Develop Bugs

HTC warranty not being honoured.

Hi guys, any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.
Last week I plugged my touch pro 2 in to charge. The phone was on and working fine, but the charging light would not come on.
So HTC collected my phone for repair...
Today I phoned to get the latest information and they want £160 to replace the motherboard or £11 to have the phone returned to be unrepaired. Apparently I have been running an illegal firmware and this has voided my warranty. I updated by firmware many times before settling on the one I was happy with, but it seems the one I settled with wasn't the official one. The guy quoted me SPL - 0.85.0-x.......... and said that it was a bit weird but that was why I had to pay.
So I told him that the firmware had been running fine for many months and I wanted to know the exact registry tweak that had broken the motherboard. Anyway I said I didnt accept that the firmware had anything to do with the hardware failure and would be refusing to pay.. I also gave them the sob story that I have had a new HTC phone every year for the past 7 years and have recommended many customers to them.
Where do I stand with this? I have threatened to go to the small claims court, but really just want my phone fixed for free as soon as possible.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated..
Andy

Honestly you asked for this. You are going to have to pay for the repair. You sent in a phone with a cracked ROM and expect them to fix anything? No way in hell will they do it for free.

when you say a cracked rom do you just mean a rom that is available on this forum?
I accept that it isn't an official rom. but it is unrelated to the issue of a phone not charging.

Unfortunately this is the norm... They can't prove your cooked ROM caused it, you can't prove it didn't. What they can prove is that you are not running the ROM they gave you and I'm sure somewhere in the T&C there's legalese about that voiding the warranty.
COULD someone write a program which interferes with charging? I'd bet so, people around here write some amazing stuff. This is not to make any accusations that someone has written any malicious code, simply that it COULD likely be done, therefore I seriously doubt you have much recourse. You could get lucky, but I suspect you're just hosed.. Sucks.
And in reality, you could send the phone in for ANY failure and they discover such things and void the warranty.
I guess you could buy extra/larger batteries and charge them in a charger and swap them as they die. Not the best solution, but at least you don't have to shell out lots of money.

well i've just sent a very professional email to customer services.
tweiss 3, you have a very negative outlook. HTC market their phones on being individual, and indeed this is why so many of us buy them over Iphones. However I took the individuality to the limit by installing a custom firmware. I am extremely confident that a ROM from this forum and a respected chef at that, would not include a registry hack that has any effect upon the charging system of the phone. And have asked them for the evidence that this is the cause of the hardware malfunction.
Positive thinking goes along way as well I feel.
Season's greetings to all of you.

Take them to court. The whole thing rediculous. Depending on your country this might actually be illegal.
I lawyered up when they tried to pull this on me, and guess who got his phone back fixed for free?

Its not that i'm negative, but there are 2 things everyone should know about warranty electronic work.
1) Always go back to stock. Will this cause you to loose all your data and settings, yes, but that leads me into step 2.
2) It is never a guarantee to come back with the settings or OS the way you sent it out. In fact, most companies have a policy of the first step being just reflash/reinstall the OS to stock default out of the box settings to see if that fixes the problems. So knowing this, spend the few extra minutes to reflash back to stock.
That being said, you could possibly win in a court to get it warrantied, but you are only going to screw yourself out of a lot of money and time. HTC knows this and will let you waste it if you really feel the need to. Their warranties are written very well, with a lot of fine print. Also most of them say "Limited" meaning almost they have all the discretion the care to use.

I agree with tweiss3. You can't send HTC a phone with a modified ROM and expect them to fix it. I'm sure these SOB's will do anything possible to get out of fixing your phone. Once they saw that you had a different SPL that was the red flag they needed to void the warranty. I hope you can convince them to fix your phone. Maybe if you were very persistent and demanded to speak to several managers, told them how you and your friends all own HTC product, inform them you will no longer buy their products and possibly take them to court, etc.
With all this in mind I'm even more hesitant to flash my phone to a modified ROM.

I kind of expect it, to be honest. As soon as they see anything not stock, they can void the warranty. Just like with a car with the manufacturer's warranty. You modify it and something breaks, and they will attempt to void the entire warranty regardless of if it caused the problem or not. When I send my car in for warranty work, I take all of the mods off and put it back to the stock parts (the air intake, etc).
It's a crappy deal, I know. But it's something you should plan for if you ever need warranty work done.
Either way, I hope everything works out for you

Its just a rule of thumb when it comes to warranty repair with electronics, always restore stock first!!! As soon as HTC discovered that your phone software was modified, it's no longer an issue to them of what caused the problem with your phone, it is now an issue of this phone is no longer under warranty because of the physical proof of the software tamperment! honestly it would be by the grace of god if they were to reinstate the warranty!

Unfortunatly due to the phone not powering on, or connecting via usb it would have been impossible to restore the firmware.
Thanks for the advice and well wishers.
Worse come to the worse is it worth repairing the phone for that price or is their anyone else who could replace the mainboard for cheaper than £160?

Dude, I totally know what you're going through. I hacked the ECU on my car, and now Mazda won't honor the warranty on my engine. It's total bull...I mean, I should be able to customize it how I want with no repercussions for myself. Why should I have to take the financial hit just because I put on a different software that controls the entire thing that may or may not have screwed it up?
If you couldn't tell, I was being sarcastic. You changed the core controlling software and didn't bother to change it back to the stock one. They have no responsibility to repair it for you.

andypa1 said:
Positive thinking goes along way as well I feel.
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I honestly wish you luck. Other readers seeking warranty repair should save themselves the risk and the effort and think positively about returning the phone to stock prior to sending it in.
Last week I plugged my touch pro 2 in to charge. The phone was on and working fine, but the charging light would not come on.
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Unfortunatly due to the phone not powering on, or connecting via usb it would have been impossible to restore the firmware.
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Eh? Obviously if you can't flash it back, you're stuck. Other posters might not have been as hard on you if they had known the phone couldn't be flashed.

Now you know what needs doing I bet you can find someone to do it for less. Worth a look.
Also worth asking for it back and re-flashing and returning to see how their records work.
Do they really have a database of products they don't want to work with or do they just look at the serial, look at the device and decide ? Only one way to find out ! For £11 it might be worth the gamble.
(Plz ignore the previous any post made here earlier, I think it was the equivalent of a pocket call )

What?
I don't think he ever said they fixed it without asking him. They gave him two options:
1) Fix it
2) Return it without repairing it
Unless I missed a post somewhere, he never chose to fix it. In fact, I don't even think he chose to take it back yet.

Just an update... They decided not to replace it for free, and still ask for £160.
You guys are quite right I should have restored it to factory before sending it back. It was sent to HTC running the official upgraded rom so I thought it would be fine, however I had forgotten that it would still be unlocked for unofficial roms and they would check this.
Even if I had remembered it wouldn't have been possible because the phone usb connection was not working..
dik23 thank you for your suggestion! Is there anyway of restoring the spl and all of the phone to stock settings without a usb connection? e.g. micro sd? or wifi?
I think i'm going to ask for the phone back for £11.. However the £11 fee is for an assesment, so there is a chance they will pick up. However I believe having the phone in perfect working condition would give me a stronger standing.

did you ever try a different USB cable? that would be my first thought after it broke....
also, do you have phone insurance? if so, is there any chance in the future it could be "stolen" under the insurance policy, and at worst you would get a working refurb?

I don't have phone insurance but it might be worth while getting it soon incase of any future loss ;-)

madman1520 said:
also, do you have phone insurance? if so, is there any chance in the future it could be "stolen" under the insurance policy, and at worst you would get a working refurb?
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andypa1 said:
I don't have phone insurance but it might be worth while getting it soon incase of any future loss ;-)
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Even setting morality aside (which you shouldn't), reporting a phone as having been stolen shortly after having a warranty claim rejected is maybe not the smartest move.

i cant believe people from the US are telling you youre in the wrong. idunno about other countries, including the one you're at, but here in the US warranties are made to protect the CONSUMER not the big company. "minidevil"s comparison about a car manufacturer having the right to void your warranty is so wrong its unbelievable. so called "shrinkwrap warranties" arent even legal here in the US. i had a yamaha R1 which i used as a track bike. regardless of what the warranty said or what the dealership try to claim the minute i lawyered up they fixed my bike. simply because they knew what they hoped i didnt. that warranty laws are here to protect me not them. i didnt have to prove that the racing mods didnt fry my clutch hub. THEY had to prove it did. and like it has been said, you cant prove one way or another. here in the US i couldve asked for costs of repairing my bike and court costs for suing them. they knew this and just fixed my bike. again, idunno the laws in your country. its VERY likely youll win in a court, though. but wether or not your court system allows you to also recoup loss monies for court costs from HTC, i dont know.. it may just be cheaper to pay for the repairs.

[Q] Should i send for repair?

Hi
I am opening a thread to gauge general consensus as to whether or not i should send my device to HTC for repair.
After reading all the horror stories regarding HTC customer support i am a bit reluctant to send my device for its NFC to be repaired. I have unlocked the bootloader, now, relocked, and was wondering if HTC will honor the repair as warranty or whether they will try and charge me?
I tried sorting it through Phones4u but they just kept forwarding me to HTC.
ideally an exchange would have been awesome but ive had the handset 3months.
has anybody had any dealings with HTC after relocking their device and did they charge for a fix?
Thanks
Drew071

HTC can see your phone was unlocked and will probably charge you to repair it.
I wanted to sent my old Sensation back to remove some dust under the screen and because the software had been altered they would reset it back to stock and charge me £100 for the privilege!!
Although their disclaimer states that "some of your warranty may be void" I think they would argue that NFC was damaged due to the use of Custom Software....
If they can get out of fixing it for free, they will!!

drew071 said:
Hi
I am opening a thread to gauge general consensus as to whether or not i should send my device to HTC for repair.
After reading all the horror stories regarding HTC customer support i am a bit reluctant to send my device for its NFC to be repaired. I have unlocked the bootloader, now, relocked, and was wondering if HTC will honor the repair as warranty or whether they will try and charge me?
I tried sorting it through Phones4u but they just kept forwarding me to HTC.
ideally an exchange would have been awesome but ive had the handset 3months.
has anybody had any dealings with HTC after relocking their device and did they charge for a fix?
Thanks
Drew071
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What you should do is go back to Phones4U , quote the "Sales of Goods act" and point out that under that act they are responsible, especially for the first 6 months.
Read this
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/the-sale-of-goods-act/
and especially the next link which you can print and take along if they give you further hassle.
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/shops-responsibility/
The positive thing is that they are much more unlikely to check the bootloader as HTC.
Give them hell

Repairing my One X

Hi,
I was browsing the net with my one x one evening when the screen went blank, the phone froze for 10 seconds the switched off, since then the device has been dead, and when plugged in to the P.C it shows the connected One X as APX, I have attempted to use APX to try recover the device but to no avail, in the meantime I have managed to get another One X that I will not be rooting!!!!
So my question is, does anyone know what might need repairing, I am guessing it may be the display adapter, but not sure. If I replace the mainboard, is that likely to solve whatever the problem may be i.e. GPU, Processor, Memory ect... or is it possible that there could be a problem elsewhere?
Finally how much is it likely to cost to replace the mainboard? and where can I get one at a reasonable price? would it already have a bootloader on the mainboard or would it need flashing separately?

bump

Don't try to repair it yourself. You still have warranty. Just call HTC and they'll help you to get it repaired.

Niels-je said:
Don't try to repair it yourself. You still have warranty. Just call HTC and they'll help you to get it repaired.
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I no longer have warranty with HTC, the phone is rooted and I have actually opened it up now so the warranty if definitively void now. I have a new HTC One X which I must admit is better build quality and battery life, but I want to see if I can repair the faulty phone

Jonnibravo said:
I no longer have warranty with HTC, the phone is rooted and I have actually opened it up now so the warranty if definitively void now. I have a new HTC One X which I must admit is better build quality and battery life, but I want to see if I can repair the faulty phone
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I've had hardware problems and got them fixed under warranty (new motherboard), despite a rooted phone that I also opened myself.
Just give it a try with HTC.
If you're lucky HTC will fix it and that won't cost you anything. In the worst case they'll tell you it won't be warranty and you'll have to pay for the diagnosis and you get get it back without repairs (and try yourself), or choose to pay full price for the repair...

[Q] Dead HTC One denied warranty

Hello everyone,
Recently my Verizon HTC one stopped working. After reading around and contacting HTC customer support, I determined there was nothing to be done but send it back in for warranty. The phone would not respond to any inputs and could not be reset. The charging LED would not turn on when the phone was plugged into an AC adapter, nor would charging it for an extended period of time bring it back. It was dead.
After sending it in for warranty, I am now seeing that they are wanting $200 to fix it because I've rooted it. The included images show a picture of the bootloader which (I believe, it's a pretty small image) indicates that it has been rooted. My question is, if they were able to get it to boot into the bootloader does that mean I could likely refuse the repair and just fix any software issues my self? Has anyone else had a similar issue and solved it without having to pay the $200 repair fee?
Thanks

If they got it into the bootloader then yes, it should be fixable (if its just a software issue), I'd ask for it back and update to the latest firmware if its not already....or.....Get the decrypted RUU and take it back to stock and start over (or just leave it alone).......alot of this information can be found in the Android Development forum, hope this helps...goodluck

I was aware to believe that that Verizon did not check for unlocked or s-off status. Did they update their replacement policy in the past 2 years?

geeibara said:
I was aware to believe that that Verizon did not check for unlocked or s-off status. Did they update their replacement policy in the past 2 years?
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Maybe I screwed up, but this was through HTC directly. For better or worse I have requested that the phone be sent back to me. If it is still dead when I receive it, I'm assuming I can either send it back in again for repair by HTC or try Verizon (if that is an option)?
I'd ask if anyone has tried this before, but my guess is I'm probably in uncharted waters here...

You can't send it back to HTC as I am sure they logged all the serial numbers that's on that phone and has already logged the phone as having a voided warranty due to rooting. You can try Verizon and hope they don't have access to HTC voided warranty list.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

Dark Jedi said:
You can't send it back to HTC as I am sure they logged all the serial numbers that's on that phone and has already logged the phone as having a voided warranty due to rooting. You can try Verizon and hope they don't have access to HTC voided warranty list.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk
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I would not really expect them to take it back for warranty work, but would they not take it back if I was willing to pay their required $200 fee? Or are you saying they won't even service out of warranty phones for pay?

Yeah if you are willing to pay the fee to get it fixed then they will fix it.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

I've never had Verizon give me an issue with rooted or unlocked devices.

More stupid questions.
I got the phone back, it turns on and seemed to work fine, but this morning it spontaneously rebooted and now the vibrate motor seems to be hosed. I have done a factory reset and a restore from an older nandroid backup, but nothing seems to make it work. I know for a fact it was working after I got the phone back. It just seems to suddenly have stopped functioning.
Is this something others have dealt with, or am I likely just dealing with a phone that has an intermittent hardware issue? I'm going to try flashing a different ROM, but thought I would check in with you guys here before doing anything too drastic.
Regarding Verizon, if I bought the phone at Best Buy, would it still be possible to go through Verizon and see if they would send me a replacement for the faulty hardware? Unless this is a known software issue, I'm really starting to think this phone has a hardware issue.

Wildwoodashes said:
More stupid questions.
I got the phone back, it turns on and seemed to work fine, but this morning it spontaneously rebooted and now the vibrate motor seems to be hosed. I have done a factory reset and a restore from an older nandroid backup, but nothing seems to make it work. I know for a fact it was working after I got the phone back. It just seems to suddenly have stopped functioning.
Is this something others have dealt with, or am I likely just dealing with a phone that has an intermittent hardware issue? I'm going to try flashing a different ROM, but thought I would check in with you guys here before doing anything too drastic.
Regarding Verizon, if I bought the phone at Best Buy, would it still be possible to go through Verizon and see if they would send me a replacement for the faulty hardware? Unless this is a known software issue, I'm really starting to think this phone has a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried an RUU on it first. it could just be bad software if the thing turns on. i would try that before anything else is done. you'll need to be s-off to do so though.

Well, I flashed back to stock, locked, and s-on. Still no vibrate functionality.
What is the general consensus on Verizon's CLNR policy? I do not see any defects on the phone cosmetically, but what are the chances I'd end up being charged for a replacement? The phone has pretty much been in a case since I got it, and I keep it in a pocket by its self.

As far as my dealings is just as long as it doesn't look like it went through ww3 you should be fine. I sent phones back that had scratches abd a few nicks on the case. They never had a problem with that.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk

Speaker replacement

Hi all, my speakers have blown. They crackle and distort. I've contacted HTC for warranty, but it sounds like a major ball ache. It'll take them 7-10 working days, and if they see any reason to reject the warranty, they'll charge me.
I've unlocked the boot loader from HTCDev, so I assume they would know that I've voided the warranty.
Has anyone replaced the speakers themselves? Where would I even look for parts?
Cheers

mushtafa said:
Hi all, my speakers have blown. They crackle and distort. I've contacted HTC for warranty, but it sounds like a major ball ache. It'll take them 7-10 working days, and if they see any reason to reject the warranty, they'll charge me.
I've unlocked the boot loader from HTCDev, so I assume they would know that I've voided the warranty.
Has anyone replaced the speakers themselves? Where would I even look for parts?
Cheers
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Click to collapse
I returned mine to HTC (a UK repair place ) with unlocked bootloader for a cracked camera lens. No issues at all and returned to me within 5 working days free of charge. It's possible to relock the boot loader and return to complete stock but I just flashed a stock rom with stock recovery and left boot loader and s-off.
Up to you but they're meant to contact you before they proceed with any work that's not under warranty.
I'd try this before taking it apart

Did you go through HTC, or directly to the repair compnay?
HTC have said they will also update the software to the latest stuff for diagnostic reasons. I'm sure I read somewhere that Sunshine doesn't work with the latest handsets?

mushtafa said:
Did you go through HTC, or directly to the repair compnay?
HTC have said they will also update the software to the latest stuff for diagnostic reasons. I'm sure I read somewhere that Sunshine doesn't work with the latest handsets?
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Through HTC. Sunshine worked for me on lollipop, phone is 4 months old. For hardware issues you shouldn't have a problem with modified software but I felt better for flashing the stock rom zip and stock recovery. They always say that unlocking bootloader MAY void warranty, but there is always the UK sale of goods act that they need to comply with too. Worst case is they charge you for return of phone but unlikely if you challenge them . You can ruu back to complete stock also but I never bothered. If you open your phone up yourself you're more likely imo to lose warranty and you never know when you may need it again

mushtafa said:
Hi all, my speakers have blown. They crackle and distort. I've contacted HTC for warranty, but it sounds like a major ball ache. It'll take them 7-10 working days, and if they see any reason to reject the warranty, they'll charge me.
I've unlocked the boot loader from HTCDev, so I assume they would know that I've voided the warranty.
Has anyone replaced the speakers themselves? Where would I even look for parts?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommand this guy's tutorial video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDsZLl_JzwA the speaker disassembly starts at 7:22, and for the part, I recommand this: http://www.etradesupply.com/htc-one-m8-loud-speaker-assembly.html