950 vs 650 reliability

[ewgoforth]

My 650 has totally died for the second time in 6 months. I sent up back under warranty the first time. I'd like to replace it with a 950, but am really unhappy with the 650. Is the 950 as durable as the old 920s, etc. were? I'm temporarily back on my old 928.

 

[libra89]

Wow, I'm sorry that you have had a sour time with your 650s. I would say that the 950 is pretty durable. Unfortunately some 950s have had random restarts and others haven't had any issues at all. Even so, I think it would be worth it to take a chance on it.

 

[xandros9]

If you're asking physical durability, then the 950 is hard to gauge like most any other phone.

But if you're talking reliability, I'm not sure. I think you're having a run of bad luck frankly. (which reminds me of the guy exchanging his Palm Pre eight(?) times)

 

[slivy58]

That's not good and sorry to hear that...

As for the physical aspect, I don't think most phones of of "today" are built like the "tanks" (so to speak) of yesterday especially when comparing them to the 920 era. All my devices are equipped with some sort of protective case/screen protector for an extra bit of reassurance because I do see the new breeds being more vulnerable to damage.

I'm new to the 650/950 realm so a bit early for me to comment fully on their overall reliability, but after a few weeks of use so far so good. Yes they both have the elusive W10M bugs and quirks yet have been up to the task each and every time I've called upon them... Maybe with an extra nudge or two at times :winktongue:

 

[MrockNroll]

I have a 650, so far its been very reliable but is in a case, and only 4 months old. I do know that my Lumia 640 has been a tank, dropped on concrete twice and on a wood floor once with no case only a minor scratch/ding. the ATT version has win10 mobile but my T-Mobile only win 8.1 mobile.

 

[ewgoforth]

I have had a case on it. I may have dropped my 650 a few times but have never cracked either one's screen. The 650 failures have both been seemingly out of the blue. One time while listening to podcasts. Another time when I rebooted it to see if it would help a minor glitch. In both cases the 650 wouldn't turn back on at all.

I've had a couple 928s, a 521, a couple 1020s, and a 530. The 521 lasted a bit over a year, one of the 1020s developed a problem with the charging port after a year. The 928 is still working about 3 years with a cracked screen. Both 1020s were bought used on eBay.

The 650 has been a real disappointment. It looks like a really nicely finished phone foe the money, but two dead brand new phone in six months is pretty bad even for a budget phone.

 

[slivy58]

I have had a case on it. I may have dropped my 650 a few times but have never cracked either one's screen. The 650 failures have both been seemingly out of the blue. One time while listening to podcasts. Another time when I rebooted it to see if it would help a minor glitch. In both cases the 650 wouldn't turn back on at all.

I've had a couple 928s, a 521, a couple 1020s, and a 530. The 521 lasted a bit over a year, one of the 1020s developed a problem with the charging port after a year. The 928 is still working about 3 years with a cracked screen. Both 1020s were bought used on eBay.

The 650 has been a real disappointment. It looks like a really nicely finished phone foe the money, but two dead brand new phone in six months is pretty bad even for a budget phone.

Yeah a bit of bad luck for sure, maybe the drops no matter how insignificant jarred something loose which is a possibility. In my opinion the 650 is more fragile than some but not all that I've had or seen.

My first 650 came defunct out-of-the-box in that the display wouldn't turn on in the cold. WP has been the only phone I have ever encountered hardware issues with, EVER. My track record to-date is 4 out of 6 as being defective in one form or the another, not all were completely incapacitated either in that two out of that four were still usable. Thankfully and fingers crossed, my newest 650 and it's bigger brother (950) haven't succumbed to any hardware issues after a several weeks of daily use.

 

[Stephen Pedersen1]

I went through 3 650's. Poorly made phones if you ask me, so when my last one broke i traded it in for a 950."the build quality isn't top notch, but what's under.the hood is great. The battery life is much better, I'd say 50%better. Just make sure you get a decent case. I bought the tudia case and It's solid. The 950 isn't as flimsy either, it has some bulk which is a reassurance of It's worth. It feels more expensive. If you get a case then I recommend it. The phone innetially went for $550 and now can be had for about 230 - 250 @ms store I believe.

I personally love it. I just wish it had iTunes available amongst other apps, but it's nice to have ms office built in. Also the composite adapter you plug your.phone into is much better than micro USB. It's far less likely to break and charges quickly.

Let me know what you think!

 

[slivy58]

I went through 3 650's. Poorly made phones if you ask me, so when my last one broke i traded it in for a 950."the build quality isn't top notch, but what's under.the hood is great. The battery life is much better, I'd say 50%better. Just make sure you get a decent case. I bought the tudia case and It's solid. The 950 isn't as flimsy either, it has some bulk which is a reassurance of It's worth. It feels more expensive. If you get a case then I recommend it. The phone innetially went for $550 and now can be had for about 230 - 250 @ms store I believe.

I personally love it. I just wish it had iTunes available amongst other apps, but it's nice to have ms office built in. Also the composite adapter you plug your.phone into is much better than micro USB. It's far less likely to break and charges quickly.

Let me know what you think!

Out of curiosity, were you running the 650's naked and what broke on them as that's some bad luck? Haven't had any build quality issues with either the 650 or 950 and both are doing quite well, (each in a case w/screen protectors along with good holsters), admittedly I do baby them as we have with all our devices yet they are subjected to some harsh and abnormal environments compared to some... I'm a HD Mechanic who's job is located in an underground mine so not your normal settings to being using such devices.

Even though the 950 isn't my primary phone I'd still give the nod to the 650 for superior battery life. And for obvious reasons the 950 is the better performer but not to the degree I was anticipating, again, I fault the OS for not utilizing it's hardware to the fullest.

Yes the 950's bulk does give it a bit more of a quality feel yet the 650 has turned out to be the perfect phone for me in regards to how it feels in-hand, its overall size and weight with case I've chosen, so much so that I'm willing to accept the underdog as my daily driver or at least for now.

I've heard some complaints about the USB type-C connector in 950/XL breaking so not sure how well it actually stands up, I use it on occasion but mostly charge wirelessly. To-date I've never had any charging ports go south but then we are fairly genital on our gear, guess you could say I'm a bit OCD that way and that's no joke.

 

[RTGent]

My black beauty, which I bought on release date, has been highly reliable, and still looks new. I hadn't been in the ATT store for help for 8-10 months and didn't learn until last week that they don't have in-store tech-support units anymore. That's a damn shame. Fortunately, the 950 has marched on flawlessly since I learned how to use it, so I probably won't miss those centers much myself. If mine died today, I'd start shopping for another one. Only a 950 XS(mall) would make me switch. :smile:

 

[Stephen Pedersen1]

Originally posted by Elky64

Originally Posted by Stephen Pedersen1
I went through 3 650's. Poorly made phones if you ask me, so when my last one broke i traded it in for a 950."the build quality isn't top notch, but what's under.the hood is great. The battery life is much better, I'd say 50%better. Just make sure you get a decent case. I bought the tudia case and It's solid. The 950 isn't as flimsy either, it has some bulk which is a reassurance of It's worth. It feels more expensive. If you get a case then I recommend it. The phone innetially went for $550 and now can be had for about 230 - 250 @ms store I believe.

I personally love it. I just wish it had iTunes available amongst other apps, but it's nice to have ms office built in. Also the composite adapter you plug your.phone into is much better than micro USB. It's far less likely to break and charges quickly.

Let me know what you think!

Out of curiosity, were you running the 650's naked and what broke on them as that's some bad luck? Haven't had any build quality issues with either the 650 or 950 and both are doing quite well, (each in a case w/screen protectors along with good holsters), admittedly I do baby them as we have with all our devices yet they are subjected to some harsh and abnormal environments compared to some... I'm a HD Mechanic who's job is located in an underground mine so not your normal settings to being using such devices.

Even though the 950 isn't my primary phone I'd still give the nod to the 650 for superior battery life. And for obvious reasons the 950 is the better performer but not to the degree I was anticipating, again, I fault the OS for not utilizing it's hardware to the fullest.

Yes the 950's bulk does give it a bit more of a quality feel yet the 650 has turned out to be the perfect phone for me in regards to how it feels in-hand, its overall size and weight with case I've chosen, so much so that I'm willing to accept the underdog as my daily driver or at least for now.

I've heard some complaints about the USB type-C connector in 950/XL breaking so not sure how well it actually stands up, I use it on occasion but mostly charge wirelessly. To-date I've never had any charging ports go south but then we are fairly genital on our gear, guess you could say I'm a bit OCD that way and that's no joke.

What broke on my 3 Lumia 650's: Power jack, headphone jack, the inside digitizer, which was weird because the screen itself wasn't broken, and another time the screen. The phone too flimsy i believe, for me, and yes, they were naked. I suggest going to a Microsoft Store and putting pressure on the phone to see how flimsy the body is. Definitely get the insurance! There battery hardly lasted from 9am to 4pm. The 950 isn't that expensive anymore. I love it everything about it but it's physical design, but I have a case on it this time. I won't make that mistake again. It's of my opinion that the 950 is twice the phone the 650 is. The 650 looks sexier though, I'll give it that.

 

[ewgoforth]

I've upgraded to a 950. I bought it from Amazon for $300. It's an unlocked Australian market phone, so the wall adapter wouldn't work here in the USA. I like it better than the 650 although the 650 looks more premium. Faster than the 650. Better camera. The continuum works with my Roku 3. Seems to stream video smoother if they're right next to each other.

I wish the iris recognition worked better. Be nice if it showed your eyes on the screen similar to what you see when you set up Windows Hello.

I've also found out my 650 just has a dead screen, I don't know if I'll fix it.

 

[dov1978]

I've upgraded to a 950. I bought it from Amazon for $300. It's an unlocked Australian market phone, so the wall adapter wouldn't work here in the USA. I like it better than the 650 although the 650 looks more premium. Faster than the 650. Better camera. The continuum works with my Roku 3. Seems to stream video smoother if they're right next to each other.

I wish the iris recognition worked better. Be nice if it showed your eyes on the screen similar to what you see when you set up Windows Hello.

I've also found out my 650 just has a dead screen, I don't know if I'll fix it.

What build are you on? I've never bothered about Windows Hello until I installed the Fast Ring insider update on my 950xl. It shaves off a few animations and it's now faster than entering a pin making it much more usable.

 

[Rubidad]

I've upgraded to a 950. I bought it from Amazon for $300. The continuum works with my Roku 3. Seems to stream video smoother if they're right next to each other.

I'll have a 950 later this week.:grin: Your ability to have Continuum work on the Roku sounds very interesting and cool. I'll have to see if I can do the same on my older Roku. Not sure how, but with a little help from Windows Central, I'll give it a try.
By the way, this will be replacing my 650-a great phone which will become my wife's, if she will ever let go of her 640.

 

[libra89]

I'll have a 950 later this week.:grin: Your ability to have Continuum work on the Roku sounds very interesting and cool. I'll have to see if I can do the same on my older Roku. Not sure how, but with a little help from Windows Central, I'll give it a try.
By the way, this will be replacing my 650-a great phone which will become my wife's, if she will ever let go of her 640.

Welcome to the club! Hope you'll like it!