Database Develop

Broken AT&T Tilt Screen

As this is my first post I would just first like to say thank you to everyone who has contributed to this forum, without it this new smart phone user/AT&T subscriber wouldn't have been able to figure anything out.
Long story short: I just bought a new Tilt like three weeks ago and the LCD is already cracked. AT&T doesn't offer insurance on this phone and I am not entirely sure about HTC's manufacturers warranty. I checked across the forums and found some good information regarding replacing broken Tilt LCD screens, it all just seems fairly old. What I am wondering is what is the cheapest, easiest way to fix the LCD on the Tilt? Right now the cheapest I can find the LCD/Touchscreen combo with the right tools is $69.99 plus $12.99 S+H. Is this the best bet? Any other options I haven't thought of yet?
Also, I can't seem to find detailed picture instructions regarding the LCD swap anywhere on the forum? So where are the best directions for this online?
Now, time for a little rant. How the hell does AT&T not offer insurance for a phone that retails for over $300 brand new? Let's get serious here, it's an expensive piece of gadgetry that I happen to pay a lot of money for to use every month. The least they could offer their highest paying customers is a chance for insurance. By not offering insurance to their customers AT&T is basically saying "Piss off, oh, and make sure you pay your bill on time!" with a permanent smile on their face as they walk to the bank with our money. I'm sick of phone companies saying "I'm sorry, theres nothing I can do for you" to the customers that finance their paychecks, vacations, and replacement trophy wives boob jobs. I understand it's a service based industry and everyone wants their service, giving them the ultimate upper hand in the situation. But let's start thinking a little bit more with our heads and a little less with our wallets. It's time for these places to realize how ridiculous they are sometimes.
Apologize for the missive their, but man did it feel good.

l3urton32 said:
As this is my first post I would just first like to say thank you to everyone who has contributed to this forum, without it this new smart phone user/AT&T subscriber wouldn't have been able to figure anything out.
Long story short: I just bought a new Tilt like three weeks ago and the LCD is already cracked. AT&T doesn't offer insurance on this phone and I am not entirely sure about HTC's manufacturers warranty. I checked across the forums and found some good information regarding replacing broken Tilt LCD screens, it all just seems fairly old. What I am wondering is what is the cheapest, easiest way to fix the LCD on the Tilt? Right now the cheapest I can find the LCD/Touchscreen combo with the right tools is $69.99 plus $12.99 S+H. Is this the best bet? Any other options I haven't thought of yet?
Also, I can't seem to find detailed picture instructions regarding the LCD swap anywhere on the forum? So where are the best directions for this online?
Now, time for a little rant. How the hell does AT&T not offer insurance for a phone that retails for over $300 brand new? Let's get serious here, it's an expensive piece of gadgetry that I happen to pay a lot of money for to use every month. The least they could offer their highest paying customers is a chance for insurance. By not offering insurance to their customers AT&T is basically saying "Piss off, oh, and make sure you pay your bill on time!" with a permanent smile on their face as they walk to the bank with our money. I'm sick of phone companies saying "I'm sorry, theres nothing I can do for you" to the customers that finance their paychecks, vacations, and replacement trophy wives boob jobs. I understand it's a service based industry and everyone wants their service, giving them the ultimate upper hand in the situation. But let's start thinking a little bit more with our heads and a little less with our wallets. It's time for these places to realize how ridiculous they are sometimes.
Apologize for the missive their, but man did it feel good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mike Channon has links to Disassembly guides. Try a search for "Kaiser Disassembly Guide." My expert opinion, remember advise it worth waht you pay for it , is that the $70 is a good deal.
EDIT: I'm in a good mood. Searched for you today. Kaiser Disassembly Guides.
And s response to your rant. See this is why Mobile Phone Companies have the WORSE customer service rating of ANY business.

yea I cracked my screen as well about a month after having it.. I ended up buying a screen replacement for 115 off of ebay...
But now be careful... When i broke my screen, I thought that was the only damage the phone took... well the impact was right above where the sim tray is... and it damaged it as well.. my phone wasn't able to read sim cards anymore after replacing the screen... So I did a bold move, and told AT&T warranty support that my phone all of a sudden didnt read my card anymore.. i sent it back to them, and they sent me a replacement...
they could have charged me $400 for sending them a broken "out-of-warranty" item but i lucked out

l3urton32 said:
..How the hell does AT&T not offer insurance for a phone that retails for over $300 brand new? Let's get serious here, it's an expensive piece of gadgetry that I happen to pay a lot of money for to use every month...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly why they don't provide insurance for it. I asked a friend who works for them and he said that was the main reason. However if you live in dc metropolitan area there is a company called "Simply wireless" that offers insurance for any kind of mobile device and its 60 or 70 bucks upfront one time and insurance is good until something happens to device. Didn't get it myself but could be worth looking into.
p.s. i was also going to refer you to micheal but i Jimmy's already done it

Thanks to both of you already. Jimmy thanks for posting those directions, they look a little more intense than I thought but I don't think I'll have a problem replacing it myself. the $70 is way cheaper than the $170 from pocketpctechs.com
How would I make sure everything else is working fine on my phone? It's still syncing fine with my laptop and sends/receives calls, so I imagine its still fine. Is there a SIM access point through WMDC? Just to check that?
Also, anyone know any other ways to possibly get around this warranty here? The screen broke this morning, and I'm still not entirely sure how it happened. I had left my wall charger back home and only had my usb plug to charge my phone from. I woke up to the screen cracked and my phone being really really hot. The phone was at the foot of my bed, so I am not ruling anything out like me accidentally pushing in the screen, but has there ever been issues with the Kaiser's over heating and popping their LCD screen?

Thanks
Thanks to both of you already. Jimmy thanks for posting those directions, they look a little more intense than I thought but I don't think I'll have a problem replacing it myself. the $70 is way cheaper than the $170 from pocketpctechs.com
How would I make sure everything else is working fine on my phone? It's still syncing fine with my laptop and sends/receives calls, so I imagine its still fine. Is there a SIM access point through WMDC? Just to check that?
Also, anyone know any other ways to possibly get around this warranty here? The screen broke this morning, and I'm still not entirely sure how it happened. I had left my wall charger back home and only had my usb plug to charge my phone from. I woke up to the screen cracked and my phone being really really hot. The phone was at the foot of my bed, so I am not ruling anything out like me accidentally pushing in the screen, but has there ever been issues with the Kaiser's over heating and popping their LCD screen?

I used to work for Simply Wireless, and Mobile Solutions.. both a crooks.. dont buy from them, and definietly dont buy their insurance...
even though they are trying to clean their act up, their are 100% sales driven and dont give a f*ck bout their customer... trust me like i said, i worked for them...
if ur in the DC metro area, check out Wireless Jungle, they are located in Burke, Manassas, Herndon, and other parts of NoVA, they are excellent imo

l3urton32 said:
Thanks to both of you already. Jimmy thanks for posting those directions, they look a little more intense than I thought but I don't think I'll have a problem replacing it myself. the $70 is way cheaper than the $170 from pocketpctechs.com
How would I make sure everything else is working fine on my phone? It's still syncing fine with my laptop and sends/receives calls, so I imagine its still fine. Is there a SIM access point through WMDC? Just to check that?
Also, anyone know any other ways to possibly get around this warranty here? The screen broke this morning, and I'm still not entirely sure how it happened. I had left my wall charger back home and only had my usb plug to charge my phone from. I woke up to the screen cracked and my phone being really really hot. The phone was at the foot of my bed, so I am not ruling anything out like me accidentally pushing in the screen, but has there ever been issues with the Kaiser's over heating and popping their LCD screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
honestly i doubt heat caused it... looking at my phone, i have enough room to stick my fingernail under the casing sourrounding the screen, so there is alittle room to move in case heat does expand the internals. My phone has gotten pretty damn hot before, to the point where i couldnt hold it (forgot it in the car with wifi bt and gps on... in 105F temp) and it was still fine....
I dont condone this... but when i broke my screen, i was extreemly careful in replacing it, and made sure not to add any additional scratches... once i was done, the phone looked like it did on day 1... so when i sent it back to AT&T there was no way they could tell it had been cracked open...
if ur phone still rings, and u can answer the calls, u should be ok...

I actually had the insurance prior to switching over to the tilt in October. In December my screen cracked and I called them and they said that since I was a long standing customer, they would replace it. they sent me a refurbished phone in 2 days.
I broke the scren again in February and this time I did not call immediately. about a month later I went past the store and told him the situation and he said to call again. I did and they sent me another one. they canceled my policy because I had two claims in one year. but they told me that I could pick it up again in a year.
Moral: always ask...you never know!

Awesome, more good info from everyone. I'm from the Rochester, NY area. Any idea if theres some sort of place that will insure any branded phones in my area? Google is failing me here. Also, do these places have to check your phone before they insure it? If theres some way I can get around that and put insurance on my phone I would just wait like a week and send it in...

yea if they "forget" to remove the insurance plan... or if u ask a stupid rep to add it, and they do... ur golden, and they will replace ur phone... I'm still grandfathered in with my insruance
btw kendall sent u a pm

so maybe AT&T is getting a little smarter. I called and got 4 different customer service reps and all of them told me it was ineligible...no luck with the bull**** approach. HTC USA said no go on everything too... I am getting a little fed up here. I have had this phone for only 3 weeks and everywhere I go everybody pretty much just dismisses me. My favorite dialog of the day came with one AT&T rep who was pissed off at more than just me trying to get an answer from her. And this is after she already told me the Tilt was ineligible for insurance
Me: So basically what your trying to say is that if I break my phone I'm pretty much screwed
AT&T Lady: umm... well. You can apply to get insurance on your phone and than you would be covered.
Me: you just told me I can't put insurance on my phone at all and you can't fix it for me
AT&T Lady: Wait. You can't put insurance on this? Hang on. (here she put me on hold to, what I assume at least, check her facts again) Alright Mr. Davis we can't insure your phone. Can I offer you a replacement Tilt at full retail price?
Let's get it it together AT&T, support the customers that pay your bills. We don't get the corporate discounts you get so it's a little ridiculous having to deal with all this crap.
Suggestion here...add an LCD Replacement walk-through to the Kaiser specific Wiki...or perhaps a whole section concerning DIY repairs and mods...Just something concise so it's a little easier to find. Thanks again to everyone though.

Lcd Screen
the cheapest i found was $65 for the lcd and $8 Shipping from. WWW.HTCLCD.COM comes with the tools to replace it.
Good instructions also on their website.

belize2004 said:
the cheapest i found was $65 for the lcd and $8 Shipping from. WWW.HTCLCD.COM comes with the tools to replace it.
Good instructions also on their website.
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! I'm ordering now and will see how it all works out.

I found a new place that will replace the screen with quick turnaround for $125
www.northbayelectronics.com
I am sending mine today!

well my screen cracked... anyone think of a reason this replacement screen won't work? I bought it just now, $14, no big deal if it isn't what I need... but can anyone see how this might not be what I need?
http://cgi.ebay.com/TOUCH-SCREEN-FO...NameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em124

that auction appears to just be for the touch screen overlay, not the LCD screen.

ericmcintire said:
well my screen cracked... anyone think of a reason this replacement screen won't work? I bought it just now, $14, no big deal if it isn't what I need... but can anyone see how this might not be what I need?
http://cgi.ebay.com/TOUCH-SCREEN-FO...NameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em124
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Click to collapse
I'm trying it. Please see:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=337102&page=10
and the page after. Should be interesting.

i ordered from htclcd.com (redirects to blackberry8100parts.com) on tuesday afternoon; i just received it from DHL. came in two separate boxes, one was the screen and tool, the other was another tool (different sizes). price was 68.80 including shipping from omaha, ne to knoxville, tn. regrettably i left the tilt at home so i can't do the replacement in the office today; i'll update when i've done the replacement (successfull or otherwise...) this evening or tomorrow morning. i'll try to remember to take some pics.

take off the four outer screws, and GENTLY GENTLY GENTLY pry the outer plastic bezel/frame off. you have to remove a philips head screw inside and to the left of the ear-peice speaker (as you look at the board from the back of the ear-peice (i.e. the inside of the bezel); i did not put this screw back on when re-assembling, i did pry the ear-piece connectors up a little to make sure they had enough stroke to make contact. you will need to remove GENTLY the adhesive that holds the sim-carrier to the back of the screen. once the parts are apart you can see the plug to remove the screen from the back of the button pad. reverse to reassemble. you do not have remove any peices from the main body or remove the screen from the main body IF you are only replacing the touch screen. i'll have my pics uploaded some time tomorrow. FYI, htclcd.com did not include the "plastic tool" that you are to use to pry the bezel off with but judicious use of a micro-driver and a guitar pick got the job done; for 20$US less than the competition and 2 day delivery, i am very happy with my purchase from them (htclcd.com = blackberry8100parts.com).
cheers all!

Am I completely screwed?

So about 45 days ago I purchased a new Tilt off ebay. Big mistake but the people at Best Buy had me convinced that they stopped making them. Yesterday out of no where my keyboard went dead and my phone started acting up. Currently I can't leave my phone on without it starting the note program and recording sound clips until the memory is full.
At this point I was just wondering what my options are. Will AT&T exchange my phone for a refurbished one? Is there anyway I could sent the phone to HTC to get it repaired. Are there any reliable companies that I could send the phone to? I have heard stories about people just bringing the phone into a AT&T store and getting it swapped out. Am I out $400?

If you got it off ebay, att doesnt want anything to do with it. You can try for HTC support, but i have no idea how HTC is with that kind of stuff.
Do a hard reset, and see if that helps any.

I wonder if it's just a faulty keyboard and it's causing shortcuts to open the notes software.
What other things are happening?
Could be a cable loose inside or the keyboard circuit board could have slipped out of place. This happened on mine.

HTC wont touch an HTC device under warranty without a receipt (from original purchase) Branded devices they wont touch without them coming from the network.
Paid repairs are different, they'll carry out the repairs for you, and invoice you for the repairs. They also charge for a quotation for repairs if you dont get it repaired (£20 in the UK I think, no idea outside of the UK)
If the phone keeps recording notes, it could be something as simple as a button being stuck. my solution with old devices was to mash the buttons as much as possible, and it generally unstuck them.
If your device is 45 days old (to you) then to be fair, its not likely to be an issue that the seller knew about, as its something thats occured since then. Issues can occur at any stage in a devices life, its just unfortunate that yours has chosen now to go wrong.
If you're not looking to pay to get the device fixed, it may be something as simple as opening the case up, and cleaning around the keyboard/extra buttons and re-assembling it, but if you're unsure on how to do this, I'd recommend not trying. When I opened my old 9100 to try and clean it up, something went sproing, and I lost a spring... I could never use the bottom row on the keyboard after that.

I've had good experiences with HTC.
SpugDarktyde said:
HTC wont touch an HTC device under warranty without a receipt (from original purchase) Branded devices they wont touch without them coming from the network.
Paid repairs are different, they'll carry out the repairs for you, and invoice you for the repairs. They also charge for a quotation for repairs if you dont get it repaired (£20 in the UK I think, no idea outside of the UK)
If the phone keeps recording notes, it could be something as simple as a button being stuck. my solution with old devices was to mash the buttons as much as possible, and it generally unstuck them.
If your device is 45 days old (to you) then to be fair, its not likely to be an issue that the seller knew about, as its something thats occured since then. Issues can occur at any stage in a devices life, its just unfortunate that yours has chosen now to go wrong.
If you're not looking to pay to get the device fixed, it may be something as simple as opening the case up, and cleaning around the keyboard/extra buttons and re-assembling it, but if you're unsure on how to do this, I'd recommend not trying. When I opened my old 9100 to try and clean it up, something went sproing, and I lost a spring... I could never use the bottom row on the keyboard after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isn't my experience.
I've had a couple of dealings with HTC UK and have been very happy:
1) Ebay-sourced Tornado failed screen - I phoned HTC and from the IMEI number they got the manufacturing date, worked out it was under a year old, and fixed it for free
2) ebay-sourced Artemis - I dropped it, bent the casing. I phoned HTC and they fixed it as a paid repair for 65UKP. This included a complete recase. When I noticed some of the buttons were a bit sticky afterwards, they did a second repair replacing the controls for free, despite it almost certainly being a problem caused by my initial dropping.
3) ebay-sourced Qtek 8500. Had a problem with the LCD failing when the clamshell was flexed. Again, phoned HTC UK and replaced under warranty.
They've been prompt, have native helpdesks, cheap and generally couldn't have been more helpful - definitely worth approaching them. This contrasts with, say, Nokia and is a major part of why I like HTC products.
Ric

Richie V6 said:
So about 45 days ago I purchased a new Tilt off ebay. Big mistake but the people at Best Buy had me convinced that they stopped making them. Yesterday out of no where my keyboard went dead and my phone started acting up. Currently I can't leave my phone on without it starting the note program and recording sound clips until the memory is full.
At this point I was just wondering what my options are. Will AT&T exchange my phone for a refurbished one? Is there anyway I could sent the phone to HTC to get it repaired. Are there any reliable companies that I could send the phone to? I have heard stories about people just bringing the phone into a AT&T store and getting it swapped out. Am I out $400?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first thing u should do is figure out if it is hardware or software related. Just do a hardreset and see if that helps. If not, then its most likely hardware related.

Check in Settings - Buttons what button is assigned to the recorder (usually the one on the left side), remove that assignment.
The button must be stuck or the sensor below it faulty, so it senses that button always pressed.
Richie V6 said:
So about 45 days ago I purchased a new Tilt off ebay. Big mistake but the people at Best Buy had me convinced that they stopped making them. Yesterday out of no where my keyboard went dead and my phone started acting up. Currently I can't leave my phone on without it starting the note program and recording sound clips until the memory is full.
At this point I was just wondering what my options are. Will AT&T exchange my phone for a refurbished one? Is there anyway I could sent the phone to HTC to get it repaired. Are there any reliable companies that I could send the phone to? I have heard stories about people just bringing the phone into a AT&T store and getting it swapped out. Am I out $400?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

landwomble said:
This isn't my experience.
I've had a couple of dealings with HTC UK and have been very happy:
1) Ebay-sourced Tornado failed screen - I phoned HTC and from the IMEI number they got the manufacturing date, worked out it was under a year old, and fixed it for free
2) ebay-sourced Artemis - I dropped it, bent the casing. I phoned HTC and they fixed it as a paid repair for 65UKP. This included a complete recase. When I noticed some of the buttons were a bit sticky afterwards, they did a second repair replacing the controls for free, despite it almost certainly being a problem caused by my initial dropping.
3) ebay-sourced Qtek 8500. Had a problem with the LCD failing when the clamshell was flexed. Again, phoned HTC UK and replaced under warranty.
They've been prompt, have native helpdesks, cheap and generally couldn't have been more helpful - definitely worth approaching them. This contrasts with, say, Nokia and is a major part of why I like HTC products.
Ric
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont get me wrong, I wasnt slating HTC for their support, I'm with you on that one. I've just seen jobs that have been bounced back from them (rightfully so) and was just giving the worst case scenario, that being that HTC dont actually have to fix it.

the agent or att will not help you, you got it from eBay and even if they help it will be for extra $$ so you may well just override that idea
first thing we must be sure if its hardware failure or software failure
if its software then you need to read lots but eventually you will have to get a new ROM and start from scratch eliminate all 3rd party ( so i advice using stocked ROM)
look at this it might help http://rapidshare.com/files/103168855/HTC_Kaiser_Service_Manual_jas_pik.pdf
this is the repair manual for kaiser

Square Trade
After this happened to me the first time I got some bunk electronics from ebay, I started using squaretrade.com. They will give you a warranty at about 50% of the cost of a Manufacturer/Dealer warranty and have a five day fix/replacement guarantee.

I would like to thank everyone for their reply I can see this is a dedicated community.
Starscreamer said:
I wonder if it's just a faulty keyboard and it's causing shortcuts to open the notes software.
What other things are happening?
Could be a cable loose inside or the keyboard circuit board could have slipped out of place. This happened on mine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Last night I reverted back to my factory rom but this did not fix the problem. Some odd things that I noticed that has me completely baffled is that only the directional keys (up, down, right, left) work on the keyboard but nothing else works. I tried doing a hard reset but that didn't wont since the 2 soft keys are not responding.
jahrami said:
the agent or att will not help you, you got it from eBay and even if they help it will be for extra $$ so you may well just override that idea
first thing we must be sure if its hardware failure or software failure
if its software then you need to read lots but eventually you will have to get a new ROM and start from scratch eliminate all 3rd party ( so i advice using stocked ROM)
look at this it might help http://rapidshare.com/files/103168855/HTC_Kaiser_Service_Manual_jas_pik.pdf
this is the repair manual for kaiser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That manual seems very complete if I can't get HTC to fix it I will attempt to fix it myself. Does anyone know if I can purchase replacement part?

There's some hope for you. I bought my Tilt off of Ebay. AT&T warranted it from the day that it hit their network with my SIM card. So although it was originally purchased from AT&T (by the ebayer seller) on Oct 17th 2007, my warranty started December 6th 2007. No receipt required. They swapped it no problem. The TILT has a 365 day warranty via AT&T.
Just make sure you deal with a service center and not the individual stores. Go to attwireless.com and search for "TILT Warranty" .. look for the service center information.
Mine was swapped with no hassle in about 5minutes (I had a rom issue). One note if you go this route, check the replacement! My replacement has key-sticking issues (the right key on the keyboard gets stuck down, etc). The speaker (for phonecalls, not external) also is a little more muted than my old one (I sometimes have trouble hearing people). I may rewarranty it.
*edit*
Here: http://www.wireless.att.com/answer-center/main.jsp?t=solutionTab&solutionId=KB64687
The service centers are contractors (I could tell by their shirts, saying "Company Name: Authorized AT&T Tech"), so I really don't think they care, as long as they can warranty it they will because it is more money for them. Just my thought.

As the above poster said, AT&T WILL do warranty exchanges on tilts bought through ebay or otherwise. I bought one off of craigslist and had it exchanged when a key on the keyboard stopped working. No problem. It is warrantied for 1 year after it is first used on their system.
The people stating otherwise are flat out wrong.

Thanks for the advice guys I was able to take the phone to a AT&T service center and swap the phone for a new one.

Richie V6 said:
Thanks for the advice guys I was able to take the phone to a AT&T service center and swap the phone for a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. Glad to hear.
It was a nice surprise for me last week, as I thought I was out $400 for a new one or stuck to using a temporary phone until the Touch Pro came.

KyleK29 said:
No problem. Glad to hear.
It was a nice surprise for me last week, as I thought I was out $400 for a new one or stuck to using a temporary phone until the Touch Pro came.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The touch pro is very sexy

congratulations
Richie V6 said:
The touch pro is very sexy
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Click to collapse

Advice re: AT&T Return?

I called AT&T tech support awhile back because of a couple problems I was having.
1st thing I noticed was the backlight settings not holding. I would set it o not turn off. It would stay that way for awhile, then revert back to shutting off at 10 seconds.
2nd problem was the case around the battery heating up when charging.
3rd problem was that the unit seemed to overheat if I used it (mail, internet, basic functions) for more than a few minutes. The display would then shut completely off, I'd have to pull the battery to shut it down, let it cool off then reboot.
Tech support turned me over to warranty repairs, who sent out a new phone.
I put the old one in the buble envelope they provided, stuck their label on and mailed it back.
I received my old phone in the post today with a big dent on the screen, and an arrow sticker pointing to the dent. When powered on, the screen shows a splat where the dent is and cracks widening out from it with no actual display visible.
The screen was in perfect condition when I mailed it out.
Now they want me to pay $500 for the new phone that they mailed me because "physical damage isn't covered".
BUT the phone wasn't damaged before I mailed it in. Obviously, I'm angry. I need to call AT&T and discuss this with them. I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else, and if so, how did you deal with it? Or if anyone has any advice for how to deal with AT&T on this matter?
Thanks,
Kari

this seems odd..att states in their terms once you send out your device it becomes their property and they will not send it back under any circumstances..just keep calling them and calling..it might take you 5 hours of total talk time but you CAN get what you want trust me..i had a broken usb port (from the first version of the tilt that was released which was porly manufactured) which MANY people on xda had similar issues but nothing on att's or htc's side had been documented and they kept telling me "no its not covered blah bla" and finaly after about 4 hours of total talk time (mostly holding and reexplaining the situation 1 million times) i got an elevated elevated elevated personnel who put a note to waive all charges when the device was inspected so dont give up..just demand to be speak to elevated personnel and dont let your guard down make it clear that you sent it in for so and so reasons and why would you send it an obviously physically damaged device...DONT GIVE UP UNTIL YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT

Well thats a bumer, it all depends on who you talk to, when you call AT&T or the insurance company. I assume you have asurion . But my advice is to call asurion and not at&t because they have nothing to do with at&t , and demand to speak to a supervisor , and forget about the operator and request a transfer. Incase the you still have the envelope to take pictures of it and submit it to the returns claim after speaking with a supervisor. Thats if the envelope shows any external damage you can say it was the S&H carrier . its going to be a tough one but you can win. From my experience with asurion i had never had a problem . i have always reported my phones from at&t and sprint/nextel As lost or stolen , therefore they cannot demand a return on the phone. i have done it for over 4 years and have gotten over 5 thousand dollars in phones some i sold some where really lost or broken, but even if they was broken i still said lost or stolen. hope it helps for your next insurance experience.

Update
Well, I only had to talk to one person and they agreed that the phone was damaged after shipping, and removed the almost $500 charge.
Hurrah and thanks for the advice.

Which story is the truth?
The one here or the one on this Ebay listing?

Could be a coincedence. But if not that's pretty shady.

herecomesthetornado said:
Which story is the truth?
The one here or the one on this Ebay listing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They probably buy their red arrows at the same store.

Nexus One swap, Will they charge me for unlocking?

Did any of you here swap your phone with HTC and your phone was unlocked?
My phone's defects are obviously hardware: Power button failing and Screen has a gap around sides, (Dust gathers around screen everyday, have to clean manually).
Can they charge me for unlocking and rooting it, even though these issues are hardware specific? Anyone has a story to share?
During the call, the HTC Rep told me that "we will charge your credit card for any non-warranty problems." Does unlocking count as one?

yes they will charge you for having your phone rooter,cause is out of the warranty that's what they told me over the phone...

I heard some Reps are unaware that HTC honors Hardware warranty. Maybe they said that to you because they are just reading a script that says "unlocking = void" I've read stories here that they still repair though. Is it true?

I just had my Nexus One (unlocked bootloader) replaced through HTC without a charge for a similar hardware defect. When I called, I didn't mention anything about it being rooted, nor did he ask. I received my replacement, HTC received my defective unit, and I was told my ticket was closed with no charge on my account.
The replacement I received has a new defect and I'm currently awaiting another replacement to swap it out as well. I don't think they care, but I wouldn't parade around talking about it. Just be courteous and flash everything back to stock as much as you can.

Ok, thanks for the info! It would be great if they didn't charge me for this.

Please keep us informed on how everything turns out. Several people have said they've had no trouble. It would be nice to get a list if reasons for RMA with success rate. I have a fairly strong feeling as long as it's hardware related and involves no root caused problem (led from n1 torch, speaker from louder music, etc.) the rate would be pretty high. HTC really, in all the times I've had any problems has been one of my favorite call centers to contact.

I have successfully swapped my phone. I had the dust under screen issue and i called them up. Not questions asked about unlocked. I got my phone and they waited a week or so and i saw my ticket was closed. Now im calling back because my replacement one now has dust under the screen also.

Did you guys get these phones new that you are able to do this?
I just bought my N1 used from someone and I'm wondering if this will apply to me if incase i get the dust issue

I have a question regarding replacement swapping as well.
My phone has the power button defect and I'd like to swap it for a new one.
However, I dropped my phone on asphalt recently and there are minor scuffs on 2 edges and a ding on the top left edge. Will this be a problem in swapping?
Will I get charged or something after they receive my phone? The defects are not related to me dropping it.

Coderedpl said:
Did you guys get these phones new that you are able to do this?
I just bought my N1 used from someone and I'm wondering if this will apply to me if incase i get the dust issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got mine on Craigslist. I traded my Iphone 3gs for it. Wonderful trade. Android fanboy since G1, but wanted to see what all the hype was about for the iphone. I never saw it. haha.
So I called HTC. Told them the IMEI they asked if i still live blah blah address(the original owner). I told them nope. Gave them new address and name. They got my CC number and off we go. Got a replacement phone in 2 days. Sent the other one back. Case closed. All is good, until yesterday when I saw just under my replacement one also. Its been 3-4 weeks. Now i'm waiting for another replacement.

I got mine on craigslist too, not that AWESOME of a deal since i pretty much just got the phone (the charger barely charges) and the usb i got from a small cell store at a mall doesnt work...pfftt
so I need: Data cable, charger & car charger.
bleh

futango said:
I got mine on Craigslist. I traded my Iphone 3gs for it. Wonderful trade. Android fanboy since G1, but wanted to see what all the hype was about for the iphone. I never saw it. haha.
So I called HTC. Told them the IMEI they asked if i still live blah blah address(the original owner). I told them nope. Gave them new address and name. They got my CC number and off we go. Got a replacement phone in 2 days. Sent the other one back. Case closed. All is good, until yesterday when I saw just under my replacement one also. Its been 3-4 weeks. Now i'm waiting for another replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you didn't have to show proof or purchase/receipts?

blt51 said:
I have a question regarding replacement swapping as well.
My phone has the power button defect and I'd like to swap it for a new one.
However, I dropped my phone on asphalt recently and there are minor scuffs on 2 edges and a ding on the top left edge. Will this be a problem in swapping?
Will I get charged or something after they receive my phone? The defects are not related to me dropping it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to know the answer to this too. My phone has a stuck pixel but I also dropped it and now there is a crack in the screen. I'm wondering if they'll charge me for the swap.

I've had my N1 replaced almost 5 times, so I have some experience with this. Everything was perfect with my first phone except for one dead pixel, which was only visible from certain angles. However, considering the price that I paid for the phone, it wasn't acceptable from my perspective.
I read a lot about people having successes with replacements so I decided to do a swap. My recommendation is to think about doing a swap very carefully. Each time a replacement was sent to me, I found new problems with the phone.
For example, one replacement had a weak vibrate while another had a camera that took oversaturated photos. One of the phones had minor scratches on the screen. Another replacement turned out to be the replacement that was sent to me which I sent back (but with a different sticker and IMEI).
So I think that if the phone is not damaged significantly, such as huge cracks, they will not charge you any fees. So minor scratches on the phone and "normal use" damage is fine.
Also, if you purchased your phone from someone else, you will still be under the warranty and do swaps. I've asked this through the phone twice and both times I was told that they decided to honor warranty transfers.

HTC gave me a new one was well with unlocked bootloader. The problem with my phone was a software issue too. No questions asked.

This is great to hear.
I traded my iPhone 3GS for a N1 on craigslist only to discover it has some sort of hardware problem - Strange rebooting - not sure if it's heat related (doesn't seem so) or bad RAM (I've seen many reports). Went the replacement route (that's another story all together - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698156) and am awaiting the new unit. Just got my return shipping label, hopefully they wont charge me either!

x986123 said:
I heard some Reps are unaware that HTC honors Hardware warranty. Maybe they said that to you because they are just reading a script that says "unlocking = void" I've read stories here that they still repair though. Is it true?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had my Nexus One rooted and it was sent it to HTC for "power button failure" and they fixed it for no extra charge. Came back with a more firm-feeling power button and relocked.

They tried to charge me but after some reasoning with the right person on the phone they dropped the charge. You can also file a ticket with the Google Sales team and they will make sure you are not charged if you have a manufacturing defect unrelated to your phone being unlocked.

I bought mine from someone locally in salt lake, and after I had bought it, i noticed some dust under the screen. When I called HTC, they wouldn't replace the whole unit because there was an engraving on it. But they said they would send me a packing slip and i could send them the phone and they would take it apart and fix it. So hopefully it works.

adamhlj said:
I bought mine from someone locally in salt lake, and after I had bought it, i noticed some dust under the screen. When I called HTC, they wouldn't replace the whole unit because there was an engraving on it. But they said they would send me a packing slip and i could send them the phone and they would take it apart and fix it. So hopefully it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I would try calling HTC again and talk to another representative if you want to do a swap for a replacement; sometimes the customer representatives tell you what they know and so they give different responses.
The warranty specifically says:
If you have engraved your phone with a personal message, the device that you receive will not include the engraving, and the engraving on the defective device will not be sent back to you. If you want to keep your engraving, you can opt for the express repair option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is, unless you want to keep the engraving.
Good luck!

Water Damaged S5 Active Replaced by Samsung

Hello all! Just had something wonderful happen.
I recently got the S5 Active from AT&T. The phone I was using beforehand was the HTC G1 (what a throwback!), so naturally when I get a phone that is supposed to block water from damaging it, I tried it. The surprising thing was, the first few times it worked underwater, no issues at all. Then, one day, to demonstrate to my friends how much better my phone was over iPhones everywhere, I dropped it in a pitcher of water in front of them, just like they did in the commercial. It worked immediately after, but a few minutes later it just shut off. I ripped off the cover and saw there was water everywhere by the battery. It looks like there was a little cut by the seal of the back, which is what I presume to be the culprit to be. The screen would not turn on, even after several attempts to resurrect it.
I ended up setting up a claim with Samsung, even though the man on the phone said they would not cover water damage at all. For kicks, I wrote a little note saying what happened, and how I would appreciate it if they could fix my phone, and slipped that in the package.
Low and behold, I received a new phone from Samsung! Even though they said I wouldn't get anything, a working S5 was just shipped to me. It isn't the one I sent in, so I assume it's a refurbished one. It also came with a new back and battery.
Anywho, I just wanted to explain what happened to give some peace of mind to anyone out there was frantically Googling what is going to happen to their water resistant S5 Active after water slips through the cracks. Cheers!

Hello.
Hey there,I am EXACTLY in the same situation as you are,please tell me what should I do now.I have left 22 months of warranty,I have the IMEI and serial number.But I can't find my bill (for purchase date they ask).I would appreciate if you help me mate.Im really scarred and I dont want to pay for the phone again.I guess the phone is totally damaged,as it doesn't even vibrate,turn on.It is completly dead.My cover was safely as my charger slot.And if they examinate the phone and the warranty cant cover the damage,what are the chances to ask for more than 200$?Please I need any information!

khryzye said:
Hey there,I am EXACTLY in the same situation as you are,please tell me what should I do now.I have left 22 months of warranty,I have the IMEI and serial number.But I can't find my bill (for purchase date they ask).I would appreciate if you help me mate.Im really scarred and I dont want to pay for the phone again.I guess the phone is totally damaged,as it doesn't even vibrate,turn on.It is completly dead.My cover was safely as my charger slot.And if they examinate the phone and the warranty cant cover the damage,what are the chances to ask for more than 200$?Please I need any information!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all the warranty is 12 months unless you bought square trade or something. And if the S5 active is anything like the S4 active, they don't advertise it but they will replace it because there's no way to tell whether it failed at being "water resistant" or was fully submerged. As for the receipt, sometimes they ask for it and sometimes they don't. If you can't get it replaced through your carrier, the best option is to use the Samsung support chat & they'll tell you what you need to submit. Otherwise the carrier should have a receipt on record

Water damaged Samsung Galaxy S5 HELP!
Hey, I read your thread and I thought it was exactly similar to my situation, except after calling customer service many times, they told me they would not replace my phone. I was wondering you talked to or requested on the phone when you called? Any tips? Did you write to anyone? Is there anything you'd recommend that I do?
My email is [email protected]
I'd really appreciate you getting back to me, thanks!

Hi I'm in the same situation. I was wondering how you went about doing this...
I used the live chat and she gave me a ticket number and told me to call the voice customer service people. I was wondering if that was all they did.
If you could please get back to me with info that'd be great my email is
[email protected]

Don't be fooled by Samsung and AT&T Commercials for the s5 Active!!!
Up until just a few days ago, I have been a very loyal Samsung and AT&T Customer. Both my husband and I have Samsung phones, Samsung Tablets, and have been customers of AT&T forever. I was EVEN thinking about purchasing the Samsung Smart phone. Not anymore.
It is beyond comprehension to me at this time that NEITHER AT&T NOR SAMSUNG will apparently stand behind their products! Although BOTH AT&T AND SAMSUNG advertise that the Galaxy S5 Active devise is rated IP67 using the Ingress Protection rating system! As the Samsung user manual AND the AT&T commercials state: "The dust rating is 6 (highest level of protection), and the water resistance rating is 7 (WATER RESISTANT UP TO 1 METER for UP TO 30 MIN). Watch their commercials ...but don't be fooled.
My phone was in contact with water for less than 3 seconds! ( It accidentally dropped in water and was retrieved almost instantly) LESS TIME THAN advertised:
The phone turned on for a few seconds...then went off....Then an hour later turned on with a green screen...then back off and was totally dead. I sealed the phone in a desiccator for three days and it still would not come on. Samsung service said yes, it was under warranty and to send it in. IF they couldn't repair it , they would send an new one. Guess what!? They lied. I just received my original phone in what looks like worse damage than I sent it and I have been told that the mother board is fried..( NO DUH!) And that voids the warranty?
My mind is spinning. I really loved my Samsung Active, but I am sooo disappointed in the Service and the fact that Samsung would not replace it since it was less than a year old!
I posted a complaint to Samsung's Mobile Facebook page and immediately got a response to private message them. I got the same "canned" response there as well. I may as well go bang my head on a wall. Thank you for taking the time to at least listen to my "rant".

This is how this is done!
If you are reading this post, you probably dropped your s4/s5 Active phone in a glass of water or decided to take it with you swimming. If you did, I am sure you have now realized the error of your ways! ANYWAYS.... if you want any chance of getting your phone fixed WITHOUT paying for the repair, just follow these simple instructions!
Make sure the phone is in warranty! If it's over a year old, the manufacturers warranty is expired and this is not info you need. They will not fix a phone for free if its out of warranty... (well, most of the time! lol)
IF ITS WARRANTY IS GOOD.... Read on! Or, I guess if it's bad just read on anyways... although most of this won't help you in that case...
The first thing you have to know before you even pick up your phone to call Samsung and the most important thing in this process, is to understand that Samsung is not responsible for ANY ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE, PERIOD! So with that out of the way....
Call up Samsung's Technical Support and Give the representative any information they need. Next when they ask why you are calling, simply tell them what symptom you are having and immediately state that you have verified that it is still under warranty and that you'd like to send it in for repair.
Now, you must watch what you say from here. your best bet is pleading the fifth, but they will ask you questions you are going to have to answer... Like, Has your phone suffered any physical or liquid damage?...
Well the obvious answer if you're reading this forum, is YES!!! But let's think about this real quick... If you're calling in about a G870a, it's specs show that it is ip-67 certified, which means it should be "dust and water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes." So should that 5 seconds in a cup really have done it in??? Common sense argues, NO! And this should be your thought process when being asked the question I wrote in the last paragraph.
This is where most of you loose the chance of ever getting the phone repaired under warranty again! And remember you don't want to lie! If you do you'll just get an e-mail after sending it in telling you that the damage is NOT covered. They will then give you a quote for the cost of repair, and tell you that if you do not respond, the phone will be sent back to you AS IS.
So how do you get it fixed for free already?!?!?!?!
The goal now is to make sure you don't incriminate yourself! SOO.... If I dropped mine in a glass of water to show it off to friends and they asked me weather or not it was physically or liquid damaged, I WOULD say something like this...
"No, this phone has been taken care of VERY well it's whole time in my possession, and nothing has occurred that the phone was NOT built to handle based on the specifications listed on Samsung's web page for my SM-G870a specifically. It is in great shape and **** simply stopped working properly after it was briefly submerged in shallow water. I purchased this phone because it's ip-67 certification and it should be fine after such a small indecent!". (**** could mean anything from the LCD to the charger port and anything in-between)!
Now, a good rep will notate that information on your case and provide you with an RMA number, that is, if your phone was in fact under warranty still. Then they send you a shipping label and instructions. Now you just send the phone in following all their instructions. and you should get a nicely refurbished phone in the mail 7-14 days after they receive it!
Easy, right!?!?!
NOT EVERY TIME!!!
If the rep decides to tell you that the phone cannot be serviced under warranty and there will be a charge for the repair......
DON"T GET MAD! It will ensure the status of your phone to be flagged as "beyond economical repair" and it will no longer be covered under warranty again!
Simply tell that rep, that you disagree with that policy and ask KINDLY to speak to their supervisor. (remember, they are going to brief the supervisor on the situation before you talk to them and you don't want them degrading your character!!!)
When you are finally connected to the supervisor, you must be FIRM but KIND, and assert yourself as knowledgeable but not with too much confidence. In laymen terms, treat them like your Grandmother!
Tell them ONLY that you are attempting to send your phone, which in is warranty, in for service and that the previous representative told you it MAY not be covered under the warranty. Then, without hesitation, reiterate to the supervisor now, that this phone is listed on their documentation as ip-67 certified and that the conditions that caused the failure SHOULD NOT HAVE CAUSED THE DAMAGE IT DID!
After that, you must also make sure they understand that you understand that certain measures on the users behalf are expected to meet the ip-67 certification. They must be convinced that your were using proper operating procedures and were using common sense when the phone was damaged.
Any supervisor is going to have a very hard time arguing that type of common sense and will probably place you on a short hold before returning to the line and informing you that they will make an exception, but if the phone is found to be badly damaged, there may still be a charge for repair. AGREE WITH THIS!!!! They will create the RMA and send you the shipping label and instructions
WAS ALL THAT A WASTE OF TIME??? Are they going to try to charge me for the repair anyways??
Most likely not... it should be notated to the tech, and they usually overlook the liquid damaged, because of your conversation with the reps on the phone.
BUT in SOME CASES there is one last step to ALMOST 100% ensure the repair/replacement of your phone FREE of charge!!! and this will probably be the most important step for a lot of people! Especially if a lot of water made it into the device!
All I am asking is for you to "like my Business Page for Capital City Computer geeks on Facebook and comment on my Liquid damage post!
After you do, I will message you the last step!!!! I know a lot of you won't need this last bit of info, but it's the most valuable piece to the puzzle and can make the biggest difference!
Head over to Facebook and search for Capital City Computer Geeks to get the last step!!!!
And if you liked this post or succeeded with my help, please take a second to go there and like my page anyways!!
Maybe, just maybe that'll help get some more priceless info outta me
Good Luck Everyone! Let's make sure we all get what we pay for!
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