GPS and Legal rights?

[Guest eebobobo]

Hello all. I am having problems with my handset and just wanted to know if anyone else has had any similar problems and how they resolved it. I started my contract on Orange (through Carphone Warehouse) in early January. Since then I have had three Desire HDs due to problems. The first one had a faulty loudspeaker. I got that one swapped in store as it was only a week old or so, but the replacement was the same. I decided to just put up with that and everything else was ok for a little while. Then my second phone started to shut itself down (which I know is quite common). Also, the GPS signal I was receiving was either really inaccurate or just not there. Again, I know now this is not an uncommon problem with the DHD. I took this one back also, it was sent to HTC and they provided me with another brand new handset. The problem is the GPS signal I am receiving is just as poor as on my other phone. I have had this new one 2 weeks now and I have done extensive testing against other phones from friends and my wife's phone, all using google maps and GPS Status. These include a standard Desire, an X8 and an Orange SF. Without going into too much detail I will just say that they all outperform my DHD by a considerable margin. I have 3 of them on my window sill as I type, with the SF and the Desire on 8/8 and 9/9 satellites respectively and showing an accuracy/error of between 3-10 meters. They both took about 15 secs to get the first fix. My DHD is on 4/4 satellites and an accuracy/error hovering around 140 meters and took about 3 minutes to fix. As I say, this is the second of the three I have had that have been like this. I have tried different settings in GPS status, including resetting and re downloading the A-GPS data, all with no results. Sometimes I can get a fix quite quickly, although never very accurate, and other times I just cannot get anything. I drove home from the work yesterday, which is a 10 mile drive, and it was still trying to get a fix when I got home. When I am driving or stop at traffic lights, my software will suddenly try to re-route me because it thinks I am on another road.

Anyway, I went to Carphone Warehouse this evening, explained the problems and told them that I wanted a different handset, meaning a different model. They said they could not do that and that it needed to be sent off the HTC again, requesting a different model, but I was no guaranteed. I said I was not happy and they advised me to ring their customer service department, but they told me the same thing. I rang Orange also but they could not help because it was an unlocked/not an Orange branded handset. Orange where very helpful and phoned HTC for me and put me through to them. But they just told me that I had to go through the channels and use Carphone Warehouse and send it back, which I sort of expected them to say. Ultimately I think it is CW problem but I am not sure where I stand from a legal point of view. I am aware of my consumer rights but am unsure how it applies to mobile phone contracts. I know items bought should be as described, fit for the intended purpose and should be of reasonable quality. I think this fails on the last two. I would not have started this contract if I thought my handset was not going to able to cope with Satellite Navigation accurately, which was one of the main reasons I went for the DHD, the screen size also making it ideal. I am going to try and get some legal advice tomorrow, but I just wanted to know if anyone else here has been through anything similar or has any advice? Thanks in advance.

[Guest andycap]

Hello all. I am having problems with my handset and just wanted to know if anyone else has had any similar problems and how they resolved it. I started my contract on Orange (through Carphone Warehouse) in early January. Since then I have had three Desire HDs due to problems. The first one had a faulty loudspeaker. I got that one swapped in store as it was only a week old or so, but the replacement was the same. I decided to just put up with that and everything else was ok for a little while. Then my second phone started to shut itself down (which I know is quite common). Also, the GPS signal I was receiving was either really inaccurate or just not there. Again, I know now this is not an uncommon problem with the DHD. I took this one back also, it was sent to HTC and they provided me with another brand new handset. The problem is the GPS signal I am receiving is just as poor as on my other phone. I have had this new one 2 weeks now and I have done extensive testing against other phones from friends and my wife's phone, all using google maps and GPS Status. These include a standard Desire, an X8 and an Orange SF. Without going into too much detail I will just say that they all outperform my DHD by a considerable margin. I have 3 of them on my window sill as I type, with the SF and the Desire on 8/8 and 9/9 satellites respectively and showing an accuracy/error of between 3-10 meters. They both took about 15 secs to get the first fix. My DHD is on 4/4 satellites and an accuracy/error hovering around 140 meters and took about 3 minutes to fix. As I say, this is the second of the three I have had that have been like this. I have tried different settings in GPS status, including resetting and re downloading the A-GPS data, all with no results. Sometimes I can get a fix quite quickly, although never very accurate, and other times I just cannot get anything. I drove home from the work yesterday, which is a 10 mile drive, and it was still trying to get a fix when I got home. When I am driving or stop at traffic lights, my software will suddenly try to re-route me because it thinks I am on another road.

Anyway, I went to Carphone Warehouse this evening, explained the problems and told them that I wanted a different handset, meaning a different model. They said they could not do that and that it needed to be sent off the HTC again, requesting a different model, but I was no guaranteed. I said I was not happy and they advised me to ring their customer service department, but they told me the same thing. I rang Orange also but they could not help because it was an unlocked/not an Orange branded handset. Orange where very helpful and phoned HTC for me and put me through to them. But they just told me that I had to go through the channels and use Carphone Warehouse and send it back, which I sort of expected them to say. Ultimately I think it is CW problem but I am not sure where I stand from a legal point of view. I am aware of my consumer rights but am unsure how it applies to mobile phone contracts. I know items bought should be as described, fit for the intended purpose and should be of reasonable quality. I think this fails on the last two. I would not have started this contract if I thought my handset was not going to able to cope with Satellite Navigation accurately, which was one of the main reasons I went for the DHD, the screen size also making it ideal. I am going to try and get some legal advice tomorrow, but I just wanted to know if anyone else here has been through anything similar or has any advice? Thanks in advance.

I had similar problem with gps and it turned out to be the type of case i had on the phone. I had a hydro gell case and it attenuated the gps quite a lot. do you have a case on your phone?