Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
quiknss
Newbie

I was hoping my case was isolated, but I can see that it isn't.

 

I preordered my Incredible and it arrived on 29 APR.  I enjoyed the phone initially, it was fast, great feel, and love the android os.  I noticed a few instances within the first week where the phone rebooted and I chalked it up to an os update or something to that nature.

 

On 10 MAY, I woke up late for work because my alarm, which I use my phone for, had not gone off.  (This is criminal in the military world.)  When I picked up the phone I noticed it was rebooting.  It would reach the Verizon splash screen, pause and then reboot back to the HTC splash screen.  I tried a soft reset with no success.

 

 I called the Verizon tech support and he told me I had downloaded a malicious program (which was not the case) and walked me through the hard reset.  The phone made it to the activation screen and we ended our call as I activated the phone.  Three quarters of the way through the setup, it rebooted again and got stuck in its perpetual loop.  I tried another hard reset with the same results.

 

I called Verizon tech support once more and she agreed that it was a hardware failure and she would send me another phone before I departed the country on 15 MAY.  I called today to check why phone has not arrived and was informed the Incredible is now on back order.  They will not SHIP me another phone until June. 

 

Now I'm left traveling with a borrowed phone, all of my contacts lost (my fault, always back up your info), a $550 paperweight, cell service that I can't even use (at $80 a month), and a second phone that I have payed for (another $200) but will not receive until June.

 

Bottom line - The phone is great, when it works.  DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE.  At least not yet.  Wait for HTC to fix this issue or else you will be where I'm at.  As for Verizon's customer service, I'm less than enthusiastic.

 

Let me know if you disagree, I would love to hear it.

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
bsoa123
Enthusiast - Level 3

Did HTC or Verizon test this phone at all? Or do they just expect the early adopters to be paying beta testers?

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
quiknss
Newbie

I don't want to speculate but I think they both rushed this phone to the market to beat the new iPhone.  They want to rope in as many customers as possible before AT&T and Apple hit the market.

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
quiknss
Newbie

For those that think I'm just some troll trying to ruin someones day, Google Incredible reboot.  CNET, Android Forum, and many other sites have noted this phenomena.  I'm trying to spare you the misery. 

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
quiknss
Newbie

Here is an example of a reboot issue I have encountered with the Incredible.  Sorry for the orientation.

 

Example One

 

Example Two

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
y0diggity
Contributor - Level 2

I think that this might be good advice for most. I'm an early adopter and always have been / will be. I'm used to being a beta tester for the new stuff and I'm ok with it.

 

But the OP has a good point, maybe this isn't the phone for many people. Maybe they'd be better served waiting for the bugs to be worked out before they purchase it. Seriously, buying something right out of the gate isn't necessarily a great idea in many cases. But you have to understand that a company can't possibly put a phone through everything that the real world will throw at it. Even if you have 500 test units out there running for prototype testing, that's a drop in the bucket compared to the number of units that will go out the door on the first day of a retail drop for a device like this. Do you think that 500 prototypes (or whatever you want to call them) could ever hit all the snags that these things will run into once they release?

It's a tough choice for consumers. Buy or don't buy? Should I grab it right away and have it first and play with it and all that, or do I want to wait a while for the company to get the bugs sorted first. It's pretty individual, I think.

 

I say definitely consider your willingness to put up with issues before you buy the incredible. Don't buy it and expect that it's going to function flawlessly for you, because it's not going to (I promise). Even after they get an update under their belt, there will still be some bugs. That's the nature of the beast. Good times, right? :smileywink:

 

Good post, this one. Hopefully folks will read it and take it to heart.

 

(btw, this reply is not sarcastic at all. I'm tired so hopefully I didn't come off wrong. I genuinely agree that the OP has a good point)

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
quiknss
Newbie

All valid points.  New hardware/software will always have glitches.  There really is no way around the fact.  I was/am willing to work around idiosyncrasies.  A completely bad set that will not function at all is a serious issue.  The fact that Verizon will not ship a replacement set until June is a problem with customer service.  When a company is paid for a service, they need to ensure they don't leave those customers out to dry.  The reason I pay for service/insurance/hardware is because I expect to have a phone that will make calls. 

 

If purchasing bleeding edge equipment, be prepared to be in a position where you may not have a phone while a replacement is being provided.  

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
y0diggity
Contributor - Level 2

quiknss wrote:

All valid points.  New hardware/software will always have glitches.  There really is no way around the fact.  I was/am willing to work around idiosyncrasies.  A completely bad set that will not function at all is a serious issue.  The fact that Verizon will not ship a replacement set until June is a problem with customer service.  When a company is paid for a service, they need to ensure they don't leave those customers out to dry.  The reason I pay for service/insurance/hardware is because I expect to have a phone that will make calls. 

 

If purchasing bleeding edge equipment, be prepared to be in a position where you may not have a phone while a replacement is being provided.  


Exactly right. Particularly when it's something that's expected to sell like the incredible did. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave much wiggle room for them in the area of defect replacements. Maybe that's something that Verizon could have managed a bit better - They should have kept more back that could be used as replacements for the inevitable "breakage" numbers. I'm sure they tried, but just not quite enough apparently. I would imagine that's a tough number to estimate for the company though, they really don't know what to expect as far as a failure rate.

I can definitely see the frustration with that issue. I've been fortunate in the fact that none of the problems I've had so far have been absolute show-stoppers, but I can sympathize with folks who need that replacement and can't get one for a month. That would chap my hide. They should hand out Droid refurbs as loaners to those folks. I mean, new product or not, there was a good chunk of change paid for the device.

I guess that's the take-away here: Be prepared for problems and for the possibility of not having a replacement available right away if it becomes necessary. Definitely more reasons for folks to reconsider brand new products.

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
mitchflies
Newbie

This is probably one the better posts that I had seen.

 

My issue is little unique.  I am a new verizon customer (first 30 days) and not only am I have the problem with the incredible I need to decide if there is adequate coverage where I live.  I get confusing responses from tech support regarding coverage.

 

The easiest and safest from avoiding a two year contract with bad service is to eject now until I can get real read on the

problems.

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Re: Don't buy that Incredible...At least not yet.
y0diggity
Contributor - Level 2

Sounds like it may be a good idea for you. Don't get me wrong, I really like VZW and I love my Incredible, problems and all. But for me it's a good fit.

  1. I get great coverage where I live and all throughout my extensive business traveling areas.
  2. The price for my family's plan is better than that of the competition.
  3. I get a discount on my bill and all accessories through my company.
  4. I love the phones they have available.
  5. I've always had reasonably good luck when I've needed their help with something.

 

In short, I've always been a pretty satisfied customer. At the same time though, I'd like for others to be satisfied too. So if circumstances for you don't fit in with what you're likely to get with Verizon based on your location or whatever, then absolutely - take a step back and look at the whole picture and make the best decision for yourself. Save yourself the heartburn if you can. No sense creating problems that aren't necessary. I don't want to drive anyone away from VZW, but I don't want to see people end up unsatisfied due to circumstances that could have been avoided with a little research.

 

Let me step down from  my soapbox now. Carry on.

:smileywink:

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