Attention 950 Owners: Did We Dodge a Bullet with the 950XL?

[Bjfcm]

• AMAZON has pulled the 950 Xl due to faulty OS
• MICROSOFT didn't offer it to AT&T or anyone else to sale ( State side)
• ITS VERY hard to obtain
• I have noticed a lot of Complaints

I really wanted the 950XL ( I still do) But as the days go by I hear more and more "negative " press . Did Microsoft know this but released it anyway . Bugs can be fixed with updates right??

And for the life of me I cant understand the limited availability with carriers and in general???

I am surprisingly pleased with my 950 .. Maybe I got lucky and purchased a good unit?

So I ask .. Did we get the better deal by being forced to use our next plan and go with the smaller less problematic 950???

 

[ashram]

maybe, or maybe there is more demand for the 950 than AT&T or MS expected...
If you peek at the 950XL boards, some of the more "vocal" people returning their devices are suffering from the same issues we 950 owners have too.

 

[tuxedo323]

• AMAZON has pulled the 950 Xl due to faulty OS
• MICROSOFT didn't offer it to AT&T or anyone else to sale ( State side)
• ITS VERY hard to obtain
• I have noticed a lot of Complaints

I really wanted the 950XL ( I still do) But as the days go by I hear more and more "negative " press . Did Microsoft know this but released it anyway . Bugs can be fixed with updates right??

And for the life of me I cant understand the limited availability with carriers and in general???

I am surprisingly pleased with my 950 .. Maybe I got lucky and purchased a good unit?

So I ask .. Did we get the better deal by being forced to use our next plan and go with the smaller less problematic 950???

Nah

 

[sleeve22]

Too soon to make the assumption. I chose 950 over XL for 2 reasons. The display model of the xl at the local MS store was creaky and didn't seem to fit snuggly, the second being 808 vs. 810. My 950 has been stellar with the exception of a few minor OS bugs.

 

[jayramphone]

XL is just too big for my taste (or need). A friend got the iphone 6S (the large one) and it looks ridiculous (may as well be a tablet!)
The size of the 950 is just about right for me.

 

[Josh Harman]

It's only Amazon Germany, and they say nothing about the OS but rather general product quality without singling anything out.

...but yeah. Most sites, including Windows Central, pushed the 950 XL with much higher coverage before release than the smaller 950 and I thought that odd, unfair and based on their own personal preference for larger devices. So when I saw the immediate reports of issues with the XL and my smaller 950 was working fine, it validated my decision.

 

[anon(5383410)]

Phones are getting too big. I love my 950 but it appears the high-end smartphone has surpassed the 5" mark permanently. See the upcoming Lumia 650 for reference. I'm not a fan of the phablet and would love it if the option remained a 5" base model and __" (I wouldn't buy it anyway) XL model.

 

[WalrusTangerine]

Phones are getting too big. I love my 950 but it appears the high-end smartphone has surpassed the 5" mark permanently. See the upcoming Lumia 650 for reference. I'm not a fan of the phablet and would love it if the option remained a 5" base model and __" (I wouldn't buy it anyway) XL model.

I completely agree. I have a 640 and small hands, and to me 5" is the extreme upper limit for smartphone size. I think that Apple has the right idea when it comes to flagship screen size.

 

[FourT2]

I would prefer XL but my 950 is fine too.

 

[thaman04]

Nah both 950 and 950 XL are great. AMAZON did not remove the product... AMAZON GERMANY's automated system did. It's automatically triggered when they get a certain number of returns. This doesn't mean the device is faulty.

 

[msirapian]

Hmm, when you consider that 950XL has an enabled FM tuner, and 950 doesn't (third party can use FM radio in the US, and they can't in EU), that 950XL has a SuperSensitiveTouch screen (usable with gloves) when 950 doesn't, I'm not sure we've dodged any bullet with the 950 :/

 

[Krystianpants]

Whether it's the 950 or 950XL you may not have issues but others may. I never had issues. The one thing I noticed is my firmware was newer when I compared with users. There's now an emphasis to push the same firmware to everyone to avoid this huge variation in experience. This could be anything really. First batch was sent out with an older firmware as a new one wasn't ready. Then the firmware likely had to be tested in warehouses for shipment, some didn't ship with the latest, some did. I guess we will see what happens when everyone is on the same firmware.

 

[MP3Mike]

Hmm, when you consider that 950XL has an enabled FM tuner, and 950 doesn't (third party can use FM radio in the US, and they can't in EU), that 950XL has a SuperSensitiveTouch screen (usable with gloves) when 950 doesn't, I'm not sure we've dodged any bullet with the 950 :/

Um, really? At this point neither the 950 or 950XL have the super sensitive touch or double-tap to wake features. And I thought they both had the FM tuner, you just have to use a third party app at this point on the 950...

 

[Josh Harman]

Whether it's the 950 or 950XL you may not have issues but others may. I never had issues. The one thing I noticed is my firmware was newer when I compared with users. There's now an emphasis to push the same firmware to everyone to avoid this huge variation in experience. This could be anything really. First batch was sent out with an older firmware as a new one wasn't ready. Then the firmware likely had to be tested in warehouses for shipment, some didn't ship with the latest, some did. I guess we will see what happens when everyone is on the same firmware.

Really? Any proof of this or just an assumption?

It would really explain why I have none of the issues everyone else reports. I even went through scenarios people were posting who apparently don't believe me to recreate their errors and they just wouldn't do it. No errors.

 

[Krystianpants]

Really? Any proof of this or just an assumption?

It would really explain why I have none of the issues everyone else reports. I even went through scenarios people were posting who apparently don't believe me to recreate their errors and they just wouldn't do it. No errors.

Well I spoke to some people and they had 15452 while mine was 15454. Now there's a newer one too. Check yours it's likely 15454. There are threads somewhere where people mention being on 15452. This could even explain all the IR issues and everything. And even speed issues. One youtube vid was showing 950xl being beaten by most things then someone else did a video where the 950xl was destroying everything. So there's variation no doubt. I hope the newer firmware comes soon to my provider. Though the camera is good on mine it could use the extra fixes. I find I have to turn off live images to get good shots.

 

[anachrotech]

Whether it's the 950 or 950XL you may not have issues but others may. I never had issues. The one thing I noticed is my firmware was newer when I compared with users. There's now an emphasis to push the same firmware to everyone to avoid this huge variation in experience. This could be anything really. First batch was sent out with an older firmware as a new one wasn't ready. Then the firmware likely had to be tested in warehouses for shipment, some didn't ship with the latest, some did. I guess we will see what happens when everyone is on the same firmware.

That would make sense. I do have 15454 even though I preordered a couple weeks before release. My son-in-law has the 950XL which he was notified was arriving in the Microsoft Store and ran there to get it on the first day. I'll check his firmware version sometime today, but since he has not had any issues, he most likely also has 15454.

ETA: I checked his phone and he does indeed have 15454.

 

[msirapian]

Um, really? At this point neither the 950 or 950XL have the super sensitive touch or double-tap to wake features. And I thought they both had the FM tuner, you just have to use a third party app at this point on the 950...

For SST: MS have amended the 950 spec page on their store (now shows multicapacitive touchscreen) when XL still shows SST.

For FM tuner, as I said: you can enable the FM tuner on the 950 by a third party app in the US, but it doesn't work, even with third party, in EU (widely reported on WC and elsewhere).

The FM tuner is on the snapdragon, but MS have decided to disable it on the 950 "for quality reasons" (source: a MVP). And it sounds as if it won't be enable later.

 

[telomoyo]

15454 here and without issues.

 

[Josh Harman]

Well I spoke to some people and they had 15452 while mine was 15454. Now there's a newer one too. Check yours it's likely 15454. There are threads somewhere where people mention being on 15452. This could even explain all the IR issues and everything. And even speed issues. One youtube vid was showing 950xl being beaten by most things then someone else did a video where the 950xl was destroying everything. So there's variation no doubt. I hope the newer firmware comes soon to my provider. Though the camera is good on mine it could use the extra fixes. I find I have to turn off live images to get good shots.

Yep, I'm on 15454.29000. That may explain a lot.

 

[sholokov]

Me too. Initially had overheating issue. Then I did a reset from "Settings>About>Reset Phone", and now it has been running without any issues. firmware 15454.29031