Need help verifying WP8 issues

[Vectraat]

Ok, after reading these forums on and off for a week, I came up with a list of issues that are discussed here and at the Nokia forums.
They are the issues that would probably bother me the most with this platform should I decide to adopt it. I'll be shooting for the Lumia 920, or wait 'till the 928 comes out.
I'd very much appreciate it if I could get some feedback from you guys to see if these issues ARE fixed or WILL be fixed with the OS update/manufacturer updates.
Feel free to add any issues to my list as the feedback I get from you guys will help me determine whether I get this phone or not. Got the cash to buy it outright, just need some feedback.

1.) Dust issue with the front facing camera on the 920 due to a small opening?
2.) WP8 bricks with hard resets (Not sure if this is exclusive to 920's)
3.) Unibody creaks with button presses and especially when in vibrate mode. (920)
4.) Poor calendar, but good app alternative?
5.) Bluetooth issues?
6.) Music sync issues?
7.) Storage issue called "other" that keeps growing. Can you delete?
8.) FB and Twitter applications don't send notifications? FB application is apparently terrible (worse than Android/iOS)
9.) Dropped calls
10.) Proximity sensor issues?
11.) PDF issues
12.) Top of phone (920) heating issues (even with recent patch updates) ?
13.) No way to set alternate ring tones/custom ring tones? Probably an app that can do this or no?
14.) No way to turn vibrate on or off without manually going into the settings?
15.) No way to exit an app directly (you have to constantly press the back button to exit an app.) Uh - doesn't pressing the "home" button exit an app, or can't you press a button at the multitask
screen to close an app?
16.) No LED notifications?
17.) Battery issues (I heard this was fixed for a lot of people, or is it still a matter of playing Russian roulette.)
18.) Camera focus/blurry/fuzzy issues (Again, seems to be a non-issue for some and others are not so lucky?)
19.) Phone reboots even on latest firmware/OS updates? (Same as above.)

Lastly - has anyone ordered this phone from Clove and what has your experience been? Is it a non-branded device? No issues with your carrier? (I've heard about MMS/Tethering issues with certain carriers as far as Rogers is concerned.) I.E. Rogers Lumia 920 has issues on Telus for example.

 

[Narse77]

My answers in red bellow

Ok, after reading these forums on and off for a week, I came up with a list of issues that are discussed here and at the Nokia forums.
They are the issues that would probably bother me the most with this platform should I decide to adopt it. I'll be shooting for the Lumia 920, or wait 'till the 928 comes out.
I'd very much appreciate it if I could get some feedback from you guys to see if these issues ARE fixed or WILL be fixed with the OS update/manufacturer updates.
Feel free to add any issues to my list as the feedback I get from you guys will help me determine whether I get this phone or not. Got the cash to buy it outright, just need some feedback.

1.) Dust issue with the front facing camera on the 920 due to a small opening?
Seems to be with mainly the first run of 920's Mine does not have this issue

2.) WP8 bricks with hard resets (Not sure if this is exclusive to 920's)
I have not seen anymore lockups than any other modern smartphone I have used

3.) Unibody creaks with button presses and especially when in vibrate mode. (920)
Also seen mainly in the first units sold, mine does not have this issue

4.) Poor calendar, but good app alternative?
Chronos Calendar

5.) Bluetooth issues?
I have Bluetooth issues using Audible but the Music player and phone calls work great

6.) Music sync issues?
I have not seen this, I suspect most issues are because of improper tags

7.) Storage issue called "other" that keeps growing. Can you delete?
Should be addressed with the new firmware rolling out now

8.) FB and Twitter applications don't send notifications? FB application is apparently terrible (worse than Android/iOS)
Use the WebApps version until official Facebook app arrives

9.) Dropped calls
Not seen this

10.) Proximity sensor issues?
Could be related to the dust issue or cases that block the sensor

11.) PDF issues
All the PDF I have used have been fine

12.) Top of phone (920) heating issues (even with recent patch updates) ?
Playing Asphalt 7 my phone does get hot, but not much worse than my iPhone 5 did when playing taxing games

13.) No way to set alternate ring tones/custom ring tones? Probably an app that can do this or no?
Ringtones you can set, text tones not so much

14.) No way to turn vibrate on or off without manually going into the settings?
Press volume key and then press the vibrate only button

15.) No way to exit an app directly (you have to constantly press the back button to exit an app.) Uh - doesn't pressing the "home" button exit an app, or can't you press a button at the multitask screen to close an app?
Somewhat correct. Pressing home suspends the app aka like iOS, pressing back out of the app will close completely

16.) No LED notifications?
Correct

17.) Battery issues (I heard this was fixed for a lot of people, or is it still a matter of playing Russian roulette.)
Turn Bluetooth of when not using. Keeping it on all the time seems to drain mine faster

18.) Camera focus/blurry/fuzzy issues (Again, seems to be a non-issue for some and others are not so lucky?)
I could not ask for a better camera on a phone. By far the best I have seen and all my friends, even the crazy iOS and Android one agree

19.) Phone reboots even on latest firmware/OS updates? (Same as above.)
Mine has never rebooted itself

Lastly - has anyone ordered this phone from Clove and what has your experience been? Is it a non-branded device? No issues with your carrier? (I've heard about MMS/Tethering issues with certain carriers as far as Rogers is concerned.) I.E. Rogers Lumia 920 has issues on Telus for example.

 

[realwarder]

1.) Dust issue with the front facing camera on the 920 due to a small opening?

Not noticed this, but then who uses the FFC

2.) WP8 bricks with hard resets (Not sure if this is exclusive to 920's)

Never had to reset in any way. Only bad phones lock up - replace them.

3.) Unibody creaks with button presses and especially when in vibrate mode. (920)

It does creak in places.

4.) Poor calendar, but good app alternative?

I love Agenda view and the calendar is fine for me. People say good alternatives exist.

5.) Bluetooth issues?

Wife's works fine for voice. Music player doesn't work with her car.

6.) Music sync issues?

N/A I stream music on demand

7.) Storage issue called "other" that keeps growing. Can you delete?

Not today but in next firmware will fix.

8.) FB and Twitter applications don't send notifications? FB application is apparently terrible (worse than Android/iOS)

Not on FB. Use twitter native client ok.

9.) Dropped calls

Not for me.

10.) Proximity sensor issues?

Not for me.

11.) PDF issues

Not for me.

12.) Top of phone (920) heating issues (even with recent patch updates) ?

Yes when heavy app used, but no more than other phones.

13.) No way to set alternate ring tones/custom ring tones? Probably an app that can do this or no?

Only ring tones can be customized

14.) No way to turn vibrate on or off without manually going into the settings?

Yes. screen menu on volume change

15.) No way to exit an app directly (you have to constantly press the back button to exit an app.) Uh - doesn't pressing the "home" button exit an app, or can't you press a button at the multitask
screen to close an app?

True

16.) No LED notifications?

True

17.) Battery issues (I heard this was fixed for a lot of people, or is it still a matter of playing Russian roulette.)

Seems random. Hoping new firmware will address. Good days and bad for me. Others claim wonderlife.

18.) Camera focus/blurry/fuzzy issues (Again, seems to be a non-issue for some and others are not so lucky?)

Great camera

19.) Phone reboots even on latest firmware/OS updates? (Same as above.)

Nope, never rebooted. Wife's did. We replaced. Never rebooted since. Replace if you get one that does.

 

[markfive]

Ok, that's a pretty complete list of potential issues...

1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 17, 18, 19 - For a lot of these issues, some have had a few, many do not have any. Some are open to interpretation (my phone gets warm under some circumstances but I'd never say it got hot), others (like BT issues or dropped calls) could be unrelated to the phone itself. Many seem to have been restricted to the first production batches of the phone.
4 - The built-in calendar is fine for me, but alternatives are starting to appear now
6 - Music sync took a step backward with WP8. WP7 has a great piece of software called Zune, which is like iTunes in concept but far superior in execution. WP8 has a very basic drag and drop sync client.
7 - This feature is known to be coming in a future update
8 - Another area where some report issues but others do not. I've not seen any issues reported with the new Twitter app. The FB app is long overdue a replacement - it only shows notifications for posts to your wall, or if someone replies to a post you make on someone elses wall (or if you've replied to/liked a post)
11 - Most recent version of the PDF reader seems to have addressed most complaints
13 - You can sync custom ringtones. Nokia also have a ringtone creator app
14 - Correct
15 - Correct - home button puts app into background. Back button goes back, if there is nowhere else to go in the current app it quits the app. You get used to this very quickly IMO
16 - Correct

I've done a fair bit of business with Clove over the years and they have generally been an excellent supplier. They've always shipped me unlocked, unbranded handsets that are UK or EU generic models.

 

[anon(5698912)]

Most of these issues don't plague all 920s like mine...still knocking on wood.

1) don't have dust under mine.
2) I changed my Microsoft account address which made me do a hard reset, and yes my phone was bricked but there is a easy way to unbrick it.
3)my phone doesn't creak
4)the calendar app does everything I need...and im a student which I use the calendar app a lot
5)haven't had any Bluetooth issues
6)only have playlist syncing issues.
7)think this issue is for wp8 phones that have microSD storage...920 does not have this.
8)I get notifications to my phone only for the fb app notifications it supports...but yes the fb app is terrible. Sorry I don't use twitter.
9)haven't had any
10)haven't had any
11)pdfs load fine on my phone
12)still gets hot occasionally
13)you can put and custom rings from apps or put the ringtone file on your phone by using your computer by placing the ringtone into the ringtone folder
14)correct
15)true-supposedly/rumored in next update you will be able to close an app in the multitask screen by pressing a button or flicking down on an app
16)correct
17)I got a gem BC my battery is amazing!
18)yep issue for some and luckily im not in that some
19)my phone has never rebooted randomly

 

[vedichymn]

Out of your list, I still have the following issues:

1.) Dust issue with the front facing camera on the 920 due to a small opening?
2.) WP8 bricks with hard resets (Not sure if this is exclusive to 920's)
5.) Bluetooth issues?
6.) Music sync issues?
19.) Phone reboots even on latest firmware/OS updates? (Same as above.)

1) Dust collects in my front facing camera, and canned/compressed air can't remove it
2) I tried hard resetting my phone earlier this week to see if the reboots went away, and it still hung on the spinning gears for hours. Eventually after hard resetting 5-10 more times it came back.
5) Bluetooth hands free has been fairly reliable. Unfortunately bluetooth audio streaming still has lots of issues with my car.
6) Music sync with WP8 is still terrible, no changes have happened here other than minor sync app updates and Microsoft hasn't discussed any long term fixes
19) Yes, this is still an issue with the latest firmware/OS updates.

 

[Vectraat]

Ok, thanks for the great feedback so far guys...
But I need to narrow this down a bit more so I don't feel like buying this phone is hit or miss due to random chance....because that doesn't make much sense?
It seems that a lot of these issues are due to the first production units......?
SO would you guys be willing to share the model number of the phone - or anything that can help me define what NOT to get to avoid these issues?
Like I don't want to buy one of the first production units that someone has had sitting around at their shop for months...
Hope this makes sense. Basically I want to see if these issues correlate to a first production unit or if they are happening to newer 920's

@Narse77
What version of the 920 do you have?


@Realwarder
What version of the 920 do you have?
Does it rattle with vibrate?


@acbuono5 what's the way to unbrick?


@vedichymn
What version of the phone do you have?
(Dust collecting in front facing camera)
(Phone reboots)


Any issues with bluetooth streaming to speakers if possible?
Or is that NFC?


How do i ensure I don't get one of the first production
batches for the phone?

I'm wondering if I should get this phone or chance the 928 .... 'cause who's to say the 928 won't have initial issues with their first production units? Hmm...

 

[anon(5698912)]

I got my 920 a couple weeks after it came out and I don't have any problems...love this phone!

Here's the thread on how to unbrick 920s: http://forums.windowscentral.com/no...after-reset-flash-process-defined-inside.html

 

[Vectraat]

So is it fair to say that newer 920's won't have issues or at least there's a much higher chance that they won't?

 

[Huime]

So is it fair to say that newer 920's won't have issues or at least there's a much higher chance that they won't?

most of your questions are from defect units.
The only thing i can think of is the calendar. Its not poor by any means IMO, but some people insist that it needs a weekly view for some reason even thou it already have a summary view of all events in a page.
Notification lite is something to add I agree however.
BTW 928 is probably exclusive to verizon and the rest of the world needs to wait until fall for the refresh.