On the pre-production status

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Raksura said:

I am not disputing the other delays you mentioned, but the two last deadlines are still relevant, I believe. From what I understand, the "first (full) week on January" is for the large batch that is intended to cover 30% of the remaining pre-orders, and the "End of January" deadline is for the entirety of all remaining pre-orders.

Considering how things have gone so far, I would very strongly recommend taking actions to ensure things go smoothly even if they have to delay again. Could you not change your shipping address to that of someone who would be able to forward your phone to wherever you currently are?

where do the "30% of the remaining pre-orders" come from (you are mentioning in your email)? 30% of the remaining pre orders would mean that a small proportion of pre orders would be completed with this large batch.

Chen tweet mentioned that all preorders will be dispatched by 25th of January.

I remember also the wording of Erik "a large batch which will make most of you happy". Sounded like more than 30% of the remaining pre orders.

Anyway the difference between big batch and small batch is quite vague, since we have no info about the size of the batches!

Keep in mind that the latest plan (end of this week) is the deadline when the device will leave the factory. Experience indicates that it takes two weeks for them to arrive then to the doorsteps.

So we will get our devices the last week of January, which is consistent with the official update sent by e-mail in December.

But indeed. there is Chinese New Year!

 

[Raksura 270]

9 minutes ago, cmar said:

where do the "30% of the remaining pre-orders" come from (you are mentioning in your email)? 30% of the remaining pre orders would mean that a small proportion of pre orders would be completed with this large batch.

Chen tweet mentioned that all preorders will be dispatched by 25th of January.

I remember also the wording of Erik "a large batch which will make most of you happy". Sounded like more than 30% of the remaining pre orders.

Anyway the difference between big batch and small batch is quite vague, since we have no info about the size of the batches!

Also yeah, I just consider all deadlines to be when they send the devices out since they would otherwise have to specify one for every demographic (US, EU, PA), which would be even more confusing. As you say, this should not be considered to be the same as when we receive them, in case people are actually stringent on this.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Raksura

[Bruce Wayne 65]

Do we have any retailer in this community..waiting for his devices..?

[Craig 1,435]

1 hour ago, cmar said:

Chen tweet mentioned that all preorders will be dispatched by 25th of January.

I had also ssumed this to mean they hope to manufacture the remaining ~60% before the factory shutdown, after 30% are shipped to customers next week (with the assumption 5-10% have been delivered or will be this week (which includes all three batches we know about and the two retailers we know about)). 

[Tsunero 215]

4 hours ago, cmar said:

Chen tweet mentioned that all preorders will be dispatched by 25th of January.

What the heck happened to delivering all pre-orders in January? If they just dispatch by that time we will only see devices in mid to end of February....

I am getting really sick of this. If I don't see a device this month I'll refund and be done with it.

[_DW_ 628]

Every day I wait a small piece of me dies.

[Doktor Oswaldo 904]

9 minutes ago, _DW_ said:

Every day I wait a small piece of me dies.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Doktor Oswaldo

[mcdinner 375]

33 minutes ago, _DW_ said:

Every day I wait a small piece of me dies.

Yea, the waiting is not much fun...
Soon your life will be restored.

[bastib83 1]

Quote

Soon

🤣🤣

[glumreaper 144]

9 hours ago, Tsunero said:

What the heck happened to delivering all pre-orders in January? 

I'm guessing the same thing that happened to delivering in July. Or 'Summer'. Or 'within a couple of weeks of payment'. Or early November. Or mid November. Or by the end of November. Or early December. Or "definitely by the 20th of December".

Edited January 7, 2020 by glumreaper

[VaZso 1,998]

I have tried another two HDMI adapters together with my Pro1.

My first post about it was this one:

Now I have tried these adapters:
- This one seems to be a very simple and cheap adapter but also video and audio work well.
- This one also works well (both audio and video), also USB ports are working. It seems to work similarly as the similar unit in my previous post - description says it supports PD (which should be true), but QC does not go through it. However, while playing Youtube video and charging battery, it had 2A output current at 5V and phone was being charged. So it may also work for long-term video-watching as it does not discharge battery (but charges it anyway).
Additionally, VGA output is also working(!) - it was a bit worse quality than in HDMI (however, it was also the same resolution as with HDMI), but basically I was surprised it also does digital-analog conversion to provide VGA output from HDMI signal. Moreover, it seems HDMI and VGA outputs are work simultaneously.
One strange thing was with this adapter - when I have touched it, sometimes HDMI output shut down for a few seconds. Maybe it does not happen to VGA, but specifically the HDMI output and it was relatively reproducible.
However, it is a relatively cheap device and it seems to work well if I am not touching it. 🙂

Edited January 7, 2020 by VaZso

[enPfzr4v 239]

10 hours ago, Tsunero said:

What the heck happened to delivering all pre-orders in January?

Did this change?

[D1ggs 141]

Relevant

[MalteMalm 2]

On 1/6/2020 at 4:01 PM, shani said:

You do realize people's situations can change over time?
When I pre-ordered in early 2019, my financial situation was different from when they asked us to pay in August. And I would've cancelled my order if my friend hadn't offered to lend me the money. And even now my situation is different from back in August.

That said: I'd rather cut back on other things than not have a slider keyboard phone. I've been waiting for this for a decade. I imported and used outdated US phones in the past because touchscreen keyboards are a nightmare (for any kind of purpose). I used the Galaxy S4 with a BT keyboard case until the case fell apart. Bought another case, same thing happened (cheap accessory). Now they don't even sell those cases no more. I went back to the Droid 4 and the Photon Q. I tried the Blackberry Priv (nope). I even tried the Cosmo Gemini PDA in 2018 but that thing is simply not usable like a keyboard slider would.
About a year ago I was so desperate that I even made a DIY project by buying a BT qwerty case for iphones, then cutting off the plastic to stick a Samsung S7 (the most recent phone that would roughly fit the size) onto it. But even that wasn't a viable long-term solution for multiple reasons.

And don't be ridiculous. An external BT keyboard is not remotely the same. Where in your pants would you stash that keyboard? And how would you possibly type on it blindly while out on the go? Humans have only two arms. With 4 hands it would maybe be possible, but still be inconvenient.

But it's not even really about convenience. It's simply not viable as a device you rely on daily (otherwise I wouldn't have gave in and replaced it with a keyboardless phone, which is still a nightmare to me). You can't just quickly pull out a phone and BT keyboard out of your pockets to write a text.

You obviously haven't tried all kinds of "solutions" like I did, otherwise you'd know that your suggestion is nonsense.

I feel this way exactly. Well put 👍

[Sero 89]

9 hours ago, mcdinner said:

Soon

I believe you mean shortly?

[ksal95 227]

1 hour ago, Serolfic said:

I believe you mean shortly?

Definitely shortly

[epninety 87]

Just remember "Function Delivery is key"

[sasha 10]

These are just reminders. Life is hectic after the Holidaze. Don't want anyone to miss a deadline inadvertently.

Some dates to keep in mind:

19 days from today:

January 26, 2020 = 180 days (6 months) since the first day Pre-order payments were submitted (July, 31, 2019).  Why it matters: the ability to chargeback on your credit card expires at 180 days.

17 days from today:

January 25, 2020 = Chinese New Year. This lands on a Saturday, so the 7-day long celebration begins the previous day, Jan 24. But factory workers start heading home mid-January and don't return until mid February 2020.

Ostensibly, nothing will be shipping during Chinese New Year celebrations, as the entire country essentially shuts down. The wind-down and ramp up before and after the holiday extend probable shipping delays into mid-February.

3 days from today:

2 weeks out from Chinese New Year kick-off.

Refund Requests are running at 2 weeks turn-around time. If you want a refund that is not delayed by Chinese New Year, you have 3 days.

 

Erik said a big batch was shipping this week. Chen said all pre-orders to ship in January. I hope so; many timelines converging at once...

 

[Bruce Wayne 65]

7 hours ago, glumreaper said:

I'm guessing the same thing that happened to delivering in July. Or 'Summer'. Or 'within a couple of weeks of payment'. Or early November. Or mid November. Or by the end of November. Or early December. Or "definitely by the 20th of December".

Before Christmas... End of December.... 1st week of Jan.....and Definitely by the 20th Jan...

[Guest]

4 hours ago, sasha said:

These are just reminders. Life is hectic after the Holidaze. Don't want anyone to miss a deadline inadvertently.

Some dates to keep in mind:

19 days from today:

January 26, 2020 = 180 days (6 months) since the first day Pre-order payments were submitted (July, 31, 2019).  Why it matters: the ability to chargeback on your credit card expires at 180 days.

17 days from today:

January 25, 2020 = Chinese New Year. This lands on a Saturday, so the 7-day long celebration begins the previous day, Jan 24. But factory workers start heading home mid-January and don't return until mid February 2020.

Ostensibly, nothing will be shipping during Chinese New Year celebrations, as the entire country essentially shuts down. The wind-down and ramp up before and after the holiday extend probable shipping delays into mid-February.

3 days from today:

2 weeks out from Chinese New Year kick-off.

Refund Requests are running at 2 weeks turn-around time. If you want a refund that is not delayed by Chinese New Year, you have 3 days.

 

Erik said a big batch was shipping this week. Chen said all pre-orders to ship in January. I hope so; many timelines converging at once...

 

 

What is the source for the 180 days you are mentioning in your e-mail?

"January 26, 2020 = 180 days (6 months) since the first day Pre-order payments were submitted (July, 31, 2019).  Why it matters: the ability to chargeback on your credit card expires at 180 days."

 

I had asked about legal situation a couple of weeks ago on this forum. The answer which was posted by forum members was that we can ask for a refund.

 

I was more expecting something like: your pre-payment is protected by.....(Iegislation). So no need to worry. Just be patient.

It would be useful that fxtec communicates officially on this to restore the confidence.

 

 

[FlyingAntero 871]

1 hour ago, cmar said:

 

What is the source for the 180 days you are mentioning in your e-mail?

"January 26, 2020 = 180 days (6 months) since the first day Pre-order payments were submitted (July, 31, 2019).  Why it matters: the ability to chargeback on your credit card expires at 180 days."

 

I had asked about legal situation a couple of weeks ago on this forum. The answer which was posted by forum members was that we can ask for a refund.

 

I was more expecting something like: your pre-payment is protected by.....(Iegislation). So no need to worry. Just be patient.

It would be useful that fxtec communicates officially on this to restore the confidence.

 

 

180 days limit has nothing to do with F(x)tec. To my understanding, F(x)tec has not set any limit to ask for a refund. 180 days is just a common time limit that most of banks are using. For example, check this:

• https://www.op.fi/private-customers/daily-banking/cards/op-visa

Quote

Insurance and security

• You will get a 180-day insurance for your purchases, whether you pay using the debit or credit feature.
• The Visa Secure feature will protect your online payments.

F(x)tech has handled every refund claims pretty well so I don't that the end of 180-day insurance via bank is a problem.

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by FlyingAntero
Quote feature is a mess :/

[mcdinner 375]

9 hours ago, Serolfic said:

I believe you mean shortly?

oops, yea shortly it is. 
English is not my native language.. 😉 

[silversolver 849]

6 hours ago, sasha said:

3 days from today:

2 weeks out from Chinese New Year kick-off.

Refund Requests are running at 2 weeks turn-around time. If you want a refund that is not delayed by Chinese New Year, you have 3 days.

That is not relevant; the office is in the UK and will likely be mostly if not completely unaffected by CNY. It is in manufacturing and logistics where things might get delayed.

[_DW_ 628]

6 hours ago, sasha said:

17 days from today:

January 25, 2020 = Chinese New Year. This lands on a Saturday, so the 7-day long celebration begins the previous day, Jan 24. But factory workers start heading home mid-January and don't return until mid February 2020.

Ostensibly, nothing will be shipping during Chinese New Year celebrations, as the entire country essentially shuts down. The wind-down and ramp up before and after the holiday extend probable shipping delays into mid-February.

 

This is the reason Pine64 are saying the PineBook Pro won't be available again till late March.  These guys get there shipping times correct! 😉

[silversolver 849]

14 minutes ago, FlyingAntero said:

180 days limit has nothing to do with F(x)tec. To my understanding, F(x)tec has not set any limit to ask for a refund. 180 days is just a common time limit that most of banks are using. For example, check this:

• https://www.op.fi/private-customers/daily-banking/cards/op-visa

It's just that certain people feel better when they have the credit card company willing to bludgeon a company on your behalf. You and I are looking at F(x)tec as a basically sound company with good ethics and a lot of temporary logistical headaches. The 180 days people are distrustful and don't want to lose the bank bludgeon, "just in case."