Retitle : Nokia has awesome warranty support!

[bigkevbosky]

So I just bought a "not working" Lumia 900 on Ebay for $75 shipped. I took a chance that the person just didn't know what was wrong with it. Here's the description they posted :

"Phone does not come on at all I don't know what's wrong with it. I know for sure you can use lots of parts out of this phone."

I know a lot of Lumia 900s have had the "random shutoff" issue - has a recent update fixed that? The picture the seller showed doesn't show any damage to the phone, so unless its water damage, my guess is its suffering from the same "battery died and phone won't turn back on" issue.

I guess even if it is water damage, the LCD panel is worth the $75 to someone who wants to replace their screen - nothing like taking chances, huh?

Have any of you had any luck contacting Nokia for replacement hardware when buying from a 3rd party like Ebay? I would think the one year warranty is still in effect.

 

[speedtouch]

This guy had a very good experience with Nokia's repair center, even though his Lumia 710 was bought off eBay. http://forums.windowscentral.com/lumia-710/192955.htm

 

[bigkevbosky]

This guy had a very good experience with Nokia's repair center, even though his Lumia 710 was bought off eBay. http://forums.windowscentral.com/lumia-710/192955.htm

Great - thanks for the link. I hope the phone doesn't have water damage, that would be the only thing that Nokia probably wouldn't deal with - I emailed the seller asking for a history of the device, but I doubt he'll know.

Maybe I'll get lucky and score a Lumia for $75!

Edit : Here's what the seller responded with :

"Well Like I said in the description I don't know what's wrong with it but when I plug it in it vibrates but it does not come on but when I unplug it the screen shows for a second"

Doesn't sound like water damage to me. Hope this works out, I've been a bit jealous of Lumia 900 owners since launch - I love my Focus S, but LTE makes all the difference in the world.

 

[speedtouch]

I hope it's not water as well. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[iloveamystery]

I had a problem with my 900 not turning on in the morning when I got up once. It couldn't have been that the battery died because it was plugged up. I left it plugged in all day while at work--about 7 hours, yet I still had the same problem with it not turning on once I got home. A while later I started fiddling with the mini-USB side of the charging cable, reinserting it several times into the Lumia 900, and finally it powered on, automatically... with half of its charge. Thankfully I haven't had that problem since.

Just thought I'd share. Maybe you can try something like that, although it's probably a long shot.

 

[Thuoudo]

You may or may not have luck with sending it to Nokia under warranty. Their site expressly says the warranty is for the original purchaser only and they wanted a proof of purchase sent with the device.

That said, I was not the original purchaser of my 900 and bought it from a random dude on ebay (who, I am convinced, knew it had the vibrate issue because all he sells are phones and he set his feedback to private like the day before I received the phone :dry)...I did contact Nokia before sending it in and they sent me a totally different device, although I suspect it was refurbished by them.

Worth a shot. Prepaid second-day air to them, turnaround was about 12 days (sent it Saturday, May 19th, received Thursday the 31st, and that's including Memorial Day weekend), prepaid next-day air back to me.

 

[bigkevbosky]

UPDATE - received phone today - experiencing similar "boot loop" with dead battery issue I've read about with some of the 900s on the net. After talking to online tech, they recommended I send it in. The IMEI is on the sim card slot.

Sending it UPS today - will let everyone know if I receive a new phone back. This phone is in "ok" shape, ding in bottom right corner, small chip out of bottom glass on screen, considered maybe 7/10 condition. Would be great for $75, but we'll see if I get a brand new one. Might be the deal of the year.

 

[ninjaap]

Wow! Be great if you get a new one! Even a refurb from Nokia would still be awesome! Crossing my fingers for you.

 

[HeyCori]

Am jealous!

 

[yeahbuddy78]

I hate the new trend of "warranties are valid for the original owner" business. Every electronic device I've even owned had the 1-yr manufacturers warranty tied to the device itself. AT&T is the worst about it. If you buy a phone from someone or off of eBay, they fight you tooth and nail not to provide any support for it. I had a Focus S that wouldn't activate the wifi hotspot (I have the proper 5gb plan w/tethering). Took it in and the tech was "WHERE DID YOU OBTAIN THIS DEVICE SIR??!" I asked why it mattered since the phone was released well under a year ago and is most certainly under warranty. He said if I didn't buy it new from AT&T under contract, it had zero warranty.

A chat with the manager stating my case cleared that up and they ended up fixing it, but it was a pain.

Sigh. If more companies could be like Apple or Lenovo. Something wrong with your device? You are the 4th owner? Still under the factory warranty? No problem. We warranted the device, not the owner, so we will get you a replacement.

I sure hope Nokia doesn't adopt some strict "you must have the original sales receipt or your 3 month old defective device is a paperweight sorry" type of policy.

Ownership has no bearing on the device 1-yr warranty. It just doesn't. Nothing more than corporations trying to maximize their dollar by abandoning support for sold/transferred devices. It's ridiculous.

If the product fails under warranty, it's the hardware's fault, not the person holding it at the time of failure. If you give your Lumia to your brother and it fails, why should he be suddenly denied warranty service? Can someone please explain? If it's abuse from being transferred like a hot potato to other people (sold on eBay, pawned, etc) then there's most likely water damage or physical damage - neither of which are covered by any manufacturers warranty.

 

[anon(5335877)]

I hate the new trend of "warranties are valid for the original owner" business. Every electronic device I've even owned had the 1-yr manufacturers warranty tied to the device itself. AT&T is the worst about it. If you buy a phone from someone or off of eBay, they fight you tooth and nail not to provide any support for it. I had a Focus S that wouldn't activate the wifi hotspot (I have the proper 5gb plan w/tethering). Took it in and the tech was "WHERE DID YOU OBTAIN THIS DEVICE SIR??!" I asked why it mattered since the phone was released well under a year ago and is most certainly under warranty. He said if I didn't buy it new from AT&T under contract, it had zero warranty.

A chat with the manager stating my case cleared that up and they ended up fixing it, but it was a pain.

Sigh. If more companies could be like Apple or Lenovo. Something wrong with your device? You are the 4th owner? Still under the factory warranty? No problem. We warranted the device, not the owner, so we will get you a replacement.

I sure hope Nokia doesn't adopt some strict "you must have the original sales receipt or your 3 month old defective device is a paperweight sorry" type of policy.

Ownership has no bearing on the device 1-yr warranty. It just doesn't. Nothing more than corporations trying to maximize their dollar by abandoning support for sold/transferred devices. It's ridiculous.

If the product fails under warranty, it's the hardware's fault, not the person holding it at the time of failure. If you give your Lumia to your brother and it fails, why should he be suddenly denied warranty service? Can someone please explain? If it's abuse from being transferred like a hot potato to other people (sold on eBay, pawned, etc) then there's most likely water damage or physical damage - neither of which are covered by any manufacturers warranty.

Exactly, it's stupid. I once had a problem with a Motorola Defy and T-Mobile denied me warranty service because I wasn't the original owner. They said if I had the insurance the phone would have been covered though.

I ended up going to Motorola and thankfully, they didn't give me any issues. They fixed my device and I had the device back in my hands in about a week and half.

I think Sony does this too for their PS3s. You need a receipt for a warranty repair. What sucks is if you were given the PS3 as a gift, or say you won it in a contest or raffle and were not given the receipt? You're SOL. Sony doesn't care.

 

[bigkevbosky]

UPDATE : Nokia received the device on Tuesday the 19th, sent me an email at 1 pm Pacific time stating they have the device in their network on Wednesday the 20th, and then sent ANOTHER email at 6 pm Pacific time on Wednesday the 20th saying a new device has been shipped by UPS 2nd day air. So I should have the new Lumia on Friday or Monday.

That is AWESOME on Nokia's part - they WILL support the 1 year warranty on any Lumia, no matter where you purchased it from, and will NOT ask for proof of purchase.

Some of the Lumia's problems are unfortunate, but its nice to see a company stand by its products, hardware wise. They're doing the right thing, despite problems, the same way Microsoft stood by the Xbox 360 during the red ring of death phase.

 

[bigkevbosky]

ANOTHER UPDATE : Received phone today - it's a brand new Cyan Lumia 900. Shipped with 8112 firmware, but as soon as I plugged it into the computer Zune prompted me for an update. Shipped with about 25% or so battery charge.

The delivery note included shows my "old" phone as "defective" with a fault code of 4199 and a replacement serial number for the new device.

I purchased the phone on Ebay on 6/12 - so just under 2 total weeks for the seller to ship me the phone, me to turn the phone into Nokia, and Nokia to return a new phone to me.

My initial impression with the screen is - its the best looking screen of any WP device I've seen yet. I held it up directly next to the Focus S and the blacks are blacker and the colors seem richer.

I know the Lumia gets a lot of bad press these days, but anyone can do what I did - find a cheap one, get Nokia to replace it, and get a brand new device that should last you well until WP8 is released.

Thanks Nokia - I'll DEFINITELY be looking your way when it comes time to upgrade the contract in November.

 

[HeyCori]

Dude, you got an awesome deal!

 

[bigkevbosky]

Dude, you got an awesome deal!

Thanks - I was nervous pulling the trigger on it but figured at WORST I'd get my $75 back just selling the "bricked" phone for parts. It really did turn out well - I'm keeping my Focus S as a backup for now until I'm confident in the Lumia's reliability.

 

[Thuoudo]

Interesting--mine was replaced with a Fault Code 4599 (vibrate rattle was the reason I sent it in). I wish there was a list of those codes somewhere...

 

[MadSci2]

Avoid SONY at all times!

Exactly, it's stupid. I once had a problem with a Motorola Defy and T-Mobile denied me warranty service because I wasn't the original owner. They said if I had the insurance the phone would have been covered though.

I ended up going to Motorola and thankfully, they didn't give me any issues. They fixed my device and I had the device back in my hands in about a week and half.

I think Sony does this too for their PS3s. You need a receipt for a warranty repair. What sucks is if you were given the PS3 as a gift, or say you won it in a contest or raffle and were not given the receipt? You're SOL. Sony doesn't care.

Just one of the many reasons I avoid SONY at all costs. Wouldn't touch their stuff with a 1o foot pole anymore.