How many San Francisco mobiles returned?

[Guest Brianrh]

Good morning all this is my first post on this forum so please be gentle with me.

My son and I are hoping to get Orange San Franciscos at Christmas. I have been looking on this forum for several weeks now finding out what they are all about, design weaknesses, problems,etc but I have been struck by how often people have had to return their San Francisco. I was wondering, bearing in mind I have to buy two very soon, how likely it is that I will have to return one or both?

Is there a period of time (I was told 28 days) after which Orange won't replace but send off the handset for repair? This would determine when I would have purchase the handsets by as the boxes couldn't be opened used until Christmas.

What might be interesting although I don't know how you set it up, is a voting thread to see how many people have and how haven't had to return a phone. Presumably anyone unlucky enough to have to return a handset twice would have to vote twice to give a fair indication of failure rate of these mobiles.

Hopefully one of you guys out there could set this up for me.

Many thanks.

Brian

[Guest jdtanner]

I had to have two replaced before I got one that I was happy with. I think the might have been a few QC issues with the first few batches...

John

[Guest Gibbo501]

I bought mine on 30th September and that failed on the 9th November and they simply replaced the handset the very next day.

However, that started playing up two days later (unresponsive, slow, erratic) and they replaced that on Sunday evening. I logged the fault Friday night at 9pm and a replacement was scheduled for Saturday AM, but a motorway crash led the courier to be caught up in it and have to cancel some appointments.

If it were me I'd buy them as close to as Christmas as possible, you don't want the warranty wasting away while its sat wrapped up.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Gibbo501

[Guest ballist1x]

mines being swapped out by orange today. the screen would have a green tinge to it 3 times out of 10 unlocking it from standby...

the issues my poor mum had trying to send it back:/

call number 1: blah blah blah, yes its faulty... no we cant arrange a replacement, this is the refund line...you need to call line 2

call number 2: blah blah, its faulty/.... no we need the imei and the sim number as the order number isnt enough

call number 3: no the sim number on the card, not the phone number of the sim card

call number 4: are you sure its faulty now, can you just remove the battery for me...oh and btw we cant arrange a replacement you need to phone call number 1 again

call number 5: hi, i spoke to you 30 mins ago before you gave me incorrect information and put me onto a wildgoose chase to some idiot in india who tried to tell me my phone wasnt broken, can we just arrange a replacement kthxbye.

Edited November 18, 2010 by ballist1x

[Guest Donkey Oaty]

I returned mine yesterday after having it for 2 weeks. It wouldn't boot 9 times out of 10 had the high cpu usage problem and the power button had stopped working properly.

They guy behind me in the shop (only 2 customers) was experiencing similar problems and was swapping his also.

[Guest JCPren]

The trouble with this kind of thread is that all those who've experienced problems will feel far more compelled to reply than those who haven't, creating a skewed impression. (For what it's worth, my SF has been fine!)

[Guest AndyHibberd]

I've replaced mine once for faulty wifi.

The one I have now has a pinkish tinge (Only noticeable when directly compared to another device but otherwise acceptable) and a slightly dodgy vibrator motor which is more crunchy than smooth.

I've tried getting this one replaced and, just like last time, the first delivery failed for no good reason.

I've been on the phone to three different people and each one seems to have different protocols ranging from needing IMEI and telephone numbers, to needing the account holder's permission (Bought through mum's account to get discount) to a guy who didn't need any confirmation and arranged a replacement. However as we can see this replacement hasn't arrived.

TBH I feel like putting up with a slightly faulty phone which is otherwise functioning fine, my only concern was that over time the vibration function may just stop working completely.

What is the return period? I believe we have a 1 year manufacturer's warranty, no?

Oh and a word of advice when dealing with Orange customer services:

1. Once you find someone helpful (lol!) ask for their name and extension so you can go straight through next time.

2. Ask them to call you back rather than wasting your credit calling a mobile number (Assuming you're not on Orange)

Andy

[Guest Magnets]

On my third handset now and it's not perfect, but orange give you a lot of hassle on the phone and are generally not very helpful, you may have to call several times to get someone that is interested in helping.

[Guest JCPren]

Ask them to call you back rather than wasting your credit calling a mobile number (Assuming you're not on Orange)

From SayNoTo0870.com: 0800 80 10 80 - option 1, 4, 2

[Guest AndyHibberd]

From SayNoTo0870.com: 0800 80 10 80 - option 1, 4, 2

Hero! I use noto0870, don't know why I didn't do this sooner!

[Guest Magnets]

I've replaced mine once for faulty wifi.

The one I have now has a pinkish tinge (Only noticeable when directly compared to another device but otherwise acceptable) and a slightly dodgy vibrator motor which is more crunchy than smooth.

I've tried getting this one replaced and, just like last time, the first delivery failed for no good reason.

I've been on the phone to three different people and each one seems to have different protocols ranging from needing IMEI and telephone numbers, to needing the account holder's permission (Bought through mum's account to get discount) to a guy who didn't need any confirmation and arranged a replacement. However as we can see this replacement hasn't arrived.

TBH I feel like putting up with a slightly faulty phone which is otherwise functioning fine, my only concern was that over time the vibration function may just stop working completely.

What is the return period? I believe we have a 1 year manufacturer's warranty, no?

Oh and a word of advice when dealing with Orange customer services:

1. Once you find someone helpful (lol!) ask for their name and extension so you can go straight through next time.

2. Ask them to call you back rather than wasting your credit calling a mobile number (Assuming you're not on Orange)

Andy

Same story for me! First had bad wifi, second had really pink screen, current one has slight pink screen (on greys) and vibrator doesn't always work 100% when using keyboard, and sometimes it vibrates too long when unlocking the phone (slide unlock) but I just don't want to chance getting another (worse) one.

Btw don't pay for the call, ring them on 0800 079 0440 from a landline.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Magnets

[Guest AndyHibberd]

I think I'm gonna accept it, safe in the knowledge that I am likely to buy a new device if a better one (with good price point) comes out within the next 6/12 months anyway.

[Guest crumplycord]

The trouble with this kind of thread is that all those who've experienced problems will feel far more compelled to reply than those who haven't, creating a skewed impression. (For what it's worth, my SF has been fine!)

I would just like to add that I am more than happy with mine bought early october not single issue mentioned on this forum has arisen.

[Guest AndyHibberd]

OK I'll chime in with a positive.

My dad's San Fran is flawless.

Don't be scared by these "negative" threads, you can find this kind of discussion for ANY product.

Just smile smugly when you think about how people that paid a sunk cost of £600 for a 2 year contract couldn't make a phone call because they were holding their phone "incorrectly"! Still, they swallowed it.

The only problems we are having here are sporadic manufacture errors like dodgy screens/wifi chips. There is nothing fundamentally wrong, unlike the iphone 4 which is like making a car that turned the engine off when you open a door.

Long live ZTE!

Andy

[Guest dan_dejs]

i had my handset replaced for a fault that was,in the end, not a fault. they replaced the handset for me with the usual script of take battery out bla bla but tbh i think the amount sold and the fact they are very open to people customizing them makes them very prone to faults .... hmmm ... also QC on the product is prob 1:100 units lol

i am morethan happy with this handset tho especially that it cost £99 and people i know with htc's and the likes have just as many probs low battery performance and general faults, but paid £300 ++

these are like home computers 85% of the time its user error B)

dan

[Guest revs]

I had mine replaced a week ago for a dodgy screen at the orange shop, it wasn't easy to get a replacement.

The handset I have now is showing some pinkness on greys, I really dont want to go back to the shop, would I be better of calling orange for it?

Edited November 18, 2010 by revs

[Guest ballist1x]

no, orange are hell to deal with

[Guest AndyHibberd]

I had mine replaced a week ago for a dodgy screen at the orange shop, it wasn't easy to get a replacement.

The handset I have now is showing some pinkness on greys, I really dont want to go back to the shop, would I be better of calling orange for it?

You are never better off calling Orange.

[Guest revs]

The shop was even ore unhelpful and I really don't want to face that manager again tbh.

[Guest NetizenSmith]

Had mine for a month. All fine so far.

[Guest Brianrh]

The trouble with this kind of thread is that all those who've experienced problems will feel far more compelled to reply than those who haven't, creating a skewed impression. (For what it's worth, my SF has been fine!)

[Guest revs]

So what is the policy for after 28 days, do they replace it with a refurb unit or a new one?

I've just been told by orange that if orange replace it within 28 days it will be a refurb and if the shop replace it, it will be a new one. After 28 days orange will replace it with a new one.

[Guest Brianrh]

Sorry for the faulty post above, I had an IT issue.

Thank you all so far for your replies but like JCPren wrote almost all the people posting are the ones who have had problems.

I've seen threads that have a means of accepting votes and displaying the percentages which is exactly what we need but I have no idea how you do it. Could one of you clever types out there start a new thread to do this? It would be most interesting to see what percentage of all San Franciscos purchased have had to be returned.

Brian

[Guest insurgente]

I'm thinking of getting one but if you unlock it, take all the Orange crap off it and install a custom ROM.... if it develops a hardware fault will Orange take it back? Or does that invalidate the warranty?

I'm looking at ordering one from play.com/Orange/Prepay wizard but I was confused by how long the warranty was. I saw someone post somewhere that on Orange it was a year, but on Play it was only 28 day/....have I read that wrong?

[Guest monkeyfeatures]

Sorry for the faulty post above, I had an IT issue.

Thank you all so far for your replies but like JCPren wrote almost all the people posting are the ones who have had problems.

I've seen threads that have a means of accepting votes and displaying the percentages which is exactly what we need but I have no idea how you do it. Could one of you clever types out there start a new thread to do this? It would be most interesting to see what percentage of all San Franciscos purchased have had to be returned.

Brian

I agree with you both.

My SF has been fine for around a month so far, no issues that I can attribute to hardware (wifi didnt work in my office when I got it, but worked everywhere else. I think the firmware and the access point were disagreeing. Flashing froyo fixed it).

A friend also got a SF and has had no problems with it.

Probably quite easy to attribute problems to the phone when actually its just software/settings issues. I'd recommend anyone with problems tries a full factory reset before sending it back.