Out of warranty phone - 14 months old

loyalstokie

I have a my511X which I brought at the end of February 2009.

At the beginning of this week the screen started showing up blank - all white - and has not worked properly since with it displaying incorrectly or blank.

As it is almost 14 months old the warranty has finished, but I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction as to where I stand.
How long do you expect a mobile phone to last?

Thanks for the advice in advance.

Fire_Fox

I read the other day that eighteen months is average which is a shocking.

loyalstokie

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I read the other day that eighteen months is average which is a shocking.

That's terrible!

I used my previous Sagem for 4 years before changing it - and that was only because it was starting to run a bit slow and the case had worn down from silver to white underneath.

macman

loyalstokie wrote: »

I have a my511X which I brought at the end of February 2009.

At the beginning of this week the screen started showing up blank - all white - and has not worked properly since with it displaying incorrectly or blank.

As it is almost 14 months old the warranty has finished, but I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction as to where I stand.
How long do you expect a mobile phone to last?

Thanks for the advice in advance.

The screen can be replaced, doesn't mean the rest of the phone is faulty.

loyalstokie

macman wrote: »

The screen can be replaced, doesn't mean the rest of the phone is faulty.

How much would/should a repair cost and how long should it last afterwards?
I'm not sure if it is worth it for a £20 phone.

emweaver

when dh had his phone repaired he was quoted £25 so I wouldnt think its worth it for a £20 phone

Bowling_4_Gold

macman wrote: »

The screen can be replaced, doesn't mean the rest of the phone is faulty.

Could be a variety of reasons for the fault - meaning replacing the screen might not help.

OP - To what extent does the phone work? Once you've switched it on, can you dial a number and press the call button, and does it start a call?

gjchester

loyalstokie wrote: »

That's terrible!

I used my previous Sagem for 4 years before changing it - and that was only because it was starting to run a bit slow and the case had worn down from silver to white underneath.

Looking at it from a slightly differnet point of view, the phone cost £20, even if ther eis some subsidy (and thats 50/50 at this end of the market) the economics of this phone mean they'll be using as cheap components as possible,and building it as cheap as possible.

Build qualitly has to be a lot lower than a high end phone, or a phone a few years ago that would have cost a lot more, so if anything goes then the costs of fixing it quickly adds up to more than the original cost of the phone.

It's all down to mass market economics, people what multi function phones for free, and the only way that can be done is reducing build quality, or component cost, and thus making phones less durable

You probably also need to factor in most people are on a contract and if you average 12/18/24 month contracts they'd probably be on average 18 months (maybe trending up to 24 months lately). Like formula 1 where they build a car to last just beyond a race, phone makers probably build a phone to last just beyond 18 months knowing they'll be probably be upgraded before they break.

kns_2

Your phone is not out of warranty under consumer law you have 6yrs:D

Fire_Fox

kns wrote: »

Your phone is not out of warranty under consumer law you have 6yrs:D

Oh no you don't! The consumer has UP TO six years to prove the fault was inherent at the time of purchase. The UP TO part varies depending on the value and nature of the product.

loyalstokie

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

OP - To what extent does the phone work? Once you've switched it on, can you dial a number and press the call button, and does it start a call?

As far as I know everything else works fine. I was able to receive a call when it was blank (I didn't realise it had gone then) and when I has worked (maybe 1 out of 5 times when I turn it on) it been a bit slow to display things, but nothing else.

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Oh no you don't! The consumer has UP TO six years to prove the fault was inherent at the time of purchase. The UP TO part varies depending on the value and nature of the product.

I remember hearing something about this, but wasn't sure of the details.