I am having a tough time with my handset ST17i which I bought from some place 100Kms away from my house. My first Active was faulty right out of the box as it was unable to pick up any signal from my carrier, random restarts and had a faulty touch screen. I had to take it to the service centre which was again some 30km away. I had to call them a 1000 times and after about 2 weeks of pushing them they were able to give me my deserved DOA. I submitted the handset at the service point within 7 days of purchase. To my bad luck I had to travel all the way back to the shop from where I bought my handset to get it replaced with another Active.
Guess what, the new one is also causing me enough trouble. The first active had the issue of soft key backlight bleeding on the right corner of the screen which was very annoying and very visible. My second xperia active still have the same issue with even worse backlight bleeding which totally ruins the viewing experience. The backlight bleeding in my second Active is so bad that it covers almost 75% of the screen in black background which IS VERY UNACCEPTABLE.
Not only that, the bundled Live View device that came with the second Xperia Active had some serious battery issues that it cant even last 5 mins after a full charge. I had to take it to the same sevice point to get it replaced.
Now comes the latest issue, my handset just died last day after waking me up with the alarm that I set the previous night. They screen did not turn ON when the alarm was ringing and so I couldn't turn off the alarm. I took the battery out as I was helpless. And the handset stopped working ever since. When I press the power button, all I can get is a vibration and nothing else. The screen won't turn on. I tried connecting it to my PC but it failed to connect and showed me an error message telling me about connectivity issues. I tried calling to my phone but it is not connecting and I was told by the carrier that my phone is switched off. This means its dead.
I once again took it to the service centre and asked them whether I could get a replacement but they replied that I can't get a replacement. Its been 3 months since i got my current handset.
I am worried about the water proofing capabilities of my handset as the service people told me they will get it repaired. Opening and closing my phone might ruin my phone's water proofing capability, that is what I suspect. But service people told me they will take care of the situation and make sure its waterproofing capabilities wont be lost after service.
My question is, Can Sony Authorized Service prove that its waterproof after the service before I take it home ? Because in the leaflet its said that the phone is waterproof as long as its water seal back cover and the micro usb and headphone jacks are properly closed and in the event that water enters into the phone, it will get damaged and warranty will be void.
Can I get a replacement to make things easier for both of us ? I mean Sony will have to change the display, and seal the opening that is causing the backlight bleed and then make sure its water proof. If they can fix all these, then its ok with me. Also, why is my xperia causing me all these trouble ? Will sony give me a replacement if it fails once again during the warranty period ? I mean don't they have any regard for their customer ? Will the have to take there frequently dying handset to the service point and get it repaired after a month ????
I also had to go to the service point to get my software downgraded to gingerbread (2.3.4) after Sony's initial ICS update (4.1.b.0.431) which was causing a lot of trouble. Sony was not offering any methods to downgrade my software without loosing my warranty other than taking it to the service point. All these after offering a buggy update.
To cut the long story short, I tried loving my Xperia Active with my maximum effort but it has caused and is still causing a lot of trouble for me. Is there any way for me to get a replacement so that I can switch to another model or even another brand ? Someone please help.
Atleast this time can the sony support forum staff please reply to this post appropriately ? All I am asking for is a relief from the pain and trouble my handset is causing me. Since when did Sony become this worse ?
Support forum staff please reply.
Thanks in advance,
VEJESH
