Thoroughly disappointed with the Lumia 950 on ATT

[curseoftheninja]

I got the 950 on launch day. After it being my only phone since then, I am thoroughly disappointed with the Lumia 950 on ATT. I feel like a spent a lot of money on a sub-par product.

Talk about a half-baked product. The OS is buggy. I get a lot of battery drain and restarts. It often runs hot. It feels cheap.

I'm not running the insider program because I shouldn't have to in order to have a functioning product. Also, I don't want my $550 phone to brick. At least it functions now.

I even did restore to factory settings, and it still runs poorly.

In summary of venting my frustration, MS should not have released such a shoddy product under the Lumia banner. That brand used to mean something.

I've been with WP since the Lumia 900. I have supported them for a long time, and I have loved every phone. The 950 with W10 is such a dip in quality that I feel a little taken advantage of--like they had to know the OS was a mess, but they knew avid WP fans would buy it anyway.

This experience is the first time that I am seriously considering abandoning Windows Phone once my contract is up.

Anybody else feel similar, or am I just way off?

 

[Jazmac]

I won't ever abandon Windows Phone on the strength of one phone not working out for me. But the other thing I don't do too much is early adopt. You hoped enough testing went into this device to make it ready for production. Makes sense that you would. But my question is, did you attempt to get a replacement before you started this post? Maybe you got a bad device.

 

[miniracer2003]

My experience for the past week has been pretty pleasant. There are a few quirks but nothing deal breaking. The phone whirs right along 98% of the time, the camera is exceptional, and W10M is making progressive leaps in quality and new features are once again flowing into the software. I am happy with my purchase and I am excited to see how the phone and OS develop.

 

[fly_branch]

I agree with you. I am waiting on At&t to send me my third 950 under warranty. First one would get so hot, it was unbearable, Next one had a speaker problem - no speakerphone, ringtones, or any sound at all. I have been waiting a week for the replacement but they are out of stock. Not good at all!! We are all MS beta testers and get nothing for it. I have so many MS products and have been a windows phone guy for a long time, but this phone has me wanting to go back to a simple flip phone. I feel lied to by MS on the battery life, OS, and their commitment.

 

[spazzmeister]

Well, you are a patient man. I wouldn't have waited for a third phone. Seems like they either have a bad batch or you're straight up unlucky. Is it possible for you to get a 950XL instead? Or simply wait for the new HP phone of you don't want to switch to Apple or Samsung.

 

[midnightfrolic]

Possibly the ATT bloatware? That's the reason I now buy phones from manufacturer without the bloatware. Avoid buying from carriers at all cost. And unlocked.

If it's not ATT branded with loads of bloatware, you could try hard reset and do not opt to restore from backup. Set it up and fresh new, clean phone. Uninstall any bloatware if possible.

Another option, though a bit techie, is to flash the product code to a 950 world phone. Then use the recovery tool to wipe + update firmware + no bloatware.

http://forums.windowscentral.com/microsoft-lumia-950-xl/411084-2.htm#post3412474

 

[curseoftheninja]

I have uninstalled every ATT app on the phone, so I don't think it's bloatware.

 

[curseoftheninja]

We are all MS beta testers and get nothing for it.

This is exactly what I am saying. I feel taken advantage of, like they were saying "the average person wouldn't take this, but these WP fanatics will buy any junk we throw in a box!"

 

[DurocShark]

I'm so tired of the problems that I dream of my old Icon. I miss that phone.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I have'nt had any of those issues

 

[BLKahuna]

I've only had a good experience with my 950. Maybe I'm lucky. I've got a pretty leather back on it and it has run flawlessly and quickly since I got it. My old 1020 used to get very hot if I was using the turn-by-turn directions but this seems to handle it well. At the end of a day of "normal" use, I still have about 50% power in the tank.

 

[Snazrael]

I was basically in agreement up until 10586.107. This is the build of the OS that the phone should have shipped with and it's really a shame that Microsoft may have lost of some it's already dwindling user base because of it. The upside is that they're not just sitting on a buggy OS. They are, believe it or not, working on it and making it better and better all of the time. I was very frustrated and disappointed with the software experience on my 950 for a good while, until I install *.107 from the Insider Preview, and now it's out for all. I love my phone again.

 

[theefman]

This is exactly what I am saying. I feel taken advantage of, like they were saying "the average person wouldn't take this, but these WP fanatics will buy any junk we throw in a box!"

They were right, it seems.

 

[robert peake]

i bought a sim free dual sim 950 and im fed up too. ive put mine on ebay to sell, although im losing a chunk on it, there going for GBP250 and i bought it for GBP379 before christmas.
leaning towards the samsung S7 or the LG G5, dont think i can go Apple. its a real shame though i do love it, i just want it to work. and the battery wow thats shocking. Ive had windows since well a long time 820 i think it was, then 535, 630, 735, 640 and now the 950.
daughters have the 535 and wife has the 640 and i'll move them away from windows aswell in time to android.

 

[amcluesent]

or am I just way off?

Yes.

 

[curseoftheninja]

Yes.

Thanks for your engaging reply.

 

[constantreader16]

This is exactly what I am saying. I feel taken advantage of, like they were saying "the average person wouldn't take this, but these WP fanatics will buy any junk we throw in a box!"

Or the many people who screamed about not getting a flagship for so long that they rushed this one out maybe? There are more than a few sides to this situation.

 

[robert peake]

just sold mine on ebay, bit gutted about it but ive given up, i travel alot and the battery is killing me.

 

[fly_branch]

The only upside to my problems is that since At&t only wants the phone back, I will have three batteries so the battery life will not be such a deal breaker. Maybe that is why they chose At&t and bragged about the battery life. You have to return three to be able to last all day.

 

[Sunstorming]

I was rabidly anti-950 / XL after I got a launch day, dual sim 950XL from the Microsoft store. The Visual Voice Mail did not work, which was annoying. The phone, even after 5 days, was eating battery like it was prime rib. It was buggy. Even a hard reset wasn't helping at all. So, I returned it and waited. I watched the forums and kept on the Insider on my 1520. Then, after I figured out that (1) I could now get it way cheaper and (2) Win 10 Mobile was now getting stable, I got another 950XL. I immediately updated the firmware and OS to .29 and went to town. It was great after it settled down after a day or so, and has been since. So, in conclusion, ya the original release sucked. It's just fine now (as far as I am concerned) and I love the phone.