I am absolutely fuming at the moment. I thought Nokia was terrible but did not realise just how terrible they were. Well here is my story. And for illustrative purposes I will also add my wife's blackberry story as a comparison to illustrate just how bad Nokia is.

I have had a broken usb port on my n900 for about 4 months now. I could not get it fixed because Nokia refused to repair under warranty. I got the N900 from the US but live in the UK. When the fault developed I called Nokia and they said they could not fix it because they do not do international warranties.

I wrote Nokia a very strong email a couple of months ago complaining about their refusing to fix my faulty device caused by their design defect. I got an automated response saying I would hear from them within two days. Two months later and I still have not been contacted.

I was therefore left to just continue to manage without the usb port. I was connecting to pc for file transfer via WinSCP and bought an external battery charger and spare battery to get around the inability to charge via usb.

Unfortunately I bricked my device about 2 weeks ago and so need to reflash the device but of course cannot do so due to the faulty usb port.

I gave the N900 to two phone repair shops to fix but neither got any joy. At which point I was left with no choice but to go back to Nokia. Even though they were refusing to fix it under warranty I was ready to pay them whatever it cost to have the device fixed.

Called two Nokia care points and was told that they could not do anything for me as they only did warranty repairs and if I wanted an out of warranty repair I had to send the N900 to Nokia directly. One of the care points said that Nokia does not fix N900s with faulty usb ports they simply just give replacements.

I contacted Nokia to ask where I could get their free post return form. The care points had told me I needed this to send the device to Nokia. I spent ages searching on their website but could not find the form so had to call Nokia to ask where it was. To my shock I was told that they would not fix the device as it was not under warranty even though I was willing to pay for it.

How incredible is that? If your device is not under warranty it cannot be fixed?!!! Ignore the fact that it is of course really under warranty and Nokia is just being hopeless.

I could understand this sort of stance with cheap phones. However, how can they take this approach with an N900? Something I paid $625 for. So if you buy an expensive phone from Nokia and it dies after the end of the warranty period that is the end for you. So I am now left with a $625 brick. Do Nokia know anything about customer retention? I have only ever had Nokia phones but how can I ever buy another Nokia product after such an experience?

I am now writing to the BBC Watchdog and trying to find the relevant consumer watchdog such a matter should be reported to. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Searched on google for consumer watchdog but did not really get anything useful.

Also I think I read somewhere on this site where someone mentioned an announcement by Nokia that the usb issue was their fault or a design defect.

Now compare Nokia's attitude to what my wife experienced with RIM. Her blackberry stopped working about 3 weeks after the end of her warranty (how typical). She had the device sent off to blackberry and was told they will look at the problem and will be given repair cost. However, about two weeks later she was sent a new blackberry at no cost.

So on the one hand you have Nokia refusing to fix, even at a fee, a device which is still under warranty and on the othe other hand RIM giving a new device for free to replace a faulty device which is out of warranty.

Did your wife get her Blackberry from the US or from the UK?

Many companies won't honour a warranty unless you bought their product from the same country you are trying to claim in.

I think they do this because of "grey importing" andn don't like it when you buy their stuff from a "non-supported distribution channel".

It still sucks Nokia are refusing to repair it at all but that's the way Nokia like to operate - take money, give you device then f*** off.

Considering how much grief the USB port has caused many customers I would have thought they would have done something more.

I guess Nokia doesn't care if customers are happy or not - many ex n900 owners have moved onto Android or Iphone (especially within this forum)
.
All you can do is see what legal recourse is available and good luck.
(let us know how you get on)

@etuoyo:

for RIM to fix/replace a device 3 weeks after warranty is likely to occur. as per my experience of this warranty (my PSP for example) its almost 2 months out of warranty but they fix the defect without costing me money. (dunno why but they did)

for nokia not to fix a non-warranty covered damage even if the customer is willing to pay is BS (i hope Texrat is reading this thread).

Im speachless......

The nearest nokia service center can take your phone and give you a quote to repair it out of warranty, it shouldn't be neccesary for you to send this off anywhere (nokia themselves won't directly take out-of-warranty repairs, thats what the service centres are for).
If your nearest service centre told you you need to return it to nokia, ask to speak to someone else in the shop who has a clue.
Reference quote from Nokia UK site:

Also, while it sucks, US-bought phones aren't covered under warranty in the EU. This is the same with practically any product, regardless of it's manufacturer. You need to return the device to the US for a warranty repair, or speak to someone more senior at nokia (they have indeed acknowledged that the usb-falling-out issue is a fault, and someone with a clue may be able to bend the rules a bit for you, but don't bank on it).

I might have missed it from your post but did you try to call Nokia USA?
Will they honour the warranty? If so, isnt it possible for you to send the device back to a friend/relative in the US and have the device fixed?

I bought a N900 from the US (I live in the UK) but returned it immediately as old memories of Sony US came back to me (Sony UK is a different company apparently).

A few possible solutions:

- try Nokia USA (if they dont fix USB ports, just say the device wont turn on- in order to fix it they will need to access the USB?) - ok that might not be the best idea but why not.

- get your device insured from a company in the UK (some bank accounts also insure phones) and then get the device repaired. Ok a little unethical but Nokia have majorly screwed you over and will not help.

Good luck.

Short story. I purchased a Z Series Sony Viao in 2007 ($2400) and moved back to the UK. The laptop was a disaster. DVD ROM was broken within a few months, touch pad had reverse polarity, speakers made weird sounds and the body was collapsing in itself. Sony UK refused to help. I could not purchase international warranty so in the end I fedex'ed the device to my gf in new york for over a £100 and then she sent it back to me for $200. I've learnt my lesson with international brands. Buy local and insure. Then when things go wrong you're in good hands.

Near as I can tell from my own experience as a US customer, and as you probably could tell from reading the various posts around here, Nokia USA is virtually non-existent and certainly unhelpful and (in my case) they were offensively unhelpful and frustrating.

Nokia US will eventually help you (maybe) but it will take time money and much persistence. See my sig for my experience. Good luck getting your USB port fixed...

Nokia Care now provide technical support on Twitter. See if they can help you. At least it's speaking to someone directly and you can bug them until it's fixed.

http://twitter.com/nokiahelps

http://twitter.com/nokiacareus

Thanks. I called three different care points and got the same response. Actually I called one a few weeks back and they said they do repairs and when I bring it in an engineer checks the problem and then gives a quote. At that time I did not mention it was N900 and faulty usb port. However, now I mentioned it and they say they do not repair. The care points are saying that with the N900 Nokia does not repair them they simply swap them. And of course Nokia is not going to willingly swap an N900 unless they absolutely have to.

Will see if I can get contact details for someon more senior at Nokia. I did not know companies in the EU do not honour warranties for devices bought outside the UK. However, to say they will not agree to fix even if you are paying well that is shocking.

Thanks. I have taken your advise and I have now booked for DHL to come and pick the N900 up tomorrow to send to the US. Will probably be like over a month before I get it back fixed (if they fix it at all).

I am also paying £10 for DHL £500 cover for loss of goods. Will secretly be praying that DHL loses my N900.