Nokia Warranty - It's Your Product!!

I've rarely said anything negative about Nokia on my blog and there is a reason... because I like them.  Overall I've never had any real reason to complain about their products or services, but this time I think I among others have a major issue.

Nokia isn't fully to blame on this.  I think that moving forward into 2006 US GSM service providers should refrain from being so anal regarding handset compatibility.  Truth is, you will never be able to stop consumers from buying unlocked phones that their providers do not carry.  How would the online retailers stay in business?  I noticed a couple months ago that T-Mobile had removed Nokia Symbian devices from their line-up.  I never questioned it because the model that I had was never provided by them anyway.  If you browse around Howard Forums you will see that the majority of users in the Series60 Forum have unlocked devices with US service providers such as T-Mobile and Cingular.

What lead me to this was recently my 6630 started acting weird.  It doesn't pick up a signal nor does it find a network.  Having already shelled out $30 bucks to have it upgraded to the most recent firmware because of the well known bugs in the handset, I'm not ready to shell out more money just to find out what the problem is.  But the 6630 is still under warranty from Nokia, but what warranty?

The luxury of having a handset that does all that you want it to but isn't offered by your service provider comes with a hidden fee.  That damn international warranty thing.  Lol, can't think of a more appropriate name or title.  But the issue is this... what methods or steps do you take on getting your non-supported phone repaired under warranty?  This I would like to know.  Does or will Nokia support and repair my handset?

A phone call to Nokia's customer care here in the US kind of left me frustrated.  "Ma'am I'm sorry but that model isn't supported here in the United States, so there is nothing that we can do."  I don't know what pissed me off more, the fact that they said there was nothing they could so, or that he called me ma'am!

Here's is what I'd like:  I already know that I have a handset that isn't offered or supported here in the US, but why can't I just send my phone to the service center here and then they can send it off to where it has to go?  Shouldn't that be something that they they can do?  I'm sure that would eliviate consumers from getting ripped off by people that have certain Nokia upgrading equiptment that they shouldn't have and then turning around and ripping off Nokia handset owners but charging outrageous prices for updgrades that SHOULD be available for free if the phone is under warranty!! 

Maybe a more thorough explanation of the warranty and its do's and don'ts, can's and can'ts should be made public.  I would love for someone from Nokia to shed some insite by sharing their comments here.   

Comments

[Joshua G]

I totally agree..the lack of support by Nokia is very frustrating to say the least. I got the same response when calling regarding my own 6630. Unfortunately, it creates hesitation when thinking about a new phone purchase. I love Nokia...always have, and I would hate to think I would shy away from buying a product of theirs just because it isnt "supported" in the US.

[ollywompus]

I had this same issue (again with the 6630). I sold it to a friend of mine... after he had it about 4 weeks, the DV RS-MMC (Nokia OEM) started corrupting and going bad. He called Nokia USA, and they gave him the same run around. The long and the short of it is that he would have had to send it to the UK to get a card exchanged... for a 64mb card, it would cost more in postage and wait time to mail it then it would for him to buy a new one.

Bottom line: if you buy a ford in Brazil, and you bring it to America, they will still honor your warranty... so if you buy a Nokia from Europe, why are we shafted? If it can work on our networks, then Nokia should be obligated to offer to support the warranty on the phone.

Keep fighting 'em Darla!!!

-olly

[krazykritter]

This sounds like something that should be brought to the attention of the FTC. While I would agree Nokia does have the right to limit warranties, I find it ridiculous that they refuse to support their own product if you happen to live on the wrong continent especially when they are in fact a global company.

[terryjohnson16]

This is the same crap with Samsung, and mostly all the cell phone manufacturers. Its not fair. Someone should sue them for breache of warranty and then maybe they would get their act together.

[pyrobling]

I am the friend that Olly was talking about. He had the story correct, basically Nokia screwed me over. When I talked to the rep, she didn't even want to help. WHERE did you buy that phone? We don't sell it and don't support. Same company different name. If I even need tech support questions answered, I had to call the UK Nokia office. Next I had to ship the phone and Memory Card to the UK just to get warrantied out for new memory card.

Olly is right! Why should I jump through hoops for Nokia because they do not feel like dealing with the issue. The offer it and allow me to buy it, they need to warranty it out. It is not MY problem the phone had issues and needed to be fixed. Therefore, why should I be penalized for the problem. Customer Service doesn't mean you are they customer's servant, but it does mean you serve the customer. Getting the run around is quite the opposite.

I worked for a company up until a few months ago. They are a rather big company and huge phone/mobile electronics retailer in the USA, (www.cartoys.com). I actually dealt with the Oregon Nokia rep regularly for customers I sold to, however, I was treated worse then any of them because they bought in the US. Point of me bringing them up, they have to companies with the same name, Car Toys Retail and Car Toys Online. Two completely different companies. However, when a customer had an issue, all they saw was Car Toys. This meant even though I did not make any commission or the sale, I still took care of them. I still remedied the situation for the customer so that they were happy.

At this point, I am currently using an unlocked Samsung the T809 which is a step down, but am not having issues. Customer care GLADLY unlocked it for me. The only thing I plan on buying from Nokia in the near future is the N91. After that I believe that will be my final Nokia for a very long time. I started with Nokia phones four years ago. I have owned 64 cell phones in that time, and only recently went back to Nokia. Apparently that seems to have been a mistake.

If they situation can be taken care of and not have to worry bout waisting my money again on a phone without warranty, then I will be INTERESTED in coming back to Nokia and Series60, 80 or 90.

[Darla]

Now one interesting thing is, depending on where you purchase the phone, the retailer themselves can deal with the warranty issue. I remember when I purchased my 3650 from Expansys.com. At that time, no US carrier had the phone, but we knew it was coming. Had a bug, sent it back to Expansys and they sent it out to Nokia UK. But how often do we get lucky enough to have that type of service?
Not saying that I approve of people purchasing phones from eBay, but sometimes that is the case. They still need some form of warranty support don't they? Or do we just shell out anything from $400 - $600 on a phone and then be told we are SOL?

[Matt]

Hi all... Just like everyone else i got SOL by Nokia USA. My situation was a bit different. In 2003 I went on vacation to Europe (Denmark). Before T-Mobile had 3650 available I had it in my hands about four months earlier. I bought it for $350 or something in that range form TDC and had it unlocked by them at the store. Now on the way back I stopped in Poland and took my 3650 to an authorized support center to have the phone flashed with Polish language pack. It was done without any problems. Last year in the middle of the summer my phone crapped out - firmware got messed up (I SWEAR I did not do anything) and the phone froze. I called Nokia USA for support. I was OUTRAGED by their lack of interest. This was at the time when the phone was already available for a while on T-Mobile. I told them what happened. The problem was that since i bought the phone a year earlier (it was still under warranty) I could not find the receipt of purchase. The ignorant jerk from Nokia told me that I would have to take it to the operator (in my case T-Mobile) or provide the receipt of purchase. I told them that T-Mobile was not an option as they said the same thing - you didn't buy it from us - we can't help. I asked if I'd pay for the repair - the a-hole said no because we have to have a proof you bought the phone and it's not stolen. I was furious and hung up and him. Luckily my friend was going back to Poland so I gave it him to take to the service center there. It was no problem them to fix... he did have to pay for it but it was an equivalent of $10 or so. I can't believe Nokia has such poor tech support in the US. Reading posts on HoFo and other websites, it's rare to see users with cheap nokia 3300 series etc. People that post are ones that fork out $400 and up for the phone. I sold my 3650 to a friend of mine in Poland then switched to Sendo X. Again loved what Sendo did to it but now the company is bust...MOTO bought their intelectual property. Currently I use 6680. GOD FORBID something would go wrong with it then I'd be Fu...d by Nokia. I LOVE their phones and S60 (I spit on Moto... Razr is overpriced piece of junk with a nice design as the only thing). Nokia has a VERY good radio reception the only problem is the tech support.. Perhaps it would be a good idea to start a list to collect Signatures of frustrated US Customers and send it via courier mail to Nokia in Finland. Maybe they'd realize how pissed we are. Mind you that currently I'm drooling over N80 and already have a buyer for my 6680 so as soon as it's out - it's mine...

Matt

[Tommi Vilkamo]

Really good post, thanks darla. Did you know that if you search for "Nokia warranty", this post ranks already
- #4 in Google: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nokia+warranty
- #1 in Windows Live http://www.live.com/#q=nokia%20warranty&scope=0&first=1

Personally, I don't know enough about the subject, but I try to find someone in Nokia who could comment this. Sorry for being so slow, try to be patient...

[Arun]

I 100% agree with you. I haven't expierenced a problem as of yet *knocks on wood* and hopefully I don't. Now what happens to the people who moved from Europe or any other Country with an Unlocked phone that they brought along with them because it will work with NA carriers. They are SOL if their phone goes bad, and thats after they just moved to NA. I honestly find the warrenty policy completely USELESS if it works like this.

[mark]

I just got screwed by Nokia today. My phone was supposed to be fixed on warranty, but since I purchased an unlocked version, nokia decided not honor the warranty and after almost a month of waiting, they shipped me the unrepaired phone back. I cannot understand their unwillingness to support their product, especially considering that the same model(6170)is being sold through their US website. I'm really pissed and will never buy Nokia products again.

[Jylppy]

Mark, was your phone unlocked by a third party or by the local shop? It is quite normal that vendors do not support products modified by 3rd parties.

[mark]

My phone was factory unlocked. It was not done by a third party or any local shop, it was brand new and unlocked version when I purchased it.

[edifgrto]

Am I misunderstood anything here? US does not give warranty support to this Nokia 6630?

[Wil]

First, I think that due to territorialized sales strategy, most of the global companies don't encourage so-called over-territory buying. If it's the case, they shouldn't set the "International Warranty" trap to attract buyers.
Second, the service quality level in Nokia US is totally unacceptable, especially Matt mentioned the situation that they refused to fix the product even when he's willing to pay, and the rep said those irresponsible words to a customer! I'm a Chinese in China, I'm stunned that a customer can be treated like this in US! In my country, Nokia care center or agents take care of any Nokia model they have the knowledge to repair, they don't ask where you bought it, coz they got your product scanned and then know it, then decide to charge you or not. Once I went to a so-called 'Nokia Professional Center' to have my 6230 fixed, they even had the policy that promises to get the phone fixed within 1 hour, no matter where you get it(it's about charging or not). I'm not saying that charging is fair or not, just feel that should be the right attitude to 'serve' customer(customer'll get served anyway). Nokia should fire the guy who has been heading the customer care in US.

[auenf]

siemens has an international warrenty (or at least siemens australia will honour the overseas warrenty for siemens mobiles)

Enf...

[Ouida Myers]

Seems like Nokia USA has a track record. I've had problems with getting a 6670 repaired under warranty and I got it here in North Carolina in August 2005. Its been in the shop since Dec.3 except for 2 brief return visits to me. They have a statement in their warranty that in certain states if the phone is kept over 10 days that they (Nokia not the phone service) will provide a loaner. I had a cheap loaner phone from the service provider in December that I turned on January 7th to keep from buying it and they gave me another one last Tuesday (March 7th) when I went to the store to see if they could help me.

I talked with a supervisor on Tuesday who told me to call back on Friday and ask for esculated service to learn about my phone. When I called today (Friday) they couldn't tell me anything.

[RJ]

OH my goodness. I am sorry to hear that I am not the only one that is having problems with Nokia USA. I have a Nokia 6630. I called last year after, I bought it from an online retailer in Nov., to inquire about a firmware upgrade. I got the same bs line from Nokia USA. "we don't carry that phone so there is nothing we can do" OK...so I emailed Nokia UK and said hey, I am in the US and I am having problems with my 6630. Their reply? Next time you are back in the UK stop by a service centre and we will take care of that for you. Great.... Why can't Nokia say, we will send you a box, put your phone in it. We will repair it at our cost! I think I speak for all of us here. Nokia makes a great product, but in order to keep your customers happy why don't they just take care of our problems.

[tsmo]

Nokia, for the record, isn't the only one with this problem. I found this post researching switching to Nokia after the deaths of a SE K700 and a SE K750 in the last nine months. Both times SE told me that they could do nothing for me due to the import issue.

The problems are bigger than Nokia and SE-- they're the entire cellular market, and the US market specifically. Due to the low standards of the marketplace, everyone, from the device manufacturers to the service providers, is happy to make it very expensive for consumers to get what they want.

[Jeff]

Nokia is not the only company with bad warranties.

http://jlacklen27.wordpress.com/

Thanks for the great information!

[carl begnaud]

I bouoght a model 6555b nokia phone At One wireless ,becouse they said my old phone was too hard to get a battery for becouse it was so old. after 3 months it stated to power down , (turn off by it self even when completly charged. now One wireles will not Honor their warrenty or nokia's , and nokia keeps giving me the run around . Im thinking about talking to a lawyer , about AT&T ,the wireless provider, One wireless ,the AT&T retail Representative, and Nokia too