Just another "Returning my 950" Thread ---- Help us Panos, You're Our Only Hope!!

[ballanda]

Sadly, the 950 has let me down. I've been faithful to WP / WM since 2002, but this "flagship" is just not ready for prime time. There is a reason that the ad budget for this embarrassment of phone is $0. Well, there are many. Here goes:

Screen is just not responsive enough. I touch it, and nothing happens. I have to touch it multiple times, all the time.
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Build quality is bad. Back panel comes off way too easily.

On-Screen navigation buttons. I though I'd hate them, and I do. They are not responsive enough. They disappear in the OneDrive app all the time, when I need them. Let me choose my preferences about when they disappear in the system settings.

Everything about the touch input is slow. There is a lag / heaviness to everything I do, that I just did not ever feel before on Windows Phone. It is shockingly disappointing.

Brightness settings are a step back. No way to calibrate brightness. Setting on the notification bar are "25/50/75/100". I preferred "AUTO / Low / Med / High", whcih could then be further tuned in the DISPLAY settings. That's all gone.

No double tap to wake.

Android-like stuttering while scrolling through web pages.

Camera is not all that. "putting the "finishing touches" on images takes forever.

Bluetooth audio in may car sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies.

Cortana crashes all the time when doing web searches. This happened on my old 930, and it happens now too. Unacceptable.

Too slippery... Falls out of my pocket every time I sit down. Why does MS make these phones so slippery? That should be an easy one.

Outlook is still not finished. Notifications are very confusing to set up.

The whole OS has a half-baked feel.

Speaker is WEAK.

No store app update notifications, and no "last updated" date in the store app descriptions... Updates are a mystery unless you read blogs all day.

Lack of decent accessories.
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So my Nexus 6P arrives tomorrow, and I'm gonna hate it. But at least it will work reliably. I'll be back for the Surface phone in a year or so. The OS should be up to par by then. I still have faith. I wouldn't be wasting my time writing this if I didn't.

Truth is, most of the issues with this phone could be solved with software updates. But I am not gonna stick around for months of Gabe Aul's "no build news to share today" tweets, when...

1) This phone requires weekly updates
2) There is still legacy functionality in Windows 10 that is flat out broken. (right click on your taskbar and choose "Show windows side by side"... see what happens.)
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Yes, that's a vote of no confidence. So please, Panos, win me back! If he smiles at all during the next press conference, that's how I'll know he's got a winner. But I cannot be productive like a boss with the 950. Not now. Not yet.

 

[cracgor]

I think you just need a hard reset and patience-the OS is in beta, you knew that getting in. I also read where you can put some plastic wrap inside the cover and make it less prone to falling off and creaking. Some people have no problems with the phones. You are jumping ship too early!

That is what everyone tells me at least.

 

[busngabb]

People on here are just responding to the hype by getting all jumpy about every little thing. The initial experience with any phone from any OS is often horrible. My brother got an LG G4 this week, spent a week with it force-resetting because the initial Android update it had failed. Once through that he was unable to link his Google account to the store, the phone got really hot and he doesn't like having two App stores on the phone that spam him with notifications and update requests for the same app. My son got an iphone 6 recently, the button broke, sent it back and now his Apple account won't restore his settings or Apps, his find my iphone is kicking off about his returned phone etc. All smartphones have issues.

You've knowingly bought a new phone with a brand new OS version. There will always be problems. Same with all electronic equipment, take an Xbox or Playstation. Buy one on day 1 of release and guess what will happen? It'll fry itself or the online will crash so hard it'll take 3 months to send an angry face on your ****** forum of choice.

But if you don't like the phone, good call on sending it back. Try the problems on another device and see if those are more workable than these ones. They probably will be as the OS on Apple or Android isn't brand new. But don't get one with a first edition of said OS update.

 

[ballanda]

How is the OS in Beta? This is a public release. I predicted that the OS would delay the release of this phone. It didn't. But it should have.

I'll probably buy a used 925 for $80 so I can at least keep tabs on things for a while. But for $607 including tax and shipping, the 950 is a watse. This phone is worth $349 at best.

 

[cracgor]

How is the OS in Beta? This is a public release. I predicted that the OS would delay the release of this phone. It didn't. But it should have.

I'll probably buy a used 925 for $80 so I can at least keep tabs on things for a while. But for $607 including tax and shipping, the 950 is a watse. This phone is worth $349 at best.

Oh I was joking. I said something similar to you earlier and I was just repeating the responses. If I had a similar experience on any device, I would return it.

 

[busngabb]

Oh I was joking. I said something similar to you earlier and I was just repeating the responses. If I had a similar experience on any device, I would return it.

Definitely, for all the sarcasm in my post, if it's not right for you, send it back. But don't expect any device to be perfect, none of them are, particularly Android but also 'it just works' Apple.

 

[ashram]

Out of the 11 issues you mentioned, I only have 2. Yes, we all knew windows 10 would be a rough launch based on the insider builds, but the various issues affecting random people and not everyone is strange. A bad flash from factory requiring a hard reset seems like a fix for some, while others suggest not restoring. Someone else mentioned most of the same issues the OP had when his 128GB microsd card was installed. Another when his sd card was formatted as exfat.

I would suggest anyone who is about to return the phone to try this 1st...
1: Pull the microsd from the phone, plug it into a pc and format it (not quick format)
2: Hard reset the phone, with sim card in place.
3: Place sd card back into the phone.

I've had the 950 for two weeks of heavy use, and the only problems I am currently having is the display brightness issue and random app crashes, which are minimal.

 

[tanders04#WN]

I agree, I'm not really seeing the issues that OP mentioned. Some of it sounds like it is just a bum unit, which would just require a swap.

 

[treeflip7]

The screen problems you have have not been widely reported. I think you're either A. making stuff up or B. you have a lemon. Replace it and try again.

 

[Joe920]

So my Nexus 6P arrives tomorrow, and I'm gonna hate it.

This got a big laugh. I know exactly what you mean though.

 

[anon(5383410)]

This is why I could never work in tech support or customer service.

 

[ashram]

This is why I could never work in tech support or customer service.

Welcome to my world.... why would someone order something they know they are going to hate??

 

[Krystianpants]

Out of the 11 issues you mentioned, I only have 2. Yes, we all knew windows 10 would be a rough launch based on the insider builds, but the various issues affecting random people and not everyone is strange. A bad flash from factory requiring a hard reset seems like a fix for some, while others suggest not restoring. Someone else mentioned most of the same issues the OP had when his 128GB microsd card was installed. Another when his sd card was formatted as exfat.

I would suggest anyone who is about to return the phone to try this 1st...
1: Pull the microsd from the phone, plug it into a pc and format it (not quick format)
2: Hard reset the phone, with sim card in place.
3: Place sd card back into the phone.

I've had the 950 for two weeks of heavy use, and the only problems I am currently having is the display brightness issue and random app crashes, which are minimal.

Just turn auto display off and cycle the percentages. If you want it really dim at night go auto and 25%.

I haven't had any issues with 950xl.

I think his tap unresponsive issue is as follows. When navbar hidden and say you want to exit a game. You lift navbar hit back then game presents confirmation. You have to tap twice because first time game grabs focus from navbar.

 

[cracgor]

Welcome to my world.... why would someone order something they know they are going to hate??

I would guess everyone that bought it thought they would love it, were disappointed, spent hour trying to fix problems, and ultimately gave up. Maybe I could have spent another week trying to fix it. Maybe an update will fix it before the return period. Maybe I just need to be able to make and receive phone calls at any given time and cant just reboot or hard reset my phone whenever. The next day I am off call and theoretically don't need a phone is December 27th. A phone should at least let you make and receive calls.

 

[winboy]

I have been using my 950 xl since Thanksgiving and I'm loving it. No problem whatsoever. Maybe you should have bought a 950 XL instead

 

[ashram]

Just turn auto display off and cycle the percentages. If you want it really dim at night go auto and 25%.

I haven't had any issues with 950xl.

I think his tap unresponsive issue is as follows. When navbar hidden and say you want to exit a game. You lift navbar hit back then game presents confirmation. You have to tap twice because first time game grabs focus from navbar.

I did do that. no matter what, it seems to want to stay at 50-75%. not a big issue for me, but still an issue.

 

[ballanda]

So I just went to my Microsoft store account and saw that i have until February 6 to return it. That should be enough time for an insider preview update or two. I thought I had 14 days. So I'll just put it back int he box for a month, and hope. Maybe I can just spend the next year getting new phones and returning them every 30-60 days!

I think that some of the issues are because I have build 10586.0. Many have 10586.3. But there's no way to get to 10586.3+ until the insider team gets the 950 on track. Any week now...

 

[cracgor]

So I just went to my Microsoft store account and saw that i have until February 6 to return it. That should be enough time for an insider preview update or two. I thought I had 14 days. So I'll just put it back int he box for a month, and hope. Maybe I can just spend the next year getting new phones and returning them every 30-60 days!

I think that some of the issues are because I have build 10586.0. Many have 10586.3. But there's no way to get to 10586.3+ until the insider team gets the 950 on track. Any week now...

Make sure. I saw that too, but there was conflicting info in one of my emails. The website have me 30days to setup the return, then the email I got with shipping instructions gave me 30 days for them to receive it.

Also, if you have the money, you could buy a second one before the return and just keep returning the new one until you are ready to upgrade. You will always be out the phone price, but upgrades would be close to free.

 

[feereless]

for the os buttons... i guess you didnt read the "Scroll up from the bottom of the screen to show buttons" tutorial

but yes, the previously updated thing is annoying

 

[cracgor]

for the os buttons... i guess you didnt read the "Scroll up from the bottom of the screen to show buttons" tutorial

but yes, the previously updated thing is annoying

Not a deal breaker, but I notice in a lot of apps that the navigation buttons either cover up the bottom menu buttons of the screen when they are there (amazon) or have a weird overlay when they disappear (chess tactics). It just looks unfinished and feels like a work around.