AT&T Lumia 950s are lemons

[Dewg]

This is bad information. I restored from a backup a few times and it has been flawless.

Thanks, I feel all warm and loved.

 

[Neill Baldwin]

My wife's 950 unlocked from Microsoft hasn't rebooted on its own. I wonder if it something that att does.

I don't think it's an AT&T thing because mine is AT&T. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a certain time frame/ batch. Happens all the time in manufacturing.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I'm not using Windows Hello, I havent had any reboot, that being said I would like the FW updates

 

[afkaboogieman]

I have 4 ATT Lumia 950s in my household. All of them constantly reboot themselves at least twice a day. Often times the camera records stuttering video. Apps constantly crash or hang on resume. Windows Hello will randomly just stop working(have to type in PIN ir restart phone to get Hello back). Battery drains at a ridiculous rate during basic usage. Standby battery when phone is completely unused lasts about 1 day. I have already had 2 of these phones replaced by AT&T and they behave exactly the same. Tried installing insider on mine and doesn't make a difference.

I hear there's a mysterious firmware update out there that fixes all these issues. These phones are just brutal and If the firmware does fix these issues ATT should get their @$$ in gear and push it.

In the meantime, I have to listen to my wife complain non stop about how much her phone sucks and I've switched to using a Nexus 5X.

I couldn't begin to add enough emphasis to the OP. These phones are the absolute worst. Ever since I traded in my 830 in November for my AT&T 950 it's been nothing but issues. Horrific battery life (wake up at 6am, unplug, leave phone on standby, by 9am i'm down to 50%). Random restarts (no rhyme or reason, good for two every day at minimum). Had to disable Hello and Hey Cortana just to improve the battery life. To say nothing of the choppy interface, backsliding app quality, and poor cross-app integration. I could go on and on. Considering how long we had to wait for this phone, it feels awfully rushed and poorly executed.

I've been a staunch WP fan and an avid supporter since my old Samsung Blackjack that ran Windows Mobile 5.0. I never cared for one second about any app gap and I still don't - I had everything I needed on WP and in MS services. Now I'm shopping Android phones for when my contract expires. I'm sorry, Microsoft, but this phone REALLY IS THIS BAD. Even your most loyal fans can only wait so long just to sit through consecutive failures.

 

[MadSci2]

Other than less than stellar battery life, mine was fine out of the box. Installing Insider builds has led to inconsistent behavior, until the last three builds. These have fixed the battery life issues, made Edge work properly, sped up Windows Hello and fixed lots of other annoying issues.

However, the latest build has resulted in more crashes than the ones before. Clearly the issue is a partially the fact that Win10Mob is still a bit Beta, but evolving rapidly and is now totally usable. The other issue is that AT&T refuses to issue the new firmware that the rest of the World is getting. I fear the instability of the latest Insider build is due to this, as one doesn't see many of these complaints from other countries.

Eventually, we will get the firmware, and the handset will hit its stride. MS needs to lean on AT&T to resolve this ASAP>

 

[Jeff Merritt1]

I agree 100% I did the "System Restore" fresh and it seems to be working okay for now...however I am still stuck with the original OS build...it hasn't updated at all...I am in the Insider Program, I've opted Out, opted In...and still nothing. It's honestly one of the worst experiences with a phone I have ever had.

 

[William Stovall]

Anyone with grievances with your Lumia 950 can send it to my house at...

 

[RuleOfSines]

Thanks, I feel all warm and loved.

Its good advice for anyone with a sketchy 950. Mine is generally a hot mess after updates until I wipe it.

 

[MerlotC]

Had my 950 since launch and except for a short time before the first update, I've had great battery life (much improved over my 920) and no problems. Have had it freeze recently editing a photo with the latest Redstone build but overall love the phone.

 

[SkullyHB]

I've had some issues, but not as bad as the OP. My battery life has generally been good, except when I shoot a lot of pictures or video, which is to be expected. It's MUCH better than my 1020 used to be. It does get warm at times with heavy use, but no more than any other phone I've owned.

My biggest problems are the random reboots. Some days it's fine, other days it will reboot between 1 and 5 times throughout the day. Most of the time I'm not doing anything exceptional with it - e-mail, 6Tag, Tweetium, etc. Also it occasionally drops my cellular data connection - sometimes it gives me a 'no service' indicator, other times it just stops communicating without notice, and I have to reboot it in order to get it working again.

I've tried getting on the Insider program (slow ring) to get the 107 update early which did nothing to fix the issues. I've done a reset with and without restoring from a backup, but no change. Issues like the cellular data which involve the radio stack make me believe that the firmware update will help, so I'm anxiously waiting for AT&T to get off their butts like the rest of you.

 

[curseoftheninja]

I have an ATT Lumia 950.

What a terrible phone. I share your frustration. Lots of reboots, running hot, app crashes or freezes.

It's a perfect example of MS taking advantage of its most loyal fans. They knew what they had when they released it, yet they did it anyway.

When my contract is up, I will be looking at non-Windows phones.

I would suggest tweeting at @Lumiahelp and @attcares. They need to know how bad these phones are and how unhappy customers are. I was tweeting about a problem, and someone else chimed in that he was having problems too.

Does anyone know an email address where we can send in complaints?

 

[Quatermash]

It seems a strange thing; I've had my (UK) 950 since the end of December and after the first major update it's been rock solid; it's probably the only mobile I've had when I've genuinely double-taked over how much battery I have left after a relatively heavy day; I usually flick battery saver on in the morning but it's been impressive stuff so far...

 

[vartanarsen]

Windows Phone 8.1 for the WIN!

 

[RuleOfSines]

I have an ATT Lumia 950.

What a terrible phone. I share your frustration. Lots of reboots, running hot, app crashes or freezes.

It's a perfect example of MS taking advantage of its most loyal fans. They knew what they had when they released it, yet they did it anyway.

When my contract is up, I will be looking at non-Windows phones.

I would suggest tweeting at @Lumiahelp and @attcares. They need to know how bad these phones are and how unhappy customers are. I was tweeting about a problem, and someone else chimed in that he was having problems too.

Does anyone know an email address where we can send in complaints?

I feel like Microsoft has actually done an okay job since launch, there have been a ton of insider updates, and 3 firmware updates for this phone. If we hadn't gone with AT&T branded models we may actually have gotten a good experience. Would be nice if Microsoft could push AT&T to release these updates, but they may not have all that much clout.

 

[erasure25]

When you got lemons... make lemon drop martinis!!

 

[sinime]

I'm having issues with random reboots and it randomly will loose the connection with ATT (shows the 5 bars with a circle that is crossed out and the only way to get it back is a reboot)... hoping the firmware (if/when released) fixes the issue, but now I'm wondering it I should maybe look into a warranty claim (or is this just an issue with the firmware???)

 

[Tempest790]

My two 950's (my wife and mine) have had constantly had issues. Ours are both AT&T branded phones we bought new.

Since the latest update that just came out, my phone won't even update store apps anymore or allow me to download new apps. It just errors out.

Sure, I could just factory reset the phone. But why bother?

I pre-ordered two Galaxy S7's. I'm not an Android fan, but at least there are more options available. I think Microsoft really dropped the ball on the 950.

 

[jaaks]

I agree. Microsoft really dropped the ball with the release (or non-release) of the 950 family. I fully intended to buy the phone in December but was unable to buy the XL in the windows store. This, after I had received the email that it was available. In hindsight, I'm glad it was unavailable. Reading the forums, I saw many problems reported. Plus, the app gap seems to be widening instead of narrowing. I've had some apps that are no longer supported on the Windows Phone OS. It's really a shame... I've went from a Windows Phone family of 4 to a family of 3 for iOS and I'm anxiously awaiting my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge to arrive next week.

 

[jbowyer1]

Plus, the app gap seems to be widening instead of narrowing. I've had some apps that are no longer supported on the Windows Phone OS. It's really a shame... I've went from a Windows Phone family of 4 to a family of 3 for iOS

Ugh, I know that feeling. I love my 950 and put up with the app shortcomings of WP/W10M, but I'm considering changing my parents over from WP8 phones (a 1520 and a 640) to iPhones, as twice now they've had friends tell them about apps that aren't available on WP. It's a shame when the app gap even affects my ancient (77 and 68 year old) parents, and I feel guilty having to explain that they're missing out on something because of the mobile OS I choose for them due to my personal preference. They're not techies and wouldn't know the difference between WP, iOS, and Android any more than they'd notice whether they were using a Samsung vs LG vs Kenmore refrigerator.

 

[Loiselle]

Until yesterday, I defended my Lumia 950. I defended it tooth and nail.

But secretly, I was in pure hell. I bought the phone on day 1 in November. Between then and Feb. 20th, I was at my local AT&T Repair Center 8 times to have it swapped out. All the same reasons...

Random resets to the tune of 10+ a day. Could have been more, but this was just what I noticed. It would sometimes occur in the middle of a phone call or just using the Facebook app.

Overheating. The battery at times felt like it was a griddle on full blast. Hot to the touch.

Screen becoming unresponsive to touch. Device would freeze for minutes at a time.

So, after the 8th visit to the AT&T Service Center, I broke down and contacted an AT&T specialist. I told them all the issues I've been having. I'd explain to them each and every reason I was making these visits to the repair center. I finally broke down and said "I just want a device that will work when I pick it up to use it. Right now, I don't have that with this less than 4 month old phone."

The people at AT&T gave me 2 options. The first being a BRAND NEW Microsoft Lumia 950. Not a factory refurbish, or anything of that nature. In addition to that, I would be allowed to keep the existing 950 I already had. Not bad, but at this point, I'm done with the frustration. The second being at no cost to me, other than to continue to make my Lumia 950 NEXT payments, any Android device, including the upcoming Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. Again, I would just have to continue to pay my Lumia 950 NEXT payments.

I stated my zero interest whatsoever in any Android device. (I'm not a fan of the ecosystem AT ALL.)

She said there was nothing else they could do.

I took a deep breath and asked "what about an iPhone?" Now, to be clear, I'd rather stick with Windows right now. But being completely honest, I had to put my ****** flag down, as all I want is a phone that will just work when I pick it up.

She stated that because of some deal with Apple, there's nothing she can do there for me in regards to an iPhone.

I thanked her for her time, and asked what my payment would be to close the account.

Yesterday afternoon, I walked into my local Verizon store. Went through the paces, and when I left, I had an iPhone 6S Plus 64GB, Verizon service, and peace of mind. Peace of mind knowing that Verizon is going to pay the balance off of what I owe. Peace of mind knowing that I'm not going to look down at my phone on the table that is in the middle of a reboot.

I already miss the Windows 10 Mobile Ecosystem, Seriously. But I had to make a choice. Be a ****** tooth and nail, or have a device that works.

I chose the latter.


In closing, knowing my luck, now that I have an iPhone, Microsoft will soon officially announce the Surface Phone, and it will succeed where all Windows Phone devices have failed before it. I just know it.