Database Develop

ATT Warranty Exchange experiences

Just wondering if anyone can share there experiences with the exchange program through att..like what HAVE you gotten away with and what HAVENT you gotten away with and got slapped with the $500 charge lol

I followed the the warranty return thing on this forum, and I got no problem. I had seriously scratched the screen of the phone. I told the manager before sending it to quote she said its "normal wear and tear." But my speaker of the phone was messed up. On that same phone the void button and some ddamage as I was playing with it, I didn't what it was, until I found out later that its to open up the phone.
So, I got away with two major linear scratches on the screen which made writing with the stylus impossible. And I had damaged the button. But I told the manager of this before I sent it in. Or the High_end PDA department.

pazookie said:
Just wondering if anyone can share there experiences with the exchange program through att..like what HAVE you gotten away with and what HAVENT you gotten away with and got slapped with the $500 charge lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what did they find wrong with the phone???
i just sent one they sent me, the first time, i put it into the boot loader and noticed that the SPL was HardSPL, it scared me a little and well the screen cracked while i was looking at it an hour later, the phone rang so i looked and the caller ID and suddenly there was a broken screen on my tilt. not sure if they are gonna say anything about hard SPL but it came that way.
(part of me hopes i was holding someones old phone from this site)
oh yeah and this probably shoudn't be in ROM developement, ask a mod to move it to general

oh im just wondering..i was reading a post about putting the old att spl back on for an exchange and someone replied about how theyve returned 6 tilts with major problems all of which should fall outisde of warranty so i just thought id ask as i have a slight problem myself but its not keeping my kaiser from working and i opened a ticket with HTC directly as they dont screw you if you fall outside of warranty...my usb charger was getting a full contact and i had to bend it up and down to get it to stay charging (shoulda just sent it in then lol) and finally the plastic seperator of the pins broke out and then i bent in a pin a few times and that broke off..so i opened it up and soldered it back in and it eventially popped off again so i was thinking i could just squeeze the plastic piece that broke off back in as it wont come out unless you use needle nose pliers and sliding that pin back in..

I did a warranty return not to long ago. Phone was stuck with the radio from hell 1.65.17.10 and didn't have the friendly FrankKaiser that Jockyw2001 developed. Never had an issue with AT&T saying that I had altered the phone in any way. I flashed back to the original shipped ROM. Change the SPL to 1.56 the original one that it came with. I then re-flashed the original shipped ROM. When the ROM flash completed at 50% I unplugged the phone. This way on the phone will only go to the bootloader.
I actually just did a warranty return again today. Had some scratches on the screen that were really bugging me. There weren't big but definitely a nuisance for me. Told them the phone was stuck on the bootloader, or as I put it in "in this three color screen with Red, green, white." They issued a warranty replacement right away.

AllTheWay said:
I did a warranty return not to long ago. Phone was stuck with the radio from hell 1.65.17.10 and didn't have the friendly FrankKaiser that Jockyw2001 developed. Never had an issue with AT&T saying that I had altered the phone in any way. I flashed back to the original shipped ROM. Change the SPL to 1.56 the original one that it came with. I then re-flashed the original shipped ROM. When the ROM flash completed at 50% I unplugged the phone. This way on the phone will only go to the bootloader.
I actually just did a warranty return again today. Had some scratches on the screen that were really bugging me. There weren't big but definitely a nuisance for me. Told them the phone was stuck on the bootloader, or as I put it in "in this three color screen with Red, green, white." They issued a warranty replacement right away.
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Click to collapse
yeah cause we don't know about the magic we can do with the "pretty rainbow screen" come on ATW you let a few little scratches bug you. i'm still waiting for them to send me one that works, i've sent back three and i still have the original that i bought. two broken usb ports and a broken screen good job at&t for being incompetent

Has anybody done a warranty replacement and convinced them to send a new one and not a refurbed?

kareem9nba said:
Has anybody done a warranty replacement and convinced them to send a new one and not a refurbed?
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actually yes, well they say they will be sending it when the get the phones i just sent back. i talked to Christina and she told me that the phone they will send me next will be the tilt as it comes out of the box, including the software cd, usb cable, stylus, battery, and back cover. i will confirm when i recieve it but they tell me it will be brand new

Well, after I figured out my ROM issues. My phone had some problems with continuously soft resetting. I suspect a bad memory block. I made it clear through out my conversation with the rep that I took really good care of my phone and that I don't know how people can throw their 400 dollar phones around like they are nothing. I also made a point to say my battery seemed to be going bad and that I had done some research about Li-Po batteries going bad and that this seemed to be a classic case. I asked if there was anyway she could send a battery with the phone. (Just so you know, when you call warranty replacement, it seems to me they have two options, send a refurb, or send a full kit) So, she said she could send me a full kit and it is otw now. That is a good thing because my phone wont boot now. I think whether you get caught with a bootloader that is different than OEM kinda depends on who receives the phone on the other end. I'm sure they are SUPPOSED to check that, but I'm sure they can get away with not checking it, and I'm sure there is no incentive for checking it.

tubaking182 said:
yeah cause we don't know about the magic we can do with the "pretty rainbow screen" come on ATW you let a few little scratches bug you. i'm still waiting for them to send me one that works, i've sent back three and i still have the original that i bought. two broken usb ports and a broken screen good job at&t for being incompetent
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They could have said F.U., you broke it we are not resposible.
My phone got stuck in bootloader while doing a rom update.Called AT$T, they sent me through three techs, my answer to all there suggestions were " did it ", " did it ".
Three days later, they sent me a refurb ( in perfect condition ), in the box was the phone, a return mailing label/postage, even a new piece of tape to seal the box. Put the phone in,sealed the box, put on the label, dropped it in the mail box. End of story. The new/refurb has worked great ever since.
Could not have been easier or more pleasant.

So far it has been very positive even when my phone was technically out of warranty they replaced my TILT (not a cheap phone)
I have done 4 returns via mail and 1 by going to a local AT&T Warranty exchange center. NO PROBLEMS, I did revert back to original ROM but I am sure they didn't check. store replacement was in and out in 25 minutes. ( 10 minutes after my phone was looked at they just gave me a new one ).
AT&T You do have great warranty service I will give you that.

so all sounds good i should just stick my device in bootloader mode and send it back?

i can only revert back the rom as i cant sspl it so it shows hardspl AND security unlocked at the top..think thatl make a difference?

My miniUSB port was broke, wouldn't charge or sync most of the time. I called AT&T told them what was wrong and they said they'd send me a replacement. Once the replacement got here, I reverted my phone back to at&t ship specs, sent it back to them and all went well.

My girlfriend and I both had the Hermes, unlocked w/ cooked rom. They physically broke to a point it was hard to revert them back, but eventually was able to, we got 2 brand new Kaisers for $50 a piece. I'd love to know if I can 'loose' this phone and get a new kaiser for another $50 then sell the one i've been using for a couple of months for 2 or 3 hundred. If anyone has done this or knows how let me know!

I recently had to send in my Tilt and recieved a refub in the mail and everything went very smooth. Customer service was good and fast.

just returned 2 8525's and they sent me a tilt, first 8525 white screen problem, second one wont continue installing rom above 12%. awesome hardware warranty service.

wow they upgraded you to a tilt, thats amazing

warranty
as long as the phone isnt in more than one piece and the liquid indicator under the battery is white there should be no problem. Keep this in mind also. It all really depends on who receives it when you send it in. Everyone views physical damage, wear and tear, etc in their own terms even though there is a standard measure for it. Some let things go and others will say that a wear and tear scratch is damage. Generally you can get away with a bit as long as the phone doesnt look like a dog to it. No broken screens. No screens with pressure cracks (internal cracks). The screen is usually the biggie.

when i first got my kaiser i joined this site.. days later i BRICKED my phone, i had all types of apps and crap on my ppc. SO i went over to my original at&t shop and the dude called my bluff of "i dunno why, its not working". So i took my device and the next day went to another at&t shop with my brother. I walked in flirted my ass off with the ugliest sales rep i found.. and man this chick was beastly, and was able to swap out my device and get a new 512mb mem. card .. with no problem. i didnt even have a reciept, i just talked my way thru and SHAZAM!

Warranty Exchange, Be Careful!

I took my Tilt into a walk in Warranty Exchange location in the Atlanta area and had a very BAD encounter.
My phone would hang at the AT&T screen. They took my info and said have a seat. He came out and ask me if I charged my battery over night, I said yes. He then told me that charging the battery over night had damaged my battery and I would have to buy a new one for $47. I got very upset and challenged him to show me in the users manual where it stated that, he could not.
I protested until he returned my old [perfectly good] battery to me and swapped out my phone.
I took the new phone to my car and made a call to check it out. The sound had a bad buzz in so I went back inside and ask for another phone.
He took the phone and some how brought up a screen with thin lines all across it and said "You have cracked the screen in two places, you will have to pay for this phone." I went ballistic because I knew he had given me a phone with a cracked screen. The cracks are not detectable unless you bring up the screen with thin lines.
I borrowed a phone and dialed 911 and had the police come. I had several witnesses that I only had the phone for 5 minutes and had not dropped it.
They gave me another phone to keep me from filing fraud charges against them.
Bottom line:
1. When you bring a phone in for exchange, make them check it in front of you for screen cracks and water damage.
2. Put your name on your battery so they can not change it with a bad one.
3. Check for screen cracks, water damage, and other physical damage(USB plug) on the new phone in front of them.

wow thats messed up. You should of taken the guys name down and called it in to At&t.
I had to warranty exchange my device for a broken ExtUSB plug and it was a hassle free expereince. Guy looked at my phone,asked me if i needed to back anything up, was walking out with a brand new device in 15-20 min.
I would definately call and file a complaint against the guy. Even threat to report them to the Better Business Bureua if theres one in your area.

I agree with being careful, but I have to say
I have had the same experience as fone_fanatic. I'm in Atlanta as well, and have used one of the walk in centers near my work three times in the last year. Once for my Tilt, (because I broke the mini usb with the stylus) and twice for my wife swapping out RAZRs. They've always been very good guys to deal with. I expected trouble about the usb port, but there wasn't any. I told them it wouldn't charge, and they came back in a few minutes with a "new" Tilt. I even did the "debloating" of the ROM at the counter in front of him.
When my wife complained that she didn't want a third RAZR, the tech said he could only exchange for the same phone, but told her to call the 800 number, and told her what to say to the phone support people to get another model, so now she has a shine.
Anyway, I'm sorry you had an A-hole, but I think most of the techs ther are decent people.

I had the USB plug issue, which actually will ALWAYS happen eventually, due tot he HTC port not being standard. Good news though, 2 returns of a tilt and they [warranty] gave me a free fuze, which, although having the SAME port as the tilt, comes with a dongle from HTC that has a standard port on one end, an HTC port on one end, and a mic port also, pretty nifty.

Getting new Captivate.. What do I look out FOR?

Hooray!! Sold my Black iPhone 4 16GB AT&T for $440!
Now getting a Captivate used 3 days old for $175 off some dude on Craigslist. Price is about $190-ish where I am, but those are used.
What do I look out for, guys? (Things I know include
- Water damage indicator on battery (but he can replace battery, right?)
> Is there a water damage indicator like on the iPhones that would help me out more?
- Use touchscreen, try all areas
- Check for dead pixels
- See if camera, 3G, wifi, bluetooth work
- See if speaker works for sound, microphone if I get a chance
Anything else guys? One of the more important things I think is a water damage indicator other than the battery?
Thanks a lot XDA! (And I ordered a microsim adapter TODAY!)

Anyone can help me?
10 char

If it has water damage I would not even buy it.

When you get it, go to Settings/about phone/status to check to make sure the IMEI number matches the number that is behind the battery on the white tag. I have seen on here before where someone buys a captivate from ebay or craigslist and the previous owner screwed up something while flashing custom ROMs and now the phone has a generic IMEI number which means it may not work as a phone anymore.
If the IMEI # in settings is showing a number beginning with something like 004, dont even think twice - DONT BUY IT.
oh, yes, and what jetpuck73 said above - water damage = do not buy.

jack man said:
When you get it, go to Settings/about phone/status to check to make sure the IMEI number matches the number that is behind the battery on the white tag. I have seen on here before where someone buys a captivate from ebay or craigslist and the previous owner screwed up something while flashing custom ROMs and now the phone has a generic IMEI number which means it may not work as a phone anymore.
If the IMEI # in settings is showing a number beginning with something like 004, dont even think twice - DONT BUY IT.
oh, yes, and what jetpuck73 said above - water damage = do not buy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks VERY MUCH for that, something I did not know.
And lol maybe I said "water damage" too much, but he said it is brand new and NOT water damaged.
What I wanted to know is HOW to check. There is one on the battery, correct? Any on the phone itself too like iPhone?
Thanks for info!!

gyromanx55 said:
Thanks VERY MUCH for that, something I did not know.
And lol maybe I said "water damage" too much, but he said it is brand new and NOT water damaged.
What I wanted to know is HOW to check. There is one on the battery, correct? Any on the phone itself too like iPhone?
Thanks for info!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The sticker I am refering to is actually on the phone, under the battery. Another thing I would look for on the same sitcker is the build number. It is a 4 digit number beginning with either 10 or 11 mayber with a "." in the middle (i.e. 10.07, 10.08, 10.09, 11.01, etc.) If you use GPS at all, I know for a fact (and from hands-on experience) that Captivates with the number 10.07 have CRAPPY gps reception.
I wouldn't worry about numbers on the battery itself. I don't think there is a feature on the Captivate that indicates if it has had water damage.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=873276&highlight=silver+speaker
If it has this mod, buy it without question. *Sarcasm*

It hasn't been clear, so to be clear: yes there is a water indicator on the phone. Plus another on the battery. Its by the battery contacts.
The other problems you originally mentioned aren't known issues. So far I have yet to hear a single dead pixel on a captivate. But checking can't hurt, same with wifi, bt, gps etc. One thing I will say is that sometimes the screen appears to have burn in, in the notification bar. If you pull up an all white picture can can sometimes see shadows of the notification bar, clock, signal, etc. Its not an actual burn, its residual energy or something, there have been a few threads about it. It will usually go away after a reboot. So, if you see what appears to be slight screen burn at the top its fine.
Sent from my Captivate running Continuum 5.6

Alright thanks a lot for the info!!

Nexus One Screen problems

So it just happened this past Friday, a white bar appeared on the right side of my phone's screen and shortly after my phone ran outta batteries. When I plugged it in to charge the screen just slowly showing a blossoming of pixel colors all over the screen. If i leave it alone it will boot into the OS fine and I can hear all my notifications and everything seems to work fine but the screen just turns black with a thin blue bar of light on the top. Is there anyway to fix this aside from replacing my screen? and is it a digitizer problem?

now the screen is just completely black when i turn it on, but it is still responsive. I can still unlock and open apps and swipe the screen, etc. Does anyone know what is wrong and what needs to be replaced? Please help!

Zephyron said:
now the screen is just completely black when i turn it on, but it is still responsive. I can still unlock and open apps and swipe the screen, etc. Does anyone know what is wrong and what needs to be replaced? Please help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your LCD has gone bad. this is a fairly easy repair, but there are a few places you need to be VERY careful or you can break things (like your power button)
the Nexus One has TWO different models of LCD and you HAVE to use the one that was originally in your phone.
One is made by Samsung and is fairly common/easy to find. its gonna run you about $30-50
There is also an LCD made by Sony which is a little more difficult to find (and mostly used on the Desire) but it costs anywhere up to $100+ so lets hope thats not yours :]
if you arent comfortable doing the repair there is a company called Cell Phone Repair that has stores in almost every state and they even take mail orders if you are not located near one.

nickL0V3 said:
your LCD has gone bad. this is a fairly easy repair, but there are a few places you need to be VERY careful or you can break things (like your power button)
the Nexus One has TWO different models of LCD and you HAVE to use the one that was originally in your phone.
One is made by Samsung and is fairly common/easy to find. its gonna run you about $30-50
There is also an LCD made by Sony which is a little more difficult to find (and mostly used on the Desire) but it costs anywhere up to $100+ so lets hope thats not yours :]
if you arent comfortable doing the repair there is a company called Cell Phone Repair that has stores in almost every state and they even take mail orders if you are not located near one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the original n1 when it was first released and is this the company you were referring to? http://www.cellphonerepair.net/

nickL0V3 said:
your LCD has gone bad. this is a fairly easy repair, but there are a few places you need to be VERY careful or you can break things (like your power button)
the Nexus One has TWO different models of LCD and you HAVE to use the one that was originally in your phone.
One is made by Samsung and is fairly common/easy to find. its gonna run you about $30-50
There is also an LCD made by Sony which is a little more difficult to find (and mostly used on the Desire) but it costs anywhere up to $100+ so lets hope thats not yours :]
if you arent comfortable doing the repair there is a company called Cell Phone Repair that has stores in almost every state and they even take mail orders if you are not located near one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He told you everything in detail already, but if you are a newbie and have never done things like this, i suggest you find some other people to get your phone repaired, it cost much less to pay a screen repair fee than get a new one

Zephyron said:
I have the original n1 when it was first released and is this the company you were referring to? http://www.cellphonerepair.net/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats the one

You tube instuctions
There are a bunch of videos on youtube on how to replace a Nexus One LCD screen...

[Q] HTC M7 bricked by ignorance and stupidity - What parts to replace?

Hi, thanks for looking into this thread.
I've used my HTC M7 during wintersports, where it got a little bit wet sometimes. The phone would only charge when turned off, so I put some WD40 on the mini-USB port and it worked fine again. Same problem week later, tried the same solution, but this second time I'd blown WD-40 under the screen..
So I decided to pull out the screen, ended up with the digitizer, and several screen parts in my hands. So I decided to order a whole new front, and a logic board(for USB port) from China, and put the existing parts over in the new front.
I did this yesterday, and tested the phone without putting the back cover back on yet. The phone worked like it had never worked before: awesome speed. I noticed however, that the speaker didn't work. I díd get sound out of my earbuds using my headphone jack, so it had to be the speaker.
I was so glad that the phone worked, as I do not have any knowledge whatsoever about hardware and I just repaired a phone with a 1.0/10 repairability score (iFixit). In my joy I thought that perhaps refixing a connection cable might do the trick. Now the horror: I touched the connection between the battery and the mainboard with a screwdriver, while it was still turned on.. I saw a sparkle, and since then the phone won't start. (And later I found out that the speaker didn't work because there was no pressure on it. When pressing on the phone, like the back cover would do, it would produce sound).
I've tried completely disassembling and reassembling the phone but that didn't work.
All it does is this loop when I hold the power button for 5 seconds:
- Flickering home/return button
Then when I release the power button:
- The phone vibrates once
- Then it keeps making a startup/boot sound (with about 6 seconds intervals) but the screen stays black, untill it has drained all energy from the battery
When I press the power button for a couple of seconds during this loop, it starts at the beginning of the loop again.
What parts in this phone are probably broken? The main board, or the battery? Both? Or possibly more?
I was just an idiot to touch a live circuit with a screwdriver..
Thanks!

japzz said:
so I put some WD40 on the mini-USB port and it worked fine again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never put oil on electronics! Clean the port using a Electro contact cleaner and once cleaned you can wash it using a contact enhancer" The only time you want to use WD40 on electronics is to remove surface corrosion. Part must then be cleaned of that oil.
Same problem week later, tried the same solution, but this second time I'd blown WD-40 under the screen..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another reason to use electro contact cleaner. This solution evaporates so fast, like 10 times fast than rubbing alcohol. Even if you had blown contact cleaner under the screen, it would have done nothing.
I touched the connection between the battery and the mainboard with a screwdriver, while it was still turned on.. I saw a sparkle, and since then the phone won't start. (And later I found out that the speaker didn't work because there was no pressure on it. When pressing on the phone, like the back cover would do, it would produce sound).
What parts in this phone are probably broken? The main board, or the battery? Both? Or possibly more?
I was just an idiot to touch a live circuit with a screwdriver..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably the main board. Doesn't worth it imo. You can get a new M7 for like 150-250$ on ebay.

alray said:
Never put oil on electronics! Clean the port using a Electro contact cleaner and once cleaned you can wash it using a contact enhancer" The only time you want to use WD40 on electronics is to remove surface corrosion. Part must then be cleaned of that oil.
Another reason to use electro contact cleaner. This solution evaporates so fast, like 10 times fast than rubbing alcohol. Even if you had blown contact cleaner under the screen, it would have done nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! This is really helpful information for possible fixes of other phones/parts in the future.
alray said:
Probably the main board. Doesn't worth it imo. You can get a new M7 for like 150-250$ on ebay.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply. Indeed, I think I will just buy another product.
But just for the sake of fixing it (not for net present value of the project), I think I will try to buy one with a broken screen or something from the Dutch Craigslist alternative. However, the M7 stores data internally. Where does it store that data? Can I remove a data chip from my (now broken) M7 motherboard, and replace it on a working motherboard?
Thanks! :good:

japzz said:
Thanks! This is really helpful information for possible fixes of other phones/parts in the future.
Thanks for your reply. Indeed, I think I will just buy another model.
But just for the sake of fixing it (not for net present value of the project), I think I will try to buy one with a broken screen or something from the Dutch Craigslist alternative. However, the M7 stores data internally. Where does it store that data? Can I remove a data chip from my (now broken) M7 mainboard, and replace it on a working mainboard?
Thanks! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Data is stored on the emmc chip and is not removable. You can not access your data with the phone not booting.
If buying a used phone for parts, make sure it have a clean imei first. Imei # is tied to the motherboard so if you take a motherboard from a blacklisted imei phone and put it in your phone, you won't be able to connect to any carrier network.

alray said:
Data is stored on the emmc chip and is not removable. You can not access your data with the phone not booting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's a bummer.. But thanks for the clear information!
alray said:
If buying a used phone for parts, make sure it have a clean imei first. Imei # is tied to the motherboard so if you take a motherboard from a blacklisted imei phone and put it in your phone, you won't be able to connect to any carrier network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isn't really clear to me straightaway, but I will like into how I can look this up etc. Great information to start with. Thanks again!

japzz said:
Well that's a bummer.. But thanks for the clear information!
This isn't really clear to me straightaway, but I will like into how I can look this up etc. Great information to start with. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The IMEI number is a unique identifier. If a phone is declared lost or stolen or is linked to unpaid bills. its imei will be blacklisted. The blacklist is international and every carriers have access to it. If the phone is blacklisted, all carriers will refuse to active the phone on their network. The IMEI # is stored on the emmc chip so its tied to the motherboard. If you change motherboard of your phone, your IMEI number will change to the new one linked to that motherboard. So before buying a phone to swap motherboard, make sure the IMEI is not blacklisted. Ask the seller first and then you can check if the IMEI is valid. If the seller can't provide the IMEI, don't buy the phone.

alray said:
IMEI Explanation
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Click to collapse
Wow thanks for this comprehensive explanation and practical tip. Thanks for helping me again and again, means a lot to me!