Getting rid of my 950xl, anyone else?

[Brandon Keenan]

Random question in regards to the OneDrive issues... Have you actually opened up OneDrive? It doesn't actually start syncing photos the first time on W10M until you complete the little getting started dialogue on first open.

Yes went through the 3 panel process. It is weird because it synced photos from the previous night out but not from 5 hours before. It is like there is a time delay for uploading whereas the 8.1 one did it instantly.

 

[TechAbstract]

I switched from a 1520 with WP8.1 to a 950XL. My battery life on the 950XL is maybe 25-50% worse. It's hard to say at this point because I'm using the 950XL more than usual. My screen is set to 25% brightness and uses about 65% of the battery. Messaging + Skype uses only 1.5% of the battery. I send and receive maybe half a dozen texts a day and none with Skype. There must be a bug with the messaging app that's killing your battery. You could wait until a week before the return deadline to see if there is an update for that app that fixes your problem.

I must admit that while I'm liking WM10 a lot more than I expected, it's hard to get excited about the hardware. The 1520 had more style and it was very solid. I had to add some padding inside my 950XL to keep the back cover from creaking. That's pathetic. I will keep it though because it does have a gorgeous display and more manageable dimensions.

You can make serious money by selling pads that stop the 950/XL from creaking lol. Build quality is about the same as my Lumia 640 (low end phone). Other than that it's a keeper.

 

[Brandon Keenan]

You can make serious money by selling pads that stop the 950/XL from creaking lol. Build quality is about the same as my Lumia 640 (low end phone). Other than that it's a keeper.

Yea seriously. I was surprised how after 3-4 times removing the back cover using the little fingernail slot it was now not fully closing...

 

[don4law]

I had tons of problems with this device INITIALLY, starting with the short battery life. My wifi,was disconnecting, outlook was not syncing, FitBit was not syncing, no visual voice mail (potentially a deal breaker), but after a significant amount of time with it, hard resetting several times to get optimal functionality, and working through these issues, this is working perfect. In my view, this is a much better phone than Apple or Android. I love the "in-between" aspect of th phone - not Locked down like Apple, or disorganized and scattered like Android. I had Apple for years, then Android, starting with a top of the line Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. Got tired of Apple, hated Android. This phone is awesome! Battery isn't bad (my Note Edge was much worse), pictures are spectacular, speed is robust. Plus I have total control of where my content goes, OneDrive. With Apple, who knows where music and photos were going? And once you figure it out, it's a mess trying to access or mess with them. If I were you, I'd continue working with the phone. If you can't iron out the issues, return it. That's where I was, but I am so pleased that I decided to wait and try to work the issues. And am impressed with the phone to boot!

 

[coolbreeze78]

Returned my XL yesterday. I just couldn't get past using it alongside my 640. Aside from the camera, the XL wasn't worth an additional $619 to me. I'll probably pick one up in the future used at a deep discount, but as it stands today it wasn't worth $700 after tax to me. Nothing personal just my take. I was sure to voice my frustration to the Microsoft lady about how poorly it works with ATT (no VVM, NO VoLTE, hoops with IMEI to get LTE). She said they are working with ATT to fix things, but that's just a retail employee so grain of salt and all that.

I knew what I was getting into with a dual SIM unlocked phone (and ATT) but just couldn't warm up to the XL. My 640 does all I need (use Nexus 6P mostly).

I use and enjoy both platforms so please save the blasts (6P) for another time.

 

[Leovince1500]

I am returning the device.
I was originally an Apple user and was then won over by the Nokia 820, 925 and finally 1520.
The 1520 is equipped with Windows 10 mobile distributed via slow ring and there the os works just fine.
The os is, imho, superior to Ios and Android, and I always loved the wireless charging feature on these phones.

So I was pretty excited when the 950 XL was anounced and once up for preordering I did that right away.
Yesterday the phone arrived and in the evening i pulledo out both cards and will go back to my 1520.

Why:
- the 1520 has a premium feel which the 950 XL does not have
- the buttons on the 950 XL are far from acceptable for a 699? smart phone, sharp edges, not pleasant on your finger tips
- Iris-scan works only a third of the time
- Cortana not available on the 950 XL with my regional settings, but available on the 1520
- last but not least: the wireless charging stations DT-910, CR-200 and CR-201 do no longer charge the 950 XL Only the DT-903 will charge it. (I have 2 DT-901 and 2 of the CR (which are for use in car) stations in use, so I would need to replace these with 903s or buy USB-C type chargers.

So all in all it's not really worth upgrading and that's why I am returning the 950 XL.

 

[amcluesent]

Should be 50c on the $ on Ebay soon!

 

[fishyuk]

No, I really like mine. My Mozo leather back had arrived before the phone so I’ve never used the plastic one it ships with so to me it feels very nice in the hand and it looks great with the silver sides.


My 930 and 1520 felt very snappy with the latest insider build but the 950XL does feel appreciably faster, especially in Edge and photo processing which are both pretty key uses for me.


Size is ideal, it is pocketable and whilst the rounded edges perhaps don’t look as good when you look at it they are way better in the pocket (I’ll take function over form any day). I’m finding it way more pocketable than the 1520 and actually than the 930 (which is quite thick in suit trousers). Given it’s a dual SIM and is replacing both of those work and home devices of course it is way more pocketable.


Iris recognition just seems like a bit of pointless fun but is in no way a reason I bought it, I have no issues with PIN. Yep fingerprint in the future might be nice but not a deal breaker.


USB-C is great, much more robust than the micro-usb and having an HP Pro Tablet 608 I’ve already started the migration to USB-C. In fact,I will not buy a new laptop unless it is USB-C based.


Do I have issues on it, yes settings crashes a fair bit(though not much else). Think the Wifi driver/firmware needs work. I can’t download the UK language pack which is stopping me using Cortana. However, I have been on the Insider Programme since its inception so this is nothing I’m not aware of and its obvious why they’ve positioned this for the fans as the OS isn’t quite ready. Once the 950 range is added to the insider programme I’m sure these will be ironed out pretty quickly.


And finally, I love the replaceable backs. I’m hoping Mozo comes out with more designs to give the option to change, replace if dropped and keep the device fresh. I’ve got an old 64GB card in the phone but will moveto a 128 or 200GB at some point. I like that flexibility and it negates a lot of the cost criticisms vs say Nexus (and probably they only way to do so on such a low volume product without manufacturing scale).


As for the replaceable battery; it won’t be replaced for charges as I have enough external chargers but I like the fact that after a year I can replace it and have a fresh 100% capacity battery with no hassle;taking away the whole battery life management nonsense some people obsess about.

 

[metalb00]

I currently have the 1520.3 and have been using wp10 on it since it was allowed on the 1520. I knew what I was getting into but the exact same problems that I had on my 1520 were also present on the 950xl while not present on a 635 I have as a test phone. Case and point, an OS shouldnt so pitifully efficient that I cant get more than 10 hours of battery life from a 3300mah battery.

ive never got more than 10 hrs on a charge unless i was asleep not using it, best for me was the droid razr maxx i got a little over 8 hrs of use

 

[Expat-GAD]

have you seen the number of these phones appearing on ebay ? i was shocked.

 

[MambaDave]

Try doing a hard reset and do not restore a backup, then only install a few apps at a time. I did this on my 830 with W10 and it solved my battery drain issues. So far I have most of my apps reinstalled.

 

[Captpt]

have you seen the number of these phones appearing on ebay ? i was shocked.

Crazy... There's a unlocked 950(not the XL) with bids at $760.00 and there's still a day to go on bidding!! That's over $200 more then they can get it from MS.. WTF are these people thinking??

 

[Zulfigar]

Crazy... There's a unlocked 950(not the XL) with bids at $760.00 and there's still a day to go on bidding!! That's over $200 more then they can get it from MS.. WTF are these people thinking??

You know, I actually take that as good news.

 

[libra89]

Crazy... There's a unlocked 950(not the XL) with bids at $760.00 and there's still a day to go on bidding!! That's over $200 more then they can get it from MS.. WTF are these people thinking??

I'm guessing that eBay provides convenience, they are willing to pay more because it's easier. They don't have to keep checking to see if they can order one, no taxes, etc.

Also noticed the XL is on sale on the Amazon US site too.

 

[pdch]

I have literally had ZERO issues with mine after migrating from a backup from a Verizon icon to at&t. This thing is blazing fast and battery lasts forever with heavy use. Are those of you with issues "upgrading" to 10586.11? I have kept mine on 10586.0 and had a GREAT experience after a week with this thing. Best phone I have ever had.

 

[bsayegh]

Brand loyalty is a strange things. It will cause some people to totally ignore any faults with a new product, while others will only see the faults in a new product.

I think the 950 and the 950XL are great phones, hardware wise. I know they aren't solid metal, but I would rather be able to swap the battery out. The screen is beautiful and the camera is the best I have seen on WP.

Windows 10 just wasn't ready. I don't know what the solution should have been. I guess they could have postponed the launch of the new phones. Its not like anyone outside of this website was looking forward to them anyway. All of the issues with WP mobile have been pretty well documented by people on this site, and they are real. They aren't just the same old issues that every new device suffers from. They are the result of an OS that wasn't ready to be released yet.

The small, loyal user base that WP had is becoming smaller and less loyal. Having fewer apps, broken apps, and a broken OS makes it hard to justify sticking with them. Add to that the fact that Windows Phone is losing its identity and conforming, its really hard to see why people stick with it.

I bought my Lumia 950 and im going to stick with it through the next major WP 10 update. If that doesn't resolve a lot of the issues, im gone.

 

[PepperdotNet]

I had tons of problems with this device INITIALLY, starting with the short battery life. My wifi,was disconnecting, outlook was not syncing, FitBit was not syncing, no visual voice mail (potentially a deal breaker), but after a significant amount of time with it, hard resetting several times to get optimal functionality, and working through these issues, this is working perfect. In my view, this is a much better phone than Apple or Android. I love the "in-between" aspect of th phone - not Locked down like Apple, or disorganized and scattered like Android. I had Apple for years, then Android, starting with a top of the line Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. Got tired of Apple, hated Android. This phone is awesome! Battery isn't bad (my Note Edge was much worse), pictures are spectacular, speed is robust. Plus I have total control of where my content goes, OneDrive. With Apple, who knows where music and photos were going? And once you figure it out, it's a mess trying to access or mess with them. If I were you, I'd continue working with the phone. If you can't iron out the issues, return it. That's where I was, but I am so pleased that I decided to wait and try to work the issues. And am impressed with the phone to boot!

If I read this correctly, you say it's perfect now, that means you either got Visual Voicemail working or decided it wasn't a deal breaker. Which and how?

 

[pdch]

You definitely got a bad one if your xl was getting hot. I would suspect your cooling system was bad/damaged. Overheating would lead to everything else you described. These things do not run hot no matter what you do to them.

 

[ScubaDog]

Possibly because sites like this and Thurrott and others, in an effort to convince people not to "pre-judge" the new "flagship", kept saying that the device is with a look. I can tell you, firsthand, the 950 certainly isn't. And I made no bones, early on, that I doubted all the hype over these devices.

 

[jbestman]

Lots of fickle people in this world. I can't imagine anybody actually buying a 950XL without already knowing what to expect, with a not-yet-ready OS in addition to the normal bugs and glitches to be expected with a new high-end device. The only way anybody even knew it existed was from reading about it on sites like this one. It's not as if any site hid the issues with the OS. And then being so impatient as to get rid of it less than a week later because the experience is less than perfect. I just don't get it.

I would not call him fickle. You are not in his shoes. Your threshold for crap might be higher than his. Do not judge him for that. Your threshold might be "5 reboots per day" and you will return the phone. If you decide to return the phone if that threshold is breached that does not make you fickle.

I love my 950XL but my situation is different. So, my threshold is different. I am not a student. I own multiple phones. I have a reasonable amount of disposable income. If I use my standard to judge someone else that saved up to buy this phone, gave it a shot, but is now finding it insufficient, I would be wrong.

Let's slow down with the name calling. Don't forget, the OP gave the phone a shot. We want to encourage this. He is not the problem here. We cannot blame him for a company that took almost two years to bring a flagship and still managed to release one with basic issues. And we cannot be mad at those that chose not to put up with it.

I am going to put up with it. But only because my iPhone bores me to tears at this point.