I got to handed to ASUS they have performed a Brilliant tactical move on Android fans
ASUS: "We've locked your boot loader, but don't worry we have you covered. We got a tool to unlock it. Just sign away your warranty and its yours".
Legally its air tight. You the end user are completely free to use or ignore it. Your not forced to use it. So if you take the bait, your fault for being caught as a sucker!
Its brilliant in that Asus (and for that matter all Android device manufacturs) knows Android users are all but told you should tinker with your device. We open, we are not that walled garden of Apple. With our Android device your free. They know a good chunk of the Android fans are going to install custom roms, that they really can't help themselves.
Samsung and the other vendors have to use a little judgement and desecration when they get a bricked the device and will likely error in favour of the customer - unless perhaps its really blatant. ASUS tool allows them to link your serial number to the fact you have voided your warranty - no desecration required. Even if its really a hardware issue, your SOL.
Coming Clean: I know this, because I'm that sucker, I took the bait and they reeled me in... hook ... line ... sinker
I'm an android user. Of course I install custom ROMs - duh - I'm an Android user am I not suppose to do that? You don't see no forbidden fruit, with a bite taken out, on my devices.
My own fault sure, no one put a gun to my head to give up my warranty. I unlocked my device with the tool and I voluntarily signed away my warranty Several weeks later I booted to recover and that action bricked my phone (can only get to the boot flash screen, can't connect to PC, can't get to recover, can't load). ASUS confirmed the motherboard is defective and would be replaced under-warranty except that sorry sir you voided your warranty earlier on so even though it's us we won't cover you.
ASUS: "Unfortunately, we are not able to escalate this case. Because once the unit SN punch in, the system automatically pop up no longer under warranty. please kindly understand our policy and procedure here. If you not willing to pay for repair, we will ship back to you unrepaired. unfortunately, there is no concession for this case. Sorry about that."
For an amusing read, see the sanitized email text:
http://pastebin.com/UanRXVvj
I'm tired of vendors locking down the system. I grew up with PCs that weren't locked down, and I don't accept switching the model now.
Class action lawsuit in the making...
HTC and Motorola do also. There's an easy solution. Vote with your wallet and avoid products from manufacturers whose principles you don't agree with. Complaining after the fact does little good and they already have your money. It was quite the scandal when it was discovered that Asus locked the bootloader on the Prime. After much flaming Asus came out with the policy that's currently in place. Some seem not to care and others feel the way you do. As they say, "it is what it is."
And that is why I got a 3rd party warranty. So I can do whatever I want. Sure with the cost of the tablet I would want to be covered, but if I mess it up or it goes bad I got protection and it cost me under $100 to be fully covered for tech issues or mishaps and breaks.. Square trade..
Thing that bugs me is why asus cancels the whole warranty.
Visible defects happening after use ie; buttons falling out, screen popping up, broken ports etc. also are not covered.
Does unlocking cause a physical defect...no.
I could see reducing what is covered or applying a flat repair charge, yet just dumping the whole warranty seems a little crooked to me.
BarryH_GEG said:
HTC and Motorola do also. There's an easy solution. Vote with your wallet and avoid products from manufacturers whose principles you don't agree with. Complaining after the fact does little good and they already have your money. It was quite the scandal when it was discovered that Asus locked the bootloader on the Prime. After much flaming Asus came out with the policy that's currently in place. Some seem not to care and others feel the way you do. As they say, "it is what it is."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps... What options?
Too focused on the form factor (clamshell and rave specs) that I didn't pick up on some other more important details. Suppose I could have returned once I realized the policy but I was already attached to it. So I rolled the dice and lost. My bad for rolling the dice, I'm a weak pathetic human. I'm not yet a Richard Stallman - one who only runs on completely open hardware and ancient. I do however now appreciate his wisdom more - of course one could argue he hasn't been successful in getting vendors to change.
However, complaining does raise awareness and acts as a cathartic for the afflicted. As far as I can see most vendors lock their boot loaders so you usually have to jump through some hoops to get around it. To my knowledge none except Asus such a tool - effectively automated the "void" warranty process - its genius really. They don't even need to see the text on your screen to tell your warranty is gone - the second you use their tool - its gone. No management discretionary options left. I can honestly say I have never been so horribly treated. Usually folks are some degree of reasonable. Maybe I've just been lucky till now.
Out of curiosity which manufactures don't lock their devices? Eventually I'll be looking for an LTE phone to replace my ageing Samsung Galaxy S1. I'm not sure if I'll pick up another tablet - the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. Won't be touching ASUS components ever again.
wctaylor79 said:
And that is why I got a 3rd party warranty. So I can do whatever I want. Sure with the cost of the tablet I would want to be covered, but if I mess it up or it goes bad I got protection and it cost me under $100 to be fully covered for tech issues or mishaps and breaks.. Square trade..
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3rd party as in via BestBuy or Futureshop or some such? Wouldn't they raise an eye at seeing the "your device is unlocked" text on the screen? Or are they really that generous? Something to think about next time. thanks.
I got the TF200 and fell for the trap too. I was so frustrated with the performance of my prime, that I finally took the leap and unlocked it to load custom roms. Then a few weeks later, the display or the connection to the display took a crap and I had to send in the device fully expecting that I had to pay for the repairs. For some reason Asus took pity on me and actually fixed the device, no charge. I was pleasantly surprised. Too bad, they are not doing that anymore. Up until that point I was ready to give up on ASUS, but for that very act alone, I decided to stay with them and purchased the TF700. I did learn my lesson and I will not unlock my device until my warranty runs out.
so YOU bricked your device and you think asus should pay to fix it?
cbmech said:
I did learn my lesson and I will not unlock my device until my warranty runs out.
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You got the idea. It's called a "contract" and two parties agree to certain terms and conditions therein. Want warranty coverage? Abide by the terms and conditions of the warranty. Want something outside the terms and conditions of the warranty, and loss of warranty is the price. Not so difficult to understand. ASUS made it clear - unlock as you wish, but do so at your own peril, regardless of what other part of the product might fail. Since this was published before the fact, the unlocker has clearly agreed to such terms.
Kinda interesting how many threads here provide details of gaming the return policies of various retailers, yet when ASUS makes a very clear statement that a given action will void the warranty, some folks think that they are stepping over the line.
Amazing to see how some folks react when they learn, first hand, that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
The main problem here is that the unlock tool does not unlock your device, it only allows flashing unsigned kernels and keeps the bootloader locked. If they told you your individual SBK (Secure Boot Key), you could probably recover from this situation easily with nvflash.
red0ck33g said:
Several weeks later I booted to recover and that action bricked my phone (can only get to the boot flash screen, can't connect to PC, can't get to recover, can't load).
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While I do feel for you, this is not even a case of "some piece of hardware failed and I was denied warranty coverage since I was unlocked" - from what you've explained above, this whole problem was brought on by an action that *you* initiated. If your device was never unlocked, you would have never been in this situation.
This is the exact reason why Asus doesn't provide warranty coverage for unlocked devices. Why should they have to pay for your mistake? I'm guessing that you used one of those "reboot to recovery" apps, which have been known to cause this issue. Again, Asus shouldn't have to pay for your mistake.
If this were an obvious case of "my power button quit working" or something like that and they denied warranty coverage because you were unlocked, then you would have every right to be angry. But that is not the case (unless I am misunderstanding the quoted statement above) - this is not a hardware failure of any kind - it's a "lack-of-researching-before-acting" failure, which should *not* be covered by an Asus warranty.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
_that said:
The main problem here is that the unlock tool does not unlock your device, it only allows flashing unsigned kernels and keeps the bootloader locked. If they told you your individual SBK (Secure Boot Key), you could probably recover from this situation easily with nvflash.
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The OP is wrong. He entered into an agreement, unlocked the device, apparantly bricked it....his fault now he wants to blame Asus for enabling him to unlock it.....
My problem with the whole unlock scheme is that they allow users to unlock the device, only to later release an update that encrypted the bootloader denying users access AFTER they have voided their warranty and unlocked their device. Bad form Asus, Very bad form. I voided my warranty to only later be locked out of part of it, a part that I would very much like to have access to.
Just my $.02 worth.
Brad
Could I get you some vinegar so you can add that to the salt you're pouring on my wounds - ASUS Good, User stupid.
I'm just trying to lick my wounds (I guess self-inflicted), vent and move on.
Lesson learned. PC's you can install your own OS on and if you screw it up you can recover it yourself (though perhaps that too might change in the not to distant future - Progress I guess). Tablets/Smart phones - some of them - much easier to end up in a place where your SOL. I've bricked my Galaxy phone several times over the years and been able to recover via a few different approaches - its just software its not that hard to reset- been doing it since I was a lad.
For me it doesn't make sense if you unlock your device, it would cost you "all" of your warranty. Of course, if you brick it, it's your own fault, you can't blame Asus for it. But...if there's something wrong with the hardware (obvious a manufacturer fault) it is ridiculous that Asus would not repair it for free because you unlocked the device.
_that said:
The main problem here is that the unlock tool does not unlock your device, it only allows flashing unsigned kernels and keeps the bootloader locked. If they told you your individual SBK (Secure Boot Key), you could probably recover from this situation easily with nvflash.
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So why don't they provide us the key, so we have the option to recover if you brick your own device?
Man, some of you are awfully hyperbolic. It's made extremely clear before you choose to unlock your device that Asus' warranty will no longer apply, just like EVERY OTHER device. Apple, Motorola, HTC, LG, etc. If you unlock your device (through the manufacturer or not), you lose your warranty. Plain and simple. There's no "class-action lawsuit" here, and it's not Asus being consumer-unfriendly, or attempting to bone their customers.
Boes40 said:
For me it doesn't make sense if you unlock your device, it would cost you "all" of your warranty. Of course, if you brick it, it's your own fault, you can't blame Asus for it. But...if there's something wrong with the hardware (obvious a manufacturer fault) it is ridiculous that Asus would not repair it for free because you unlocked the device.
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So you overclock the CPU and then, one day, the tablet won't boot. Should Asus pay for shipping and labor to validate that it is, in fact, a hardware issue completely unrelated to whatever software you run outside of their purview?
_that said:
The main problem here is that the unlock tool does not unlock your device, it only allows flashing unsigned kernels and keeps the bootloader locked. If they told you your individual SBK (Secure Boot Key), you could probably recover from this situation easily with nvflash.
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Click to collapse
This. Being able to half-unluck the post-.30 bootloaders is terribly frustrating. If we're being thrown to the wolves warranty-wise, we should have full control over our devices!
red0ck33g said:
3rd party as in via BestBuy or Futureshop or some such? Wouldn't they raise an eye at seeing the "your device is unlocked" text on the screen? Or are they really that generous? Something to think about next time. thanks.
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Click to collapse
Squaretrade works no matter what. They cover the device locked or unlocked. Without a coupon you can get 2 year coverage for a $500 device with accidental damage and water damage coverage for around $100. The beauty is most times you can get a 30% off coupon floating in the forums. It covers anything. Google them. Check out reviews. For most part I see nothing but happy customers. I had it on my Prime. got the 700. Went to website and they couldn't transfer so they refunded the full amount. Gave me another coupon and I bought it for my 700 for cheaper than my original cost. IMO best deal around.
EDIT: If for whatever reason they can not fix your issue, like a brick or a shattered device they cut you a check for the device. Minus time of course. You can't wait two years throw it against a wall and get $500, but they compensate the fair market value of the device at time of service. Only reason I unlocked now was because I have this option. I have 3 kids. accidents happen. I baby my device and keep on me all day, but again, accidents can happen. Better safe then sorry. When it comes to getting the warranty you have 90 days from purchase froma retailer and 30 days if you bought on ebay.. Hope this helps you or someone that may not have known about this option.
sleepwalkers said:
So you overclock the CPU and then, one day, the tablet won't boot. Should Asus pay for shipping and labor to validate that it is, in fact, a hardware issue completely unrelated to whatever software you run outside of their purview?
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No :angel:
I just wonder, why it isn't possible to "log" what the unlocking tool of Asus is doing to redo that with another tool and undo it, when needed.
Related
Hey guys..
I have scratched the fluck nuggets out of my beautiful Raphael.
I have a one year warranty on the phone.
The following is worth the bad karma for me..., so please.. if you have only negative comments to make- please save it for someone who cares!!
I would like to kill/bomb/grenade my phone so that it appears completely toasted .. with little to no evidence it was damaged.
This probably means software .. since any physical damage will void the warranty.
I was thinking, restore the default SPL, flash the stock ROM back onto it, and then try to re-flash the stock ROM but pull out the battery half way into it.
Will this kill my phone worthy enough for AT&T to replace it for me? Or do you think they repair it (not ideal).
P.S. I have searched, I guess I dont know what terms to use or no one has the balls to go through with my type of evil plan.
All Advice (except negative comments) appreciated!
thanks guys
The reason why prices rise
Thank you for the extraordinarily helpful advice! I'll try that. Thanks!!
For the third time, i have selflessly helped others in this forum quite a bit. IF you have a negative comment that does not help me, mumble it to yourself and giggle. Do not waste your valuable time posting it here. You will not change my mind.
Any friendly people who can actually help address the questions I have posed are welcome to respond.
I understand what I want to do is frequently frowned upon ... but at the same time, charging $.20 to send some kilobytes through the air isn't exactly a nice thing to do to your loyal customers.
P.S. If AT&T offered equipment warranty on this phone .. this would not be an issue.
They decided to screw their customers by not offering it, and so I will work the system.
ryaske said:
P.S. If AT&T offered equipment warranty on this phone .. this would not be an issue.
They decided to screw their customers by not offering it, and so I will work the system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe your idea is the reason behind that
Maybe so but that is irrelevant to the questions I have asked.
Are the scratches deep enough for a fingernail to get caught on them? thats what they ask you over the phone when turning in a device for a warranty exchange. If so then warranty is void.
On to the fun part
You could try unplugging the battery halfway through a flash which will cause the device to start up in bootloader mode. From their its easy to just restart the flash and be on your way. If you go to an At&t Device Support Center, most of the guys their aren't trained to each device specifically, they're mainly trained to rule out physical damage and go from there.
So it wouldn't hurt to try that. Unplug battery during flash and see what they'll do. I'll be surprised if they flash a rom because i've turned in one device that was stuck on a white screen and they just handed me a replacement fairly quick.
Now, the next thing you could try i figured out accidently by trying to improve GPS reception on my Tilt. Actually scratch that, just found out it won't work on the Raphael. With my tilt i took a copper wire (taken from an old landline telephone) and plugged it into the antenna extender port on the back of the device.
This greatly improved my GPS reception, then i stuck it in the other port (phone antenna) and i got 5 bars, but when i took it out, i couldn't get any service. I think it fried the antenna.
I took that device into the At&t Device Support Center and the guy at the desk handed it to the Tech who just looked at it, handed it back to me asked me if i wanted to back anything up and gave me another device (refurbished)
One last thing. Although i turned in a flawless At&t (no scratches nothing) in for a 5th warranty exchange and they gave me the Raphael, it ended up having 2 deep scratches on the frame of the keyboard of the device. When i called in they told me since it was my 5th return its not under any warranty.
this is kinda a crappy question to ask, and it's the reason we pay such high amounts for our beloved phones. BUT.... just zap the sh!t outta it with a stungun simplest way I can think of. maybe microwave it for 5 or 10 seconds? nah.. that'd just start a fire. stungun.
I wonder what a few seconds in the microwave would do or near a moderately strong electro magnet would do.
thankfully my fingernail does not get caught in the scratches .. its just abrasion scratches, kind of like what sandpaper would do. I can barely see the scratches when the screen is on .. unless I'm thinking about it.
I will try to F up a flash today. Maybe even when changing the bootloader so that there is nothing there to "take" a new rom. If anything, this will serve as a test-case for those wonder what would happen if your electricty goes out the next time your flashing (prevent it: use a laptop!)
for those that have contributed something useful so far. I THANK YOU. This forum is for sharing information, not morals.
I will post back with the results of the suicide and warranty exchange so others can learn from it
ryaske said:
for those that have contributed something useful so far. I THANK YOU. This forum is for sharing information, not morals.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually if you read the forum rules it clearly states:
9. Don't get us in trouble.
Don't post copyrighted materials or do other things that will obviously lead to legal trouble
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Click to collapse
I'd have thought discussing insurance fraud is certainly pushing & bending that, if not breaking it completely.
Deliberately breaking your phone to claim under warranty or insurance is fraud. Please don’t drag our forums down to your level.
Live with it
Beeble said:
Actually if you read the forum rules it clearly states:
I'd have thought discussing insurance fraud is certainly pushing & bending that, if not breaking it completely.
Deliberately breaking your phone to claim under warranty or insurance is fraud. Please don’t drag our forums down to your level.
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Click to collapse
Exactly. Maybe you could learn a lesson and invest more care in your next device. Mods should close this thread.
ok, well under that logic, fraud will also be damaging your own phone, even if by accident, and then getting a warranty replacement and mentioning you have done so on the forum.
So that means everyone that flashes their phone and F's it up, then gets it replaced is also "getting the forum in trouble" because it is also technically warranty fraud.
How exactly the forum is now "in trouble", I will never know. Its not like you gave me the idea to screw my phone. I simply asked for advice and experiences. How dare I use a forum that has always been a help to me, for getting information, similar experiences, and help. I dont know what I was thinking.
Go ahead and lock the thread.. you guys are all whiney nannies anyway. Save me the trouble of having to hear you guys.
P.S. You should get out in the real world where cut throat tactics happen every day. Its kill or be killed in corporate America. (I work for a very large company and I know that so intimately, I couldnt give you the details if I wanted to .... i would fear for my way of life.)
Good luck on your crusade to right all the wrongs in the world. I learned its not worth the effort .. Playing their own game is far more beneficial.
one more thing. the worst thing that could have happened is I get denied the warranty exchange. That is my own risk and I acknowledge I'm taking it.
How would my attempt at warranty exchange EVER "obviously lead to legal trouble", ESPECIALLY for the forum???
If you want to quote the rules, you should interpret them as they are written. No where does it say "have good morals" and "dont bring the forum down to your level". I'm pretty sure it does say
2. Be polite and respect your fellow xda-dev user.
There is no need for cursing, flaming, racism or personal attacks. There are a lot of different nationalities on this forum all with different cultures, this means that no matter what you're like, you'll have to adjust to people that are most definitely not like you. It will gain you a lot of respect if you help to keep the peace. It's disrespectful and therefore not permitted to create Alias Member names in an attempt to deceive others.
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and
10. Help others if you can.
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Further, my intentional doings and my reports of what happened could actually help someone who has done the same, but by other unintentional means.
I am, as always, in the spirit of the forum, here to help and be helped.
Stick it to the man!
FWIW, you could get an Invisible Shield that would make the scratches less noticable.
HAHA
Ok the deed is done. The hitman has collected. The eagle has landed
ryaske said:
HAHA
Ok the deed is done. The hitman has collected. The eagle has landed
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Since you've gone to such great lengths to explain how this enterprise is going to benefit the community, and how anybody judging you is such a whiner, how about you explain the details?
Yeah I wanted to help people, but all the **** I got made me rethink the whole posting on the forum thing. I figured spilling more information will only get more people to chime in with their nasty nanny comments..... so I wasn't going to.
BUT since you asked, and you specifically were not one of the nannies (or atl east one that kept quiet.. i thank you!)... I would be happy to share the details.
I thought I would be able to kill it through software .. but it turns out bricking a phone intentionally is NOT an easy thing to do.
1) Pulling the battery is not enough to stop the flash. It will continue just fine on USB power only! Therefore I dont know how bad batteries could cause problems with flashing...
2) Stopping the flash of a ROM by pulling battery and USB almost always (for me, 10 out of 10 times) just causes the bootloader to complain "bad data" when you reset the phone, or something to that effect. You can reflash easily every time, I guess unless you stop it at the PERFECT moment ( I wasn't able to)
3) Stopping the flash of a Bootloader is absolutely impossible. I tried maybe 15 times (switching between stock SPL and the 1.90 SPL), but each time it loaded up just fine....
4) So,now getting desperate (Like I wasn't already...) I went to further measures. The stock battery is 3.7v DC. I applied 5 volts AC to the battery connector first, very quickly as fast as I could touch leads to the battery pins. Each time.. nothing happened and the phone booted fine.
So I stepped it up to 7.5, then 10. applying 10 v AC on the 3rd time was the charm. The LED flash blinked once very quickly, and then the phone ceased to turn on. I was nervous doing this.. I didnt want anything to physically fry. It turned out very well, it didnt get hot at all, no smoke and no burning smell.
Then I went to an AT&T store and turned it in for a new one. The guys there told me this wasnt the first time the Fuze came back completely dead!!! Imagine that.....
If the software bricking worked easily .. I planned on trying to recover it as a test case .. but alas it was damn tough. Thats also why I didnt really give many details.
This just goes to show everyone flashing your phone is really, really safe. I would say- flying in an airplane safe. When it fails, it does so rarely, and spectacularly and catastrophically... enough for all the media to hear about it (everyone on the forum). I wouldn't be worried tho, stepping on to a plane is just fine and chances are very good (you can round those chances to "always") it will work fine.. even if it screws up during the process some how.
So, GO FLASH THAT NEW ROM!!
A sincere thanks for the forum for putting up with an opinion/viewpoint that the majority clearly and rightfully disagrees with.
All I can say is WOW - what a mean thing to do; torture your phone like that. You could also have tried waterboarding, because in America that is not considered torture.
ryaske said:
P.S. If AT&T offered equipment warranty on this phone .. this would not be an issue.
They decided to screw their customers by not offering it, and so I will work the system.
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I have a warranty for my Fuze via ATT
I bought this phone second hand literally YESTERDAY and am having a number of concerns already.
First off I found dust under the screen. Not just subtle dust. Irrittating sprinkles of dust under the screen. I am not on Network 3, I am on T-Mobile but unlocking the phone seemed simple enough. HOWEVER. The HTC guy I spoke to whilst arranging a warranty repair informed me that they are VERY strict about people tampering with software, and that even an unofficial unlock code could somehow void the warranty. Not only does there appear to be no Three ROM to flash back onto this device but there is seemingly no way to lock it back to Three in the not unlikely event of dust reappearing when the device comes back from HTC. My question really is - is there any way I've overlooked to get this phone back to EXACTLY as it is now for warranty purposes should I ever choose to unlock and debrand it, or should I just cut my losses and sell the thing on as soon as it comes back from repair?
My Galaxy S2 seems like so much less hassle. Ironically I've come to the Sensation because of the supposedly better build quality of the HTC device but I'm a bit disappointed with that and the long-winded techniques required to actually do any Modding to the device.
I've had my TF101 since launch and recently purchased a dock. Only trackpad on the dock works, none of the keys work. Tried the dock on another tf101 and it worked fine. After trying different roms and reverting to stock, came to the point where I had to send it in to Asus.
My question is, my bezel has 2 dents/knocks on the bottom corners, what are the chances Asus is going to say it's customer induced damaged and charge me for the repairs?
I remember reading a thread where someone had the same issue but I can't find it. Also I forgot to mention my light bleed had gotten worse and the rear case creaks, can I call them back up and tell them about that?
UPDATE: I just remembered that I complete forgot my 32GB microSD in the TF and it has a bunch of custom rom .zip files in it! What are the chances I get my microSD card back with my tF if they do replace the bezel?
*Sigh*
It's 50/50 about the chances that they will call it customer induced damage.
Go ahead and call them up and tell them about it.
I'll be honest. Chances are you won't get your sdcard back. There's been too many reports of people not getting their stuff back. Here's why. In order to take out the bezel, they will need to remove the microsdcard. Chances are the card will get lost because it is so small.
My condolences.
Added by edit.
On a lighter note, here's a funny story. As you may know, I modify docks to solder in a 500/750gb hard drive. One time someone sent me his dock with his sdcard inside. I promised him I'd put pictures of the mod process inside his sdcard. When I opened it up, I found 16gb of gay porn inside. Thought it was hilarious.
Note that I am not homophobic. I date guys, actually. Still think that was hilarious. Hope you didn't leave your porn collection in there LOL.
Haha, thank you, but thankfully it's a fairly new card and haven't had time to put anything on it
I had the latest version of Prime! and Revolver roms on their along with cwm and root apk's. Also had some videos of a storm that rolled through here last week and I think that's about it. But I just got the card, and for a good deal so I'll be pretty upset if I don't get it back
Side story: A couple years back I found a memory stick someone had left in the student lab, so I opened it up seeing if I could identify the owner and get it back to him/her. Well, turns out it was loaded with BEASTIALITY porn! I unplugged that thing soo quick and threw it across the lab floor, I didn't want to be caught with that **** on university computers!
update:
Just got off the phone with Asus, I added the light bleed and rear case creak to my RMA but now i'm thinking I shouldn't have. This is probably going to make the repair longer and I'm planning on heading out of town next weekend, I highly doubt it's going to get back to me in time . Also it wasn't bothering me that much before and now i'm worried it's going to get back worse then before. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Regarding the microSD, the rep said he'd have to escalate my case to get the card sent back to me asap but no guarantee. TF hasn't reached them yet, should arrive either later today or early tomorrow. fingers crossed.
With their computer components you get ~14 days to post mark the item after you setup your RMA. You may want to read the entire email for your RMA.
And generally, no, you won't get your card back unless they immediately see the dents and package it up and send it back to you. Normally, ASUS isn't too picky, but there have been horror stories about the Texas RMA facility, sorry to say. If they do claim it as user damage, then they will email you before they repair it and ask if you want it done.
Edit: for I can count to potato.
Got the delivery confirmation earlier today at noon, but the RMA status says they still haven't received it. I Know they usually take a while to update the status but i'm going to call tomorrow to check if they've mailed back my microSD card.
fone_fanatic said:
Got the delivery confirmation earlier today at noon, but the RMA status says they still haven't received it. I Know they usually take a while to update the status but i'm going to call tomorrow to check if they've mailed back my microSD card.
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The people in charge of updating your status can sometimes be pretty lazy. Last time I sent one in, confirmation said it arrived on monday, but their status said they hadn't received it until thursday. In fact, on thursday alone, it changed from not recieved to repairing to being inspected to ready to be shipped.
It's obvious they do everything and then changed the statuses all at once.
I just sent mine into the TX RMA facility and received notiifcation that the cracked screen was due to customer induced damage. I have babied that damn thing since day one and it's always been in a case when not docked in the keyboard. All this to say, if my experience is any indication, it doesn't matter what happened, they will blame it on you and you'll have to pay. Good luck, ASUS customer support is a joke.
vf171 said:
I just sent mine into the TX RMA facility and received notiifcation that the cracked screen was due to customer induced damage. I have babied that damn thing since day one and it's always been in a case when not docked in the keyboard. All this to say, if my experience is any indication, it doesn't matter what happened, they will blame it on you and you'll have to pay. Good luck, ASUS customer support is a joke.
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Click to collapse
How did the screen crack?
My guess is cracked either closing it while docked to the keyboard or from inserting it into the dock/keyboard. Not sure which. It's never been dropped, abused, or misused that is for sure. I was told by the tech and her manager that the LCD screen never fails because of defects. It's always because of customer induced damage. That was an wesome hour-long conversation.
vf171 said:
My guess is cracked either closing it while docked to the keyboard or from inserting it into the dock/keyboard. Not sure which. It's never been dropped, abused, or misused that is for sure.
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Click to collapse
If this is the case, then it's still customer induced damage.
I was told by the tech and her manager that the LCD screen never fails because of defects. It's always because of customer induced damage. That was an wesome hour-long conversation.
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Click to collapse
Haha, if they said this, then it's total BS.
vf171 said:
My guess is cracked either closing it while docked to the keyboard or from inserting it into the dock/keyboard. Not sure which. It's never been dropped, abused, or misused that is for sure. I was told by the tech and her manager that the LCD screen never fails because of defects. It's always because of customer induced damage. That was an wesome hour-long conversation.
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Click to collapse
That sucks. I had a dell streak 5" and they manufactured it by putting the digitzer on the lcd too tight. So if you'd tap normally in any of the corners it would show on the lcd as if you're pushing really hard on it. Someone on xda posted that dell had acknowledged it's their fault so a bunch of people sent theirs in for repair, but I guess they got flooded with repairs that the customer service was told the LCD was not covered. Had a fun convo with one gentleman who kept assuring me that the LCD was software and not covered by dell's hardware warranty!
In the end I just told them it was white in the corner, although the lcd was clearly damaged, sent it in and they mailed me a new one without charging me .
goodintentions said:
If this is the case, then it's still customer induced damage.
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Really? That's like saying if GM designed the tailgate on a pick up with a defect and when you closed it, using normal, proper methods and forces, if it breaks that is customer induced damage.
My point is that unless I'm doing something that is prohibited in the warranty (abuse/misues) then the damage should be covered because it obviously is a result of a defect (manufacturing, design, etc..., take your pick I don't care which). Your logic (and ASUS') suggests that ALL damage that occurs while a customer is using the device is customer induced. So the only way to avoid customer induced damage is to not use your device. Genius.
Really, I was just sharing a data point for the OP to consider since he asked if the group thought ASUS would invoke the magical and all-encompassing "Customer Induced Damage".
So no one has yet to contact me about my microSD card although someone was supposed to. Called Asus up a few moments ago and rep said he'd put the escalation on high priority.
Also the charger on my dad's tf just went out so had to do another rma for that. Why do these companies insist on using proprietary ports?
vf171 said:
Really? That's like saying if GM designed the tailgate on a pick up with a defect and when you closed it, using normal, proper methods and forces, if it breaks that is customer induced damage.
My point is that unless I'm doing something that is prohibited in the warranty (abuse/misues) then the damage should be covered because it obviously is a result of a defect (manufacturing, design, etc..., take your pick I don't care which). Your logic (and ASUS') suggests that ALL damage that occurs while a customer is using the device is customer induced. So the only way to avoid customer induced damage is to not use your device. Genius.
Really, I was just sharing a data point for the OP to consider since he asked if the group thought ASUS would invoke the magical and all-encompassing "Customer Induced Damage".
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I guess in a sense you're right. You gotta understand, though, I've worked with a couple dozen units. Never had a problem with the dock causing any kind of physical damage. I'm just having a hard time visualizing how this was done.
goodintentions said:
I guess in a sense you're right. You gotta understand, though, I've worked with a couple dozen units. Never had a problem with the dock causing any kind of physical damage. I'm just having a hard time visualizing how this was done.
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That is exactly my point! It would NEVER happen unless there was something wrong with the device or he dock.
---------- Post added at 05:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:43 AM ----------
fone_fanatic said:
So no one has yet to contact me about my microSD card although someone was supposed to. Called Asus up a few moments ago and rep said he'd put the escalation on high priority.
Also the charger on my dad's tf just went out so had to do another rma for that. Why do these companies insist on using proprietary ports?
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Click to collapse
Good luck. I just received notice that my TF shipped back today. I haven't decided if I'm going to and fix it or burn it in the backyard as I record it on my wife's iPad and upload to my new Facebook page, Asus Customer Service Sucks.
I did include all the original packaging and my wall adapter and power cord. I bet they don't make it back to me. I'd be interested to hear if your sd card makes it back.
I've had a couple folks ask to see a pic of the crack in my screen. Why can't I post directly from my phone?
I just checked the RMA status now and it finally updated from device not received to "Repairing". I guess this is a good sign as I've seen in other threads for those being charged or denied repairs had a different status.
Still no call from them regarding my microSD Said I would get a call 24-48hours from Thursday, I'll give them till afternoon today then I'll call them up and see what they have to say.
vf171 said:
I've had a couple folks ask to see a pic of the crack in my screen. Why can't I post directly from my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can using the xda app, Sometimes uploads fail, but you can go into settings and change whether to upload the pic to xda or tapatalk's servers.
Just got my TF back and it's LOADED WITH ICS!!11!1!!!one11!!
ok, it's not... but on the bright side, my microSD card is still in it
As for the repair, the dock now works and I knew I shouldn't have said anything about the light bleed and case creak.
It does appear they put a new LCD and Digitizer, but now rather than having a couple light bleed spots that were only visible in the dark, there is now one really bright spot in the bottom left. I haven't even viewed it in the dark so don't know if there are more.
For the creak, looks like they just put something behind the case where the creak was, but now the rear case is sticking out by a few millimeters. This makes it hard to put the tablet in and out of the dock.
Also they didn't say anything or replace the dented bezel. I think i'm going to take things into my own hands and do what this guy did.
glad you got it back ,,,,, time for me to get an RMA mine will not power on so wish me luck now...
revjwb32 said:
glad you got it back ,,,,, time for me to get an RMA mine will not power on so wish me luck now...
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that sucks. Is your charger dead? Plug it into your pc overnight and see if that wakes it up.
SHORT STORY (can be omitted skip to questions):
Well I'm at the point of getting ready to take the charge in for service. It seems I have a termination problem on the main board. My phone shuts off randomly not ROM related but actual hardware (if i bump it it turns off). My battery and phone contacts are clean and making solid contact with each other as well. This brings me to my next observatory task of opening the phone. While I was open in the phone I noticed there was 4 cracks on my chrome rim (probably due to the 10ft drop to solid concrete, just a after thought). So there was no way to take it apart without fully destroying the rim. Which was upsetting because i was looking forward to seeing the beast and trying to solder it back together and\or look into a intuitive\ revolutionary (as apple would put it) way to fix the backlights brightness. Kinda all bummed out and stuff I tried to put the screws back and who would have thunk you had to shrink ray your hands so you could hold the screws. Well trying it with all fat chode like fingers I screw managed to slip from my grasp. It bounce on my hard floor a couple times, followed by that awkward silence where you know should have been a bounce and your still waiting to hear it, but nothing. O.0 So now I am missing a screw...
To the point questions\ concerns:
1. Can I bring this to tech support to ultimately get a refurb (huh), with out a screw? Or do I have to take my sammy Rogue (yea that "feature" phone) apart and steal one of it's screw and paint it black (there is a little difference in the screw probably will strip the phone).
2. Beside the obvious return to stock and PIT blah blah blah. Is there anything I need to do? Like trim my memory card b\c of the folders that say ROMS,KERNELS,MODs, etc... I don't plan on giving the card to them unless they ask for it.
3. I should probably mention, that the battery is starting to get so hot i cant hold it sometimes. and have to take it out and find some kind of heat sink to cool it. This has happened mainly when charging but has happened when idling and on stand by too.
4. should I call them or take it in? Which would prove better results in getting a refurbished or new phone? (either way I don't expect much from these sexist bastards that can't appreciate a good looking male, seems like you need to have some boobs and a nice ass to get new phones from VW)
5. chances in switching phones? I love the charge. (even though there aren't many roms\tweaks, the developers that have past through have been outstanding, even when some of them didn't have a charge) I don't love the fact I paid full released price and 2 weeks later it is $200 cheaper and they pretty much decided they don't love us (although GB and talk of ics is nice) I'm sure verizon very much wants to abort the charge.
Call verizon. Explain to them your situation. Let them know your phone is constantly rebooting. You've tried checking battery, hard reseting device, and everything else you could think of. Ask for a warranty replacement as you were given a defective device.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA
Are you out of your 1 year manufactures warranty?
and as for question 4 i would just call...forget takin it in..just tell them you dont have the time..they should send one if your still within your 1 years manufacture warranty that is...
You just call Verizon and give them a reason where they can't help to fix over the phone, they will give you a replacement. In my case, I think something wrong with my phone cause it drain battery like crazy and I just want another one. I told them the screen is not respond to my touch anymore. I have to hit 4/5 times before it registered. That's it I got a new one.
I believe it still is within the manufactures first year. I got it just before we lost unlimited data. I guess I will call them then.
scarygood536 said:
I believe it still is within the manufactures first year. I got it just before we lost unlimited data. I guess I will call them then.
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Thats your best bet. Im sure they'll ship you a new device. Keep us posted.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA
scarygood536 said:
I believe it still is within the manufactures first year. I got it just before we lost unlimited data. I guess I will call them then.
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Click to collapse
Yeah for sure..Call ASAP before you get the update with the diagnostic tool.. Then they can say no there is nothing wrong on their end and not send you one. Just call and complain about the phone rebooting randomly (and cant create the problem, it just happens) and that you want them to send you another cause you didnt pay $$$ for a device to do this blah blah blah... then say you tired factory wipe and everything and your fed up and want a replacement...shouldnt be a problem at all...and again if they say go to the store tell them to PISS OFF you dont have the time for that..let us kno how it turns out
scarygood536 said:
usually when i call verizon they say we cant do anything b\c you are not the account holder regardless if the account holder is sitting next to me and i know their SSN#, account info, any other personal id... I will try tomorrow after work b\c i'm too tired to put up with b\s after work and i'll probably get a camel jocky for my representative
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Click to collapse
Dude you're funny. I hope you get your replacement. Oh and I think any SD card would do.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium
scarygood536 said:
usually when i call verizon they say we cant do anything b\c you are not the account holder regardless if the account holder is sitting next to me and i know their SSN#, account info, any other personal id... I will try tomorrow after work b\c i'm too tired to put up with b\s after work and i'll probably get a camel jocky for my representative
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol..call in to Verizon (611) and tell them that you (your name) need to added to the account and create a password for the account..i am not the primary account holder on my ****, my mom is. So I had my name put on the account and had a password created so now reps ask for the pass i give it to them and we move on to the problem...
EDIT:if they still give you a problem about adding a name then have the primary caller call 611 and tell them to add your name so you dont have to go thru stuff like this..
jager420 said:
lol..call in to Verizon (611) and tell them that you (your name) need to added to the account and create a password for the account..i am not the primary account holder on my ****, my mom is. So I had my name put on the account and had a password created so now reps ask for the pass i give it to them and we move on to the problem...
EDIT:if they still give you a problem about adding a name then have the primary caller call 611 and tell them to add your name so you dont have to go thru stuff like this..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol for me my dad is the account holder but he doesn't know how to do anything so I am the account manager. On their website it says that the account manager has full access to the account, so you could just log into the primary's My Verizon and make yourself a manager.
scarygood536 said:
While I was open in the phone I noticed there was 4 cracks on my chrome rim (probably due to the 10ft drop to solid concrete, just a after thought). So there was no way to take it apart without fully destroying the rim....So now I am missing a screw...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, you dropped your phone on concrete with enough force to damage the internals (which I'm guessing is the cause of all the problems), disassembled it and lost a screw in the process, and now you want to try and get a replacement under warranty due to manufacturer's defect?
Good luck. Just don't be surprised when they back charge you for the cost of the device when they realize you've exchanged a phone you've destroyed. You've voided the warranty several times over so they've got plenty of cause to hit you with an out of warranty fee.
Oh my..
charlie_c said:
So, you dropped your phone on concrete with enough force to damage the internals (which I'm guessing is the cause of all the problems), disassembled it and lost a screw in the process, and now you want to try and get a replacement under warranty due to manufacturer's defect?
Good luck. Just don't be surprised when they back charge you for the cost of the device when they realize you've exchanged a phone you've destroyed. You've voided the warranty several times over so they've got plenty of cause to hit you with an out of warranty fee.
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Click to collapse
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
cliMAKtic said:
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
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Click to collapse
Lol, my friend got an old out of warranty second hand PS2 replaced by writing to Sony and pretending to be a very upset 12 year old. These things do work sometimes
charlie_c said:
So, you dropped your phone on concrete with enough force to damage the internals (which I'm guessing is the cause of all the problems), disassembled it and lost a screw in the process, and now you want to try and get a replacement under warranty due to manufacturer's defect?
Good luck. Just don't be surprised when they back charge you for the cost of the device when they realize you've exchanged a phone you've destroyed. You've voided the warranty several times over so they've got plenty of cause to hit you with an out of warranty fee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dropped my phone maybe 6 months ago, no apparent damage (internal or external) phone still worked great. At the time of the drop the phone was in a case. I'm not really sure how those cracks got on the outside of my phone but my screen is in perfect condition.. I never even disassembled any of it I got all the screws out and saw that if i tried to take it apart further i would have bigger problems, so I put back the screws and one fell out of my hands. I also found the screw, which managed to bounce onto a shelf of my bookshelf. So my charge works, just has a loose connection somewhere. Not surprising seeing how I work a construction job. The phone doesn't look that bad at all it looks barely beat up, besides the small cracks in the rim which you wouldn't know unless you really studied it. There should be no reason to back charge me anything.
cliMAKtic said:
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have to go to church for weeks to make up for some girls I've "dated". I hope i can even that out too. Verizon screws us enough, time to give a little back
scarygood536 said:
I dropped my phone maybe 6 months ago, no apparent damage (internal or external) phone still worked great. At the time of the drop the phone was in a case. I'm not really sure how those cracks got on the outside of my phone but my screen is in perfect condition.. I never even disassembled any of it I got all the screws out and saw that if i tried to take it apart further i would have bigger problems, so I put back the screws and one fell out of my hands. I also found the screw, which managed to bounce onto a shelf of my bookshelf. So my charge works, just has a loose connection somewhere. Not surprising seeing how I work a construction job. The phone doesn't look that bad at all it looks barely beat up, besides the small cracks in the rim which you wouldn't know unless you really studied it. There should be no reason to back charge me anything.
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Click to collapse
Yeah I wouldn't worry about it at all since there's no major damage on the outside of the device...you should be fine
cliMAKtic said:
Ha.. I did that once. I kicked the grapefruit juice out of my box they sent my phone to me in and so I was like, why did you send me a busted up box with a phone that doesn't work?? They were very polite about the exchange (of course, this was only like the third day I'd had it). I went to church after so I think it all evens out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
charlie_c said:
Lol, my friend got an old out of warranty second hand PS2 replaced by writing to Sony and pretending to be a very upset 12 year old. These things do work sometimes
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Click to collapse
People complain about the cost of everything going up, and this is precisely the reason why insurance and other services go up in price. The replacement devices aren't free, and the cost of replacement has to be made up somehow. Congratulations for feeling good about dicking over the honest people in society.
imnuts said:
People complain about the cost of everything going up, and this is precisely the reason why insurance and other services go up in price. The replacement devices aren't free, and the cost of replacement has to be made up somehow. Congratulations for feeling good about dicking over the honest people in society.
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Hey, I don't condone it and it's nothing I've done myself, but people that rationalize that kind of behavior don't understand the harm of it probably. Kind of like SUV drivers that complain when gas prices go up...
imnuts said:
People complain about the cost of everything going up, and this is precisely the reason why insurance and other services go up in price. The replacement devices aren't free, and the cost of replacement has to be made up somehow. Congratulations for feeling good about dicking over the honest people in society.
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Right on the money. People blame the companies over rising prices but they don't realize that profits stay about the same. Kind of like what is driving up medical costs... Frivolous lawsuits by butthurt idiots.
Sent from my handheld Linux computer using electromagnetic radiation.
I don't mind using my warranty, I paid for because I knew my phone would break all my phones, except my samsung phones, stopped working before i even put them through the rigorous days on a construction job. I rather spend the down payment on it than having to buy a new phone full price. I've been dicked by verizon (ex. buying replacement phones a couple months after getting a paid replacement) though so i don't feel bad getting a new device for free.
i don't deny people getting phones for free just to get new ones is wrong and screws over the honest people, but verizon in my eyes, while being a loyal customer for about a decade or so, hasn't been really that honest of a company. Like the whole data plan needed phones. My mom and sister both had the same phone, one need a data the other didn't (due to the timing of when they got the phones)... All the phone had was verizons "mobile web" on EVDO pretty usless itself. But the data plan was forced upon one of them for profit gainsb(data was even blocked on our account at the time). This doesn't even include the trying to charge to transfer contacts and bs fee's fee's. If Big Red didn't have all the members and didn't get the best signal in my area i'd be on a different carrier.
I bought a OnePlus a few months back and have enjoyed the phone. Mine has the bootloader unlocked, has been rooted and I am running CM11 (44) with the Franco kernel (v 34)
Based on my recommend 3 other OnePlus phones were bought.
Three of the 4 (all 64gb) were ok.
The other (16gb) is a mess.
The touchscreen won't register the i (or an 8) in the portrait mode:
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/serj90ekr93k65r/AAD1UxCGxAo3F5ZlUKOqhe6_a
Customer service has requested pics, proof that the phone was running 44 and still they are clueless (the video shows an attempt to press the i results in the o and u registering. Here is the quote from their customer service from the video: "Thank you for getting in touch From your video, we check that your device works well"
At the moment the owner has a dispute filed with PayPal.
If y'all have any suggestions, I am all ears...
Holy hell I thought I was the only one out of the almost-one-million people with this problem
I'm having severe touch screen problems on my OnePlus One as of Monday. It would randomly glitch out, and I tried reverting to CM11S via flashing from fastboot but nothing worked. I sent them a "ticket" which is a weird thing to call a customer care report card but anyway I haven't heard back from them yet (mainly because I sent it about an hour ago)
I really doubt they'll take it seriously :crying: Demand for this phone is still pretty high because of it's off contract price so I don't think compensation should be expected.
I honestly don't know what to do.
rpolansky said:
I bought a OnePlus a few months back and have enjoyed the phone. Mine has the bootloader unlocked, has been rooted and I am running CM11 (44) with the Franco kernel (v 34)
Based on my recommend 3 other OnePlus phones were bought.
Three of the 4 (all 64gb) were ok.
The other (16gb) is a mess.
The touchscreen won't register the i (or an 8) in the portrait mode:
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/serj90ekr93k65r/AAD1UxCGxAo3F5ZlUKOqhe6_a
Customer service has requested pics, proof that the phone was running 44 and still they are clueless (the video shows an attempt to press the i results in the o and u registering. Here is the quote from their customer service from the video: "Thank you for getting in touch From your video, we check that your device works well"
At the moment the owner has a dispute filed with PayPal.
If y'all have any suggestions, I am all ears...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any luck with this? I'm not having any luck either
rdar_93 said:
Any luck with this? I'm not having any luck either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No luck; their customer service keeps upping the ante. First it was take pics, then a video and now they want her to enable pointer location to record gestures, I believe.
She is understandably fed up with the whole thing so she is filing a claim through Paypal. This all started in late December if I recall correctly. Part of the problem is the language difference (or so it appears) with customer service and the fact that different service reps keep getting involved. (and it looks to me like they are intentionally just stringing her along with no intention of really helping her out.)
We started buying these phones here in our business but this experience has made us rethink which vendor we are going to use on a go forward basis.
It is a helluva phone if it arrives ok but this is truly the worst vendor experience I have seen in a long long time.
She sent them a link to this thread; you would think the negative marketing things like this create would prompt them to do the right thing.
Good luck...
rpolansky said:
No luck; their customer service keeps upping the ante. First it was take pics, then a video and now they want her to enable pointer location to record gestures, I believe.
She is understandably fed up with the whole thing so she is filing a claim through Paypal. This all started in late December if I recall correctly. Part of the problem is the language difference (or so it appears) with customer service and the fact that different service reps keep getting involved. (and it looks to me like they are intentionally just stringing her along with no intention of really helping her out.)
We started buying these phones here in our business but this experience has made us rethink which vendor we are going to use on a go forward basis.
It is a helluva phone if it arrives ok but this is truly the worst vendor experience I have seen in a long long time.
She sent them a link to this thread; you would think the negative marketing things like this create would prompt them to do the right thing.
Good luck...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sent them videos as well, but unfortunately there's some sort of 20mb cap on their site per file so I just kept sending stuff that I compressed
I figured that a photo wouldn't really show what was happening. I can post links here if you want me to but honestly I feel her pain.
My device is so hard to use now. I have no idea what happened. Over on the official forums a guy figured out it was a grounding problem caused by the use of glue instead of double sided adhesive that causes the short, which would make sense if your device gets squeezed a little in your pocket, over time the layer would become thinner and thinner until contact between the digitizer and the chassis and it just goes haywire after that.
But I'm no expert and I'm no technician so I am not opening up my device and trying it unless it's an absolute last resort (i.e if they say they cannot help me at all)