Is Lumia920 / WP8 ready for business use?

uktivo

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Hi all..

Firstly, lets just say.. This isn't a WP8 or Nokia bashing thread. I really love the handset and I'm sure WP8, although with it's issues will become big.

However.. I have now had three Lumia 920 handsets, all three have become faulty with various faults within 7-10 days of use. Such things as battery drain, camera not working, handset failing to switch on, constant resetting and the latest issue, my new handset wireless charging system failed. (i know it's a handset issue as a work mate put his nexus 4 on the stand and it charged)

I really wanted to start this thread so that all other business users that are thinking of jumping could have a quick input on the platform from someone that really has tried it.

Now I do agree, that there is a new OS fix coming out for two (maybe 3) of the above faults but in all honesty I've lost faith in the handset, especially as I use this for a business phone. A business phone HAS to be reliable. I travel the world with my phone, I need it to switch on and work. I can't be messing around with draining batteries, factory resets etc. Couple the above issues with the following:

1. Exchange sync doesn't sync correctly. When emails are deleted on the phone they don't sync until you physically press SYNC.. this just isn't acceptable as a business tool, regardless what MS tell us, ALL other platforms sync on deletion of emails which means all accounts are up to date. I've lost count the number of times i've deleted emails on my handset only to find they are still in my inbox when i open outlook. Doubling workload isn't a great way to encourage business to adopt this ecosystem.

2. Notifications are a bit hit and miss. Some work, some don't. The ones that do work disappear sometimes. Again, as a business user, I want to know if I have new emails in my account. The problem I have, lets say 10 emails are in my inbox, I look at the first one and reply to it. When I back out of the inbox, the tile doesn't show that i have 9 unread emails, it shows i have 0. This has to be wrong.. surely it should still say I have 9 unread ones.. a business needs this type of input.

3. Notification sounds. Again, as a business user, it would be very useful to have different sounds allocated to notifications. This way you don't need to keep looking at whats just arrived, the sound will tell you

4. One volume level for all.. Point blank fails.

5. I've encountered a few blue tooth issues in my car where the phone refuses to connect. it will happily send the contact details but will not connect the mobile signal to make / receive calls. (full strength signal on the phone).. On a positive note.. the sms read out / reply is fantastic... something i'm going to miss a lot.

6. Backing up and restoring. I have had big issues with backup and restore. It seems I'm able to backup ok but restoring is another thing altogether. If I have to perform a factory reset and trust me, I've done it many times over the last four weeks. The three handsets I've had have all failed to restore from a backup. now in fairness, I have to point out that I'm using an unlocked handset with an O2 UK sim. I'm not sure if this is the problem but if it is, again, MS should have thought, planned this ahead of release. When I factory reset with my sim in the phone. It goes through the set up process. At the point of it asking if you have a microsoft account (where the backup is stored), i enter the log in details but because the phone hasn't set up a wifi connection at this point, it tries to connect via mobile data connection which fails as the sim hasn't been set up either. I'm not sure in the contract handsets are different and they get some sort of data connection from the start making the restore function a possibility but the unlocked ones fail. So I have to complete the process and then load everthing back in one by one and set it all up again. Sorry, once or twice i will do this but I've had to factory reset many times over the last few weeks. MS could have easily corrected this process by asking a simple question at the very end of the set up process, once wifi / mobile data is set up. They could ask, would you like to restore your backup from the MS website. Yes or No.. simple.

There are quite a few more issues I've encountered but the above are the deal breakers for me as a business.

I've tried for many weeks to get the Lumia handsets to do what I need them to do. I really aren't bothered about music syncs, video syncs, facebook etc. I just what / needed an ecosystem that my business and all it's users could swap to. Sorry WP8.. you failed.

Best of luck to all users. I will miss some of the features of the phone and OS, I will not miss the unreliability and constant factory resets.


Ps.. I will definitely miss the wpcentral app.. fantastic piece of work..
 
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sudakoma

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Your first sentence says that this is not a bashing thread and then the rest of your post goes on to bash WP8 and Nokia? Why put that bit in at all?

I also have a 920 and use it for business and for me, it works perfectly, I have no issues that prevent it being my daily driver. Some of the issues you mention are nothing to do with WP8 being ready for business and are your personal preferences.

For instance, if I read and delete an email from my phone, I don't want it deleting from Outlook as well as I prefer to keep a copy of all emails on my main office PC. As for having the live tile show how many unread emails you have, why would I want this? I want it to show me 'new' emails, not ones I'm aware of, again a personal preference, not a fault.

Bluetooth issues can be caused by your car software/hardware, it works perfectly in mine.

One volume for all - ok, this one I can agree with and hope will be fixed in a future update but does this make it unsuitable for business?

Your backup and restore issues are linked to the problems you have had and the fact that you managed to get the 920 working on O2, not an actual design problem with the phone.

Incidentally, where did you manage to get a charging stand from as I am still waiting for mine and nowhere in the UK seems to have them in stock yet?
 

uktivo

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If you read my previous posts I've had nothing but respect for wp8 and the lumia920. Hence why I stand by my original comment of not wanting to bash. Yes you are probably correct when saying some of the issues are personal preferences but I'm confident I'm not the only user or potential user of this ecosystem that would have those preferences hence the post to outline these to those users.

I too could rip your personal preferences apart but I won't as they are what you require. However, it would be great if ms could allow the user to set these preferences but just to pick up on a couple of them:

"Bluetooth issues can be caused by your car software/hardware, it works perfectly in mine."
I drive probably the most driven managers car in the world, BMW 530 (F10 New model). ALL other phones I've had, HTC OneX, Iphone 4s, Nexus 4, Lumia 800 have all worked. No issues. In fact the 920 worked with no issues but for some unknown reason, I assume software, it fails to load the mobile phone connection sometimes. Yes, maybe its the car.. but if MS want middle management / companies to adopt this ecosystem, they have to get the thing working in the cars these businesses are driving.

"One volume for all - ok, this one I can agree with and hope will be fixed in a future update but does this make it unsuitable for business?"
Probably not on its own, no. But added to the extensive list of other items I require, this is just another stupid overlooked, easily fixed item. MS should have learnt from WP7 and put it right. You have to understand, WP has been around for approx 2 years now. All of the stuff I've mentioned has surely passed through Microsoft also and they chosen not to react and put it right on WP8. For me, that is not right.. at least give the user the option... Whilst on this subject. A profiles management system would be great. Allow the user to set on off times, silent times etc. This I think is a must for business users.

"Your backup and restore issues are linked to the problems you have had and the fact that you managed to get the 920 working on O2, not an actual design problem with the phone."
Are you 100% sure this is my problem? Why couldn't the software developer think a little out of the box and write a small piece of code that allowed you to restore backups? It's not hard..

It's things like the above that need to be addressed. Until they are (and it shouldn't take them too long to do it) business users will find it difficult to convert over.


Re the question over the stand. I picked one up whilst abroad. I'm literally just packing it up to put onto eBay..


Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 
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sudakoma

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I didn't rip your personal preferences apart, I simply pointed out that some of them were preferences, not faults with Nokia or WP8.

I admit that we could do with more settings, one thing I would like is an option to delete all emails from my phone at once, something that any android handset can do. The point I'm trying to make is that your list of things are not actual faults. If you want preferences, try Android, my partner has a GS3 and although you can alter probably every single setting on the phone, it still isn't as good an experience as my 920 and WP8 imo.
 

uktivo

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Sorry, "rip" was a bit harsh..

I never said they were faults, at least i hope i didn't, the three handsets I've had (Lumia 920) did all have faults, hence why I've returned them but yes you are correct the rest are preferences but ones that I'm sure a lot of business users want / need.
I really want the platform to work / grow as I would happily jump back on board if my "preferences" could become reality.

In the meantime, I'm back with my Android.
 

socialcarpet

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Hi all..

Firstly, lets just say.. This isn't a WP8 or Nokia bashing thread.

XjPSk.gif
 

mbranscum

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To the OP: You must be the most unlucky person in the world. Have you thought about calling Guinness Book of Records on this?

Let me see... What are the odds of getting not 1, not 2, but 3 defective handsets in a row. Each one with a different issue? I'd say next to impossible. Sounds like you need to go buy one of those iphones. They don't ever have any issues and would work much better for such a unlucky person such as yourself.
 

Reflexx

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The guy has legitimate criticisms. It doesn't seem like a bashing thread to me. It seems like he's expressing areas he'd like to see improved.

Let's not sit here and pretend that WP has everything for everyone. For many, it's not quite there yet.

But isn't it good to know what areas need improvement? I'd like to have this person back as a WP user. That only happens if the areas that he needs are addressed. And that only happens when the community asks for them.

Though I do agree that the OP is also just super unlucky. Three faulty phones? Maybe the store he's returning them to is actually giving him phones that other people had returned instead of new handsets.
 

uktivo

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Thank you for this reply. It's most definitely not a windows bashing thread. You are right when you say the platform needs people like me. My business currently has a mix of just under 50 handsets and I wanted to move all of them to one platform. I really wanted wp8 to work for me. Unfortunately at present it doesn't that's not to say it wouldn't in the future.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 

johninsj

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1. Exchange sync doesn't sync correctly. When emails are deleted on the phone they don't sync until you physically press SYNC.. this just isn't acceptable as a business tool, regardless what MS tell us, ALL other platforms sync on deletion of emails which means all accounts are up to date. I've lost count the number of times i've deleted emails on my handset only to find they are still in my inbox when i open outlook. Doubling workload isn't a great way to encourage business to adopt this ecosystem.
Um. Incoming mail push = business ready. Sync deletes? Yeah, it does that periodically. If you are doing a crapload of deletes batching them up is saving you considerable battery. And unless you're sitting at two or three devices and checking, who cares if the delete takes a few minutes to post up. Your device has the current state.
2. Notifications are a bit hit and miss. Some work, some don't. The ones that do work disappear sometimes. Again, as a business user, I want to know if I have new emails in my account. The problem I have, lets say 10 emails are in my inbox, I look at the first one and reply to it. When I back out of the inbox, the tile doesn't show that i have 9 unread emails, it shows i have 0. This has to be wrong.. surely it should still say I have 9 unread ones.. a business needs this type of input.
Just showing you the number of emails since you last opened the email app. If you open and close the app, unread messages aren't marked as read, after all.

5. I've encountered a few blue tooth issues in my car where the phone refuses to connect. it will happily send the contact details but will not connect the mobile signal to make / receive calls. (full strength signal on the phone).. On a positive note.. the sms read out / reply is fantastic... something i'm going to miss a lot.
Yep, car makers have crappy bluetooth stacks. My iPhone has issues connecting with my Nissan factory headend every other rev of iOS. Both my old HTC Titan and new Lumia 920 have no issues with it. Go figure.

6. Backing up and restoring.
sucks. They should have an image backup/restore. Agreed.

I don't get these as deal breakers, but then I guess it depends on the user/use case. Clearly these are not blanket fails for all business users.

Hope you find something that works for you. I wonder what the deal is with the factory resets - some people have a crapload of them, some people (like me, who uses mine for multiple hours daily since nov 9th) have none at all.
 

uktivo

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Sorry this was in reply to mbranscum above.. bit of sausage fingers on my keyboard..

Whatever, you are entitled to your own thoughts. But your ecosystem would die without constructive criticism. You should welcome my types of comments where they are clearly written with thought and not with malice.

I'm sure you don't see it that way..

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 
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uktivo

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Um. Incoming mail push = business ready. Sync deletes? Yeah, it does that periodically. If you are doing a crapload of deletes batching them up is saving you considerable battery. And unless you're sitting at two or three devices and checking, who cares if the delete takes a few minutes to post up. Your device has the current state.

Just showing you the number of emails since you last opened the email app. If you open and close the app, unread messages aren't marked as read, after all.


Yep, car makers have crappy bluetooth stacks. My iPhone has issues connecting with my Nissan factory headend every other rev of iOS. Both my old HTC Titan and new Lumia 920 have no issues with it. Go figure.

sucks. They should have an image backup/restore. Agreed.

I don't get these as deal breakers, but then I guess it depends on the user/use case. Clearly these are not blanket fails for all business users.

Hope you find something that works for you. I wonder what the deal is with the factory resets - some people have a crapload of them, some people (like me, who uses mine for multiple hours daily since nov 9th) have none at all.

Thanks for your input..
Got to say my last handset had no reboots all the time I had it. Yep a strange one.. thanks again..

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 

sudakoma

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I drive probably the most driven managers car in the world, BMW 530 (F10 New model). ALL other phones I've had, HTC OneX, Iphone 4s, Nexus 4, Lumia 800 have all worked. No issues. In fact the 920 worked with no issues but for some unknown reason, I assume software, it fails to load the mobile phone connection sometimes. Yes, maybe its the car..

That's a strange one, I drive a 2012 X5, and never have any problems at all with mine though I have to admit the read/reply text message feature used to work better with my Lumia 800. On the 920 it doesn't seem to understand me very well if I try to reply, maybe its my accent.
 

wamsille

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Certain members of this community take issue with people not being happy with their Lumia 920's. When you share your assessment and explain why you had to leave the device or Windows 8 platform altogether be prepared for the vultures to circle. I made a similar "goodbye thread" and while some people understood the relevancy of it there were plenty of others that felt the need to remind me not to let the door hit me on the way out.

Did you go with the One X or One X+? The One X doesn't give you a ton of storage internally. That's something I miss from the 32GB Lumia 920.
 

uktivo

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Certain members of this community take issue with people not being happy with their Lumia 920's. When you share your assessment and explain why you had to leave the device or Windows 8 platform altogether be prepared for the vultures to circle. I made a similar "goodbye thread" and while some people understood the relevancy of it there were plenty of others that felt the need to remind me not to let the door hit me on the way out.

Did you go with the One X or One X+? The One X doesn't give you a ton of storage internally. That's something I miss from the 32GB Lumia 920.

I already owned the one x, so moved back to that unit.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 

uktivo

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To the OP: You must be the most unlucky person in the world. Have you thought about calling Guinness Book of Records on this?

Let me see... What are the odds of getting not 1, not 2, but 3 defective handsets in a row. Each one with a different issue? I'd say next to impossible. Sounds like you need to go buy one of those iphones. They don't ever have any issues and would work much better for such a unlucky person such as yourself.

Well there must be more very unlucky people around other than me...
http://forums.windowscentral.com/showthread.php?t=209055
It sometimes pays to keep an open mind and not use sarcasm as a form of defence.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 

anon(4745364)

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I feel the same as OP, I don't feel this phone is ready for business use. I think MS went for more of a social device with all the photos and people hub stuff. My personal phone has been an iPhone for the past 5 years and my work phone was a blackberry. Just a few weeks ago my IT manager upgraded us all to smartphones and gave us a choice. Many went to the iPhone or S3 but I decided to go Lumia 920 and regret it. Before the upgrade all I used my BB for was calling as I did ALL my work on my iPhone which worked FANTASTIC, I was hoping the Lumia could come in and take the load off my personal phone but no dice.

From small inconveniences to big ones my Lumia just pisses me off. Don't get me wrong it's a beautiful device thanks to Nokia but the OS has to many shortcomings

1. Navigating my email boxes takes more clicks.
2. No quick access to speed dial/favorites
3. My Jawbone era worked great on the BB and with my iPhone but I can't hear a damn thing on the Lumia
4. A volume limit of 10? I'm constantly having to call people back on my iPhone as I couldn't hear them
5. No folders? Seriously? I'm supposed to just scroll and scroll?
6. Email syncing doesn't work
7. The calendar is just a joke
8. Where are my outlook notes? I see my tasks hidden away in the calendar app but not notes? So they chose not to integrate their own product with their own product?

Honestly I can go on and on.

I haven't completely lost hope though as most of my issues are software related which can be fixed. Also, being a iPhone user I know apps can change everything so I'm just waiting. Well see.
 

iamtim

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I am a "business user"; I'm an IT guy and I rely on my Outlook and mobile phone to keep me apprised of meetings, support requests, and all that.

1. Exchange sync doesn't sync correctly.

Actually, this is kinda funny: Exchange sync on WP8 *does* work correctly. It's the only mobile OS that does. All the others have it wrong... at least according to the spec. It should delete your messages on the server at your next sync, whether that's manually, "as new items arrive", or on a schedule (every 15 minutes or whatever).

I agree that it would be nice if MS did it wrong here as well and forced a sync upon delete, but don't say that it doesn't sync correctly... because it does.

2. Notifications are a bit hit and miss.

I have not seen this, sorry.

3. Notification sounds.

I'm confused. Settings>Ringtones + Sounds lets me configure different sounds tor calls, texts & IMs, voicemail, and email. That seems like notification sounds to me.

4. One volume level for all.. Point blank fails.

That's subjective, I like one volume level for all. I hate having to eff around with sound profiles, it's much simpler for me to turn the phone volume up or down as needed.

5. I've encountered a few blue tooth issues in my car where the phone refuses to connect.

I have not seen this either, sorry. My car connects flawlessly. That said, I have a brand new 2013 car with MS SYNC and a brand new 820, and I've heard others have had this issue as well. It might be situational.

6. Backing up and restoring.

I got nothing here, haven't had to restore yet. :)
 

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