Received a damaged Nexus 4

[ampl1f1er]

I received my nexus 4 today, and right after opening the box, I was really disappointed to know that the phone has a minor dent on the side chrome.

It may not be very visible in the attached pics, but if you look at it against the light, you can easily notice the crimple on the otherwise smooth chrome.

Anyone else received such damaged nexus 4's? The return/exchange procedure is a big hassle, I am not sure if I want to go through it.

- Unhappy customer

 

[anon(847090)]

return and get it replaced. whats the huge deal. call google.

 

[socaltyger]

I'd definitely return that one, yikes. As an FYI my Nexus4 did not come with any protective plastic on the side trim at all.

 

[reign831]

I received my nexus 4 today, and right after opening the box, I was really disappointed to know that the phone has a minor dent on the side chrome.

It may not be very visible in the attached pics, but if you look at it against the light, you can easily notice the crimple on the otherwise smooth chrome.

Anyone else received such damaged nexus 4's? The return/exchange procedure is a big hassle, I am not sure if I want to go through it.

- Unhappy customer

The return/exchange procedure is less hassle than whining about it in my opinion.

Contact Google, ship it back, and they give you a new phone.

Ez-Pz

 

[ampl1f1er]

I planned to gift this to some in a couple of weeks. Tried calling up google and they said that they are out of stock, so they cannot guarantee when my replacement will be shipped. I guess I will have to gift this phone the way it is.

 

[Fairclough]

I planned to gift this to some in a couple of weeks. Tried calling up google and they said that they are out of stock, so they cannot guarantee when my replacement will be shipped. I guess I will have to gift this phone the way it is.

Hold onto it for a bit till the second batch, then return it. I am sure the second batch will be within the next 14 days.

 

[Ziptied]

You open and play with gifts before giving them? who does that?

 

[fatkiid]

I too received my Nexus 4 with two small aberrations (dings) on the chrome bezel.

It's subtle enough that it's hard to take an accurate photograph, but it's definitely visible and you can feel it with your fingers.

I don't think the phone was damaged as much as it's a build quality issue.

Sometimes Google and their partners are pure amateur hour.

 

[Kamin]

return and get it replaced. whats the huge deal. call google.

LOL! Funny >_>

 

[Ziptied]

I too received my Nexus 4 with two small aberrations (dings) on the chrome bezel.

It's subtle enough that it's hard to take an accurate photograph, but it's definitely visible and you can feel it with your fingers.

I don't think the phone was damaged as much as it's a build quality issue.

Sometimes Google and their partners are pure amateur hour.

Or sometimes, in building thousands upon thousands of devices, things happen.

 

[Kamin]

It's quite hilarious to read all the people advising to call a company regarding a customer service issue when said company is an utter failure at customer service. Now that's solid dark comedy material right there.

 

[fatkiid]

Or sometimes, in building thousands upon thousands of devices, things happen.

Six Sigma manufacturing.

Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes

 

[natehoy]

Six Sigma manufacturing.

What's your point? Six Sigma does not in any way ensure freedom from defects, it's a buzzword for what good manufacturing companies have been doing for many years (where it was possible to remove any possibility of the defect recurring without spending so much as to make manufacturing unprofitable) but lacked the $400,000 MBAs to tell them what it was called.

 

[darthus]

Hey OP, did you verify that you removed the small amount of plastic around the edges of the Chrome? There are 4 veeeery small strips. When I pulled it out of the box I thought there were dings on the edges of the chrome as well until I peeled off the plastic.

 

[theween04]

I noticed a tiny scratch on the chrome of mine, nothing nearly like the OP and at the moment I think I will just live with it. Also mine did not come with any small plastic strips on the chrome. I def. realize that things happen so it doesn't bother me too much, it actually bothers me more that there was no plastic strips on the chrome.

 

[sinistar25]

Yep, wait a bit then return it. Second batch of phones may even have the possible thermal throttling issues fixed

 

[seventeenseconds]

I'll share my experience. My N4 came with some damage as well. On the back plate you can see scratches near the camera under the glass and through the patterned coating. Also, there are three faint lines running down from the top towards the bottom about 1/3rd the way, basically the start of cracks, but from the backside of the "glass" (inside out). It just looks like pressure was put on it from the other side and stressed it. Disappointing, yes, but the phone is 100% functional otherwise.

I called Google Play support that night and spoke to someone. It was my first time calling. My rep was very nice and completely understanding. He immediately arranged for the RMA and sent me instructions including a pre-paid shipping label. I thought it would take weeks, but he told me they kept a reserve number of devices to handle defective ones which is understandable. They will ship the replacement before you sending yours back in, but they will authorize (not charge) your credit card. They do this to prevent fraud which is again completely understandable. I'd *much* rather have an authorization on my card, then be without a device during the RMA process waiting for a new one.

I have to give Google credit. The process has been very painless and easy. I thanked my rep and gave him props (he appreciated) as I'm sure they've been through a heck of a week. He was very polite and understanding throughout and didn't try to shuffle me off (getting off the call quickly) at all. Big thumbs up!

 

[fatkiid]

What's your point? Six Sigma does not in any way ensure freedom from defects, it's a buzzword for what good manufacturing companies have been doing for many years (where it was possible to remove any possibility of the defect recurring without spending so much as to make manufacturing unprofitable) but lacked the $400,000 MBAs to tell them what it was called.

Whatever technique or methodology is used in manufacturing, there should be a stronger effort to reduce the variance in the final product.
And anecdotally from this small sample size, is not consistent for Google and their partners.

 

[ampl1f1er]

Hey OP, did you verify that you removed the small amount of plastic around the edges of the Chrome? There are 4 veeeery small strips. When I pulled it out of the box I thought there were dings on the edges of the chrome as well until I peeled off the plastic.

Yes, I peeled off the plastic, but the ding is very real.

I agree with seventeenseconds that the Google rep was patient and helpful. Unfortunately, when I asked them about any reserve stock for replacing damaged phones, he said they are completely out of stock.

I guess I will take Fairclough's advice and wait for the next batch. Hope it comes out soon.

 

[anon(833289)]

I would buy the damaged phone off of you.