Pro¹ X – state of production and delivery

[Hook 2,541]

I would think that a simply worded direct statement that if the phone is bricked, there is no guarantee, written or implied, of recovery would be sufficient.

FxTec isn't Samsung where just flashing an alternative OS voids warranty, even if a hardware failure is unrelated.  You encourage flashing alternative OSs.  I've had two warranty repairs of my Pro1, once with LOS, once with AICP.  Surely if someone bricks their phone by something they did flashing the beta, you would at least work with them to try to unbrick it.  You just need to be covered in the event that the phone can't recover even though there is no hardware malfunction. That would be a very rare case and I, personally, wouldn't worry about it.

I'm, of course, not your lawyer, but this seems reasonable to me. 🙂

Edited March 17 by Hook

[Casey 249]

@EskeRahn @Hook Agree with you both. It is a quid pro quo, and we also do encourage flashing different OS's, and beta firmwares from us should not void warranty. 

I've gone ahead and updated the Disclaimer. Please spread the word 🙂

[EskeRahn 5,052]

11 minutes ago, Casey said:

@EskeRahn @Hook Agree with you both. It is a quid pro quo, and we also do encourage flashing different OS's, and beta firmwares from us should not void warranty. 

I've gone ahead and updated the Disclaimer. Please spread the word 🙂

Great news, thanks. I will try to find time applying the beta this weekend. 😁

[Acurus 15]

Another batch? That is really nice to see, while I am waiting since May 2020 on my phone, I ordered via web site. 

Edited March 17 by Acurus

[EskeRahn 5,052]

47 minutes ago, Acurus said:

Another batch? That is really nice to see, while I am waiting since May 2020 on my phone, I ordered via web site. 

It it unauthorized... That is dealing with Chinese factories for you 🤢🤬

 

...I wonder if there are anything NOT hitting these guys....

Though it is not the first time we heard of Chinese factories producing more than ordered, and sell as fakes, though they are as good as the original - (less any warranty and support from FxTec obviously)

I thought that was mostly clothes though....

[Acurus 15]

"unauthorized"? You mean, criminal chinese factories are producing non legal Fixtec-phones, selling them to criminal japanese shops and this shops are selling them with criminal energy to the public? In this case, you are informed very very well.

Edited March 17 by Acurus

[EskeRahn 5,052]

1 hour ago, Acurus said:

"unauthorized"? You mean, criminal chinese factories are producing non legal Fixtec-phones, selling them to criminal japanese shops and this shops are selling them with criminal energy to the public? In this case, you are informed very very well.

How else would you interpret what the head of the company wrote on twitter?
 

Quote

This is unauthorized and not coming from us.

 

[PoongZY 13]

5 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

How else would you interpret what the head of the company wrote on twitter?
 

 

Chen reply is not ODM issues 

[EskeRahn 5,052]

1 hour ago, PoongZY said:

Chen reply is not ODM issues 

Yes, if it was ODM it would be authorised.

ODM is selling (almost) the same thing with different brand(s), and is fully legal (and authorised). But from the image these are clearly branded with the original FxTec Logo.
So can either be "Extra Production" or devices somehow appropriated before they reached the intended recipient.

[Acurus 15]

If you are so well informed, about what is going on, please tell us the difference: Is the selling "unauthorized"? Is the production "unauthorized"? Or both? Or does japanese shops selling faked phones?  Why this batch is "unauthorized" or faked or both, while other identical looking batches have been apparently authorized? Why this phone is always selling everywhere, but not in the hands of the persons, who ordered it?

[Rob. S. 1,500]

@Acurus Wherever those devices come from, just like the last batch offered on that site, it says "product that has not been used", but "has been opened" and "phones [...] are energized to check their operation". Of course I have not the faintest idea which exact path the phones may have taken, but that statement makes it clear that the sources, whoever they are, cannot and do not guarantee that the devices even work, so they can hardly be coming from Fxtec or on any path authorized by Fxtec.

If I had to speculate, @EskeRahn's "somehow appropriated before they reached the intended recipient" could be at the bottom of it. There are a few options imaginable about how those devices could have gotten into the wrong hands.

Edited March 18 by Rob. S.

[EskeRahn 5,052]

2 hours ago, Acurus said:

If you are so well informed, about what is going on

I wish I were, but only drawing what I see as the logical conclusion of the scraps of information we got here. But there might be other explanations beyond what I imagined possible.

[749121 7]

On 3/14/2023 at 7:02 PM, throwaway9284939 said:

Except by the time I get mine it will barely have any value left. As there have been countless threads on here of connecitivity issues, broken promises related to OS development, Expansys having a backdoor deal and people getting phones in only two days from them as opposed to two years for people who actually backed it, perks not being fulfulled in their entirety, and setback after setback with no response from FxTec beyond canned marketing quotes. By the time this phone arrives it will be worthless, its chips were already obsolete when production started. It will be nowhere near the $800+ I paid for the enthusaist bundle (including two replacement screens and a battery that will be long dead when it arrives, neither of which will show up either). This is becoming Mighty No. 9 levels of disaster, overpromise and underdeliver (or in this case, just don't deliver at all).

I've already purchased a new phone in the meantime, so I am now down a total of $1200 just because I wanted a libre phone that worked. Such a shame that XDA attached itself to a project that went this bad this quickly. 

I can only say that, as it sounds as though I am pretty much in exactly the same boat as you (I too am over 3,000 in the IGG backers' queue), I feel your pain completely and pretty much agree with the feelings you express here.  But I think the subsequent posters are unfortunately almost certainly right: unless we could prove fraud against Fxtec themselves - which personally I very much doubt they are guilty of and certainly am sure could not be proven even if I'm wrong - we have no real recourse as backers and our money is lost, unless and until we get a phone we can use or can sell, to mitigate our losses.   

I'm basically just trying to tell myself that shit happens, and just to let it go and put the whole thing down to experience.  Which is a hell of a lot easier said than done!

[EskeRahn 5,052]

1 hour ago, 749121 said:

I'm basically just trying to tell myself that shit happens, and just to let it go and put the whole thing down to experience.  Which is a hell of a lot easier said than done!

I guess it is the elusiveness, as we are kept in a state of you will get it shortly that makes it harder to not simple forget about the IGG investment. And then be happy if/when we get it despite all odds in the end. I'm a "super early bird" BTW, but was so optimistic as to choose one of the nationalised layouts (Scandinavian)...

[Acurus 15]

Another batch with 800 non authorized Pro1?

[VaZso 1,949]

Current update (here):

Quote

by FX Technology

Mar 21, 2023 • 11:19AM

29 minutes ago

Pro1-X - March Update

Dear Pro1-X backers,

Your feedback is important to us, and we have taken your comments into consideration by sharing as much detail as possible. 

Here’s our latest shipping information:

• We have shipped a total of 623 units to date.
• A total of 1332 devices are remaining to be shipped.

What contributed to the delays? - 

Devices for the remaining backers are ready and in Hong Kong. Due to ongoing difficulties with our shipping partner, we are working through getting them shipped as soon as possible. We cannot share further details as we do not want to breach business confidentiality. 

Per our previous update, contribution IDs ranging from 568 to 1126 are currently being shipped out. We would like to highlight these are the Pro1-X model 256/8GB QWERTY keyboard only. 

Many of you have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of your new device, and we want to assure you that we are working hard to resolve all orders as quickly as possible. 

OS developments

We are currently collaborating with community members on reproducing problems related to VoLTE/ping drops for further investigation. We have provided a user manual in our beta-testing Telegram group to record logs when issues relating to the modem happen. We would like to invite all backers who have a Pro1-X in hand to join our beta-testing group so we can work together to solve this problem! Please note that the disclaimer for this scheme has been altered so you won’t lose warranty upon flashing a beta-firmware from us. In very rare cases where your Pro1-X is bricked during the flashing process, we assure you that we will work with you to resolve it. 

On another note, as we are also investigating the battery protection issue, we would like to carefully remind you to always ensure there is some level of charge in your Pro1-X - even if you don’t use it. At times, the battery can likely go into a sleep state that would require a jolt to activate again. During this time, your phone will not boot and will not charge. If you’ve encountered this, please get in touch with us at info at fxtec.com.

We apologise for the inconvenience, and we appreciate your understanding and patience throughout.

Team Fxtec

 

[zundappchef 65]

This is how i see it and im probably wrong

so their phones have been sold by the shipping company that has them since july 2022
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pro1-x-smartphone-functionality-choice-control/x/25381237#/updates/40
Fx already paid them but they want more money because of shipping prices going up 
But Fx tec cant or don't want to pay more money

Meantime the shipping company just sold the stock  because of payment issues to people who are interested and shipped them to Japan (  the japanese company is not at fault since they might have purchased the devices without knowing)
Now the shipping partner might be able to ship but might not have any devices 😅
In terms its not FX tec that's doing stuff wrong or making false promises . Its the partner that does the shipping who is screwing us the backers of the device and Fx Tec
The amount they are screwing the backers and Fx tec Might lead to this project being a failure

Must be extremely frustrating to FX tec and if this is correct they get all the hate and blame while its the shipping company's fault
If  this is true and FX tec would ask me to pay for the shipping again i would do it !

IF i was FX tec i would ask for my money back 

[claude0001 1,118]

25 minutes ago, zundappchef said:

Meantime the shipping company just sold the stock  because of payment issues to people who are interested and shipped them to Japan [...] Now the shipping partner might be able to ship but might not have any devices 😅

I also once had a theory along the lines of Expansys "appropriating" part of the stock . However, F(x)tec now explicitly state that at least all IGG-backed phones are "ready and in Hong Kong".

[steff 35]

30 minutes ago, zundappchef said:

This is how i see it and im probably wrong

so their phones have been sold by the shipping company that has them since july 2022
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pro1-x-smartphone-functionality-choice-control/x/25381237#/updates/40
Fx already paid them but they want more money because of shipping prices going up 
But Fx tec cant or don't want to pay more money

Meantime the shipping company just sold the stock  because of payment issues to people who are interested and shipped them to Japan (  the japanese company is not at fault since they might have purchased the devices without knowing)
Now the shipping partner might be able to ship but might not have any devices 😅
In terms its not FX tec that's doing stuff wrong or making false promises . Its the partner that does the shipping who is screwing us the backers of the device and Fx Tec
The amount they are screwing the backers and Fx tec Might lead to this project being a failure

Must be extremely frustrating to FX tec and if this is correct they get all the hate and blame while its the shipping company's fault
If  this is true and FX tec would ask me to pay for the shipping again i would do it !

IF i was FX tec i would ask for my money back 

Imo the campaign owner is always responsible. It is a part of the campaign to choose business partners, who are reliable, to negotiate contracts, maybe including contractual penalties, and a lot of other things.

[EskeRahn 5,052]

54 minutes ago, zundappchef said:

Must be extremely frustrating to FX tec and if this is correct they get all the hate and blame while its the shipping company's fault

We do not know what terms their contract has/had, end they might not even be at liberty to disclose it.

So though 'appropriating' may look like stealing to us as recipients, it might be an agreed procedure within some small prints of the contract.

We do not know what the payment terms are/were either, it might not be as simple as FxTec paid all shipping in advance, and any raise is the shippers issue.

[Casey 249]

50 minutes ago, zundappchef said:

This is how i see it and im probably wrong

so their phones have been sold by the shipping company that has them since july 2022
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pro1-x-smartphone-functionality-choice-control/x/25381237#/updates/40
Fx already paid them but they want more money because of shipping prices going up 
But Fx tec cant or don't want to pay more money

Meantime the shipping company just sold the stock  because of payment issues to people who are interested and shipped them to Japan (  the japanese company is not at fault since they might have purchased the devices without knowing)
Now the shipping partner might be able to ship but might not have any devices 😅
In terms its not FX tec that's doing stuff wrong or making false promises . Its the partner that does the shipping who is screwing us the backers of the device and Fx Tec
The amount they are screwing the backers and Fx tec Might lead to this project being a failure

Must be extremely frustrating to FX tec and if this is correct they get all the hate and blame while its the shipping company's fault
If  this is true and FX tec would ask me to pay for the shipping again i would do it !

IF i was FX tec i would ask for my money back 

Thanks for your understanding. It's been a hectic journey but we still 100% have confidence in shipping all orders/contributions to everyone.

16 minutes ago, steff said:

Imo the campaign owner is always responsible. It is a part of the campaign to choose business partners, who are reliable, to negotiate contracts, maybe including contractual penalties, and a lot of other things.

Yes, you're right. But there were some unpredicted events that really impacted this project, namely, the SoC change - where we spent nearly half the fundraised amount. If those funds were still available, all problems would be solved. 

We've also addressed some key questions people have been raising in the IGG comments section. If you have time, please have a read.

[steff 35]

2 minutes ago, Casey said:

Thanks for your understanding. It's been a hectic journey but we still 100% have confidence in shipping all orders/contributions to everyone.

Yes, you're right. But there were some unpredicted events that really impacted this project, namely, the SoC change - where we spent nearly half the fundraised amount. If those funds were still available, all problems would be solved. 

We've also addressed some key questions people have been raising in the IGG comments section. If you have time, please have a read.

The SoC change is a turning point in the campaign. As the 835 soc was nearly out of life when you started the crowdfunding, imho Fxtec should have ensured to get this soc by buying and storing theese themself.

[EskeRahn 5,052]

7 minutes ago, Casey said:

Thanks for your understanding. It's been a hectic journey but we still 100% have confidence in shipping all orders/contributions to everyone.

I wonder if some clever ways of remedying the shipping costs could be thought up?

What if we somehow could order spare parts, and the money for those were used to send the devices 'immediately', and we then waited for the spare parts to be produced&sent in stead?

I for one would like to have some spare parts. e.g. usb-boards, and also keyboard-tops and keyboard mat. But as the need is not imminent a delay of send for even several months would be totally acceptable (to me).

[Hook 2,541]

3 minutes ago, steff said:

imho Fxtec should have ensured to get this soc by buying and storing theese themself.

I believe they did get assurances before the campaign, but that's why the crowdfunding was needed. As soon as the money was released, they paid for the order.  And the supplier accepted (and didn't return that payment). This is why crowdfunding is gambling... Unfortunately, the theme song of this crowdfunding campaign is one of those blues songs where the singer intones "If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."  😟

[claude0001 1,118]

21 minutes ago, Casey said:

[...] But there were some unpredicted events that really impacted this project, namely, the SoC change - where we spent nearly half the fundraised amount. If those funds were still available, all problems would be solved. 

We've also addressed some key questions people have been raising in the IGG comments section. [...]

I agree with some of the IGG comments that it would have been better to end the project when it became clear that the SD835 could no longer be acquired. I wonder if some of the Pro1-X's problems could have been avoided, had it not been developed under the pressure of having to deliver it to all backers ...

I understand that it is easy to feel smart in hindsight, and that decisions made two years ago cannot be undone anyhow. But, in the IGG comments, you argue that continuing the project based on the new SD662 had literally been the only option, as the SoC change "only became apparent 1.5+ years into the campaign". I do not see how this is true.

The fundraising campaign started in October 2020 and officially ended in December 2020. According to your own timeline on IGG, re-design of the mainboard for the 662-Pro1-X started as early as in January 2021. That's just one month after the funding had been raised, based on the assumption that a trivial 835-Pro1 variant would be made ...