On the pre-production status

[lupito 7]

Hi,

I have been reading the forum since June, without deciding to write, because really, nor will solve anything, but I am obliged to do so to notify future buyers, who may be more informed than the FXTEC company itself.

My order was placed on June 18 and the payment was made from August 2, the order number begins with 18XXX and is for the EU (Spain).

The communication since I paid has not existed, can not afford a product and has no news of when they lose it.

The few news that was investigated, is that there are delays, more delays and again delays.

A company, however new, may not allow the right to receive money from a client and not have the client informed, lack of transparency and communication.

Occasionally, the state thinking about canceling the order that it would receive in theory this summer, then in September, then in October, then in December, before Christmas, etc., etc. When I lost the product, I will have gotten used to it. not to use a physical keyboard with a more powerful and updated terminal for less than 200 euros

I am very disappointed with the company, not because of the product that it cannot judge, but because of its strategy for the client.

If in 2019 you did not receive the product, cancel my order.

Regards and good luck

[silversolver 849]

1 hour ago, Pico said:

 For me at least the thinking boiled down to trust issues and a distaste of being toyed with. I don't see it as waiting for Christmas I have no expectations other than time spent with family any gift is just a bonus and not expected. I didn't pay for the holiday, and it will be here on the 25 no matter what. I really did want the phone and understand that production isn't an easy feat, but after so much over promising and poor communication I was tired of the aggravation and uncertainty. I hope for everyone else and fxtec that any of my fears are unfounded and that phone is a big enough hit to warrant a pro2.

I would add the hope that you'll get a Pro1 once it hits general availability and has gained a reputation for being what we all hoped it would be. Disillusionment is a nasty virus to combat; I'm genuinely sorry that it's come to that for you. I don't think that anyone at F(x)tec has been toying with anyone, but can see where it could feel that way. Hopefully thousands of happy users (coming soon or soon-ish one way or the other!) will restore your confidence.

For myself, the fact that the only serious complaint from end users has been not being able to get them quickly enough, even though some have actually gotten them, is pretty awesome. If the device itself were not of excellent quality, we'd certainly have heard so by now. I'm very excited to receive mine, whenever I do.

[silversolver 849]

43 minutes ago, Tim6263 said:

Sad to say, but I am rapidly approaching this point myself.  I paid within an hour or so Aug. 2nd, and all I've seen since is excuses:  availability of parts; factory holidays; speed of production; slow transportation; US customs; now failure of parts during production.  The 'Boy who cried Wolf' springs to mind...  Depending on when you think of production as starting (no-one outside of F(x) actually knows...) we are some three months or more in & from what we can tell they still have not even finished all IGG orders.  It starts to look like very poor management of the whole project, which does not bode well for a long term company future... 😞

Or simply that no one involved had the SLIGHTEST idea how difficult it really is to bring a project like this to fruition. I suspect this. This is a much bigger project than anything they had attempted previously, and I think they simply didn't realize how much of an uphill battle it is to do something like this. The fact that they're competing for resources with mega-craporations at a time of year when demand is high makes it that much worse. Also, I'm not a commusocialist who thinks all large corporations are evil; I just despise the major phone manufacturers for making crap slabs and not offering us what we asked them to make! If we expect to have anything available with a physical keyboard, we MUST support this project unwaveringly!  To misquote Ronald Reagan, "If we lose keyboards here, there's nowhere else on earth." If F(x)tec succeeds, it will show the craporations that there is still a market segment they're ignoring, and then we might get even more options! PLEASE evaluate your frustrations circumspectly, and decide your vote for the future of mobile technology VERY CAUTIOUSLY!

[EskeRahn 5,460]

2 minutes ago, Maplesteel said:

This company is doing the equivalent of a starvation diet in order to get these pre orders produced, but if they can't get to general availability soon, it may strangle their ability to make money as more and more people wait for the original orderers to give feedback.

 

I personally would gladly have taken a real keyboard phone with a ridiculously minor issue in terms of the backlight bleed versus the increasingly vaporware phone that they keep snatching away at the last second.

 

Fxtec is starting to make me feel like a sucker...fool me once and all that.

The problem is that it would be a administrative nightmare to handle different grades of quality. How should they make them distinguishable? How to avoid that reviews were never confused? How should they price them? And on repairs, should you then be charged if what ever made it second grade was fixed as a side effect of the repair? And I guess many more questions would arise.... You can do stuff like that in a small closed group, like the preproduction unit I tested, that had several known bugs, e.g. some antennas not implemented, But it should never be sold as a real unit even with a discount, as it iw would have the effect that people might think it is the model and not the specimen that is bad..

[robert.prior1985 97]

@silversolver Dear Lawd dude RELAX with the quotes! Hahahahaha. We all want this phone and no one wants to give up but it is very frustrating for most of us. I just had a little convo with whoever is behind the keyboard for info@fxtec.com and I feel i got some honesty, which is perfect. I have been told all being well and good I should get a shipping email in about 2 weeks... Obviously I will patiently wait but once 2019 is up I may have to go to the B'Berry Key2 LTE (Scandalous I know)and get refund. 

Don't get me wrong I want this damn phone so bad but I also have to be realistic and we have all been patient... to quote someone before 'If I cancel my order all those waiting will get a handset sooner.' Lol.

I am not gonna lie I am freaking hoping and praying for an email! Lol

[silversolver 849]

10 minutes ago, robert.prior1985 said:

@silversolver Dear Lawd dude RELAX with the quotes! Hahahahaha. We all want this phone and no one wants to give up but it is very frustrating for most of us. I just had a little convo with whoever is behind the keyboard for info@fxtec.com and I feel i got some honesty, which is perfect. I have been told all being well and good I should get a shipping email in about 2 weeks... Obviously I will patiently wait but once 2019 is up I may have to go to the B'Berry Key2 LTE (Scandalous I know)and get refund. 

Don't get me wrong I want this damn phone so bad but I also have to be realistic and we have all been patient... to quote someone before 'If I cancel my order all those waiting will get a handset sooner.' Lol.

I am not gonna lie I am freaking hoping and praying for an email! Lol

At least the Key2 is not sinning against your thumbs with a slab. :P We're all rooting for those allocation emails. Some of us are just more worried than others, for reasons I intellectually comprehend but emotionally do not reciprocate.

[silversolver 849]

8 hours ago, Polaris said:

Gotta say I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment; however, in this case, "Christmas" happening by the 25th (for those of us in the USA) is a bit ambitious at this point.

I should have been clearer; the phone will come, and whenever it does, it's Christmas. :)

[robert.prior1985 97]

7 minutes ago, silversolver said:

At least the Key2 is not sinning against your thumbs with a slab. 😛 We're all rooting for those allocation emails. Some of us are just more worried than others, for reasons I intellectually comprehend but emotionally do not reciprocate.

The sin is not in the phone but in the lack of buttons! (I believe this is in the bible somewhere.) Lol. I get it completely. If it was not for the fact that my current phone requires a portable charger just to work I would be cool waiting a bit longer. I said on another page it seems that these boards are becoming more and more of guess work, and honestly, F(x)tec's social media campaign is great but I think that is what ruffles most feathers (mine included) from time to time.

All I know is if i do not get an email before xmas my last week in London before visiting the family will involve dressing like a Ninja and doing a smash and grab at F(x)tec headquarters! 🙂 🤣 (I am serious)

Edited December 3, 2019 by robert.prior1985
Who is letting me spell today?

[silversolver 849]

8 hours ago, Tsunero said:

Oh, so hey everyone. I have been staying silent all this time and stuff but I am getting extremely frustrated and angry.

I pre-ordered on 28 FEB. Paid it on 31 JUL (requested QWERTZ unit as it became available on 29 JUL). Order number 61##. I am also in EU.

Where. the. hell. is. my. phone.??

Weren't QWERTZ units supposed to be a very small number? Did they even manufacture those??? Did anyone in the EU receive a phone at all??

Also, NOBODY did any QA during production and now all these busted screens pop up????

I say nothing adds up here. The fact that I didn't make it in the first batch I can stomach since there are many IGG backers (now then prioritizing people from a totally different project altogether doesn't seem very fair to me) but not getting in the second batch is just ridiculous.

Nothing adds up I say. By the time I get my hands on it the specs had already aged almost another year.......

The specs on my Droid 4 have been aging since 2012, so I have limited sympathy with this point of view LOL. It's going to be an awesome device, and a few more horsepower (so to speak) from a newer SOC is not going to change much in the user experience IMO. Useful CPU power plateau-ed a long time ago, and more RAM and storage is what us Droid holdouts are eager to get.

And to the other point, Gandalf:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U206PQSMMLc

Edited December 3, 2019 by silversolver

[Raksura 270]

11 minutes ago, silversolver said:

I should have been clearer; the phone will come, and whenever it does, it's Christmas. 🙂

Quote

The ETA that our management has given us for every single pre-order to be complete is before Christmas.

Customers hate him! Learn this simple trick to set a fixed ETA that will be held for sure.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Raksura

[glumreaper 144]

On 12/2/2019 at 12:24 PM, ttodd said:

 

We are sorry for the delays in shipping your order. At this minute, we are still processing orders that were placed before yours. The ETA that our management has given us for every single pre-order to be complete is before Christmas. We will, in theory, be in touch with you within the next couple of weeks with your tracking information. 

Given the history we've had with customs clearances and everyone being off on holidays, it is possible that shipping might be delayed until after Christmas for some of our more recent orders. The important thing we know is that the factory is working on full steam and it's producing Pro1 devices every working day. Some of our customers are slowly receiving their devices, you can find their feedback in our forums at https://community.fxtec.com/topic/2463-got-your-pro1-tracking-number-or-stock-assigned-message-post-here/ and on Twitter.

To put it in one sentence, your Pro1 should arrive before Christmas, but it may take slightly longer in the event that our stock gets delayed in customs during the Christmas period.

____________________________

TL;DR "maybe next year"
 

That's a worrying message from support. What particularly strikes me if "the information our management has given us". I read between those lines as the support team are also feeling frustrated at a lack of clear information from the top.

Edited December 3, 2019 by glumreaper

[Erik 1,487]

 

[Polaris 423]

37 minutes ago, silversolver said:

I should have been clearer; the phone will come, and whenever it does, it's Christmas. 🙂

To me you were as clear as day.  Since your definition of Christmas is when the phone arrives, I was just stating that, if I were you (preorder in the US), I wouldn't plan on celebrating Christmas on the 25th of December (hence the quotes around the word).

[Polaris 423]

33 minutes ago, Raksura said:

...Learn this simple trick to set a fixed ETA that will be held for sure.

Would be nice; if it were only that easy!

[Polaris 423]

3 hours ago, silversolver said:

Or simply that no one involved had the SLIGHTEST idea how difficult it really is to bring a project like this to fruition. I suspect this. This is a much bigger project than anything they had attempted previously, and I think they simply didn't realize how much of an uphill battle it is to do something like this.

Never a truer word spoken!  I can guarantee with 99.99% accuracy that this is EXACTLY what has transpired.  It doesn't excuse the lack of transparency, but it certainly explains how they got in over their heads in short order.  There is no conspiracy taking place, they are doing their best (at producing and shipping), it's going to take some time, but I'm certain we will all have a phone (assuming one doesn't cancel), in reasonably near term, that will be one of the best phones to be made in the past 7 (or so) years.

To those in a state of panic, my suggestion is to calm down, relax, take a few deep breaths, and don't react like Chicken Little.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Polaris

[FlyingAntero 871]

Can't wait to receive Pro1 😀. All the hype is killing me.

Edited December 5, 2019 by FlyingAntero
Feeling better now

[Polaris 423]

7 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

...it is very important for them not to deliver a so-so quality device, so rather than just sending out the devices with this minor defect, they withheld them. Of course very annoying for those most in need of a new device NOW, but I think in the long run it is the right decision to not send out stuff in a lesser quality than what they want their name to be associated with. A new brand is very sensible to critique, so just a few rotten apples could destroy a lot for them

Absolutely correct!

[dt.white 62]

Hi All,

Let me pre-fix this comment with saying that I have been a member of this forum since February 27, and since my first comment from that date, have been a silent lurker of these forums, as I felt I have nothing new to add.

I am however, becoming more and more frustrated by the day, and having had conversations with the support team, have to agree with @glumreaper that they are doing the best that they can but the communication from others at the company is not forthcoming to them, or accurate. I was also advised by the support team not to share any of the information they have provided to me over the past couple of weeks but feel that now is the time that I must, if only so that there is some kind of understanding among members about what is going on. They did not want me to do this since they believe this will cause more questions and I have to agree with them, but it is simply not acceptable for @Waxberry along with his colleagues to keep both members of this forum and presumably their own support team in the dark about the status of the orders.

For reference, the information about my ordering history is as follows:

• Order #11XXX
• Pre-Ordered 4 April 2019
• UK Delivery
• QWERTY
• IGG backer (coupon applied)
• Pre-order become available to pay: 1 August 2019 12:41
• Pre-order paid: 1 August 2019 22:43

I will try to summarise the email thread with support, providing dates with no missing information from what I have been given.

• 30 October - notified by the support team after enquiring about the status of my order that: "While we don't usually mention this, as the first batch is relatively small, the stock for your order has been delegated already and is in transit to our warehouse."
• 5 November - after chasing up to find out what was happening with my order, I am told: "Your order is definitely going to ship with the second batch, which is due to arrive in mid-November. Realistically, your order will deliver by the end of this month."
• 6 November - after asking for clarification on why this response was not in line with 30 October, the response is: "Apologies your order wasn't shipped with the first batch. We expected to have larger quantity, but unfortunately some of the devices we received did not pass Q/C. We've had to get a new screen supplier midway through the first batch, hence the more limited number of devices produced. Now that this issue is resolved, you will be amongst the first of the second batch to have their device shipped."
• 25 November - having chased again given the information provided that my order would "definitely" be shipping in the second batch and that it was "due to arrive in mid-November", I was told the following: "We are currently still shipping our earlier Pro1 pre-orders. We know this was delayed longer than it should have been, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Realistically, your tracking details will be sent to you anytime before the 20th of December, as we plan to have 1-day shipping before Christmas, so we will have all pre-orders complete in time for the Christmas holidays."
• 26 November - after responding to the above, asking what had happened in such a short space of time between being told I would be "amongst the first of the second batch" on 6 November and them not shipping in mid-November, I was informed: "Actually, yes, your order is definitely coming with the batch due to leave the factory this week. "anytime before the 20th of December" does not necessarily mean that your order will arrive on the 20th. Based on previous delays with customs and history, we think your device should be in your hands before the 10th of December."
• 2 December - having seen a number of members on this forum receive stock allocation emails, including those who are non-IGG backers such as @netman, @anonim001and @Doktor Oswaldo and not having received one myself, despite being told only six days earlier that I'd be included in the batch leaving last week, I contacted support again to ask about my order. The response: "Your device is expected to ship by the 13th of December. If you don't receive an update by then, please email us, so we can tell you where the stock is."
• 3 December - again, after asking for clarification due to the misinformation previously and how within a few days a device that was "definitely" due to leave the factory was now not going to be (bear in mind that I had now been told "definitely" twice!) I was told this: "As you might be aware, our second batch is compensating for the 1st batch of US orders which are still stuck in a US customs office, therefore some orders were pushed slightly further. With this, however, we’d really like to stop giving a name to each batch, as we are now receiving new batches every week. The only definitive information that we have was already provided to you in my previous response. The 3rd batch is going out next week, and your order will be included with it."
• 3 December - on claims that non-IGG backers were receiving their stock allocations ahead of IGG backers, I was told: "You are indeed being prioritised over others, we have not shipped non-IG orders so far. If that has happened, it would be a mistake on our side and it would account for less than 1% of all of our shipped orders."

I've also challenged the explanation for the delay being because of the US customs issue since @Erik had already explained this on 26 November so this was known before the reply to me on 26 November stating that my device would be in the batch leaving last week. I made the recommendation that the company make greater effort to engage with this community since there is a lot of discourse primarily due to the lack of transparency and clarity, along with the constant misinformation and mistruths being emailed out to customers - to the point that some customers feel their only option is to cancel their order. The response I got:

"We are trying to be as transparent with you as possible, but each time we make an announcement, we are given new questions, question to which our support team does not have answers, and we are yet again accused of the same crime - not being transparent enough. To minimise the false speculations, we have provided you with our internal deadline and that is the only definitive information we have."

I know this is a long response and some people may not take the time to read it, but it clearly documents the lack of information or completely false information that is being fed to the support team, leading to the frustration that @glumreaper mentioned previously, and the frustration of members of this forum and presumably customers who are not members of this forum.

I have been a vocal supporter of this company outside of this forum to people in my life but they are doing themselves no favours in gaining or keeping support from the community, who if anything you would expect to be the most supportive, given the time they spend checking and responding to posts in this forum. I sincerely hope that @Waxberry and @Erik see this and reflect on what has been a woeful set of messages sent out to a customer who by and large has been very patient given the obvious technical difficulties that have occurred during the manufacturing process (to which I have no complaints). This is all about expectation and keeping members / customers in the loop and certainly not stating that somebody will "definitely" be included in a batch, twice.

P.S. @netman, @anonim001 and @Doktor Oswaldo please do not take this personally but I am very upset that you've received stock allocation ahead of IGG backers! I am amazed at how something as simple as sorting an orders list first by IGG backers and then payment date can be so difficult to achieve in this day and age.

Again, apologies for the rather long comment but I felt that you all deserved to know what kind of messages have been sent out, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, and I am sure that the support team are doing the best that they can with the information (or lack there of!) they are being given.

[glumreaper 144]

22 minutes ago, dt.white said:

 

I will try to summarise the email thread with support, providing dates with no missing information from what I have been given.

Thank you for that comprehensive and well-written account. I really do sympathise with the FXtec support team. It sounds like they're also suffering from poor communication. Hopefully some clarity will be provided soon.

[agent008 243]

Aaaaaaah!

The wait is killing me!

OK, venting about it is helpful.

Sorry all and thanks for letting me vent. hahah

[robert.prior1985 97]

Well @dt.white Thank you. it may sound silly but its great to see the journey you are taking on getting this phone and in all fairness you have received better information than most of us. I too am in the UK yet not an IGG backer so appreciate I may be 'back of the line' however like you mentioned it is more a case of honesty. When it comes to screens and leakage etc I recall emails going out about this back in September time (I think) where we would receive updates from the team.

For me it is very simple, Honesty, this is all we have been waiting on and I know 100% i want this phone. But... having to see the social media advertisements and the reviews from tech influencers is a bit hurtful as those of us who had to save to buy the phone are being forgotten (at least this is how it feels) 

We all would love to see this phone in our hands at Christmas but the painful reality is that this may not true for most of us. I get that its just a phone and we are not talking about a 'Sophie's Choice' here as we have the option to request refunds but I really do want this company to succeed. If we all start asking for refunds prior to the phone even making it to the people who pre-ordered we run the risk of making a dent in such a new business and that would be so bad for A) the ones who have a phone now and B) for the possibly for a Pro 2 etc.

I am just sending letters to Santa begging him to get me the hook up (even if he gotta rob it from somewhere on his rounds on Xmas eve). 🙂

 

[robert.prior1985 97]

Just now, agent008 said:

Aaaaaaah!

The wait is killing me!

OK, venting about it is helpful.

Sorry all and thanks for letting me vent. hahah

#AllInItTogether

[Polaris 423]

52 minutes ago, dt.white said:

• 25 November - having chased again given the information provided that my order would "definitely" be shipping in the second batch and that it was "due to arrive in mid-November", I was told the following: "We are currently still shipping our earlier Pro1 pre-orders. We know this was delayed longer than it should have been, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Realistically, your tracking details will be sent to you anytime before the 20th of December, as we plan to have 1-day shipping before Christmas, so we will have all pre-orders complete in time for the Christmas holidays."
• 26 November - after responding to the above, asking what had happened in such a short space of time between being told I would be "amongst the first of the second batch" on 6 November and them not shipping in mid-November, I was informed: "Actually, yes, your order is definitely coming with the batch due to leave the factory this week. "anytime before the 20th of December" does not necessarily mean that your order will arrive on the 20th. Based on previous delays with customs and history, we think your device should be in your hands before the 10th of December."
• 2 December - having seen a number of members on this forum receive stock allocation emails, including those who are non-IGG backers such as @netman, @anonim001and @Doktor Oswaldo and not having received one myself, despite being told only six days earlier that I'd be included in the batch leaving last week, I contacted support again to ask about my order. The response: "Your device is expected to ship by the 13th of December. If you don't receive an update by then, please email us, so we can tell you where the stock is."

 

Lots  of good information in this post.  Let's recap:

1) They got in over their heads and are struggling to recover as quickly as possible

2) They were hoping to get your phone in your hands by December 10th (doubtful, but possible)

3) They adjusted the time to: expected to ship by December 13th

Ok, so sounds to me like you are on track to receive a phone sometime this month or next month.  As I see it, all is well for a startup trying to pull off a feat as incredible as the one they have tackled.

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by Polaris

[ksal95 227]

4 minutes ago, robert.prior1985 said:

 @dt.white

I am just sending letters to Santa begging him to get me the hook up (even if he gotta rob it from somewhere on his rounds on Xmas eve). 🙂

 

I second for ol' St. Nick James Bonding us our Pro1s

[Polaris 423]

5 minutes ago, robert.prior1985 said:

We all would love to see this phone in our hands at Christmas but the painful reality is that this may not true for most of us. I get that its just a phone and we are not talking about a 'Sophie's Choice' here as we have the option to request refunds but I really do want this company to succeed. If we all start asking for refunds prior to the phone even making it to the people who pre-ordered we run the risk of making a dent in such a new business and that would be so bad for A) the ones who have a phone now and B) for the possibly for a Pro 2 etc.

Correct, correct, and correct!