Cannot Get Replacement Phone

[CBFPD-Chief1]

New Pixel 8a cannot be properly setup, and I have had nothing but problems and too much wasted time getting it replaced. For example, Friday a week ago, I had a perhaps two-hour long phone call with Verizon. The first agent told me that there is already a replacement file, but no one can find it. He even had another agent from Internet Sales join the call, to no avail.

The first agent assured me that I would receive a phone call the following Monday informing me that the problem had been resolved and that a replacement phone and a prepaid UPS return ticket would be forthcoming. This has not happened.

That being so, I made an appointment at one of the two local Verizon stores to demonstrate that the phone does not work properly. One real oddity is that the phone responds to taps by Verizon employees on the Home Page icons, but not to my taps. This resulted in all sorts of attempts to fix this, to no avail. To demonstrate that I know how to tap phone icons, not something overly esoteric, I took out my Pixel 7 Pro, where my tapping on all of the same icons as those in the 8a worked.

The agent handling my appointment dialed a Verizon phone number using the 8a, and put me in contact with someone who would be able to assist me. The conversation started off well, as the very pleasant agent said that she could see the bogus replacement item (I don't recall its proper name,) whereupon, as I knew would happen, the 8a went dead and required  a restart. I was able to get the same agent to again dial Verizon using the 8a. The person who got my call was only able to start speaking to me, at which point the phone again went dead.

Getting nowhere, I approached the store manager to seek help. This person had no understanding whatsoever that customers are more important than he is. He was extremely rude, and refused to help, simply saying that his chart showed that there was a standing replacement order. By that time, I was beginning to get very upset, and the manager said that if I did not calm down, he would have security escort me out of the building. I told him that I am a retired fire chief, and if the security in any way violated the local ordinances, both of them would be cited into court.

I gave up, given that the manager was not going to do anything  about getting the spurious replacement order and replaced by a valid one. Yes, I know that I can make another phone call to Verizon, and am somewhat resigned to doing that before I file a written complaint. Meanwhile, if anyone on this forum can offer assistance,I doubt that there is any reason why I should say that I would appreciate it.

Given that my PC keyboard is still working, I shall nonetheless that I would greatly appreciate any assistance offered.

[vzw_customer_support]

It's important that you have a properly working device, and we appreciate your efforts in trying to get this accomplished. So we can get further details off your accoutn on what has been processed so far, we will be sending you a Private Message. 

-Melissa

[SynthpopAddict]

Maybe it's just that your screen sensitivity needs to be increased in order to pick up your taps?

There don't seem to be a lot of expert Pixel users in these forums.  Maybe try posting your question about the screen sensitivity problems in the Google Pixel forums:

https://support.google.com/pixelphone/community?hl=en

[CBFPD-Chief1]

Sensitivity is just one of the things the agents tried, all with no success. It is hard to make a phone that does not work do much of anything other than irritate the owner when the vendor will not make good.

[Scott5337]

Honestly, I would not waste time posting in the Google Pixel community forums. When someone is this unhappy with their phone, there is nothing another user can do to make the situation better. Your best option is to keep working with Verizon support towards a replacement device. I hope Verizon can help replace the device and you end up with a phone that fits your needs.

[SynthpopAddict]

You do make a valid point about getting a replacement device, Scott, and I certainly hope Verizon can get the OP something which they would be happy with.  It's not good that the replacement order has either gone missing or is somehow in limbo.

However, I'm concerned with their comments that other people were able to tap buttons on the Pixel 8a while they were having troubles with tapping the same buttons.  Since I've never used a Pixel phone myself, I'm not familiar with whatever quirks the Pixel interface may or may not have.  Wondering if using a stylus would help?  As for the phone going dead during calls to Verizon, don't know if that's just the people on the other end hanging up for some reason, or there really is something going on with the phone.

If Verizon replaces the OP's phone, it would likely be another 8a and I hope the replacement won't be acting the same way for them.  As an aside, I have a different type of Android phone, and I've noticed if my hands are cold or I'm in my car with a little extra vibration, my phone has more trouble picking up a swiping motion correctly.  I've also got a very long passcode to unlock my screen, and if I tap too fast, sometimes it doesn't register all my taps, so I'm constantly reminding myself to "go slower".

[Scott5337]

I have had a lot of pixel phones, I have two different pixel phones right now. I had a lot of Motorola smartphones before that over the years. I've never seen an Android phone behave the way described in the original post. I am confident that with time and effort I could help make that phone work correctly. But that's not my point, my point is you can read the frustration in the original post. Once somebody becomes that frustrated with a particular phone the only thing that will help is a replacement phone. Once someone becomes that frustrated with a phone, no amount of troubleshooting or advice or suggestions are going to help. There's nothing super special about pixel phones. There are no special  quirks you need to know about pixel phones. A pixel phone is an Android phone made by Google running pure stock Android. There's no trick to using one. They work like any other Android phone.