Pro1 mysteriously died yesterday...

[archseraphim 50]

I lost the original screen to a fall late last year but got it up and running again with a replacement from aliexpress and all was going well. Unfortunately after about a year and a half of use my Pro1 just mysteriously... stopped working. All I know is that it was working fine when I woke up and it was placed on my desk while I was working, until at some point I picked it up to check for messages and found it was powered off and not turning back on. Plugging it in made no difference, and the light to indicate charging doesn't even illuminate in the first place, even after trying several different cables, adapters, and USB ports.

...and the sad thing is I don't think I'm even going to miss it.

I'd love to have a modern phone with a physical keyboard again, but having to contemplate buying a replacement device has made me realise just how many small annoyances I quietly accepted and dealt with while using the Pro1. Between the shifted keyboard (which I know has been corrected with the Pro1X), spotty bluetooth, inconvenient fingerprint sensor, and lack of updates, it's just not a device I can in good conscience recommend to people, and am not interested in returning to the brand myself. And on top of all that I barely used the keyboard at all, which was the entire point of the device.

I really wanted to like this phone, but if anything my time with it has finally sold me on the idea that physical keyboards on phones are dead.

Edited July 5, 2021 by archseraphim

[EskeRahn 5,460]

I totally agree that the Pro1/Pro1X is not a device for everyone. For those entering a modest amount of texts, a real keyboard might not outweigh the various issues (size, weight, curved display and many others) but for us that uses a keyboard a lot, there are few alternatives. And in my book comparing those ends as an easy win for the Pro1. BUT that is my personal weighing, other might end up prefering one of the few alternatives, or even decide to let do with a fake (=touch) keyboard, to get a device sold in millions or billions, and thus (most likely) a more smooth experience..

[Doktor Oswaldo 904]

14 hours ago, archseraphim said:

I lost the original screen to a fall late last year but got it up and running again with a replacement from aliexpress and all was going well. Unfortunately after about a year and a half of use my Pro1 just mysteriously... stopped working. All I know is that it was working fine when I woke up and it was placed on my desk while I was working, until at some point I picked it up to check for messages and found it was powered off and not turning back on. Plugging it in made no difference, and the light to indicate charging doesn't even illuminate in the first place, even after trying several different cables, adapters, and USB ports.

...and the sad thing is I don't think I'm even going to miss it.

I had exactly the same, even was looking at the phone while it turned black. Still trying to repair it, but I will have to send it in I think.

BUT I MISS THAT DAMN THING EVERYTIME I PICK UP MY PHONE 😪

So please send the thing in for repair and then sell it to someone who is as desperate as me!

[PokeParadox 62]

1 hour ago, Doktor Oswaldo said:

I had exactly the same, even was looking at the phone while it turned black. Still trying to repair it, but I will have to send it in I think.

BUT I MISS THAT DAMN THING EVERYTIME I PICK UP MY PHONE 😪

So please send the thing in for repair and then sell it to someone who is as desperate as me!

Yep - Had this same problem, even down to looking at it as it faded to black!
They replaced it fairly quickly (covid considering), but it was long enough that I had to get an intermediary phone...  sigh.

[archseraphim 50]

6 hours ago, Doktor Oswaldo said:

I had exactly the same, even was looking at the phone while it turned black. Still trying to repair it, but I will have to send it in I think.

BUT I MISS THAT DAMN THING EVERYTIME I PICK UP MY PHONE 😪

So please send the thing in for repair and then sell it to someone who is as desperate as me!

It's out of warranty and I have no interest in paying for its repair. I will also not be selling or giving away a device which contains personal information that I am unable to personally verify is wiped or unrecoverable, sorry.

[Hook 3,020]

1 hour ago, archseraphim said:

It's out of warranty and I have no interest in paying for its repair. I will also not be selling or giving away a device which contains personal information that I am unable to personally verify is wiped or unrecoverable, sorry.

How can it be out of warranty?  All Pro1s are still under 2 years since they were shipped.  They could decide the initial drop was at fault and say it isn't a covered by the warranty, but the warranty should still be in effect.

[VaZso 1,998]

3 hours ago, archseraphim said:

It's out of warranty and I have no interest in paying for its repair. I will also not be selling or giving away a device which contains personal information that I am unable to personally verify is wiped or unrecoverable, sorry.

As @Hook wrote, it should be still covered by warranty, however, it may happen they can only replace it with a Pro1-X once it becomes available...

However, I think it is a very high chance that the cause of your problem is the UFS Flash itself, and that is an IC which contains (or most likely contained) all your data.
Also, data is encrypted by default, so even if the flash would work, others may not have access to it.

If it is the very same problem what my friend's Pro1 had, then practically your data already non-existent...

However, I would be also interested to buy it as it is full of parts and probably it may be repaired if that IC is physically accessible, but that would need the replacement of the complete internal flash, so no user data would be kept in any ways.

[archseraphim 50]

2 hours ago, Hook said:

How can it be out of warranty?  All Pro1s are still under 2 years since they were shipped.  They could decide the initial drop was at fault and say it isn't a covered by the warranty, but the warranty should still be in effect.

Oh, strange. According to the FAQ here ( https://www.fxtec.com/faq ) it's a one year warranty. I'll reach out to fxtec and verify.

[Hook 3,020]

Okay, That's disturbing.  Here's what it read in  January 2021, courtesy of the internet archive.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210127063610/https://www.fxtec.com/faq

I also see that the Pro1x FAQ has changed to  1 year warranty.  The IGG pages aren't in the Internet archive, but we have VaZso quoting the original information here:

I know the two year policy has been stated by FxTec people in the past, but there remains nothing official about it.  Please let us know what you fond out.  This change seems to have slipped in with no announcement.  Would be lovely if it was just an error of someone updating the pages, but I suspect not.

[Jordi 72]

In EU, a minimum warranty of 2 years is mandatory, regardless of what the seller or manufacturer says.

See here : https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm

[archseraphim 50]

1 hour ago, Jordi said:

In EU, a minimum warranty of 2 years is mandatory, regardless of what the seller or manufacturer says.

See here : https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm

I'm not in the EU.

[Hook 3,020]

This is deeply buried in the comments on IGG from 4 months ago, in reply by FxTec to a post by @EskeRahn.  Of course, we don't know who was speaking...

Quote

We're a small community, so these issues naturally stand out when they arise. However, percentage-wise, there's nothing scary about it. That's why all our devices come with a 2 year guarantee.

You can find it, but you have to do a *lot* of scrolling. 😄

[Doktor Oswaldo 904]

16 hours ago, archseraphim said:

I'm not in the EU.

where are you from then? Most smaller countries in Europe that are not in the EU have similar rulings.

[archseraphim 50]

Eastern Canada.

I've gotten the initial response back from f(x)tec support and they've confirmed that I am still covered, so now just going over some basic troubleshooting with them. Here's hoping!

[zundappchef 100]

On 7/6/2021 at 10:41 PM, Jordi said:

In EU, a minimum warranty of 2 years is mandatory, regardless of what the seller or manufacturer says.

See here : https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm

not going to lie but that is a killer website page right there 
lets just say Fx tec could get some serious legal isues from all these devices 

i wont ever take this to court , but i might send a well written email stating some legal facts about the money i spend

[EskeRahn 5,460]

2 hours ago, zundappchef said:

not going to lie but that is a killer website page right there 
lets just say Fx tec could get some serious legal isues from all these devices 

i wont ever take this to court , but i might send a well written email stating some legal facts about the money i spend

It is certainly not an easy road for a small company being swindled like they were. I'm amazed they got the stamina to push on, and did not just close their business. And indeed if they are so unlucky as to be flooded with warranty requests it might be very hard for them to fulfil what they legally are obliged to.

So a big thumbs up from me for their will to fight, And fingers crossed on the road ahead being more smooth,

[_DW_ 628]

On 7/6/2021 at 9:41 PM, Jordi said:

In EU, a minimum warranty of 2 years is mandatory, regardless of what the seller or manufacturer says.

See here : https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/consumer-contracts-guarantees/consumer-guarantees/index_en.htm

Depends when you bought it as FxTec are not part of EU (well I have not seen a legal entity for them may have missed it).   

The transition period has expired now for EU and UK so it falls under UK consumer law which is different.

[npatel1050 132]

I wonder if the warranty starts from purchase date or when you receive it.

Either way, 1 year warranty is really not enough from a company that has this many deficiencies. Both production and post sale issues

[Rob. S. 1,660]

Even in the EU, at least in Germany, those two years warranty are really only half a year, because after that it's the purchaser's obligation to prove that a defect was the manufacturer's fault. So a full year of real manufacturer's warranty may actually be an improvement to what the law requires. 

[EskeRahn 5,460]

19 minutes ago, Rob. S. said:

Even in the EU, at least in Germany, those two years warranty are really only half a year, because after that it's the purchaser's obligation to prove that a defect was the manufacturer's fault. So a full year of real manufacturer's warranty may actually be an improvement to what the law requires. 

In Denmark it is one year full warranty, and the second year you have to prove it was the manufacturers fault.
(That is why planned obsolescence is not uncommon to kick in shortly after the second year)

[DieBruine 397]

Aaaargh!!!! Mine also just stopped working. Well, the screen stopped working. I assume there is something wrong with the flat cable and/ or connectors. When connected to an USB C screen I do get an output. But the LED on the display won't light up. And I don't have a spare Pro1 😢 . Well this will be interesting then. Which one will be delivered earlier, my repaired Pro1 or my Pro1x 🤨.

And Tuesday I was planning a road trip 😒.

@ archseraphim please do keep us posted...

[npatel1050 132]

I wonder if th phone is covered under credit card warranty extensions