A major mess (in my opinion) on the way Nokia handles warranties and repairs/replacements makes all Lumias a no buy for me now.
I bought a Lumia 920 (an amazing black device) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia while working there. The 920 model wasn’t available in Athens yet and getting it through my MO wouldn’t offer something special in price. After exactly 5 days of the best experience I had with a smartphone, things turned bad. But I wasn’t there. I was already in Peru and starting my 3 weeks in Latin America. A typical life for a modern nomad. Mobility is what keeps us connected to work and family… Right? Nokia has another idea of mobility.
The details of the problem can be the content of another post, a problem that has hit (as far as I understand from the fora) A LOT of users of 920. But this problem made the device unusable: overheating and an empty battery in a couple of hours, a camera that is actually destroyed. I contacted Nokia support online to check how I can visit a Nokia service center in Greece, the country that is my base for most of the time and the only place I can drop a device and pick up a repaired or replaced one after a couple of weeks. The “online” response was that my lumia was not covered by warranty in Greece because it was bought outside EU! Wow! I thought duty free shops at airports all over the world try to sell you something that can only be fixed in their country. You have to go back there. And not just at the airport (airport shops will not accept a device to fix) but outside in the city to find a Nokia service center…
I’m not talking about a TV or something for home use. I’m talking about MOBILE DEVICES. Smartphones that we buy somewhere to use somewhere else in the world. Some of us even spend most of the time outside the country which may be our home country and the country that we bought the device. I didn’t contact Greece because I’m Greek. I contacted Greece because this is the place I can drop the device for a fix. If I was planning to stay for a month in Malaysia, I would be contacting their service center because I would expect my smartphone to be fixed there. I need my smartphone. It’s part of my life. Isn’t it true?
I know another friend (he’s or was an MVP too) who had the same problem but buying a device in Europe and travelling to North America. If Nokia insists on this warranty policy, a “non-mobility warranty” that will make their power users, the ones who travel a lot and truly rely on these devices, switch to other manufacturers not because of Windows Phone 8 which is amazing, not because of the smartphone itself which has technology that really surpasses everything else, but just because of a silly decision of someone in customer services…
Nokia, I’m waiting. Till then, Lumias are perfect but their warranty works only where you bought it. Let’s say the Guadalahara airport while on honeymoon…
PS1: I don’t know how HTC or Samsung handle such a situation. I hope they treat their customers in a better way.
PS2: The criticism above is about a smartphone that costs more than a base salary in my country. I wouldn’t expect Nokia or anybody else to provide the same support for eg. Nokia 100 which sells for €27. I would just throw it to the bin…PS3: I accept that a Lumia sold outside EU is covered by 12 months while in EU by 24 months. I believe this is also reflected in the price difference.
HTC and Samsung are the same way. Pretty much any mobile device is required to be serviced in it's country of origin. One reason is ROHS compliance or also known as lead free compliance. While one country might allow items made with lead, other will not. Same goes for the manufacturing. If the device is made in a lead free country then it is fine for both countries. But if it is made in a country that does not enforce lead free than there is a chance that the service companies equipment can can contaminated by the lead in the device.
Other issues in provider exclusivity and other such things. The bottom line is that most mobile devices must be serviced in the country of origin.
Now you could of course just take it to a branch of your provider you bought it from in another country and just exchange it if such an option exist. If not then you will just have to get it serviced in the country you bought it from. That's just they way things are now.
Most of us don't bother with the service. We just take it to our providers and have it exchanged. Let them worry about how to get it serviced.
Unfortunately, that is quite common practice. Mobile phone is no exception. Here in US, most phones are sold by carrier and serviced by carrier for warranty as well. But there are a few internet shops sell mobile phones imported from Europe. If you buy these phones and need warranty service, you will have to send the phone back to the shop and they in turn send back to Europe for warranty service.
Some companies let you pay extra to have a international warranty (but still have limitations). Some like Pioneer, won't even give you any warranty if you didn't purchase their product from authorized dealers even if you bought in the US.
Warranty is cost and any large corporation will try their best to minimize that cost. Why Nokia should be different?
Solarenemy68 said:
HTC and Samsung are the same way. Pretty much any mobile device is required to be serviced in it's country of origin. One reason is ROHS compliance or also known as lead free compliance. While one country might allow items made with lead, other will not. Same goes for the manufacturing. If the device is made in a lead free country then it is fine for both countries. But if it is made in a country that does not enforce lead free than there is a chance that the service companies equipment can can contaminated by the lead in the device.
Other issues in provider exclusivity and other such things. The bottom line is that most mobile devices must be serviced in the country of origin.
Now you could of course just take it to a branch of your provider you bought it from in another country and just exchange it if such an option exist. If not then you will just have to get it serviced in the country you bought it from. That's just they way things are now.
Most of us don't bother with the service. We just take it to our providers and have it exchanged. Let them worry about how to get it serviced.
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Phones should become international warranty based. I had same problem with my HTC while in China. Managed to get to HK to a service centre and got reply that it would cost 300 to fix because it was US phone. I feel your pain. Try to buy phone closest to your home country that is easy to ship to.
foxbat121 said:
Warranty is cost and any large corporation will try their best to minimize that cost. Why Nokia should be different?
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Because Nokia is a European company and laws in Europe are a bit different... Philips was one of the first companies in the world that supported their products with worldwide warranties.
And all my Thinkpads are covered by worldwide warranty (and service). Because they are business tools for a mobile worker that lives somewhere else every week. I expected the same for business smartphones, especially when some of them cost more than a low-end Thinkpad... And travel more... I'm not complaining about TVs and entertainment systems, washing machines or even cars (although I had a BMW serviced in Switzerland under warranty...)
Well as much as you would like it to be that way, that is just not the way the mobile market works. They, the mobile manufacturers also do not care how much you spent on their device and they don't care that you feel that cost justifies service globally. They have their money from you buying the device. That is all they care about. If they have to service it, it will cost them money so they are going to make it as hard as possible and as less desirable for you as possible to service it. That is why you exchange it and let the companies duke it out. If you did not buy it from a provider that is global and offers exchanges then this is pretty much your fault and something that you will just have to deal with. That is just the way the mobile market operates. It sees it's products and it's customers as disposable and a dime a dozen. Loose one and another drops right in as this market will always be here.
Solarenemy68 said:
Well as much as you would like it to be that way, that is just not the way the mobile market works.
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I know exactly how the market operated and how it operates now. I was for 8 years a Microsoft MVP for Mobile Deevices, founded the largest mobility club in my country 12 years ago, worked directly with operators and OEMs to launch new devices and services, have friends in the R&D of all major companies. Working in US and being a customer of Verizon or AT&T is completely different than our case over there. We travel and work A LOT outside one country and the operators are all operating as a different entity in each country. Nokia was ALWAYS the company that you could rely for total support. That''s why they used to be the leader (by far). Things have changed...
There are only a few companies that offer you worldwide warranty and with a lot of those you have to pay extra for it. From what it looks like you won't be able to buy any mobile phones and have worldwide warranty at the moment. So if that is your reason to not go with another Lumia it comes by extension down to not being able to buy any smartphone (as the situation is the same).
I understand that this sucks but it doesn't help to single out Nokia here given that they are pretty much doing the same as everyone else in the industry. Also the title is somewhat misleading given that you DO have warranty for your Lumia phone just that in your situation it's rather difficult to get it to the service center.
StevieBallz said:
Also the title is somewhat misleading given that you DO have warranty for your Lumia phone just that in your situation it's rather difficult to get it to the service center.
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I agree with the rest of what you are saying but regarding the warranty issue (which is what I'm complaining about - the device is amazing) my case is not a special case. What I say is that all sales on airports and places where travellers are attracted to buy phones should state CLEARLY that the warranty is only valid in the specific country and service has to be done in a city of that country. A duty free shop doesn't get back a phone so even if you are transit through the same airport again, it's not enough. If this is everybody's policy, then I raise a flag saying that this has to change. We managed to change the charging connector for all companies, we can do this too...
atsouch said:
I agree with the rest of what you are saying but regarding the warranty issue (which is what I'm complaining about - the device is amazing) my case is not a special case. What I say is that all sales on airports and places where travellers are attracted to buy phones should state CLEARLY that the warranty is only valid in the specific country and service has to be done in a city of that country. A duty free shop doesn't get back a phone so even if you are transit through the same airport again, it's not enough. If this is everybody's policy, then I raise a flag saying that this has to change. We managed to change the charging connector for all companies, we can do this too...
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Same thing with apple. All products have international warranty EXCEPT mobile phones. I do hope they will be the first one to implement this international warranty with mobile phones.
They are doing this to discourage grey market, so what, importer bought it from e.g. NOKIA also, so it's the same sh**.
So i had an HTC One phone from T-Mobile stolen from me in my city's mall and when i called it on an AT&T store display iPhone some dude said he had it! I told him to meet me in front of the mall and he never did :/
anyways we got the phone number deactivated now because of it being off, and T-Mobile told me to go to Phoneclaim.com, so i did and filled out a form with Asurion, and all i need to do is enter the Credit card details but what i am wondering is if the phone i receive will be new or refurbished?'
Here is what it says on the Insurance Details
Device Details:
HTC
ONE
Standard
I hope Standard doesn't mean refurbished
I don't get the hate refurbished devices get, I've had many and they have all been better than new
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
New or Remanufactured
fireflamesniper said:
So i had an HTC One phone from T-Mobile stolen from me in my city's mall and when i called it on an AT&T store display iPhone some dude said he had it! I told him to meet me in front of the mall and he never did :/
anyways we got the phone number deactivated now because of it being off, and T-Mobile told me to go to Phoneclaim.com, so i did and filled out a form with Asurion, and all i need to do is enter the Credit card details but what i am wondering is if the phone i receive will be new or refurbished?'
Here is what it says on the Insurance Details
Device Details:
HTC
ONE
Standard
I hope Standard doesn't mean refurbished
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Great question! Our goal is to provide like-for-like replacement devices for our customers. We do use both new and remanufactured phones in order to achieve this goal. While we can request a new device, it's always based on availability at the time of your claim. Rest assured, all of our remanufactured phones use 100% OEM parts. We are so confident in the quality of these products that all of our phones do come with a warranty and we will replace your device at no charge if it has a warranty failure. Please let us know if you need assistance filing your claim. We are here to help!
Thanks!
Asurion Social Media Team @AsurionCares
Hi, I"am checking to see if anyone uses at&t in the northwest ohio area, mainly around Fostoria ????
I"am thinking about getting at&t prepaid or straight talk at&t as both include 4g lte.
Now what I"am weary about is there is actually any coverage around here. I have looked at their maps and I dont really trust coverage maps.
I"am sure 4g is not in Fostoria yet with at&t but its the call signal and 3g that I"am worried about and I dont want to port my number to them then find out there is no good signal here.
I know verizon has the best and sprint is not bad but I hate verizon with a passion and I would imagine they ( at&t ) should have 4g lte here with in the next year but I just want to know from users personally what the at&t service is like around here as I live between west milgrove & fostoria and I just would like to know if its a good choice to go with at&t here ?
Anyone in the area that could comment please do, thanks.
I am in Ohio and travel quite a bit, If I remember right you can sign a contract and have two weeks to on the device and three days to terminate service .
How do I cancel service?
Call the number on your invoice or receipt to cancel service. Early termination fees may apply. See Returns by Device.
AT&T will refund any activation fee you might have paid if you cancel service within three days of activation.
Please note that you may have to return any handsets and accessories purchased with the service before service can be cancelled.
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/returnpolicy.html#fbid=rigTN6xWt4C
F2504x4 said:
I am in Ohio and travel quite a bit, If I remember right you can sign a contract and have two weeks to on the device and three days to terminate service .
How do I cancel service?
Call the number on your invoice or receipt to cancel service. Early termination fees may apply. See Returns by Device.
AT&T will refund any activation fee you might have paid if you cancel service within three days of activation.
Please note that you may have to return any handsets and accessories purchased with the service before service can be cancelled.
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/returnpolicy.html#fbid=rigTN6xWt4C
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Yes, not being my first rodeo I know all about that the 3 day no fee return and 14 day return policy are they are an industry standard with all the 3 main carriers. I just didnt have to get a phone to find out its a lot easier for me if I know their is good service here with at&t because I think they only have the old alltel towers here and if that is the case then coverage is anything but optimal. Not what I was posting asking for but thank you for responding anyway.
So here is my story :
I had a V10, and I was just listening to music when it bootlooped. It wasn't even running hot. So I contacted LG and they told me they would fix it for free if I sent it to them. So I sent it(I live in Albania and my device is from Verizon so I had to send it to US for repair and they could only return it to a US address, okay I understand they only operate in US). So I sent it and today I received an e-mail saying to me that it was out of warranty and I had to pay 79$ to fix it, or 179$ for complete refubrish. Are they kidding me? Anyway I will not pay that fee. I will sing that sue thing that is online. Can anyone redirect me to that link? Thanks in advance!
I have had heared about this technique they are using. They want some payment for you but if refuse to pay and let them send the phone back, it usually comes repaired for free.
So my Axon 7 doesn't charge properly, and I wanted to get it advance replaced. Last week this is what I received back from dfcomputer, the official Canadian warranty provider for ZTE.
"Dear ZTE customer,
We have refund your deposit $650 due to shortage of replacement devices and parts, the service is closed.
"
And:
"Dear ZTE customer,
We currently do not have the device in stock. Head office does not provide the shipping information according to when the devices will arrive. Please check back with us later."
Then I checked back with them a week later:
"Dear ZTE customer,
Head office closed advance service. We only can do standard repair service. If you want to send the phone in and we will try to repair your device for you."
Newegg is still advertising phones being sold as Passport 1.0 warranty, which at this point is untrue.
If you're in Canada, beware buying one of these devices. And probably, in general.
If ZTE doesn't step up this will be the last device I buy from them. Otherwise, I love the phone.