shouldn't be too difficult to notice the difference...

On a recent Asian trip I saw N900 clones for sale in Singapore and Hong Kong. They look exactly like my N900 and were priced the same. You know they are knockoffs because they have Chinese language support which the official version doesn't have yet. If you bought yours on the grey market, be warned!

Be careful! They might actually provide you with spare parts to fix their flimsy devices?

Alright, here's the problem with that "straightforward" warranty procedure:

You had to MAIL IT IN. If this is your cell phone, you're out.

Even if it isn't, I'm trusting the entire package delivery system to deliver this product intact to who-knows-where on this craptastic marble spinning out of control in space and hope that someone at Nokia gets it, fixes reliably, in decent time.. then trust the package delivery system all over again and hope the ENTIRE process all happens as quickly as possible. There's a whole LOT of things that could go wrong in between that time and you have VERY little visibility and accountability into each portion.

If you meant your "only" cell phone, then I would agree that it would be a bit of a hassle for the week or so you are without your phone (at least in my cases they took only a week each time). However, as with many things, it's not a bad idea to have a backup. While it may not be ideal, If you can live with a simple phone during that time, you can get some for as low as $20.

I have had a few instances where service technicians came out to my home for repairs, but the majority of the time they were done by returning the item (phones, computers, cars, etc) to a service center. I suppose with cars and computers (sometimes) you can personally deliver it to your local service center and watch them do the work personally if they allow it, but most other items usually were returned through mail. It's never been a problem for me but I do understand the inconvenience and uncertainty of entrusting your product to someone else. That being said, in my personal experience, Nokia warranty service has (at least up to this point) always repaired any issues I have had with their products.

since I havent been to asia nor planning to go there...nevertheless I bought mine from nokiaonlineshop so it should be an original one...no chinese support anyway...

the guy from nokia didn't talk about getting it repaired but sending an new device....we'll see

The difference is a receipt and a face for customer service. In the case of mailing it out, BOTH sides have to trust the postal delivery person.. and each other. In the case of a service center or even, say, a Nokia stand in the mall JUST for selling and services, you would have a customer service rep to be able to trust and talk to. An EMPLOYEE of Nokia or at least someone that Nokia authorizes to replace your device on-site, possibly immediately, help transfer data and send back a damaged unit for repair.

My personal experience with Nokia has been appalling and insulting, so far. By contrast, my experience with Verizon on behalf of Motorola has been incredibly excellent. I can even buy PARTS. I wish Nokia had provided me with this level of customer support--I might have been more willing to consider purchasing more Nokia branded devices despite their cost. (This is part of the reason why the N900 seems particularly expensive to me--I don't want to spend so much on a device I'll use as a phone with such terrible customer support experiences.)

Odd. I received a UPS shipping label and requested a receipt of shipment when I dropped it off. When the item was shipped back, there was a receipt for the repairs included. The customer service face was the rep I spoke to over the phone, whose phone number I found on their official website. For myself, I didn't mind so much shipping the item because unlike some companies Nokia paid for shipping back and forth. If there was any damage to the phone during shipment, UPS will take care of it since it is insured.

Was your experience with Nokia of dealing with warranty repair issues such as myself? I admit, one of the customer reps I spoke to was a bit clueless. He basically kept suggesting I reset the device when I was trying to have a hardware issue addressed. I just told him I already did everything he suggested and continually told him that it was a hardware problem until he setup a return. But once they got it, they repaired it.

OKay.. rant-mode on.. :P


When I say the FACE of the rep.. I mean an actual rep.. with an actual face.. that I can see and I can visit with my car locally here in the city. I'm very sorry that I didn't properly convey that to you when I invoked the image of a rep's face. I certainly didn't mean a number pad or a touchscreen face.

Despite all the receipts for shipping, you still have no interaction with this mythical rep you keep speaking to and the receipts you got are from UPS, who may or may not necessarily have insured your N900 in a way that would cover you in all cases of mishandling.. as opposed to a repair center rep who, once they take it from you, is responsible. There's a very clear difference there between UPS and an authorized support or repair center.

My experience never even got so far as to mail my devices because, in one case, I depended on it too much to mail out (my first Nokia N800). I simply wanted parts so that I can replace the broken (and easily replaceable) pieces. I found it impossible to obtain those parts. I ended up re-purchasing an N800 and letting my sister use the old one. Since then, the headphone jack has been damaged on my newer N800 and, once again, I had a lousy time of getting local repairs or parts. I'm not bothering with pursuing that repaired anymore and just decided to get a Droid to listen to my podcasts and to use as a dedicated telephone for now until I get a real pocket sized Linux portable from SOMEONE (likely Pandora if they ever release the damned things). Adding to that, I lost one of my styluses for the N800--thankfully, the unit comes with an extra.. but I then started to see if I could at LEAST get an extra one--with no success at all.

In another case, I COULD have mailed it in (they were just Nokia Bluetooth headphones).. but I was told that they would not repair an obviously defectively designed product (very thin at a breakable point on folding headphones) and that they'd give me a grand discount on the full price--which ended up being SIGNIFICANTLY more than I'd paid for them. It would have been cheaper to just re-purchase them. Needless to say, I just decided to buy a competitor's product (a pair of Philips Bluetooth headphones) and they've been MUCH more sturdy and the company (when I called for pretty much ANYTHING) has been stellar for support. Since that time, I've gone on to purchase more Philips products due to their quality AND support.

These types of experiences do not instill confidence in the Nokia brand, despite any good work they're doing on a product. I love the products and their potential and I WANT to like the brand.. but everything I've experienced AFTER throwing good money at them ends up ultimately turning into a sour experience. I hope that Nokia wakes up and becomes interested in what customers are thinking and consider setting up more physical presence, instead of removing them like the news I'd read about how they're closing the two stores here in the US. Talk about counter-intuitive.

It's disconnected from the customer and I'm going to remind people about that every time someone asks me about Nokia. To me, 'mail it back and wait a month' sounds more like 'throw it on the pile and I'll get to it later.' Sadly, I'm not the only one that feels that way, as you can tell from wandering the forums and reading about these very same issues from other people (extra stylus, parts, service, support, etc.). I'm at least glad I'm not the only one complaining, but it doesn't seem as if that fact is being observed by Nokia corporate who, if they stayed awake in business school, will remember is also a valuable asset. It can give a company an idea of what to improve. Nokia has appeared to ignore all such complaints, however, and as a result has lost out on a lot more purchasing that I've done over the last couple or three years since purchasing my first Nokia product, the N800.

Rant mode off.

I hope maybe that gives a little view into my experience and thought process. I remain hopeful that Nokia improves, because I DID like their tablets and the potential they represent, but that hope is increasingly being met with disappointments.

Why the rant? Was I being hostile? Was I being offensive?

Ah, what the hell. Rant mode on.

Clearly, your mind is set. I'm very sorry I didn't properly convey my attempts to ease your mistrust with my mythical personal experience. No more attempts to ease your concerns. Business over the phone and mailing is not for you. Warranty repairs don't exist without a human face. UPS insurance isn't reliable IF they even added it (it is BTW, but you'll probably tell me that's a myth too so I don't know why I bothered and it's not like you can ask the phone CSRs or UPS if they even added it... oh wait, they can't be trusted). Mind not interwebbers telling tall tales of successful Nokia warranty repair service. Trust in those who refuse to use their repair service out of mistrust of phone CSRs and mail delivery services.

So you're right. Nokia sucks. Trust in UPS and mythical creatures over the phone? Please. The truth is they collect your phones to build the ultimate Nokia Transformers/Voltron Phone Robot in a top secret government facility, protected by other Nokia Transformers/Voltron Phone Robots, located somewhere deep within one of the Finnish mountains, which will bring about the apocalypse in 2012. Spread the word!

Rant mode off.

I don't trust in others blindly. However, given that I can be stuck with a ****ed phone, or attempt to use their repair service (which took only a week) where the only cost to me would've been the lost sale of selling the phone for parts should Nokia refuse to repair it, the phone gets lost, and UPS refuse to honor the insurance, I chose the latter. They repaired it and it worked out for me. Would I have preferred a Nokia around the corner like my local Starbucks? Of course. But they don't offer that. However, I was able to take of advantage of what they do offer. So all I was attempting to do in my previous posts was tell you (and others with concerns) that I have successfully used their (as well as many others) warranty repair service where the only methods of interaction were phone conversations and mailing of the product. But since you refuse to being limited to such options and perhaps consider my cases an oddity or a string of good luck (if you even believe it all), what can I say? Cool beans. Might be prudent prior to purchasing a product to determine that the company doesn't limit you to those options (as there are many, especially if it is a foreign company) so you won't have to encounter a similar situation in the future.

lol. I can't read tone. So I have no idea if you thought my previous posts were offensive or if your previous post was offensive. I think we may be arguing different points. So whatever. Good day.