yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Venue Pro General] rhymeswithorange:
You're not alone; make your complaints heard!

Ok folks... this could be lengthy! I read through every post on this forum and like everyone else I've been experiencing the same issues of the Venue Pro; frequent lockups, overheating, wifi connections, poor 3G signal strength, etc. To top it off I have also experienced the worst of the worst of Dell's customer/mobility support. I am on my 3rd replacement device (only because the mobility support manager REFUSED the refund) and it has the same issues. I've read that the 16GB model is having more issues which is what I ordered but don't know if thats founded or not... Add to that the silence from Dell regarding the amount of memory in the unit, the original shipping delays and refusal to address the issue head-on (stop production, stop shipments, issue a recall, tell someone/anyone you're working on a firmware fix...) and this is an utter joke.

So yes, its true if you receive a replacement you cannot receive a refund; at least thats what they'll tell you! My recommendation is to do like I did (regardless of whether you want a refund or if you don't feel like your complaints are being heard) and email Mr. Dell himself. No more than 2 hours after Mr. Dell received my email was I contacted by a customer service agent offering a refund. Afterall, like someone else said they are on very shaky legal group refusing refunds when they continue to ship defective devices. If they replace it with a working device; great they have a leg to stand on but not in this situation. They're really walking a thin line legally...

When you take everything into account Dell has really screwed up here. I had high, HIGH hopes for this device and the lack of effort to address the issue by Dell is my biggest issue. Tell me you'll fix it Dell and I might be more patient. Keep silent, hide your head and offer the worst customer service ever experienced and you'll continue to lose customers.

So anyway... its easy, email Michael Dell at michael@dell.com (no joke) and let your complaints be heard. It can only help.....
[Venue Pro General] notebookgrail:
Was your replacement device brand new or someone's returned one?
[Venue Pro General] Silvergun:
I was wondering the same thing as my replacement device been "In Production" since the 23rd of Dec. :mad:

Please let us know if anyone else has already received their replacement DVP.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
I have received 2 replacement devices (wifi lockup) for the original 16 gig I ordered and both have been issued and shipped within 3 days of calling. I don't think there would be any chance to tell if it is a new or refurbished device unless some people are receiving different types of packaging than I have. The two that I have received have been shipped in 8gig boxes with all original accessories and packaging. They have both been 16gig models though. They have both said the build date was Dec. 15. on the packaging. They are in new condition and have zero markings of smudges on them. They have no indication of being used like some refurbished devices can. The one thing may be that they have shipped in 8 gig boxes with a build date of dec. 15.
[Venue Pro General] ahmarm:
the bigger question is if your WiFi issue is resolved with the replacement devices. I am still waiting for my replacement DVP (16GB) for the same issue... Still shows "in production" on Dell.com.

I want to make sure that replacement devices no longer have the same issue. As I am also reading that once I get a replacement device, I am no longer entitled to full refund (without escalating to Michael Dell)

Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
Short answer to your question is no. I am still experiencing the same issue with wifi turned on (all 3 devices have acted the same way). I love the phone other than the wifi issue. My problem is that I am not in a 3g enabled area so wifi is important to me. I will probably call again today and ask if they have any wifi issues on file for the Venue Pro. If they say no then I will ask for another replacement but only from the most recent productin batch. If they say yes and have no time frame for a fix then I will probably request a refund and go with something else from T-Mobile. I have not experienced the poor customer service from Dell Mobility that others have mentioned. They have actually been extremely quick in sending out replacement devices with zero hesitation in doing it.
[Venue Pro General] efjay:
Do you have to send your current unit back before the replacement is sent or can you keep it till it arrives? Apart from wifi crashing any other problems?
[Venue Pro General] SHAUN231:
Just been testing the replacement unit and found something interesting. if bluetooth is on and connected the wifi will not work at all even though i has an open network. it will just say cant connect. and if wifi is on and connected the bluetooth wont connest. it wont even search for devices. so you cant have bluetooth and wifi connected at the same time from my test
[Venue Pro General] cdgoin:
Hmm.. its wierd everyone having WiFi issues have you checked your channel? I manually set mine to 10 as my Xbox and some laptops were have a problem on the automatic and/or standard settings (Channel 11).

The reason I mention this is because I don't have a problem with connecting to my Wifi with my 8GB model.

My settings are :

WPA2 security

Channel 10

SSID broadcast enabled

I also customized my SSID tag as opposed to it being some random numbers or the standard other vesions you see out there.

WHo knows might make a difference.
[Venue Pro General] SHAUN231:
can you try connecting to your wifi after your bluetooth is connected to a device.
[Venue Pro General] notebookgrail:
deleted 10 char.
[Venue Pro General] benjaminries:
I have a 16GB version that does connect to both at the same time.
[Venue Pro General] mrcusa:
Weekend Issues

Friday, device stopped syncing Hotmail email, although still syncing other POP3 account. Finally reset device Friday evening and re-entered all information.

Saturday evening in hotel. Wanted to switch device off overnight and charge battery. Not possible!! Everytime power plugged in, device switches on. Using button to switch off whilst mains power connected, switches device off but it immediately switches itself back on!

Sunday, device will not open any email or any phone records, calendar etc. Screen just says loading and reverts back to home screen. Reset device again Sunday evening.

Monday morning 7:10am, all working fine so far!

This is the second device that I have had, first one replaced for bluetooth issues.
[Venue Pro General] efjay:
Just to let you know the power issue you mention applies to all WP7 devices, not a DVP specific issue.
[Venue Pro General] mrcusa:
That's interesting, thank you.

I wonder why they did that?
[Venue Pro General] efjay:
With WP7, there are so many things we wonder why MS did them as they did, we will probably never know the real reason.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
Efjay,

No you don't have to send the phone back until you receive the new one. You have 7 or 10 days for them to receive the old phone after the receipt date on the new one. When you call they tell you to keep all items except the actual phone base unit but they send a complete package. I also asked the representatives and they are insistent that all replacement phones are new and not repaired. I will agree to this as the phones I have received are all new condition. They have also started to admit that they are receiving multiple service complaints with wifi lockups. So they are atleast aware of the issues now. I specifically requested a phone from the most recent production run and will let everyone know if anything has changed.
[Venue Pro General] efjay:
Thanks for the return process info, still not sure if i'll exchange mine as it works fine apart from when wifi is on and i dont want to get one that performs worse than my current one.
[Venue Pro General] alabij:
Dells logistics partners are Fedex and UPS. I've worked in customer service and logistics and can assure you that they use a LIFO process. Customer service does not have the access to request a product batch for you.

Now I did this three years ago so maybe things have changed but I have a feeling they gave you customer service 101.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
I won't argue with you on the LIFO/FIFO principles and I am fully aware of their practices in inventory and finance (my job and my degree). You are most likely correct in your assessment but, as this was the 3rd exchange for a defective product, the representative said she was wiling to put a note on the sales order to pull a phone from the most recent incoming shipment due to multiple defective orders. If this actually happens is another story. I am hopeful, the customer service I have received from Dell has actually been very good. I guess I will find out when I see the date on the box. I will also let everyone know what happens with it.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
efjay,

The phones that I have received have all been very close in fit and function. The most noticeable difference between them has been variations in the grayscale of the displays, with green tint in the middle and red towards the darker end to different degrees. The difference is noticeable between devices but not a deal breaker. They have all performed basically identically with lockups and such. The current one does have a small imperfection in the camera on the left edge (internal dust). Build quality has been extremely close between phones. They have all had a very slight offset with the top right corner of the screen sitting just lower than the left. Keyboards have been identical and screen responsiveness and load times have been basically the same. Faster loading than an HD7 but lock-ups over wifi.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
Well I received the 3rd replacement device today. This phone has a build date of 12/19 which is the most recent of the 4 I have received (previous had been 12/17 followed by two 12/15 builds). Initial impression of the build is that it is actually somewhat better than any of the previous 3. Spot on alignment top and bottom and the screen is my favorite of the ones I have had. It has less variation on the grayscale than the previous 3 and the colors are toned down a little, still nowhere near accurate but noticeably better. Performance is still basically the same with lockups using wifi but smooth when it is off. I was able to download a good chunk of apps from the marketplace before the first lockup but averaged it has been the same. Now it is just decide what to do I guess. Here is hoping that the supposed January update hits quick to see what type of fixes it has.
[Venue Pro General] fathamburger:
Blurry camera!!!
[Venue Pro General] Naterade:
Keyboard

So far mine is fine, EXCEPT (and this is a biggie) my physical keyboard doesn't work... it works for like 3 letters then types whatever it wants and then stops working completely, then the windows back and search buttons stop working until i reclose and reopen the slider like 3 times. Have a replacement coming in a day or two.
[Venue Pro General] Wyn6:
For the most part, I haven't had any issues. The exceptions have been market place crashes and two app crashes.

I crashed while trying to DL the trial version of Assassins Creed as well as Ma and the Magic marker. This is over wi-fi and in my opinion I believe there's a conflict with wi-fi and 3g.

Anyway, I also crashed out of the Bitbop app when trying to watch (streaming) Bob's Burgers but jumping back in it picked back up where it left off and finished out fine.

I crashed running another app but can't remember what it is right now. But, that's about the entirety of my issues with the phone. Other than that, I love it and am awaiting the Next Gen hardware.
[Venue Pro General] MO3iusONE:
Is anyone having issues with the battery heating up? I'll have it on, replying to a text or something and it jsut seems to heat up..
[Venue Pro General] bbowman:
yeah i can feel it warm up if i'm frequently switching between applications
[Venue Pro General] Arcarsenal:
I don't think it is the battery you are feeling. The area under the battery, where I assume the CPU is located, gets very warm after extended periods of use. It happens with both my brother's and my phone. Next time you feel it get warm, pop off the battery cover and feel the battery and then feel the area of plastic right below it.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
I also think the heat is from the cpu. The heat is centered lower on the device than the battery sits from my experience. I noticed it get pretty hot today after playing a game for probably a couple hours straight on it. I have not felt it get hot during normal use though.
[Venue Pro General] mrcusa:
Location

When you press the tile "Newsroom" , are the weather locations Taipei and Redmond on your devices? Are these the default cities?

Those are my locations!

How can one change them please to more relevant locations?

Any ideas?
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
I don't think that you can totally remove them. But if you click on the gear looking icon on the top right you can then edit the locations and disable them from showing. You can also add whatever location you wish or just use the my location feature. You can also manually enter any feed you want in the other areas like technology or top news the same way. Probably one of the best free apps I have seen bundled in a phone actually.
[Venue Pro General] pessimistic observer:
not an issue

i was having an issue with typing symbols and numbers with the hardware keyboard it was really annoying having to hold down the fn key

so i initially tried using the sym key to pull up the symbol screen but thats not

that great cause theres no backspace button and the symbol screen goes away once you press the hard ware back button

final solution: press and hold the fn key then release anything you type on the hardware keyboard will be a symbol until you press the fn key a second time
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
If you watch the notification bar along the top it will tell you what type of entry will appear (only with the hardware keyboard extended). Opening the keyboard will show an EN (lower case letter), pressing the fn key will show an fn with a black box, pressing and holding will show an fn with a white box. Pressing the Shift key for a capital letter will show an up arrow with a black box, caps lock will show as an up arrow with a white box. Alternative would be to press the symbol key which brings up the virtual number keyboard. This is a very nice way to tell what the next text entry will be. It only appears with the hardware keyboard out to my knowledge.
[Venue Pro General] mrcusa:
Thank you, very helpful.
[Venue Pro General] mikebaz:
Link the contact in your address book to the Facebook contact, then edit the non-Facebook contact, tap the picture, and select the Facebook picture. This is not 100% what you asked for but the visible result is the same.

Tap the address you want to add, then hit the Save button on the application bar. This one seems pretty straightforward to me??
[Venue Pro General] Naterade:
My DVP Issue [Solved]

OK so I've had the DVP for a week and a half now and I just got my replacement. The first model I recieved had a defective Hardware keyboard so I called and had them ship me a replacement. It would also crash when using wifi similarly to what other are experiencing. So now I have my replacement and here's what I've noticed so far:

REPLACEMENT:

MFG Date: 01/13/11

WiFi: 0017CA97090

OLD UNIT:

MFG Date: 12/17/2010

WiFi: 0017CA9329FA

So far I haven't really noticed the wifi locking up issue but I've only had the replacement for a day now So I'll update if it starts to mess up too I'll update.
[Venue Pro General] efjay:
I've had 2 1/13 builds, both freeze when using wifi and the MP, probably just a metter of time before yours crashes. Lionel from Dell has confirmed a fix is coming though, so maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
Keep calling and pressuring them. They are fully aware of the problems people are having and have released a problem/resolution sheet that the Dell Mobility agents now have possession of. I was able to get the agent to read off most of the issues mentioned and it was a pretty extensive list that they have. Camera issues, wifi lockups, bluetooth, speaker crackling, led flash,etc... They did not mention a specific release date but there were a couple of issues mentioned that said fixed release pending. The agent also said to post issues to the forums if possible. They may place more emphasis on posted issues to the Dell forums from what it sounded like. I was also told that if the phone is within the year warranty period it is eligible for replacement so if they are actual hardware issues we are still in luck.
[Venue Pro General] Naterade:
Well here's the thing I'm curious about, When you got your 1/13 replacement builds did they ship you a replacement with just the unit? Or a new retail unit with all the original accesories...etc?... I got a new retail unit so I now have 2 batteries, 2 charge/sync cables... etc... Maybe this was because they messed up and never shipped out my original replacement so I called them a week later and they finally got this unit shipped out to me. So maybe there's a difference there. Plus what is the Wifi model number on you're replacement unit? I still haven't noticed any lock-ups on wifi. Haven't tested simultaneous BT yet though.
[Venue Pro General] efjay:
Both my 1/13 replacements were full retail units with all accessories, I just send everything back with the unit I return to Dell. The wifi number is the MAC address and that will be unique for each phone.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
Had a rough night the other day. I was trying to install a new game which unfortunately required wifi. It hard froze using wifi like can be expected a couple of times. This was followed by an immediate freeze before the home screen loaded completely, reset the phone, same thing happened, reset the phone and all data was gone. The phone went into a factory reset and I was welcomed with the wonderful welcome to your windows phone screen.

Anyway Dell Mobility was kind enough to "agree" to do another new replacement. They originally insisted that the replacement would be a factory refurbished device because I hit my 30 day period with this phone. I kindly refused and explained that I have gone through 4 devices in less than 2 months and only kept this one because they acknowledged that a fix was coming. So just as a word of caution if you think you might be experiencing problems other than the documented wifi freezing I would STRONGLY recommend doing an exchange before the update rolls out as they are pretty insistent on the 30 day exchange for a refurbished replacement.
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
Well the new unit arrived and unfortunately it is going back. This one had the best build quality of the 5 I have had but doesn't even show the devices full internal memory. The new unit is only showing 15.73 megabytes of storage. It will not even boot to the welcome screen to put in a windows live account. It's back to square one for me and most likely a refurbished device as they are so far not willing to budge on the 30 day policy again. Not happy about this right now, but I will keep you posted again...
[Venue Pro General] efjay:
My latest unit was a 1/29 build, freeze with factory card, swapped to a 32GB card and still freezing. I am definitely all swapped out, and will just manage this device till the first Nokia device is released later this year. Only question is, how much will I be able to get for the DVP at that time, any guesses?
[Venue Pro General] jessej:
Feeling the same way. I just have to get one that isn't factory resetting on me and has access to the devices memory then I guess I'll will just deal with it. I just wish that the wifi issue was actually being acknowledged when I had my first one. This last one was also a 1/29 build date. Fantastic build on it but missing all the device memory.
[Venue Pro General] acidburst:
I really wanted this phone to work and be my permanent iphone4 replacement. Everything about it looked great on paper. I chose to ignore the constant threads about faulty camera, poor headphone jack/power button design, random crashing and background download manager locking up. The screen is beautiful, but that is really the only thing I can say after playing with this phone is flawless.

I am returning mine today to Dell, and replacing it with the HD7. It locked up on me today for the last time. For all those curious about the DVP screen, this picture I took cannot capture the tremendous difference between HD7 and DVT colors. The DVT takes the crown.

16GB version

OS 7.0.7004.0

Firmware 2250.1500.7004.105

Hardware 112.576.2.0

Radio Soft 2.2.50.15

Radio Hard 8250

Bootloader 7.27.1.0

Chip SOC 0.36.2.0
[Venue Pro General] Spinstorm:
I just got a DVP today from eBay.

I'm waiting for the unlock so can't use it yet and apparently WP7 won't let me download apps om 2 phones from the same windows live account (but I can download music usin my Zune pass - like that makes any sense!) anyway I have been playing with it but can't comment on software issues. Wifi does work for me.

I do have a strange hardware issue - my screen is not level with my keyboard so when I slide it up it looks wonky. It is actually perfectly solid and doesn't move - it just see,s that it wasnt fitted straight.

I may get it changed under warranty when it is officially released here in the UK but has anyone else seen this issue?
[Venue Pro General] Shoot2ill:
Has anyone had issues with the sound cutting out? This would happen to me on occasion while listening to music using the Zune interface. But now my external speaker produces NO sound. No music, no ringtones, nothing. I've tried powering on and off several times. Removed and replaced the battery and SIM card. Still nothing.

REALLY hoping this update fixes this problem, as well as my WiFi/Market Place bug.

Last thing I have to report is how sometimes my apps will crash. And when they crash, they crash for good, those stubborn bastards. Initiating an app that had previously crashed will just return me to the start screen. Takes a reboot for the app to start working properly again.

That's all I have to report. Problem is, I still love this phone. It's only these minor, yet persistent bugs that are really starting to, well, bug me.
[Venue Pro General] Spinstorm:
So I love this phone. I have a full body invisible shield on it protecting the chrome sideband making the back battery cover much grippier. Although it doesn't cover the chrome areas by the screen which is strange!

I have been having quite a few lockups for no apparent reason but only when using memory intensive apps. My HD7 would also freeze and reboot quite a lot so it doesn't bother me that much. I agree it shouldn't do that and I hope the update will fix it but I can live with it.
[Venue Pro General] tai4de2:
My DVP has never once frozen up. I have my own 16GB storage card in it. I do lots of wi-fi etc on it.

Maybe I just got lucky?

Never had my HD7 lock up either.
[Venue Pro General] jasallis3:
WiFi Issue?

I have a DVP with a 16G card, and I've now developed an issue where the phone freezes after it downloads x amount of data on wifi. Essentially, the phone freezes after about 30 seconds of a YouTube clip, or browsing the web for some time. I can Start button back home, but all the live tiles are frozen, and the phone does not respond. I have to reboot.

I've called Dell, and their first reaction was to reset the phone, which I did, problem persisted.

Anyone else, and more importantly, any ideas? Am I stuck until the fix is pushed by T-Mobile / MS?
[Venue Pro General] varunverma:
ask for a replacement.. by the time u test it, tmob will start delivering the update(hopefully)