Returning/Swapping a Pre

[c_man]

Hi,

Hopefully those you have returned or swapped a Pre (for whatever reason, dodgy battery, too much Oreo effect going on, etc) can help.

1] Have you gone always gone back to the same O2 store?

2] Can you go back to ANY O2 store?

3] What info do they ask you for? Receipt?

I'm slightly cautious as if I was to obtain a Pre from Ireland or Germany, and then had hardware issues with it, where would I go?

Hope you can help,
Regards,

[VasTheGreek]

Hey mate,

I haven't had any issues with my Pre. However it comes with a 2yr warranty. If it came from 02 you have 30 days to swap your handset at any O2 store. I asked that when I bought it. If the fault develops later you should be able to return it to Palm either via O2 or directly.

Hope this helps
Vas

[ponyfool]

I purchased four Pre's on opening day. Three of them worked, one wouldn't get passed the opening screen and was replaced at the store.

Since then, I have exchanged three of them for various reasons:
Mine- Dead pixel
Wife's - Microphone stopped working, all people could hear was Charlie Brown teacher
Son's- Power switch stopped working (he abused his phone, it was scratched up, etc -- he is 14 after all)

I took first replacement back to retailer I bought it at, and was advised I had to take it to a repair center. From that point forward, I took them all to the repair center store.

All three of them, they pulled up my account, verified when they were purchased, and ordered refurb phones no questions asked. My son is the only one with the damage insurance, and they didn't even ask about it or charge me for it since they could see that the power button didn't work. They told me they are under "orders" from Sprint/Palm not to try to "fix" any of the phones, to just order a refurb.

The ONLY complications with exchanging phones is that you lose your personal settings. Not all of them, but some. It's just a mild pain. Before you exchange your phone, make sure to connect it to your computer, put it in USB mode, and copy everything from your phone to your computer. When you get your new one, do the same thing and put everything back on your Pre.

All your pictures, ringtones, etc, will be restored (but not selected, you still have to do that). All of your contacts and calendars will be restored too. If you use the Palm profile, it will be restored when you log in to your profile. If you have Google accounts, the Palm back up knows this too and restores all your Google data too.

[c_man]

Originally Posted by VasTheGreek

If it came from 02 you have 30 days to swap your handset at any O2 store. I asked that when I bought it.

Hey Vas, thanks for clearing that up, great to have confirmation!

Originally Posted by ponyfool

I took first replacement back to retailer I bought it at, and was advised I had to take it to a repair center. From that point forward, I took them all to the repair center store.

These repair centers you refer to - are they affiliated to O2 in any way (they may even be O2 stores??) or are they Palm repair centers?


Vas pretty much answered my question though, its good to know you can take it back to any O2 store. Its nice to know these repair centres exist but more info on them would be great.

[center15]

Mine has a dead pixel which I was willing to get over but then I took a picture in a dark area and the camera has 3 dead sensor pixels, they're 3 red dots show up in pics. So will be getting mine swapped out.

[shootz]

Originally Posted by c_man

Vas pretty much answered my question though, its good to know you can take it back to any O2 store. Its nice to know these repair centres exist but more info on them would be great.

They haven't really answered the tricky part of your question - can you return a phone bought at an O2 store in Ireland or Germany to an O2 store in the UK?

I don't think you can, or if you can it might not be easy. The Ireland returns page directs you to one if its stores (a store locator doesn't show UK stores) or asks you to send it back to their return centre if you bought it online. I think they're unlikely to return it to a UK address if they won't deliver to a UK address.

[center15]

You almost definitely can't they are separate companies just with the same name.

[c_man]

Damn, I thought O2 was, well, O2!!
So O2 UK are completely different from O2 Ireland... things could get tricky. If I get a chance I will ask a local O2 store the same question over the next day or two.

In the meantime any other input would be great.

[center15]

Originally Posted by c_man

Damn, I thought O2 was, well, O2!!
So O2 UK are completely different from O2 Ireland... things could get tricky. If I get a chance I will ask a local O2 store the same question over the next day or two.

In the meantime any other input would be great.

Also the phone to locked to O2 Ireland when bought in Ireland, so an O2 shop in Ireland could not replace a UK pre or a German pre where would they get the stock? Your only hope is using the manufacturer warranty. Nothing between UK and Ireland O2's is comparable this issue has come up many times on the O2 forums.

[c_man]

Originally Posted by center15

Nothing between UK and Ireland O2's is comparable this issue has come up many times on the O2 forums.

Unfortunately, this statement is 100% correct (thanks, center15 - I did not realise it was on O2 forums).

I went in to the nearest O2 store today (Strand, London, WC2) and asked the question.

They mentioned that they have different stocks, invoices, SKUs, basically completely different systems and as such a receipt from O2 Ireland would mean nothing for O2 UK. Same name, different company.

[Westmar]

Originally Posted by ponyfool

it will be restored when you log in to your profile.

To clarify, how/where on my Pre am I supposed to log in to my Palm Profile? Can someone clarify this with instructions, please?

[c_man]

The returns/swap policy seems very hit and miss.

I tried getting a new Pre for my Oreo Pre at the O2 store on the Strand, London. It was the worst O2 shop I've been in, horrendous customer service and they flatly refused to do anything about the Pre. Frankly they didn't care. After lots of arguing (and me asking for their regional manager, etc) they offered to send it off for repair (refused to say where!) meaning I would be Pre-less for 10 working days.

Next I tried at the Liverpool branch the O2 was bought from. They also refused but offered the sending off for repair option pretty sharpish.

Finally I tried another O2 store this evening in North West London and they offered to swap the Pre for a brand new one, an offer I accepted. No questions asked. All they wanted was confirmation of the issue which they got to see first hand.

Moral: if one O2 store doesn't help, try another. They don't seem to have a nationwide policy on this.

[c_man]

30/11/2009 from: http://forums.precentral.net/gsm-pre...d-quality.html

I've had mine swapped for a new Pre TWICE now, and am still not 100% happy, and as the O2 store will not swap for a new one again, its been sent off for repair (by the way, it doesn't get sent to O2 or Palm, its a 3rd party phone repair company... anovo o2 - Google Search ...)

The first Pre developed a 1.5mm Oreo within 4 days - with the phone extended all was fine, however, when shut, lateral movement was significant, enough to create an sharp 'overhang' on each side of the phone because the two parts didn't line up.

The second Pre's power switch became loose within 2 days... difficult to press and produced a VERY annoying rattle sound when the phone is moved in the slightest ...note, no Oreo at all

My 'current' Pre [of 1.5 days!] has a significant gap between the two halves of the phone on one side only. One side is fine, nice and tight, the other has a gap that when pressed on, produces a click each time.
There is also the Oreo effect present, slight movement is fine but I have hte 'overhang' described above.
It's been sent to the repair guys this morning but I've been told that they will most likely return it with the comment 'This is how all Pre's are'....grr...

[c_man]

08/12/2009:

WELL... just got back from the O2 Store having picked up my Pre.

Packaged well from the repair monkeys...

...and its great!!!

NO MORE OREO!

I received a letter with the package which stated the engineers established/uncovered A FAULT with the slider mechanism and thus fixed it. As a matter of courtesy they upgraded the phone la la la. One disappointing thing is that they also decided the keypad was due a replacement, and replaced it with a bloody 'refurbed' one!! grrr...

But the main thing is, no more Oreo effect The phone feels as tight as ....well, we'd all expect it to be.

[peabrain]

Originally Posted by c_man

08/12/2009:

WELL... just got back from the O2 Store having picked up my Pre.

Packaged well from the repair monkeys...

...and its great!!!

NO MORE OREO!

I received a letter with the package which stated the engineers established/uncovered A FAULT with the slider mechanism and thus fixed it. As a matter of courtesy they upgraded the phone la la la. One disappointing thing is that they also decided the keypad was due a replacement, and replaced it with a bloody 'refurbed' one!! grrr...

But the main thing is, no more Oreo effect The phone feels as tight as ....well, we'd all expect it to be.

congrats!!!!!
i was supposed to take my to an o2 store in london today, but got side tracked, i'm heading to brent cross tomorrow, hopefully better luck tomorrow

at least the repairs seem to be good....

[wardie]

Originally Posted by c_man

08/12/2009:

WELL... just got back from the O2 Store having picked up my Pre.

Packaged well from the repair monkeys...

...and its great!!!

NO MORE OREO!

I received a letter with the package which stated the engineers established/uncovered A FAULT with the slider mechanism and thus fixed it. As a matter of courtesy they upgraded the phone la la la. One disappointing thing is that they also decided the keypad was due a replacement, and replaced it with a bloody 'refurbed' one!! grrr...

But the main thing is, no more Oreo effect The phone feels as tight as ....well, we'd all expect it to be.

Do o2 not offer you a replacement pre while your phone is in for repair? My current pre I have had since launch in October has been better now they replaced the battery due to device consistently switching itself off. Now the oreo effect is becoming a problem, it seems to get worse from constantly changing the battery as you have to almost pull it out!! As my pre does not last even half a day on one charge I need 2 batteries, so I think the slider mechanism is getting pulled when you remove the battery.

Just hope the o2 store is alot more helpful otherwise will not be amused. Just hope these so called new pre plus devcies in US are of a better design not that we will get a look at them

[c_man]

Originally Posted by wardie

Do o2 not offer you a replacement pre while your phone is in for repair? My current pre I have had since launch in October has been better now they replaced the battery due to device consistently switching itself off. Now the oreo effect is becoming a problem, it seems to get worse from constantly changing the battery as you have to almost pull it out!! As my pre does not last even half a day on one charge I need 2 batteries, so I think the slider mechanism is getting pulled when you remove the battery.

Just hope the o2 store is alot more helpful otherwise will not be amused. Just hope these so called new pre plus devcies in US are of a better design not that we will get a look at them

Yes, they offer you a replacement phone. For £25 (acting deposit I believe). But its something like a Nokia 3100 so I gave it a miss.

Don't worry, you are not alone on the battery front. With 1.3.5.2 out now, seemingly keeping WiFi on when the phone is 'sleeping' , the battery is going to take a further hit.

P.S. Since getting the Pre back it develoepd Oreo within days. Granted it has not got worse since, but it is still there, when I believe it shouldn't be. Just not sure if I can be bothered to get it looked at again via O2 - because believe me, dealing with them isn't the most pleasant experience.

[diggedy]

Dont forget, if your a business customer your entitled to a next day replacement to your door! Just keep that in mind for anyone who took a business contract with o2 uk

[jusk]

I returned my Pre to O2 in Dublin at the start of December. I'd had it for about 6 weeks, and it had developed several problems - loose battery, speaker/microphone fail, proximity sensor fail, etc. It hadn't been dropped or abused - just kept carefully in it's sleeve thing and used normally.

O2 insisted that it be sent for repair to a 3rd party, and assured me I'd have it back within 10 working days. They gave me a (horrible) nokia E51 to use in the meantime.

Five weeks+ later, I still haven't got my pre back.

The O2 store say there's nothing they can do, and won't give me an equivalent replacement phone. They said I should contact customer service to enquire about a discount or something. O2 customer service say the E51 is an equivalent phone and there is no grounds for any discount on my bill. (I asked if she'd ever tried writing an email on an E51. . .). Told them I found the whole situation very unsatisfactory, but they didn't seem too bothered. I contacted the 3rd party repair company, and they said that because Pre's are new they don't really know much about them, and they've sent it back to the manufacturer in the UK, and they don't know when they'll get it back.

Argh.

Update: Actually heard from O2 shortly after posting this yesterday, and now have my Pre back. They replaced the speaker and sensor and fixed the other problems. It seems to work fine now. While it was away getting repaired, I got a Touchstone, which is now causing me proplems. . . detailed here

[kingsizeriz]

4 months and this is the 2nd time my pre is being replaced (2 weeks after i got a brand new one from o2 as my old one was irrepairable!) a member of staff has told me that after 2 repairs.replacements you can request a different phone, can anyone clarify if this is true?