Multiple defective HTC Rezounds

[gvpike]

Is anyone else having problems with their Rezound?  In late December 2011, I got my first Rezound (Phone 1).  However, whenever I took a picture, the flash stayed on (no, the "remain on" button was not activated) and would not shut off. However, once I removed the battery and restarted the phone, the flash turned off.  I went back to the store to ask them how to fix this problem and they said no one had mentioned this problem before.  But when I went online, I found plenty of people who had this problem.  So, because there was no workaround, they ordered me a "Certified Like New" phone. 

The "new" phone (Phone 2) did not have the flash problem experienced with Phone 1.  However, I began to receive complaints from  people that my voice cut in and out while on the phone and they could not hear me.  This is my business phone.  So I took Phone 2 back to the Verizon store to see what could be done.  Again, I was advised that they had never heard of this problem so a "new" phone had to be ordered.

I received Phone 3 and, again, it has the problem with the voice fading in and out and constant complaints from people that they could not hear entire sentences.  Again, I went back to my local Verizon store and was told the same - never heard of this problem. Let's order another "new" phone.  In the meantime, I did some research and it appears that many customers with the Rezound had problems with the microphone cutting in and out.  So, if Verizon didn't have notice, it SHOULD have had notice with due diligence.  Having your head up your arse is NO excuse. 

So I received Phone 4 on a Monday at 4:45 p.m.  Took the phone home to set up.  Thirty minutes into setting Phone 4 up, it became burning hot and shut off.  I  put the battery back into Phone 3 so I could have some phone service.

So, I went back again to the Verizon store and was told the battery was drained and would not accept a charge!  Because the store did not have any replacement batteries, one would have to be ordered and I was just out of luck with no phone.  I advised the staff that this was entirely unacceptable.  They told me to call Customer Support - which I did, but was disconnected after waiting on the phone for 20 minutes.

I now have to return Phone 4 after having it for 30 minutes and am in the position of having to accept Phone 5.  I DO NOT WANT THIS REZOUND PHONE.  I have been a customer of Verizon for 15 years and this is the first phone I've had to return.  Does anyone have any suggestions for how to get to another phone?  I will post this all over the internet if I have to.  Verizon needs to care about customer retention because if this isn't fixed I'm out of here.

[commonsense101]

What else would you have tech support do than send another phone? I mean there are over a hundred thousand people that have no problem with the phone and you some how got four bad ones?  The fact it takes you six hours to set the pone back up should be a hint it might be an application problem.  Have you ever formatted the sd card or gotten a  replacement sim?  If you're just trying to hustle Verizon for a different model phone, they don't fall for that anymore..maybe contact htc

[VicDewey]

Wow, sounds like you work for Verizon!  <Comment deleted per the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service.  User is a customer of Verizon Wireless only.>

In this thread alone there are probable 50+ posts of people having multiple issues with this same model phone.  If you Google "HTC Rezound Issues" you will get ~818,000 hits.  The issues I am having are known issues (proximity sensor, screen, Bluetooth, etc.) with the phone.  I not trying to hustle Verizon as I offered to extend my contract and BUY a new phone if they would give me the upgrade price.  I think this is more that reasonable.  In fact, it will be cheaper for me to chancel my 4 lines, pay the early term fees and then go to AT&T and get a different phone at the upgrade price, which I'm close to doing.

The fact that they are unwilling to work with me on issues that are KNOWN issues is ridiculous.  They have Lemon Laws when you purchase a car with issues, they should have the same for phone.  What I DO expect is for Verizon to work with me to resolve the issue and take care of a long standing customer.  This has gotten me to the point that I am willing to spend the $750 to get out of my contact and take my $500/mo business elsewhere.

As far as setting up the phone taking six hours, it is a Android platform issue.  Since there is no way to sync the phone and have all the apps, app folder, screen layouts etc. automatically restore, one has to manually select each of the apps which take 4-5 clicks and then down load the to the phone. Then once they are on the phone, you have to go in and set up each application, accept T&Cs.  Then you have to go to the phone and reorganize all the screens. So when they say you need to Restore to Factory Settings to correct the issue or send me a new phone, it is a HUGE pain and inconvenience

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[demmo86rt]

That's funny, every time I get a new phone or factory reset mine, all my apps show up automagically, some even restore data on their own. You just need to know how to use your phone.

[B33]

+1

[VicDewey]

Hmmm, that's very interesting. How did you u set your phone up to do that? I called both Verizon L1&L2 support & HTC support and they all 3 told me there was no way to restore a phone (like iTunes w/ the iPhone).  They said you have go into Google play from a laptop and manually select each app that you previously downloaded (which takes 3 mouse clicks for each app), then reconfigure and rearrange all the apps.

Could you tell me how you set up your phone and maybe call Verizon and HTC and let them know as well? Or if you post it here, maybe they will read this.   Thanks!

[tk1968]

I have had problems with the Bluetooth since I got the phone in December.  First, my trusty plantronics earpiece that always sounded crystal clear on my old Droid, all of a sudden sounded horrible to people on the other end, just like dbzmaxx stated, staticy and broken up.  Then when I bought a Prius on 12/31, I paired the Rezound to the car BT and guess what, same issue, static and broken to callers on the other end.  I have had so many complaints from friends and family as well as my boss (I am in sales and on the road a lot, so this is a huge issue to me), that I am going to have to find a solution or ditch the phone.  I have been to Toyota service, called VZW, combed forums, all of which have have been futile attempts to solve this problem.  Apparently, the Rezound has some BT issues, which I cannot continue to live with - too bad since I love the rest of the phone, including the camera since I love photography and don't always have my camera with me!

[bitwarden]

I purchased the HTC Rezound approximately 16 days ago and I have been experiencing the same issue with the audio quality.  I called into Verizon after receiving the phone and they have been horrible to deal with.  I went to the store and exchanged the phone for another Rezound and I am experiencing the same issue.  It appears to happen more when I am driving and I am thinking that it may have to do with the dual microphones on the Rezound.  There is the one on the bottom of the phone where you talk into and another on the left side which is used for noise cancellation.  When the issue first started occurring I did some research and noticed a bunch of people that have had this same issue.  To cover myself, I pre-ordered the  Samsung Galaxy S3 so I wouldn't lose my unlimited Data.  Verizon is willing to take the phone back but only at one of the stores which is 35-40 minutes away from my house.  Yesterday evening I tried to return the device at another store and that is 10 minutes from my house and they wouldn't accept the return. 

Overall I like the Rezound as the Build quality is far superior to the Galaxy SIII which seems flimsy and cheaply built.  Not to mention I paid $79.00 for the Rezound and the Galaxy SIII is $200.00.  Spec wise the Galexy SIII is better; however, the screen is extremely dim and there is no extended battery available yet which is a must for me. If they could just fix the audio quality issues on the Rezound. Prior to this phone I had the HTC Incredible and I never experienced an issue. 

[KOOLDOG]

Ive had my Rezound since january, and its worked 100% perfect for me so far, i dont have any of the hardware type issues some are talking about at all, guess i got lucky and got a good one. 

Software wise not really the phones fault its the google android os,  since we dont have the ICS 4.0 update yet, the 3.2 android it shipped with is ok, just wish there was an uninstaller that actually worked.

The apps store system is buggy, it keeps asking me to update an app i uninstalled, and some apps the only option is to install it and it keeps popping messages to alert me to install the junk i dont want. 

Thats not the phones fault though thats just google designing junk software on a phone as many phones use the android os.

The phone itself has been flawless for me so far, no troubles hardware wise, other then battery life which most phones are victim too.

[Channy75170]

I am on my 6th Rezound certified like new phone.  Not call them anymore.  Going to deal with this dumb phone.  When my contract is up in Janaury, going to At&T.  Been a customer since they were Primco.  Not dealing with the can;t make me happy service anymore.  I pay too much for them not to give me a phone that works.  Done.

[commonsense101]

what are some of your issues?

I mean 6 phones is a lot of phone.. like way too many for it to be a phone issue

[Falconwing]

Well, spent about 6 hours at Best Buy yesterday on the fiance's phone.  After getting Best Buy corporate involved, the store agreed to make an exception and fulfill our geek squad warranty and allow us to use the credit on any phone up to the same contract pricing as the rezound, so we picked out the Samsung Galaxy S III 32GB White.  At that point I figured I was just about done and could leave the store.  I couldn't have been more wrong.

For some odd reason, my fiace's line got changed to a 3G line from being 4G originally and even verizon tech support AND their IT department couldn't change it back to 4G.  Not only that, but they didn't even have any records showing that we had the Droid Bionic, the Droid Razr, the Rezound or the loaner phones which were the Stratosphere and Fascinate.  The only one they can see is the loaner phone that is stuck with the line.

[arupy]

I totally feel the same way. I am getting ready to head into the store for phone #5 since January. This phone is ridiculous. I cant get out of it (or so they tell me), and now, I will lose my unlimited data if I upgrade......total crap. The first two phones, did the restart, then freeze on the HTC screen. I had to remove the battery to get it to stop. The next phone the display screen stayed on when plugged in. You could use the power button to turn it off, but the minute you got a notifiation. it would come on again, and remain on.....as in ALL night. Now my current phone does not show the display when a call is being placed. So, if you are trying to access voicemail and put in a password, forget it. That or even hang up a call...... no screen to do that. So I have to wait for the other caller to hang up.....lovely. And as others have said, I get complaints all the time that the person on the other line cant hear me, that my voice fades in and out throughout the call. This phone has been a total disaster since day one, and you would think that verizon would "man up" and make the customer happy.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi arupy!

It's no fun to get a replacement phone, I completely understand that. This is especially true when it's multiple replacements. It's also no fun to use a phone where the screen doesn't light up! I'd like to ask a couple of questions to see if we can get to the bottom of this. Have all of the phones experienced the same issue? Have you checked the display settings to see how long the screen is to stay on after a notification(Menu, Settings, Display Settings)? What is the software version on the phone(Menu, Settings, About Phone, Software Information)? If you pull the battery, does the screen come back? How long does the device remain this way or is it all the time? Try putting the phone in safe mode to see if an application is causing this: http://bit.ly/PmBFim Please let me know some of this information, I'm happy to assist you further.

Thank you!

Christina B
VZW Support
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[bmez]

I too had purchased a Rezound before Christmas and within 5 months had 5 replacements for sound quality.  Finally last month Verizon confirmed HTC had openen an investegation into the matter and they were having the defective phones shipped to them to try to recreate the problems to fix it.  They said that was donfe in late May and there was no time line for a fix.  So when I had to replace another Rezound, Verizon finally let me switch to a different phone the LG Revolution which now is on a swap out because it can not hold a signal and has to be powered on to reconnect to network reception is HORRIBLE on this phone.  Only up side is that people can hear me now, when I get network connections.

[catfish1976]

I have had HTC phones for quite some time now and this Rezound is about getting on my last nerve.  the phone worked great for the first couple of months, the 4G was awesome, that was the sole reason i moved over to Verizon because i heard the 4G as the greatest.  Well, when the phone works it is great.  But this Rezound is just the pits.  The 4G LTE icon drops when i try to open an app, say Facebook or Twitter, even just the browser, it completely dissappears from the top row and pops back up once the app fully opens, and then there is no connectivity, so i have to get out and get back in and hope it sticks which it does after the 3rd or 4th time, but ends up dropping again.  i did everything i can imagine, removed the battery(and it would work great for about an hour, then go right back to doing the same thing), i turned of wifi settings completely, so it wasnt searching for available networks, and it would still do the same thing.  there was one point where the 4g/3g did not even show at all, i had to restore the whole phone and only then did it finally get 4G back.  But that did not last long anyway, it was good for a couple of days then went back to the same thing. 

Last week, around July 28th i took the phone to the same Verizon store i had bought the phone from.  They checked everything on the phone, which of course at this time was working like nothing had ever been wrong.  All they could do was send me a certified replacement.  which was fine with me, i wasnt trying to get a new phone, i just wanted a phone that didnt have any issues.  so they send out a replacement which i received on July 31st.  i have an extended battery for it, since we all know that the regular battery is, which i put into the new used phone.  it worked for about 5 minutes, got RED hot and shut down.  the battery was drained and would not turn on until i charged it.  i didnt check the 4G on the phone, since i had it on wifi, which works like a charm.  This morning, Aug 1st, i went to run some errends, not even thinking about if the phone was working.  NOPE, i went to the FB app and it did the same thing, opens up, and no connections, went to twitter, cannot load tweets, went to the browser and it just sat there, all the while the 4G icon dissappeared and reappeared.  I shut off wifi settings again and it still happens.  Im not sure what can be done, its not in a specific area, its all around the city.   I dont live in a rural area, i have issues in the middle of town, north of downtown and on the southside of town as well.  i tried it with the regular battery and with the extended battery and the icon still disappaers.  Im at a loss, i dont want to be getting a new USED phone if the same thing is going to happen, should i return it again for another replacement? 

[Rick-In-NC]

I found the easiest thing to due for LTE dropping out was to install an app called LTE OnOff from the Google Play apps store. Set it to LTE Only or LTE/CDMA and it will lock your phone to the LTE band. Of course, no data if your not around a LTE tower. The default setting is CDMA + LTE/Evdo auto. The app is published by Cunning Logic. There is also a $.99 version by the same folks, but I haven't tried it. Both say "for the HTC Thunderbolt", but work great with the Rezound.

[Necii]

make a brief list of the phones and the problems they had and what you have done to correct them. If writing, keep your list of problems short and direct.

1. call customer service and speak to a level 2 tech and tell them you have tried X number of phones and none have worked. Get them to swap you out for another model phone. Do your research to see what phones are comparable to the Rezound spec-wise (it is a top quality phone) as they will push lesser quality phones on you. If you dont get anywhere with the rep try asking for a manager or keep calling back until you get a rep who is willing to work with you. Check around forums as I know some people have swapped the for the RAZR Maxx (because they had extended batteries for the REZ and the reg RAZR doesnt have that option) Check around and you can see what the current offerings are.

2. file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (kudos to who mentioned that) and you will get called by a VZW manager to work out the problem

3. Contact the corporate office via phone/letter/email addressed to one of the CEOs (info with names and titles is somewhere on this site or google it)  and list the number of phones and the problems and the reburbs dont work. They are more than willing to work with you to ensure you are happy. I found the will jump thru hoops.

Since September I have been thru 3 Bionics that got no signal. Rezound was not offered to me but I heard others got it so I whined and it worked. Am currently on my 4th Rezound and (fingers crossed) it seems perfect. And its brand new.

Went thru the reburbs #1with a bad speaker, #2 with the toasty 130 degree battery and a light leak at the bottom, #3 I didnt open; I was done with refurbs. New #4  got extremely hot with minimal use which made me uncomfortable. New #5 seems to be working great (fingers crossed). Speaker is fine, no static in headphones, gets rather warm but temp stays stable within a range.

So 8 phones later....

Of all the phones out there I chose to stick with the Rezound because its solid, speedy, great camera and sharp screen and the reception has been great (live in strong 4G area).

Do your research as there's alot of great phones out there. Read forums to see what quirks particular phones might have and maybe pick the phone with the quirks that will bother you least if you happen to get one of those phones.

Good luck and I hope you get your perfect droid

[mjordanhenderson]

The HTC Rezound phone is horrible. Battery overheating, screen disappeared, sound issues with calls, cutting on and off constantly, redails with out touching, gets stuck during call, and many more issues.  I'm on my third phone and still having problems.  Can't upgrade until March 2014.   Verizon should offer customers the option to get another phone at the discounted rate.  I'm so frustrated with this phone.  I need a reliable phone as a single mother and thought this investment would be it.  Please Verizon let me get another phone at a discounted rate, please take this trashy phone.  Never had these problems with my LG. 

[kimmy_2013]

This is my third going on 4th Rezound. They had to do some software fixes to correct my battery overheating and turning off and on. I had asked to get into the Samsung Note 2, but of course they wont let me...Ughhh. So here I am with yet another replacement phone that overheats. They did try to send me a HTC Incredible 4 or a Motorola Droid Razr, I said no I want a.) this phone to work without dropping my mobile network, overheating battery (so hot I can't even touch it), and not shutting off in the middle of composing an email to my boss. or B.) a Samsung Note 2. So they told the issue is supposedly fixed and I should have my replacement tomorrow. This is SOOOO irritating. I truly hope that this works now because I am so frusterated that I just want a PHONE THAT WORKS. Is that too much to ask while paying 300/month for a phone service for my family and I? I mean come on....

[DaD2B33]

    After the update I have gone through 5 phones and am expecting the 6th tomorrow. I had apps startup out of the blue on the screen, data problems, dropped calls etc.. My biggest issue is that now on this 5th one, there is a charm feature which was a feature on a purple phone from htc that flopped. its never been there before and came after a factory reset. HTC doesnt know why it came of course and verizon told me to.... thats right, another reset. My contract is up and am hanging on by a thread because my unlimited data is still there since I have had the phone for some time. Well a version of it that worked until the update. Anyone else see the charm feature? Its in settings right under personalize. They offered me an CLN htc incredible or lg something if i wanted to switch but they dont have the backs or battery for the htc and carry only extended for $60 so I am about to walk away

[commonsense101]

when you get this 6th phone dont put your gmail on it,and dont put your sd card in

see how many problems you have.