Disssapointing experience with 920... AT&T, I just want this resolved the right way

[BotanicalStig]

I love the 920, it's the best phone out there and I've been drooling over it for months. I love windows 8, I love windows phone 8. My Surface has been a perfect computer, and the 920 was supposed to be the perfect phone for me. But it wasn't, three times, and AT&T wont make it right.

Let me start here, November 9th, launch day. I parked out in front of my at&t store 45 minutes before opening, and wait. Wait and wait. Finally they open. I get the very first red Lumia 920. What a beast of a phone, I loved it. Until I turned my phone into landscape mode to play a game... "THUD" wtf is that? I proceed to shake my phone to reveal a disturbing heavy, loose object. Damnit, I got a dud. Ok, it happens, not holding anything against anybody at this point. I took a video and stored it for future records. I've decided to post it for your viewing,

Lumia 920 Loose Internals - YouTube


I take it back three days later after deciding it was a real issue, and that it would effect usability (recording a video on the move... as I demonstrated above). No more red 920's. In fact, none of the stores anywhere near me have them. I became sadface. But wait, I find one! Right before my two weeks go up I find one a few hours away from me and get an exchange.

Let me tell you about the second 920 I had. Nothing was loose internally, no squishy corners, I thought it was perfect. The night I brought the phone home I noticed two things. The power button was sunken in and flush to the device, and something bizarre happened when I plugged it in. Here's the video... you'll figure out what's wrong,

Lumia 920 charging trouble - YouTube

Screen goes unresponsive when I'm charging... Ok now I'm pissed. WTF is going on in Nokia's factories? I reset the phone, get rid of any apps, plug it in to literally every outlet in my house, still happens. This was some bizarre hardware problem. The rate of DOA's on the 920 is so high I get TWO defective units?

Ok so I go back to my store, two days later due to thanksgiving. They apparently weren't allowed to give me another replacement. I guess if your defective units' replacement is defective, it too has to be returned within 14 days of the original purchase. Like it's MY fault you sold me two bad phones?

Regardless, the guys overrode the rule... once, and pretty much told me if this doesn't work I'm fu*ked.

This third phone is the wrong color (black, because, you know, I don't deserve the phone I paid for anymore.. couldn't get me red even though I know they're in stock at AT&T) and makes a horrible noise when it vibrates (the other two did not rattle terribly on vibrate). UHG! Even though I can get passed the vibrate issue, I don't care. This isn't the phone I want, it's not the one I bought. I paid $450 for a working red 920 with no loose internals, that charges correctly, a phone with no problems.

There are plenty of you who got working 920's. What the h*ll do I have to do to get the same? I am taking this further with AT&T. All I want is to be a happy 920 owner, telling me I can't have another red 920 is cruel, unusual, and ridiculous... Please, make this right.

I needed to rant. I love this phone. I hate nokias QC and AT&T's inability to give me the phone I paid for. Discuss.

 

[kebnt]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with AT&T, I've gone with the Microsoft Store and they've been great about replacement, exchange and ultimately return (after the free headset debacle and my 14 days being up yesterday without enough time to find out how it is ultimately resolved tomorrow).

Honestly, it sounds like going through AT&T will cause more headache than it is worth. I would try to work directly with Nokia as to see about the manufacturer's warranty. I emailed Stephen Elop on Fri morning and got a response 3 hours later referring me to the customer support/resolutions department.

 

[BotanicalStig]

Thank you for the advice, I will contact Nokia, I hope they can help.

 

[kebnt]

Np, good luck with it. Would be interested in hearing the resolution of it. If you go through customer support first and don't get the right outcome, I would go directly to Elop (you can find the email from a simple Google search).

 

[masterchief1984]

I feel for you man I had two phones crash on me and stop powering up. I still love the phone and os, so imma keep riding with it.

 

[usstuscon12]

I had a black one with the same issue as if the battery inside was loose, but if you pushed on the center of the screen and did that the noise would stop. I had gone through 3 Lumia 920s in a week, I originally had a white one which had two specs of dust inside the screen when viewed on high brightness, so exchanged it for a black one to try it out but the black was worse with that noise inside of the phone of something moving and the screen was lifting on the top edge, so just replaced it with another white one which is flawless.

As for screen unresponsive while charging, it probably happens when the output of the USB cable being used from the AC adapter is below a certain threshold, not sure what it is, but when I plug it in a low-power USB port it does not work as well as a port that has a higher output. The USB cables do matter, as some put out a lower output than the OEM Nokia USB cable, not sure why, perhaps it's the quality of the cable.

 

[jbs4life97]

Mine has this loose "thing" inside - whatever it is.. I'm really debating about switching to iPhone 5.. I mean I really enjoy my Lumia 920 and Windows OS, but the rattles, questionable battery life, etc. little quirks - make me fear returning the device like you and getting more defective ones when I know I could most likely just pick up the iPhone 5 and be content - even though the OS is getting "meh".

 

[brmiller1976]

Not to cover for any QA issues on Nokia's side, but if you pick up an iPhone 5, you're likely to have similar issues. Colleagues of mine who bought them the last five weeks have had scratched/nicked cases (under the clear plastic), spontaneous reboots, and in one situation a case so warped that you could put it on the table and rock it by pressing on a corner.

These devices are getting way too complicated to build in a consistent-enough fashion to have success rates beyond 90%, it seems. I'm reminded of the early computer era in the 1980s when I was a wee lad, where new computers had all sorts of QA problems as a result of VLSI first coming out.

 

[lordofthereef]

First, let me say that it sucks that you had issues thus far, but...

You accepted the black phone. You took it home. Why? It sounds like your greatest problem is that fact that you have to deal with a black phone. What should have happened is you should have had AT&T rep put a note on your account until you can find a red phone. You are right. You did pay for a red phone. But the minute you accepted a black phone in exchange, you were accepting that you would be getting the black phone.

There does seem to be an unusually high number of issues with these phones. But, frankly, this isn't AT&T's fault. As their rules state, you have 14 days to return your phone. After that, issues, including warranty related issues, go through Nokia. This is the same for any phone you might get from them, period.

The Microsoft store is different. They act like Apple, at least for purchasers of MS Assure. If you have warranty related issues with the phone, you present it to them, show them the problem, and they give you a new one for the two years that Assure covers the phone. If there is damage to the phone, they replace it for $50 up to two times. For me, that peace of mind was worth it, not to mention cheaper than paying the AT&T insurance with their ridiculous $125 deductible.

 

[BotanicalStig]

^Not going further into why I took the black phone. I didn't have a choice, it's a long story that I don't want to go into. Believe me, after 2 hours on the phone and 3 hours in the store, it was all they would give me or I'd be stuck with the defective red one. Maybe I made the wrong choice, but I didn't know going to nokia for a replacement was an option. I also didn't blame AT&T for the bad phones, I noted Nokia's QC a few different places. But I bought it from AT&T, shouldn't they have fixed it when the product in the box was broken? I didn't wait 15 days to return it. They were closed for thanksgiving, I got the replacement the day before. I come back when they open and they throw that policy at me, is that really fair?

I sent out an email. Hopefully Nokia will be able to find me phone that isn't broken out of the box.

 

[lordofthereef]

^Not going further into why I took the black phone. I didn't have a choice, it's a long story that I don't want to go into. Believe me, after 2 hours on the phone and 3 hours in the store, it was all they would give me or I'd be stuck with the defective red one. Maybe I made the wrong choice, but I didn't know going to nokia for a replacement was an option. I also didn't blame AT&T for the bad phones, I noted Nokia's QC a few different places.

I sent out an email. Hopefully Nokia will be able to find me phone that isn't broken out of the box.

Listen, I am not trying to single you out. I feel for your issues. You have dealt with more than you should have to.

That said, pretty much any electronic good you buy in the US has a manufacturer's warranty. If you have yet to have to use that for anything ever, well, you are either extremely young, or extremely lucky. The fact of the matter is, they exist to protect the consumer, and to protect the establishment from which you bought the device in the first place. Contacting the manufacturer is ALWAYS an option when there is something wrong with your device, and it always should be. In fact, many items these days have an insert that says something along the lines of "sh!t don't work? Don't take it back. Call us!"

I am not an AT&T apologist. But you certainly did blame AT&T in your first post, anyway. Just look at the title of your thread. "AT&T, I just want this resolved right away"... kind of points the blame at AT&T right there.

You certainly don't have to go into why you took the black phone. The fact of the matter is that you did. You are on your third phone now. Frankly, I don't blame AT&T for not being willing to swap out another. You have to ask yourself, to what end? Where I think AT&T did drop the ball, is they should have told you, or even offered to contact Nokia on your behalf from their store. There is a demonstrable issue with every one of your phones, and it would have taken but a moment of the rep's time to call for you. In some cases they can even get Nokia to agree on a swap in store so that they don't have to eat the cost (well, I know for a FACT Best Buy can do this; my wife is manager there). So, the guy didn't go above and beyond the line of duty. Unfortunately, help like that is hard to find these days.

Anyway, best of luck getting this resolved. Let us know how you make out.

 

[ColeHarris]

You've guys got me all scared about getting my 920 in a few days, I'm afraid it'll be a rattling, rebooting, flexing, tinted, unresponsive, quick dying, brick sized, led weighted, slippery, stained, dim, crashing, flush buttoned, slow charging, easily scratched, mess. I've never seen such a wide array of issues in one phone, usually iPhone forums or the like are littered with only a few repeated issues not 30+ different issues all with numerous threads and posts depicting their every detail. I hope the seemingly large array of problems plaguing users around here are really nothing more than a small pool of defects magnified by magical nature of the word wide interwebz but posts like this give me pause. I truly hope that this is not a serious issue, through the many years that I've owned Nokia phones I've always praised there superb build quality above all else and I'd hate to think that were no longer the case.

Fingers crossed though... :straight:

 

[keizka]

It's the WWW that makes the problems seem widespread. No issues here whatsoever.

 

[wamsille]

AT&T is a service provider. They do not produce and maintain the Lumia 920, that is all Nokia. When you purchase a device and sign a two-year contract (electronically or otherwise) you are paying for the monthly service. The subsidy on the device is like a loss leader they take in order to get you to sign up with AT&T. To pacify customers, an exchange period of 14-30 days is offered by most carriers in the event you purchased a faulty device, the wrong color or want something different. Carriers cap the number of exchanges you can do in this period to minimize their risk. It isn't to screw a customer; customers tend to do that all on their own without intervention on the carriers' part.

You cannot argue with frontline support either on the phone or in the store. They aren't paid to resolve your issue; it really can be an issue of your concern falling outside of their pay grade. What you need to do is explain your issue, the steps you took to get there and request a resolution to the matter. The store reps and CSR's on the phone are going to abide by AT&T's best practices. They are there for a reason, and most people concerned with keeping their jobs will follow them to a fault. Rather than escalate the situation through them and frustrate not only yourself but the rep as well, kindly ask for a manager or supervisor. Thank the rep for their time, even if they go on like a broken record that their superior will only tell you the same. That's their job. You wouldn't want some lady who is mad that the Galaxy S III isn't made in pink to get the full undivided attention of a manager while you are there with a busted phone, right?

The manager will not have a lot of time for you. However, the store rep has even less time for you. Appreciate the fact that a manager was available for you to address your concerns and stick to the facts of the matter. Save your personal pleas or emotional triggers for another time and situation. Now, a manager is going to recite AT&T policy regarding returns and exchanges. They have to, so ultimately when it comes down being questioned why you received your fourth replacement device in less than two weeks it can be said that you were advised what the normal return policy allows for.

Ignore the contract piece - you signed a contract for the wireless service and not the phone. The fact of the matter is you had issue with device # 1, device # 2 and device # 3. AT&T should be contacting Nokia for resolution and/or offering you another make/model device. If they don't force the issue you should. A reasonable response would be that you have already since paid for the device, replaced it three times and each device provided has had one defect or another so you should be entitled to one more replacement or a cancelation of your order allowing you to shop elsewhere. Instead of just replacing a phone and making you go away the effort should be made to see if their other devices have these issues. It could be part of a batch of devices that were bad or you really could have had bad luck. If each individual situation was documented it would be obvious to see its the phones you received rather than something sinister you are doing on the side.

If I was the AT&T rep I would try to help you within the limits of my position. I couldn't knowingly step outside of corporate policy without the consent of management and no matter how nice of a person I am or you are, it isn't worth losing my job over. If I was the manager I would expect that I would have certain exceptions I could make and actions I could take to resolve your situation. However, if multiple returns and exchanges from one customer were reviewed by my district and flagged as a serious issue I might be tempted to have you address things through corporate if I felt that I would be better protected as an employee and you would be better served as a customer.

As others have said, contact Nokia. Explain the situation and see if they can work with AT&T on the matter directly on your behalf.

 

[BotanicalStig]

Thanks for the responses you guys. I sent an email to nokia last night and have yet to get a response. I went ahead and talked to someone on their chat and the best they could give me was "send it to us, we'll check it for you, and within 7-10 business days we'll have it fixed or replaced". Nothing against that solution but I do only have one phone, I can't go 7-10 business days without one. I'm stuck with it unless someone at AT&T helps me out, I guess.

 

[Hibalt]

Unresponsive screen while charging is caused some USB chargers, trying a different one might solve the problem.

 

[SteveISU]

Mine has this loose "thing" inside - whatever it is.. I'm really debating about switching to iPhone 5.. I mean I really enjoy my Lumia 920 and Windows OS, but the rattles, questionable battery life, etc. little quirks - make me fear returning the device like you and getting more defective ones when I know I could most likely just pick up the iPhone 5 and be content - even though the OS is getting "meh".

^ Here in lies the biggest hurdle with WP and the manufacturers who make the hardware. MS already owns such a small share of the market and is trying to grow, but it can't afford hiccups. If the issues that plague the 920 were occurring on the iPhone, every single news outlet would be hammering Apple. In essence kicking their rear in gear. Any issue with a WP will send most people running for iOS or Android. They simply can't afford these F ups if they hope to gain traction. Crashes, reboots, horrid camera that was hyped as the mother of all camera's on a phone, horrible battery life, junk getting into the FFC, ect. It's not just one issue like a scuff on a black anodized phone, most are OS issues. Issues that effect the users experience and with 14 days to make up your mind, any hiccup will cause most people to bail regardless if they can be fixed with a software update. What makes it even more pressing is because these issues with WP aren't shoved to the tech forefront (not like issues with Apple), many won't hear Nokia or MS response to the problems and quiet frankly there is no rush to give a response. Hence that end user will never know if a fix is coming or not, fear for the worst and bail. It almost does MS a disservice to be able to fly under the radar. If you are low man on the totem pole and want to climb it, you need to start hitting home runs for people to take notice. The issues that plague the 920 are starting to resemble a whiff.

 

[BotanicalStig]

I've been using the chargers that come with the phones, so that really *shouldn't* be a problem. My view of Nokia is now tainted, three bad phones. Microsoft, we NEED a surface phone. Kick your partners asses into shape with your own offering and get me out of here.

 

[BotanicalStig]

I just received an email from Stephen Elop, he told me would be having his team handle this for me. Guess I spoke too soon. I'll let you know how this follows through, but if they help me out here I will be ecstatic. I had to turn off the vibrate on my newest lumia, for the record, it sounds like ice in a blender. Fingers crossed!

 

[cp2_4eva]

I just received an email from Stephen Elop, he told me would be having his team handle this for me. Guess I spoke too soon. I'll let you know how this follows through, but if they help me out here I will be ecstatic. I had to turn off the vibrate on my newest lumia, for the record, it sounds like ice in a blender. Fingers crossed!

Any update?