Pro1 Pre-Orders Updates

[Erik 1,487]

Hi everyone,

A small informal update for you. As you should be aware by now, my updates do not represent what PR might have to say, but I'll give you the latest and best to my knowledge.

As per the last time you received a director's update, there's nothing significantly new - our team is still working really hard to meet our own deadlines to fulfil all pre-orders and launch before the festive season. While stock rotations between warehouses (factory > Hong Kong hub > US & UK/EU) took slightly longer than initially predicted, due to the customs and weekends off, the first batch has been fulfilled and is on it's way to the customers that have been emailed, even if there's no tracking yet - it's coming. We expect everyone from the first batch will have their devices delivered late this week to early-next week. I cannot wait to hear back from some of you once your devices arrive in the coming days :).

For those who haven't yet received a "stock assigned" notice, another batch is leaving the factory by the end of this week, but as we previously learnt, warehouse stock rotations and customs can take a while, so we should have customers from the 2nd batch receive their devices in late-November, hopefully with all pre-orders complete before Christmas. We want to be in general availability with 1-day shipping before the holidays, which means all pre-orders will be fulfilled in advance before the 24th of December.

On a side note, I have noticed the old shipping update thread is getting a little confusing. I will likely rearrange how it's treated shortly. Currently, there's a lot of misinformation there. I will post news in the 1st post here from now on.

For support matters, it's always best if you contact our team at info@fxtec.com with guaranteed 1-day responses.

Erik

 

Shipping discussion thread:

 

 

Community users who have received their tracking / device:

 

[Erik 1,487]

Hi everyone,

A small update for you today. As some of you know our US shipment from the first batch has still not reached our US customers due to strict US customs regulations. According to the latest, the first US batch is being returned to our Hong Kong hub, but it's currently being queued in a customs office's sorting facility. We know the stock will arrive back, but by the time that happens, our next batches from the factory will be ready for shipping. Consequently, we will be bumping up the numbers of units in the next batches to accommodate for the customers designated from the first batch. EU and APAC customers have fully received the 1st batch, currently awaiting the next ones.

In terms of production, we know a batch of stock is leaving the factory sometime this week, but I don't have an official day for this yet. I expect that some of you will receive their stock assigned notice either late this week or sometime next week. But with this, it's important to note the time required to move stock between our 3 warehouses Hong Kong > Europe and the US at the same time.

To avoid the same customs issue, we will be choosing a different shipping method to comply with US customs regulations for our new batches. We understand this is very frustrating for both our US customers who were promised their device is coming with the first batch, and us for to having to ship the same batch twice and not meeting the promised US customers' expectations.

We are on track for general availability by Christmas, which of course means all pre-orders will be completed by then.

As always, thank you for your patience and support.

Erik

[Erik 1,487]

Hi everyone,

A brief, honest informal update as promised.

The US/APAC shipment from the 2nd batch has now been fulfilled, and some of you should have already been contacted by your couriers to confirm your delivery date. In the meantime, the 1st US batch is still stuck somewhere in a US customs office sorting hub awaiting to be shipped back to our main warehouse in Hong Kong. Customers from the 2nd US batch will be contacted by FedEx for their customs payment, as we have now decided to ship devices directly from Hong Kong in an effort to save time and avoid further foreign importer complications. This is subject to change, but for now, we will, of course, refund the state sales tax that our US customers had to pay for. If we haven't contacted you and your US order has already been delivered, please email info@fxtec.com to receive your state tax refund.

The EU stock from the 2nd batch is also in transit and it's due to arrive in our UK-based warehouse early next week for all of those who received their stock assigned notices. There are slightly less EU devices with the 2nd batch, as the 2nd batch is compensating for the still stuck 1st US batch.

Our 3rd batch is leaving the factory this week on its way to our Hong Kong logistics hub, and I expect that customers from the 3rd batch will receive their stock assigned letters early next week. This new batch will have more EU QWERTZ devices, even though that won't cover all of our QWERTZ pre-orders just yet.

We are now expecting new batches to leave the factory every single week. These batches are relatively small, which allows for orders to be shipped weekly, instead of them being delayed additionally whilst waiting on a larger quantity to be shipped altogether. This is the less cost-effective method for us, but it allows for the Pro1 to be shipped as soon as manufactured.

Despite the increasing negativity in the forums, due to delayed shipping, the bigger picture is more positive than it ever has been. Devices are now being shipped every week, and each batch covers between 1-2 / 10ths of all of our pending pre-orders.

The ones who received their devices, please don't forget to brag on our forums and online 🙂

We understand you are all eager to get your hands on the Pro1. Me and the rest of the team are doing our very best in our powers to avoid further delays (and complaints).

Erik

[Erik 1,487]

Minor update on another thread:

 

[Erik 1,487]

Hi everyone,

Exciting update today. Liangchen is visiting the factory in China at the minute and he expects all of the pre-orders will be produced by the 18th of January, so in less than 5 days now. We have already produced a very significant number of pre-order devices, which are waiting for the full list to complete by the 18th.

As you are all well aware by now, once the devices are all produced on the 18th, the stock will be rotated between our warehouses, so there will be, I'd say, 1 more week after complete production before you receive your tracking. Just so I don't overpromise again, you should receive tracking or at least a stock assignment letter by the end of the business week commencing on the 27th of January.

As always, thank you for your patience and continuous support.

 

Erik

[Erik 1,487]

Hi everyone,

Mostly good news today, as always gathered personally.

The logistics team is currently drafting the shipping lists for the big batch that will ship in a few days. This batch is 6x bigger than the previous batches combined. Most of you will be left very happy, and those in the list will receive a stock assignment notice either this weekend or early next week.

There is nothing left to prioritise on the Indiegogo side, as that will be fully covered by this coming batch. Those with Indiegogo deals can start getting excited as they are the first known customers that will be 100% fulfilled.

The not so good news is that this batch will not include all pre-orders as we had initially anticipated, due to the factory only being able to produce this much units before the shutdown for the Chinese New Year. It will, however, still include 70% of all pre-orders, starting from the oldest, assigned based on a percentage of how many orders there are in a country. The remaining, relatively small percentage of unshipped, mostly very recent orders, will be processed shortly after the Chinese holidays in February.

The shipment will be sent from Hong Kong. Those in Europe and the US will have their customs fees pre-paid by us, as we charged you for duty in those regions already.

Erik

[EskeRahn 5,459]

Please also note these interesting news

11 hours ago, Waxberry said:

Before the Chinese New Year when we ship the last big batch, we actually have also produced certain stages for the next batch. In fact that will cover almost all the pre-orders. 

However because of the virus no one knows when the traffic is re-open and people can get back to work.

But I want to let everyone rest assured that the product is indeed there its just waiting for the people to get our of the currently lock down situation...

 

[EskeRahn 5,459]

Those that have not yet received the ordered phones should have a mail like this on the Coronavrus-situation.

Quote

Hello XXXXXX

We have some news!

We have provisionally been informed that factory workers might be able to return to work early next week. Office staff in China are already back to work, however they are working from home due to the travel restrictions that are still in place across the country. Please bare in mind that individuals decision to start working is at their own discretion and so we are unsure how many people, if any will be back to work straight away. Depending on the factories numbers, we should be able to provide remaining customers with an expected shipping and delivery date in due course.

The following article demonstrates the extent to which the coronavirus outbreak continues to effect brands globally, with a huge number of China’s factories remaining closed this week: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51439400. We will be in touch with our factories leads on a daily basis to ensure that we are aware of any updates/progress made over the next week. 

From the whole team here at F(x)tec we would like to thank you again for your patience and continued support at this uncertain period of time. We will keep you updated should we receive any more information.

If you have any questions about the matter, please get in touch with info@fxtec.com

Sincerely,  

Adrian and Chen
Founders, F(x)tec

[EskeRahn 5,459]

Thanks to @Raksura for posting this in another thread, but let me put it here too, for more to see the progress.

Quote

Hello,

 

We have now been informed that our factory has reopened following the last few weeks of disruption and uncertainty. As per our previous email, workers choice to return to the work is at their own discretion, and as it stands there aren’t enough people for us to begin production again. Rightly so, many people are still concerned about the coronavirus and are being overly cautious with regards to travelling and going back to work. We are also waiting for confirmation on a components delivery from our suppliers, which is similarly dependant on workers returning to work. 

Therefore despite the factory being open, production is pending until further notice. We are aware that this might not be the news you were hoping for, but i'm sure you will agree that this is still progress and we hope to be able to continue manufacturing and shipping all remaining customer orders from next week.

Thank you once again for your continued support and patience. 

If you have any questions about the matter, please get in touch with info@fxtec.com

Sincerely,  

Adrian and Chen
Founders, F(x)tec

 

[EskeRahn 5,459]

Thanks to @Raksura for posting this in another thread, but let me put it here too, for more to see the progress.

Quote

 

Hello,

We just wanted to give you a quick update on the current Pro1 manufacturing and shipping capabilities.

Since the last email update we have made some progress (slow progress but progress nevertheless), and following the last few weeks of disruption staff are now back to work at the factory which is great news! However, with travel restrictions still in place across China a scheduled components delivery did not end up taking place today. 

We are working closely with the factory to get this resolved as quickly as we can, so hopefully we will be able to continue manufacturing all remaining devices next week. We understand that this might not be the news you were hoping for but the current situation is completely out of our control. 

Rest assured we are as determined as ever to get these units to you as soon as possible, and we expect things to start moving much quicker next week. 

Thank you once again for your continued patience and support.

Sincerely,  

Adrian and Chen
Founders, F(x)tec

 

 

[EskeRahn 5,459]

Again @Raksura has helped forwarding an update:

 

Quote

 

Hello,

We just wanted to send you another update with regards to you Pro1's production status. 

Following the obstacles we have faced over the last week, we have now received our re-scheduled components delivery from our suppliers. This means we expect things to be getting back to normal  to a certain extent and we can resume shipping as soon as next week.

We are trying our hardest to get through this difficult time as quickly and as carefully as we can, and will continue to send round regular updates to keep you in the loop.

If you have any further questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get int touch with our support desk on info@fxtec.com.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support. 

 

 

Sincerely,  

Adrian and Chen
Founders, F(x)tec

 

 

[EskeRahn 5,459]

Just got this:

Quote

Hello there!

We hope everyone is staying safe and keeping their heads up following the recent escalation of the Coronavirus Pandemic. This week has seen a number of huge changes taking place across the UK and our hearts go out to anybody who has already been directly affected by the outbreak.

With this in mind, we have decided to take a precautionary measure with the health and safety of our team being our number one priority. As of today everyone from F(x)tec HQ will now be self-isolating and working from home for the foreseeable future. We are lucky enough to be able to work and keep operations running without being in the office, which means business will continue as normal. However, please keep in mind that operations may be slightly slower than usual.

To all of our remaining customers: as per our email update at the beginning of the week we are still on track to start shipping next week and a will send round another update in due course will the expected shipping schedule.

General inquiries: For now, one of us will be going into the office once a week to sort out any returns and make sure we can process refund requests as quickly as possible. However, given the drastic changes that have taken place recently there is a chance that we will eventually go into complete lockdown nationwide. If it does come to this, please be patient with your requests as this could make it extremely difficult to process.

For any questions or queries you can continue to get in touch with info@fxtec.com or reach out to us through our social media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fxtec/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefxtec

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fxtec/

Remain positive, stay safe and look after your loved ones. We will get through this together!

Sincerely, 

Team F(x)tec

FX Technology Limited
North West House
119 Marylebone Rd
Marylebone, London NW1 5PU

We are a UK based team highly passionate about technology and phones. Our mission is creating products and devices which deliver a richer user experience to what’s currently available on the market. We strive for the highest levels of quality in every aspect of what we touch.

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[EskeRahn 5,459]

@Rob. S. has shared this in the long thread

03-2020 12:17 FX Technology Limited wrote:

> Hello there!
>
> We hope you are all well and staying safe at this difficult time. We
> just wanted to give you a brief update on the status of your Pro1.
>
> Over the last week we have really been pushing to try and get remaining
> orders completed, however we are still waiting for delivery from our
> keyboard supplier which has delayed the process by a few days. We expect
> this to arrive at the factory on Saturday 28th March, and from then we
> will be able to finalise production units and start preparing for shipping.
>
> Whilst we appreciate that you were expecting shipping to begin this
> week, the travel restrictions in China has slowed everything down so
> please bear with us. This has been an extremely difficult couple of
> months, not only for us but for many businesses globally which have been
> affected by the coronavirus pandemic in one way or another.
>
> We really do appreciate you sticking by us. Thank you for your ongoing
> patience and support.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Team F(x)tec

[Rob. S. 1,660]

On 03-04-20 21:16 FX Technology Limited wrote:

> Hey guys!
> 
> Quick follow up from last week's email. 
> 
> Firstly, as Chinese travel restrictions are still in place, the keyboard
> delivery we were expecting on Saturday (28th March) was delayed again,
> and ended up arriving on Wednesday. We have also since discovered that
> certain parts of the keyboards structure failed our quality control
> process. This means that we need a replacement batch before we can
> continue production. 
> 
> Unfortunately things are taking slightly longer than we anticipated, but
> with our new keyboard delivery scheduled for Wednesday 8th April, we
> should be able to pick up the pace again from next week.
> 
> We have a small number of devices which are ready to ship and will be
> dispatched next week. All remaining customer orders will be shipped in
> due course. Please understand that such obstacles are completely out of
> our control and we are trying our best to speed up production and
> delivery rates for you all given the circumstances we are under. 
> 
> As always, we would like to thank you for your patience especially now
> given the difficult situation we are all in. We really do appreciate
> your support and  sticking by us.
> 
> Sincerely, 
> 
> Team F(x)tec

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Rob. S.

[Raksura 270]

 

Quote

 

Hey guys!

Quick update for you from the factory.

The screens arrived and are now ready to undergo final production processes and quality checks. We are hoping to ship a small number of units by the middle of next week. Once we have allocated stock, you will receive an update with shipping details and your tracking number.

Just so you are aware, with everything that is going on at the moment we are still short staffed in the factory which is one of the reasons why we are limited to the number of devices we can produce and ship. There are also still complications with regards to transportation, and this has caused delays to essential components deliveries over the last couple of weeks.

As always, we will continue to update you as and when we receive any new updates and information about your order.

Have a good weekend. 

Sincerely, 

Team F(x)tec

 

 

[schmittlauch 18]

Quote

Hey guys!

We hope you are well and keeping safe.

The factory has produced a small batch of devices which we expect to ship over the next few days. These Qwertz units have now been allocated to orders, so keep an eye out on your emails for further updates and tracking details.

For all remaining customers, we are producing devices as quickly as we can given the continued staff shortages and transport restrictions in China.

We should be able to ramp production in the upcoming weeks to increase the number of units ready to ship, so please bare with us!

Sincerely,

Team F(x)tec

Latest production update from today.

[Rob. S. 1,660]

Hello!

We just wanted to let you know that Pro1 production is well 
underway, and we expect to ship more units over the next few weeks.

Continued restrictions on the movement of goods around China has 
resulted in some processes taking longer than anticipated and at 
slightly higher costs, but overall the situation in China is 
improving and we now have almost 100% of our factory staff back 
to work. This means that we can ramp up production as we work our
way through the backlog of orders pre Covid-19. 

As always, thank you for your continued patience and support.

Sincerely,

Team F(x)tec

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Rob. S.

[Rob. S. 1,660]

I'm from Germany with order #36xxx for a QWERTZ device, though mine wasn't in this batch yet. But I got this new message:

Hello!

We hope you are well and keeping safe.

With the factory returning to normal production speeds, we are making steady progress
working through remaining orders. The factory has confirmed a small batch of Pro1’s
is ready to leave the factory, and those that have been allocated stock should now
have received a shipping update.

We are currently negotiating shipment releases on a 2-3 week basis with the factory,
and will be in touch when the next shipment is ready. 

Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Sincerely,

Team F(x)tec

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Rob. S.

[Rob. S. 1,660]

New mailing from Fxtec: 

Hello!

We hope you are well and keeping safe.

We just wanted to get in touch to give you an update with regards to 
manufacturing and shipping of remaining customer orders, but also to 
fill you in on everything that has been going on with the F(x)tec team.

We are still currently understaffed as some of the F(x)tec team are 
on on furlough. This has undoubtedly resulted in our customer service
and email responses taking much longer than usual to sort through and 
respond to, and for this we really do apologise. We are working through 
queries as quickly as we can.

We have also recently experienced additional difficulties with regards
to manufacturing and shipping of Pro1 devices, as delayed components 
deliveries have held up production processes. Our factory in China has 
struggled to source some important parts needed to complete remaining 
devices, however we are now ready to ship the next batch of devices and 
have already updated customers that we have allocated stock to.

We understand such delays are frustrating, but we really are getting 
there. These issues have been completely out of our control and we had 
originally postponed sending round an update with the hope of resolving 
the above issues and getting things moving slightly quicker than this. 

Thank you so much for your continued patience and support.

Sincerely,

Team F(x)tec

Edited July 6, 2020 by Rob. S.

[DieBruine 397]

Quote

Hello!

We hope you are well and keeping safe.

We are really sorry about the delay in shipping your device.

Just so that you are aware, we had originally planned to ship your device a couple of weeks ago, but have since been working to resolve a contractual agreement which recently expired, and therefore prevented any Pro1's leaving the factory.

We have now resolved this and renewed the agreement so there will not be any further issues moving forwards. We can confirm that your device will be leaving the factory next week, so keep an eye out for tracking details.

Apologies again for the delay, and thanks for your patience.

 

[jlavi 112]

Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2020 20:34:55 +1000
From: FX Technology Limited <info@fxtec.com>
Subject: Pro1 manufacturing update

Hello!

We hope you are well and keeping safe.

The last few months have been a bit of a challenge for us all but we are pushing through! Thank you so much for your continued patience and support, we really do appreciate it.

Whilst we have experienced some minor delays to the manufacturing and shipping of Pro1’s, the factory has been working as best they can to keep up with demand.

We will have another batch of Pro1’s ready to ship early September, and will keep you updated with regards to stock allocation and expected delivery.

Sorry for the delays, we promise it will be worth the wait!

Sincerely,

Team F(x)tec