[Sony Xperia ZL] AndroidBR:
Exactly the same problem over here buddy...

Here's a little something I wrote to Sony and their Press people.

"I've purchased my Xperia ZL in the United States (online at the end of March 2013 at ATGSM.com) and started using it mid April, 2013. I currently live in Brazil.

After using this phone normally for about 9 months, there was this one day back on the first week of January 2014, where I was taking lots of photos at the world famous "Serra da Capivara National Park" and could just feel the phone heating up like never before. Next thing I know, the screen went blank and phone would not respond when I pressed the power button.

I had to pres the reset button in the back of the phone in order to make it work again. But once I tried to load the camera app, the phone would automatically shut itself off. I thought it could be related to a faulty or corrupted External SD Card, so I went ahead and removed that as well before I attempted to turn my phone back on. After the system loaded up again I tried to oped the camera app and the phone turned itself off again. Any app that would require a significant amount of processing power would cause the phone to freeze and shut off.

So I decided to charge the phone all the way up until 100% (while powered off). When it reached 100% I turned it back on and used it normally (while it was still plugged to the wall charger), so I thought... Great, the phone is "OK again"! Then I went ahead and unplugged the phone off the charger, expecting it to function normally... In just a matter of minutes, with just a little bit of usage (checking emails or browsing the web) the phone simply shuts itself off on its own, yet again. I tried to turn the phone back on again and just as before, I was greeted by the Sony logo and - without any warnings or alerts - the screen simply goes blank again and that's it. This is all it does on the battery.

I've searched online for a solution for this problem and I got nowhere. My phone is all stock, bootloader locked, not rooted. I've formatted and updated it with the latest Firmware (10.4.B.0.569) a couple of times using Sony's Update Service application for Windows to no avail. Nothing seems to fix this battery/shut down on its own problem. There's tons of other Sony users complaining about similar issues with their Xperias. Just look up "xperia zl shuts off" on Google and you'll see what I mean.

My phone is one big dud...

So there you have it - one big useless US$650 piece of hardware. That only functions normally when it's plugged into a wall charger or your average computer USB port.

Not much of a "mobile" phone if you ask me.

I'm extremely unhappy with Sony's hardware and their inflexible technical support.

I've purchased this device in the United States and they can only grant me tech support under my 1 year manufacturer's warranty if I ship it over to their facility in Texas for repairs. That's no big deal for me. The one big problem is: They want me to have a US shipping address so they can ship if over to that address after they finish repairing/replacing/refurbishing my phone. And I've got a big problem with that.

I do not live in the United States. How am I supposed to pick my phone up over there?

After doing some digging through my phone's IMEI, Sony's tech support representatives brought to my attention that my device is a "Grey Market" phone (meant to be used in Singapore?) and that they don't even know how long it will take for them to service my phone. According to their supervisor, it could take anywhere from 1 month up to 4 months, maybe even more for them to repair and send it back to me.

See what I'm going through here?!?!?!

What good is it for a company as big as Sony to print and place a cute little warranty pamphlet inside the box of your brand new phone, containing the numbers of several different technical support worldwide if the 1 year warranty is not going to be covered in all of those different countries??????????????

I took the initiative to call Sony's specialized Xperia Mobile support telephone number from that pamphlet that came with my phone (not a free call, by the way) here in Brazil and shared with them my frustration regarding my Xperia ZL. They were sympathetic with me, and readily provided me with 3 different authorized service centers near my home, with their respective addresses and telephone numbers.

I managed to reach a couple of those authorized repair centers here in Brazil (over the phone) only to find out that they DO NOT have any of these Xperia ZL / ZQ batteries in stock. They also mentioned that several other customers called them and shared their bad experiences with their Xperia ZQ's battery life (defective batteries) and were greeted the same way: "I'm sorry, we can't help you. We do not carry that replacement battery in stock. We have already placed the order for those with Sony, but there's no estimate of when or even if these will ever arrive in our store anytime soon... I'm sorry about that..."

Yeah, I'm sorry about that too Sony.

I'm really sorry I bought a Sony smartphone.

I wish I could go back in time and buy a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition instead.

But it's too late... I've already spent 650 bucks on your crappy smartphone, Sony.

Looking back, I can tell you that I've had problems with lots of other computer components that I've purchased in the States, from several different manufacturers. And I've RMA'd lots of these defective memory modules (RAM), defective SD Cards, etc. I've shipped it from Brazil straight to them in the States and I less than 1 month after they received my defective products, they went ahead and shipped a replacement back to me (in Brazil) FREE OF CHARGE! Most importantly, with NO HASSLE! That's right, none of these companies refused to ship it back to me at my Brazilian address like Sony is doing to me at this time.

This is the worst customer support from such a big and Global company that I've ever dealt with in my entire life.

Shame on you Sony!

After this horrible experience, here's a few things that I CAN and WILL DO for sure:

- I will NEVER buy another Sony device (camera, smartphone or laptop) ever again.

- I will never recommend a Sony product to any of my friends and family.

- I will never buy another phone with a built in, internal battery.

Sony has been continuously releasing and flooding the market with new phones that doesn't add a whole lot of improvements over their previous gen devices (ZR - ZL - Z1 - Z1 Ultra - Z1S and so on). All they do is depreciate the value of what they have already released just a few months for just a little more, sometimes even less money than what you paid for your current "last gen" Sony phone just 2 or 3 months ago.

The Xperia ZL was released with last gen Snapdragon S4 Pro and in just a couple of months after I purchased my ZL they released a new, better spec'd smartphone, the Xperia Z1. And now, Sony has just announced the Xperia Z1S...

I understand that in today's mobile market / segment it's "the norm" to have this ever evolving and improving trend of new technology on mobile devices, but this seems to be getting kind of out of hand. You buy something today for US$650, sometimes even more depending on where on earth you live, only to see it become seemingly obsolete in just a matter of 3 months.

Sighs...

I'm through with Sony."