Those of you who had to return a broken Droid...?

[beefydoc]

Regrettably Done with the Droid for Now

I regrettably had to return my Droid today to Verizon for good. The problem, which I assume to probably be a software issue, is that anytime I use the headphone jack to listen to tunes or podcasts in the car and then remove the chord from the jack both the phone speaker (the actual speaker for the phone that is at the top of the touchscreen) and the speaker phone do not work. The only way to get them to work again is to reboot the phone. This is the second phone I have had with this exact same problem, and Verizon seemed unwilling or unable to let me exchange it for a third phone.
Because I bought the Droid to replace my old smart phone and my Ipod, not being able to easily switch between music and phone calls was a dealbreaker for me. I was up against the 30 day return window with Verizon, so I had to decide whether I wanted to wait on a software upgrade to fix the problem. A software upgrade that may never come.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the Droid otherwise. I guess I will just have to wait on another Android phone to come out that I can use with Verizon (maybe an unlocked Nexus One) or just get a iPhone in a couple of months when my Verizon contract runs out. I have searched the forum and have seen a couple of threads that touch on this issue, but they seem to all meander into posts about a static problem in the headphone jack which I did not have. Is this a widespread problem? I have to believe it is since both my phones were essentially doing the same thing.
The worst part is that now I have to reactivate my WinMo smartphone. It's like going from HDTV to a 12" black and white TV

 

[Erich_F]

Did you try pausing the audio, then restarting it? It's supposed to pause/mute the audio in case the cord is pulled, in order to not bother folks around you with a blast of volume. I thought that all you had to do was make a volume change to get it out of the built-in speaker afterwards.

Oh well, sucks for you I guess

 

[vacfuzzy]

my phone won't rotate when I'm using the browser; stays in landscape mode.

 

[Martin030908]

my phone won't rotate when I'm using the browser; stays in landscape mode.

Open your browser, go into settings, there's a check box (which i have hit on accident) that says browser in landscape only. Turn that box off and it'll rotate back to portrait.

 

[Timster]

A follow up on my post about a black spot in my photos and videos. I exchanged the phone today with no issues. My camera so far works flawlessly. I talked to the head rep at this very busy Verizon store and asked if he has seen very many returns of the Motorola Droid. He said in the month of December he has had two....count them, two people return the phone....that would be me and one other person...This phone is solid.:icon_ banana::icon_ banana::icon_ banana:

 

[beefydoc]

I beg to differ on the solid. I have returned two, count 'em two Droids myself in the last 30 days to my very busy Verizon store. You don't have to look hard in these forums to see that a lot have been returned.

 

[Timster]

I beg to differ on the solid. I have returned two, count 'em two Droids myself in the last 30 days to my very busy Verizon store. You don't have to look hard in these forums to see that a lot have been returned.

Correct me if I'm wrong but by even reading your post you admit that a update "might" fix your problem however you don't want to wait.

The Droid has crashed on me, froze on me and has lag sometimes. I understand that the phone is still in it's infancy and will only improve as time goes on.

When I say solid I am referring to the workmanship of the phone. The Droid is still "rough around the edges" as far as software development is concerned.

 

[beefydoc]

Yes, a software update might.....MIGHT...... fix the problem someday ( a problem that Motorola and Verizon will not even acknowledge, so whether they are working on a fix is anyone's guess.). But if I waited more than one more day than I would not have the option of a return b/c of Verizon's 30 day return policy.
I bought the phone as a replacement for my previous phone, iPod and and for mobile web capabilities. It is being touted and sold as the iPhone killer. I just think if you bring a product to market as an iPhone killer you should be able to play MP3's and then answer the phone without having to reboot it. I think that is a reasonable expectation. I agree that the workmanship of the Droid seems solid, but that makes no difference if the phone cannot perform basic functions without a reboot.

 

[vacfuzzy]

my phone won't rotate when I'm using the browser; stays in landscape mode.

Open your browser, go into settings, there's a check box (which i have hit on accident) that says browser in landscape only. Turn that box off and it'll rotate back to portrait.

Thanx Martin,that was the problem; must have done the same thing by mistake!

 

[KZIWarrior]

I beg to differ on the solid. I have returned two, count 'em two Droids myself in the last 30 days to my very busy Verizon store. You don't have to look hard in these forums to see that a lot have been returned.

The Droid sold 250k units in the first week alone. Many estimates are that it is either quickly approaching or already surpassed 1MILLION units... this site has 22977 users (as of this writing) so even if EVERY member on here had a defected unit that would only be a 2.3% failure rate... for such a device (i.e. complicated, first model ect.) that is a DAM GOOD failure rate. M$ and Sony WISH they could hit numbers like that. Combined that many of the problems people have come from excessive app use and, to be honest having no idea what they are doing, I dare say the actual hardware failure is the lowest you could expect. I know Apple wishes they had such a successful launch (I know MANY people that had problems with the first iPhones). Why do you think the first iPhone was so limited (i.e. needing 2 more releases to get to where the Droid was on it's first release, app availability excluded)

 

[beefydoc]

That sounds great unless your the guy who has had 2 Droids with the exact same problem, a problem that is well documented in a lot of places. I was more than willing to try a third Droid, I absolutely loved the phone. But Verizon was not willing to work with me outside of their 30 day return window, and the phone is too expensive to hold onto and HOPE that a software upgrade MAY fix the problem somewhere down the road. I wish Verizon had as much confidence in the phone as you seem to.

 

[CorvetteAustin24]

I returned my droid after a few days due to a loose headphone jack. I tried with many different headphones just to confirm the issue. I've had my 2nd one for about 3 weeks now and it's flawless. All the buttons also seem more responsive too, so the first one must have gotten a little messed up. I understand these things happen when you manufacture millions of units, so taking it back didn't bother me too much.

It's annoying seeing people whine on the forums about problems while still in the 30 days, and everyone is still under the year warranty. Someone is going to be unlucky and get multiple units that may have something defective, quit yer *****in and just exchange it.

 

[codyodyody]

what happens after the thirty days?? I have the full verizon warrenty. Also what happens if you damage or lose it?? how much for the replacement with the warrenty?

 

[CorvetteAustin24]

what happens after the thirty days?? I have the full verizon warrenty. Also what happens if you damage or lose it?? how much for the replacement with the warrenty?

I think it's $85 for a replacement if you have insurance.

 

[snowman]

Bad Camera from day one for me, after taking a picture it would try to save the pic , lock up the phone and it would re start.,never taking a picture and storing it.
VZW replaced it on line next day air sending back old one with ship label they provided, all GREAT with second phone it works perfect so far.
Camera is actually pretty good for a phone and I'm a photographer.
I realy liike my Droid