than stock. "You've got a lot of apps.. that's what's causing your download speeds to be so low." I tell him- "oh, okay- then go ahead and delete whatever you need to- go ahead and wipe the phone too if you need. I've done it and I know what it does. Go ahead and see for yourself." He goes into the app manager, looks at the size of the apps and tells me that's what's killing my data speeds- "Spotify" he tells me, "Is running 95.xx MB per second!" "That's what's killing your speeds!" Ok.. what? You're telling me, I cannot achieve 300kbps down, and you're telling me Spotify is pulling 95mb down per second? "Well, the S3 over there you compared it to is downloading 1200!" he proclaims. "Yes, I said- 1200kbps, not 1200mb/s. Huge difference!" "You're mistaken" he tells me. Okay- what can you do to fix my phone? He goes and gets another sim card. Must be that. He sets the phone down, goes in the back, gets another SIM, sets it up, installs it- same ****ing thing. ****ty network speed. No apps, full wipe, new SIM- it's ****ed up. Of course, I don't have my box, headphones, charger, etc so I cannot return it without paying a 35 dollar restocking fee. No way around it he tells me. I have to have the box. It's my second to last day- I just drove an hour and a half- is there anything you can do? "Nothing." "Nothing? Really? Nothing" I ask. "Nothing at all" he says. "What about shipping me out another device, and letting me do the swap via mail?" "Then, I'll be able to return everything- the box, charger, headphones, etc." I say. "I'm not sure I can do that.. let me see" as he starts typing away. I notice at this time, his hands are shaking as he's holding up my phone. They're shaking bad but I was thinking medical condition- not what was actually going down. He makes my order and sends me on my way. I was stoked. I met the 14 day deadline and I should be getting a decent phone in the mail. yay! Oh how wrong I was.
Two days later, I call VZW again. looking for a tracking number for the phone that was to be shipped to me. It's not here, was supposed to be shipped overnight- wtf. "What phone?" she asks. "The phone I ordered in the store to be shipped to me" I say. Well, apparently what happened was he went into the back, got the meid # off another phone, said I returned my device in the store, I was given another phone, in the store and that was that. Problem was- I was still on my original phone. So I'm on the phone with VZW Tech support, who's on the phone with the store I walked into and it's manager. Manager says, there's a missing S3 from inventory and I must not have noticed he swapped my phone. I said no, the phone had never left my sight. He said he didn't care what I had to say. I had a new phone and that was that. I asked the VZW tech support gal to check the IMEI/MEID # of the phone I was calling in on and compare that to the original shipping MEID/IMEI#. Then tell me, if I was on a new device or not. She does. Holy ****- same phone I was originally shipped! She gets back on the phone with the store, who's manager gets on the phone with the sales rep who, was in a car wreck and is in the hospital. 3 hours on the phone, and all I can get is that the manager in the store I walked into three days before is willing to give me a new phone, but I have to do it in person. I tried to get the woman on the phone to make the swap so I didn't have to make the drive, but, apparently they can bend the rules of their policies to do what they please. I was outside of my 14 day window for returning the device. I had 5 different reps tell me I had 14 days from the moment of activation. Suddenly, it's 14 days from the day it was shipped. What a crock of ****. I scheduled an appointment with the manager at the store closest to me for 4 days down the road and that's that. I know what he wanted- he wanted to see the IMEI/MEID# for himself. He had a VZW Tech support woman on the phone with him telling him what phone I was on and he wouldn't take their word for it. Fine...
I walk into the store. He greets me. Without saying much, I open up my phone, I show him my IMEI# printed on the sticker back under the battery. He takes note of it, and as he's pulling back up my account I boot the phone up. Soon as it boots up I read him off the MEID# and he notes that it's the device I was shipped, but not the device the computer says I have. I told him, "I don't care what your computer says. Here's my receipt from the original shipment. The IMEI's match. This is my original phone. Your computer is wrong. Period." Blah blah blah.. an hour goes by and they're just now getting around to getting me my new phone. The poor girl behind the counter who was stuck between the manager and I was hating her job at the moment cause I wasn't backing down. My heels were dug in deep. This is bull****. You had an employee who stole from you and used me as a patsy. You dont want to fix this. You're going to though. Manager goes back to his office to get some paperwork going for the transaction and the rep finishes up the transaction. Manager comes out, tells me he has to charge me for the phone again. I told him "NO!" I've already ****ing paid for this phone. I'm not being charged for another. "Well Sir, it says you've gotten another phone!" "I haven't gotten another phone" I say, "your computer is wrong and I'm not paying for a device you can't find and I don't have. Period. I'm not doing it." He tells me "Then this transaction can't go through." I told him "You're gonna have to suck it up and do it because I'm not paying you for a phone your employee stole!" At that point, everyone in the building is listening to the conversation. Red faced, he goes back into this office to "figure out how to do it.." Whatever.
Lady rep, who was sweet as can be finished up the transaction. She gets my new phone rung up, sets up my SIM card, gets it all up and running and starts talking about my contract. I told her, "I'm not signing a new contract. This was a WARRANTY EXCHANGE!" "There is no new contract!" "Well, sir" she says "because you're passed your 14 days, we've decided to do a refund to your account and we no longer offer an unlimited plan so your account will be switched to one of our new share everything plans!" "Like hell it will" I say. "Absolutely not!" "I can't do this transaction for you today then, only a manager can handle this" she says. "Then GO GET HIM! GET HIM OUT HERE- FIX THIS!" I say loudly, but without yelling. She scurries off to go get him. By this time, I had ****ing had it with VZW and it's bull****. He comes back out- huffing and puffing. "I can't do it!" "You're gonna have to figure it out man. I'm not signing a new contract. I'm not allowing you to switch me over to one of your share everything bull**** plans!" I say. "And, for my trouble, how about upgrading me to one of the 32gb S3's. While you're at it, how about a free screen saver and a killer deal on a otterbox." I say loudly. "Let me figure out how to keep you on your unlimited plan and [reps name] go get everything we have for the S3 and let him pick out what he wants." the manager says. Her eyes lit up as if to say- Seriously? You're actually going to do this?
About an hour later, I walked out of there with my new S3, which, he basically had to "steal" and give to me so he didn't have to change my unlimited data plan. He credited $30 to my account for gas money for the drive. He gave me free screen savers because they didn't have any otter boxes and the best part, on paper, he gave me everything in writing. The entire transaction, all the credits, refunds, etc. He also extended me a 30 day worry free guarantee, if I didn't like my second S3 which, was every bit as ****ed up as my original one but with Synergy is helped immensely. This was great, and I was stoked with how it worked out, but my story doesn't end here.
Second S3- same problems. Before root, before Synergy. I'm on the phone with tech support. Must be the network then- we'll file a trouble ticket with the network engineers and we'll have them look into it. Cool- lets get to the bottom of this. First ticket I get back "The network tower is busy with tourists and he (I) still has his old device on, the droid X2." Of course, I had to call 5 days later to follow up because nobody bothered to. I turned off my X2, but the slow speed data didn't change anything. I called back. "We'll look into it and we'll follow up with you in 48 hours." Never heard back. I call. "Oh, it's the terrain. Your home is in a rural area. Where is Arcata anyways?" "What?" I ask. "I don't live in Arcata and haven't for nearly a year. Your network engineers checked an area I didn't even live in and then tell me it's the terrain? WTF is going on over there" "Oh sir" they say "I am so sorry for what's gone on. I'm going to re submit your trouble ticket and escalate this to the highest level. When they see how many tickets you've filed you'll go right to the top of the list!" Ok. Whatever. By this time, I had rooted and synergized the S3 and was seeing better data speeds but still not as good as my old Droid X2. They followed up with me the same day to tell me, proudly, the reasons why I was having data speed connections- you ready for this?
The terrain. Seriously. I'm 2 miles as the crow flies with nearly a straight shot/view of the tower. Sure, there's trees in the area but my god. I manage between -72 and -95db for signal which isn't terrible. It certainly doesn't constitute what terrible speeds I'm getting. What's best is my wifes iphone, sitting right next to my S3, getting the same db rating signal, gets normal connection speeds.
Of course, I have the luxury of coming on here and seeing lots of others complain about data speeds. I see the issues are widespread. I see I'm not the only one. Verizon would have me believe otherwise and everyone **** I've talked to there all tell me they've never heard of the issue. Bull**** I say. I don't think they want to add fuel to my fire is what they're really doing.
Verizon firmly has their heads wedged up their asses. You think you've got it bad with having the wrong device shipped to you? I'm mean, sure, it's terrible and all, but, atleast you're not me.
And for real, this is all 100% true. It's so good, I couldn't possibly make it up. ****ing lame.
Now I just get to figure out what I'm going to switch to. I think the S3 is a great phone, if it wasn't for the ****ty radio and encrypted boot loader. S-voice blows and the device itself seems super fragile but, I still think it's bad ass. Worst part- what could I go to that would be comparable? There's nothing out at the moment that even interests me...

+1 to THIS
ancashion said:
Are you ****ing kidding? Let me tell you the story of how ****ing inept Verizon has been lately...
My phone was delivered when I wasn't around. Someone signed for the package, and I didn't know who had so I called VZW to alert them- nobody is at my house, someone may have stolen the phone. I won't know if it's there or not until I get there, so, what can you do? ***** asks me to trouble shoot FedEx's website cause on her end it doesn't show who signed for it. I told her it doesn't matter who signed for it or what FedEx website says- the fact is, it was delivered and signed for by or to an unknown party. Put a hold on the MEID #. She can't do that. She says, because the website says I signed for it- I am responsible. No, I'm not within 3 hours drive of the location the phone was delivered to- I'm using my VZW phone- verify the tower I'm on- verify what tower I've been on and how long I've been here. She says "someone else may have your phone." I said, oh, the one I'M CALLING YOU ON RIGHT NOW? I asked for a manager and he was like.. WTF?
So, I spend nearly 20 hours on the phone with VZW Tech support trying to figure out a wifi/data drop/ texts received hours later/ oscillation in the voice of the person I'm talking to issue. After my 4th or 5th call, they decide to send me out a new SIM Card- that must be the issue. I'm 9 days into my 14 days, which supposedly started the date of activation, so, they offered to send me out the SIM Card overnight. Awesome. Day goes by, nothing. Another day goes by, nothing. I call for a tracking number. "Oh, we sent it out priority mail. you should get it 5-7 days." No, it was supposed to be shipped overnight. WTF? "Well, sir, your account isn't noted as that so I don't know what you were told." Mam, I'm now 11 days into my 14 day worry free guarantee. My phone doesn't work correctly. You (vzw) were supposed to send me a new sim card overnight so I can see if it fixes the device before I return it- "Sorry" she tells me. Management offers to send me a 3rd SIM card overnight. Fine, just get it here. Two days later, my 13th day, I get my 3rd SIM card. Activate it, plug it in and the phone's still ****ed up.
Back on the phone with VZW, they tell me to wait it out. "Sometimes it takes a while to activate.. just be patient." I called again the next morning. Phone was still ****ed up. I'm told, maybe it's the network you're on. Can you drive somewhere else and see if being in at a new tower fixes the problem? **** it, I say- I'll drive into town, where the closest VZW corporate store is, 1.5 hours away from me and see if it works, right there in their store with one of their display s3's right next to it.
So we make the drive. I walk into the store and I run a speed test on each S3, back to back, simultaneously, whatever and I keep doing this until a rep calls my name, and, I finger him over to where I'm standing. I had run 14 speed tests, at the same time, with the phones side by side. The one is the store is pulling 1200kbps down, mine, 300. I ask him, what he can do for me. We walk over to the counter and he starts digging around in the phone. First words he asks- what ROM are you running? WTF? I hadn't even rooted the god damn thing yet. No ROM other than stock. "You've got a lot of apps.. that's what's causing your download speeds to be so low." I tell him- "oh, okay- then go ahead and delete whatever you need to- go ahead and wipe the phone too if you need. I've done it and I know what it does. Go ahead and see for yourself." He goes into the app manager, looks at the size of the apps and tells me that's what's killing my data speeds- "Spotify" he tells me, "Is running 95.xx MB per second!" "That's what's killing your speeds!" Ok.. what? You're telling me, I cannot achieve 300kbps down, and you're telling me Spotify is pulling 95mb down per second? "Well, the S3 over there you compared it to is downloading 1200!" he proclaims. "Yes, I said- 1200kbps, not 1200mb/s. Huge difference!" "You're mistaken" he tells me. Okay- what can you do to fix my phone? He goes and gets another sim card. Must be that. He sets the phone down, goes in the back, gets another SIM, sets it up, installs it- same ****ing thing. ****ty network speed. No apps, full wipe, new SIM- it's ****ed up. Of course, I don't have my box, headphones, charger, etc so I cannot return it without paying a 35 dollar restocking fee. No way around it he tells me. I have to have the box. It's my second to last day- I just drove an hour and a half- is there anything you can do? "Nothing." "Nothing? Really? Nothing" I ask. "Nothing at all" he says. "What about shipping me out another device, and letting me do the swap via mail?" "Then, I'll be able to return everything- the box, charger, headphones, etc." I say. "I'm not sure I can do that.. let me see" as he starts typing away. I notice at this time, his hands are shaking as he's holding up my phone. They're shaking bad but I was thinking medical condition- not what was actually going down. He makes my order and sends me on my way. I was stoked. I met the 14 day deadline and I should be getting a decent phone in the mail. yay! Oh how wrong I was.
Two days later, I call VZW again. looking for a tracking number for the phone that was to be shipped to me. It's not here, was supposed to be shipped overnight- wtf. "What phone?" she asks. "The phone I ordered in the store to be shipped to me" I say. Well, apparently what happened was he went into the back, got the meid # off another phone, said I returned my device in the store, I was given another phone, in the store and that was that. Problem was- I was still on my original phone. So I'm on the phone with VZW Tech support, who's on the phone with the store I walked into and it's manager. Manager says, there's a missing S3 from inventory and I must not have noticed he swapped my phone. I said no, the phone had never left my sight. He said he didn't care what I had to say. I had a new phone and that was that. I asked the VZW tech support gal to check the IMEI/MEID # of the phone I was calling in on and compare that to the original shipping MEID/IMEI#. Then tell me, if I was on a new device or not. She does. Holy ****- same phone I was originally shipped! She gets back on the phone with the store, who's manager gets on the phone with the sales rep who, was in a car wreck and is in the hospital. 3 hours on the phone, and all I can get is that the manager in the store I walked into three days before is willing to give me a new phone, but I have to do it in person. I tried to get the woman on the phone to make the swap so I didn't have to make the drive, but, apparently they can bend the rules of their policies to do what they please. I was outside of my 14 day window for returning the device. I had 5 different reps tell me I had 14 days from the moment of activation. Suddenly, it's 14 days from the day it was shipped. What a crock of ****. I scheduled an appointment with the manager at the store closest to me for 4 days down the road and that's that. I know what he wanted- he wanted to see the IMEI/MEID# for himself. He had a VZW Tech support woman on the phone with him telling him what phone I was on and he wouldn't take their word for it. Fine...
I walk into the store. He greets me. Without saying much, I open up my phone, I show him my IMEI# printed on the sticker back under the battery. He takes note of it, and as he's pulling back up my account I boot the phone up. Soon as it boots up I read him off the MEID# and he notes that it's the device I was shipped, but not the device the computer says I have. I told him, "I don't care what your computer says. Here's my receipt from the original shipment. The IMEI's match. This is my original phone. Your computer is wrong. Period." Blah blah blah.. an hour goes by and they're just now getting around to getting me my new phone. The poor girl behind the counter who was stuck between the manager and I was hating her job at the moment cause I wasn't backing down. My heels were dug in deep. This is bull****. You had an employee who stole from you and used me as a patsy. You dont want to fix this. You're going to though. Manager goes back to his office to get some paperwork going for the transaction and the rep finishes up the transaction. Manager comes out, tells me he has to charge me for the phone again. I told him "NO!" I've already ****ing paid for this phone. I'm not being charged for another. "Well Sir, it says you've gotten another phone!" "I haven't gotten another phone" I say, "your computer is wrong and I'm not paying for a device you can't find and I don't have. Period. I'm not doing it." He tells me "Then this transaction can't go through." I told him "You're gonna have to suck it up and do it because I'm not paying you for a phone your employee stole!" At that point, everyone in the building is listening to the conversation. Red faced, he goes back into this office to "figure out how to do it.." Whatever.
Lady rep, who was sweet as can be finished up the transaction. She gets my new phone rung up, sets up my SIM card, gets it all up and running and starts talking about my contract. I told her, "I'm not signing a new contract. This was a WARRANTY EXCHANGE!" "There is no new contract!" "Well, sir" she says "because you're passed your 14 days, we've decided to do a refund to your account and we no longer offer an unlimited plan so your account will be switched to one of our new share everything plans!" "Like hell it will" I say. "Absolutely not!" "I can't do this transaction for you today then, only a manager can handle this" she says. "Then GO GET HIM! GET HIM OUT HERE- FIX THIS!" I say loudly, but without yelling. She scurries off to go get him. By this time, I had ****ing had it with VZW and it's bull****. He comes back out- huffing and puffing. "I can't do it!" "You're gonna have to figure it out man. I'm not signing a new contract. I'm not allowing you to switch me over to one of your share everything bull**** plans!" I say. "And, for my trouble, how about upgrading me to one of the 32gb S3's. While you're at it, how about a free screen saver and a killer deal on a otterbox." I say loudly. "Let me figure out how to keep you on your unlimited plan and [reps name] go get everything we have for the S3 and let him pick out what he wants." the manager says. Her eyes lit up as if to say- Seriously? You're actually going to do this?
About an hour later, I walked out of there with my new S3, which, he basically had to "steal" and give to me so he didn't have to change my unlimited data plan. He credited $30 to my account for gas money for the drive. He gave me free screen savers because they didn't have any otter boxes and the best part, on paper, he gave me everything in writing. The entire transaction, all the credits, refunds, etc. He also extended me a 30 day worry free guarantee, if I didn't like my second S3 which, was every bit as ****ed up as my original one but with Synergy is helped immensely. This was great, and I was stoked with how it worked out, but my story doesn't end here.
Second S3- same problems. Before root, before Synergy. I'm on the phone with tech support. Must be the network then- we'll file a trouble ticket with the network engineers and we'll have them look into it. Cool- lets get to the bottom of this. First ticket I get back "The network tower is busy with tourists and he (I) still has his old device on, the droid X2." Of course, I had to call 5 days later to follow up because nobody bothered to. I turned off my X2, but the slow speed data didn't change anything. I called back. "We'll look into it and we'll follow up with you in 48 hours." Never heard back. I call. "Oh, it's the terrain. Your home is in a rural area. Where is Arcata anyways?" "What?" I ask. "I don't live in Arcata and haven't for nearly a year. Your network engineers checked an area I didn't even live in and then tell me it's the terrain? WTF is going on over there" "Oh sir" they say "I am so sorry for what's gone on. I'm going to re submit your trouble ticket and escalate this to the highest level. When they see how many tickets you've filed you'll go right to the top of the list!" Ok. Whatever. By this time, I had rooted and synergized the S3 and was seeing better data speeds but still not as good as my old Droid X2. They followed up with me the same day to tell me, proudly, the reasons why I was having data speed connections- you ready for this?
The terrain. Seriously. I'm 2 miles as the crow flies with nearly a straight shot/view of the tower. Sure, there's trees in the area but my god. I manage between -72 and -95db for signal which isn't terrible. It certainly doesn't constitute what terrible speeds I'm getting. What's best is my wifes iphone, sitting right next to my S3, getting the same db rating signal, gets normal connection speeds.
Of course, I have the luxury of coming on here and seeing lots of others complain about data speeds. I see the issues are widespread. I see I'm not the only one. Verizon would have me believe otherwise and everyone **** I've talked to there all tell me they've never heard of the issue. Bull**** I say. I don't think they want to add fuel to my fire is what they're really doing.
Verizon firmly has their heads wedged up their asses. You think you've got it bad with having the wrong device shipped to you? I'm mean, sure, it's terrible and all, but, atleast you're not me.
And for real, this is all 100% true. It's so good, I couldn't possibly make it up. ****ing lame.
Now I just get to figure out what I'm going to switch to. I think the S3 is a great phone, if it wasn't for the ****ty radio and encrypted boot loader. S-voice blows and the device itself seems super fragile but, I still think it's bad ass. Worst part- what could I go to that would be comparable? There's nothing out at the moment that even interests me...
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+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
To this, I had to deal with the same crap but no phones were taken.
I had to call 611 about 10 times 30min to 2hour's every time + go to the stores 4-5 times + 3 network tickets and Then go to the BBB with the issue I had with LTE speeds of 200-600kbs every were to get it fixed. And now A new issue has poped up due to a phone update that messed it up.
Good luck to you man and the OP.
P.S OP you are lucky that it so far. Verizon CS is nice most of the time, but when it comes to replacing any thing you will be in for it.

@ancashion
Best.
Story.
EVER.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

Yea dude, to the guy who got ****ed by Verizon up there we feel for you. At least we know with a lot of time you can still get what you want. But its dumb to deal with it. Also the X2 has a different radio and antenna system so remember different models wont ever be the same.
Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S 3 running CM10

deleted

RCOVA said:
@ancashion
Best.
Story.
EVER.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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LOL, probably is but I gave up trying to read it probably 20% into it..........

Yep, I find it funny people say VZW customer service is good. Past 8 years it's been nothing but crap. The guy with the X2, I had one and the only good thing about that phone was the radios.

See, I've never had a bad experience with their tech/customer support any time prior to this incident. Anytime I've spoken with them in the past, it was always smooth sailing. Can't understand why I had such a difficult time this go around.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Wow. Just wow.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

jmorton10 said:
LOL, probably is but I gave up trying to read it probably 20% into it..........
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I couldn't stop reading it! Lol
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

RCOVA said:
I couldn't stop reading it! Lol
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
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LOL, after I finally got caught up at work I did go back & read the whole thing.
WTF, that is ridiculous!!
I have been a Verizon since before most posters here where born & I have always found their CS to be some of the best around anywhere. After reading this I will be paranoid about ever calling them again however........
I don't know if it matters but we have a very large corporate account.

LOL. Verizon and customer service. Great joke.
Seriously, though, Verizon is notorious for dumb customer service.
Sent from my GT-P7310 using xda app-developers app

WOW!
Sent from my Galaxy S III using Forum Runner

Taehee. said:
LOL. Verizon and customer service. Great joke.
Seriously, though, Verizon os motorious for dumb customer service.
Sent from my GT-P7310 using xda app-developers app
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Don't you mean oxymoron?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Lemme tell you guys a little something...my first Verizon phone was a droid 2. From that phone I got customer service to replace it with the droid x for free. From there I later on got them to replace it for the samsung fascinate for free. From there I got them to replace THAT for a droid charge for free. After that I got them to replace my droid charge with a droid razr for free. Keep in mind that none of this effected my upgrade. I still got my upgrade 2 years after purchasing the droid 2...this all happened in a span of 2 years. I ended up having the droid razr for 3 months before my upgrade came and bought the galaxy s 3. I guess I'm just lucky but Verizon customer service has been great to me.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

The 14 days starting with shipping is a dishonorable tactic. Verizon does not make that obvious when you order. They used to offer 30 days. However I've used them since 1995 and my telephone CS experience has been very good. Their online sales reps are quite amusing.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Flintlock said:
The 14 days starting with shipping is a dishonorable tactic. Verizon does not make that obvious when you order. They used to offer 30 days. However I've used them since 1995 and my telephone CS experience has been very good. Their online sales reps are quite amusing.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
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Its kept vague so they keep the ability to manipulate it as they see fit. Sleazy at best.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Elite49 said:
Yep, I find it funny people say VZW customer service is good. Past 8 years it's been nothing but crap. The guy with the X2, I had one and the only good thing about that phone was the radios.
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Click to collapse
Never dealt with AT&T customer service, have you? Makes Verizon seem downright spectacular.
But from my end, Verizon has given me nothing but excellent customer service. Except in the brick and mortar store where it took them two hours just to get me a new SIM card. And the guy had no idea how to activate it. Was... frustrating, since I could have just gone and grabbed a card from my job and had it finished in a minute. Ooh well.
Always sucks to see people get screwed over. And makes me happy that my phone works amazingly well.
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