Guest Chazmeister Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) Hi folks, I have a bit of an odd problem and need some pointers from more experienced minds as to what the possible cause might be. The phone is unlocked, running B888, not rooted. I was using the phone yesterday whilst still plugged into the power adapter and suddenly the screen went blank. Pressing the power button did nothing, also noticed the green light for charging was gone too. Basically the phone was completely dead. I have discoved however that if I take the battery out and then fire up the phone with just the power adapter it comes back to life and boots up, although in emergency mode only. If I then put the battery in, it says it's at 0% charge (despite having been nearly full when it went) and then starts to try and charge it. However after a couple of hours it was still showing 0% charge. If I then leave the battery in and try to reboot it, the phone is dead again. Take the battery back out and re-seat the cable and it boots back up into emergency mode again. So basically if I try to boot up the phone with the battery in, it's as dead as a doornail; no lights, nothing, even with the charge adapter plugged in. If I boot it up without the battery via the charge adapter and then put the battery in, it registers as being dead as a doornail 0% charge and will not charge up. So what do you think the cause of the problem is? Has the battery just suddenly died some how or is it the phone software that has corrupted or the phone itself that has developed a fault? As a side note I took it back to the Vodafone shop and the chap there thought it was more likely the battery, but as it was unlocked he added that I had voided the warranty. So I won't be getting any help from them. Which seemed a little odd considering that they have been selling unlocks themselves. Anyway, unfortunately they didn't have any spare batteries for me to try out and nowhere else stocks the batteries because it's a Vodafone exclusive. Edited July 29, 2012 by Chazmeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wrtease Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 just take it back and get a full refund or a replacement. it does not void your warrinty. its got a 1 year warrinty .go to citizens advice if you don't get any satisfaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hogweed Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) Go back to the Vodafone shop. Make sure you get the name of the person who incorrectly told told you unlocking the phone released them from their legal responsibilities under the Sale of Goods Act (1979). Make sure they realise you are asking for the name for the purpose of reporting them to head office. Demand again they replace or repair the phone or battery. If they refuse contact Citizens Advice and their Head Office. The sales person you spoke to is incompetent and/or a liar and has no place working for Vodafone sales if he/she cannot be re-educated. Within 6 months of purchase, Vodafone, to avoid legal responsibility for repair or replacement of the phone, would have to first prove in a court that you actually broke the phone and exactly how you did it, This legal right is above any additional warranty that Vodafone may provide and cannot be voided by them. Even after 6 months, if it can be established that the fault was pre-existing but latent, you still have rights under the Sale of Goods Act, Edited July 29, 2012 by Hogweed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chazmeister Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 Well after a bit of reading up I think the issue is definitely with the battery. The Li-ion batteries apparently actually have a chip in them, and if they go, then yep your battery is as good as dead. So probably just needs a replacement battery. I had the phone stuck on my car dash and was using it as a satnav for most of the day and it was quite hot and sunny, so possibly the battery overheated and the chip fried. I shall ring trading standards on Tuesday, the earliest I can do it, just to be clear over the warranty thing with them, and then get Vodafone to give me a replacement battery. I did think the sales guy in the shop was wrong at the time, but I didn't argue the toss there and then, as I'd much rather go back properly armed with the right info straight from trading standards to better argue my corner. Like I say, I know they have been selling unlocks themselves, so what he said didn't ring true with me. The sales guy told me that if he sent it off for repair, that the engineer would check the IMEI number, see that it has been unlocked, and then just send the phone back to the shop as the warranty is void on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hogweed Posted July 29, 2012 Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) Yes it does sound as if it is probably the battery. Given that the battery is no more than a few months old, they can't really argue fair wear and tear either. It is a replaceable part with an expected finite life but not that short. Btw don't volunteer information to them in the first place like "I unlocked the phone on ebay" or "Maybe it was because I left it on the dashboard in hot sun". There's no need for that and it could just confuse the issue. The cheapest battery I can find on ebay is only £4.45 including postage from China. Unfortunately that would take a few weeks to ship though. Edited July 29, 2012 by Hogweed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peninsula Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 The sales guy told me that if he sent it off for repair, that the engineer would check the IMEI number, see that it has been unlocked, and then just send the phone back to the shop as the warranty is void on it. Wow, those salespeople really do talk some crap!! I'd ask to see the manager if they tell you that again as its patently untrue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest edwardecl Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 buy a new phone, swap battery take it back saying you don't want it... 5 mins later. :) Then laugh at the salesman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tcpaulh Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) To the best of my knowledge, warranty's don't really matter unless they give you more rights than you would have anyway under UK law. To coin a phrase, they do not affect your statutory rights. It may be found void (though I'd be surprised) but that wouldn't affect your right to pursue a claim for example under SOGA. Edited July 31, 2012 by tcpaulh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest markxtc123 Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Interestingly my G300 has stopped charging. I took it to my local Vodafone shop and the sales assistant gave me the same story. Phone has been unlocked, voided the warranty, cannot enter it into the system etc. It seems her problem was that there was no way to enter the phone into the system to get it repaired without a valid Vodafone mobile number. I quoted SOGA, goods must be fit for purpose, Small Claims Court etc but she was still adamant, phone has been unlocked, therefore warranty was not applicable. I pointed out that Vodafone cannot just give up on its responsibility. What if Vodafone said that using the phone with your left hand voided the warranty, or using it to call landline voided the warranty. Just because Vodafone say it doesn't make it true. After about ten minutes of arguing she decided to enter the phone into the system using the IMEI number. Lo and behold it accepted that and the paperwork could be completed. She did say that she felt that the phone would just come back not repaired because it had been unlocked and I did point out that I would take them to the Small Claims Court if it was not repaired. I'll let you know in 7 to 10 days time what the outcome is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chazmeister Posted August 9, 2012 Report Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) I ordered and tried a different battery and no joy. Re-formatting the phone again with the software didn't fix things either, so it's deffo a hardware fault. So I've just been on the phone to both Trading Standards and Ofcom re the unlock vs warranty thing. Trading Standards didn't really know what the warranty situation would be, and then put me onto Ofcom, who didn't know either. Apart from if the manufacturers warranty doesn't mention unlocks, which it doesn't, then it should be covered by that. But does anyone know how to get your phone fixed directly by Huawei? My problem is that I've gone to B888 and I don't think there's anyway to go back to the old Voda software setup from that is there? Otherwise I'd just put that back on, pop the Voda sim back in and take it to another nearby Vodafone shop. Or hope I get a different assistant to the one I had the other week. Oh well going to try the Huawei support number and see if I can get any joy from that. UPDATE Just rang the Huawei helpline on 0844 800 6800, spoke to a very pleasant chap and they've booked it in for warranty repair no problems. Just got to remove the sim and SD card and pop it in a jiffy bag and post it off to them. A place in Norwich if you want to know. Oh yeah they wipe the phone during the repair, so back up first. Oh yes and I learnt some thing new today, how to pronounce Huawei. You say it like who-wah-wei. Edited August 9, 2012 by Chazmeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest markxtc123 Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Well I got my phone back from Vodafone. They had replaced it for a new one with a different IMEI number. I was convinced I was going to have to get the new one unlocked but no, the replacement was already unlocked for me. The only problem was that the replacement exhibited exactly the same problem as the old phone, not charging. Neither phone charges from the charger, the USB port on my computer or from my car charger. In the end, after a lot of trial and error, I worked out that the only constant was the cable. I was using the same charging cable with the mains charger, my computer and the car charger. Tried a new cable and BINGO! Phone charges no problem. Feel a bit of an idiot now, but at least my phone is charging! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sharkyo01 Posted April 14, 2013 Report Share Posted April 14, 2013 Well I got my phone back from Vodafone. They had replaced it for a new one with a different IMEI number. I was convinced I was going to have to get the new one unlocked but no, the replacement was already unlocked for me. The only problem was that the replacement exhibited exactly the same problem as the old phone, not charging. Neither phone charges from the charger, the USB port on my computer or from my car charger. In the end, after a lot of trial and error, I worked out that the only constant was the cable. I was using the same charging cable with the mains charger, my computer and the car charger. Tried a new cable and BINGO! Phone charges no problem. Feel a bit of an idiot now, but at least my phone is charging! Thank god I found that post! Had the same problem used a different cable and it would not charge my phone! So ended up thinking my phone was bricked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now