I will never buy a Archos product again. I was very enthusiastic when I order my 101 internet tablet but have had nothing but trouble since then. My story:
When I recieved my 101 on 17 november 2010 there was one major problem. When I touch both the front metallic bezel as a back metal plate the "search" function of android is activated. This means it is impossible to hold in a normal way. I have since then been trying to return it to manufacturer (RMA). This is what has happened so far:
31 oct 2010 : I ordered my 101 for 363.80€. The money was withdrawn from my account the very same day. Website idicated the item was "IN STOCK"
17 nov 2010 : After many "delays" and contacting web-sales to cancel my order I recieved my 101 after almost a month.
- The above problem became clear and I decided to contact support trough the contact-form on Archos.com
17 nov 2010 : First attempt (Contact form)
- After a week I had not revieced any answer so I resend my question through the contact-form.
25 nov 2010 : Second attempt (Contact form)
- After a few days still not answer so "third times the charm"
29 nov 2010 : Third attempt (Contact form)
- To double my chances I sent an email to web-sales with the request to forward my problem to customer support.
29 nov 2010 : Email to web-sales
- After almost a month of waiting I noticed there was a national number on the website.
22 dec 2010 : First telephone call to customer support.
+ After explaining my problem the support said it needed to RMA but he wasn't sure how. I would be contacted by phone in the "following days".
- After another month of waiting still no contact whatsoever so I decided to call back.
20 jan 2011 : Second telephone call to customer support.
+ According to their ticket service they tried to contact me 3 times. This is impossible, it was on my cell number and there were no "missing calls". The good news was that I DID had to be RMA. They would send me a email with all the details.
- A week passed but still no email.
28 jan 2011 : Tird telephone call to customer support.
+ He confirmed the email was sent. I supplied him with a different email-adress, this time on my ISP instead of gmail. They would send the email out again.
- 2 weeks passed without any word.
15 feb 2011 : Fourth telephone call to customer support.
+ He again confirmed the email was sent. He supplied me with the direct emailadres for all RMA in europe and with a RET-number. I was told to contact Archos directly, explain the situation and provide the RET-number.
15 feb 2011 : First email to RMA-europe (in dutch).
16 feb 2011 : I recieved an email from RMA-europe. I needed to resend my question in English. (This was after ONE day)
16 feb 2011 : Second email to RMA-europe (in english)
- After one week I still did not recieve any answer. Note that I first got an answer after 1 day about the language.
22 feb 2011 : Third email to RMA-europe (same one as on 16 feb)
- After several weeks still no answer from RMA-europe.
14 mar 2011 : Fifth telephone call to customer support
+ This time I got the answer that it was "out of their hands" and got the suggestion to "keep trying" to contact them trough the RMA-europe email-adress.
14 mar 2011 : Fourth email to RMA-europ in the 4 most common languages in europe. I have sent this email 2 times to make sure It arrives.
Current balance:
1 broken device
3 contacts trough the contact form
5 telephone calls to customer support
4 emails to RMA-europe
4 months of wasting my time
363.80€ less on my bank-account
I have NEVER experienced nor heard of a customer treatment like this.
Although the device is perfect aside from my problem I would NOT recommend Archos to anyone.
I would never have bought a French car and from today I will never buy any French electronics.
Sigh. :|
Just an innocent question: did you try calibrating your screen again?
wvl0 said:
Just an innocent question: did you try calibrating your screen again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did
I feel for the OP. I realized how bad their customer service was when I repeatedly emailed them about my inability to tether to either of my phones and, after weeks of waiting, they responded with some canned nonsense that was of zero help. To this day I have never been able to tether to either my android phone or my N900 and Archos has provided no support whatsoever.
I wish you luck bro. At least you didn't shell out $600-$800 like most other tablets cost, if that's any consolation.
Couple of things you might want to do differently in the future.
One, always get the name and any kind of employee number of who you talk to. Then, if possible, refer to them by name. If they have an "odd" name, ask them to spell it for you. If they feel you have documented that they are the one helping you, they are more likely to follow through knowing that you could call back and reference them to a supervisor.
Two, when they say they are "sending an e-mail" then keep them on the phone until you get the e-mail. If they try to get you off the phone, explain that "name 1" and "name 2" already tried that or whatever and you want to wait until you have the e-mail you need.
I feel bad for you. I've called their support a few times and they were helpful to me. However, mine was with software/feature related questions and not technical problems.
At last! I got a reply with instructions how to send it back.
Unfortunately, this cost will not be refunded in any way.
I hope everything runs smooth from here and I have a working device in matter of weeks.
Related
Hi guys - When returning the phone for repair to HTC, do they request you to print out something to go along with the phone? :S (apart from the problem).
The customer support guy wasn't very clear at all, and mentioned something about getting emailed something and then printing it out. He was abit all over the place, couldn't understand me half the time, so I don't really hold much faith in the fella.
But I have no idea what, or if. It's too late to call back today to clarify.
I'm in the UK.
As long as you gave them your email address, they will email you instructions for you to follow.
I wrote down the wrong mailing address while I was on the phone with HTC (maybe it was support person or maybe I flipped the numbers). So definitely use the instructions in the email that you should be receiving.
aceo07 said:
As long as you gave them your email address, they will email you instructions for you to follow.
I wrote down the wrong mailing address while I was on the phone with HTC (maybe it was support person or maybe I flipped the numbers). So definitely use the instructions in the email that you should be receiving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply ace - I didn't give them my email address over the phone, but prior to calling them I did raise a ticket on-line, so they do have my email in some sense.
I haven't received any emails yet :s So i might call them tomorrow morning to confirm, the courier is also coming tomorrow!
What is it they actually email you...instructions? do do what...
They guy on the phone just told me to pack the phone in a jiffy bag, take out all accessories, and enclose a note with the p[problem.
They will send you 2 emails.
One with a tick sheet to confirm the condition of the phone cosmetically
The other will be a label for you to stick on the box/bag the phone is in for the courier to scan on collection.
You normally get the emails 5 mins after speaking to the htc phone guy.
Thanks dwarf - looks like i'm going to have to ring them again in the morning to get these emails.
Agree with the above. The service in the uk is excellent - i used them twice on my old HD. Had the phone back on both occaisions within 6 days (inc weekend)!
I hope they do get it back to me quick, so far I'm not impressed.
The HTC dude yesterday, didn't even take my email address, so I've been up chasing that this morning as soon as the lines opened. I got the UPS label number written down over the phone, and next thing I know UPS show up on the door - they wouldn't accept! I've had to re-arrange delivery.
Hey folks!
After three un-responded to emails then several hours on the phone and much hassle (including get transferred to two non-HTC companies), I finally got a hold of HTC's department to handle ADP1 warranty claims. Described the problem to the technician (backlight lights up, lcd does not turn on, phone still shows it's booting fine when connected to a computer - checked adb shell, could copy files on and off, etc) - he agreed it's almost definitely a screen issue, and that it should most definitely be covered under warranty. I get my RMA number.
I shipped the phone in, they received it October 22, 2010. I heard nothing back until I finally called them on December 8th, then December 10th. They showed they had received the phone, but had no response from the repairs department.
Finally got an e-mail back today:
Code:
Diagnosis:
Illegal Software
Suggested Repair:
Replace Main Board
Total Repair Price:
With shipping $388.31
I called back and talked to some girl in tech support, the only note on the account from repairs was 'Will not turn on'. They presumably put a battery in, hit the power button, and when nothing showed up on the screen decided it was a mainboard issue, and have told me that none of my repairs will be covered under warranty because of 'illegal software' (I had flashed Cyanogen Mod - the phone was running without issue until the screen quit. If the mainboard is fried, how exactly could they tell what software was running on it? Or did they just guess?)
I asked her, point blank, "So what you're telling me is when you use the phone you sell as a 'Development Phone' to do 'Development', it voids your warranty?" "Yes sir."
She finally suggested that if I want to dispute the charges, I could talk to the escalations department. They're supposed to call me within the next '72 business hours'... So given their track record with responses, I'll probably get a call in about 6 months.
Does anyone have any experience talking to HTC's repair/escalations departments? Anyone have any suggestions on getting this phone fixed without spending enough to buy a new damn phone?
Thanks!
Either somebody is in error, or that is FRAUD.
There is also a specific exemption to the DMCA (if you're from the US) making hacking of your own personal phone LEGAL.
LEGAL and ILLEGAL are defined by your GOVERNMENT, not HTC.
Just called MS UK call center, spoke to some who was going to generate a code for me, after a few minutes I was told that they had no codes left. This has been raised and I was to call back in 3 days and they should have some more codes. Has anyone else had this?
Regards
Phone back up and tell them I have this HD7, I thought windows phone was the way forward, the future of mobile technology, yet it is rendered useless without this activation code, I have been sent from pillar to post, HTC to O2 or whoever your with, and back to Microsoft yet again, if I don't get this situation resolved soon I shall have to send the phone back and order an IPHONE...
US Chat has Activation issues as well
After the UK call centre issue, I tried the US Chat services, they said no we can't do that you need to contact your regional services. So waited a while, cantacted US chat support again and the person I got this time was very helpful and willing to give me an activation code... however.... this is a some of the chat transcript:
Max: Thank you for the information.
Max: Just to set your expectation, Patrick.
Max: Our tool for generating activation codes is also undergoing system update.
Max: However, let's try if I can generate a product key at this moment.
Patrick Doherty: Thanks - that would be great
Max: May I ask for your phone number, full name, and the brand of your phone?
Patrick Doherty: +44 xxxx xxxxxx, Patrick Doherty, HTC
Max: Thank you.
Max: My apologies, Patrick. Our tool seems to be still updating and we still cannot generate product keys too.
Patrick Doherty: OK, do you know how long this may take?
Max: Honestly, I do not know as we have not received word yet about how long this may take.
Max: I really do apologize for the inconvenience. We have been really receiving high volume of contact because of this issue and that may be causing the current problem with generating Windows Phone 7 product keys.
Max: I do appreciate your patience and understanding though.
Max: To receive an activation code, you can call your regional Microsoft Customer Service center again during their normal business hours. You may reach them at +44 (20) 3450-5855.
Max: They are available Monday–Friday 9:00am to 10:00pm GMT; Saturday 9:00am to 8:00pm GMT; and Sunday 9:00am to 5:00pm GMT
Max: I hope your device gets activated soon.
Max: Would there be other customer service issues I can help you with?
Not looking good....
I also try asking for a Activation key through chat, after several tries, one CSR is willing to give me the code, after waiting for almost 10 mins, she tells me that the tool is undergoing system update.
I'm so disappointed so I have no choice but to try to call the support here in Singapore. After asking my full name, contact #, email add and IMEI (good thing i found some real IMEI for HD7) I was told to wait for around 5 mins. I thought she will said that their tool is undergoing update but to my surprise, she gaves me the code and it works great.
Maybe they wait untill new update on phone 7 so jailbraking is "not" possible anymore....
New Cut and Paste update is out now isn't it
The major update wont arrive till after the Mobile World Congress venue Feb 14-17th Feb
Hello,
This is my first time posting in here and I'm only here because I'm absolutely desperate.
I left EE on 19th April to get a SIM Only deal with another company. I was told I needed to buy a sim unlock code but decided to have a look online first before committing to paying for it.
The same day I filled in the online form to request an unlock code, the confirmation email said it would take 7-10 days (note not working days) for the code to arrive. I received a text on the alternate number I provided saying that they needed to contact Samsung for the code which would take a bit longer - which is fine and from the info I found online I expected. 24th April my PAC Code goes through with the new company but still no code. This is fine because the weekend is coming up and I wouldn't need my phone anywhere that didn't have WiFi.
I get another text on 28th April saying the exact same thing as the text from the 24th. When I call EE on the 30th I am told that the code has already been emailed/text to me but they cannot resend the code (for some reason they don't keep a copy of any texts or emails they send) but I will have it within 72 hours (again note not working hours)
So I phone up 4 days later and ask where my code is, to which I'm told it was 72 working hours and 7-10 working days. Admittedly I got a bit angry on the phone (and did apologise to the poor girl I spoke to) and was passed to a manager who told me that she would contact whomever and raise an urgent "ticket" meaning I would get the code by 5pm the same day.
So I called at 5:30 and was told that I needed to wait another 72 hours not until 5pm and that I should not have been told 72 hours to start with, and that they will have to start the whole process again meaning I have to wait another 10 working days!!!
I need help now because I am absolutely sick to death of this ridiculous company! Their customer service just keep lying to get me off the phone and I have no way to keep in touch with my heavily pregnant wife when I'm not on the WiFi! I am away from her for a week from tomorrow and I have no confidence that EE will ever pull their finger out and fix this for me.
Does anyone on here know if there is anyway I can get flash a stock ROM for a non EE phone and go through the procedure to unlock my phone?
Any help would be much appreciated
You don't need to change ROMs so long as you are on a stock ROM. You will have to temporarily downgrade the modem however. We have an entire thread devoted to unlocking the S4, including instructions. They work so long as the modem is downgraded beforehand. After unlocking, restore your old modem.
I did not learn my lesson! It took ZTE more than 30 days to repair my first Axon 7 (hard bricked, would not power up). Instead of giving up, I bought a second one only to find out that the Camera and Flashlight App (not the camera flashlight) does not work (error message "can't connect to camera, etc...."). I contacted ZTE customer service and after resetting phone to factory, deleting data/cache, etc. did not work, agent created an RMA, I shipped the phone to ZTE on 8/21, they received it on 8/24. Whenever I try to check the status of the repair online, I receive "invalid log in, contact administrator". I reported it, still not resolved.
I contacted customer service on Friday the 8/25 to make sure they received the phone, they confirmed receipt. I contacted them again on Thursday the 8/31 to check status, I was told that phone is in "Assess" stage and it will ship in 3.5 days. I contacted them again 2 days ago, 9/4 to see if it has shipped, the agent responded that the info given to me before was NOT correct, the phone is only in "Received" status and has not even been assessed! So to be blunt, the agents I communicated with before were making things up, basically lying! She promised to follow up and escalate the issue to find out why the delay. She also promised that some one will contact me by phone or email within the next 2 to 3 days. The moral of the story, don't believe everything that customer service agents tell you! In the past, their excuse was "no parts, no replacement phones", I wonder what their excuse is this time.
TheBoozer said:
I did not learn my lesson! It took ZTE more than 30 days to repair my first Axon 7 (hard bricked, would not power up). Instead of giving up, I bought a second one only to find out that the Camera and Flashlight App (not the camera flashlight) does not work (error message "can't connect to camera, etc...."). I contacted ZTE customer service and after resetting phone to factory, deleting data/cache, etc. did not work, agent created an RMA, I shipped the phone to ZTE on 8/21, they received it on 8/24. Whenever I try to check the status of the repair online, I receive "invalid log in, contact administrator". I reported it, still not resolved.
I contacted customer service on Friday the 8/25 to make sure they received the phone, they confirmed receipt. I contacted them again on Thursday the 8/31 to check status, I was told that phone is in "Assess" stage and it will ship in 3.5 days. I contacted them again 2 days ago, 9/4 to see if it has shipped, the agent responded that the info given to me before was NOT correct, the phone is only in "Received" status and has not even been assessed! So to be blunt, the agents I communicated with before were making things up, basically lying! She promised to follow up and escalate the issue to find out why the delay. She also promised that some one will contact me by phone or email within the next 2 to 3 days. The moral of the story, don't believe everything that customer service agents tell you! In the past, their excuse was "no parts, no replacement phones", I wonder what their excuse is this time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the usual rant. Pretty much customer support office out there is actual crap. They said OnePlus's was hideous, I had lots of trouble with Google's Motorola, heard some stuff about Samsung too...
I don't have customer support here, (bought it in Thailand, live in Argentina ) but I'm grateful that I didn't have any hardware trouble. I DFU-bricked it but managed to get it back to life via disassembly and all.
Hope for the best... But we all know how bad customer support is. There are a bunch of threads that say basically the same.
Sorry to hear you got screwed. Maybe I've been lucky, but ZTE Axon customer service has been good. I've RMA'd 2 phones for the camera OIS problem and both time have been efficient. I did the advanced exchange on both and they went okay. The second phone they advance exchanged it without putting any hold on my card.
pt
Yes I had no issues with them either. Hell both of the times I called them the operator seemed to actually be located in the USA
I am still waiting for the promised email/phone call. If I don't get anything by the end of the day, I will contact them again. I am happy that someone had a good experience with them, as for me, this is my second nightmare!