270c problem: intermittent blank-out until power cycle

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Dave Hau - 01 Feb 2004 06:53 GMT

I bought my Timeport 270c brand new from a Verizon vendor last April and
have only been using my Timeport 270c for about 9 months when it developed
this problem where the phone would suddenly blank out totally. This is
usually when I press a key to receive an incoming call. So it's really
annoying. The only way I've found to fix the problem is to power cycle the
phone by removing the battery then putting it back.

My firmware version is 2101.03.28.05 if that matters.

Has anyone else run into this? Is there any easy fix other than to send it
back for repair?

Thanks,
Dave

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dirty rat 753 - 01 Feb 2004 14:57 GMT

You found a dealer to sell you a new 270c 9 months ago? got any more?

I know Express Exchange has a supply of 270c's. Why are you messing with it
at all?

> I bought my Timeport 270c brand new from a Verizon vendor last April and
> have only been using my Timeport 270c for about 9 months when it developed
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> Thanks,
> Dave

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Dave Hau - 01 Feb 2004 20:01 GMT

Yeah I saw it at a Verizon kiosk in a local shopping mall here in the SF Bay
Area 9 months ago. Signed up for the $39.99 America's Choice with a 2-year
term, and got the phone for $59.99. I didn't sign up for "Total Equipment
Coverage" or "Wireless Phone Protection" though. Is that what you were
referring to by "Express Exchange"? So I probably have to rely on the
manufacturer's one-year warranty.

This problem may have started since I began using the keypad-lock feature.
But I'm not sure. I'll try not to use that feature in the next week and see
if the problem goes away.

- Dave

> You found a dealer to sell you a new 270c 9 months ago? got any more?
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> > Thanks,
> > Dave

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dirty rat 753 - 01 Feb 2004 22:37 GMT

The phone has a warranty, but you need a replacement till it's fixed.

Ah, ask cs to add TEC, talk a few days and report the problem. I mean you
have a 1 year guarantee, it's not like to getting something for nothing.

I'd keep a spare Nokia 3285 or 5185. or a spare 270c off ebay

> Yeah I saw it at a Verizon kiosk in a local shopping mall here in the SF Bay
> Area 9 months ago. Signed up for the $39.99 America's Choice with a 2-year
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
> > > Thanks,
> > > Dave

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PDA Man - 02 Feb 2004 17:02 GMT

Several of us have had recent NIGHTMARE stories witr Motorola Service
Center. They have outsourced there Customer Service Phone Bank to South
America and it is PATHETIC. All we can do is make sure you follow the
following instructions,.
1.First off is make sure that you provide a clean and legible copy of proof
of purchase.
2.Make sure that the phones ESN or IMEI number is posted on all enclosed
correspondence as well as in plain sight on the shipping box. (The phone is
received and tracked through the IMEI/ ESN. ( FYI, 800 MHz AMPS phones have
ESNs where PCS1900 and GSM phones have IMEI numbers )
3. Be EXTREMELY specific in your documentation of what the phones
,malfunctions are. You cannot give them too much info to help diagnose the
problem.
4. Make sure that you give them complete access to you for contact. Home and
Work numbers and return shipping address.
5. Make sure you use a shipping carrier that will generate a Tracking number
and proof of arrival. The amount of phones that "We have not received yet",
is a very big problem,.You want to be able to prove that Motorola received
the phone at what location and signed for by who.
6. Plan on not having the phone for 2-3 weeks. That has been the norm for
the last 3 phones documented on here.

The contact number for Motorola is 1-800-331-6456
The phone will be shipped to:
Motorola National Service Center
Door 40
5555 North Beach Street
Ft Worth TEX
76137

Make sure phone is well packaged and do not send batteries (unless a power
issue), cases and headsets etc, no accessories.

Also, unfortunately you have purchased a Verizon distributed phone. Motorola
will not flash the phone with the latest FIRMWARE which supports Bluetooth,
due to the fact Verizon does not accept Bluetooth on their system. If they
receive a phone with Verizon Logo or existing Verizon Firmware, you will
onluy get the latest Verizon approved firmware, which will not have
Bluetooth support. You may opt to ask for the bluetooth firmware and maybe
get a tech that is not informed, or not stringent on the rules, or thinks it
is Bullshit. I would say "Look I bought the Bluetooth Module, I cannot use
it, nobofy warned me, please flash my phone to enable Bluetooth. You have
nothing to lose. The Firmware you want is 2203.01.35 which is the latest
Motorola Stock Software for the 270c with Bluetooth .
Good Luck

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Dave Hau - 02 Feb 2004 18:14 GMT

Thanks, PDA Man, for the heads up. Currently, I plan to take the phone into
one of Verizon's local Level 2 service centers first, and see if they have
any "express exchange" units in stock for immediate replacement. The phone
is 9 months old and within its one-year warranty so I should be eligible for
express exchange if it's available. If Verizon cannot help me, then I'd
have to send it to Motorola for repair.

My worry is that I haven't figured out how to reproduce the problem. I
tried calling my cell phone from my home phone yesterday and everything
worked fine. The problem didn't occur. But the problem would occur once in
a while, frequent enough to be annoying. So I might have to figure that out
first before sending it to Motorola, as you suggested that they would need a
clear description of how it malfunctions.

Regards,
Dave

> Several of us have had recent NIGHTMARE stories witr Motorola Service
> Center. They have outsourced there Customer Service Phone Bank to South
[quoted text clipped - 58 lines]
> > Thanks,
> > Dave

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Bob Ballentine - 10 Feb 2004 15:27 GMT

I developed a different problem with my 270c and the Bluetooth module.
Something somewhere in the programming appears to be killing it.

I've owned the 270c since December 2000, great phone. Bought a
Tungsten last March and a Bluetooth Module last May. Everything
worked fine. Then last fall I started having software issues
somewhere. When changing the ringer from vibrate to audible, the
bluetooth module would stop functioning, although a power off/on would
revive it.

Then one day it just stopped working. Attached to the phone, no
BLUETOOTH menu. When it did connect to the phone, it wouldn't connect
to anything else, no familiar "Bluetooth" display.

In December 03 I went to the Motorola website and ordered another one,
the price is down to $29.95 from their original $107. Slapped it on
and it worked fine...until a week or so ago when it developed the same
software glitch with the ringer, then last night it died.

Menu says BLUETOOTH but the phone won't connect.

I won't buy another module since I'm convinced it is either the phone
or the software doing the killing.

Firmware 2101.03.28.05

b.b.

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