Database Users

VERY Impressed with HTC USA!

2 weeks ago to the day, I accidentally dropped my HD2. Nothing major.. I was actually sitting down when it happened, and the phone bumped my ankle then gently bumped the floor.. no big deal right? (It has a hard shell protector). Well, then as the phone flipped over, it bumped the edge of a table leg and damn! Four hairline cracks on the digitizer. And no more functionality though the LCD was fine and the phone was working but locked with no way to unlock it.
So, I weigh out the cost of repair vs. replacing it all together. Ultimately, it was cheaper to repair the screen.
Here is what blew my mind! Keep in mind that I am in Canada, I purchased the phone (T-Mobile Branded) on the 'net, it's unlocked, tweaked, and therefore there is no warranty.
So, on 04/01/2011, I contact HTC USA. To my surprise I actually get an American on the phone not some call center in a third world country. Wow! The person totally has their act together and in less than 10 minutes, I have a quote for the repair. Wow again! The rep explained everything in detail along with the mandatory disclaimers and while they were finishing up that, I'm receiving an email with all the necessary details and an RMA and Case number and shipping instructions. Wow yet again!
04/02/2011, I send the phone to the repair center in Texas. By 04/05/2011 at 10:50pm the phone has arrived at the repair center. The next morning, I get a call from HTC confirming the damage (which I knew), and they simply want a yes or no to go ahead with the repairs or not. By the afternoon, I have a FedEx tracking number, the phone is fixed and it's on its way back to me in Canada. Wow one more time!
04/11/2011 FedEx is at my door with my phone and HTC picked up the return shipping. Well.. you guessed it! Wow!
I am reconfiguring the phone back to the way I had it prior to sending it as I write this. It had been hard reset to factory spec which if fine and to be expected since they likely run various diag after repair.
So, for $120.00 + $25.00 Shipping, my phone is working again!
There's a case study for keeping our companies and their support centers on North American soil. There are dozens of companies I could list that should be taking notes. 8)

Nice to see a positive post like this. glad you got you HD2 repaired and are now back to modding it.

The whole repair process was nine days including weekends which I think is darn good!
That said, I was without the phone/device for 2 weeks. Talk about withdrawals! LOL!
Amazing how reliant we become on these devices. I use it to manage my daily activities for 3 businesses, 1 job, and my personal life/activities. I was on the verge of anxiety at times! Hehehehe!
At least I had my trusty HTC 8125 as backup and while it cannot connect to my cellular provider's network for phone/text/data, at least I had my calendars, tasks, notes, and contacts but I'll tell ya, talk about feeling tethered to a land line and out of the loop.
Yep, it just got HardSPL 4, my preferred radio flash, BsB, Total Commander, and a few other goodies back on and is now syncing with my Desktop and Exchange. d'-'
T-Macgnolia said:
Nice to see a positive post like this. glad you got you HD2 repaired and are now back to modding it.
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It was not a bad price if it was a year ago, but I just picked up another near mint condition one for $150 with everything included off criaglist.
Sent from HTC HD2 with Android

Yeah, fair enough however, in Canada, the phone is not even available therefore my options were a bit more limited to purchase a new phone through a system where there is a little more security in knowing that if it turns out to be a bad deal, the purchase it covered. i.e. Buyer Protection from eBay or anything like that.
It's not like you can hop on a local Craigslist up here and find them readily.
So, the replacement cost for a whole phone was much higher, and the repair was the way to go.
coldest~~~ said:
It was not a bad price if it was a year ago, but I just picked up another near mint condition one for $150 with everything included off criaglist.
Sent from HTC HD2 with Android
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You're a lucky guy.
I've had less good experiences in the Benelux here.
I called in mine for a screen and gps issue that is warranty issue since I run the official image on this HD2.
They didn't pickup the device twice as promised which drove me up the wall since I had my colleague involved and had to change several appointments with my clients for.
After I complained I got called by a customer care guy and was promised my device would be fixed one week after the pickup.
Called them this afternoon since we are one week further and my device was waiting for 2 parts but they didn't know which.
I wonder how many parts can break in the HD2 that direct to the fault. Guessing the main board and an LCD screen?
Well according to the customer service I will have to wait for the parts to come in.
I am so disappointed in the service and hole customer care after having a touch, touch pro, touch hd etc.
The touch pro which costed me over 500 Euro ended up in the trash after 3 failed repairs and numerous errors which where caused by the repair center. Sending it back to another address and name was only the tip of the iceberg.
Looking around for a dedicated Android device the LG optimus 2x looks good since it has a 24hour swap warranty.

Sorry to hear bro!
Heck, they even confirmed parts availability while on the initial call just prior to setting up the RMA. Maybe I just lucked out.
I work in the IT field and deal with all kinds of this stuff all the time and it has been years since I encountered this type of competence and efficiency. Don't know what else to say.
Have you checked out the Motorola Atrix?
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/U...d-Services/Mobile-Phones/Motorola-ATRIX-US-EN
This thing looks cool! Watched several segments on it during the CES show back in February. My only question or disappointment was in all the promo vids from the CES they were touting Android 3 Honeycomb however at the Motorola site its tech specs list Android 2.2.
Good luck in your search!
lukesan said:
You're a lucky guy.
I've had less good experiences in the Benelux here.
I called in mine for a screen and gps issue that is warranty issue since I run the official image on this HD2.
They didn't pickup the device twice as promised which drove me up the wall since I had my colleague involved and had to change several appointments with my clients for.
After I complained I got called by a customer care guy and was promised my device would be fixed one week after the pickup.
Called them this afternoon since we are one week further and my device was waiting for 2 parts but they didn't know which.
I wonder how many parts can break in the HD2 that direct to the fault. Guessing the main board and an LCD screen?
Well according to the customer service I will have to wait for the parts to come in.
I am so disappointed in the service and hole customer care after having a touch, touch pro, touch hd etc.
The touch pro which costed me over 500 Euro ended up in the trash after 3 failed repairs and numerous errors which where caused by the repair center. Sending it back to another address and name was only the tip of the iceberg.
Looking around for a dedicated Android device the LG optimus 2x looks good since it has a 24hour swap warranty.
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thx for the headsup JayG!
Well lets say that I do the same work as you and do escallations and process realignments. If I could have a go in this whole thing .....
The Motorola looks interesting but try to find one in Europe.

I very agree with your assessment of HTC. My story is one better. I had bought my phone (HTC ELFIN P3452 TOUCH) in India. It had some battery charging issues and when on a whim I finally contacted HTC US, the lady told me that the warranty on the phone had expired 5 days back. I politely requested her if there is something she could do. She came back a few minutes later and told me she will take the phone as under warranty, but she will have to get back to me after figuring out where I should be sending the phone for repair as they figured HTC touch is not serviced anymore. I did not get a call back for 10 days and then I called back and explained my situation again and the previous call to a totally different lady. She gave me an RMA and asked me to ship to their TX facility. I got the phone back with brand new board in a week. But then I noticed a crack in the body. Since now the phone was under a 90 day warranty, I called back and explained the situation. They gave another RMA and so I sent it back. another week later, I get the phone back and it was brand new everything including the LCD and the phone. New IMEI.
HTC is top notch. So my current phone is HD2 and backup phone is Touch.

[Q] Dead DZ and HTC Repair in the UK

This afternoon my DZ decided to die. I checked the phone and then 10 minutes later went to ring my wife and... nothing, phone wouldn't respond to the power button. I whipped out the battery and left it out for 2 minutes but still nothing.
I have since tried plugging in the charger and again nothing, not even the orange charging light. Tried leaving the battery out for 1/2 hour and removing the memory and sim cards and even plugging in the charger with the cards and battery removed, but still nothing.
looks like it's serious.
I have had the phone 11 months, I got it from a little shop (well booth really) that was branded as HTC in the local Westfield shopping centre. The little shop has now disappeared. The phone is sim unlocked and not tied to a carrier. When I dug out the receipt it is in the name of a company called Westcoast Mobile. They have a website (www.westcoast.co.uk) but they seem to be a rather diverse company but not one that sells phones to the public.
Consequently I was planning on calling HTC on Monday to see if I can get the phone sent off for repair. Does anyone know if I'm likely to have problems with HTC or will they be happy to help me?
In the mean time I have dug out my trusty HTC Typhoon which is currently synching my email and charging up. Old phone but it does the job and I love the size and shape of it.

HTC warranty is one yr. Should be ok. I bought mine used so I always fixed mine myself. But you bought yours new.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

My suggestion is this:
Try buying a new battery , maybe it will fix the problem
Also if the phone will be recovered , take care of this with buying a new silicon case or something like this. Today my DZ cashed by up to 2M and nothing problem , sceen perfect i got luck.
Also i add if you realy love the phone , and the repair cost is to much , buy one used on ebay like me. I have bought one for 220€ @ 170£ , with 23months of guaranty and it's perfect.
Good luck mate

The Westcoast in your link is a big computer reseller, almost certainly nothing to do with a guy with a mall booth selling mobiles
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.

steviewevie said:
The Westcoast in your link is a big computer reseller, almost certainly nothing to do with a guy with a mall booth selling mobiles
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.
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I'm wondering whether they had some sort of tie in with HTC as the booth was completely branded as HTC anad they were selling sim free phones on any network.
I got a phone from them because:
1. They had the DZ and I could have for free by renewing my contract with O2.
2. The sales bloke could string a sentence together unlike the fool in the O2 shop.

trundlenut said:
This afternoon my DZ decided to die. I checked the phone and then 10 minutes later went to ring my wife and... nothing, phone wouldn't respond to the power button. I whipped out the battery and left it out for 2 minutes but still nothing.
I have since tried plugging in the charger and again nothing, not even the orange charging light. Tried leaving the battery out for 1/2 hour and removing the memory and sim cards and even plugging in the charger with the cards and battery removed, but still nothing.
looks like it's serious.
Consequently I was planning on calling HTC on Monday to see if I can get the phone sent off for repair. Does anyone know if I'm likely to have problems with HTC or will they be happy to help me?
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I'm a Brit too and I had a pretty similar issue just a few months back. The bizarre part is I wasn't even doing anything "risky".
Get in touch with HTC ASAP. They were really good to me.
I contacted them via their website (you'll need the serial number/IMEI). Very polite and helpful responses and offered courier pickup for mainland UK addresses.
Didn't take long at all for a repair, and I believe it was back with me in 2-3 days.
I can't speak for their phone support, other than that they called me to check if the phone was still working okay and asked if they could close the ticket. An unexpected touch, but appreciated.
Motorola barely lifted a finger for me when dealing with my MS2 issues... but that is another story.
Since you have the receipt, you should be fine. Again, just get in touch!
I warn you, it will most likely come back with gingerbread like mine did, but you can still downgrade and root (if you so choose) using the guides on here.

PhoenixTank said:
I'm a Brit too and I had a pretty similar issue just a few months back. The bizarre part is I wasn't even doing anything "risky".
Get in touch with HTC ASAP. They were really good to me.
I contacted them via their website (you'll need the serial number/IMEI). Very polite and helpful responses and offered courier pickup for mainland UK addresses.
Didn't take long at all for a repair, and I believe it was back with me in 2-3 days.
I can't speak for their phone support, other than that they called me to check if the phone was still working okay and asked if they could close the ticket. An unexpected touch, but appreciated.
Motorola barely lifted a finger for me when dealing with my MS2 issues... but that is another story.
Since you have the receipt, you should be fine. Again, just get in touch!
I warn you, it will most likely come back with gingerbread like mine did, but you can still downgrade and root (if you so choose) using the guides on here.
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Thanks for that, it gives me a bit more confidence. It's just annoying the phone was in my pocket in a sleeve for 15 minutes and it just died.

Well I rang them on Monday morning, at first they wanted to send me a new battery but I pointed out it didn't do anything without the battery when you plugged the charger in. The bloke had to check with his supervisor then came back and said "let's arrange to pick the phone up". I had to email them a copy of the receipt from when I bought the phone and that was that.
They emailed me a form and a label, I boxed up the phone and a courier picked it up Tuesday afternoon. Pretty straightforward really.
Just waiting to hear that they have the phone now.

Got the phone back this morning, so exactly 7 days from calling HTC to having a working phone again. I think that is pretty good service.
Seems like the problem was pretty terminal as the phone has returned with a new IMEI and according to the paperwork with the phone it has had the "PCBA" and "flash board" replaced.
The phone even came in a little box with "I'm back" printed on it.

Sounds great ! Was that all free, under warranty ?
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.

steviewevie said:
Sounds great ! Was that all free, under warranty ?
Sent from my Desire Z running CM7.
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All free, didn't cost me a penny.
The bloke I spoke to at HTC told me I had a two year warranty after he had spoken with his supervisor.

Is that two years from the purchese date or the repair date (as in did they extend the warrenty for you)

It will be 2 years from the purchase date. The paperwork with the phone when it comes back says something along the lines of you don't get any extra warranty after the repair date.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Got my Z1 back from repair. Don't buy a Z1.

After waiting over a month for my phone to be fixed I finally got my Z1 back in the mail last week. First off the phone has the motherboard replaced so a new IMEI was given. This was a problem as Sony said my unlock would remain. Now it's not unlocked and I am still waiting for a code from sony one week later! Next up the speaker grill was missing after receiving my phone. And finally to my discovery I have noticed today my front camera does not work. I take a look at the lens and what do you know, no front camera lens. After over 5 calls to sony complaining with still no luck, agents keep telling me "were working on your case". I keep getting nothing but empty promises from Sony along with the standard "you will hear from someone in 24-48 hours" (they of course never call and I end up having to call them.)
What do I do. It feels like a dog chasing its own tail. No progress, just spinning in circles.

khhhhris said:
After waiting over a month for my phone to be fixed I finally got my Z1 back in the mail last week. First off the phone has the motherboard replaced so a new IMEI was given. This was a problem as Sony said my unlock would remain. Now it's not unlocked and I am still waiting for a code from sony one week later! Next up the speaker grill was missing after receiving my phone. And finally to my discovery I have noticed today my front camera does not work. I take a look at the lens and what do you know, no front camera lens. After over 5 calls to sony complaining with still no luck, agents keep telling me "were working on your case". I keep getting nothing but empty promises from Sony along with the standard "you will hear from someone in 24-48 hours" (they of course never call and I end up having to call them.)
What do I do. It feels like a dog chasing its own tail. No progress, just spinning in circles.
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Where did you buy your Z1? Try to go to the store and ask for a replacement because of all the issues.

I wish. I bought the phone privately. Bell would not warranty me because I am not a Bell customer, so after 3 phone calls to Sony they decided to warranty my phone. After all, it is still a sony product.
krabappel2548 said:
Where did you buy your Z1? Try to go to the store and ask for a replacement because of all the issues.
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khhhhris said:
I wish. I bought the phone privately. Bell would not warranty me because I am not a Bell customer, so after 3 phone calls to Sony they decided to warranty my phone. After all, it is still a sony product.
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Oh, that's were the problem starts then.. You don't have a payment paper stuff (warranty sheet)?

What's wrong with your Z1 before sending it to Sony?
Sent from my SGP312 using Tapatalk

If you don't have paper and invoice you are lucky they even want to take it and do anything without paying them.
Of course, that's not the reason to do something like that but it's obviously results of a free repair
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

Had a proof or purchase from the last owner but It's just bell would not honor me because I am not part of their monopoly. Sony claims bell handles all c6906 warranties, but ended up getting a repair because of this bell would not honor my warranty. Sony didnt even need my receipt either (The phone hasn't been out for a year yet). The phone originally had issues with random shut offs, then eventually just would not turn back on.

khhhhris said:
Had a proof or purchase from the last owner but It's just bell would not honor me because I am not part of their monopoly. Sony claims bell handles all c6906 warranties, but ended up getting a repair because of this bell would not honor my warranty. Sony didnt even need my receipt either (The phone hasn't been out for a year yet). The phone originally had issues with random shut offs, then eventually just would not turn back on.
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Even if you aren't a Bell customer they have to help you in the first place. But like always it's ****ty when you buy a used device
Sent from my Xperia Neo using xda app-developers app

Previous owner knows the issue and probably sold it to you at a factor of price but not letting you know it. Sony repair centers are like lottery. Some are good and some are bad. They usually have contract with other companies to do their repair jobs.
I am not sure if Sony has repair center in Canada, but you can check the address you sent in on Google to see where it is.
Let fight to get it done right.
Sent from my C6916 using Tapatalk

In Canada, Flextronics does the repair.
It was the typical brick.
Maybe I'm lucky that they gave me a new device instead
I had bought it privately and with no receipt - but warranty wasn't an issue.
I gave Sony support the IMEI number and they gave me an RMA number with instructions.
Instead of shipping it, I brought it to Flextronics in person since it isn't that far.

Sony uses serial number to check actual mfg date of their products (imei for phones). If it is within a warranty period, they don't ask you receipt. Otherwise, you will be asked even you just bought within a few months.
Sent from my SGP312 using Tapatalk

Xperia Warranty Service is a joke

Ok, my story with Z3 Compact ended not even started.
Yes, I got lucky and my screen cracked on itself without any force.
And it looked well as sony accepted the phone in US service center even though it was bought in UK.
That's where fun part stops.
First joke is a turn around time. 14 business day for a simple repair. that is at least 3 weeks! Who can wait phone that long?
That means I have to buy a new one and send sony to ebay when and if I got it repaired.
My guess is that people would buy anything else than xperia they just got broken.
What a stupid way to loose customers. Apple store would replace phone in store or take little time to resolve issue for example.
So after 16 business days I called just to hear that part is on back-order with NO ETA!
Also I was told that its not US phone so I should not even expect it to be ready soon.
Nice Sony! Good way to treat your loyal customers.
Seems like my first and last xperia phone unfortunately....
So if you still deciding ... Look at the other phones, that are more rigid or at least have a proper warranty service for 2014.
SonyXperia US has much to catch up.

Sucks man. My screen hasn't cracked yet but if it does this will definitely be my last Sony product.

I hope it won't. I am ok with stuff breaking as soon as you have a good service to get out of the situation.
Sony did not make that easy. The worst part is that there are no more good compact phones around except of iphone and galaxy alpha. which are worse than z3c in many ways.

Sucks that you're phone-less for so long, although Sony is fixing it despite being bought in the UK, which is more than they're doing for some people. Maybe the fact that it's a UK model is why they're not treating the repair with more urgency.
Other than Apple, which other phone manufacturer will instantly replace an unlocked phone as part of the warranty? Normally this is handled through carriers or (if you're lucky) the authorized retailer, but even they usually don't offer the same instant service as Apple. It's why Apple stuff costs so much. Well, that and the fact that iSheep will blindly pay for anything Apple :laugh:

pipspeak said:
Sucks that you're phone-less for so long, although Sony is fixing it despite being bought in the UK, which is more than they're doing for some people. Maybe the fact that it's a UK model is why they're not treating the repair with more urgency.
Other than Apple, which other phone manufacturer will instantly replace an unlocked phone as part of the warranty? Normally this is handled through carriers or (if you're lucky) the authorized retailer, but even they usually don't offer the same instant service as Apple. It's why Apple stuff costs so much. Well, that and the fact that iSheep will blindly pay for anything Apple :laugh:
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For samsung, sony and all other manufacturers even if you pay premium price like note 4 for $700 and xperia Z3 $650 you get ****ty service. You wont get instant replacements what so ever.. No proper estimated ship dates, No proper customer support, No Earbuds bundled is what we pay for and seems you enjoy it more

demon_xxi said:
Ok, my story with Z3 Compact ended not even started.
Yes, I got lucky and my screen cracked on itself without any force.
And it looked well as sony accepted the phone in US service center even though it was bought in UK.
That's where fun part stops.
First joke is a turn around time. 14 business day for a simple repair. that is at least 3 weeks! Who can wait phone that long?
That means I have to buy a new one and send sony to ebay when and if I got it repaired.
My guess is that people would buy anything else than xperia they just got broken.
What a stupid way to loose customers. Apple store would replace phone in store or take little time to resolve issue for example.
So after 16 business days I called just to hear that part is on back-order with NO ETA!
Also I was told that its not US phone so I should not even expect it to be ready soon.
Nice Sony! Good way to treat your loyal customers.
Seems like my first and last xperia phone unfortunately....
So if you still deciding ... Look at the other phones, that are more rigid or at least have a proper warranty service for 2014.
SonyXperia US has much to catch up.
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feel your pain, going through the same thing:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/help/handtec-returns-t2919883
was really glad sony USA would do warranty repair for my phone.. although 14 business day turnaround time seemed like a lot (3 full weeks regularly), but ok. they never emailed me to say they received it - no emails for anything in fact. i had to chat with them to confirm they had received it. and then they returned it to me in about a week - shipped it out in under a week, actually. although i wouldn't have known it had i not seen the 2nd delivery attempt notice on my door. had they emailed me, i would've been looking out for it and had it a few days sooner.
all that's fine, it's their stipulated process and timing, i just could have used some communication throughout. but then comes the icing on the cake. they removed the SIM tray from the phone and sent it back to me without it. so my phone is useless as a phone for a week now, and i'm still waiting to get a replacement or hear anything about it. they've stopped responding to my daily follow-up emails.. the latest response i got had an order number of some kind but no idea where i can put it to check status (it's no retail order number or anything). no tracking. just a blurb that it may take 14 business days to send out a SIM tray to me. and here i thought when i called they'd be like "oh sh*t, we'll get one right out to you asap". but i had to go through this RMA process a second time in order for them to send this to me. i've now owned the phone for 6 weeks, and only 3 of those have i been able to use it. first experience with sony not going so well.

mohlsen8 said:
feel your pain, going through the same thing:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/help/handtec-returns-t2919883
was really glad sony USA would do warranty repair for my phone.. although 14 business day turnaround time seemed like a lot (3 full weeks regularly), but ok. they never emailed me to say they received it - no emails for anything in fact. i had to chat with them to confirm they had received it. and then they returned it to me in about a week - shipped it out in under a week, actually. although i wouldn't have known it had i not seen the 2nd delivery attempt notice on my door. had they emailed me, i would've been looking out for it and had it a few days sooner.
all that's fine, it's their stipulated process and timing, i just could have used some communication throughout. but then comes the icing on the cake. they removed the SIM tray from the phone and sent it back to me without it. so my phone is useless as a phone for a week now, and i'm still waiting to get a replacement or hear anything about it. they've stopped responding to my daily follow-up emails.. the latest response i got had an order number of some kind but no idea where i can put it to check status (it's no retail order number or anything). no tracking. just a blurb that it may take 14 business days to send out a SIM tray to me. and here i thought when i called they'd be like "oh sh*t, we'll get one right out to you asap". but i had to go through this RMA process a second time in order for them to send this to me. i've now owned the phone for 6 weeks, and only 3 of those have i been able to use it. first experience with sony not going so well.
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Haha and they wonder why their sales are falling..

i bought their protection plan for $50.. 2 years covered and they will send me a loaner asap when i send my phone in for repair.

radiohead14 said:
i bought their protection plan for $50.. 2 years covered and they will send me a loaner asap when i send my phone in for repair.
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where did you get that for $50? online it says 79?

sravanz said:
where did you get that for $50? online it says 79?
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employee discount :good:

Where can I get the plan for at least 79? Can I get in in USA for phone I got from Clove?
I'm willing to pay for the plan as soon as it has accidental damage coverage. This is better than going with 3rd party warranty coverage.

Fond here http://store.sony.com/gsi/webstore/...le-Phones-Protection-PLUS-Standalone-Warranty
It says $59.99 + tax I assume.
Will check tomorrow if I can get it for the phone that already went to the service.
Really had no idea that sony has these extra plans for phones.
From my previous experience I had AHD warranty for 3yrs for my laptop from Sony Japan and they easily fixed all issues with shipment around the week even when there was a disaster going in Japan few years back. Japan service worked like a clock. They would also fix issues that I did not report. Just to replace components with fresh ones.

U guys are complaining because it took a week to get a phone not warranted in the usa to be fixed for free.... Try samsung or any unlocked, non apple phone and youll beg to go back to sony.
Oh and apple makes you pay for out of warranty repairs anyway. Like cracked screens.

The biggest joke is the screen cracked by itself. What's this Sony?

i had the back glass crack by itself here in the uk, sony repaired the device for free under warranty.1 week turn around time.

Just as a heads up, most decent credit cards give you an additional year of warrenty (on items costing up to $500) on purchases made with the card. This includes SonyRewards, which also provides 90 days accidental damage protection on purchases up to $500.

When I had a Samsung S4 Active I sent it twice for warranty repair. 2 weeks was normal turn around. Quit complaining.

Just to cool down the drama I see a UPS notification today that my phone is coming home.
I still think that 3 weeks is too much for screen repair. It takes less than a hour to replace it.
It would be ok if I have to wait 3 weeks for TV or Vacuum cleaner but its hard to survive without daily driver as a phone.
Good that I have dozens phones at home to use as a replacement, most people don't. I'm just saying that this is the way for Sony to loose customers.
For most it is better to go to Apple Store, PAY and get it fixed asap than look for a replacement phone, PAY for shipment and wait ... IMHO
Where Sony could improve even with current approach is bring more transparency and feedback. They have not notified me about receiving the phone nor about the backorder delays.
The simplest check my RMA status page would help a lot. I guess it is much more expensive to have staff answering phone calls and chat about RMA status. And all they can say - in progress or yes/no received.
The other way to improve is to start using quality glass and make more durable back for the phones
Meanwhile I started considering LG G2 or Nexus5 as a possible alternative. They are pretty old but still excellent phones. Also fragile though but less.

I feel your pain. I dropped my z3 compact here in the uk and cracked my screen. I sent it off to Sony mobile repair company in the uk and they said that it would take 14 days to come back. They quoted me £97.30 for the repair which is ok I guess, I mean i did drop it. After about a week thee website said that they had diagnosed the phone and it needed a new screen (genius) but that part was out of stock. What kind of repair service doesn't have replacement screens in stock, nice one Sony, how is this your official repairer?
I then found out that I had phone insurance through my work and for £50 I could get a new phone. So I decided to contact the repairer to cancel my repair and get my broken phone back. Despite ringing the repairer numerous times they wouldn't send it back even though every time I spoke to them they said it was in the process of being done. After 10 days I decided to contact Sony customer support and to be fair to them they got it sorted and had my phone back 4 days later. So i get a new z3 compact from my insurance company, and guess what the new phone's battery is ****ed. It drains like 25% every three hours and cant make it through a single day. So I'm back onto Sony and they say it needs to go off for repair. Yep, brilliant so i can wait another 10 days for you to tell me you don't have any parts in stock. So frustrating.

Blimey mate that's rough
Sent from my D5803 using XDA Free mobile app

Horrendous experience with Sony Repair Centre

Just wanted to share my experience so far with my Z3, a phone that I actually love. I have owned mostly Sony Mobile products for the last 5 years but after this experience, this will undoubtedly be my last. Any constructive opinions or advice would be appreciated as im sure other have had similar experiences.
So in essence, my phone has been sent in 3 times for warranty work to the Canadian Repair Centre in Ontario. Each time the phone has been returned with damage or defects.
I purchased a Sony Xperia Z3 in November 2014 direct from Sony for $721.05 (Phone #1).
In August 2015 I sent this phone in as the phone stopped working completely (RMA #1). The repair center tested and replaced this phone with a new one (Phone #2). In September 2015 the replaced phone arrived back with a white pixel issue on the screen (this wasn't even an OCD issue, there was clearly a white spot on the screen that almost looked like a hole, but was probably a pressure point).
This phone was sent back to the repair center in October 2015 (RMA #2). The phone was still new when sent back for repair and had the protective plastic wrapping on it (I didnt even bother to set up the phone as I knew when I turned it on that I would be sending it back). When it was received back from repair (still IMEI #2) the glass back plate was detached and the phone had heavy scratching on the back panel as it was shipped loosely without any protection in a large cardboard box. The glass back was not properly attached because they of course had to remove it to replace the screen ( I could literally slide a credit card between the panel and the frame). This time, I had to contact the repair center over 15 times to get another RMA number. I had my issue escalated to 3 different supervisors, each who never returned phone calls when they said they would and refused to look into my issue despite photos being sent outlining the issue. I demanded the phone be replaced as I had no confidence that the phone would ever be repaired properly to original specs (this is advertised as a waterproof phone and the back plate was not even attached properly from the repair center). In addition, the phone was shipped across the country improperly in a loose box with no bubble wrap which heavily scratched the back panel and potentially hurt the longevity of the device. I kid you not, the phone was literally thrown into a cardboard box with nothing around it and shipped. Angry about the lack of service for such an expensive device and the clear incompetence of the repair centre, I demanded a replacement and they agreed to look into the issue and agreed to provide me compensation for the time I was without the device (as it took several weeks for them to agree to issue the RMA).
Finally, after over a month in Dec 2015 I received another RMA number (#3). I sent the phone back for the third time and it was returned to me on Dec 14, 2015 with the same issue (still IMEI #2). The back panel is still heavily scuffed (this phone was new when originally sent in) and the back panel is not attached properly. The panel has a gap at the bottom as before and makes a noise when held as if the panel is coming detached from the device. As previously mentioned, this device was advertised as IP65 and IP 68 dust and waterproof and this repair is not acceptable. The repair facility is clearly incapable of repairing the phone to an acceptable condition. The customer service experienced is absolutely horrific and I have been treated very poorly. I spent over $700 on this phone and have been without a working device for almost 6 months because this repair facility is unable to provide timely service of any acceptable quality. I have wasted hours and hours on the phone describing this issue to people who do are not interested in solving a legitimate warranty problem. I cannot waste any more time sending this phone back to a repair center that cannot repair phones properly. I can't waste any more time on the phone with service representatives who do not take this issue seriously and refuse to provide a solution. It is now December 29th and I have received no response from Sony despite being promised a response within 48 hours on December 16th. I highly doubt they will contact me so the next step is to seek legal advice.
In my opinion its just not worth it to buy one of these phones anymore. The service quality and attention is so dismal that there is just too much risk if you ever find yourself needing warranty service.
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Sorry to read about your experience, that back is terrible... I think you got a lemon, I have the same D6603 since day 1 and never had a single issue with it, this phone still runs like it's new out of the box. I've never been so impressed with a a phone since owning this one.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

I love the phone too but the service level if you need warranty work is atrocious. It's a helpless feeling.

The infamous 3rd party logistics repair company that sony contracted in mississauga. Heard too many complains about them.
I had to deal with them one time because my z3 had quite a few stuck pixels. Sony gave me the rma and I shipped the phone in along with my receipt for a warranty repair (yes i realized you were suppose to send a copy of receipt). One week later, they sent me a quote for out of warranty to fix the screen and the parts because they threw out the box i shipped with and the receipt in there. I escalated with sony at least 3x before the 3rd party centre decided to give me 'courtesy' repair for no warranty. Here's the thing when they say they will reply to you about the escalation. They won't even bother to call back so I always call them on the same day demanding to speak to supervisor about the case.
A week later they shipped my phone back repaired and in decent box to cushion. The phone to my surprise was in a new frame and looked like new along with the back panel glued properly. in the box, there was also paperwork saying it passed waterproof test and i confirmed it with my own pressure sensor test.
Now back to your topic. Did you try to run diagnostic on your phone with the pressure sensor to see if its waterproof? Did they send paperwork saying the phone is waterproof?

darkknight200 said:
The infamous 3rd party logistics repair company that sony contracted in mississauga. Heard too many complains about them.
I had to deal with them one time because my z3 had quite a few stuck pixels. Sony gave me the rma and I shipped the phone in along with my receipt for a warranty repair (yes i realized you were suppose to send a copy of receipt). One week later, they sent me a quote for out of warranty to fix the screen and the parts because they threw out the box i shipped with and the receipt in there. I escalated with sony at least 3x before the 3rd party centre decided to give me 'courtesy' repair for no warranty. Here's the thing when they say they will reply to you about the escalation. They won't even bother to call back so I always call them on the same day demanding to speak to supervisor about the case.
A week later they shipped my phone back repaired and in decent box to cushion. The phone to my surprise was in a new frame and looked like new along with the back panel glued properly. in the box, there was also paperwork saying it passed waterproof test and i confirmed it with my own pressure sensor test.
Now back to your topic. Did you try to run diagnostic on your phone with the pressure sensor to see if its waterproof? Did they send paperwork saying the phone is waterproof?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at the photos. I dont think that is a waterproof phone. Its not even assembled properly. I took one look at it and didnt even bother to turn it on. Its been sitting in the box because I dont want to touch it. This is the second time its come back from the service center with back panel issues.

forzanerazzurri said:
Look at the photos. I dont think that is a waterproof phone. Its not even assembled properly. I took one look at it and didnt even bother to turn it on. Its been sitting in the box because I dont want to touch it. This is the second time its come back from the service center with back panel issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been asked now to send the device in for the fourth time and was told I would be getting info and a shipping label on Dec 23rd. I still havent recieved that and I cant get anyone to return calls or emails. This is infuriating. Their mobile division is pretty much dead and I seriously advise people to stay away from their devices. The support is nonexistant post sale.

forzanerazzurri said:
I have been asked now to send the device in for the fourth time and was told I would be getting info and a shipping label on Dec 23rd. I still havent recieved that and I cant get anyone to return calls or emails. This is infuriating. Their mobile division is pretty much dead and I seriously advise people to stay away from their devices. The support is nonexistant post sale.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just gotta keep following up and pursuing their supervisor. Ya i know its frustrating and probably everyone went on holiday during that time.

darkknight200 said:
just gotta keep following up and pursuing their supervisor. Ya i know its frustrating and probably everyone went on holiday during that time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man. Its just I have been without a resolution or a fully functioning device since August 2015. Does Corporate Sony not want to know about this stuff? It makes them look awful.

forzanerazzurri said:
Thanks man. Its just I have been without a resolution or a fully functioning device since August 2015. Does Corporate Sony not want to know about this stuff? It makes them look awful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hm you can try posting your problem on sony canada fb page. I remember few months ago, someone that was as frustrated as you posted and managed to get the upper people to contact the person.
to clarify the fb page since theres too many that can cause confusion, it would be sony mobile CA.
https://www.facebook.com/sonymobileca/

darkknight200 said:
hm you can try posting your problem on sony canada fb page. I remember few months ago, someone that was as frustrated as you posted and managed to get the upper people to contact the person.
to clarify the fb page since theres too many that can cause confusion, it would be sony mobile CA.
https://www.facebook.com/sonymobileca/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help. I am just going to sue them. Seems far easier than dealing with them.

What a pity..
I am quite shocked by your experience, however I can't agree with conclusion that it is not worth it to buy these phones.. And I can illustrate it by my very own service experience here in Germany.
My Z3 was purchased on contract with carrier, for the phone + unlimited flat + 2GB LTE + 1GB LTE in roaming I pay 35€ on 24 month contract. I have had been good to my phone, carrying it in Sony wireless charging case, which has a quite hard back and the phone survived many hard ground landings, sometimes scratching the metal edges. I also flashed different firmwares (maybe 60-70 times).
After 9 months, I spotted yellowish spots on display, close to where on/off button is. After making sure that it is not anyway firmware related, I sent the phone to repair center, claiming warranty repair.
The phone got checked, malfunctioning backlight was diagnosed, phone was repaired and sent back, whole thing took just 1 week and phone arrived by DHL on 24th December, costing zero to me. I expected that the backlight/display would have been replaced, but when I got the repair statement later on by e-mail, I was quite surprised, as the parts exchanged for new was display/touchpad assembly, sound speakers, cover glass, and metal casing (goodbye scratches)... The phone looks again like total new. Plus the repair center sent with it free screen+back protectors.
So, maybe you just had a back luck, but I am definitely satisfied with service here..

ondrejvaroscak said:
I am quite shocked by your experience, however I can't agree with conclusion that it is not worth it to buy these phones.. And I can illustrate it by my very own service experience here in Germany.
My Z3 was purchased on contract with carrier, for the phone + unlimited flat + 2GB LTE + 1GB LTE in roaming I pay 35€ on 24 month contract. I have had been good to my phone, carrying it in Sony wireless charging case, which has a quite hard back and the phone survived many hard ground landings, sometimes scratching the metal edges. I also flashed different firmwares (maybe 60-70 times).
After 9 months, I spotted yellowish spots on display, close to where on/off button is. After making sure that it is not anyway firmware related, I sent the phone to repair center, claiming warranty repair.
The phone got checked, malfunctioning backlight was diagnosed, phone was repaired and sent back, whole thing took just 1 week and phone arrived by DHL on 24th December, costing zero to me. I expected that the backlight/display would have been replaced, but when I got the repair statement later on by e-mail, I was quite surprised, as the parts exchanged for new was display/touchpad assembly, sound speakers, cover glass, and metal casing (goodbye scratches)... The phone looks again like total new. Plus the repair center sent with it free screen+back protectors.
So, maybe you just had a back luck, but I am definitely satisfied with service here..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thing is in Canada, sony contracted a 3rd party logistics company to deal with repairs for Canadians. Their reputation is not that positive and will seldomly have some good effortless repairs.

darkknight200 said:
Thing is in Canada, sony contracted a 3rd party logistics company to deal with repairs for Canadians. Their reputation is not that positive and will seldomly have some good effortless repairs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same in Germany, repairs are done by 3rd party contractor..

sad to see such bad service. I'm located in malaysia, and they are using 3rd party service centre for repairs as well. the one i send my phone in just happened to service Mi phones as well.. and got me worried on the level of service.
i sent my phone in due to inresponsive touchscreen at the centre. (ok, this is actually my fault as i was replying text before i doze off at night. woke up with the phone under my bum)
the service centre told me usually this is not covered under warranty (phone is 9 months old) but they will repair it under warranty anyway and advised me to be more careful in the future.
The phone was repaired in 3 weeks (it was christmas weekend)
this... has a HUGE contrast with direct service centres experiance i had with Samsung Malaysia (SME) when i was on my previous phone, the Samsung Note 2. The experiance is downright horrible.

I don't think you can blame Sony. I have had my Sony repaired three times, all my own fault. The first time, I dropped it and broke my screen. Sent via Vodafone to Dynafix. Got it back with a week(!) and cost me nothing.
The second time, dropped it again and the next day, I woke up bu tmy phone didn't. Sent via Vodafone to Dynafix. Got it back with a week(!) and cost me nothing.!
The third time, dropped it again, slide out of my pants when I went to the toilet. Again, broke my screen. Sent via Vodafone to Dynafix. Got it back with a week(!) and this time it costs me 219 euro! :silly: A shame, but my own fault. Now using a bumper case again, which I think is a waste since the phone doesn't look nice at all with it.

In my experience it depends on the service center head not the company. When i had a similar issue with the service center people, i raised to the sony care and they sorted out my issue.

I have just the opposite experience. Phone hit the ground 9 months ago and one bump of the corners war broken. Rest ok. After 9 months, the screen started to flicker and sometimes a pixel-salad of all colours appeared instead of the usual screen interface. Also, screen broken. I expected Xperia Care to tell me that the screen was broken as my phone fell off but instead of this, they repaired the screen, the bump, one scratch on the back panel, provided me two additional screen protectors... and everything under guarantee and for free!!
I loved Sony products in the past... but now even more. With the around 200$ I expected to pay for the repair I will buy now a Smartwatch 3

It varies from one country to another, here in Spain, if you send in your Xperia phone for repair, they'll even change the covers if they've scratches, it happened to me twice but you gonna be without a phone for 3 weeks

I'll share my story as well - I was a long-term iPhone and Windows Phone user - since the first iPhone I switched to Windows Phone when it launched, and then to Android because I fell in love with Xperia Z. My experienced, however, quickly began to deteriorate.
First, I experienced problems with the screen on my Z - which somehow disappeared later. But after a few months, the phone developed a really big issue with the battery which couldn't hold half a day of being locked and in my pocket. Foolishly, I went to Sony Centre hoping they would help me - there I was told that Sony Centre has nothing to do with Sony Mobile - even though they do see Xperia phones there...go figure... and was told to contact Sony Mobile directly. So I did - the less then polite customer service representative told me I have to ship the phone to their warehouse/repair centre in London - and pay for it. Since the phone was still under warranty, I did - and after 23 days I got it back with a note "no fault detected". Needless to say, the battery was not replaced and ironically completely discharged when it arrived back. Charged it, turned the phone on, went to work... at 12am, 18% left. At this point I should mention I tried many things to fix it - software, roms, reboots etc. nothing helped. I contacted them and sent it back again - this time, I got the battery replaced, but the phone arrived completely destroyed... you remember those anti-shatterproof films Sony used to apply on their phones ? It was scratched all over, front and back.
Well, that's life - but after a while I got Xperia Z3. Man, what a beauty - I was in love with Sony again. BUT! A little over 12 months after I got the phone - the microphone started to misbehave. Whenever you plugged in a headset, microphone would not work. Then, it stopped working when using loudspeaker. Then the camera stopped working, displaying errors all the time. In the meantime it broke 3 microSD cards ( sandisk ). So I contacted Sony again... this time it went even worse. Got told that phone is no longer under warranty and If I want - I can send it to the same, dreadful location in London, at my own cost - and pay 75 quid for "diagnosis" after which, if there are any faults, I can decide to have it fixed and pay for the repairs. After explaining what's wrong, the technician said they would probably have to replace the microphone, wiring and the camera for an approximate price of 250 quid... plus diagnosis and shipping - both ways. I was speechless... told him it would be cheaper to get a new Z3 off Amazon to which he basically laughed at me...
The moral, or conclusion of this story is - ladies and gentleman, however we might love Sony or Sony devices - they do not give a flying fk about their customer.

Sorry to hear your experience.
My experience has been very good with sony. After a year of Z3 (under contract with EE) had a crack in the corner front screen, i had switched to Moto X. Thought let me give a try by sending it to the repair centre and get a quote. I sent on a thursday. And next tuesday, I get a mail saying, My phone is on the way back. But did not give any indication on the repair status. Two days later, i received the phone and to my surprise screen was fixed. No charge..everything under warranty!!! High Street repair guys asked for 110GBP!
Next I sent my wife Z3 compact (again contract but with Vodafone), which has the front screen glue coming off and proximity sensor not working. This time go the phone back in two days.. but old phone exchanged with new phone. (But unfortunate that it is still locked to vodafone)
But atleast the both phones fixed free of cost. Was really impressed. When compared to other manufacturers, Sony is still much better. My Samsung tab S screen cracked and cost of fix is 140GBP and samsung centre quoting 220 GBP (Cost of a New tablet!!!)
Looks like sony repairs are hit or miss.