T-Mobile (UK) leaves business users High and Dry!

---

OK I was a little harsh when I sent this to T-Mobile this morning, bad day, but it does reflect my feeling about T-Mobile’s attitude towards its business customers.

I will of course be flashing my phone with a ROM from this sight but when I visit clients and they comment on my phone I shouldn’t need to tell them that they can only use the phone with all it’s features if they burn the warranty... We are seeing quite a few clients make the transition to Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 so telling them that to open files on their phone they must stick to saving files in 2003 mode and that they will not notice many improvements on their phone using WM5 and Exchange 2007 (only real benefits are administrative) is totally unacceptable and will mean that both T-Mobile and HTC lose out as we will be recommending the i-mate Ultimate range of phones in future (anyone have a good supplier?)

Good morning, I have just been informed by a colleague that whilst I was led to believe that a Windows Mobile 6 update for both my Ameo and Vario 2 were imminent, T-Mobile UK has now decided that it's business customers do not require the advantages offered by this upgrade and that having just invested a not insignificant amount of money in a new phone I will have no choice but to void the warranty in order to get the upgrade that other colleagues in other countries will receive from T-Mobile direct! Might I suggest that if you are unwilling to provide this upgrade you at least extend the warranty to cover the upgrade released by HTC as without this concession I will find it very hard to justify renewing my contract with T-Mobile UK in 18 months when it expires! Nor will I be able to continue recommending T-Mobile to my clients. As a VAR and IT Managed Services provider I often recommend to clients their next phone upgrade to be integrated with their Exchange servers, I am now installing Exchange 2007 which specifically takes advantage of new features added in Windows Mobile 6 not to mention continued compatibility with Microsoft Office 2007. The AMEO is one of your flagship corporate products to treat your customers with such disregard is unacceptable!

“Hello Martyn
Thanks for taking the time to contact me regarding Windows Mobile 6 and T-Mobile Uk's decision to not to release the software download for existing devises. I can understand how disappointed you must be with this decision especially if you bought the Ameo in the hope that you?d be able to download this software in the future.
T-Mobile have decided to bringing in new MDA devices that make best use of the features of Windows Mobile 6 rather than rolling it out on existing devices that work perfectly well with Windows Mobile 5.
Unfortunately we?re not in a position to extend the warranty to cover the upgrade offered by HTC and I?d recommend you would have to take this up with HTC. We?re also advising customers that downloading this software from other locations could damage the handset and invalidate the warranty as it?s not designed for UK devises.
I?m sorry you?re unhappy with our decision on Windows Mobile 6 Martyn but we do feel that our customer still have full use of all the features on the devices with Mobile Windows 5.
Kind regards

Ami Usher
Business Customer Services
T-Mobile

Wow, that really sucks. I guess they figured they already have your money and you are stuck in a contract with no other options. Also, they probably thinking you will forget about this soon before the 18 months and you will renew with them again when another device hit market within that time frame.

that is kinda sucky!, i upgraded mine to wm6 anyway so
F**K tmobile.

and you cant beat webnwalk plus for £3 a month which is what it costs me

I am a private customer but use my Ameo for work too - therefore I just wrote them this:

I have just heard that unlike ALL other carriers of the HTC X7500 (the phone from which the Ameo is cloned) , T-Mobile UK is not releasing a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade. Even the manufacturer is doing this which PROVES the device works well with WM6! The american version indeed comes with WM6 as standard. Why is T-mobile UK leaving customers of its FLAGSHIP telecommunications device without the latest software update which allows the latest integration with MS Office and Exchange server? It is outrageous to crippple a device which has only just been launched. Please explain as I am appaulled that you are not going to properly suppport this device. If the upgrade is available (which it is minus the T-mobile branding) then it shoudl be branded and offered to us. It feels like now you have got our money and tied us to a contract you no longer care. I was previously with O2 and they offered upgrades to many of their HTC devices as and when they were released by HTC. I require a definiitive answer on this matter as I am frankly disgusted.

I'll see what comes back! Blasted T-Mobile UK!

I think all of their customers with Athena started complaining (flood the gates with hate mail and e-mails), they probably would reconsider their decision.

Ithink you're taking slighty the wrong tack here.

A few people need to approach t-mob as if they were a Smb and looking to purchase several (say 30) devices that havw a seperate keyboard large scren etc and the ability to link with exchange 2007. Say that the ameo fits the bill perfectly and is available already in the US with WM6 and when would t-mob be offering it, as it would dictate whether said company was going to go with t-mob or o2!
Would be interesting to see the response.

Good idea - if they lie etc and say they will be releasing then we can use that as ammunition!

Seems like T-Mobile has no clue what they are talking about. WM6 is a vast improvement in every area over WM5 and the Athena didn't work perfectly under WM5 either. Furthermore, even the new devices coming out...including the iPhone...are no match for the Athena so to say that WM6 will be better or other devices will make better use of the WM6 features is totally ignorant.

I have T-Mobile in the US and haven't run into this problem. They are all willing to work with me. I've always had the latest phones and never had a problem getting support from the US team. I do help them a bit by breaking it down and letting them know that even though the phone is different, the OS is supported so I tell them not to get distracted by the fancy hardware. ;)

I can't believe T-Mobile isn't releasing the WM6 update. Damn shame. They are just trying to save money.

They have any right under the european laws to refuse to relase an upgrade, but they DON'T have any right to say that your phone could be damaged

"We're also advising customers that downloading this software from other locations could damage the handset" bull***t!

THIS IS A STATEMENT FROM AN IDIOT!! Downloading this software from other location you will damage WHAT?

May be you could have problem INSTALLING, FLASHING, RUNNING but not just downloading from other location!

This is the T-Mobile UK average manager's knowledge? Good for the competitors!

Just had another pathetic reply from T-Mobile - cant uderstand what 'resources' they need anyway - they only put their crappy badging on it anyway! Anyway here it is:

Thank you for your response to Gemma's email. I'm sorry you're not happy with the answers you were given.
As you rightly say there are numerous forums out there discussing devices, operating systems etc. People put their points of view their opinions and experiences. It may well be the case that many people have put the X750 1firmware successfully on their UK Ameos. There are also a number of cautionary tales from people who have bricked their device.
You are then in a position where you can make an informed decision and choose whether or not to upgrade to WM6. As Gemma said this could both damage the device and invalidate your warranty.
As Gemma said T-Mobile have decided to use their resources to bring in new MDA devices developed on and preloaded with WM6 rather than rolling it out for existing devices. I don't believe it is about saving money but rather allocating the available resources for development purposes, there are finite resources available and the decision not to offer a WM6 upgrade will have been thought long and hard about. I can understand why you aren't happy with this decision on a personal level and I'm sorry about that.
HTC seem to be launching numerous devices currently and I'm sure that by the time your contract comes to an end there will be a viable alternative to your Ameo that perhaps better meet your needs and wants. Another option may be to try and find out whether HTC themselves will be releasing a WM6 ROM.
We are certainly not saying that we have your money and that is tough - you still have exactly the same device with the same specification and operating system that you originally decided on. If you would like to discuss this further my details are below (calls to this number are chargeable. Please check with your service provider for further details).
Thank you for giving me the chance to address your points Mr Elphick. I hope you accept the reasoning behind our decision whilst I understand that you don?t necessarily agree with it.