Android Xiaomi! Avoid this company like plague

[mehtaarjun]

Not sure why he should be happy?.
Making him wait for 1 month for a device which is just about 1 month old and he has paid hefty amount for it.
Mobile phones laptops are almost daily needs these days.
Pathetic how they force him to get charger to just check the phone.


All these companies especially Chinese are having honeymoon period in India.
Poor consumer laws . High profit margins on their product , big consumer market and sales, low customer service cost.

Majhe hai inke...

Thanks man! I had the same thoughts. I was shocked as to way a couple of guys here were saying I should be thankful for getting replacement of motherboard I'm like woahh.. What the hell is going on out here. I have outright denied them to agree for any motherboard changes. I want the device replaced. I didn't buy a second hand device.

I've told them that my corporate will henceforth not purchase any MI devices for their employees and that I will pursue consumer case against them. I don't know if it will work or not but I'm not going to plead and cry to them.

Even wireless charging is not working. How can one use this phone for 1 month like this till spare arrives? Why should in anyway i suffer like this for purchasing a brand new device.

 

[nRiTeCh]

I want the device replaced. I didn't buy a second hand device.

I already told you, you have to escalate this to the topmost level in the escalation matrix and you might get it replaced..

 

[raksrules]

College.....Corporate...Business trip.....this is all so confusing.

 

[solo_wing]

Because that is how it is. There is no law that says that the service has to be done in c amount of time. The reason why we get Mi phones for such lower cost is because they cut costs in some areas. They cannot afford Apple and Samsung like service and spare inventory. My galaxy S7 had broken back panel, 4 years after the phone was launched and they fixed it inside a week. Last year, wife’s K20 pro had same issue and Mi service centre said that they neither have stock nor can they order part. I just ordered a skin and applied on the back. Threw the phone into cupboard and wife is using my backup OP8.

This is why I decided never to look at an Mi phone after I saw how slow their service is. Moved from Poco F1 to OP8 and now on iPhone. My Apple Pencil had a problem and boy, the kind of service I got is a pipe dream for Mi users. But then you have to pay a lot more upfront for such service.

TL;DR : either pay higher cost for peace of mind and top notch service or pay less and face service hurdles.

It is not a cheap phone. This is also an expensive phone .

If they don't have spare parts they should have decency to replace it after checking for fault and know they have agreed upon.

Xiaomi is a big global brand . It is often compared as Apple of China and has been one of the biggest growth story of China.
It is just that in India most operate with similar attitude and they know they can easily get away with that.

Like @nRiTeCh said keep escalating it and hope issue is resolved for @mehtaarjun.

 

[Party Monger]

Just go along with their crappy service, get your phone repaired or replaced. Then sell it for a bit of loss on OLX etc and rid yourself of the headache. You can buy a Samsung or iphone instead for a little more.
The only solution to crappy companies is to not buy from them. Once you do buy, there is not much you can do. Shouting on social media works for companies with some reputation left. Twitter is filled with Xiaomi / poco complaints they just dont care.

Xiaomi/POCO are absolutely terrible these days. Thats why they have fallen to 4th place from 1st. Neither are their phones vfm anymore nor are they even usable quality.
They tried to give extra warranty but even if they give lifetime warranty who will go every other month and deal with their crappy service?

 

[mehtaarjun]

Not sure why he should be happy?.
Making him wait for 1 month for a device which is just about 1 month old and he has paid hefty amount for it.
Mobile phones laptops are almost daily needs these days.
Pathetic how they force him to get charger to just check the phone.


All these companies especially Chinese are having honeymoon period in India.
Poor consumer laws . High profit margins on their product , big consumer market and sales, low customer service cost.

Majhe hai inke...

I already told you, you have to escalate this to the topmost level in the escalation matrix and you might get it replaced..

I have written to the grievance redressal officer which is the 2nd highest authority for service. If I don't get answer by tomorrow will reach out to nodal office. I think these two are the highest possible levels in the escalation matrix.

 

[ankushv]

Spending more than 20 k on any Chinese phone MI or BBK phones is not recommended . If buying premium then Samsung or Apple is always the better bet .

 

[t3chg33k]

Just go along with their crappy service, get your phone repaired or replaced. Then sell it for a bit of loss on OLX etc and rid yourself of the headache. You can buy a Samsung or iphone instead for a little more.
The only solution to crappy companies is to not buy from them. Once you do buy, there is not much you can do. Shouting on social media works for companies with some reputation left. Twitter is filled with Xiaomi / poco complaints they just dont care.

Xiaomi/POCO are absolutely terrible these days. Thats why they have fallen to 4th place from 1st. Neither are their phones vfm anymore nor are they even usable quality.
They tried to give extra warranty but even if they give lifetime warranty who will go every other month and deal with their crappy service?

It is not about the service alone though, is it?

They were caught providing YouTube reviewers with phones that had the best binned processors and altogether different, better quality panels while selling phones with cheaper, lower binned processors and cheaper Chinese OLED panels to the consumer.

Then, the entire case on FEMA violations where they illegally remitted money to China, violating all the rules intended to have the money invested within India.

I was also irritated when they started the big exchange offers on their website where they clubbed bank discounts with the phone exchange value while implementing limits on the amount on which bank discounts are applicable, which has become a trend now.

The company simply lacks integrity in every possible way.

 

[blr_p]

Usually, for newer products parts aren't available so soon as products failures like a mobo in your case is just 1 in 10000s or so.

True for better brands also. I recall similar stories of early adopters having to wait to get spares

Like here they get lots of attention but are in that 1 in 10,000. Bad luck

If they don't have spare parts they should have decency to replace it after checking for fault and know they have agreed upon.

Does this happen in India? it's doubtful if it happens abroad either for contract-free.

With contract only because every day you cannot use the phone the telco loses.

Xiaomi/POCO are absolutely terrible these days. Thats why they have fallen to 4th place from 1st. Neither are their phones vfm anymore nor are they even usable quality.

I remember a time when POCO could do no wrong.

This epic comment/complaint by someone at the time that you should not have to pay Rs.29k to get 8GB RAM and that it should be available for less like Rs.24k

This was about the time the iphoneX came out and it really made me question how viable these 4 figure phones would be. I don't think very. at the time I said the iphoneX would not do well. Got lots of pushback but the pattern was obvious, people were buying to try and a few months later recycling their money.

They believe motherboard issue and it will take 1 month around for parts to come.

That's it then. Update us when it happens. A month can fly by a lot faster if you don't watch the clock

 

[Heisen]

It is not a cheap phone. This is also an expensive phone

An expensive-cheap phone. Apologies for being harsh, sadly it's the truth.

Apple share price - $175.43
Xiaomi share price - $1.35

You could have gotten an iPhone 14 in the same price. When you see that market share price, it also includes the customer service and support. In Apple service you submit your phone while they work on it and they also lend you an another phone for that time being upon your request. In some cases if at apple service center things don't exactly go your way, you also have an option to directly mail Tim cook and your case and request gets escalated, they call you and verify by asking your iCloud ID, and if you say that you are a long term customer and you have bought n number of apple devices over the years (they will confirm), sometimes things start to change. Once you manage to get them a mail in your favor from their upper management they have to do whatever it is that you need.

Perhaps this is intentional, I don't know but this sort of personal touch makes the customer feels like he/she is special and then they continue to buy apple products in future. In other brands you just buy a device, in apple it's the device + the experience.

I am not an apple fan boy, please don't bash the iOS vs android bandwagon after this. My brother worked at apple service center for couple of years as a service engineer, I just happen to know some crazy stories.

 

[blr_p]

Perhaps this is intentional, I don't know but this sort of personal touch makes the customer feels like he/she is special and then they continue to buy apple products in future. In other brands you just buy a device, in apple it's the device + the experience.

Great if you need it but to date with the last few phones none developed a problem so soon. It really is bad luck when it does. So the odds of requiring such a service are pretty slim.

It used to be like this in the past when stuff was more expensive. Then the competition increased and the cost-cutting started. Service was the first to get axed.

 

[desiibond]

It is not a cheap phone. This is also an expensive phone .

Understand the difference between 'cheap' and 'lower cost'. All Mi products are sold for very low margins and it is their company policy to have limited margins it seems. When the margins are low, they have to cut costs somewhere.

If they don't have spare parts they should have decency to replace it after checking for fault and know they have agreed upon.

Heh? Even Apple wont replace. You have to have a reality check. Businesses and corporates do not function on emotions.

Xiaomi is a big global brand . It is often compared as Apple of China and has been one of the biggest growth story of China.
It is just that in India most operate with similar attitude and they know they can easily get away with that.

Xiaomi is not in the league of Samsung/Apple/HTC etc. They make cheap phones that have high failure rate. Janta fell for the price tag and made it a global brand. Frankly, they almost destroyed the smartphone industry and you should also see what they did to TVs. Low cost products with high failure rate, average panel quality. Next to Sony/LG/Samsung proper TVs, the products from the cheap TV makers are so much inferior. Situation is even worse here. Very hard to get spares after few years, usually is a roll of dice. As they do not keep spares and they stop manufacturing spares after some time, you have to discard their products.

I remember a time when POCO could do no wrong.

This epic comment/complaint by someone at the time that you should not have to pay Rs.29k to get 8GB RAM and that it should be available for less like Rs.24k

Lol. The only good poco phone was the F1. Solid phone, performed well and was truly reliable. It has been downhill since then.

 

[mehtaarjun]

An expensive-cheap phone. Apologies for being harsh, sadly it's the truth.

Apple share price - $175.43
Xiaomi share price - $1.35

You could have gotten an iPhone 14 in the same price. When you see that market share price, it also includes the customer service and support. In Apple service you submit your phone while they work on it and they also lend you an another phone for that time being upon your request. In some cases if at apple service center things don't exactly go your way, you also have an option to directly mail Tim cook and your case and request gets escalated, they call you and verify by asking your iCloud ID, and if you say that you are a long term customer and you have bought n number of apple devices over the years (they will confirm), sometimes things start to change. Once you manage to get them a mail in your favor from their upper management they have to do whatever it is that you need.

Perhaps this is intentional, I don't know but this sort of personal touch makes the customer feels like he/she is special and then they continue to buy apple products in future. In other brands you just buy a device, in apple it's the device + the experience.

I am not an apple fan boy, please don't bash the iOS vs android bandwagon after this. My brother worked at apple service center for couple of years as a service engineer, I just happen to know some crazy stories.

I've never used an iOS device. It is not a device I fancy enought given to change my entire ecosystem of gadgets. Plus I have a lot of paid apps which won't be carried over to iOS.

I full on agree it's my mistake to go ahead with xiaomi but I thought given its their most premium phone in market I wouldn't face any major issues. I was highly considering Samsung but my heart was on ultra and it was way over. Plus I wanted to get it on nocost emi even though I could directly afford for better cash flow so couldn't buy from the forum otherwise there were quite a few Xiaomi 13pro on sale here.

 

[t3chg33k]

Heh? Even Apple wont replace. You have to have a reality check. Businesses and corporates do not function on emotions

My only experience with Apple service was over a decade ago for an iPad 3. I took it to the service centre days before the warranty expired because the headphone jack would work intermittently based on how the earphones were inserted. They took the device and provided a new sealed one in 5 days, while also offering to provide an older device for temporary usage.

Of course, the scenario might have changed since then, but after sales service should be like this.

 

[desiibond]

My only experience with Apple service was over a decade ago for an iPad 3. I took it to the service centre days before the warranty expired because the headphone jack would work intermittently based on how the earphones were inserted. They took the device and provided a new sealed one in 5 days, while also offering to provide an older device for temporary usage.

Of course, the scenario might have changed since then, but after sales service should be like this.

They don’t do that anymore. They used to replace entire phone even if the problem is with, say, lightning port. It was unnecessary waste of parts. They fix the broken or malfunctioning part now.

I've never used an iOS device. It is not a device I fancy enought given to change my entire ecosystem of gadgets. Plus I have a lot of paid apps which won't be carried over to iOS.

I full on agree it's my mistake to go ahead with xiaomi but I thought given its their most premium phone in market I wouldn't face any major issues. I was highly considering Samsung but my heart was on ultra and it was way over. Plus I wanted to get it on nocost emi even though I could directly afford for better cash flow so couldn't buy from the forum otherwise there were quite a few Xiaomi 13pro on sale here.

Better to stick to Samsung for premium Android phones. Do you know that Google has since service center across country for pixel phones, that you have to mail in when there is an issue. I think Oneplus and Vivo support is good for premium phones.

 

[t3chg33k]

They don’t do that anymore. They used to replace entire phone even if the problem is with, say, lightning port. It was unnecessary waste of parts. They fix the broken or malfunctioning part now.


Better to stick to Samsung for premium Android phones. Do you know that Google has since service center across country for pixel phones, that you have to mail in when there is an issue. I think Oneplus and Vivo support is good for premium phones.

That seems to be true but then Apple is paranoid about the equipment and the parts used in the process, which is a good thing. I remember when I got the battery changed for my iPhone 7 a few years ago, the customer service representative was looking on nervously as I checked the phone because they really need to be in Apple's good books and anything other than a 5-star in the immediate feedback reflects badly on the partner.

iPhone Express Replacement Service - Apple Support

We know how much you rely on your iPhone. With Express Replacement Service, you receive a replacement right away, so you don’t have to go without.

support.apple.com

On the other hand, Xiaomi probably provides the service contract to a third party at the lowest cost and least cares about the service provided.

 

[desiibond]

That seems to be true but then Apple is paranoid about the equipment and the parts used in the process, which is a good thing. I remember when I got the battery changed for my iPhone 7 a few years ago, the customer service representative was looking on nervously as I checked the phone because they really need to be in Apple's good books and anything other than a 5-star in the immediate feedback reflects badly on the partner.

They bloody changed my iPhone 6 when I reported scuffing on the back. They were that paranoid. Things changed a lot. I don’t think scuffing is repairable under warranty unless there is a defect that affects all phones.

iPhone Express Replacement Service - Apple Support

We know how much you rely on your iPhone. With Express Replacement Service, you receive a replacement right away, so you don’t have to go without.

support.apple.com

On the other hand, Xiaomi probably provides the service contract to a third party at the lowest cost and least cares about the service provided.

I think all brands including Samsung/Apple outsourced service to third party. Only now Apple has their own store and service.

 

[t3chg33k]

They bloody changed my iPhone 6 when I reported scuffing on the back. They were that paranoid. Things changed a lot. I don’t think scuffing is repairable under warranty unless there is a defect that affects all phones.

I think all brands including Samsung/Apple outsourced service to third party. Only now Apple has their own store and service.

That's true but it is also about how much interest the company takes in the performance of its partners. I assume Samsung spends more on getting feedback and tracking its service centres to maintain its brand reputation.

 

[mehtaarjun]

Hi guys need some advice!

Neither the Grievance office is responding to emails nor am I able to reach out to him via the telephone number mentioned on the website https://www.mi.com/in/service/support/mideclare.html
Its been close to 5 days and I have received till now one call from Xiaomi customer service and all he kept telling me was to take my phone to the service center. The service center is refusing to accept my device or give anything in writing and are telling me that they will call me when they have parts in stock. This is happening in Chennai, T.nagar and not a tier 3 or 4 city.

I am at a loss as to what should be my course of action. Tweeting has not helped and those retarded twitter support copy paste the same line of take your phone to the service center without even reading the fact that they are not accepting my device or giving me anything in writing. What the hell on earth is going on... This is beyond nightmarish.

If anyone can recommend me any other solutions to try I would be grateful. I have to keep my phone on charge forever and I cant work like this. Neither does it charge from power banks. This phone and the money I have put in have actually become my biggest liability. I paid this through credit card can I do something with my bank to put a chargeback or something?
Exploring legal options of consumer court is ideal but solution will take time... Any positive suggestions and I would be really thankful and I request anyone to stop telling me its my mistake I went ahead with xiaomi over apple or Samsung. I have already realized it.

 

[desiibond]

This is wierd. When they order for part, they will give you a service ticket number. You need not leave the phone at service center.
Share link to your Twitter post here so that we can RT and try to gain traction. Create a thread explaining all the issues you are having with their service center.