950 XL Device Support effectively stopped in the UK

[anon(10043517)]

A word of warning to anyone considering a 950 XL

I have had mine since June 2016 having bought it whilst in the USA. It?s a brilliant phone, I absolutely love it and have had no issues with it at all. The camera especially is fantastic and the bigger screen compared to my 1020 is awesome
.
However, I now feel totally hung out to dry by Microsoft. Last week, entirely my own fault, the phone slipped out my hand as I exited my car, and despite the ?protective? case I had bought, the screen cracked. The phone still works fine, and it?s not the worst crack ever but enough that tiny slivers of glass appear every time I go to use it. Not ideal
.
My first port of call was a local phone repair shop just to get an idea of cost. ?230 for a phone you can now buy brand new at ?340 made my heart sink I can tell you!

I did a bit of research and was directed to the Device Support page on Microsoft?s own site. I was able to register my device, and go through the 7 stages, adding my details as it went like my address, fault, agreed to the ?160 cost, card details etc. At the last stage, the ?Pay Now? the website returned an error *"We're sorry. Something went wrong on our side, and we are working on it. Please come back in a while?.
I managed to speak to a human by calling the MS support number and selecting the option for technical support for Mobile devices. He took my details, gave me a case number and said he?d pass it on and to expect an email. That was last Friday 2nd October

This morning, having heard nothing, I thought I?d see if the Device Support website was working. Like last week, after I log in I can see my 950 XL is registered, which I did by entering its IMEI. I click ?get started? but now it?s redirecting me to a company called BX2, apparently a partner to MS. The landing page there has options for sending a device for repair, or chat or call back. All of them require you to enter the IMEI otherwise there are no other options or numbers etc.

The 950 XL is not recognised, i.e. you can go no further. End of. Full stop. Back on the MS Device Support landing page, out of curiosity I tried to register my 1020 and they have actually removed the option to register anything other than Xbox, Surface or Band. Mobile device support via MS has now ended.

Fortunately, I have my 1020 so use its IMEI on the BX2 page and ask for a call back. I get a call from someone who can speak English but unfortunately does not seem able to comprehend anything beyond her script particularly well. Eventually I get her to understand that I had to use another phones IMEI simply to be able to make contact. We discuss the situation, the long pauses and questions that don?t seem to make much sense worry me slightly but I think we get there. She assures me that they will be able to fix my phone and someone will call me back. We will see.

I appreciate there is an element of ?well, you should have been more careful? but having supported Nokia and then MS phones for years, if they can?t be bothered anymore then why should we? They have already said they are stopping Lumia production and it looks like at least for the final generation of devices, technical support will be excruciating to get.

It is a great phone. Its ?340. If it breaks, if you are lucky you might be able to get it repaired for a pretty steep fee, but you might not.

Much as it pains me, don?t buy this or any other current MS phone unless you are prepared for this certainty. I will have to see this through now, and eat the cost and hassle, don?t make my mistake of thinking MS will look after you.

 

[spinzeroWL]

I just bought a pristine one for ?140 from Gumtree...including an MS Wireless Display adapter...

So although tech support may be woeful, at least these phones are becoming cheap enough to mitigate the issues.

A real shame though - tech support on Nokia phones was always superb. But Microsoft have seemingly dismantled the support network. Have you checked to see if there is a Care centre near to you? AFAIK,the one in Northampton is still operating.

Oh, and one other thing - can you not get the part and replace it yourself?

Originally posted by evil_bill
A word of warning to anyone considering a 950 XL

I have had mine since June 2016 having bought it whilst in the USA. It?s a brilliant phone, I absolutely love it and have had no issues with it at all. The camera especially is fantastic and the bigger screen compared to my 1020 is awesome
.
However, I now feel totally hung out to dry by Microsoft. Last week, entirely my own fault, the phone slipped out my hand as I exited my car, and despite the ?protective? case I had bought, the screen cracked. The phone still works fine, and it?s not the worst crack ever but enough that tiny slivers of glass appear every time I go to use it. Not ideal
.
My first port of call was a local phone repair shop just to get an idea of cost. ?230 for a phone you can now buy brand new at ?340 made my heart sink I can tell you!

I did a bit of research and was directed to the Device Support page on Microsoft?s own site. I was able to register my device, and go through the 7 stages, adding my details as it went like my address, fault, agreed to the ?160 cost, card details etc. At the last stage, the ?Pay Now? the website returned an error *"We're sorry. Something went wrong on our side, and we are working on it. Please come back in a while?.
I managed to speak to a human by calling the MS support number and selecting the option for technical support for Mobile devices. He took my details, gave me a case number and said he?d pass it on and to expect an email. That was last Friday 2nd October

This morning, having heard nothing, I thought I?d see if the Device Support website was working. Like last week, after I log in I can see my 950 XL is registered, which I did by entering its IMEI. I click ?get started? but now it?s redirecting me to a company called BX2, apparently a partner to MS. The landing page there has options for sending a device for repair, or chat or call back. All of them require you to enter the IMEI otherwise there are no other options or numbers etc.

The 950 XL is not recognised, i.e. you can go no further. End of. Full stop. Back on the MS Device Support landing page, out of curiosity I tried to register my 1020 and they have actually removed the option to register anything other than Xbox, Surface or Band. Mobile device support via MS has now ended.

Fortunately, I have my 1020 so use its IMEI on the BX2 page and ask for a call back. I get a call from someone who can speak English but unfortunately does not seem able to comprehend anything beyond her script particularly well. Eventually I get her to understand that I had to use another phones IMEI simply to be able to make contact. We discuss the situation, the long pauses and questions that don?t seem to make much sense worry me slightly but I think we get there. She assures me that they will be able to fix my phone and someone will call me back. We will see.

I appreciate there is an element of ?well, you should have been more careful? but having supported Nokia and then MS phones for years, if they can?t be bothered anymore then why should we? They have already said they are stopping Lumia production and it looks like at least for the final generation of devices, technical support will be excruciating to get.

It is a great phone. Its ?340. If it breaks, if you are lucky you might be able to get it repaired for a pretty steep fee, but you might not.

Much as it pains me, don?t buy this or any other current MS phone unless you are prepared for this certainty. I will have to see this through now, and eat the cost and hassle, don?t make my mistake of thinking MS will look after you.

 

[anon(10043517)]

There was a Care centre in Glasgow, but it seemed quite shady, I'm not sure it was official? Ill check it out though.

The Screen and digitiser are expensive, not much cheaper (if any ) than the ?160 MS are apparently going to charge to fix this. Although, lets be honest, they'll probably just send me a new phone. What puts me off is I "fixed" my old 920 and wasn't happy with the results so not keen to try again!

?140 is great, well played! I had a wee look myself on eBay and the likes, defo an option but at the moment so sickened by it all I'm not sure what to do.

 

[anon(10043517)]

Also meant to say, as from today when you call MS, the tech support for mobile devices now does not go through to a human, it tells you to refer to the website and ends the call. This worked last week which makes me think I got to speak to someone on the final day of them being bothered about it. As I now cant get back in touch and quote my case number, I guess nothing will happen.

 

[spinzeroWL]

Check on Ebay for Nokia Care listings. There were still loads around the country....and they tend to compete for business. They also offer postal turnaround options (sometimes for free). So just find the cheapest care centre, then just run it through them.

I would far sooner send my phone to one of those care centres than to the company MS seems to be punting people to via their websites. Oh, and the Northampton care centre is also shady looking...but they provide superb service.

(All depends on whether that network of care centres is still operating).

Originally posted by evil_bill
There was a Care centre in Glasgow, but it seemed quite shady, I'm not sure it was official? Ill check it out though.

The Screen and digitiser are expensive, not much cheaper (if any ) than the ?160 MS are apparently going to charge to fix this. Although, lets be honest, they'll probably just send me a new phone. What puts me off is I "fixed" my old 920 and wasn't happy with the results so not keen to try again!

?140 is great, well played! I had a wee look myself on eBay and the likes, defo an option but at the moment so sickened by it all I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Matjaz Erj]

In my country Slovenia, Nokia Microsoft service, change display for my 950xl today in one day for free ,I have some problems with display.

 

[earthman007]

A couple of things come to mind -
1. There are legal obligations that manufacturers are ulimately liable for, should there be issues covered under warranty. This is the case, whoever they may outsource some of their operations to.
2. Is your phone covered by your home contents insurance? They would likely repair or replace with a refurbished handset. I'd pursue this, if a handset was valuable and standard services were becoming almost impossible to deal with.

 

[anon(10043517)]

Yes, you are right but so far I'm getting nowhere. I'd be interested if someone else could try registering their 950 XL for a repair via MS / BX2. As the only way to make any kind of contact is to enter a valid IMEI (which is not working) MS are surely failing to provide this requirement. My only doubt is mine was bought in the US but even going on the US site fails to come up with anything.

As for claiming on insurance, sure, I had thought of that but it still comes back to actually being able to get it repaired. I called a few independent repairers and half of them wont even touch it because of parts availability. Needless to say had no call back or email from anyone I managed to speak to at MS / BX2

It is a disgrace frankly. You could buy this phone today, break it tomorrow and have no clear route to getting it fixed!

A couple of things come to mind -
1. There are legal obligations that manufacturers are ulimately liable for, should there be issues covered under warranty. This is the case, whoever they may outsource some of their operations to.
2. Is your phone covered by your home contents insurance? They would likely repair or replace with a refurbished handset. I'd pursue this, if a handset was valuable and standard services were becoming almost impossible to deal with.

 

[daimv]

I remember several threads about replacement screens. I believe you can indeed get them but I can't remember the name of the company. The guys that "won't touch it" sound like assholes.

 

[vezycash]

This is bad news from every angle. No support from a year old device. (=

 

[earthman007]

If the insurer accepted a claim, wouldn't it be for them to actually get the fix or replacement? Otherwise, depending upon where you are, retailers and credit card issuers Under the UK Sales of Goods Act 1979, 'If a product is not fit for purpose, the customer is within their rights to have the goods replaced or repaired' Such cover can last for some considerable time following purchase, especially with higher-end goods.

The protection provided against credit card issuers has been covered under the UK 'Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you may have a claim against the credit card company if you paid for your faulty goods using a credit card, and the goods cost more than ?100 but less than ?30,000' I am not a consumer or legal expert and understand that your purchase was in the USA, where differences will likely apply to some protection. However, people who would be purchasing the 950s in the UK atm would be covered by ongoing protection - and such protection wouldn't expect the customer to have to fix the problems by themselves.

Sure, we can be critical of MS and their policies for their products, such as minimising customer support - their behaviour doesn't really seem acceptable.

I realise this perhaps doesn't give you much scope for support and I don't know what protection you have when purchasing via a UK based credit card whilst overseas - though the Court of Appeal in the UK defined cover includes purchases made overseas. The card issuer then assumes equal liability with the retailer, under this legilsative protection for consumers.

 

[anon(2523636)]

Just a thought (and not excuising it from a global company), is your IMEI not being recognised by the euro support site because you bought it in the US? Try the IMEI in the US support site to see if it progresses.

 

[anon(10043517)]

After a number of very frustrating phone calls, Microsoft and B2X are unwilling and unable to see past the IMEI. As far as they are concerned the phone does not exist and are putting it down to it originating from the USA so they can’t help me.

I’m not looking for favours or claims under warranty or compensation. I want the man in the UK who repairs Lumia 950 XL screens for Microsoft to take my money and fix my screen (although do they actually repair the screens, is that the problem? Do they actually just send you a new phone?)
I have called a number of screen repair specialists, and none of them want to know. I had a great conversation with one yesterday. He told me it was “out of stock and very expensive, about ?170.”

“That’s fine” I said, “can you order me one.”

“No, because it’s out of stock”

“ok, but you told me its ?170, so order one in”

“No, it’s out of stock”

<blank expressions, he literally walks away from me>

Best scenario now? Ship it to Palcotech in the USA who will repair it for $215. They will ship it to my friend in Boston who will bring it back next time he is home. Postage there is ?12.

I appreciate I may have been na?ve buying in the US but I mistakenly believed we now lived in a global society where multinational businesses might look after their customers, even if their needs were slightly outside their parameters. Computer says no!

For UK bought devices, it is still the case that they have moved all device support online, i.e. the MS phone number does not have an option to speak to someone about mobile devices, all repairs via B2X

 

[daimv]

Originally posted by evil_bill


?

I appreciate I may have been na?ve buying in the US but I mistakenly believed we now lived in a global society where multinational businesses might look after their customers, even if their needs were slightly outside their parameters.

Hahaha, that's something to keep hoping for, but we are still a loooooong way from that sadly. Anyway good luck, also consider buying your screen and replacing it yourself.

 

[anon(10043517)]

After complaining to the Microsoft Store twitter account, B2X have been back in touch, but after a 45 minute phone call, all we really established (again) was that neither IMEI for my phone (there are 2 because its a Dual Sim variant) are bringing up any information at their end, either for the UK (where I live) or the USA (where I bought the phone). I also noticed that despite buying it in the Microsoft Store in the Prudential Centre in Boston, the box has a sticker on it "Imported in Canada by Microsoft Mobile Canada Inc." The guy I spoke to did eventually believe I wasn't just making stuff up and accepts there is clearly something up at their end. The phone is registered to my Microsoft Account after all, and the IMEI was accepted just fine by that. He asked for a few days to look into it further.

 

[gbobman]

I went to devicesupport .microsoft .com and now they state "Lumia Phones are not supported in Canada, US, and Australia". The end times are nigh.

 

[anon(10043517)]

** Update **. After numerous phone calls and emails, quite often with weeks, and sometimes months of waiting, not only did my IMEI finally get recognised by B2X, but today I can happily report that their site has now accepted my details for the send in repair service to repair my screen. The price is a pretty reasonable £107, pity about the 5 months wait!

 

[anon(10043517)]

I Knew it was too good to be true

B2x took my £107.19 for the Out of Warranty screen repair, sent me a shipping label and of it went to them. Got it back today, phone not fixed because this type of damage is not covered by the limited Warranty, but I could pay to have it fixed as an Out of Warranty service.

WHICH IS WHAT I HAD DONE!

Furious. Absolute shower of idiots

 

[Narr]

Is the timestamp on this conversation correct? 5 months for B2X to respond in a meaningful way? I have a similar issue with a 950 where the IMEI isn't recognised, purchased from Ebay but European. Same issues you had in that a valid IMEI is needed to proceed, I'm not sure I can be bothered though.

 

[bells0]

I'm struggling to find anywhere that will sell a spare battery.

I've joined the many who have a slightly bulged battery and suffering from reboots when the battery gets under 40%

MS UK are ignoring my comments on their facebook page, may have to try twitter.