New 950 XL No Problems Whatsoever

[Mr Hyde]

There are so many negative posts on the 950 XL. I understand that people with problems are more likely to post comments looking for solutions and people with no problems are just happy and don't post as much. But the negative comments here on the forums really made me leery about taking the 950 XL plunge. My fears were put to rest a little bit after a visit to my local Microsoft store. The sales person assured me that I had 30 days to return the phone if I wasn't happy with it. So I burned through my MS gift card, put the rest on my visa, and walked out with a 950 XL DS. On the way home I stopped by my local T-Mobile store and was sold one month of pre-paid phone service with 2gb of data. Since I was test driving the 950 XL I thought I'd also take T-Mobile for a test drive as well. I am planning on keeping my Verizon Lumia Icon active during the test period. So I gathered up my 950 XL and new SIM and went home.

I followed the "Get Started" guide step by step. Cover off, battery out, SIM in, battery back in, cover back on, power on, and plug in the charger. The phone started up and I followed the instructions on the phone. I did NOT restore from a backup since I read here that many had problems doing this. I put the phone down and let it do its thing. After a while it was up and running. I went to the settings and searched for updates and found the latest firmware update and software update. It took a while for those to download but I just let the phone sit until it was done. It took about an hour to do the download and the prepare to install phases. I then did the necessary restart to finish the install. The gears began turning so I just left the phone and met some friends at the local tavern. When I got home it was all done and the phone was up and running.

I checked the main things, Phone, Messaging, Email, and Calendar and they all seemed to be working normally. I downloaded a few apps I use and they installed just fine and seemed to be working normally. I did notice that things were a bit slow but I also noticed that my phone was in the process of updating 48 apps, so I just let that finish up which took a bit of time. After that, any slowness I had noticed was gone.

The phone has been up and running for 3 days now it seems to be running flawlessly. wifi and LTE seems to be similar to what I'm used to with my Icon. Battery life is very similar to the Icon. Apps run normally, the camera is fantastic. I have added most of the apps I'm used to using on the Icon and they all work as expected. I have to say at this point I'm very happy with this phone. I have not experienced any of the issues that I have been reading about on this forum (knock wood), and I feel badly for those who have had problems and issues.

Sorry for the long post. I just thought maybe it might help someone who was on the fence like I was, make the decision to get or wait for the 950 XL. And, T-Mobile for me so far has been an unexpected surprise. I live in the greater Philadelphia, PA area and coverage is very good. Reception is as good as Verizon in my house. And best of all, T-Mobile is quite a bit less expensive than Verizon. I have a month to decide if I'm going to keep the 950 XL or not but so far its looking that I'll be dumping Verizon and my Icon very soon.

 

[seldzar]

My 950XL experience hasn't been much different than my Lumia 930 experience: Pretty good with some minor items that are not critical with the expectation that over the next year to 2 years I have this device. it will be updated, polished, and smoothed out like every other product.

 

[0000alex0000]

T-mobile will always be good in cities. Try traveling to different places then you will see how bad t-mobile is.

 

[anthonyng]

sorry the naysayers will tell you that 3 days is not long enough for you to say something

 

[Mr Hyde]

T-mobile will always be good in cities. Try traveling to different places then you will see how bad t-mobile is.

You may very well be right. That's why I only got one month of pre pay. I live in the suburbs, about 15 miles from the city. My biggest concern was coverage at home and around where I live. I spend about 90% of my time within 30 miles or so from where I live, so I'll see how T-Mobile works for me. I'm sure coverage will suck as get out into the boonies but Verizon sucked in some spots too. I'll have both phones with me all the time for the next few weeks so I can compare. If I have to stay with Verizon so be it but for now its only costing me $50 for the test drive.

 

[Mr Hyde]

sorry the naysayers will tell you that 3 days is not long enough for you to say something

Hopefully I'll do a two week update but I'll do a 30 day update for sure. So we can all just wait and see. So far so good!

 

[beman39]

great thread! I'm also extremely happy with my L950xl and I have had it a little over a month now and it is working fantastic, although SOMETIMES not all the time I have a problem trying to get into my TXT messages from the glance/lock screen where it will just go into a loop and I have to unlock the phone and then go into my TXT messages... But it hasn't done that in awhile so I don't know if it's fixed from the last update. other than that smooth as butter! I'm really really glad I bought this phone as I was also hesitant with all the bad remarks on this forum. this phone is right up there with my L1520! :wink:

 

[jouda]

I have same like you with my 950DS. Only one restart I had in my pocket and that's all. Is still running without any problems. Everything works like wifi, 4g, Bluetooth, camera, outlook etc.

 

[PepperdotNet]

sorry the naysayers will tell you that 3 days is not long enough for you to say something

And yet, so many of them decided to get rid of it after only 3 hours which results in me not putting any stock into what they had to say with such a short experience..

After a week or two, and everything has settled down, hopefully you still have no problems.

 

[drtek]

I had mine for nearly a month, and ended up taking it back. The cheapness of the phone, and lack of Otterbox and Zagg support sealed its fate.

 

[Babs75]

No problems here. Loving my phone!

 

[midnightfrolic]

Been 5 days with my 950 XL, no glaring issues really. I did not restore from back as well. Started off fresh. and on T-Mobile unlimited plan. Were you able to successfully claim your free Display Dock and Office365 Personal in Lumia Offers app without issues?

It never popped up with anything for me even after many hard resets. It finally showed up after 24hrs. Probably awaiting requisition and possible phoning home to MS servers. But I had to call MS Store support for help on it.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Been 5 days with my 950 XL, no glaring issues really. I did not restore from back as well. Started off fresh. and on T-Mobile unlimited plan. Were you able to successfully claim your free Display Dock and Office365 Personal in Lumia Offers app without issues?

It never popped up with anything for me even after many hard resets. It finally showed up after 24hrs. Probably awaiting requisition and possible phoning home to MS servers. But I had to call MS Store support for help on it.

When I noticed there were 40+ apps still updating, I scrolled the list and saw the Lumia Offers app was still pending. I didn't even try opening the app until it was done. When I did finally open the app, I had the offer for the display dock and office 365 pending, I got the email with the code about 20 minutes after requesting it in the app

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Glad to see positive discussion instead of whining/complaining 24/7.

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Just bought mine today. Should be here Wednesday. Keeping my expectations low, but my hopes high.

 

[final_fantasy781]

It's refreshing to here the 950 XL is doing well. I'm also coming from an Lumia Icon, and with W10M, the darn thing is dying on me. I searched these forms for good and bad reviews. Most of them bad, as you have mentioned, mirroring my issues currently with my Icon.

So far it's only Bluetooth and battery issues, and for my Icon Wi-Fi connection. Which isn't a good start. I have a DT-903 and while connected to BT or not, it removes my connection to Wi-Fi and then I start burning my through data.

I also want to give T-Mobile another go. They seem to have improved there service around my area. They also have some good features that look pretty nice for streaming music and vidoes.

I still have a few months before my contract is up, so hopefully good reviews keep coming up. With new hardware updates, the 950 and 950 XL a should be a really good phones.

 

[AZTonyUSA]

I've had my 950XL for a month and a half. No major problems except the other day it wouldn't turn on. Ended up removing the battery, installing it, and then it booted up. Don't know what caused it. It also randomly rebooted that same day. Didn't have either of those issues before and haven't since. A couple of other issues is the notifications I get that my outlook, hotmail, and yahoo settings are out of date, which they're not, and I got signed out of all text messaging alerts that I had signed up for from various companies such as my bank. I'm waiting for the Mozo case I ordered from Mobilefun, been waiting over a month. Hoping it will ship soon but I'm not going to hold my breath. I don't recommend you order the Mozo case from them and don't believe their website when it says they will have the cases in 2 weeks.

 

[ubo69]

I have had my 950 XL for almost 8 weeks now and I am genuinely satisfied with it. There are some things that need getting used to after almost four years of Android, and the exterior is not as shiny as a Xperia Z2 with aluminum frame and glass back cover. But I have come to find that I do not really care. I have gotten used to the rather sharp and cheap feel of the buttons, but at least they work precisely. I do not waste any thought on the back cover because I really never look at it, I just feel it in my hand and it feels smooth and can be held very well. I LOVE the screen, it could even be a little bigger for my taste. So far I have not been able to produce decent shots with the camera. I used it indoors only and the pictures come out grainy, blurred or just out of focus. A more or less accidental shot of my table desktop showed a very crisp and detailed image of the dust on my keyboard, though. I definitely have to take some pictures outside.

After maybe two weeks the phone kept getting hot, drained battery like hell and was not updating anything any more. I did a hard reset, was able to install .29 and after that everything has been VERY smooth, in particular battery life. I was amazed how almost everything came back to the state before: contacts, calendar, apps, start screen etc. Only a few settings had to be adjusted again.

Now with WP10 I often smile about the similarities with W10 on my desktop. And I guess this is one major reason why I got this device in the first place. I really liked the idea of Windows on the phone. I wanted something different than Android and I never considered Apple out of principle. I think for a phone this powerful, the apps take far too long to start. When I wait for OneNote to open, I already forgot what I wanted to note. Groove takes ages to think before playing an album. I do not know why that is, but it is annoying me. I come to find that I am actually using only a few apps. Most of the stuff I do is in the browser. I have to compliment Windows Central on their app, because it really makes sense, is very useful and is actually something different than the website.

I did not have any option to return the phone and I have not considered it either. I am happy with it, but I believe it had to work much smoother to be appealing to a larger customer base. The price had been rather high (has dropped since by about 50 Euros), I do not know if it is "worth" it, but considering the specs the price is comparable to other phones in this market niche. I would recommend it to people who are willing to work with the phone. I would definitely not give it to my mom ;-).

 

[cocopops]

Hey,

Some great feedback here, I would suggest posting this in the 950 XL Quick Impressions sticky thread if you haven't as I would assume that most people (as did I) referred to that when deciding on the phone.

That aside, I echo the view of the OP, I have had mine for 5 days today and have had no issues.. the phone has worked brilliantly. The buttons are very sharp though and they actually hurt my finger and palm at times - looking forward to getting a Mozo case.

Anyhows, no SW issues!

 

[mikepalma]

Hey,

Some great feedback here, I would suggest posting this in the 950 XL Quick Impressions sticky thread if you haven't as I would assume that most people (as did I) referred to that when deciding on the phone.

That aside, I echo the view of the OP, I have had mine for 5 days today and have had no issues.. the phone has worked brilliantly. The buttons are very sharp though and they actually hurt my finger and palm at times - looking forward to getting a Mozo case.

Anyhows, no SW issues!

What build are u running?