yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
Hello everyone,

I need some advice or suggestions on what to do. The Mytouch 4g, as you all may know, has a lot of problems. I've done many exchanges now, and some of them were done back to back. The first few times, TMO was able to ship express for free, but now they are charging me $9.99 for regular ground shipping even though the phones that I receive are defective. I am very frustrated at this point and have been thinking about canceling all 4 of my lines with them and eating the $800 ETF. What do you guys think I should do?

You may be wondering why I have to exchange it so many times..

Unlike the fellow perfectionists that you guys are, I never exchanged a phone that had a bad screen or squeaking buttons. The first time I exchanged it was because it had two dead pixels, then the power button would no longer work, then there was a ton of dust under the screen to the point where I had trouble seeing the top left corner where my status/notification bar is, then I had wifi and reception problems, then I've had the phone either shut off or reboot on its own.

I've been running into many, many problems - and they are not always the same problem either. After the third phone, all they have been doing is sending out refurbished units that are 'pre-damaged' by the previous user. On top of that, I have to pay for shipping on each phone, plus the Zagg's invisible shield (it's about $23 with labor on installation) that I had on several of the replacement phones. After troubleshooting for hours on end with tech support, I noticed that my battery cover is loose since they had me reboot/remove battery so many times, I ended up buying the gel skin case from TMO yesterday so that the battery cover wouldn't fall off.

I would be glad to take any advice that you guys have at this point. Thank you.

Edit: By the way, I did not have any apps other than opera mini - didn't even update youtube and things like that.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] TJBunch1228:
The statistical likelihood of getting 9 defective devices in a row is astronomical. Truly. If you are being honest and these are all really manufacturing defects then you sir are the unluckiest ****er ever and you are never welcome to babysit my kids. I don't really have any advice except to say that if your next problem is software related, try rooting and see if that fixes it. Otherwise I would avoid crosswalks and commercial flight if at all possible. Damn dude. Unlucky...
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] paczek:
They can offer to give you a different phone all together. Like the g2 or galaxy 4g. Just ask
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coupetastic-droid:
Do this. Call tmobile and tell them the issue with your device. Have them do another warranty exchage, but, instead of getting it shipped, tell them that you really do not want to wait once more to receive another device shipped and that if you can go into a tmo store and pick up a warranty replacement. They shouldn't have a problem telling you yes. Have them call the store so they can tell them you will be going in to get a warranty replacement. This way for sure you wont get a refurbished device. You will be getting a brand new one out of the box. This is the way I did my warranty exchage. They even gave me an extra battery for free.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] michael2041:
I agree with coupetastic-droid and also after your 5th replacement you should get a different phone if u want for ur replacement. Try for a g2 or even a g2x!
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
I tried that last time.

They no longer do warranty exchanges in store.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kalel33:
Yep, that courtesy ended with a new policy about 3-4 weeks ago and it can't be overridden.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] cappyone:
TJ you crack me up. I actually went through this guys episode with a mytouch slide, 5 phones under warranty, but they never charged me a dime for shipping. The one and only issue i had with the Mytouch slide was dust under the screen. I can't remember if it was the 3rd or the 4th replacement i got in the mail, but that one came with dust in all four corners. Didn't even insert a SIM card in that phone just took it down to my local Tmobile store and the manager exchanged it for me. After the 5th replacement with dust i decided to sell it and replace it with a MT4G. Well it was all good for a week until my power button failed to work, 1st exchange. They made me pay the 9.99 shipping for that one. Receive the new phone and i notice the display sucks compared to my wife's MT4G. Instead of calling in to tmobile i drive down to the local Tmobile store and i show the manager my predicament ( mind you this is the same guy that was exchanging my Mytouch Slide). Nice guy orders me another MT4G, waived the shipping. 3rd phone arrives a few days later, display is washed out, but i decide to live with it. Figuring that if i exchange it again I'll get another one with the crappy display. F**K me if the power button doesn't work after two weeks. I go back to the Tmobile store and have another chat with the manager, orders me another MT4G and waives the shipping. Manager tells me, "You're the unluckiest man i've seen with a phone", and i said "yes, yes, I am." Last exchange was the charm, good screen, and the power button actually works. I honestly thought i was the only poor bastard that could be this unlucky with phones. I have to show my wife this post, so she doesn't think i'm the unluckiest man alive. You sir have just made my day. If you can i'd go to a local tmobile store and see what they can do for you. Best of luck.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] paczek:
Im on my 4th right now. 2 power buttons and 1 with dust under screen. All good displays tho. All within a month and a week of getting it
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Phateless:
First of all, nice 'Lude. ;) I just picked up an 07 Civic Si Sedan on Saturday and I ****ing LOVE it!

2nd, are you running stock Sense or rooted? To be perfectly honest I've found the stock Sense to be much more buggy than the cm7 I've been running for the past 3 or 4 months.

My first phone had random reboots and such and a factory reset seemed to solve the issue, but I'm assuming they had you do that multiple times.

Even if the phone is fresh out of the box, do a factory reset before you use it. It might help, it did for me.

Otherwise check out cm7 or one of the Sense roms around here. Removing all the bloatware actually does wonders for stability. If you really want I can upload a nandroid of my own stock rom with the bloatware removed.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jjdill:
On my 3rd mt4g and I'm about ready to go back to iPhone most androids have to many hardware issues.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
Thank you for your reply.

First of all, yeah.. my Lude is old news. Since then, I've switched to an S2k, but that got stolen. Now I'm in an 06 Evo. :)

Anyway, back on topic..

The phone is completely stock. This is the FIRST PHONE I've ever owned that I have kept stock - Why? Because I don't want to have to unroot it when I send it in for warranty repairs. :(
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Phateless:
Unrooting is as simple as flashing pd15img.zip through hboot. Not that hard.

Definitely try a different rom. As I said I've found cm7 to be much more stable than stock.

Sorry about your car. I never fully got over the 95 GS-R I crashed back in 05. :( since then I've been driving an ls.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] iambryantho:
i got pretty bad luck with my phone. finally got a good one after like 9 exchanges and a month later the power button went out. i called them and they told me i couldnt exchange anymore cause i "had too many problems with the phone." so the rep told me that the only thing they could do left is to exchange my phone for a motorola charm.....i was like wtf why the heck would i want to downgrade my phone, which polly cost more then that piece of **** charm and it doesnt even run android...major downgrade.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pnguyen5:
Dude. That blows. Hard. I'm sorry to see that you're having so many problems with your phone and I'm glad I don't have the same luck as you. I got mine from eBay and it came in perfect condition. Never had dust under the screen, good screen, no faulty hardware, etc.

But in all seriousness, after 5 phones, I wouldn't keep it. I personally think that it's a great phone, but if I had to take it back 9 times, I'd try something else out. Ask if you can switch. It shouldn't cost you anything as long as the retail price is equivalent or lower than the MyTouch 4g, and if I'm not mistaken, it's one of the higher priced ones (rightfully, so). If you don't hate a keyboard, the G2 might be good for you, but I hear the hinge has problems and knowing your luck, the hinge would break apart upon first use. So maybe the Galaxy S 4g? I know Samsung has great hardware, even if their software is crap, as is their update schedules, but that is easily fixed with custom ROMs.

Either that, or wait and return it completely, if you're still within your return time and keep your upgrade for when the better phones come out, i.e HTC Sensation, etc, and just use something affordable off of eBay or Craigslist. Meh

Just my two cents. Sorry if it didn't help much, but I hope your luck gets better. :/
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
Update:

My luck has gotten worse. I received another replacement phone on April 15th. A week later, April 22nd, I noticed a dead pixel on my screen.

*Sigh* I have no idea what to do now.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coupetastic-droid:
You need to move on to a different device. I've never heard of anyone have so many problems with a device.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
I called in and spoke to technical support. They asked me to bring the phone to a store so that they can fill out a request for warranty exchange form. However, their tone basically implied something like, "It's impossible that you are getting so many broken phones. We need to verify that your phone is really defective before we do another exchange."

I brought it to a store and the retail sales manager had no idea why technical support sent me there, and basically told me to go call customer service again. He did, however, notate that there were a few dead pixels on the screen and that there was no physical, nor was there water damage.

I then called retentions and the supervisor picks up (without any transferring either). I explained to her exactly what happened, and how technical support had sent me into the store. She told me that she has no idea why because they could have filled out the form for warranty exchange over the phone, just like the other exchanges that I have done so far.

She apologized for what happened and said that I qualify for a multiple exchange (sorry if I got the term wrong!). She said that the manufacturer would exchange my Mytouch 4g for a Motorola Charm..

I explained that it would be a MAJOR downgrade. She then submits the form for the exchange and told me that it would be shipped express free of charge.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] coupetastic-droid:
So you getting another mt4g or the charm? I'm still teipping about them offering you a charm over a mt4g. They are nuts!
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
Another MyTouch4g.. Hopefully the 10th one's the charm!
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] epsix:
If I were tmobile, I'll cut my lost and cancel and ban you from tmobile period.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Drzfr3shboialex:
too funny i was dying :D
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rockstarar:
Haha mine was perfect, first time. :D

I think this qualifies me to babysit tjbunchs kids lmao
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RussianSpring:
Wow. 9 exchanges. That's bananas.

I just got one with a type 1 panel. Hopefully when I warranty it out my new one will be okay.

Why so many issues with the MYT4G? Does HTC just suck or something?
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RussianSpring:
And if I had 9 bad units in a row, I'd just go with a different phone.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] XfooYen:
Verizon

Scent of my Glacier running CM7 rc4
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
I just tracked my package - it looks like they are sending "Next Day Air" instead of the normal UPS shipping or 3 day shipping.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] daryllh:
I'm waiting to hear that the shipping box was crushed this time.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] syaoran68:
not to be skeptical but can you document what happened on each phone?
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
I wrote that in my first post; not in any particular order, however.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
So I just received the new replacement. This one has the infamous 'washed out screen'. Now I can say that I know what it looks like, since none of the previous phones that I received had this issue.

Edit: Interestingly, I got a follow up call from the supervisor who did my last exchange. I presented her with the problem and offered her pictures. She said that there was no need because she truly believes me. I told her, "I can't even believe it myself, that HTC has such horrible quality control." She is sending another one out express to me..

Cross your fingers guys..
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sundayhustler:
Not that it really matters, but... you said that the 2nd to last phone had "a dead pixel". Then you said that they guy at the store noticed "a few dead pixels". How many dead pixels were there? I get the idea that you spent good money on this phone and want one that's 100%, but I suspect that maybe you're being a little too critical of minor issues. If I had one bad pixel, personally, I'd probably just deal with it.

I'm currently still on my first MT4G that I got in December. It came with the inferior lcd screen, but it never bothered me until I saw other people complaining on the forums. I thought for a while about getting it replaced, but decided not to jump on the replacement bandwagon like everybody else, considering the fact that I was overall extremely happy with my phone.

Also, you mentioned that on a previous MT4G, your battery cover had become loose after removing it and reinstalling it a bunch of times. Well, I currently have 4 batteries (1 stock and 3 ebay cheapos) and a standalone charger, so I swap out the batteries in my phone at least every 12-15 hours or so. I've probably removed the battery cover on my phone at least 200 times and it hasn't weakened one bit.

Finally, is your 'washed out screen' really that bothersome? If it's anything like mine (which is 100% viewable at all angles, although somewhat more dim), I'd just deal with it. My 'inferior' screen is really not all that bad.

I guess the main point of my thread is that I suspect you've been a bit of a baby with some of these replacements and so I don't really feel all that bad for you. But if I'm wrong and I've just been extremely lucky in getting an atypical MT4G that's built really well, my apologies. But I'm doubtful.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
First of all, thank you for your thoughtful post.

Originally one dead pixel on the left side of the screen. Later on the day, I noticed another one somewhere close to the bottom of the screen. Though by the time the retail manager looked at it, he noticed four total. I supposed only one bothered me (since I only noticed one), so perhaps I may be a bit critical [and irritated] at this point.

Perhaps if they had not done the follow up call, I would not have done another exchange. However, perhaps your problem is not as severe as mine when it comes to washed out screens. This phone's display is completely useless outdoors when the sun shined, once it is tilted to anything more than a 10° angle. Are you absolutely sure that your phone's screen is still 100% viewable outdoors?

As for the battery door issue, I am still having the same problem. It would appear that one of the corners of the cover is bent, though there is no way for T-Mo to send out another battery door as they do not deal with spare parts. They mentioned that in order to replace the battery door, they would have to send out a retail package, which is impossible to do as a warranty exchange. Thus, I bought the gel skin/casing. At this point, I am worried that dust will get into the phone as the battery cover does flex and will let dust into the back area of the phone itself.

I am not surprised that most people are doubtful of my situation. And in all honesty, I cannot believe it myself.. I have been through so many problems, and on top of that, they are different problems nearly every time as well. I do understand that the possibility of such occurrence is close to none, though I have no way to explain why I have had to exchange the phone so many times. One thing I know for sure is that after the 3rd exchange, all of the phones that I have received as replacements have been refurbished units.

I assure you all that I am not the type who enjoys sitting on the phone with tech support and customer service for hours at a time trying to troubleshoot a problem that ultimately will require an exchange of the phone. Please do keep in mind that every time we troubleshoot an issue, I am spending anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. For the reception related problem, I was on the phone for close to 3 hours.

Again, thank you for your thoughtful post.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] :
The problem is all T-Mobile is sending is refurbished products nothing new. If you feel like fighting. Then you can convinced them to send you one also they are not supposed to send you a phone of lesser value. If you op to trade for a different device.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sundayhustler:
You might have a point here, I can't really say since I don't know anyone else with a MT4G to compare screens with. And to be fair, I don't use my phone outside very often. I usually keep my display dimmed to about 25-30%, which seems perfectly adequate for most places I go.

But I did go outside just a minute ago to test it out in the sun (in Atlanta at about 4:30 PM EST). With the screen set at low brightness, I couldn't see it very well, so I immediately turned the brightness up to 100%. While standing in the sun, with the screen NOT in direct sunlight, I can see perfectly fine. When the sun is shining directly onto the screen is the only time I have a visibility problem, which seems to be more related to glare than a problem with the lcd. And I can usually just turn around or use my hand to create a bit of shade.

I tried turning the phone to different angles and it was pretty much like I described in my earlier post. I could still tell what was on the screen, although it was somewhat washed out and not really comfortable to use it that way. But again, the main reason this bothers me is only because other people have paid the same amount of money as me and have received superior lcd screens. If I didn't know this fact, I would think that my screen looks pretty damn good, just like I felt when I first bought the phone. IMO, my screen is good enough and not worth going through the hassles of exchange. If I worked outside in the sun every day, I might at least consider it. But probably not.

Does the description of my screen sound like your latest one or does yours sound worse than mine? I'm curious as to whether or not some of the 'inferior' screens are better than others?
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kakabozo:
If i were you i would DEMAND a vibrant 4g or g2x, a comparable hspa+ phone,when calling retentions keep asking for the next supervisor in the chain until somebody can make you happy. Don't keep wasting your time with these exchanges.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kfgtboypsp:
Just sent in my replacement order due to my ear speaker failing. This will be my 5th replacement so far. Anything after that im selling my phone and im buying me a HTC Sensation when it comes out.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
You can see perfectly fine outdoors as long as you create some form of shadow? That was the first thing I tried when I noticed that I had a washed out screen, which made me realize that I in fact received the 'inferior' screen.

I am also curious if there are different levels of inferiority.

By the way guys, I honestly, truly love the phone and its features. I would hate to switch to any of the other phones that TMO offers.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] kalel33:
Those phones are actually more expensive than the Mytouch 4G. I'd be shocked that after 10 exchanges that T-mobile would take another hit by giving a newer and more expensive phone and not just allow him to cancel. Truthfully, per explicit policy, they shouldn't have done the last exchange. T-mobile policy states not to do an exchange based on the washed out screen. Call up T-mobile and ask a rep to look up the issue of the Mytouch 4G washed out screen and it can be corroborated.

T-mobile facilitates the warranty from the manufacturer, like all carriers do, as a courtesy, but the phones are built and designed by HTC.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sundayhustler:
Well yeah, either create a shadow or simply turn so that the sun isn't shining directly onto the screen. IMO it's really not that big of a deal. Definitely doesn't seem worth wasting all the time that you've wasted in trying to get a better replacement.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] erickdj:
lol! Good luck with that... The last time I had issues with a replacement for my mt4g I asked what phone I could switch to if the next mt4g came defective, I was told that I'd be offered ONE alternative and that it was their best offer, I could either accept their offered alternative or keep replacing with another mt4g. Guess what they were offering me? A friggin' Motorola Charm!!! Some POS phone that wouldn't even be remotely comparable to the mt4g, the only thing they have in common is that both run android, but the similarities stop there, huge downgrade. At the very best, they could maybe be convinced to switch to a G2 or a 1st gen vibrant, forget about a G2X or Vibrant 4G.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Sfkn2:
What you said is correct. And TMO has already offered me a Motorola Charm in exchange as an option, other than receiving another MT4g.

What I was unclear about in my previous post was that the supervisor had offered the exchange, as in, it was not my request.

UPDATE:

I received the next replacement phone. This one, although seems to be used quite a bit, should be fine. The vibration device seems a lot weaker than the others, however. During the updates, it had trouble downloading - it would say "start downloading.." then it changes to "download paused".. and that process would repeat. I had to factory reset it a few times before the phone actually downloaded from the market. Those two problems seem to be minor, and I suppose I will not have to call them for another replacement.
[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] erickdj:
someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the vibration mechanism inside the battery? So it shouldn't be any different since you're still using the same battery.

What color MT4G are you getting? I went through THREE different warranty replacement phones and all three were brand new, not refurbs, one had a dead earpiece and the other had a messed up USB jack, the third one was perfect. Oh, and all three had the "good" screen. In fact, I've gone through five different mt4g's and all of them had the "good" screen, all of them were RED mt4g's. I was tempted to go for a black phone when they were out of stock of the red ones, but I waited a day and got a red one. Maybe if something turns out defective about this latest phone you got they might allow you to switch over to a red mt4g, since they're so much in demand, they're pretty much just pulling brand new phones off the retail package and sending them "naked" as warranty replacements.