Vodafone smart ultra 6 does not find signal (wifi is working)

[Marquitos]

Hi, I have a vodafone smart ultra 6 which started failing within a year after I bought it; at that time I could not get signal and the phone kept indicating that it was in airplane mode. I brought it to vodafone shop; they changed some setting and was working again. Now a three months later the same problem; I brought it to vodafone shop and they tell me that the phone needs resetting and that the mobile is outside warranty (is one year and two months old). They told me to reset the mobile by myself and if it does not work then I will have to buy a new phone. The vodafone website indicates 2 years warranty but the person in the shop say that because I bought it online it only has 1 year warranty; Does anybody knows the truth about this. Thanks.

[thesoupdragon]

You have been told a load of rubbish...

This is taken from Vodafones "help" pages...

"

When I buy a device from Vodafone, how long does the warranty last?
Except for Apple products, all devices come with our standard 24-month warranty. If you’re a Pay monthly or Business customer, this applies whatever the length or type of your contract. If you’re a Pay as you go customer, your warranty starts on the day you buy your device.

You also get a 12-month warranty on all the accessories that are in the box when you buy your device."

Resetting the phone is something you can do yourself from within the phones own settings. You will need to make sure you have backed up all your important stuff like contacts, pictures and music etc....

If you suspect a fault with the phone, you could send it away for repair, either from the store or by ringing 191 or via live help.

TSD.

[Marquitos]

Thanks for that. Do you know when vodafone started offering 2 years warranty? in case is something new as the person in the shop look at it in the computer entering my name; it  could be that he just wanted to save the trouble of reseting the mobile which he told me it cost £66.

[thesoupdragon]

It's always been 2 years as far as I'm aware...?

Can you post the details of the store and any names of the people who served you?

They need to be reported for bad customer service as well as incorrect advice.

[Marquitos]

Hi, this was at Vodafone in Bury St Edmunds and the salesman was John; Today I went again and he told me that Vodafone does not have a 2 years warranty in all the phones they sale including Vodafone phones. I told him that the website indicates 2 years warranty but he insisted that Vodafone mobiles where not included.

[hrym]

This is the source of the text that @thesoupdragon quoted.   You could point the shop at it for confirmation.  The fact that it specifically excludes Apple devices effectively includes everything else.

For now, I'd recommend try a reset for yourself - there's no need to pay anyone else to do it.   Make sure that your contacts and calendar are fully sync'd and any content backed up.   Also, remove any external sd card as the process can reformat them.  If you want to keep SMS and call logs, use an app such as SMSBackup+.  You may lose some stored data and settings in apps.

After the process has completed, you'll have to restore the phone, so choose that option when you're prompted to sign in to Google again.   This will reload your apps and restore some settings (mostly Google ones).

The phone shouldn't be behaving as it does, so keep an eye on it.  If this was a hardware issue, I would expect wifi to fail completely.   If it can be got back, it points to a software problem and either something interfering with wifi or possibly a lack of resources.   To check the latter, try clearing recent apps (the square button next to the home one) as a starting point.

[Marquitos]

I did a factory reset but the antenna still appears not working as when I enter the Sim card (and I tried several Sim cards) it does not try to find a network (it recognises that there is a Sim card inserted as the message "no Sim card" disappears); is like being in airplane mode but with wifi working.

I phoned vodafone and after they checked the account number (same as "John" was checking at the shop) I was told there is nothing saying 1 year warranty and so the warranty is for 2 years. So I was advised to go back to the shop and if "John" again says is 1 year warranty  then I should call vodafone on the spot and pass it to him. Will try tomorrow to see if I am luckier or maybe I should go to another vodafone shop.

[thesoupdragon]

If you have another Vodafone store near you, I would go there!

If not then do as the phone agent suggested and ring Vodafone while in the store.

It's shocking that front facing customer staff have such little knowledge of the products and services they are selling.

Hope all goes well tomorrow, pls keep us updated... 😉

[Retired-LouiseE]

Hello @Marquitos

I'm sorry to hear this, I will pass on your feedback regarding this experience in store. 

@thesoupdragon is correct, all devices (except Apple products) come with our standard 24-month warranty. Apple devices have 12 months.

Do you have any further updates on this?

Louise

[Marquitos]

I went today to the vodafone store and I said to "John" that I called the vodafone help desk and that they indicated that it was 2 years warranty; I told him I could cold them if he wanted so he could talk with them. He then agreed with what the technical desk had said and indicated it was not necessary to call. He told me that the mobile would be sent for repairing and would be fixed if is covered by the manufacturer's warranty otherwise it will be sent back. He provided me with a vodafone repair booking record to sign which I just realize it says "Out of Warranty (Chargeable); Charge £66". I just hope he is not going to try to charge me now £66.