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HTC has opened worldwide customer survey for satisfaction with their customer service. I think people (you) should send them your opinion about their services.
Mostly what came to my mind is that they still havent released proper 3D drivers. So what people (you) should do is to send them some opinions about that.
Probably this doesnt suddenly make them release or make drivers but should make them know that people wants those drivers.
Direct URL to survey: http://survey.htc.com/WorldWide/
Use 5min and fill that, ofcourse if you are satisfied then put it there, i dont want to people put only negative, although I cannot think much positive about Touch HD customer service.
HD is/was their flagship, and it doesnt even get winmo 6.5 update or have proper drivers.
This is only for customer service, this would only apply if you'd had a specific problem, they're not interested in our overall opinion of them as a manufacturer etc.
While the service may not be relevant to the graphics driver thing - there is one very important issue EVERYONE should complain about:
Various repair facilities for HTC devices in various countries now refuse to repair device with HARD-SPL installed. They claim changing the software has damaged the motherboard and it needs to be replaced, and they will try charging you for it. Yes, they will tell you this even if it is your screen that is split in half. In other words - complete nonsense. After some lengthy conversations with various people at one of these facilities I learned that HTC sent out a memo to their repairers that devices that are not running stock ROMs software are no longer eligable for fixes of hardware.
Now, of course, it is their good right not to repair issues that were caused by yourself, however, HardSPL does not cause my screen to break in two. They are completely non-related. Also, if their terms said software changes would void hardware warranty (how absurd that may be), that would maybe go somewhere - BUT, they do not state this, at least not the ones that came with my devices (and I have quite a bunch of them).
Is there no end to how low and crappy HTC can go?
(I am seriously considering taking them to court over this)
^yeh, don't think they can get much lower! I'll be serously concidering the switch to Toshiba with Snapdragon...
Even though this was customer service survey, I've still complained about my biggest gripe - Graphics Drivers! It's been a couple of years and they've not released any drivers. That's criminal! I think everyone at XDA-developers should get their voices heard (again!). For me this issue started with Kaiser and now with Blackstone. Sooo Annoyed!!
Yes - it's crazy esp. if the chipsets on the Touch HD etc support it. CorePlayer cannot support the device properly because of it. And don't get me started on the Audio Stutters debacle. Whilst their customer service do reply, their are probably poorly paid back office staff. The problem is with product implementation, product testing - and evidently, repair!
I am hoping that HP release a new phone with a great screen, decent graphics etc. I miss my Ipaq PDA and it not giving me any grief!
Hi XDA-Samsung Users,
I've been a member of XDA since Jan last year. I went from owning a Nexus One to a Samsung Galaxy S i9000. The reason for the change was for the better specs and superior hardware of the Samsung Galaxy.
The phone is an incredible piece of machinery, but is severely hampered by the modifications that Samsung makes to the Android OS. I admit that the codec support within TouchWiz is impressive, but too much of the core framework of the phone is inefficient and sluggish.
Even using the latest release of unofficial firmware Samsung, Android 2.2.1 (JPY), there is still the occasional hang and the missing RAM (which is there somewhere, but not for user applications).
Samsung is mostly to blame, but there is also a quality control element that Google should be responsible for.
I have prepared an open letter that I sent to Android via Google Press and then forwarded on to Samsung for their reference. This were all through publicly available channels so will have to filter through customer service centers and the like.
I'm not expecting much, Google appears to use Amazon's customer service approach, "No customer service is good customer service".
But would like to post it here to hopefully get it out into the wilderness.
I tweeted it here http://twitter.com/#!/ibproud/status/27528781828722688
and would appreciate if you agreed with the content to retweet it. Hopefully it should give it a bit more weight.
It would be interesting to get the communities feedback on how mature they believe Android is.
Do they need to keep trying to make everyone happy or can they start to use the weight of their OS to get manufacturers to align the user experience?
Dear Android Team,
I am writing this letter to air my frustrations and to hopefully get some peace of mind that your strategy for Android will resolve some of the main issues plaguing the platform.
I have now been with Android for over 12 months. I used to be an iPhone user, but couldn’t stand the walled garden that Apple put me in. I couldn’t download directly to the phone, replace the messaging app or sync wirelessly. I went to Android because I wanted the freedom to use my phone more as a desktop replacement than as a phone/mp3 player.
When I joined the Android family (January 2010), I started with the Google Nexus One. I was so keen to get into the Android community I didn’t even wait for it to be on sale in Australia to get it, thus I hit eBay and bought it outright.
I was very pleased with the platform but could still see a few rough edges around the Operating System. It had the usability I was looking for but was lacking the polish I had grown use to with Apple. There was good news on the horizon with an Éclair update that would give the already beautiful phone a nudge in the right direction. As I was in Australia and the phone wasn’t here yet, I had to push the update through myself, after seeing how easy this was and getting the feeling of being a little phone hacker, I was hooked, I started preaching Android to the masses. Australia is still building momentum for the platform and it’s taking some time. Most of the major carriers stock between 4-6 Android devices, most of which are low end or outdated in the overseas markets.
I follow all the key players in the industry through Twitter and have a majority of Google News trackers picking up articles with android related words. I have also now converted my Wife to Android (HTC Desire Z, also not available in Aus) and I picked up the Samsung Galaxy S and gave my sister the Nexus One. The problem I face now is that I’ve run out of money and can’t go out and buy a new Android phone just to be up to date with the latest Android OS (Gingerbread), this would also be the case for most consumers. The Nexus S is so similar to my current hardware that I must be able to leverage the extra performance from the update.
But alas, we reach the major problem with the platform. Fragmentation. I’m not referring to the Fragmentation of the various app stores and apps available based on different OS versions but more to the Fragmentation of the OS based on the custom skins and manufacturer update cycles. The open platform that is closed at 2 levels, Manufactures and Carriers. I will continue to buy my phones outright as it gives me the freedom and flexibility to upgrade my plans as better ones become available. This always guarantees that I’m free from the bloatware that is preloaded on most Carrier bought phones and free from 1 of the barriers to the true AOSP experience. The next barrier is one that is running rampant in the interwebs rumour mill at the moment and that’s manufacturer updates and in my case I refer to Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy S phones come loaded with Android 2.1, most of them internationally are running Android 2.2 and just recently as select group of the devices is getting Android 2.2.1. This is now a month after Android 2.3 was released. For Samsung I would consider this largely negligent, considering they had the opportunity to work with Google to build a Google Experience Phone (Nexus S). The specs of this phone are so similar to the Galaxy range that a port shouldn’t be too difficult. I understand that there are a lot of constraints and dependencies in the development cycle that could cause delays as well as manufacturers agendas (mostly in unit sales). It is great that Samsung have sold so many devices globally but at a cost of the user experience as well as potential damages to long term retention.
I understand the Open nature of Android and the push to encourage manufacturers to put there own spin on the platform, but Android is getting bigger and more mature, it doesn’t need to be High school girl bending to the whims and peer pressure from the carriers and manufacturers.
There are a team of Devs in Germany who are working to port CyanogenMod 7 (Gingerbread) to Galaxy S i9000, but these guys have now spent over four months just trying to get through Samsungs drivers. The team didn’t start just to customise the phone but to actually make the phone work properly, I of course refer to the RFS lag issue and Samsungs modification to the framework that slowed it down. The goal of the team is to maximise the potential of the hardware and operating system.
It would be great to see some muscle from Google thrown into the mix, there doesn’t need to be requirements dictated, but maybe ethics encouraged.
There seems to be a few options here:
- Encourage device manufacturers to share their drivers, if it is too sensitive to share at least work with the community to help them do it themselves.
- Start to break down the way the platform is customised so that way the manufactures (Samsung/HTC/Motorola) skin the platform can sit a layer above the core code, thus be a quick implementation/customisation to get their skins working.
- Get each manufacturer to offer the AOSP experience to advanced users. This can be done through an agreement between the user and manufacture that states this will void the warranty and have its own terms and conditions.
- This last one is a long stretch, but how about taking all the manufacturers drivers into a repository, the way Windows do updates. When a new Android version is developed the drivers can be updated or incorporated and be packaged out through the Android SDK.
I may be completely off the mark. I’m not a developer and couldn’t pretend to know what effort is involved at any stage of the process, from building Android to rolling it out into the latest and greatest phone. The one thing I am though is an End User, a person that wants my phone to do more, to get close to being a desktop replacement.
Maybe I’m also being a bit idealistic.
I hope the Android platform continues to flourish and for it to become the Windows of the mobile era.
Sincerely,
Irwin Proud
E: [email protected]
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It's really an excellent summary. Consider there're even more black sheeps out there. For example Sony Ericcson which ones recently made a statement like Android is their favourite Smartphone OS and left Symbian in Nokias hands.
But we found also the good ones like HTC, which every Manufacturer should have HTC as its Paragon concerning Android Software Development.
Great write-up; I agree 100%
I agree with your post fully, and concur that the Windows Phone 7 model for OS updates is more efficient, and strikes a happy medium between iOS and Android's approach to upgrades. However it is also more restrictive in terms of handset hardware limitations
I suppose the idea is that customers should vote with their wallets and buy from companies with good software and firmware support. The problem with that is a majority of phone users (android or otherwise) are technically savvy enough to take such support into consideration when looking at the latest and greatest fancy phone in a store. We could all buy the Nexus One or Nexus S only, but this too is restrictive to the customer as other phones offer more/different features
my 2 cents worth:
I agree on your points - but I'd skip the first few paragraphs if I were the one who write the letter. Other than that, thank you for making the effort.
What exactly are you hoping to achieve with this letter? Google has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that samsung don't want to update their phones. In these type of situations it's just better to vote with your wallet and buy another manufacturer's phone next time and let Samsung know why you don't want to use their phones in the future.
Writing letters like these is just a waste of time imho.
What Google should do?
Toss3 said:
What exactly are you hoping to achieve with this letter? Google has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that samsung don't want to update their phones. In these type of situations it's just better to vote with your wallet and buy another manufacturer's phone next time and let Samsung know why you don't want to use their phones in the future.
Writing letters like these is just a waste of time imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please allow me to politely disagree. Google can do a lot about this and they have done this also. When I say they have done this - I am talking about not having Market application on Android OSes which come on non-phone hardware.
Google should put similar restrictions for loosley coupled skins, upgradable drivers. I had been giving this a lot of thought lately. I will sum up my thoughts with above letter as above:-
i) Device manufacturer skinning - Google should mandate that it should be just another APK within AOSP and users should be given a choice to turn it off.
ii) Device Drivers - Google should mandate there should be a better way of installing device drivers - similar to what we have in MS Windows (MS Windows is an excellent model of how hardware device should be handled - this lead to the exponential growth Windows is enjoying now).
iii) Android OS Update - If Google can achieve the above two, then the choice to upgrade the OS should be at user discretion. Of course, Google should mandate that there is OTA availble as an option. And obviously this OTA would be served by Google, not by device manufacturers. This would also free up time, effort and cash spent by device manufacturers in upgrading the OS.
So this is in the best of interest of everybody.
These restrictions if put in place, would free us all from this phenomena of running outdated OS.
Not sure what ti say on this one. It's true that Samsung has failed on some levels, however I must say that this is the first phone that has allowed me to get to know so much about the internals of the Android OS.
Modifying kernels, ROM's, reading about different file-systems etc... it's not a thing for the common user but I expect the people on this forum to be interested in such things.
Ok, if Samsung had done it right, we may have discussed these things anyway but it would've drawn less attention as people would not be looking for solutions to their problems.
But of course we have to strive to quality for everyone and this letter may just open some people's eyes at both Google and Samsung.
Thank you so far for the feedback.
poundesville said:
my 2 cents worth:
I agree on your points - but I'd skip the first few paragraphs if I were the one who write the letter. Other than that, thank you for making the effort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remember most members of XDA would be a cut above the average user. The reason this letter was written the way it was, was to demonstrate that I am a typical end user. Although I would consider myself leaning slightly to the more advanced side I wrote the letter based on a very general experience of the platform, an experience a lot of consumers would go through.
Toss3 said:
What exactly are you hoping to achieve with this letter? Google has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that samsung don't want to update their phones. In these type of situations it's just better to vote with your wallet and buy another manufacturer's phone next time and let Samsung know why you don't want to use their phones in the future.
Writing letters like these is just a waste of time imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What am I trying to achieve with this letter?
I really don’t know, but it helps to just get the thoughts out there.
With approximately 300,000 activations daily, I don’t think Android sees the true reflection of how their platform is received.
When the Galaxy range of phones was released in the US, they would have been seen as the closest thing to an iPhone that non-AT&T customers could get. So sales and activations shouldn’t be seen as the indicator of clever consumers or consumers wanting an open platform, but of consumers who wanted an iPhone but for the various reasons didn’t want to go with AT&T.
Remember: The international Samsung Galaxy is the only Android phone I know of that looks more like an iPhone than any other phone.
What I would really like to see is, that annually google will release a major version of Android. So V1, V2, V3, etc…. the mobile manufacturers commit to any minor or incremental updates per major version. So if Google says they are releasing Android 2.4 then they are saying to the manufacturer that this version will also work on any phone that currently supports v2.1 to v2.3.
As more and more people move to smartphones and tablets, more and more will we see hackers, spammers, botnets and so on attempt to access our devices. If we can’t have the latest updates that close any open holes then our phones become a huge liability.
Pierreken said:
Not sure what ti say on this one. It's true that Samsung has failed on some levels, however I must say that this is the first phone that has allowed me to get to know so much about the internals of the Android OS.
Modifying kernels, ROM's, reading about different file-systems etc... it's not a thing for the common user but I expect the people on this forum to be interested in such things.
Ok, if Samsung had done it right, we may have discussed these things anyway but it would've drawn less attention as people would not be looking for solutions to their problems.
But of course we have to strive to quality for everyone and this letter may just open some people's eyes at both Google and Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really sure if Samsung has failed as such, but have put too much focus on unit sales rather than quality control and great user experience. They started releasing different iterations and modifications to the same phone without considering that each minor tweak to the hardware would mean more resources to develop updates and maintain each device.
I also agree that without Samsung I would know very little about linux filesystems, kernel and custom roms, but shouldn't all of these be more to push the phone above it's limits and not to just get it working properly?
There's nothing wrong with knowing the advanced stuff, however it shouldn't be a necessity.
The problem ironically is that Android is open source. I agree wit the letter above, but I can;t see how you can stop manufacturers doing what they want.
Also the Drivers being proprietary isn't going to change and device manufacturers aren't going to suddenly start releasing their closed driver sources.
Agreed Google should stand up and restrict the Skins to a single APK that can be removed, this would stop all the associated problems with HTC and Samsung skinning too deep in to the OS that it becomes impossible to remove it. The problem with that is, then any manufacturers APK will be installable on any phone. Which is something we know they don't want.
We already know Androids biggest downfall and so does Google. Fragmentation.
I believe once Google has the strong position they want and users demand Android when they buy a new phone, they will start to put their foot down and try to enforce standardisation across Manufacturers, but until they get to what they feel is that point, we're stuck.
Anyway much luck with the letter, I hope someone who matters get's to see it.
Logicalstep
I promised myself show how Samsung treats its and how they assume responsibilities.
More here:
Samsung Galaxy S I9000 blog
Samsung Galaxy S I9000 Facebook Page
The main ideea is that i am a lucky owner of a phone that comes from a batch that was released on the market with manufacturing errors.
Other owner with same problem found out:
Finally they(samsung) informed us that the display needs to be replaced. This means the front panel in totality will be replaced. I hope to get it back in a couple
of days. The way they were handling the phone i am worried if i will get it back in acceptable condition. It has been a really traumatic experience. They informed me it was a manufacturing defect and there seems to be a batch which might have this issue.
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Click to collapse
After x time the displays of these phones coming from that batch lose color depth and increase brightness, the overall image quality being shattered to pieces.
To be shure my phone had this particular problem, i tried everything from the software point of view that could be done : changed to stock android, tried different custom roms, even the ones with voodoo color fixes, factory reset (of course) but nothing.
I was shure then i had that problem as the owner above and i brought it to service (i just bought the phone in november 2010). I did not know i had to put the original android from samsung, so i got a phone call the next day from samsung service, being told that i voided my warranty and i should pay 350 dolars to fix it.
I understand that rules are rules and that it says that if you use other than original samsung software you void the warranty, but they know, and i know that this is a production fault having NOTHING to do with the software .
The main ideea is the phone comes from a batch with manufacturing defects and they SHOULD asume responsability.
Don`t get me wrong, i loved this phone and Android, but the way samsung deals with this problem is outrageous and i must "be heard" .
I hope your phones do not come from that batch.
Thank you & happy flasing,
Dan Gheorghe
bbluee:
You wrote that You have master degree in computer science
BUT IT DOESN'T PROVE ANYTHING...
were were you living last years?
you were smart enough to flash new firmware but you failed with ensuring your own security and comfort as a common customer, poor you
I can bet that almost everybody on xda do know that before sending broken device (ANY device!!!) to ANY service the most secure way is to ensure it has system and enhancements oficially supported by manufacturer.
Greetings!
V.
voriax said:
bbluee:
You wrote that You have master degree in computer science
BUT IT DOESN'T PROVE ANYTHING...
were were you living last years?
you were smart enough to flash new firmware but you failed with ensuring your own security and comfort as a common customer, poor you
I can bet that almost everybody on xda do know that before sending broken device (ANY device!!!) to ANY service the most secure way is to ensure it has system and enhancements oficially supported by manufacturer.
Greetings!
V.
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Click to collapse
I know i did not have the "best" approach, and if any other given problem they could be right.
I did not want to brag with the degree, only to point out that i know i didn`t do anything to get the phone to have that display problem, and the fact that i know that the software in this case HAS NOTHING to do with the fact this product comes from a batch with manufacturing defects.
I know that here on xda, are people with far more android and phones knowledge than i have.
And you just gave up? This post looks like garbage to me.
"It is like i buy a laptop with windows 7 and i have a hardware problem , take it into service with a linux operating system and they say the warranty was voided." is NOTHING like modifying phone firmware. Samsung doesn't provide you with the tools to flash 3rd party firmware to your phone - if you used ODIN, you used STOLEN Samsung software.
Masters degree in computer science - lol, read the book, "overschooled but undereducated." When sending back a product for warranty service, you re-install all stock firmware; that's pretty basic knowledge.
Sounds like you're bad mouthing Samsung for something that is your fault. Personally, I wouldn't have taken it sitting down; they definitely should fix it, and making a stupid blog post to spout non-sense is just silly - demand they fix it, and know your rights under the law before you do.
phzi said:
And you just gave up? This post looks like garbage to me.
"It is like i buy a laptop with windows 7 and i have a hardware problem , take it into service with a linux operating system and they say the warranty was voided." is NOTHING like modifying phone firmware. Samsung doesn't provide you with the tools to flash 3rd party firmware to your phone - if you used ODIN, you used STOLEN Samsung software.
Masters degree in computer science - lol, read the book, "overschooled but undereducated." When sending back a product for warranty service, you re-install all stock firmware; that's pretty basic knowledge.
Sounds like you're bad mouthing Samsung for something that is your fault. Personally, I wouldn't have taken it sitting down; they definitely should fix it, and making a stupid blog post to spout non-sense is just silly - demand they fix it, and know your rights under the law before you do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, ok... Stop throwing rocks men ) . I said i know i have mistaken in not flashing the phone with the original firmware. Again i did not want to sound cocky in the first post.
Please excuse me if i did.
I just wanted to say i know that what i did, had nothing to do with the display problem.
Was it my fault i bought a product from a batch with manufacturing defects?
Thank you for your feedback.
Hi, I heard on the news that russian and chinese phones may be stuffed with rootkits and backdoors straight from the factory. One reporter mentioned mob/gangs involved.
Can this be true? People have so much personal info on their phones that would be interesting to thieves. And hardly a way to keep them out or to check if you're safe.
I know that there's always a risk, and I'm not going back to a dumbphone. Just wondering if the russian and chinese phones could be the greater risk here.
Not that I particularly trust Apple, Google or Samsung, but I do trust them not to take my phone hostage by ransomware or steal my creditcard info.
The brand Yotaphone is new to me, I really like the idea of the EPD. I tried to get a YD201 a couple of weeks ago, but they're sold out. Now I am considering to buy the Yotaphone 3 when it arrives. But this rumor has me rethinking if I should. Any thoughts on this?
The yotaphone was actually cleared for use in USA a couple of years ago.
joepie67 said:
Hi, I heard on the news that russian and chinese phones may be stuffed with rootkits and backdoors straight from the factory. One reporter mentioned mob/gangs involved.
Can this be true? People have so much personal info on their phones that would be interesting to thieves. And hardly a way to keep them out or to check if you're safe.
I know that there's always a risk, and I'm not going back to a dumbphone. Just wondering if the russian and chinese phones could be the greater risk here.
Not that I particularly trust Apple, Google or Samsung, but I do trust them not to take my phone hostage by ransomware or steal my creditcard info.
The brand Yotaphone is new to me, I really like the idea of the EPD. I tried to get a YD201 a couple of weeks ago, but they're sold out. Now I am considering to buy the Yotaphone 3 when it arrives. But this rumor has me rethinking if I should. Any thoughts on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a link to these sources?
Its probably just paranoid people speculating.
I own a YD206, and is great.
If you really are convinced that there are rootkits and backdoors, just install an antivirus of your choice and run a full scan.
I heard it on the news, so no links unfortunately. It's not like I made up the news either, but it's not so unthinkable if you ask me. I do wonder about my data, and don't mind asking somebody else's opinion.
IIRC it was BLU phones sending user data back to China and that was only because of a third party service called adups which provided the OTA. BLU doesn't make hardware they rebrand existing phones from China, and I remember reading somewhere they don't make the firmware either which is how this fxxk up occured.
Both the actual yotaphone hardware and firmware are unique and not rebranded like BLU. Yota also can't go to another company like BLU did and ask them to make the firmware since their phones have the EPD. I'm confident yota is safe, and besides it's Facebook and Google you have to worry about since they actually collect a fxxk ton of your data.
TL;DR Yota is most likely safe. It's BLU, Google and Facebook you need to worry about.
I own a YD201 (Yotaphone 2) btw.
Hi LeslieKawiti,
That makes sense. Besides, if Yota would be caught that would be the instant deathblow for the brand. It being a niche phone, maybe it's not the best target for a money scam.
It's this stupid Russian hackers bull**it.
But I did once buy a Chinese IP cam, that was infected. Firmware had a virus that enables them to use your internet for DDOS. I updated it with the official firmware and that fixed it. It was something a seller or somebody in transport did, I don't think manufacturer could afford to do something this 'evil'. But who knows what tomorrow brings.
LeslieKawiti said:
IIRC it was BLU phones sending user data back to China and that was only because of a third party service called adups which provided the OTA. BLU doesn't make hardware they rebrand existing phones from China, and I remember reading somewhere they don't make the firmware either which is how this fxxk up occured.
Both the actual yotaphone hardware and firmware are unique and not rebranded like BLU. Yota also can't go to another company like BLU did and ask them to make the firmware since their phones have the EPD. I'm confident yota is safe, and besides it's Facebook and Google you have to worry about since they actually collect a fxxk ton of your data.
TL;DR Yota is most likely safe. It's BLU, Google and Facebook you need to worry about.
I own a YD201 (Yotaphone 2) btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get the googlesearch removed?
I have issues on 6.1 update,
# pm disable com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
for example does not work and I can not deactivate it in user mode as well.
cyanID_ said:
How did you get the googlesearch removed?
I have issues on 6.1 update,
# pm disable com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
for example does not work and I can not deactivate it in user mode as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are talking about the persistent search box, I installed Nova Launcher and ditched it in no time.
---------- Post added at 04:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:57 PM ----------
…although, that’s a bit out of track, me thinks.
Thanks for the temporarily fix
Yes sir, you are correct. Thanks for the advice of installing another launcher.
Still though disabling/hiding softbricks the phone by either bootloop on disabling or freezing on removing
this google system app by force.
It is very sad to have no control about the phone in that aspect.
-> Further the app is occasionally asking different data from phone which can be seen with xprivacy.
Under these internet, serial, activites, location/list and phone/listen. (without using search or audio input)
This sounds creepy to me.
I was pretty hyped every since this device got announced. Saving up my money and arranging for shipping beforehand so I could snatch it ASAP but actually no, I won't be getting this device at all.
I'll tell you the experience I went through when I tried asking their support if they'll release 16gb version of the device so I don't end up regretting jumping the gun on the 12gb one.
Whole experience was dodgy af from support not being able to speaking proper English at all to constantly being asked for personal data that I'd later realise wasn't being user to better answer my questions at all.
For example I asked if there's a trade in program and they reply asking what device I'm using. I take that as OK there is but maybe not every device is elegible so I reply with my current device only to be then told that there's no program at all??? ( Why did they ask what device I'm using then idk and they haven't bothered answering when I questioned them... )
I was also asked where I currently live when I asked if there's a 16gb version on the way and what it would cost. That was before I asked for trade in program, so I thought they might be asking in order to tell me the price for my region but no. Once again, they have no idea if 16gb version is in production and they just inquired for my info again for no reason.
Mind you, the English is completely broken and the reply turnaround is few days to a week per response at best, so I really didn't feel like dragging the conversation around asking why they want to know all of that beforehand.
After all of that I don't feel like I can trust a company like this not to be looking into my personal data during my use of the device. Paying 700$ or maybe upwards of 800$ if 16gb version ever gets released is way too much for not having an ease of mind of what might be going on in the background.
I understand that their reasoning for where I live might be justified but never in the conversation did they inform me ahead of time on what the purpose is for all the data collection is. They haven't answered why they want to know what device I'm using if there's no program in the first place so I'll assume that previous reasoning was also an excuse thought up to justify their inquiry.
I'm pretty bummed to see that as a company they haven't changed much from their early days. They might have improved the OS, introduced better hardware and all but the core of the company is still both shady af and completely non organised.
This all plays a major factor in why I won't be getting this device, just thought I'd let others know too if they are thinking of going for it.
Picture is below, you will have to read from the bottom to the top to follow the conversation.
I don't want to nit pick. you are right in some points. but I'd like to point out a few things.
you're giving them questions in English, which they need to translate then organize into a response then re translate it back for you to understand.
They are based in Hong Kong, So I would assume the number of local English speaking people a small sub section of an already crippled tech giant (due to US sanctions of ZTE) have the space to employ customer service agents in English. when their main market is China.
They tell you to look at the site for information on the sale of the devices in question.
After your question of If a device with 16gb of ram would be available. if the site says no, there is no plan.
so you had your answer to your original Question. they asked what region so they could confirm what devices where available to you. because some parts of the world cannot receive their devices.
your question on the 12gb to 16gb upgrade must have been a mis-understanding.
you can read that in their response. they said there would be no way to upgrade a 12gb to 16gb. to them thats a technical impossibility.
they didn't understand that you meant trade back your 12gb RM5S for a 16GB version.
they though that you were asking if you could upgrade the hardware of your 12gb model.
at least thats how I understood their answer of your question.
they may have asked you what device you where using because they honestly though you were contacting support for a Nubia device. when you said you had a different phone altogether, they were trying to tell you that they did not support your device. as in Nubia don't do customer support for Huawei.
after that you blew up at them for general question to find out what market you were in to see if you would be able to even buy any model.
you took that way out of bounds dude. they are still trying to do their best. with awful translation programs.
your questions were understandable to an English person but you got to understand WHO you're chatting with. and how they will see and understand your messages.
even putting some some of your messages into google translate. going to Chinese simplified then translating it back to English what do you get? because that's only half of about what they will understand from your questions.
I think they did a professional job of explaining to you that you needed to look at the information on the market site of your location. and that they couldn't give you support with your Huawei because its not a supported model of their Nubia support team.
Also you should Hide your personal Email address when posting things online.
Patrick Morgan said:
I don't want to nit pick. you are right in some points. but I'd like to point out a few things.
you're giving them questions in English, which they need to translate then organize into a response then re translate it back for you to understand.
They are based in Hong Kong, So I would assume the number of local English speaking people a small sub section of an already crippled tech giant (due to US sanctions of ZTE) have the space to employ customer service agents in English. when their main market is China.
They tell you to look at the site for information on the sale of the devices in question.
After your question of If a device with 16gb of ram would be available. if the site says no, there is no plan.
so you had your answer to your original Question. they asked what region so they could confirm what devices where available to you. because some parts of the world cannot receive their devices.
your question on the 12gb to 16gb upgrade must have been a mis-understanding.
you can read that in their response. they said there would be no way to upgrade a 12gb to 16gb. to them thats a technical impossibility.
they didn't understand that you meant trade back your 12gb RM5S for a 16GB version.
they though that you were asking if you could upgrade the hardware of your 12gb model.
at least thats how I understood their answer of your question.
they may have asked you what device you where using because they honestly though you were contacting support for a Nubia device. when you said you had a different phone altogether, they were trying to tell you that they did not support your device. as in Nubia don't do customer support for Huawei.
after that you blew up at them for general question to find out what market you were in to see if you would be able to even buy any model.
you took that way out of bounds dude. they are still trying to do their best. with awful translation programs.
your questions were understandable to an English person but you got to understand WHO you're chatting with. and how they will see and understand your messages.
even putting some some of your messages into google translate. going to Chinese simplified then translating it back to English what do you get? because that's only half of about what they will understand from your questions.
I think they did a professional job of explaining to you that you needed to look at the information on the market site of your location. and that they couldn't give you support with your Huawei because its not a supported model of their Nubia support team.
Also you should Hide your personal Email address when posting things online.
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I wish I could give you a hundred likes for this.
As a matter of fact, I was equally thinking along the same lines as your response when I was reading his post.
To OP: I think it's time for you to do a little research on your own first rather than immediately looking for ways to point a finger.
Just my 2 cents
I gotta agree with Patrick, but at the same time I got hosed by Nubia with my RM5G and had a completely different yet still terrible experience. My phone arrived uncalibrated, I talked with Nubia Admin's and they agreed my phone was not calibrated correctly because the camera will switch from 16mp to 64mp, but the image quality is exactly the same, so the camera app is showing it's 64mp, but it can't produce it because it was never calibrated before it left the factory. Which means there's a whole batch of RM5G's out there that don't actually take 64mp photo's. I contacted Nubia countless times, they only actually responded twice, the first time they were really nice, apologized for the phone not working and gladly offered to take it back for an exchange. and after giving them all of my info, just like stated above where they're data hungry. They ghosted me. I tried again about a month later because the finger print sensor also stopped working and again, same process, ,they were nice, offered to take it back and exchange for a new unit, gave them all of my info again for the return label, and just like clock work, ghosted me.. fast forward 8 MONTHS LATER, I got an email (this was only a few weeks ago now) where they actually followed up asking if I still needed a return request for my phone. I said yes, they then asked for all of my info.. again.. even though it was literally in the previous email they responded to.. but sure, play by their game, gave it all again.. and ghosted.. it's been a few weeks now, probably going on about a month actually and I still haven't heard back from them lol.
To put it simply, they do not care about customers, Nubia is about making money, they just want their product in your hand, once it is, peace, later, seeya, goodbye.
So I gave up on them. I have all of it documented, made a few youtube videos, people hated me for bad mouthing Nubia but in all reality they're a terrible company. The RM5G is actually a deadly phone now that everything is fixed, but you gotta remember this is a phone that on launch showed up to my door unable to make a phone call because the software was so broken the microphone would turn off if you made a call, it only worked on speaker phone lol. It couldn't send MMS messages, and mine specifically doesn't even have a calibrated 64mp camera. It's complete junk. It looks cool, ,the idea is there, the platform is there, the software is trash, and the company should probably be stripped of rights to sell uncompleted products.
It was as later confirmed that the launch software was Beta because they didn't have it done for their launch day, so like I said earlier, clearly shows that rather than delaying launch to fix bugs, they cared more about getting their phones in our hands rather than actually having a good product.
I mean, it's great now, basically everything is fixed but the soiled taste in my mouth from this company makes this phone look good on my desk, I don't daily it, and if anyone asks about it I tell them it was almost cool but the company ruined it and I don't recommend people buy them because of Nubia's practices.
Kinda like what they did here with the 5S lol, lets just change the logo on the glass.. add a little piece of metal to the centre.. .boom, new phone, new software that actually works.. no we won't fix the 5G yet.. we'll make a new phone for $10 more instead of fixing the actually identical phone already in the wild that's riddled with issues.
Nubia cares more about making money, than they do making a good product. It's been working for them this long, why would they change? Sure it's shady but it's business, it sucks but that's the world we live in, if we don't like it, then we just won't buy their products again. I'm one of those. I still play with the 5G from time to time but I wouldn't daily this thing if my life depended on it.. Which not as life threatening as suggested, but I soft bricked my S20 ultra while playing around with One UI 3.0 flashes, and instead of putting my SIM into the RM5G, I just decided it was better to go without a phone for 3 days until I fixed my S20 Ultra than it was to deal with the bugs and headaches that follow with the RM5G.
Which is why I'm back, 8.11 came out and it's suppose to be good so I'm giving it another shot, maybe I could use it as an Android game console to toss in my bag or something if it's stable enough.
Anyway, kind of went off on a rant there. Nubia is trash, the phones are cool, but if you buy one, just pretend you're buying something without warranty, no customer support, and you're entirely on your own once you get it. You buy these phones AS-IS because Nubia doesn't give an F about you after the sale is completed lol
bencozzy said:
This is the redmagic 5s forum I think you posted on the wrong place.
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It's still the same phone, they both even officially use the same firmware now. 5G and 5S are the same phone, they just have a different piece of glass on the back.
However, I was just responding in coordinate to the OP having a bad experience with the company Nubia, as I also had a bad experience with the company, it's still relevant as the device doesn't matter when we're addressing the customer support we received.
Guys I need some help. If I am posting in the wrong place I apologize and please redirect me. My less than a month old 5S pulse (Christmas present we got both his and hers) literally just died while I was scrolling through my WeChat! I really loved the phone though up to that point. No the phone was not abused....I baby it! It had more than 90% charge at the time, was not running any apps so no stress, laying on the table beside me so not in my pocket or being charged. Literally just watching a photo on the screen and it suddenly dimmed black and died. No sign, no drama. Power button and volume buttons dont do anything....any ideas as to what to do are welcome :-(
I don't see a support thread for 5S here ...only 5G hence my above post
Phew thank God I saw this thread. Was really interested in the redmagic 6 pro, at £600 but stories like these freak me right out, I guess I'll be staying away.
Patrick Morgan said:
I don't want to nit pick. you are right in some points. but I'd like to point out a few things.
you're giving them questions in English, which they need to translate then organize into a response then re translate it back for you to understand.
They are based in Hong Kong, So I would assume the number of local English speaking people a small sub section of an already crippled tech giant (due to US sanctions of ZTE) have the space to employ customer service agents in English. when their main market is China.
you took that way out of bounds dude. they are still trying to do their best. with awful translation programs.
your questions were understandable to an English person but you got to understand WHO you're chatting with. and how they will see and understand your messages.
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Click to collapse
Hi, I'll jump into the conversation as it's similarly relevant to my case.
I agree with the rest of your arguments, but including the part where you, yourself mentioned possible nitpicking & in a limited context, will side with the OP.
I have a feeling you try to see the best in people & also in this case, focus on the "human being".
That's noble of you, but let's keep in mind that at the end of a day, we're (as client) making a financial transaction & expecting/owed reliable support. It's not the client's worry how the supplier (in this case, Nubia) sorts out his support structures, but the supplier, needs to manage client expectations & deliver a service of relevant quality.
1: I'd agree with the OP, that Nubia has terrible support.
- being fully aware that they are providing a global service (assuming OP reached out via the global or EU portal), should provide adequate support - meaning service desk agents or support staff with adequate command of the English language.
- responsiveness - my particular case has echoed OP's experience - terrible response times. To the extent of "some benefit", they did follow up on some questions with a week's/week & a half, delay.
- knowledge & eagerness to provide client satisfaction - they will never tell you that they don't know something but will consult internally & come back to the client with a satisfactory response (I was asking about the reason behind the differences in power adapters in the different regions - global/china).
- misc - not following their legal obligations & releasing adequate GPL code within required timelines (example: kernel).
- the device is crippled on unlocking the bootloader (fingerprint scanner stops working). Understandably, any activity AFTER unlocking a bootloader (example: messing with system files) is not RedMagic's worry, but the sole fact of just unlocking the bootloader should not cripple functionality. Relevant behaviour in other OEMs (Sony Xperia - the camera stopped working after unlocking the BL, but they fixed their approach in time).
2: they will not take ownership for blunders & do their best endeavours to make it up to the client.
Case: I ordered my phone on the 10th of April, it was stuck in processing for 2 weeks (their shipment policy mentions a maximum of 4 days for processing). It's still not here (major city in the EU). Even in the most pessimistic variant, the device should have been at my doorstep, yesterday at the latest & I'm looking at a delivery near the end of the week.
They cancelled the first FedEx shipment, were not forthcoming/(fully) transparent regarding the cause.
Mistakes happen, but if I were a supplier who's keen on building brand loyalty & focused on the quality of my service, I'd go miles to try to make it up to the client - in this case, I would have at least expected the fastest shipping & maybe a gesture of reparation (some accessories, or at the very least discounts for purchases in the future).
The only thing which kept me from going for the Black Shark 4 Pro was the absence of an under-display fingerprint scanner. I admit that RedMagic seems to be the current leader of the gaming phone niche, but other OEMs have caught onto this segment & in a year or two, should RM keep their current approach/practices, will start losing relevancy, as at the end of the day, client satisfaction is all that matters & this should be the foremost priority of any business owner.
adwinp said:
Hi, I'll jump into the conversation as it's similarly relevant to my case.
I agree with the rest of your arguments, but including the part where you, yourself mentioned possible nitpicking & in a limited context, will side with the OP.
I have a feeling you try to see the best in people & also in this case, focus on the "human being".
That's noble of you, but let's keep in mind that at the end of a day, we're (as client) making a financial transaction & expecting/owed reliable support. It's not the client's worry how the supplier (in this case, Nubia) sorts out his support structures, but the supplier, needs to manage client expectations & deliver a service of relevant quality.
1: I'd agree with the OP, that Nubia has terrible support.
- being fully aware that they are providing a global service (assuming OP reached out via the global or EU portal), should provide adequate support - meaning service desk agents or support staff with adequate command of the English language.
- responsiveness - my particular case has echoed OP's experience - terrible response times. To the extent of "some benefit", they did follow up on some questions with a week's/week & a half, delay.
- knowledge & eagerness to provide client satisfaction - they will never tell you that they don't know something but will consult internally & come back to the client with a satisfactory response (I was asking about the reason behind the differences in power adapters in the different regions - global/china).
- misc - not following their legal obligations & releasing adequate GPL code within required timelines (example: kernel).
- the device is crippled on unlocking the bootloader (fingerprint scanner stops working). Understandably, any activity AFTER unlocking a bootloader (example: messing with system files) is not RedMagic's worry, but the sole fact of just unlocking the bootloader should not cripple functionality. Relevant behaviour in other OEMs (Sony Xperia - the camera stopped working after unlocking the BL, but they fixed their approach in time).
2: they will not take ownership for blunders & do their best endeavours to make it up to the client.
Case: I ordered my phone on the 10th of April, it was stuck in processing for 2 weeks (their shipment policy mentions a maximum of 4 days for processing). It's still not here (major city in the EU). Even in the most pessimistic variant, the device should have been at my doorstep, yesterday at the latest & I'm looking at a delivery near the end of the week.
They cancelled the first FedEx shipment, were not forthcoming/(fully) transparent regarding the cause.
Mistakes happen, but if I were a supplier who's keen on building brand loyalty & focused on the quality of my service, I'd go miles to try to make it up to the client - in this case, I would have at least expected the fastest shipping & maybe a gesture of reparation (some accessories, or at the very least discounts for purchases in the future).
The only thing which kept me from going for the Black Shark 4 Pro was the absence of an under-display fingerprint scanner. I admit that RedMagic seems to be the current leader of the gaming phone niche, but other OEMs have caught onto this segment & in a year or two, should RM keep their current approach/practices, will start losing relevancy, as at the end of the day, client satisfaction is all that matters & this should be the foremost priority of any business owner.
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- Nit picking, in terms of what device to buy, its a personal call. if you prefer to side with another that is totally OK and is not my problem.
- For seeing the best in people, you've not read my posts on Nubia support and their lack of actual support I've written a few times here on XDA.
in a basic manner, if the phone turns on, and the basic features advertised and (mentioned in the small print) is working as described, all other features and options are of a personal preference.
Features like - what do you mean I can't enable and disable the fan from the dropdown notification menu? or why is NFC not a togglable tile in the drop down menu either? ( both options have been added by custom app developer on our Telegram group) but Nubia have stated it was not intended and wont be added. (but they added those options in the 6 series devices {oh did they now?}) - strange how those that have already paid them money have been left behind on features that would be very easy to add) ( the code is freely available on github)
- Global service to sell devices. support its a toss up based on warranty ownership. (its why they only support devices that are bought directly from them) all stock is shipped from Hong Kong. its a Chinese business selling stuff from china. they use a translation app / program to communicate with most customers. there is a few people like Jerry here, that have decent enough command of the english language, but still fails to understand some things. their staff are all ... ALL Chinese. English is not the only Language in the world so they have to adapt to all other languages too. (redmagic Phones are actually sold more in the Indian / Arab regions of the world outside of the Asian / Chinese markets. so English customer services is actually a few steps below any kind of priority before their other more paying customer regions. which covers their response time. I usually get a 3-5 day time line. (maybe I'm more polite about my messages to redmagic.gg ?? ) maybeI dont know.
- My last message to them was about the current bug-list for the 8.59/7.60 roms all I got was. thanks we will forward to the department responsible. .. some 5 or so weeks ago. Go team red for that awesomely fast R&D department - Not.
- GPL source codes. ? what GPL source? were does it say they need to provide adequate sources? does this mean Nubia as well as almost every other OEM have broken the law?? OMgosh we need to bring all the peoples to court.
almost all OEM release old broken non up to date sources. even Nubia, Sony, Samsung, Xiaomi, IQOO, POCO phone, Mediatek, Qualcomm, Etc you will always find a few devcies that quite literally have no source at all published anywhere, and then you'll find sources that are so broken, with base drivers and other stuff that even making hardly boots on the required hardware. needin additional work to get booting, then bug fixed to get stable. nothing like the stock kernels that the oems release with up to date roms. for Nubia for example - the current A11 kernel they released is a almost direct copy of the base Android 11 kernel. just without some needed things to actually compile and boot. (even the triggers) you gotta make those yourself. - kernel source is provided as required by law. take Nubia to court if you need any more sources I'm sure google will help with that eventually in about 40 years.
fingerprint sensor being corrupted when unlocking bootloader is not a bug. Its actually a feature added to the device by Qualcomm. According to Jerry it was done on purpose and is not a bug.
Shipping and processing, sometimes can literally be out of their hands. with covid now some companies are required by law to close for 2 weeks. at their own loss, instead of advertising that their shipping processing center was closed or limited, its possible it was on hold for 2 weeks due to something they couldn't deal with.
but as customer processes like these are common, writing to them to find out what's going on with a 3 days delay before writing once again with the order number and a request for a refund usually gets them to contact you pretty fast.
client satisfaction at point of sale is all that matters. once they have your money, you don't get it back.
to be honest though. Jerry has, every time I've put someone in his direction for a genuine warranty service he has been on point and helped everyone he could. his estimates are rubbish though and he should stop telling people update will be out on X day because it nearly never true and never his fault (his fault he got the date wrong, but not his fault its delayed)
he's not in charge of software development but he can give suggestions and push requests that are demanded ALOT.
So if 3 people (in my current experience here on XDA and the some 700+ people on the telegram group) there is 3 people I have personally seen report the hz refresh rate issue on youtube and instagram and other common apps like this on the new Android 11. so unless there is a big. like a few thousand people getting in Nubia's faces about this on their twitter, facebook, and other social media sites and talking about the lack of support for updates etc like myself and few other members did back in January this year to get Android 11 for the global customers Nubia will sweep most of these things under the rug until its a big pile of crap they need to clean by dealing with it.
thats the only option for companies that don't respond or help. hurt their marketing image and they'll jump to help you.
privately request, or even publicly post here on XDA where most Chinese people wouldn't even know what this site is at a first glance and you're not getting the message to the right people.
contact support. when that does not work, go social and go big. its the only way to get the message through.