Lumia 930 (buying) experience in USA

[yetanotherguy]

I am in the process of procuring a Lumia 930 international version (unlocked) in Orange in USA (california). I placed an order on expansys-usa on Feb 2, and as of present writing, they are awaiting stock. The price of the new phone is $399. I see there are little cheaper options on Amazon (and e-bay) where they state that item is in stock. The reason I am still sticking with the expansys order is because they help with the warranty process (in case I need it within 6 months) and have a decent return policy. I had a few questions regarding the above statements, now that I am just waiting without knowing how long to wait for this phone:

1. If any of you ordered through expansys-usa, ebay or amazon, and had to use warranty, how has your experience been so far?

2. Your experience with the 930 in USA (Northern CA to be more precise). I know I'll be limited to HSPA+ (on cricket, but I barely use more than 300MB a month). The other factors to consider here are I am a current 920 user who has little reason, so as to say, to upgrade other than just lusting for the phone. Additionally, MS is supposed to be unveiling a few new phone in MWC - but I expect no phone to show up before summer (wife will have upgrade available then).

I am a little jittery given that I have never paid out of pocket (upfront) for a phone before. More so when warranty coverage can best be sketchy in USA.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

 

[mary beth hale]

I purchased mine from Amazon but it was clearly stated "no warranty". Using it with a straight talk AT&T SIM. No issues.

 

[Fred Wilson2]

I bought a 930 from Expansys_usa and used it for a while on AT&T.
Worked as expected (other than the numerous problems with the 930 as detailed on this forum).
Expansys_USA accepted the return without a problem, when I sent it back.

Fred

 

[SeattleSeahawks]

Got my black and gold 930 off eBay with no problems at all. Using it right now, I love this phone.

 

[yetanotherguy]

thanks all for the reply.... especially Fred.... think, I will stick with the expansys order, at least for a while then.... it is exactly the "usual 930 pains" that I am worried about....

there are other dealers on amazon who aid with the warranty process, but none of them seem to have an in-stock 930 international (orange) listing right now..... at least not at a sane price range...

 

[Likwidz]

I'm kinda puzzled. I ordered a 930 on expansys also on Saturday and it shipped out today. Are certain colors on back order? I got a white one.

Ah...re-read...is orange on backorder? I in norcal also.

 

[yetanotherguy]

may be the color thing does play a role.... when I ordered mine said usually arrives in 5-10 days.... I assumed that to be arrives at my door step... you know what they say about assumptions

 

[PiggyMiddle]

YAG, did you get Denim on the phone or at least did it do an update to Denim after turning it on?
Which white one did you get?
They show two, one is $399, the other used to be $449, but is now $404.90 (same vendor code for last two prices)

Been waiting to get one of these, but wanted to make sure I get, or can get Denim, as I need the 930 for the camera as it will be replacing my 520 with really crappy camera, but other than that, a great phone.

Thanks

 

[blue1k]

I ordered mine from Amazon. Black Darth Vader color with matte black Terrapin sleek case. Looks awesome! $379 with free shipping on Prime.

It was a Thai model that updated to Denim. Took a day to get to me.
Interesting thing was this was a sealed box. My old 930 came from another seller and the box was open.

Very happy with the 3G/HSPA speeds on Roger in Canada (same as ATT bands).

 

[obakir]

I bought a 930 from Expansys_usa and used it for a while on AT&T.
Worked as expected (other than the numerous problems with the 930 as detailed on this forum).
Expansys_USA accepted the return without a problem, when I sent it back.

Fred

I'm sorry, can you give a couple of examples to those problems?
Are they the bugs/problems with the phone in general not using unlocked with in US?
Placing calls, texting, multimedia messaging, internet works?

 

[blue1k]

I'm sorry, can you give a couple of examples to those problems?
Are they the bugs/problems with the phone in general not using unlocked with in US?
Placing calls, texting, multimedia messaging, internet works?

Everything worked for me out of the box.
Also using on Tmobile when I travel in US

 

[Fred Wilson2]

Everything unlocked phone use (text, MMS, data, internet sharing, phone calls, etc) worked just fine.
Mine:
- Had horrible battery life
- Got very,very hot if used for anything even slightly CPU intensive (and I don't play games on my phones)
- Had a very strong purple tint to the screen that I simply could never adjust out

Maybe one or two more, I can't remember off the top of my head, but all the "common" problems you'll find complained about in this forum.
I've tried a handful of various Lumia models over the last few months until I found a model that suited my needs and worked well, with no problems.

Phone, as a phone, worked just fine on AT&T, as expected.

Fred

I'm sorry, can you give a couple of examples to those problems?
Are they the bugs/problems with the phone in general not using unlocked with in US?
Placing calls, texting, multimedia messaging, internet works?

 

[AndyCalling]

Screen tint seems to be an issue with older 930s. I have hardware revision 2.0.0.3 and there is no trace of screen tint at all.

Battery/heat is not an issue. Remember, one person's 'very very hot' is another's mildly warm. It is good if your phone case gets warm because that means the heat is escaping. If it doesn't get warm, that doesn't mean there is magically no heat. It just means it is trapped inside where it shouldn't be.

Battery life is fine. Of course, when compared to a 1520 phablet (with space to spare for a huge battery) it looks poor, but comparing it to my previous normal phone sized 820 I can say the battery lasts way way longer than it used to.

The 930 is excellent. You lose 4G in the US so you'll only have 3G, but that is all you lose I am told.

 

[pankaj981]

Well some of the posts suggest Denim fixes most of the heating problems, battery is still a mehh...one of the reasons I backed out at the last minute to switch from my 830. Everything else is on the 930 is great (minus the glance which I use a lot)

 

[blue1k]

Well some of the posts suggest Denim fixes most of the heating problems, battery is still a mehh...one of the reasons I backed out at the last minute to switch from my 830. Everything else is on the 930 is great (minus the glance which I use a lot)

Weird. For me the battery is awesome with Denim. Did a factory reset after updating though.

Also noticed that text refresh issue while scrolling is greatly diminished.

 

[PiggyMiddle]

I ordered mine from Amazon.

Which seller? have seen a lot of "sent to wrong address" complaints for some sellers.

 

[yetanotherguy]

As of now (on the 11 day after ordering) expansys usa is still awaiting stock.... a quick chat with a representative informs me it is expected in another week (but just expected, not confirmed).... there were other colors in stock though (I ordered Orange).... contemplating whether I should make the switch to a different color or not..... Orange seems to be out of stock or much more expensive on the other sites as well (Amazon, ebay)..... may be supply problems with that color?

 

[blue1k]

Which seller? have seen a lot of "sent to wrong address" complaints for some sellers.

Mobile Front. Order processed by Amazon. I never order from 3rd party and any without Prime. Got it in 1 day. Very happy with this 930. No screen issues or heating. Runs super cool with awesome battery. I used it all day from 6am till 2:30 at work and I still had 50% battery. I'm happy with that.

 

[PiggyMiddle]

Mobile Front

Thanks, reading the feedback, Wireless Hub seems to be the most reliable 100% out of 112 orders in past 30-days, 97% and 98% going back farther. Mobile front looks good too at 99% on 168 orders. Might give them a try. There was another Fulfilled by Amazon vendor that I checked out and most of the complaints were about sending to the wrong address.

 

[obakir]

I just got mine from expansys. Took almost three weeks.

I have one question, the volume and power button is really flush with the metal frame. They extend 0.5 mm, may be less. So it's a little hard to press them. camera button is like 1 mm. I have the black version. Is this normal?