$Id: google-support.malblog,v 1.4 2016/12/13 01:10:28 homer Exp $
| [ | Date | | | 2016-12-11 12:03 -0500 | ] |
It is common knowledge that, even as a paying customer of Google services, it is very hard to get proper support, and impossible to get someone on the phone to help. Well, it turns out that my experience dealing with hardware warranty for items bought through Google Play (or is it Google Store now?) was quite positive. Since there is usually much more incentive to complain rather than to sing a service's praises, which distorts the overall perception of a company's service quality, I thought it would make sense for me to chime in.
It turns out that the Nexus 5X phone I bought in March of 2016 started suffering from an infinite bootloop issue: it crashed while I was using it, and went to the bootloader screen, then to the Google splash screen, but no further. After forcing a reboot by holding the power button, it would loop bootloader, Google splash, reboot.
It appears that I was lucky enough for the issue to be known to Google support --it is described by many on Google's Android issue tracker-- so that a ten-minute call with a friendly and helpful representative ended in me being offer a replacement (as usual, a UPS return label, and an order from the Store for an identical item). The return instructions asked me to do my best to wipe my data out of the device before shipping it.
It is interesting to note that the representative was very carefully reading the steps highlighted in her support script, making sure I was able to follow each one of them: one can assume that, while the issue is common enough for Google to recognize it and offers returns when it is positively identified, it is also rare enough for support personal note to be fully familiar with it.
I had several wireless chargers, those futuristic devices which were usable on some Nexus devices from about 2012 to 2014, notably the Nexus 4 and 5 phones, and the Nexus 7 (2013) tablet (among others: this uses the open standard Qi). One of them, for some unknown reason, once failed to actually charge my phone, and even became hot to the point of melting (partially; mostly around the micro-USB socket: the USB plug also showed some signs of melting, but the charger itself did not show any external signs of damage).
I went to Google's hardware support page, logged into the same Google account that I had used to buy the device. It prompted me to enter my order number and a short description of the issue. I had the option to be called back in French or in English, the former within more limited hours. I figured there would be much more manpower and things would be faster in English, so that's what I chose. I got called back within minutes. After I explained that the device had melted, I was advised to unplug it and stop using it immediately.
After answering some more straightforward questions, I was informed that I would be offered a replacement. How this worked is that, a few minutes after hanging up, I received an e-mail containing (1) a UPS mailing label and return letter, to be shipped together with the returned item, by dropping it at a UPS location and (2) a link to the Google Store, to order the exact same item that was defective. The ordering process allowed choosing a delivery address in the same country as the original purchase, and updating payment information: while the replacement was free, an authorization for the entire item's value was put on my credit card until the original item was received by Google.
Quick links:
David Haguenauer
<www@kurokatta.org>
$Id: google-support.malblog,v 1.4 2016/12/13 01:10:28 homer Exp $