Related
So I just got my evo back from BB black tie for a screen replacement (took them 40 days!).
Anyway, before I sent it in everything was perfect - the screen was just cracked. I was completely stock 2.2, no root no nothing, 100% sprint stock. When I sent it in I had all my apps, data, etc on it and when I got it back it was wiped. Now I cant even get through 30 mins use before it locks up on me and I have to reboot. It will absolutely not work with a memory card, and every time I try to charge it the screen flickers and it locks up.
I have reset it like 20 times and I still cant get it to work worth a damn. At first it would work for a few hours, but it seems to be locking up more frequently. It seems to be getting more unstable by the day.
What the hell?? Is this a hardware problem or a software problem? I cant figure out if it is the port on my cell phone or something else but it seems to charge fine when its off.
I want to root it, but I dont want to brick my phone if it locks up or something! Its really random, sometimes it will work for 2 or 3 hours and sometimes it will lock up within 5 minutes of turning the phone on.
Best buy pretty much told me to wait 30+ days or **** off, and I absolutely refuse to use the htc hero they gave me as a loner. What should I do, try to revert back to 2.1, root, then flash another 2.2 rom and see if its OK? Or do I pretty much have to submit to bestbuy's absolutely ridiculous service and waiting period??
What would you do in my shoes?
um?
take it back and tell them that! I have dealt with best buy and they are always willing to work with people. Maybe its just in my area. but if they broke it they should fix it. thats the way things work.
have you attempted any sort of factory restore? I would start there first since your phone was completely stock as you say
Take it back to the damn store and be done with it. Over.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Hey I work at Best Buy in the mobile phones department and in my opinion you should take it back to the store and speak to the manager of the cell phones department. Get him to understand your situation because as a last resort we could make an exception and replace it with a brand new EVO. However that is up to the manager's call because they take a big hit. The policy is to send it out to service 3 times and after 3 times there is still problems we would replace it with a new product. Just go there and speak with them, Best Buy always aim to deliver good customer service even if it means losing out on couple hundreds of dollars.
Im having the same problem. I just got my phone back from best buy and my phone has been acting wierd ever since.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
easy fix FACTORY RESET !! start over
As someone else said, maybe its just my area(Arlington, TX) but if you go to the cell department and speak to the manager and explain what you told us, they should help, think of it like this, right now we have new hardware releasing almost every month, that means to them that you are ALWAYS a potential sale, especially if you have been a long time customer already, they don't want to lose that, they should help as long as you can remain calm!Good luck, worse comes to worse drive to Arlington, I know the guys at my store will take care of you
I have reset the phone several times with no success
And I'll go back today. I talked to the "head" geek and they didnt even look at my phone. They were just like, we'll send it out and hopefully it wont take 40 days like last time. I was about to flip a **** so I just left after they told me there was absolutely nothing they could do to speed up the process or give me a refurb'd unit.
Looks like im going to just have to send it in and wait. Im really regretting this **** black tie protection plan. ****ing best buy, they should put that on the warranty chart "Black Tie: 30 days, Sprint: 5 days" for replacement. I never even considered weather they would give me a refurbished unit of make me wait.
The dude that sold it to me just kept repeating "deductible deductible deductible"
not to be a devils advocate but you did break the screen and that means you had to do something to the phone. how are you so positive that whatever broke the screen didnt cause additional issues? Also no tech support is going to test a phone for hours on end to see if it freezes up. If it works when it turns on and runs a few minutes it is likly sent back.
Not trying to say that you shouldnt have recieved your phone back in working order just not sure you have a right to say that best buy wreaked your phone when obivously you had to do something to it to break the screen and it could easily have caused additional damage.
Anyway take it in talk to the Cell Phone dept manager. the geek squad cant make the call to give you a new phone all they can do is tell you what they are allowed to do for servicing it. Be respectful and explain the situation calmly and there is a good chance they will help you out. I agree 40 days is rediculous for having a phone get repaired! hope they can switch it out for you.
just take it to a Sprint S and R center, they will AE it, youll have a replacement within two business days. HUrry because S and R centers wont cover warranty come Nov 1st youll have to have ESRP or TEP after then.
at my best buy i would be able to return it for another evo.. it out of stock i would get the epic and pay the difference.. i got the black tie protection its 10 bucks a month
I never let BB or geek squad touch my stuff unless it's to replace it for a new one, you never know if they know what they are doing or if they are just some retard they hired 20min ago.
omegasun18 said:
not to be a devils advocate but you did break the screen and that means you had to do something to the phone. how are you so positive that whatever broke the screen didnt cause additional issues? Also no tech support is going to test a phone for hours on end to see if it freezes up. If it works when it turns on and runs a few minutes it is likely sent back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, I dont want to come off as rude but he barely glanced at he the whole time I was talking. He seemed more interested in fiddling with another phone he was working on I guess.
The phone was really fine when I sent it in, I was using it or about 3 weeks with a cracked screen and everything was perfect. The charging port was perfect before I sent it in, and now it causes the phone to freeze if I so much as look at it while its plugged in. There is obviously something wrong with the hardware and the crack in the screen was fairly small and not really a factor in the function of the device.
Im going back today and ill try to talk to the cell phone dept manager. There is only a regular sprint store in Boulder and I dont have a car to get around (bus system is great here), should I not even bother going there?
What should I say when I go to BB? I feel like last time they trapped me into 2 options (send it in and wait a month+ for service, or deal with it. What other options do they have?
Do they have the ability to issue me a refurb? Can I pay for faster service?
Those Best Buy plans are awful. I had one on my droid, and when the microphone stopped working, I took it in. They had it back in 2 weeks, but they changed the speaker. I made them test it in the store, and of course the microphone still didn't work. They said they will send it back out and "escalate it". Yeah right, 4 weeks later, it still wasn't back. The "manager" at the store said there was nothing they could do. I finally had to report them to my state attorney general's office to get my phone back. I wouldn't take one of these plans for free, and will never have anything to do with the incompetent geek squad again.
First of all, you spoke to the wrong person... Do not speak to Geek Squad, talk to the cellphone department manager...
This is why you just stay the hell out of a worst buy....
jus sayin...
Success!
Went back to bestbuy, they told me the same thing as before so I went to the sprint repair store (about 30 mins away).
They looked at, and told me it was a defective charging circuit, swapped out a new phone for me, and gave me $5 off my otterbox. I was in and out in 25 mins and I got to play with the Samsung Epic.
No questions, no receipt, and absolutely no hassle. It was almost unbelievable.
Only problem is my phone is now a revision 003 (used to be 002) and it has some light leak issues along the bottom under the buttons but I think I can deal with it.
**** Best Buy, last time ill ever not go through Sprint
azneon said:
I wouldn't take one of these plans for free, and will never have anything to do with the incompetent geek squad again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it doesn't help and wont change your mind but in all fairness the geek squad itself doesn't actually do the repair it is shipped off to a 3rd party repair center. Only repairs done in store are actually touched by the geek squad and trust me they hate the 3rd party repair station as much as you do. When i ran a geek squad about 5 years ago we begged best buy and our district every month when we saw them to get rid of the repair centers or at least try to find ones that could handle the repairs instead of sending back things in the same or sometimes even worse condition then we sent it to them. Best buy has always done this for the repairs and warranties and it does give there geek squad some what of a bad name since you have to go through them to have it sent out.
Just thought i would point out that it isnt actually the geek squad that is doing your repairs and they normally have their hands tied on what they can actually do to help on anything but basic computer repairs. Whats funny is they used to (and may still) grade the geek squad on there turn around time in store (they always wanted 24 hour turn around time for in store repairs) but have never seemed to care about the ridiculous times for service center repairs.
glad Sprint helped you out OP.
omegasun18 said:
I know it doesn't help and wont change your mind but in all fairness the geek squad itself doesn't actually do the repair it is shipped off to a 3rd party repair center. Only repairs done in store are actually touched by the geek squad and trust me they hate the 3rd party repair station as much as you do. When i ran a geek squad about 5 years ago we begged best buy and our district every month when we saw them to get rid of the repair centers or at least try to find ones that could handle the repairs instead of sending back things in the same or sometimes even worse condition then we sent it to them. Best buy has always done this for the repairs and warranties and it does give there geek squad some what of a bad name since you have to go through them to have it sent out.
Just thought i would point out that it isnt actually the geek squad that is doing your repairs and they normally have their hands tied on what they can actually do to help on anything but basic computer repairs. Whats funny is they used to (and may still) grade the geek squad on there turn around time in store (they always wanted 24 hour turn around time for in store repairs) but have never seemed to care about the ridiculous times for service center repairs.
glad Sprint helped you out OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand people make mistakes (they changed the speaker and not the microphone), but what made me mad, was they didn't want to do anything about it. I did talk to the manager of the cell phone department (I waited around until she came back from lunch), and she would do nothing. She even asked what I wanted her to do for me, and I wanted the phone replaced since the Droid was in stock and it was past 30 days. She said "I can't do that." I will still shop at Best Buy for little things, but never a phone or major purchase, and definitely not a warranty. Just read their customer service website forums on warranty issues, many people have problems getting prompt service.
ok, I know we already have a topic about sprints tep changes, but as I read through it I was so tired of reading all these assumptions and people stating incorrect things, so to clear it up. Also remember this may not be regional, I don't know how sprint is rolling it out, at least in the south east (im in NC) its all rolled out as of oct 23rd.
First off im a service and repair technician at a corporate store. We rolled this out on the 23rd (at least in the southeast, idk of other areas around the US)
pricing is still the same, 7$ a month. But now it covers almost everything except liquid damage, board damage, lost and stolen.
So if someone comes in with a completely shattered evo screen (as I saw 3 today), if they have TEP we replace it with a brand new screen, if we don't have one we exchange in store, if we don't have one, we order a replacement. Basically we now cover physical damage in store. The only time we don't is if its board damage, say the phone got ran over, obviously the board is destroyed. But as far as cracked screens, broken hinges etc... its all covered.
ALSO now for people that do not have TEP, before if they had physical damage we would charge them 120$ in store for repair, now its only 35$ to repair say a broken screen (good news!), except thats for every visit, sprint is now not authorizing the 1 year manufacturers warranty in store, so say your blackberry trackball pops out and you don't have TEP you can either pay sprint 35$ or go to blackberry. But the nice thing is its 35$ for ALL repairs, except the liquid, board damage etc..
I just felt the need to post this because I was tired of reading incorrect posts. Hopefully this makes sense, because I typed this in minor frustration lol. But I think this is great (for the customer, I see alot of phones now lol) But its REALLLLY putting value in sprints TEP now
So if any questions please ask away.
Thanks for clearing that up. I am switching to Sprint next week so this news has been welcomed.
good post ! tyvm
no problem. I hope this makes sense, I just went on a quick typing rant and haven't really read over it. But I think this REALLY adds value to TEP and makes it worth it. And to the people who said sprints technicians don't know anything they are worthless. Honestly.. Just because your local store may be bad, or not up to par doesn't mean they all are. At my store we try to be as fair as possible, but when someone comes in every 2 weeks for the same problem for the past 5 months, yeah we may refuse to repair, or notate the account for repeat offenders. But at the store and District I work in, we all do the best (also were the number 1 store for customer service in the District so that may help)
If you don't have insruance, does the phone need to be on your phone line? Lets say i have a phone in my cabinet with a broken screen, could i go and get it fixed for 35$?
For $35 I might just take the case off my EVO and let her run around naked!
Thanks for clearing that up! I live in the South east as well. +1
yes we can repair the phone but it has to be on the account, and active for atleast 30 days.
So I know this is off topic but how do technicians treat Evos with hosed 4g keys cause I want to root and pay $7 for insurance but fear hosing my 4g which I use.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Great information, thanks. One question though: what if you do have liquid damage and you pay for TEP? What is the repair cost then? What about lost phones? Also, like already mentioned, what about rooted phones? This is insurance after all and not warranty.
I ask because I have Best Buy Black Tie Protection now' but with these changes to TEP I'm thinking about canceling the Best Buy plan and switching to TEP. Thanks for your info.
what about everyday wear and tear i have scratches from dropping my phone a lot on the bottom of the phone can that be fixed for free?
Is their insurance still through Asurion? I went ten years with never losing or damaging a phone and the one time I lost my HTC touch I was charged $100 for a piece of crap that had a busted speaker and a glitchy looking screen. And to top it off the girl at sprint who looked at my phone said the busted speaker wasn't too bad and that the speaker phone still worked fine...
I am not impressed with Sprint's insurance at all.
ok, well if liquid you go through asurion, 100$. Same for lost or stolen. As far as the 4g queston, not sure what you mean by hosed 4g?
and for the question about cosmetic damage, thats the one thing im not 100% sure about, I will have to get more info on that.
And yeah still through asurion. But now the only time you go through them is if;
liquid damage, lost, stolen, board damage.
samrozzi said:
ok, well if liquid you go through asurion, 100$. Same for lost or stolen. As far as the 4g queston, not sure what you mean by hosed 4g?
and for the question about cosmetic damage, thats the one thing im not 100% sure about, I will have to get more info on that.
And yeah still through asurion. But now the only time you go through them is if;
liquid damage, lost, stolen, board damage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hosed 4G means the RSA keys are damaged and it won't authenticate. Each phone has it's own key, so it's not something that could likely be fixed in store.
Would a phone get replaced under that circumstance?
hmm maybe since im not familiar with the term, But we have seen phones with 4g not connecting or not able to establish a connection and sometimes we have to exchange it (which thats covered), but lately we've been pretty good at restoring data to the devices but a pain in the ass, so exchanging is usually easier
i had a small crack on the top right of my phone (next to front camera) for a month now (a drunk drop getting out of the car)
it wasnt a big deal.
well yesterday i was holding my daughter and was taking my evo out of my pocket......it fell on the tile face down.
i picked it up and my screen was shattered but the phone still works.
anyway i went to sprint today and got a new screen put on my phone for free within 40 minutes. i also have the $7/mo insurance plan
best part is i have a CM6 root/rom on my phone and they didnt say a thing.
i have an 003 version and since the new screen was put on, no more light leakage either
I still don't understand why a customer needs to be charged $35 for warranty work though.
Shattered screen? yes
Defect in phone? no...should be a free repair if it's under the 1 year warranty
Well I know now after reading this Im happy I told Bestbuy to shove their insurance and switched back to Sprints !
m4rk0358 said:
I still don't understand why a customer needs to be charged $35 for warranty work though.
Shattered screen? yes
Defect in phone? no...should be a free repair if it's under the 1 year warranty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your not. Call the manufacturers, use their warranty and take a month off without a phone.
exactly dirtyshroomz. Because yous till have the 1 year through company. But we will do things like software defects, and basic s/w based things at no charge
i have had an evo since the day it came out, and about a month and a half ago i dropped it on the ground. the screen shattered, and i didn't have insurance. at the time the sprint guy said it wasn't a big deal, because the cost for repair was about the same either way. i paid about $130 and it was fixed half an hour later.
lately, about a month and a half later, i noticed some weird issues with the touchscreen. it was jumping around as if i had my finger on it when i wasn't touching it. i formatted the sdcard, did a factory reset, wiped everything, and loaded a stock rooted rom on it. it was fine for a couple hours, then i noticed the issues again. random scrolling, opening apps when i wasnt touching the screen, etc. i noticed the Y and G keys are now not working. i downloaded a screen test app that records where you have touched the screen with a white line. while sliding my finger up and down all across the screen, there is a noticeable band running vertically across the general area of the Y and G keys that does not record any touch activity even if i slide my finger there.
i took the phone to a sprint store and showed them. they asked if i had insurance and i said no. they said "well you could get insurance and then have it repaired for $35." i asked "why should i have to pay to have something repaired that i didn't break? the replacement screen is obviously defective." the guy said "well you should have insurance." and i again said "why do i need insurance for something that went bad on its own?" and he said "you had the repair done over 30 days ago so you'll have to pay to have it repaired again."
i have no idea why i should have to pay for repairs for a phone, regardless if i have insurance or not, when i didn't do anything to damage the phone. im going to go to the actual repair store here in chicago, but i doubt theyll say anything different. if they can't repair it for free, im seriously considering switching to a different phone company. this ridiculous service/repair policy along with the horrible battery life (the guy actually asked how my battery life was and tried to sell me an extended battery, and also tried to sell me a case... neither of which i care about), ridiculous $10/month fee, and lack of built-in tethering makes me want to switch back to tmobile which was a great company when i had the G1.
does anyone have any tips they can give me to get this fixed for free? or is that a hopeless idea?
thanks.
When you had the repair done, I'm sure there was a warranty period on the repair itself. Do you have any documentation showing what that timeframe is? It seems to me that if the screen repair warranty is up, you may be stuck paying for the new repair. Have you tried calling sprint with *2 and explaining the situation? I went through a similar situation with the screen developing a large white spot. It took many calls to *2 until somebody was willing to work with me. Try that. If you are not getting the answers you want, hang up and call right back. My persistence worked out eventually, but like I said, it was a time-consuming ordeal. Good luck.
i understand that there was a warranty associated with the last repair, but it still doesn't make any sense to me that a problem i am having with the screen has nothing to do with anything i did. the shattered screen is not the problem (the screen did not get shattered again, which was what the original repair was for). the touchscreen is simply not working properly. am i supposed to get insurance, pay for that each month, and then pay $35 now and again every 45 days if the problem continues? doesn't make much sense to me, but that seems to be how sprint operates. i will take your advice and call *2 after i get turned away at the actual repair facility that i'm on my way to now. thanks for your advice.
Go to another store and show them the problem but do not mention anything about the screen being replaced before, unless they noted your account. Hopefully they could replace it/fix it under warranty
Welcome to Sprint's "screw the customer" routine. Ive dealt with similar issues in the past.
Like others have said, the repair they did should have a warranty to it, just like if you go to get your car fixed, it usually has a 90 day warranty on the fix itself. Go back to where they fixed it, and talk to the manager. Explain your situation, that the repair obviously was faulty.
If that doesnt work, call *2, and ask to speak to account services. Explain your situation to them, how you are not at fault here, and shouldnt be treated this way as a valued customer. Tell them you will cancel your service if they dont help you resolve this issue. When you tell them that, they will bend over backwards to keep you, and hopefully send you a repacement phone.
I would say your best bet is calling *2 several times and trying to get a person who will help. Usually if you bounce around enough you may get lucky. Although, I have noticed that over the last 6 months they have really tightened down and become less willing to make exceptions. But these situations is what the insurance is for. If your phone was defective in the first 30 days, Sprint would repair it or replace it for free regardless of insurance, after that it's on the customer if you don't have insurance, regardless of the issue. If you had insurance right now you could get it replaced free with no deducible. I had a similar problem with my original EVO that I had since launch day last month. The touchscreen would just start clicking in the middle of the screen all on it's down. I have the insurance, so they replaced it with no questions asked. Your situation is sort of like a laptop, they only come with a certain warranty, and then if it breaks after that it's on you to fix it unless you have extra insurance or an extended warranty regardless of why it malfunctioned. I'm not a big fan of extra insurance either, but on a phone it is really worth it. Also, I am pretty sure ALL phone companies have the same sort of policy when it comes to fixing phones, so I doubt going to a different carrier would help you any. If your phone breaks without insurance through any provider after 30 days its coming out of your wallet. I would say, you might as well get the insurance and pay the $35 to get it fixed. That sounds like a good deal to me, because last night I broke the glass on my second evo, and with insurance the deductible to replace the phone is $100... so $35 sounds like a deal to me. If you don't want to do that, the only other option I see is going on eBay and buying a new screen/digitizer for $49 and putting it in yourself.
wmblalock said:
I would say your best bet is calling *2 several times and trying to get a person who will help. Usually if you bounce around enough you may get lucky. Although, I have noticed that over the last 6 months they have really tightened down and become less willing to make exceptions. But these situations is what the insurance is for. If your phone was defective in the first 30 days, Sprint would repair it or replace it for free regardless of insurance, after that it's on the customer if you don't have insurance, regardless of the issue. If you had insurance right now you could get it replaced free with no deducible. I had a similar problem with my original EVO that I had since launch day last month. The touchscreen would just start clicking in the middle of the screen all on it's down. I have the insurance, so they replaced it with no questions asked. Your situation is sort of like a laptop, they only come with a certain warranty, and then if it breaks after that it's on you to fix it unless you have extra insurance or an extended warranty regardless of why it malfunctioned. I'm not a big fan of extra insurance either, but on a phone it is really worth it. Also, I am pretty sure ALL phone companies have the same sort of policy when it comes to fixing phones, so I doubt going to a different carrier would help you any. If your phone breaks without insurance through any provider after 30 days its coming out of your wallet. I would say, you might as well get the insurance and pay the $35 to get it fixed. That sounds like a good deal to me, because last night I broke the glass on my second evo, and with insurance the deductible to replace the phone is $100... so $35 sounds like a deal to me. If you don't want to do that, the only other option I see is going on eBay and buying a new screen/digitizer for $49 and putting it in yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Under the new Sprint policy revealed here on XDA, isn't a non-TEP screen replacement, or anything else, $35 per job?
Update:
I went to a Sprint repair store (can't go to the original one because I moved across the country). They took the phone to the back room and came out five minutes later. The guy said "the tech said to get that touch screen test app off your phone because it isn't a good representation of what's wrong" ... I said "okay, well that section of the screen is clearly not accepting touch input" and he said to call a 1800 number to do a factory reset (?!) so I left and called that number and it was disconnected. haha.
I called *2, went through a bunch of menus, and it told me to call some 1800 number from a different phone. I got some guy who walked me through a factory reset which of course did not work. He said he would connect me to tech support, who I thought I was already talking to. Told her the problem and that the reset didn't work. She said it was a hardware problem and I said yes, and said I know it isn't her fault but that I didn't think it was fair for me to pay for a defective screen. She said she was making some notes in my account and was going to transfer me to an escalation manager. That person listened to my complaint again which I tried to word in a polite way. I didn't threaten to cancel my account but was ready to say something. I told her I would like to have a replacement phone since this one seems to have issues. She asked if it had been replaced before, I said no. She asked for my mailing address and email and put me on hold for about five to ten minutes. During that time, I got an email outlining my exchange order.
The exchange order notes that I could have to pay $75 to $125 for the replacement as well as some other fees, but she never mentioned anything about me paying at all so I'm prepared to call up and complain again if they try to charge me. I mean, I realize that's a policy but they never mentioned fees on the phone. I mean, i might as well have paid the $35 if I didn't mind fees.
Another thing to note is that when the guy at the store came out of the back room he had the battery cover off my phone and said the sensor showed it had gotten wet. I have never gotten it wet, and he said it was my fault if I kept it in my pocket. I will call and complain again if they charge me for returning a wet phone, because its not my fault if its such a poor design that minor sweat or pocket humidity can make it malfunction! I don't mean to nitpick but come on HTC...
one thing i HATE about calling any tech company getting shifted around to this person then to this person etc etc
wrb123 said:
i have had an evo since the day it came out, and about a month and a half ago i dropped it on the ground. the screen shattered, and i didn't have insurance. at the time the sprint guy said it wasn't a big deal, because the cost for repair was about the same either way. i paid about $130 and it was fixed half an hour later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ask them what kind of warranty they provided with the repair?
No, I didn't (and still don't) think it mattered. If I break something, like I did, I expect to pay for it or have insurance cover it. Since I didn't have insurance, I was okay with paying. While I don't expect a repair to last forever, I think it is reasonable to expect the phone be repaired to like-new condition or with a new screen. Then, if I use the phone normally, with or without insurance, I expect the phone to function normally for at least the length of the contract.
Expectations and reality are two different things. Why don't you call the store and ask them how long they warranty their repairs and go from there.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I don't know what this guy is talking about! First with how much this phone cost why wouldn't you have insurance on it! It only equals 85 bucks for the year way less then the price of a new or used phone even with the 100 you have to pay to get a replacement your still making out good! I jumped in the pool with my phone and even though it still worked I got a replacement for a 100 no hassles! And my screen went hay wire on the replacement and when they couldn't repair it I got another one for free! I dropped my phone and damage the front facing camera took it to the Sprint store and got it fixed for free! So stop being cheap and get insurance
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I am already getting a replacement phone for free, without insurance, if you read the entire thread.
As far as "being cheap" and "just getting insurance" you are citing two incidents where you caused damage to your phone. I agree that you or I should be expected to have insurance to cover damage to our phones that we cause. I am talking about a screen defect (I didn't drop my phone a second time and crack the screen a second time - the screen stopped accepting touch input in a huge area). people should expect more from electronics manufacturers and the phone companies that essentially work with them by accepting and promoting new phones. Electronics used to last, even when they had moving parts. Now we have a generation of people who are fine with devices that frequently go bad and having insurance to cover it. It seems to me Sprint and HTC are the cheap ones, pumping out thousands of the next "iphone killer" with poor batteries, screens, usb ports, etc.
The "issue" you are having with Sprint is that they no longer cover in warranty repairs at no cost. The phone comes with a 1yr warranty thru HTC. If you would like free in warranty repairs call HTC. Good luck with that one by the way. Normally you are responsible for shipping the device to the manufacture and you would be obviously without your phone for the duration of the repair. The manufacture usually inspects the phone much more closely as well. When I worked at another carrier we used to receive photos of corrosion internally of equipment that they determined was not repairable. Even though the external indicators showed no such damage.
If you have TEP $7/month you would receive replacement equipment for in warranty repairs if it can not be repaired by an in store technician. TEP covers all manufacture warranty and non-warranty items in house. If it is board level damage, water damage, lost stolen, or broken beyond repair it will be replaced by asurion for the $100 deductible.
Any warrantied item without insurance will cost $35 for sprint provided repairs. Exception being software updates. If the phone is out of warranty all repairs, software updates, etc will cost $35.
The incident when my phone went on the fritz and was doing the same screen things yours was I got a replacement free of charge!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
My "issue" is also that sprint was providing in warranty repairs for one year when I bought this phone. Now they're trying to change that and then saying "oh just get insurance because its a good idea and would cover this." No. I'm getting a free replacement which is what I deserve. There is another thread that explains this change in policy.
bnick007 said:
The "issue" you are having with Sprint is that they no longer cover in warranty repairs at no cost. The phone comes with a 1yr warranty thru HTC. If you would like free in warranty repairs call HTC. Good luck with that one by the way. Normally you are responsible for shipping the device to the manufacture and you would be obviously without your phone for the duration of the repair. The manufacture usually inspects the phone much more closely as well. When I worked at another carrier we used to receive photos of corrosion internally of equipment that they determined was not repairable. Even though the external indicators showed no such damage.
If you have TEP $7/month you would receive replacement equipment for in warranty repairs if it can not be repaired by an in store technician. TEP covers all manufacture warranty and non-warranty items in house. If it is board level damage, water damage, lost stolen, or broken beyond repair it will be replaced by asurion for the $100 deductible.
Any warrantied item without insurance will cost $35 for sprint provided repairs. Exception being software updates. If the phone is out of warranty all repairs, software updates, etc will cost $35.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a good explanation of what changed. It actually used to be like this way back in the day wth Nextel before the merger - you could get a warranty replacement for free, or you could pay $35 for the convenience of walking into the store and picking it up the same day. I'm not sure when it changed to free warranty repairs but you have to pay more for out of warranty repairs (first it was $35 or $55, depending on what's wrong, then later $99 for dumbphones and $119 for smartphones), but now it's essentially back to how it was to begin with.
Overall, It's probably a better value, and you're probably still better off without insurance. Think about it this way - suppose you keep a phone for 2 years, and it breaks once a year - once under warranty and once out of warranty. With the new plan, that's a total cost of $70 ($35 + $35). With the old plan, the first repair would be covered and the second wouldn't. so that'd be $119. Now obviously, that's a hypothetical, you probably don't need to get it repaired that often. but personally, I find that I generally don't need any repairs until I've owned it for a year or so anyway. So it's better for my purposes, although others might disagree.
Regarding TEP - in the long run you're not saving money unless your phone is lost or stolen, and even then you're out $100 for the deductible. Suppose you're phone is stolen once in the same hypothetical 2 yr period (since after 2 yrs you could get a discounted upgrade): You'll save $449.99 on a new phone at MSRP, but you will have paid $268 in premiums and the deductible. If your phone isn't stolen / water damaged / completely destroyed, you're out $168. I don't know about you, but in the last 11 yrs that I've owned cell phones, I've never had that happen - I've needed repairs, but have never been in a situation when I'd need to place an insurance claim. And the $35 you'll save on a repair with tep is only 5 months' premium - surely nobody needs a repair every 5 months!
The bottom line is that all insurance is a losing proposition in the long run - if it weren't likely that you'd pay more in premiums than you get in claims, insurance companies wouldn't make any money. Personally, i only insure those things that I absolutely can't afford to replace out of pocket - my car, house, health life, etc.
Anyhow, sorry to go on like that, but it's just a topic that's been bouncing around in my head recently.
(and a bit of fair disclosure, I'm a Sprint Nextel employee, but what I write here is purely my personal opinion)
Raheem387 said:
The incident when my phone went on the fritz and was doing the same screen things yours was I got a replacement free of charge!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good deal
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Good luck, I have to wonder though if the fight, frustration and possible disappointment is really worth it.
i noticed the other day my bezel is cracked near the power,volume, and hdmi areas. Sprint said 100 to fix because they would only offer me a refurb. is there anywhere i can get the bezel and replace it myself?
Somehow I don't think you brought it to a corporate repair store, or you did so before October 23rd.
Sent from my HTC EVO
I just did last friday, has sprint officially addressed this? If so I will call tomorrow to complain.
It's been my experience with Sprint that it's touch and go depending on who you're working with. I've had one rep tell me one thing only to call back in a week later and be told the total opposite. I would continue to pursue the issue until forced to pay the $100.
Any suggestions on how to get this fixed? I would even be willing to buy the part since it should be less than 100
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I had dropped my phone and cracked the screen a couple of weeks ago.i took my phone to sprint and they replaced the entire half of the phone(which includes the screen,bezel,volume and power buttons and the speaker grill)in under 30 min for $35.I didn't have insurance.
phone looks brand new,and my new screen is even better than my old one,colors are alot sharper!
i would be ok with paying 35 for it to be fixed. suggestions? there is only 1 corporate repair store in my area i believe.
Official sprint policy is to repair any damage outside of fire, liquid or "total destruction" (the board is in more than 2 pieces) for free under TEP or $35 if you don't have TEP. Loss, theft, fire, liquid and destroyed phones go through assurion for $100/$50. This took effect on October 23rd.
Sent from my HTC EVO
Thanks, I have tep so I will go back
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
If I understand the newTEP stuff, this should actually cost me nothing?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
yup i had the same issue with the phone showing a crack right by the power button. i also had bright white spots on my screen. took it to a sprint corporate store and they replaced the screen and bezel at no charge. took them about an hr they were busy
Burksdb said:
yup i had the same issue with the phone showing a crack right by the power button. i also had bright white spots on my screen. took it to a sprint corporate store and they replaced the screen and bezel at no charge. took them about an hr they were busy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i live in south florida but dont know where to go. my mic stopped working all of a sudden. i try to buy it off ebay and the guy told me dont waste your money on buying the back bezel because the mic is in the motherboard meaning i would have to replace the whole phone. what are my options here?
just take it to a sprint corporate store and let them take a look at it.
i called sprint, and then took it back to the same store. the store told me if i wanted it fixed to smash my phone and then call insurance.
so, i guess back to the original question. where can i buy the bezel to replace it myself since the store doesn't want to help and the next closest corp. store w/ repair is 250miles away.
Wait wait wait.....the store rep told you to 'smash the phone'?! Get that in writing! Lol
Sent from my Evo
Call Customer Service and tell them what's going on and what the rep at the store advised you to do. According to the new TEP policy physical damage is covered in store with no deductible as long as its not damaged beyond repair. That means you don't pay anything to get it fixed. Call customer service and they *should* be able to help you out with this. I would not pay $100 for new screen/bezel when you have TEP. That's a rip.
tangstang said:
Call Customer Service and tell them what's going on and what the rep at the store advised you to do. According to the new TEP policy physical damage is covered in store with no deductible as long as its not damaged beyond repair. That means you don't pay anything to get it fixed. Call customer service and they *should* be able to help you out with this. I would not pay $100 for new screen/bezel when you have TEP. That's a rip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what he said.i had the screen/bezel replaced for $35 and i didn't even have insurance.paying a $100 for new screen/bezel when you have TEP is a rip.
Do they have to replace the screen too? Maybe that its why they are giving me such a hard time; it is not broke, although I found out last night my multi touch is not working other then basic 2, not sure if 5 is supposed to work or not
flyboy1100 said:
Do they have to replace the screen too? Maybe that its why they are giving me such a hard time; it is not broke, although I found out last night my multi touch is not working other then basic 2, not sure if 5 is supposed to work or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well the screen they have comes attached to the bezel,so yeah they will replace the entire half of the phone(screen/bezel).
since they're giving you the run-around,maybe you are better off with a crack on your screen so there is a strong enough reason for them to replace it....(if you catch my drift).
FYI from all I know, if the repair cannot be made in the store they can order you a refurb. You have to pay $35 for an advanced exchange though. Or wait for the repair parts I guess. This is with insurance and depends if they deem it damaged beyond repair.
I went into sprint last week because my charging port broke and I couldn't charge my phone. To my surprise they said that it's not a defect or hardware problem and that I would have to claim it on my ins and pay the $100. Well with the 3D coming out soon and me being such a tight A*% with my money, that $100 wasn't going to cut it. So I figured out a way to get a New Refurb phone from Sprint for only $45.
Here's what I did
I called around to some local cell phone repair places here in DFW area. I found this shop in Fort Worth that would replace it for $45. I took it in to get repaired and was told that when the charger port broke it pulled the sync strip off the board. Which means my phone will charge now just fine but I won't be able to sync it up with my pc again. Noway i could live with that.
I know enough about the evo and the hardware to know that the mic is soldered onto the board and that it cannot just be replaced at the Sprint store. Sooooo! I bet you know where I'm going with this? Your right!! I blew out my mic on purpose. How I did this is very easy and truly undetectable. All I did was blow air from my air compressor in the mic hole, maybe 5-10secs. I then opened the voice recorder to make sure it was out,It was.
I took it back to Sprint and told them my mic wasn't working. he said that's a real common problem with Evos. he began to tell me that they repair it and give them 10 mins. I knew they couldn't do it on site. 5 mins later he comes from the back and tells me that the mic was soldered on the board and they have to replace it, which I knew. 2days later Sprint text me and I picked up my new evo for $45.
The bad thing is that you'll have to use your blue tooth or headphones to make calls until the new phone comes in.
we shall not discuss insurance fraud here
cracker0309 said:
I went into sprint last week because my charging port broke and I couldn't charge my phone. To my surprise they said that it's not a defect or hardware problem and that I would have to claim it on my ins and pay the $100. Well with the 3D coming out soon and me being such a tight A*% with my money, that $100 wasn't going to cut it. So I figured out a way to get a New Refurb phone from Sprint for only $45.
Here's what I did
I called around to some local cell phone repair places here in DFW area. I found this shop in Fort Worth that would replace it for $45. I took it in to get repaired and was told that when the charger port broke it pulled the sync strip off the board. Which means my phone will charge now just fine but I won't be able to sync it up with my pc again. Noway i could live with that.
I know enough about the evo and the hardware to know that the mic is soldered onto the board and that it cannot just be replaced at the Sprint store. Sooooo! I bet you know where I'm going with this? Your right!! I blew out my mic on purpose. How I did this is very easy and truly undetectable. All I did was blow air from my air compressor in the mic hole, maybe 5-10secs. I then opened the voice recorder to make sure it was out,It was.
I took it back to Sprint and told them my mic wasn't working. he said that's a real common problem with Evos. he began to tell me that they repair it and give them 10 mins. I knew they couldn't do it on site. 5 mins later he comes from the back and tells me that the mic was soldered on the board and they have to replace it, which I knew. 2days later Sprint text me and I picked up my new evo for $45.
The bad thing is that you'll have to use your blue tooth or headphones to make calls until the new phone comes in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
instead of being a dipster like the OP let me give you all some actual advice.
First my Background
X-Corporate sprint employee
Close ties with management, techs, and sales reps at retail locations.
Charging port failure on the EVO 4G is a known issue, there the corporate store should know this, if for some reason they are stupid, which can and will happen, politely inform them of this, if your not getting anywhere with the rep, politely ask to speak with management to look into this.
if your charging port is broken due to normal use, and not you plugging it in and swinging it around your head like a lasso, you will be covered, even without T.E.P. insurance plan (and unless they changed policy its covered even after the 1 year warranty on the phone)
As a cautionary note, if you bring your phone in to a corporate store, and they take your phone to the techs, and see your phone is damaged beyond repair, it will be flagged and notated in the system as such, and even if you go out and do some crazy stuff like this guy, and bring it back, they will Pull up your device in E-Ticket and see that its DBR and will not fix it anyway.
So guys, if you have this issue, do the smart thing, and handle the issue politely as you cannot expect every rep to know everything.
I wasn't asked for any of my info from Sprint to flag. I was just asked what the problem was and then it was taken to the back. The TECH not REP was the one that came and spoke to me and explained to me what the problem was. He stated himself that he thinks the ports should be covered due to the fact it does happen so often and that the port isn't connected securly enough to the board with the proper temp grade solder.
Is what I did morally right? NO!! But Sprint and other cell phone companies screw over the consumer everyday, but that's ok! So when the consumer finally gets over on the corporation its sooooo BAD!!
In no way is this ins fraud because Asurion was never involved. This was under hardware warranty and being my phone was bought in Jan I really don't think me or anyone else should have to fork out more money for something that's only 5 months old.
2 wrongs dont make a right, and they don't need to ask you for any info other than to just scan your phone.
and I never said that it happened to you, I said it could and properly should happen.
not to mention the solution to the problem was so easy, you just were to lazy or inept to handle it properly.
also, yes, it was still fraud
and now the phone may get refurbed without the original problem being addressed.
If the charging port is pulled clean from the board, solder joints intact, then it's covered under the known issue.
If the solder joints are broken and circuit board is peeled, it's damaged beyond repair.
Unfortunately in our store right now we have no RECON phones so we are swapping with new in box since they are also backordered...mildly frustrating!
Ur story is awesome. I think the 116 dollars a year should be the deductible. I know there are always people that take advantage of the system. I have done it before but I also thinks it sucks for the real problems we get screwed out of with deductibles on top of monthly premium charges.
They should consider your premium as the deductible unless its more than once a year. I can understand water damage or lost/stolen. I just don't think physical problems should be cause for deductible.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Sunsparc said:
If the charging port is pulled clean from the board, solder joints intact, then it's covered under the known issue.
If the solder joints are broken and circuit board is peeled, it's damaged beyond repair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
The "damaged beyond repair" can be argued as long as there's no obvious signs of abuse and if cust. service gets involved, we both know that we're ordering a replacement for the customer.
Nice!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
They replaced mine for same problem for free. U were just getting dicked around and in turn u went to make trouble for no reason. You did fraud and wasted ur time and money.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
For fun I recently repaired an Evo 4g that had it's USB port violently removed / peeled away. Definitely not worth the time, but it was a fun after-work project!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1110886
Great fraud
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Who cares, insurance fraud or not. It's not insurance fraud if you not playing $7/mo for insurance in the first place. They should have just fixed it the first time he was in the store. Most of the people (techs) I've dealt with in the Sprint stores are complete idiots that won't even read Sprint's policies on Sprint.com. :|
I can tell you the store I worked at, all of our techs had 4+ years experience, knew everything, and made sure we knew what we needed to know as well.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud
yes its still fraud.
Alanmw86 said:
I can tell you the store I worked at, all of our techs had 4+ years experience, knew everything, and made sure we knew what we needed to know as well.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fraud
yes its still fraud.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HA ha ha
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Sprint EVO Replacement
I have been a customer of Sprint 12+ years and my experience with repair/replace of devices seems pretty typical. Some repair centers have treated me fine and one other consistently work at screwing me over. As with all new devices, there are manufacturer issues which have nothing to do with the user (bad screens, charging ports, non-functioning buttons etc.). As a corporate customer I always had a rep that would take care of an issue even if the local operation couldn't/wouldn't. I have not abused their staff nor have I abused my equipment in any way, I still have a perfect functioning Samsung i300, PPC6600 and Touch (Don't ask why I keep them around, I don't know). Each one of these needed some repair over the 2+ years I had them activated. Sprint has had many repairs centers around Metro Atlanta over the years, closing or consolidating and re-opening them from time to time. It has been my experience that you have to avoid some repair centers, those that take your device out back and come back to you withing 10 minutes with the "Wet" battery story - I have never had any of my devices ever get water or moisture on them except one and I willingly paid the deductible for that one. Recently I had the not charging issue on my EVO purchased June 4, 2010, 9+ months. Because I had to take it to the local/nearest repair center which I had problems with in the past I was apprehensive but confident I had done nothing wrong or abused the device. The tech took it out back, came back 45 minutes later and informed me that I had abused the charging port on the device and that it had come unsolder-ed and would have to go through Assurance to replace it, to which I asked her to show me. I insisted that was a defect as opposed to abuse and got nowhere. It took some insistence that I believed I should not have to pay ANY deductible. She ask her superior and was granted a one time exception to their policy to replace my (Abused, according to her) device. I have since then gone to what was my local Sprint store with my son for a new phone. This store, near our mall had closed and the independent repair center a half mile away had taken over the Sprint space. I recognized an employee who had previously worked in that store for Sprint and we stuck up the conversation about my recent repair and the trouble I had. He informed me that Sprint was well aware of the charging port issue and if I had brought it there there wouldn't have been any problem replacing it at all. He checked my device and discovered that the battery had become over heated and swollen, most likely due to the charging port problems. He ordered a new one at no charge as Sprint was aware of this also.
Moral of the story, sometimes you may have drive to a different repair center or take unscrupulous measures or insistence to get a problem resolved with big companies who aren't able or willing to do the right thing on their own, Sprint being no exception.
This charging port issue, which mine phone has, is another reason I'm leery about getting another HTC phone. I think the quality of their phones is highly overrated.
Everyone keeps saying that the broken charger port is a known issue with Sprint, but I recently did not have any success from this angle.
I took my phone to a local Sprint repair store and the tech opened the phone and said my charger port had came off the motherboard. It looked like a clean solder break to me, and he said he wasn't allowed to fix it and it wasn't covered.
I then called customer service and they also said it would not be covered by warranty. I mentioned that this is supposed to be a known issue with HTC EVOs and they said it wasn't. I spoke with her supervisor, and she also insisted that it was not a known issue. I then spoke with another supervisor who insisted this wasn't a known issue.
Is there something that I'm doing wrong? How can I get them to acknowledge this?