My 640 came back from the Microsoft warranty/repair center today...

[mewcatchew]

I don't have lots of money, that's why I was so happy when the Lumia 640 came out and I could afford the $100 and upgrade from the 635. The 640 really is a great phone.

Like I said I don't have lots of money, so I take great care of anything I consider valuable. So with this phone I immediately got a protective case from amazon and it has always had a screen protector on it - never let a spec of dust stay on my phone. So one day last week when a bright pinpoint would showed up permanently on bright backgrounds, I couldn't take my eyes of it; once you see it on your otherwise immaculate phone you cant un-see see it. So I did a little research and found out I could open up a case and send it in for repair in Fort Worth, Texas since I am under warranty. And so that's what I did. They said the repair turnaround time would be 7 to 10 days, and it turned out to be 7 days. Great!

However, Once I booted up my phone and got to a bright background, I see a bigger brighter white spot on another location of the screen. So I contacted @Lumiahelp on twitter, and they're like "yeah, send it back in for another repair"... but then I am w/out a phone again for at least another week for a phone I am still paying Tmobile for service. And of course, I have absolutely no faith that they will even fix my phone since they already failed the first time.

Here is the issue before I sent it into repair:



And here it is AFTER so called "repair"



Has anyone else had a lousy experience with Microsoft warranty repair? If so, how did you resolve it?

 

[Zachary Boddy]

It just happens sometimes. There's always a bad batch.

 

[Tumultus]

Have you tried walking into a Microsoft store and see if they would replace the device for you?

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Have you tried walking into a Microsoft store and see if they would replace the device for you?

That's a good idea, if you have a Microsoft Store nearby...(sadly I don't *sniff sniff*)

 

[libra89]

That's a good idea, if you have a Microsoft Store nearby...(sadly I don't *sniff sniff*)

Yep, the nearest one is about an hour away, and it's the only one in my state. Can't be bothered.

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. This has me concerned because I'm debating if I should bother with sending it in for repair or not with my own, even though I haven't had the same issue as you.

 

[mewcatchew]

A bad batch? I think they actually put a new/different screen on since the "spot" is in a new location and brighter. Pretty sure they just swap S*** out from other phones that come in as its a 3rd party repair center; cutting costs is the name of the game.

No I haven't gone to a microsoft store since its a hike and afraid they'll just tell me to send it to repair center again. That will probably be my next move. I also had my phone unlocked (through Tmobile by adding $100 in refills) so if they did exchange for me I'd want an unlocked model.

 

[mewcatchew]

I don't have lots of money, that's why I was so happy when the Lumia 640 came out and I could afford the $100 and upgrade from the 635. The 640 really is a great phone.

Like I said I don't have lots of money, so I take great care of anything I consider valuable. So with this phone I immediately got a protective case from amazon and it has always had a screen protector on it - never let a spec of dust stay on my phone. So one day last week when a bright pinpoint would showed up permanently on bright backgrounds, I couldn't take my eyes of it; once you see it on your otherwise immaculate phone you cant un-see see it. So I did a little research and found out I could open up a case and send it in for repair in Fort Worth, Texas since I am under warranty. And so that's what I did. They said the repair turnaround time would be 7 to 10 days, and it turned out to be 7 days. Great!

However, Once I booted up my phone and got to a bright background, I see a bigger brighter white spot on another location of the screen. So I contacted @Lumiahelp on twitter, and they're like "yeah, send it back in for another repair"... but then I am w/out a phone again for at least another week for a phone I am still paying Tmobile for service. And of course, I have absolutely no faith that they will even fix my phone since they already failed the first time.

Here is the issue before I sent it into repair:

View attachment 113151

And here it is AFTER so called "repair"

View attachment 113153

Has anyone else had a lousy experience with Microsoft warranty repair? If so, how did you resolve it?

 

[PepperdotNet]

Option: Sell it on ebay and buy another.

 

[mewcatchew]

Option: Sell it on ebay and buy another.

Well then that would send the wrong message now wouldn't it? I would have to go through the trouble of selling it at a loss. It's the point that I am under warranty and they didn't fix it; they actually made the problem worse.

 

[neodk]

If you identified the issue is unresolved / worse after the device was sent back to you, it needs to be escalated. It's an unfortunate situation to be in when you don't have a ton of money available to just buy a replacement 640 and be done with it.

This is what I would recommend:

1) Twitter is great, but find a way to get a hold of someone over the phone so you can clearly explain the issue that you are having and also the inconvenience that you will experience sending the phone back in. You've already paid for the service with T-Mobile, and it's there whether or not you are using the phone. This is the part of the deal where you need to take the lost time with the phone as lost time.

2) Tell Microsoft that they need to honor the warranty and replace the device with another Lumia 640 LTE if they are unable to repair. Furthermore, the device that you have is unlocked and the replacement should also be unlocked. If you have documentation supporting this now would be the time to reference it.

Social Networking is great, don't get me wrong. But, why put this in the hands of someone who is paid to Tweet when you could be putting this into the hands of someone that is paid to resolve issues?

This is out of left field, but I would seriously chip in $25 towards the purchase of a new phone for you. That would get you a quarter of the way there. Send me a message and I will forward my PayPal email address to you. If you have PayPal I can send you something ($25 + the fee) later this week. :amaze:

 

[rory753]

on my 830, i had a network issue, and i took it into the store. they verified the issue, and gave me a brand new phone right there. granted, I purchased the phone direct from them, so there's something there. take it to the msft store, and see what they say.

separately, on my 1520, they are passing me off to a 3rd party authorized repair service. the phone is out of warranty, though.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

If you identified the issue is unresolved / worse after the device was sent back to you, it needs to be escalated. It's an unfortunate situation to be in when you don't have a ton of money available to just buy a replacement 640 and be done with it.

This is what I would recommend:

1) Twitter is great, but find a way to get a hold of someone over the phone so you can clearly explain the issue that you are having and also the inconvenience that you will experience sending the phone back in. You've already paid for the service with T-Mobile, and it's there whether or not you are using the phone. This is the part of the deal where you need to take the lost time with the phone as lost time.

2) Tell Microsoft that they need to honor the warranty and replace the device with another Lumia 640 LTE if they are unable to repair. Furthermore, the device that you have is unlocked and the replacement should also be unlocked. If you have documentation supporting this now would be the time to reference it.

Social Networking is great, don't get me wrong. But, why put this in the hands of someone who is paid to Tweet when you could be putting this into the hands of someone that is paid to resolve issues?

This is out of left field, but I would seriously chip in $25 towards the purchase of a new phone for you. That would get you a quarter of the way there. Send me a message and I will forward my PayPal email address to you. If you have PayPal I can send you something ($25 + the fee) later this week. :amaze:

You give great, unbiased, un-spiteful advice AND you offered to help fund a new phone? I commend you, sir.

 

[mewcatchew]

The offer to send $25 is very kind, but I wouldn't accept. It's more the principle of I actually sent the phone in in "good faith" for a repair since its a new phone and under warranty. I have all the documentation including purchase receipt (Walmart), the box it came in and email correspondence with Tmobile with having it unlocked, and all correspondence (paperwork and emails) pertaining to the repair. The problem is the official doors to lodge a complaint are well crafted dead ends. The paperwork that came back with my phone said to follow us @Lumiahelp on twitter which is where I went to let them know that phone wasn't fixed. It also contained a # which I also called yesterday and explained the situation, but it was a paid message center and told me they'd pass along the information to the relevant team - also said that they have "escalated" my case. I've not heard back from them. Infact, I don't even know the name of the company - there is no clear direction who to contact or what to do. So whatever, i'll let people know what Microsoft thinks of warranty's and your average customer.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

The offer to send $25 is very kind, but I wouldn't accept. It's more the principle of I actually sent the phone in in "good faith" for a repair since its a new phone and under warranty. I have all the documentation including purchase receipt (Walmart), the box it came in and email correspondence with Tmobile with having it unlocked, and all correspondence (paperwork and emails) pertaining to the repair. The problem is the official doors to lodge a complaint are well crafted dead ends. The paperwork that came back with my phone said to follow us @Lumiahelp on twitter which is where I went to let them know that phone wasn't fixed. It also contained a # which I also called yesterday and explained the situation, but it was a paid message center and told me they'd pass along the information to the relevant team - also said that they have "escalated" my case. I've not heard back from them. Infact, I don't even know the name of the company - there is no clear direction who to contact or what to do. So whatever, i'll let people know what Microsoft thinks of warranty's and your average customer.

Interesting, but I've never had great customer service from any electronics company. Of course, my devices almost never break, but still.

 

[mewcatchew]

Interesting, but I've never had great customer service from any electronics company. Of course, my devices almost never break, but still.

I'm a Windows phone convert after having some iteration of iPhone since 2008 ( 3g, 3gs, 4, 4s, 5, 5s, 6). But I will say this: I never had a problem with Apple and warranty's. No matter where you bought your iPhone, if it's under warranty and even if the issue is dubious, they'll exchange it on the spot no questions asked.

 

[pankaj981]

Option: Sell it on ebay and buy another.

Ehh...that's like running away from the problem. The issue the OP has pointed is valid.


@OP: Have you tried reaching out to their chat support? They are usually good at escalating requests.

Contact support - Microsoft - USA

 

[Schneidz]

Mew I'm just curious, what happens when you switch the background from light to dark on the settings page?

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Mew I'm just curious, what happens when you switch the background from light to dark on the settings page?

Are you talking about iPhones or Windows Phones? Haha, on iPhones it isn't light or dark you just turn everything negative and no one really understands why it's there (I'm not sure it's still there at all).
On Windows Phone the whole feel of the phone alters. From white and light greys to black and dark greys. It's quite the change and both are beautiful (although I'd argue that the operating system was built for Dark Theme).

 

[mewcatchew]

I've been dealing with warranty repair center only thus far since I had already sent it out to them... Been chatting with them on twitter @lumiahelp and called the number given on paperwork with "repaired" phone. They said my case is escalated but I've yet to hear back from them.

What happen when I change settings from dark to Light? Well the defect is only really seen in bright backgrounds so it makes it more visible.

 

[gordonfink]

If you can get by a MS store, that might not be a bad play, as some have suggested.