Android Never buying a SONY phone again !

Yeah, so an Update on my fiasco. Today, I powered it on after 3 days. To my surprise, the phone works completely except for the SCREEN BACKLIGHT. If you hold it at an angle, you can actually see the screen and ALL ITS FUNCTIONS ARE PERFECTLY FINE. But the screen just doesnt LIGHT UP.Thats all.

And yes, I did persistently enquire about a REPAIR alternative, but he never mentioned the SWEDEN service scenario. He just kept insisting that the phone will only be replaced for 80% price, no other alternative.
 
The idea of repair is if it can be repaired. When they see water logged phone they think, short-circuited to death and suggest replacement. If that was the case your phone should not have switched on at all.
 
blr_p said:
170k xperia Z units imported as of last month with just 3k replacements.
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Isn't that number always going to be low if the service centers refuse to replace phones stating that the customer's at fault & that it's not a manufacturing defect? Or am I reading it wrong here?
 
Significant manufacturing defects would lead to product recalls in markets around the world, i've not heard of such anywhere as yet. The Z sold 7 million units worldwide since launch. See the petitions and count the signatures therein and then compare with units sold.

Where is the evidence that service centres always refuse to replace phones as a result of manufacturing defect. How many suits filed against Sony in this regard. The problem is proving there is a manufacturing defect if you want to make that charge. The complicating factor here in the case of KR8NUX is presence of water in the unit.

If we notice the change in Sony's behaviour since the Z launched is that from Sept 15, they offered 6 months insurance for the Z series, in India. We will have to see how forthcoming Sony actually is when it comes to honouring this promise. Its not been tested yet. I noticed the term 'spillage' when i read the terms the other day. What exactly constitutes 'spillage'. How will they distinguish between user error/abuse and defect. Its their call isn't it. Who amongst the service staff makes that call.

There is no ombudsman you can approach if they say sorry, you broke the device and its not our fault.

So how much difference this ADP offers remains tbd.
 
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Whatever be the case, I am even willing to go for the repair alternative, which would EXTREMELY ECONOMICAL compared to the sh*t quote of 24k they ask for this replacement. What is wrong on this SONY technician's part is he did not inform me of a repair option at all, DESPITE ME REPEATEDLY ASKING ABOUT IT. I truly believe its a disconnection on the display backlight ribbon, or worse, a corrosion on the same. EVEN IN THIS CASE, THE DAMAGE IS MINOR AND WOULD COST ME A MAX OF 12-15 $ AND not a whopping $ 370. Seriously, they need to employ sensible and trustworthy people.
 
Why don't you approach the manager of the nearest sony centre where you live and ask them help you out or try other sony centres. Should not matter whether you bought from the sony centre or not, the point is you bought a sony product.

Dealing with these service centre guys can be very stressful. When i was browsing at a sony centre in my city, the manager was very friendly and assured me if ever there was an issue he would help. He had an interesting way of putting it. He said in other shops eating (paying for the product) happens in the shop and digestion (service issues) happens elsewhere. Not the case with his shop.

Number of times when i was in the shop, i've heard him chew service centre guys to comply, threatening them almost. You need some allies so why not make some.
 
As i think about Sony's ADP, i feel its better to assume it does not exist in the first place. There is no independent judge here, its sony that makes a call whether what happened to the device qualifies as an accident or not. So i'd say that gives sony a 70-30 edge over the consumer here.

Talking to the manager about this ADP, i threw the word spillage at him and he said if its an accidental spill then ok, if you dunk it in water then no. Because he says there is an water indicator. Well, how does he know the difference between spillage or intentional in that case. There is no documented evidence that i can provide to prove it was an accident. So which way things go is really more than a coin toss. I doubt i'd stand an even chance in such a scenario when it comes to spillage.

Take breaking, again the fight is over accident, user error or abuse. Here, if the damage is slight you might get a reprieve but if its severe then they'll say its not an accident but something else. people trying to get replacements for dents are not going to succeed unless the unit stops working, cosmetic dings with a still functioning unit do not qualify for a replacement. If you saw the drop test on AA, the Z1 is quite tough and survived physically all 3 drops, but it was not functional afterwards. Conducting your own personal drop test will not get you a free replacement.

Am really looking forward to see some testing of sony's adp to see whether it really makes a difference, Once your 6 months are up there is no way to extend it, you can if its for laptops but not mobiles.

Best is to pretend there is no adp and be careful. Don't get lulled into a false sense of security by this adp thingy which i have to believe is sony's aim, they're in this to make a buck not run a charity. There is some improvement over no adp, in the sense your chances are slightly better with it but thats about it. Enough to keep too many people trashing their image and keep the malicious or idiots out.

If ever the unit stops working with no visual signs of damage then its no different to replacement under manufacturer warranty by any other vendor. I'd put samsungs adp in the same boat as well.
 
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karankapoor said:
Sad new mate...... But my recent experience with Samsung was real good dropped my note 2 and the display cracked met a local guy the coast of the new screen was approx 7k but he gave me an offer he bought my old screen for 4k really don't what he will do with the broken one but my total cost for the replacement read 3k. Wish they're would have been something like this for Sony.
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My LG OG PRO suddenly stopped to respond the touches... touch screen(one part) is not working.. it has not been dropped :( LCD is absolutely fine... Tried restoring to different factory ROM images. But no change in the behavior. Its an imported model, so LG service center asking 8000 for screen replacement. Do you've any idea for saving some money in this? Like can you check with your local service center guy whether it can be replaced for lesser costs?
 
smnrock said:
My LG OG PRO suddenly stopped to respond the touches... touch screen(one part) is not working.. it has not been dropped :( LCD is absolutely fine... Tried restoring to different factory ROM images. But no change in the behavior. Its an imported model, so LG service center asking 8000 for screen replacement. Do you've any idea for saving some money in this? Like can you check with your local service center guy whether it can be replaced for lesser costs?
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See what are the costs for the screen at eBay.com and/or Aliexpress and then install it yourself. You will have to wait for around 2 weeks though. Wouldn't it be cheaper if you were to send it back to US for a warranty exchange.
 
rdst_1 said:
See what are the costs for the screen at eBay.com and/or Aliexpress and then install it yourself. You will have to wait for around 2 weeks though. Wouldn't it be cheaper if you were to send it back to US for a warranty exchange.
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whole touch screen assembly costs are around 170$.. only digitizer is cheap. But changing digitizer needs exception skills :( and also not sure, whether that will solve the issue. Regarding sending back to US, the person i bought is not co-operative :( so thats ruled out
 
Yes, I read all thats written above me and think "Man even an 8k estimate would have been understandable". A total 80% slap in the face is DOWNRIGHT UNACCEPTABLE.
 
This is nothing, I was discussing about Android phones on a long train journey - He told me that a friend of his had a 5 month old Xperia Z which got a crack on the phone (dunno how) but when he went to RMA the device, he was told to pay 35K and get the new Z1, since the Z display was OOS. How much FUD, Ill leave that for guessing.
 
Yeah, so I simply dropped the idea of Sony and went and bought myself a new phone, a lumia in this case. (Would work as a stopgap until the nexus 5 arrives at our shores)
 
Some of my friend's experiences with sony phones

1. Xperia p hangs frequently after update to JB

2.xperia sola MB dead. Too expensive to repair

3. Xperia u. Became laggy after months.

Say what you about samsung. They make phones destined for longevity ( one friend's galaxy y going smooth after 2 yrs)
 
srkmish said:
Some of my friend's experiences with sony phones

1. Xperia p hangs frequently after update to JB

2.xperia sola MB dead. Too expensive to repair

3. Xperia u. Became laggy after months.

Say what you about samsung. They make phones destined for longevity ( one friend's galaxy y going smooth after 2 yrs)
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My ass. I can quote 2x as many instances of Samsung phones failing or giving trouble cause of their popularity. Just take good care of your phone (hardware/software) and your phone will get through 80% of the common issues people face like laggyness, hanging, less internal memory, etc.
 
Sony phone are too bad those xperia u,p,sola line up are having most of issues..
My experience with xperia u..
Xperia u issue
:calling problems
:lagging
:wifi issue
:slow response etc
I am using xperia u last from 9month
First 2-3 month phone was on GB it was fine after using much it starts lagging bit slow.. So after having those issue I have updated cell to Ics it was worst experience my cell was very slow compared with GB calling log problem bit slow actions etc Ics is full of issues for xperia u..
After those problems now am planning to go with xda roms..
My sony experience is very bad.. So next if am planning to buy high end cell in future I won't quote SONY..
 
Posting in this thread after a long time .
First of all , i am not againts Sony or any other brand . Just that their customer care is not good compared to some other countries i have visited . Comparing the CC center in Vashi , Thane and Ghatkoper . I had faulty mobiles from samsung and LG too earlier but CC was atleast ok .
Customer care of sony India can be compared to any other local indian brands , they are same , but we pay a premium for Sony products .
Anyways i have fixed my phone from outside for 12.5k for replacing the screen and some other minor issues , they also gave 5 months warranty for the repaired parts . Met a good repairing guy at Fort , Mumbai . Anyone facing similar issues with their sony handset then let me know , i will provide you the address .
 
@rohan_mhtr read this thread for the first time.
Last week my cousin's Samsung Galaxy S 9003 lost its IMEI suddenly and due to that the phone cannot connect to any network. Now the Samsung guys say that the only solution is to replace the motherboard which will cost 8.5K and will come with only a months warranty. I can get a new Samsung phone for 10K which has better specs than the I9003. But sadly this is the situation with every company.
They are just competing to sell most expensive E-Waste to the rest of the world.
Any phone any company the After sales service story is same.
I have decided that god forbid if anything happens to my Note 2 (which I bought after reading your review and liking it) I am never going to spend so much to repair it. Will just dump it and go for some cheap phone.
Thats the only way to let these companies know that Indian consumers are not so desperate.
A friend recently observed a dead pixel in the center of his 55" LED TV... Samsung did not even entertain his call.
This sh!t is same everywhere. The more expensive gadget you buy the more its delicate and the cost of servicing it goes higher. :(
 
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