A word of warning to anyone considering a 950 XL
I have had mine since June 2016 having bought it whilst in the USA. It?s a brilliant phone, I absolutely love it and have had no issues with it at all. The camera especially is fantastic and the bigger screen compared to my 1020 is awesome
.
However, I now feel totally hung out to dry by Microsoft. Last week, entirely my own fault, the phone slipped out my hand as I exited my car, and despite the ?protective? case I had bought, the screen cracked. The phone still works fine, and it?s not the worst crack ever but enough that tiny slivers of glass appear every time I go to use it. Not ideal
.
My first port of call was a local phone repair shop just to get an idea of cost. ?230 for a phone you can now buy brand new at ?340 made my heart sink I can tell you!
I did a bit of research and was directed to the Device Support page on Microsoft?s own site. I was able to register my device, and go through the 7 stages, adding my details as it went like my address, fault, agreed to the ?160 cost, card details etc. At the last stage, the ?Pay Now? the website returned an error *"We're sorry. Something went wrong on our side, and we are working on it. Please come back in a while?.
I managed to speak to a human by calling the MS support number and selecting the option for technical support for Mobile devices. He took my details, gave me a case number and said he?d pass it on and to expect an email. That was last Friday 2nd October
This morning, having heard nothing, I thought I?d see if the Device Support website was working. Like last week, after I log in I can see my 950 XL is registered, which I did by entering its IMEI. I click ?get started? but now it?s redirecting me to a company called BX2, apparently a partner to MS. The landing page there has options for sending a device for repair, or chat or call back. All of them require you to enter the IMEI otherwise there are no other options or numbers etc.
The 950 XL is not recognised, i.e. you can go no further. End of. Full stop. Back on the MS Device Support landing page, out of curiosity I tried to register my 1020 and they have actually removed the option to register anything other than Xbox, Surface or Band. Mobile device support via MS has now ended.
Fortunately, I have my 1020 so use its IMEI on the BX2 page and ask for a call back. I get a call from someone who can speak English but unfortunately does not seem able to comprehend anything beyond her script particularly well. Eventually I get her to understand that I had to use another phones IMEI simply to be able to make contact. We discuss the situation, the long pauses and questions that don?t seem to make much sense worry me slightly but I think we get there. She assures me that they will be able to fix my phone and someone will call me back. We will see.
I appreciate there is an element of ?well, you should have been more careful? but having supported Nokia and then MS phones for years, if they can?t be bothered anymore then why should we? They have already said they are stopping Lumia production and it looks like at least for the final generation of devices, technical support will be excruciating to get.
It is a great phone. Its ?340. If it breaks, if you are lucky you might be able to get it repaired for a pretty steep fee, but you might not.
Much as it pains me, don?t buy this or any other current MS phone unless you are prepared for this certainty. I will have to see this through now, and eat the cost and hassle, don?t make my mistake of thinking MS will look after you.
I have had mine since June 2016 having bought it whilst in the USA. It?s a brilliant phone, I absolutely love it and have had no issues with it at all. The camera especially is fantastic and the bigger screen compared to my 1020 is awesome
.
However, I now feel totally hung out to dry by Microsoft. Last week, entirely my own fault, the phone slipped out my hand as I exited my car, and despite the ?protective? case I had bought, the screen cracked. The phone still works fine, and it?s not the worst crack ever but enough that tiny slivers of glass appear every time I go to use it. Not ideal
.
My first port of call was a local phone repair shop just to get an idea of cost. ?230 for a phone you can now buy brand new at ?340 made my heart sink I can tell you!
I did a bit of research and was directed to the Device Support page on Microsoft?s own site. I was able to register my device, and go through the 7 stages, adding my details as it went like my address, fault, agreed to the ?160 cost, card details etc. At the last stage, the ?Pay Now? the website returned an error *"We're sorry. Something went wrong on our side, and we are working on it. Please come back in a while?.
I managed to speak to a human by calling the MS support number and selecting the option for technical support for Mobile devices. He took my details, gave me a case number and said he?d pass it on and to expect an email. That was last Friday 2nd October
This morning, having heard nothing, I thought I?d see if the Device Support website was working. Like last week, after I log in I can see my 950 XL is registered, which I did by entering its IMEI. I click ?get started? but now it?s redirecting me to a company called BX2, apparently a partner to MS. The landing page there has options for sending a device for repair, or chat or call back. All of them require you to enter the IMEI otherwise there are no other options or numbers etc.
The 950 XL is not recognised, i.e. you can go no further. End of. Full stop. Back on the MS Device Support landing page, out of curiosity I tried to register my 1020 and they have actually removed the option to register anything other than Xbox, Surface or Band. Mobile device support via MS has now ended.
Fortunately, I have my 1020 so use its IMEI on the BX2 page and ask for a call back. I get a call from someone who can speak English but unfortunately does not seem able to comprehend anything beyond her script particularly well. Eventually I get her to understand that I had to use another phones IMEI simply to be able to make contact. We discuss the situation, the long pauses and questions that don?t seem to make much sense worry me slightly but I think we get there. She assures me that they will be able to fix my phone and someone will call me back. We will see.
I appreciate there is an element of ?well, you should have been more careful? but having supported Nokia and then MS phones for years, if they can?t be bothered anymore then why should we? They have already said they are stopping Lumia production and it looks like at least for the final generation of devices, technical support will be excruciating to get.
It is a great phone. Its ?340. If it breaks, if you are lucky you might be able to get it repaired for a pretty steep fee, but you might not.
Much as it pains me, don?t buy this or any other current MS phone unless you are prepared for this certainty. I will have to see this through now, and eat the cost and hassle, don?t make my mistake of thinking MS will look after you.