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.

Phone broke, been told I voided the warranty by installing 'illegal software'

Hey,
So started a new account to post this and have searched forum and seen some similar stories but wondering if there's any new info.
Receiver and camera on phone broke. Sent it back for repair and been quoted £134 to repair, including replacement of the main board (£60) and some plastic parts (camera lens apparently, £20).
When I rang to ask why it was so much i was told it was because i voided the warranty by installing the 2.3 upgrade from their developer site. Apparently there were warnings that the warranty would be voided when I did this (which I don't remember at all and will look into). Makes me pretty damned angry that one of their own upgrades that they promoted on their own Facebook page has apparently voided my warranty.
Anyway, apparently because my phone has S-OFF (can't even remember what this means) and this 2.3 software they need to replace the main board.
Is it just me or is that insane? Like having to replace a motherboard on a computer just to upgrade windows.
Anyone had a similar issue? Their customer service team were almost totally inept at answering my questions.
tl;dr Phone broke. Being asked to pay for a new main board cos I installed the official 2.3 upgrade which is considered illegal software. Advice?

Buy a new phone. You know that you are wrong and still arguing with them. Forget about the 2.3 part, if you s-off, you void the warranty.

What network are you on? If you are in the Uk the networks are quite relaxed when you join the darkside. I've sent my desire in three times, (stupid engineers), with a custom rom and they laughed and fixed my phone. I'm not the only one too.
If you are anywhere else there are loopholes.

Well yes the cost of Main Board Replacement is more then half the cost of Entire the Cellphone. And now as the Desire is about 2 Years old and its rate might have dipped to 50% of its original cost in 2010 its well worth to buy a new Phone instead of replace Main Board.
Some Engineers of HTC Just don't understand anything.
Once I tried and he was asking me if its possible to install any apps in Android???

I'm not so much questioning whether i've voided the warranty, i'm questioning why I have to pay a very large sum to replace the main board when I can't work out what it has to do with the software on the phone.
Surely they can just update the software on the phone without replacing the main board? Seems just like an opportunity to charge me a ****load of money.

albad said:
I'm not so much questioning whether i've voided the warranty, i'm questioning why I have to pay a very large sum to replace the main board when I can't work out what it has to do with the software on the phone.
Surely they can just update the software on the phone without replacing the main board? Seems just like an opportunity to charge me a ****load of money.
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They probably think that the hardware got corrupted, and the price is pretty much what you will expect, unless if you fix it by yourself. The desire is a good but outdated phone. I would consider this as an opportunity to get a new phone, but that's just me.

cronus101 said:
They probably think that the hardware got corrupted, and the price is pretty much what you will expect, unless if you fix it by yourself. The desire is a good but outdated phone. I would consider this as an opportunity to get a new phone, but that's just me.
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Go get a Sensation especially with it's recent price drop...it costs 22000INR now!!
Considering getting one myself!!f**k repair and think of it as a reason to get a new one

HTC One X screen artifacts

Hi guys, have you seen screen problems on the One X like this?
www-youtube-com/watch?v=VFvABvJXDc8
(sorry about the badly typed link, I'm new to the forums, an the system won't let me post links . So please replace the - to . in www-youtube-com to see the video. Also the video is a bit long, but luckily I managed to replicate all of the problems in one take. Annotations are in english/hungarian).
I made this video just after I got the phone back from the repair service*, they said that they fixed it by upgrading the software to Android 4.0.3 and "Software number" 1.29.707.11, but apperently this not solved the problem.
Is it possible that this is software based, or it is hardware related?
And if it's software should I take the matters in my hand, and try different ROMs to see which fixes it or stick to the warranty and fight with the repair service until they fix it? (I expect the latter to be a long process and I won't be able to use the One X for a few more weeks/months.)
Thanks for your help,
d
*The problems why I sent back were exacly the same like now.

thats weird the problem is indeed solved by 1.29.x.11
ur unit is defected mate

i got real pissed off with htc, i sent my phone to them twice, and all they did was reinstall the software... wankers.
it looks like hardware to me, looks like a dodgy connection.
get in touch with your retailer and demand a replacement. it's not acceptable sending back devices that AREN'T fixed.
the repair isn't supposed to inconvenience you. thats what the uk consumer law states anyway. so now they have inconvenienced you, it's time they sent you a brand new one.

lawrence750 said:
i got real pissed off with htc, i sent my phone to them twice, and all they did was reinstall the software... wankers.
it looks like hardware to me, looks like a dodgy connection.
get in touch with your retailer and demand a replacement. it's not acceptable sending back devices that AREN'T fixed.
the repair isn't supposed to inconvenience you. thats what the uk consumer law states anyway. so now they have inconvenienced you, it's time they sent you a brand new one.
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yea one thing for sure, htc should have purged or recalled the entire defected batch, it would have earned the respect of customers instead of rage

Sounds like they were too lazy to repair it properly.

So hardware it is, I will fight the long fight then. Thanks guys for the quick help! :highfive:

Hello guys!
I am having the exact same problem!
This even happens on safe mode!
But becomes less frequent when the phone is connected to a PC or being charged.
Are you 100% sure that this is a hardware issue!??
This is my first HTC phone and I am not very familiar with them.
I bought the phone from the UAE back in June, but now I am in Tunisia... And there no HTC representation here to return the phone?

The outcome
Finally, after 80 days in the service, I have the results: this problem got solved by replacing this defective unit with a completely new one. No software solution, no motherboard repair – a brand new One X. So if you have the same symptoms, I would recommend to ask for a replacement, a new phone (for mer the warranty period – 2years – restarted also). The new one works flawlessly (so far ).

Bootloader relocked, can I claim warranty?

Well, I guess my One X isn't perfect.
When I first got it, I didn't look for the flaws, I just checked that the Wi-Fi is ok and there was no ripples, so I unlocked it and flashed ARHD. But, after few days of usage I was shocked after I pressed the screen a bit harder (not VERY hard, just a bit harder because I stumbled upon some HOX screen creaking issue videos) and it started creaking in the upper corners and you can push the screen further into the casing (upper side) like it's on some kind of springs. Note: It was in a case since day 1, never fell because I treat it like a baby, I've had it for around a week. Now, I relocked bootloader and got everything back to stock. I never flashed custom kernels nor tried to overclock it/undervolt it. Plus, it NEVER got hot, after playing some more intensive (THD) games it got SLIGHTLY warm, you could barely feel it. So it is deffinitely assembly issue. My question is, can I claim warranty? Because I bought this phone in Germany (1&1) and I'm from Croatia, so I would have to ship it to Germany first. Or should I take it to repair shop so they fix the screen because it's perfect in every other way? It's model SH26.
Thanks very much.
Regards.

Well, I would say that it depends on the engineer who examine your phones. However, they always knew that you are unlocked and they have the right to void your warranty if they detemine it was caused by mis-used of custom ROM/kernels or else. Since, this is a assembly issue which was not consequences of unlocking. I can said that you are safe from this.
I adviced you get to HTC directly instead of a repair shops and query to HTC croatia asking wether they accept your device or not. For you interest, I heard that international warranty was apply my One X from a local retailer while my device is brought from neighbour country.

Either its hardware fault or not if ur device is unlocked they can refuse the repair under warranty. i have asked the same thing and they told me that if you unlocked it u cant use ur warranty.i said all the stuff about its not my fault or unlocking and its by manufacture but no luck. so i guess it depends ur rights that ur country provides .In Uk you can claim hardware fault in court.

Sounds like a shoddy products.

Yup, had to admitted the warranty may go as per country basis refering local laws. I don't think many asian countries deserves the rights for requesting changes/rejecting a device in 7 days without giving any reason as in UK. Thus, this may be why there are more strict on this unlocking issue in UK.

I sent my HOX (unlocked) for repair directly to HTC due to faulty earpiece jack.
They returned it to me fixed, and with a new and better battery.
HTC didn't charge me a cent.

Ive installed ARHD recently and a few hours after i noticed my screen making creaking and popping noises when pressed. Not sure what i should do about it, it doesnt bother me that much but if my screen falls out ill be slightly annoyed ;p. Surely they have to replace/fix the phone because this is a hardware issue?

Guess I was extremely lucky. Having heard of many defective devices, I began to worry about mine, and, to my surprise, there was no problems i could detect.

That's because generally people only shout about things that don't work. The happy folks with good phones are much quieter.

Rusty! said:
That's because generally people only shout about things that don't work. The happy folks with good phones are much quieter.
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True,i haven't had a single problem with my HOX.When it was first released many people complained about the flickering screen,after that with the memory loss problem,now with the new 2.17 update alot of people are having problems with the wifi,and even so,i don't have any problem with the phone.
ON Topic:In my country if you unlock your bootloader the waranty is completly void,a friend of mine had problems with the phone microphone and they denied his waranty,had to pay to repair the HOX.

This may not be the greatest tip to give, but if you know that they will reject warranty claims (If you are in the UK, etc...) on the basis of bootloader unlock, it might be possible to bypass the issue by just bricking the phone to the point that you cannot get to the bootloader, because it seems they determine warranty status by going to the bootloader and looking at the screen.
Hence, no bootloader screen to check, no evidence that warranty was broken.
Of course this is quite shady and if you have the means you should pay for the warranty repairs.

...or realise (UK, etc.) that your statutory rights are not affected. Which is why they are "statutory".

It's hard to tell, some users reporting that they've been charged for a new motherboard prior to fixing any issues. Until then they won't touch the device. It varies from country to country and individual on the other end.
If you got it from a carrier maybe try sending it to them and bypassing HTC.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

Im in the uk, does anyone know if they will or wont fix my phone? Also do they fix the phone or replace it?

MadCatz900 said:
Im in the uk, does anyone know if they will or wont fix my phone? Also do they fix the phone or replace it?
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Depends on the problem, but usually a fix is possible/cheaper for them.
On the UK, your statutary rights stand with the retailer. If you're unlocked (relock it) take it to them.

Great news, my One X is back and It's fixed. Big ups for HTC Germany!
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

Had my One X for two months now.

It had no issues at all, everything was fine, after three weeks of no issues I decided to unlock the bootloader, and flash a custom ROM, after many roms and no issues at all today I noticed the screen started rippling, the screen is loose, a dead pixel on the bottom of the screen, wifi antenna issues.
It worked great without ANY issues for a few months and now all of a sudden this **** happens, what do I do?
I live in The Netherlands, should I call HTC? Go to the place where I bought the phone?

Since when Grozny is in Netherlands?
Well, as you have void your warranty, you can't expect that they will fix it for free. But, if I was you I would have taken it to HTC service and ask them for help.
There are some threads here on how to lock the bootloader back, and flash stock ROM, you can try that as well, and hope that they won't see it.
Anyhow, I really wish you good luck with your handset. This looks like hardware failure, shouldn't have anything to do with you have rooted and played with ROMs, but there is always the fine print in warranty that covers the manufacturer from everything...:silly:

[email protected]|-|oR said:
Since when Grozny is in Netherlands?
Well, as you have void your warranty, you can't expect that they will fix it for free. But, if I was you I would have taken it to HTC service and ask them for help.
There are some threads here on how to lock the bootloader back, and flash stock ROM, you can try that as well, and hope that they won't see it.
Anyhow, I really wish you good luck with your handset. This looks like hardware failure, shouldn't have anything to do with you have rooted and played with ROMs, but there is always the fine print in warranty that covers the manufacturer from everything...:silly:
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Was born in Grozny.
Either way, I am writing HTC Support now with all the issues explained, telling them that I've read all the threads with similar issues on XDA-Dev.
Hope they don't come with the ''Flashing, rooting'' bull**** as it's obvious that this is all a hardware fault, if they do, I'm going to ask them in which way changing the software and playing with roms makes the screen come loose.
I'm seriously ashamed seeing all these threads with issues, HTC makes one of the strongest devices out there, and it has countless issues building up every day.

D3VICE said:
I'm seriously ashamed seeing all these threads with issues, HTC makes one of the strongest devices out there, and it has countless issues building up every day.
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If HOX devices had failure rate of 0.1%, there would still be a thousand failed HOX devices if HTC sold one million phones. And failure rates are *considerably* higher than that. So, for any device that sells well, there's bound to be more problem reports out there, too.