No service, device restarts itself constantly, now charge port is bad - seriously??

[sjk1221]

I've had the horrors with phones, computers etc, so I buy the biggest, baddest warranties that are offered. I have the worst luck ever when it comes to anything electronic, I swear - and the odds are in my favor only because I pay out the nose for coverage.

So - I got this DInc2 as a refurbished replacement for another one that didn't work. That first one replaced my Motorola Droid 2 which ALSO had so many problems they finally gave up and let me try an HTC product. I do have insurance (see disclaimer above) but it still costs money every time they have to replace something. That's why I have just been sucking it up and trying to remain calm as my POS phone spontaneously shuts itself down and restarts on an average of three times a day. One day last week it didn't do it at all, another day it did it SEVEN TIMES, all during the span between 6am when I get up and dinnertime. It might have done it more but I had already given up, placed it on the charger in my room and walked away from it because it was starting to really get to me. 

I also have noted that (not always but MOST of the time) the service inside my apartment is just awful. I have to sit next to a window or outside to get reception and even then, it's touchy. I don't live in a metal building, they're normal, three-storey wood-frame buildings. There are no major power lines nearby. I don't live in the middle of nowhere, as a matter of fact, the reception is perfectly fine in other areas directly outside the complex. I'm no physics whiz but it seems like there are small dead spots in really odd places. This happened in the last place I lived as well - that was part of why they replaced my Motorola. My boyfriend's iPhone had issues there too. Here, his phone is fine, while I can't get more than two bars to save my life. Yet another reason I haven't called customer service today - they can't hear me anyway.

So today we have a new wrinkle and I've had about all I can take. Now I think the little charger port is busted because despite the fact that I had the device plugged in all night it didn't charge at all. I woke up to a dead phone - it's a good thing I woke up naturally when I did since I use it as an alarm clock too! After I got my son off to school I messed around with it a little only to discover that if I held it juuuust right, it would charge. As soon as I set it down it stopped charging and shut itself off completely.

I have two lines on this contract. My son's is due for an upgrade - I could close it out today and pay nothing in fees, then put him on a pay-as-you-go plan. He's on the thing too much anyway. The other one (mine) is up in January. I'm seriously considering jumping ship myself. What is the point of paying $125 a month for something that doesn't work? Plus after all the reading I've done here this morning I can see what Verizon is doing. I'm "grandfathered" in with unlimited data, and if I get that upgrade they're going to force me to take that share everything garbage that I don't want. It costs more (my current bill before taxes and various stupid fees is approx. $103 with my approx. $25 employee discount, SE is approx. $127 and my discount actually decreases to around $14) and gives me no more than what I'm already using - why would I want to make my already astronomical bill higher? Plus, the DInc2 isn't a 4G phone - there aren't any updates for my 3G, and it runs super slow on this "speedy" new network because it's not compatible with it.

I can't go to my local store, they're a bunch of commission-grubbing, poor-mannered bottom feeders who insist that I can't trade my busted phone in for a new replacement. I can't call customer service because I can't get a person on that line, and when I do, they just try to sell me more stuff I don't need. I'm so disillusioned right now, this really sucks.

At this point, I'm calling SHENANIGANS on Verizon.

[rcschnoor · Accepted solution]

sjk1221 wrote:

I've had the horrors with phones, computers etc, so I buy the biggest, baddest warranties that are offered. I have the worst luck ever when it comes to anything electronic, I swear - and the odds are in my favor only because I pay out the nose for coverage.

So - I got this DInc2 as a refurbished replacement for another one that didn't work. That first one replaced my Motorola Droid 2 which ALSO had so many problems they finally gave up and let me try an HTC product. I do have insurance (see disclaimer above) but it still costs money every time they have to replace something. That's why I have just been sucking it up and trying to remain calm as my POS phone spontaneously shuts itself down and restarts on an average of three times a day. One day last week it didn't do it at all, another day it did it SEVEN TIMES, all during the span between 6am when I get up and dinnertime. It might have done it more but I had already given up, placed it on the charger in my room and walked away from it because it was starting to really get to me. 

I also have noted that (not always but MOST of the time) the service inside my apartment is just awful. I have to sit next to a window or outside to get reception and even then, it's touchy. I don't live in a metal building, they're normal, three-storey wood-frame buildings. There are no major power lines nearby. I don't live in the middle of nowhere, as a matter of fact, the reception is perfectly fine in other areas directly outside the complex. I'm no physics whiz but it seems like there are small dead spots in really odd places. This happened in the last place I lived as well - that was part of why they replaced my Motorola. My boyfriend's iPhone had issues there too. Here, his phone is fine, while I can't get more than two bars to save my life. Yet another reason I haven't called customer service today - they can't hear me anyway. Verizon, along with ALL cellular providers do not guarantee good/any reception inside of buildings. Even though it is not a metal building, structures will, to some extent, block your signal. As will trees, hills, etc... Additionally, when your phone is in a poor reception area, it will use a great deal more of your battery as it is constantly looking for a signal.

So today we have a new wrinkle and I've had about all I can take. Now I think the little charger port is busted because despite the fact that I had the device plugged in all night it didn't charge at all. I woke up to a dead phone - it's a good thing I woke up naturally when I did since I use it as an alarm clock too! After I got my son off to school I messed around with it a little only to discover that if I held it juuuust right, it would charge. As soon as I set it down it stopped charging and shut itself off completely.

I have two lines on this contract. My son's is due for an upgrade - I could close it out today and pay nothing in fees, then put him on a pay-as-you-go plan. He's on the thing too much anyway. The other one (mine) is up in January. I'm seriously considering jumping ship myself. What is the point of paying $125 a month for something that doesn't work? Plus after all the reading I've done here this morning I can see what Verizon is doing. I'm "grandfathered" in with unlimited data, and if I get that upgrade they're going to force me to take that share everything garbage that I don't want. You may need to do a bit more reading, then, because Verizon IS NOT forcing any current customers onto the Share Everything plan, at least currently. This may change in the future. If you upgrade and accept a subsidy on your phone in exchange for signing a new 2yr contract you will be able to choose between the Share Everything plan or staying on your current plan. If you currently have unlimited data, you will have to choose from one of the tiered data packages which start at $30 for 2GB/month of data in place of your unlimited data. Unfortunately, employee discounts do not apply to the $30 tiered data package. It costs more (my current bill before taxes and various stupid fees is approx. $103 with my approx. $25 employee discount, SE is approx. $127 and my discount actually decreases to around $14) and gives me no more than what I'm already using - why would I want to make my already astronomical bill higher? Plus, the DInc2 isn't a 4G phone - there aren't any updates for my 3G, and it runs super slow on this "speedy" new network because it's not compatible with it.

I can't go to my local store, they're a bunch of commission-grubbing, poor-mannered bottom feeders who insist that I can't trade my busted phone in for a new replacement. I can't call customer service because I can't get a person on that line, and when I do, they just try to sell me more stuff I don't need. I'm so disillusioned right now, this really *****.

At this point, I'm calling SHENANIGANS on Verizon.