Done and Dusted with Nokia. Should I write to Elop?

[Desdemona]

I guess a little bit of back story is on order here.
First of all, I have stuck my guns with windows phone for as long as I remember. It started with the Samsung Omnia 7, and so began my love affair with the whole interface. Soon, I made the jump to a Lumia 800. I couldn't take my eyes off that beautiful phone, and because I had bought my Samsung outright, I just sold it off and got the Lumia on contract (I was in Australia then). I can safely say that I have seen the growing rise of windows phone, and like many others in this community, spread the word around. In Jan of this year, I moved to India, my home, right around the time when the Lumia 920 was going to be launched. Fresh of the boat and with a really good exchange rate for my AUD, I had no trouble purchasing a white shiny Lumia 920 (outright, India has no contract plans) as soon as it came out. I was, and still am working with a company which makes Android ROM's, and Launchers, and even though there was an existing company policy of paying half the money for an Android handset, if an employee happens to buy one, I decided to buy the 920 out of my own pocket.
I knew I would love it, and I was not disappointed.
Throughout all these days I managed to turn my wife, my cousin brother and his wife, my sister and quite a few friend to see the charms of the WP8 OS. The latest addition to the family was a Lumia 720 a month ago, courtesy my dad.

Coming to the issue now, this happened a month back. I was cycling back from work when it started raining. I took my phone out of the pocket and put it inside a plastic cover, which then went inside my backpack. After getting home and opening the bag though, I saw that water had still managed to seep in. My first impulse was to check the laptop, which was working fine, and the next, my 920, which was not. It was not switching on, but randomly switched on after sometime, and the touch was not registering. So next day i took it to the Nokia Service Centre, and after opening the chassis and going through its internals, they said that it was water damaged and that they will fix it but it will cost me Rs. 15,000. For a comparison, I had bought the handset for Rs 37,000. I was shocked at the price, but still decided to get it done. My adoration for the phone really overtook my common sense there. I was told they will return the phone to me within two days.

After 2 days I get a call from the centre, saying that they were not able to repair it out at the service centre, and therefore will be sending it out to the head factory, and therefore wait for 2 weeks. I said fine, let us do that. In all this while, I was basically without a smartphone (my job really requires me to be connected at all times). Any which way, after waiting for more than two weeks and calling them repeatedly after the said period was over, they finally returned the phone to me today. The Rep looked me in the eye, and told me the handset cant be repaired. I asked her twice, and both times I got the same reply. That the handset cannot be repaired. I am attaching a pic of the phone as they returned it to me.

Right now I am angry. I really am. I paid for this phone, a phone I loved from a company I have supported and spread good word about, but its shocking to see how cavalier its support is in a country (which might be a developing nation to many people), but is still one of its last major strongholds when it comes to marketshare. Today Nokia lost on of its most ardent supporters.
Currently I am at work, and have already spoken to the HR about procuring an Android based handset (I am thinking the HTC One) for which atleast they will pay me half the money. So yes, I don't think I will turn around and come back to Windows Phone anytime sooner.
I also understand that a lot of people will tell me that I should not treat the WP for what Nokia has done to me, but really, deep inside, we all know that Nokia is synonymous with WP. HTC and Samsung are just not in the same league. And if for nothing else, I don't have enough money or patience to buy another flagship handset outright and get dissed by the company when it comes to servicing.
Finally, I want to word my thoughts to someone at a senior level, possibly Stephen Elop. Isn't he supposed to be answering all his emails nowadays according to a lot of Windows Phone sites? Lets see what he has to say to my problem.

Thanks for reading, whoever made it through this wall of text. Do understand that I am gutted, and this was a cathartic experience for me.
​

EDIT - Anyone who can supply me with Stephen Elop's mail ID?​

​

 

[martinmc78]

Hate to say this but. Rookie mistake getting it sent off for water damage.

My girlfriend dropped her 920 in a toilet. Surprisingly it didn't work when she went to use it - but I got her to stick it in a ziplock bag with some rice and told her to leave it for 24 hours. Works fine to this day.

 

[Desdemona]

I already tried all homebrew tricks. Sorry but it did not work for me.

 

[Ian Too]

Since you seem to have decided to go to an Android handset, I recommend a Sony Experia Z, since that has a water resistant treatment. An HTC One will suffer water damage in the same way as your Lumia 920.

As a cyclist and an Englishman, I'm no stranger to rain, but I'm afraid I can't agree that Nokia have done anything wrong. People have claimed the 920 is a rugged phone in terms of knocks and scrapes, but no claim of water resistance has ever been made, so it's up to you to take adequate care of your device.

In my experience, the best thing to do when a device gets wet is switch it off immediately, take the battery out if you can and then leave the device to dry off naturally. Either with some rice or silica gel to absorb the moisture, or in an airing cupboard. These methods only work about 50% of the time however.

I wear my 920 in a belt holder, which is enough to hold off light showers, but in heavy rain the 920 is protected under my coat or if I'm going to work in a water-proof rucksack.

Given you situation, I see no reason apart from the subsidy to prefer an HTC One over a replacement Nokia, be it a 920 or 925.

 

[Muessig]

What a bad experience! I'm shocked. If I was in your position I would be angry too. But I think you do have a way out.

First of all I can understand taking the phone to Nokia Care but I have never once seen any company try to repair a water dmaged phone, its always without wmquestion a replacement of the parts or entire phone, so I'm shocked they charged you for a repair. On the other hand with water damage you should always expect the manufacturer to put up resistance, even if 90% of the time its accidental. They have warranties which specifically say they don't cover water damage.

Its possible for you to insure your phone for a small fee per month and after a week or two you can tell them what originally happened and they will most likely replace it. You would have to make sure the insurance covered water damage though.

Alternatively, you could try emailing Mr. Elop as you say and telling him about the situation. In the past some people have had success in getting replacement phones or whatever their problem was, sorted.

Its sad to see something like this happen, especially to someone that likes WP so much, but try to bear in mind that regardless of Nokia and WP I know lots of people throughout basically all of the manufacturers that have had a similar experience. That, at least,is something you can expect from most manufacturers when it comes to water damage.

 

[martinmc78]

I already tried all homebrew tricks. Sorry but it did not work for me.

That sucks. Guess you were just unlucky.

 

[Sanjay Chandra]

Get Xperia Z or buy any phone , use a protection case

 

[Desdemona]

Since you seem to have decided to go to an Android handset, I recommend a Sony Experia Z, since that has a water resistant treatment. An HTC One will suffer water damage in the same way as your Lumia 920.

As a cyclist and an Englishman, I'm no stranger to rain, but I'm afraid I can't agree that Nokia have done anything wrong. People have claimed the 920 is a rugged phone in terms of knocks and scrapes, but no claim of water resistance has ever been made, so it's up to you to take adequate care of your device.

In my experience, the best thing to do when a device gets wet is switch it off immediately, take the battery out if you can and then leave the device to dry off naturally. Either with some rice or silica gel to absorb the moisture, or in an airing cupboard. These methods only work about 50% of the time however.

I wear my 920 in a belt holder, which is enough to hold off light showers, but in heavy rain the 920 is protected under my coat or if I'm going to work in a water-proof rucksack.

Given you situation, I see no reason apart from the subsidy to prefer an HTC One over a replacement Nokia, be it a 920 or 925.

Thanks and I understand what you mean to say. I suppose I should just clarify the fact that I am not saying that Nokia has done me wrong through the phone. The Lumia 920 did everything and more. I loved it man What I am saddened is by their customer support. That, and only that, is the reason I am calling it quits.

 

[Sanjay Chandra]

Thanks and I understand what you mean to say. I suppose I should just clarify the fact that I am not saying that Nokia has done me wrong through the phone. The Lumia 920 did everything and more. I loved it man What I am saddened is by their customer support. That, and only that, is the reason I am calling it quits.

If you want best customer support , its definitely Apple.

2 years back , upper volume button didn't work properly on iPod Touch and I took it to Apple service center under warranty and they replaced iPod Touch in two weeks

 

[poddie]

Another user unfairly blaming a phone manufacturer for their own mistake. Good luck finding a company that could have done any better for you.

How is Nokia supposed to know if it is beyond repair before sending it in? Did they keep your money? I fail to see how they have wronged you in any way. Quite the contrary.

If you think HTC would have had some type of magic fix for you you're sadly mistaken. Take care of your phone dude. And when you screw up, put your big boy pants on and don't misdirect your blame. Don't blame a corporation for following the normal repair process and finding that it was unsalvageable.

 

[Desdemona]

Another user unfairly blaming a phone manufacturer for their own mistake. Good luck finding a company that could have done any better for you.

How is Nokia supposed to know if it is beyond repair before sending it in? Did they keep your money? I fail to see how they have wronged you in any way. Quite the contrary.

If you think HTC would have had some type of magic fix for you you're sadly mistaken. Take care of your phone dude. And when you screw up, put your big boy pants on and don't misdirect your blame. Don't blame a corporation for following the normal repair process and finding that it was unsalvageable.

We are living in 2013. Are you trying to tell me that a phone cannot be salvaged because of water damage? Of course it can.

 

[blacksea00]

We are living in 2013. Are you trying to tell me that a phone cannot be salvaged because of water damage? Of course it can.

depends... in most cases no.

 

[LazySunday]

Sorry OP, I don't know if Nokia had to pay for your mistakes. Every device manufacturer specifically mentions that they don't cover any type of liquid damage. When you said you had invested so much money, you should have brought a phone insurance. Clearly, it is your mistake of not taking proper precaution in handling your phone. Today you said its only water damage. Tomorrow someone would claim that Nokia didn't replace their broken screen.... Wait a sec, Nokia never mentioned that they would give you life time warranty for your mishandling of phone. Did they?

Fixing minor things like Volume rocker and all are definitely taken care by any manufacturer. I had it happen to my Lumia 800 in the past and they did honor by replacing the volume rocker.

 

[krox1105]

You may write to Elop if you want, but seriously, no matter how tough it is to admit, the phone was screwed by you (albeit accidentally).
I know how you feel because you paid a lot of money for that phone but, well let's just call it tough luck. Nokia would have fixed/replaced the phone if the damage occurred was covered under warranty. I have had two Lumias in the past (800 and 710). Call it coincidence, they both died after a few weeks of purchase. I took them to Nokia Care and they apologetically replace both of them.
No one can stop you from switching but at least don't blame Nokia for this. Maybe it really was beyond repair by them. If you want you can checkout a few tear-down guides on the internet to see if you can figure out what went wrong.
And yeah, one last thing. If you have so like Windows Phone as you say, you will never be comfortable with Android now

Good luck!

 

[paulxxwall]

I guess a little bit of back story is on order here.
First of all, I have stuck my guns with windows phone for as long as I remember. It started with the Samsung Omnia 7, and so began my love affair with the whole interface. Soon, I made the jump to a Lumia 800. I couldn't take my eyes off that beautiful phone, and because I had bought my Samsung outright, I just sold it off and got the Lumia on contract (I was in Australia then). I can safely say that I have seen the growing rise of windows phone, and like many others in this community, spread the word around. In Jan of this year, I moved to India, my home, right around the time when the Lumia 920 was going to be launched. Fresh of the boat and with a really good exchange rate for my AUD, I had no trouble purchasing a white shiny Lumia 920 (outright, India has no contract plans) as soon as it came out. I was, and still am working with a company which makes Android ROM's, and Launchers, and even though there was an existing company policy of paying half the money for an Android handset, if an employee happens to buy one, I decided to buy the 920 out of my own pocket.
I knew I would love it, and I was not disappointed.
Throughout all these days I managed to turn my wife, my cousin brother and his wife, my sister and quite a few friend to see the charms of the WP8 OS. The latest addition to the family was a Lumia 720 a month ago, courtesy my dad.

Coming to the issue now, this happened a month back. I was cycling back from work when it started raining. I took my phone out of the pocket and put it inside a plastic cover, which then went inside my backpack. After getting home and opening the bag though, I saw that water had still managed to seep in. My first impulse was to check the laptop, which was working fine, and the next, my 920, which was not. It was not switching on, but randomly switched on after sometime, and the touch was not registering. So next day i took it to the Nokia Service Centre, and after opening the chassis and going through its internals, they said that it was water damaged and that they will fix it but it will cost me Rs. 15,000. For a comparison, I had bought the handset for Rs 37,000. I was shocked at the price, but still decided to get it done. My adoration for the phone really overtook my common sense there. I was told they will return the phone to me within two days.

After 2 days I get a call from the centre, saying that they were not able to repair it out at the service centre, and therefore will be sending it out to the head factory, and therefore wait for 2 weeks. I said fine, let us do that. In all this while, I was basically without a smartphone (my job really requires me to be connected at all times). Any which way, after waiting for more than two weeks and calling them repeatedly after the said period was over, they finally returned the phone to me today. The Rep looked me in the eye, and told me the handset cant be repaired. I asked her twice, and both times I got the same reply. That the handset cannot be repaired. I am attaching a pic of the phone as they returned it to me.

Right now I am angry. I really am. I paid for this phone, a phone I loved from a company I have supported and spread good word about, but its shocking to see how cavalier its support is in a country (which might be a developing nation to many people), but is still one of its last major strongholds when it comes to marketshare. Today Nokia lost on of its most ardent supporters.
Currently I am at work, and have already spoken to the HR about procuring an Android based handset (I am thinking the HTC One) for which atleast they will pay me half the money. So yes, I don't think I will turn around and come back to Windows Phone anytime sooner.
I also understand that a lot of people will tell me that I should not treat the WP for what Nokia has done to me, but really, deep inside, we all know that Nokia is synonymous with WP. HTC and Samsung are just not in the same league. And if for nothing else, I don't have enough money or patience to buy another flagship handset outright and get dissed by the company when it comes to servicing.
Finally, I want to word my thoughts to someone at a senior level, possibly Stephen Elop. Isn't he supposed to be answering all his emails nowadays according to a lot of Windows Phone sites? Lets see what he has to say to my problem.

Thanks for reading, whoever made it through this wall of text. Do understand that I am gutted, and this was a cathartic experience for me.
​

EDIT - Anyone who can supply me with Stephen Elop's mail ID?​

View attachment 36731​

 

[paulxxwall]

Phones are not amphibious!!!!

 

[techiedude007]

Sorry to hear that. I wonder if part of it would be the lack of removeable battery? I have an HTC Titan that ended up in a swimming pool with me, about five feet down and obviously not just water that "seeped" in . I took the phone's back cover off, removed the battery and SIM card and placed it in rice; two days later it was powering on. I can still see hints of moisture trapped around the edges of the screen but almost one year later and it's still working like brand new. And while it's too late for you to try this, I was told if this happens, *don't* power on the phone. Immediately disassemble what you can and stick it in rice or another desiccant. I'm hoping there's an Otterbox or similar option available when the EOS is released to replace my Titan - Techiedude

 

[Vikram Dinesh]

We are living in 2013. Are you trying to tell me that a phone cannot be salvaged because of water damage? Of course it can.

Yes we are living in 2013 and yes a water damaged phone can be salvaged (on occasion). The only time a company will say 'not repairable' is when the repairs will cost you as much as new phone would? Would you pay 30000 rupees for repair. No you wouldn't and even if you did, you would come here the next day and complain that Nokia robbed you.

Listen I sympathize with you for your bad experience but on this particular occasion you cannot blame the company nor their customer care. I would chalk this up to bad luck and get on with my life.

Edit: FYI, I am Indian too.

Edit 2: Read this.

http://forums.windowscentral.com/no...y-5-minute-lake-dive-fully-working-phone.html

 

[gsquared]

There is a Johnny Cash song that remins me of this post.

Cry, Cry, Cry...

 

[poddie]

We are living in 2013. Are you trying to tell me that a phone cannot be salvaged because of water damage? Of course it can.

It all depends on what the water damaged. It could easily have fried the circuits requiring a complete replacement of the inside of the phone. Could also require a new screen. As others have pointed out, this could very well cost more than a simple replacement. I think in this case you just need to man up and take the responsibility... admit that this is not a Nokia problem, but a Desdemona problem. People always want to blame others for their woes these days...

I should also tell you that I am very sorry for the loss of your phone. I know I would feel awful, and I know waiting over two weeks to find out it was not repairable didn't help those feelings.

But please don't let your feelings unfairly color your perception of Nokia or Windows Phone. I'm telling you, this situation would not have been handled any better by another manufacturer, unless you got very lucky and were the recipient of someone's pity and they replaced it. Been known to happen, but it's not fair to expect it.