Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : Treo 600 Problems


oskis
12-30-2003, 01:25 PM
Although my initial opinion of the Treo 600 device was positive and to many extents, still is, I do want to warn owners of the T600 out there of the issues I have personally experienced.

First off, the unit itself looks great, feels comfortable when on a call and with the exception of Bluetooth, it has got just about every option we would want from a phone/PDA device.

Now, on to the issues...

First ond foremost, if you do own one of these, PLEASE be extra careful with the handling of the unit. As it is a phone, depending how much one uses it, there could be quite a bit of handling of the T600. Although none of us really wants to intentionally drop our phones, unfortunately it happends... I dropped mine at home ONCE... on the carpet from a height of about 2 feet... the end result was that the screen cracked. One would figure Palm did their homework in regard to quality testing the unit for drops, etc. Furthermore, as ATT does not offer insurance on the PDA's... I was basically out 600 bucks... or so I thought.

I did call PalmOne and was able to purchase a new unit for an additional $200.00 (this just became an $800.00 unit). A few days later, I had received the replacement unit. I thought my problems were over and I could finally get to using the device. All was fine an dandy until one week later when while on a call, I lost the sound of the person I was speaking with. Make a long story short, the internal earpiece on the unit shorted and once again, I was out of yet another unit. Fortunately, this time PalmOne agreed to replace my unit for free. That was well over two weeks ago and I still have not yet received the replacement device. With New Year's approaching, realistically I am looking at one to two more weeks before I receive my unit.

I've called PalmOne Customer service and they were simply awfull to deal with. No one seems to be able to help or want to. I've spoken with representatives, Supervisors and Managers to no avail. I have been placed in a position where I needed to purchase another phone while I wait for my new T600. Considering I have purchased Palm's flagship model, paid 800.00 bucks for, I would expect to have been treated better. I am absolutely disgusted with the way they are handling this issue.

In closing, if you own one of these, PLEASE buy a good case to protect your unit as much as possible... the screen is EXTREMELY fragile. Furthermore, the finish on the unit is very easily scratchable and a good care will prevent that from happening.

If you do not own one of these... look at all of your options before you decide to purchase one. Although as I said, it is a versitile unit with lots of potential. I think PalmOne needs to weed out some of the bugs and more importantly, they need to weed out some of the people, management included, which represent the company.

If I had to do it all over again, I would not have purchased a T600. My $800.00 could have been better spent on a company which pampers their customers and tends well to them when issues arise.

Bearhawkboston
01-15-2004, 10:08 PM
that has been my experience as well...not with the T600, but with the Visor Deluxe and then the Treo 180g that I own....customer support has been deplorable. The same support people who handled Handspring calls must have moved over to Palm One with the purchase. It saddens me that a product with so much potential is being so badly supported...just like other "better" products, it will probably be the downfall of the company.

oskis
02-01-2004, 10:00 AM
... and a good day to all... again... I thought some may like to hear either an update or a conclusion to my previous story... that said, here it goes, of course, with a bit of a recap of the entire story...

As a gadget lover, once I found out about the Treo 600, I could not wait for the opportunity to own one. Oct 2003, I ordered my Treo and when I finally received it a couple of weeks later, words could not express my excitement. All was well until I dropped the unit (at home, from a height of 2 feet, onto the carpet)... the screen cracked. Words could not describe my dismay.. one would figure such tests had to be done before putting this unit on the market... after all, it is a cell phone as well, and sadly, cellphones get dropped from time to time.

Anyway... as warranty would not cover the unit for such occurance, I was stuck with resolving this problem. Believe it or not, the nightmare had not yet started... it began the moment I started dealing with PalmOne/Handspring Customer Care reps, supervisors, managers, and so on.

In a nutshell, I had to pay $200.00 for a replacement unit... so, after a two week wait I received my first replacement... it was deffective. The ear speaker was not functioning and I was unable to hear any of the callers unless of course I would use the rear loud speaker. I had not choice but to call PalmOne and request yet another replacement.

Being told I should receive my replacement within 3 - 5 biz days, I was again anxiously awaiting the new unit. Well, the 3 - 5 day wait wound up being 6 weeks. To my shock and amazement, I had the same exact problem with the third unit... no sound while on a call. It seemed as I was stuck in the Twilight Zone with no end in sight and I had to go through the motions again. I contacted PalmOne and ordered my 4th replacement... waited yet another month for it to arrive and when I finally received it last week... another deffective unit. This time, the battery was not charging and the unit would reset itself each time I tried using it.

The last incident took place last Friday, Januery 23rd. I am now waiting for my 5th unit. To make matters worse, I have spoken with several dozens of people on this from phone agents, to supervisors, to their managers. I spent days tracking down PalmOne's Corporate contact numbers and fianally was able to leave messages for upper management at PalmOne such as Mr. Angel Mendez... Senior VP of Global Operations who regretfully, opted on not returning my calls or emails. He instead delegated this issue to his personal assistant Ms. Dorothea Davis who by the way, also did nothing to help.

It is not solely the Treo 600 issues which have become the nightmare...the nightmare is related to the incredibly poor level of customer service from the desk level staff to the SVP level at PalmOne. At this point, I have kissed my 800 bucks goodbye (200.00 for the initial replacement). I've wasted way too much time on a product which is pathetically represented by its creators. My advice.... if you own a Treo 600, PLEASE take good care of it as if you do not, there's a good chance you will fight your battle alone.

If anyone else is experiencing a similar issue with PalmOne customer service, below are some of the contact numbers I've spent days on gathering... hope this helps.

PalmOne Corporate - (650) 230-5000
Dorothea Davis - (408) 503-2285
Angel Mendez - Located at Corporate number

On the 30th I received an email from PalmOne advising me that there is now a 4 - 6 week wait... I should receive my 5th replacement in time for X-Mas 2004.

jlg
02-02-2004, 11:10 PM
Sorry to hear about the problems encountered with your Treo 600. I just wanted to share my experience. I first purchased the i500 (the saleman talked me out of the Treo), I took the i500 back the same night, I preferred the capabilities on the T600. As for reliability (owned one for about three months now), I couldn't be happier. I did have one problem initially, the vibrate did not work in the silent mode. The phone was exchanged and have not had a hardware problem since. I travel often and have dropped my phone from many places and at heights up to 4 ft. Most of the time the device was in the case, but it did hit the floor a few times unprotected. None the worse for wear at this point. I had some minor software issues that were taken care of with the last Sprint update. Service and coverage has been excellent to date.

oskis
02-03-2004, 04:03 AM
Hi JLG.. I am both glad to hear you are enjoying your T600 and hopeful that I may soon experience the same. I do agree with you in regard to the reception... I live in an area where good GSM reception is rare yet during those few precious days I did have a working Treo, I experienced great reception. Hoping you will continue the positive experience for a very, very long time.

oskis
02-15-2004, 01:48 PM
********* UPDATE TO LAST POST ************

Ok... I will keep this as short as possible... after another lengthy wait for the Treo 600 replacement I finally received it. This time, it was not a "refurbished" replacement but a BRAND SPANKING new unit... in a sealed box.

All was fine for the initial 1st week then the usual same old problem started again... first the sound quality worsened while on a call, then about two days later the sound died all together. I have had enough... I tried asking ATT and PalmOne for a full refund however, so far to no avail. I must say that PamOne is actually considering my request and hopefuly they'll get back to me next week with positive news.

Regardless, I have had enough and as a result, I've switched to another carrier and as well went back to the ole' faithful SonyEricsson brand.

Bottom line is that as per my experience over the past 4 months, and 5 Treo 600 units later, I could safely state that this is a piece of garbage product and anyone which considers buying one, should give it a lot of thought first.

d1hamby
02-29-2004, 09:14 PM
I have been experiencing a large number of dropped calls since purchasing the unit 2-3-04. I took the unit in, around the 20th, and they did a software upgrade, which helped greatly. Now I have noticed that whenever there is an atmospheric pressure change the phone hangs up. If I sit in the car and while the door is shut the phone hangs up, even with a full signal. If I change the air controls from fresh to inside air quickly while the fan is on full, the phone hangs up. If I ride the Metro and the train goes in or out of a tunnel the phone hangs up. I guess I'll be visiting Sprint soon to see what happens.

d1hamby
03-09-2004, 10:55 PM
The Radio Shack earpiece that I was using was causing the problem. It was too sensitive. Since I've been using this one:

http://www.pc-mobile.net/treo600.htm

I haven't had any problems.

gkpascahal
03-10-2004, 02:14 PM
Well, you are not the only one having that issue. My boss has had two Treo's lose the sound and mine has now lost my voice. I am sorry that you are having so many problems. I hope you get your refund.