Had a Faulty Device, my experience so far...

rahtrip · Mar 30, 2014

So first 2-3 days with the device I kept noticing more and more issues since its been out of the box. I'm really particular with anything I own and if I'm paying money for it then I expect nothing but the best, and I'll take care of my belongings the same.

As soon as I unboxed it I noticed that some of the edges of the metal finish were unevenly colored and scratched. The dark plastic fillers on the back had patches in them and were discolored also. I told myself I wouldn't be so nitpick-ey about those. Moving on...

Later once I setup the phone I realized the power button's right side was completely sunk in, while the volume rocker was also uneven, with the Volume up Side sticking out of the device, and the Volume down Side completely flush with the device.

Concerned I took it to the closest AT&T store where I've become quite friendly with some of the sales associates there. Just wanted to get an opinion as to whether I should live with these imperfections (it would have drove me crazy). I showed it to one of them and they urged me to call AT&T support and try to set up a buyers remorse period exchange straight away.

It took two hours to deal with AT&T customer service on the phone, but it was worth it. I'm shipping this one back and they're gonna priority ship out another one soon. The representative told me they've been getting a few calls regarding such hardware issues.

I'm interested to see if any of you have had any issues yet so far. And if this is a isolated situation with a few devices manufactured at different warehouses.

Bammeh · Mar 31, 2014

As with any new product launch, there are going to be some bad ones that slip through the cracks in the rush to get the product to consumers as quickly as possible. I'm glad you got your fixed rather easily, though!

rahtrip · Mar 31, 2014

Bammeh said:
As with any new product launch, there are going to be some bad ones that slip through the cracks in the rush to get the product to consumers as quickly as possible. I'm glad you got your fixed rather easily, though!

Yes of course I completely agree with you. With a few product launches recently and the ones I've bought right when they were released have had issues out of the box or after major updates. The XboxOne, PS4, Retina iPad Mini, 5S etc have given me a little trouble out of the box or after their big updates, but they're still premium devices. Same with the HTC M8 that's why I didn't make too big a deal about it and seek to get my money back. I just asked for an exchange that's all. The rep that helped me, he urged me to ask for a replacement. This device is going to my daily driver for the next year and a half or so. Really happy with it minus the little issues thus far. Best mainstream android device I've ever used.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

martingonz24 · Apr 14, 2014

My M8 was random rebooting every so often. It was enough to notice it as a problem. I did a factory reset, problem still persisted. AT&T gladly exchanged and now I'm good to go ???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

milky02 · Apr 15, 2014

SO far I have the power button stick on me a few times. Pressing it a few times seems to get it to go back to normal.

Also once while on a call, afterwards the phone would not sleep. Powered the phone off. Ever since phone has been running smooth.

pingy1030 · Apr 17, 2014

Glad you were able to get it exchanged. I've had mine for a few days and while there are no critical flaws, I do see some scratches that I most definitely did not cause and were there out of the box. I also know what you mean by the uneven banding because I have that too, it's very minor though. There are 2 surface scratches on the back that aren't noticeable unless you have really good eyes (which I do) and a very small chip at the front around the bezel that is impossible to cause naturally. I'm trying to tell myself I shouldn't be so picky because I've already unlocked the bootloader and put a custom rom on it and I assume if I want to exchange it at Best Buy I'll have to put the stock rom back on and lock the bootloader. I'm on the fence. I don't exactly want the Best Buy employee to think I'm crazy if I take it back plus it all takes up my time so I'm trying to tell myself it doesn't matter. If I caused the scratches I'd just live with it but it annoys me that they were there out of the box. Please tell me I'm crazy or I might actually go for an exchange.

Essien · Apr 17, 2014

Just got mine the other day and found a couple issues with it.

The top panel just below the front camera is pushed out a bit so there's sharp edge and stuff is already getting caught under it. You can push it down and make it flush but it pops back up after a while. Also my touchscreen will just randomly stop responding to touch. Going to reset to back to stock and exchange it later this afternoon.

rahtrip · Apr 17, 2014

pingy1030 said:
Glad you were able to get it exchanged. I've had mine for a few days and while there are no critical flaws, I do see some scratches that I most definitely did not cause and were there out of the box. I also know what you mean by the uneven banding because I have that too, it's very minor though. There are 2 surface scratches on the back that aren't noticeable unless you have really good eyes (which I do) and a very small chip at the front around the bezel that is impossible to cause naturally. I'm trying to tell myself I shouldn't be so picky because I've already unlocked the bootloader and put a custom rom on it and I assume if I want to exchange it at Best Buy I'll have to put the stock rom back on and lock the bootloader. I'm on the fence. I don't exactly want the Best Buy employee to think I'm crazy if I take it back plus it all takes up my time so I'm trying to tell myself it doesn't matter. If I caused the scratches I'd just live with it but it annoys me that they were there out of the box. Please tell me I'm crazy or I might actually go for an exchange.

Honestly you're lucky it's Best Buy. I've done multiple exchanges there before for each: MacBook, Xbox One and iPhones. They did it easy no questions asked. At least in my case. If I were you I'd exchange it. No excuses for the device to be that scratched up and imperfect out of the box. Also remember to check for Dead Pixels, Volume Rocker, and Power Button issues.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

pingy1030 · Apr 18, 2014

rahtrip said:
Honestly you're lucky it's Best Buy. I've done multiple exchanges there before for each: MacBook, Xbox One and iPhones. They did it easy no questions asked. At least in my case. If I were you I'd exchange it. No excuses for the device to be that scratched up and imperfect out of the box. Also remember to check for Dead Pixels, Volume Rocker, and Power Button issues.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the advice. For a little bit today I was determined to go get an exchange but I kind of buffed out the worst scratch (which was only like 3mm) with a nail buffer so I think I'll just save myself the trouble of putting the phone back to stock, having to take it to best buy, and re-flashing the new phone. Plus I did not take a backup of the stock AT&T rom. I don't know if someone has posted it in the forums, I'm going to look, but it's just such a drag to go through with putting it back to stock then an exchange.

The volume rocker doesn't sit 100% parallel but it's very close, the power button has no issues, and the bezel is pretty well flushed with the speaker grills. I think I'll just keep this one, I am also afraid that the new one might even have worse problems. HTC needs to get their quality control tighter because I have had tons of devices but never a problem out of the box.

Next time I buy a phone I am going to make sure I check the condition thoroughly. Or at least check it before I root and flash a rom. When I got the M8 I just grabbed it and went...

pingy1030 · Apr 19, 2014

So I said I wasn't going to exchange it but I was still annoyed by the flaws and I was approaching my 14 days.. took it to Best Buy today without putting it back to stock and was able to exchange it. They just switched out the SIM card and gave me a new one, but they did reiterate that they don't normally do it for scratches and they were making an exception. I could totally tell they didn't believe it was the manufacturer's fault, but they didn't give me attitude and were nice. They didn't look at the software or boot screen in the old phone so they didn't even see that it was unlocked and rooted. They mentioned it was getting sent back so HTC is going to have to deal with it, which they should have to because the one I exchanged for is totally perfect. I didn't realize the other one was even more problematic than I thought until I saw how well constructed this one is. The volume rocker doesn't fumble around, the screen is set perfectly leveled with the speaker grills, no scratches on bezel or back. This is how they SHOULD come, every single one of them. In the future when I get HTC phones I am going to examine it right then and there so I don't have to go through the trouble of sounding asinine while trying to explain what the store employees surely think are non-problems.

I don't think I would've made the exchange without this thread though so thanks. I'm now free to enjoy the awesomeness of this phone without being held back by structural annoyances.

andrewnelson · Apr 23, 2014

The top panel just below the front camera is pushed out a bit so there's sharp edge and stuff is already getting caught under it. You can push it down and make it flush but it pops back up after a while.

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Had a Faulty Device, my experience so far...

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