Having a Bit of a Time Returning a Faulty Phone to JB Hi-Fi. Advice?

LJennyBenny on 17/09/2022 - 17:38
Last edited 19/09/2022 - 12:51 by 1 other user

I purchased a new Oppo Reno phone online from JB Hi-Fi arrived last Monday.

There is a fault with the phone and it when I use my SIM to call a certain network, when the user answers the call hangs up and advises Server Error. Please try again later. I called Oppo and they advised if issue keeps going I can send it in. I don't want to send away a phone that doesn't work. I only had it 2 days. So as it's faulty, I want to return it.

JB Hi-Fi kept me in the store for an hour and then sent me away saying it was a network error and to come back when I go to my own provider to confirm it's not an issue despite the same SIM being able to do this in other phones. My provider confirmed it's not an issue and was also annoyed for me at the situation and JB not really doing anymore. The phone can accept calls and texts from that network, just not perform voice calls. I will go back this week and advise it's faulty.

The phone is a global phone so not specifically designed to work in Australian markets but it does work on other networks. I wondered if you had any advice on this matter as I already had the run around in the store and they did everything they could not to help me.

Mobile Mobile Phone Oppo

Related Stores

JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 17/09/2022 - 17:42
    +1

    start "asking for the manager" and just be obstinate, start reading up on australian consumer law and quote it to them. https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees…

    on a side note, it might be an easily fixable issue, if you did choose to send it in.. it's not unheard of, wrong setting applied and they can fix it rather easily

    • JennyBenny on 17/09/2022 - 21:39

      thanks for the advice.

  • AustriaBargain on 17/09/2022 - 17:45
    +3

    Maybe tell Oppo authorise the return with JBHifi. Really JB should be handling all of this, you should be able to just return it.

  • ozwog05 on 17/09/2022 - 18:33
    +1

    Just in case it's an easy fix, being that it's a new phone and you probably don't have alot of important data stored on it, you can try the following if you haven't already done so:
    1. Back up/Save any important info
    2. Check for software update(s) & install if applicable
    3. Perform a factory reset
    4. Run through the setup wizard, then test calling functionality again to see if the issue is resolved

    • JennyBenny on 17/09/2022 - 21:42

      I've updated even downgraded the phone application and factory reset twice. Tried all sorts of different things, same thing happens unfortunately.

  • GordonD on 17/09/2022 - 19:24
    +1

    The OP admits that "the phone is a global phone so not specifically designed to work in Australian markets but it does work on other networks".

    That rings loud alarm bells.

    I had a grey market import "global" phone, with a different brand on it, but manufactured by the same company that manufactures OPPO phones, and it didn't work properly on Telstra, but worked perfectly on the others. Telstra could not give me an explanation and just sent me round and round their various support people for weeks with each claiming to knew what the problem was and sending me to the relevant people to fix it, only for them to say it wasn't their problem, propose a different reason, and send me to someone else. One of Telstra support people had suggested it was a fault related to the SIM. But that didn't make sense because the SIM worked in another phone.

    I gave up and signed up to a network it worked on. A year later I signed up to a plan with Telstra for another phone, tried that SIM in the "global" phone just to see what happened, and it worked perfectly.

    So in the end I never got any explanation for the problem. I'd originally concluded its IMEI was blocked by Telstra because it was a grey import. The various carriers warn that they do that. So either Telstra had decided to no longer block that brand and model phone. Or one of the couple of firmware releases over the year it was on the other network had fixed a bug that had been preventing it working on Telstra's network. Or maybe even because that model caused problems on Telstra's network, they'd included a fix in the new firmware, told Telstra, and it had unblocked it. Who knows. Our phone networks should be standardised enough that global models work on them, so tourists phones work, but that is not guaranteed. The carriers decide what they will allow to work on their network, and the phone's IMEI tells them what brand and model it is, so they can do that.

  • AndyC1 on 17/09/2022 - 20:09

    Try another carrier SIM in the phone as it sounds like the SIM configuration for the network is not working.

    Was the Oppo locked to a network or an unlocked phone? Did it come with a SIM?

    Have you asked your mobile network support to help you to ensure the SIM is configured correctly? Did they check that the SIM in their system is configured correctly?

    Support at Octopussy are cr***P!!!

    • JennyBenny on 17/09/2022 - 21:44

      Telstra and Optus numbers can call the numbers I'm trying to dial. I will go back to Vodafone and check again just in case - I can call other vodafone numbers fine but the Optus numbers I cannot call. The Sim is about a month old.
      Thanks.
      Help is appreciated.

      • Brian McGee on 18/09/2022 - 11:39

        After you swap sims is there an option to update network configuration/settings? Maybe it’s not setting the Vodafone network properly?

        • JennyBenny on 19/09/2022 - 14:18

          There is not, but I got a prepaid vodafone sim, activated it on the phone and then it still didn't work.

  • thirtysixd on 17/09/2022 - 20:15
    +1

    Sounds like a settings/software error

    Try reset everything.

  • Leho on 17/09/2022 - 20:27

    just keep pestering them (jb) and quoting the accc :)

    • JennyBenny on 17/09/2022 - 21:48

      I didn't think that there would be such a run around for a brand new phone tbh! I thought it would be safer to buy from JBHIFI.

  • JimmyF on 17/09/2022 - 21:08

    The phone is a global phone so not specifically designed to work in Australian markets but it does work on other networks
    There is a fault with the phone and it when I use my SIM to call a certain network, when the user answers the call hangs up and advises Server Error. Please try again later.

    Nope thats your phone not supporting the correct bands then. Hence why is works on 'other' networks, as it doesn't support the bands for your network.

    Not JBs fault. Change networks.

  • JennyBenny on 17/09/2022 - 21:47

    I am not able to change networks due to where I'm located in my apartment building, only a couple of networks work and I've just switched from Optus. I'm guessing it is a global phone as they don't list what bands work on the JB website so I cannot say as the information is quite limited. So it was pretty much a guess from my part!
    Thanks for the advice. Appreciated.

    • DavidBrookes on 18/09/2022 - 02:53
      +1

      Maybe also check with your state consumer affairs department as since it was sold by JB Hi-Fi, it should work on all Australia networks and as such if they are selling phone that do not, I would have thought that would be considered a major fault and you should get a refund.

      • JennyBenny on 18/09/2022 - 11:55

        That is what I thought as well, I'll let you know how I get on.

  • 87percent on 18/09/2022 - 09:01

    When you got your sim, did you port in to that provider? I’ve seen this issue happen when customers port their number, and it’s not done correctly

  • JoeBogan on 18/09/2022 - 09:21

    Hey OP I had a similar issue, if this Reno has 5G try disabling 5G in the network menu (or by choosing only 2g/3g/4g) and see if that fixes it. For me it was issue with the network switching from 4G to 5G.

    • JennyBenny on 18/09/2022 - 09:40

      Thanks so much, I'll test this.

    • JennyBenny on 18/09/2022 - 14:30

      I tried this and it didn't work. I can only call out once to an Optus phone and then I get the error and cannot call any Optus user for the test of the time the phone is on.

      • JoeBogan on 18/09/2022 - 20:21

        Ah that sucks it's didn't work for you. Maybe try taking it to a different JB ?

  • JennyBenny on 19/09/2022 - 12:38

    So here is where I am at:
    - Visited vodafone they said, I dunno. Go to Optus. Optus said, I know what that is, it's a porting issue, when they ported your number from Optus to Vodafone, not all the stuff may have come across. Go back to your porting team and get them to fix it but to talk to your porting team and not the customer support.
    - I called my phone provider, they said no the people you can't call need to call optus.
    - Called oppo again, they said send in your SIM and your phone (like that's reasonable!!!)
    - Called my provider back to see how much it will cost to cancel my service - they hung up on me
    - Currently calling my provider back :(
    - Even JBHIFI said to me if you get a sim reburn, we'll send it off for diagnostics, but my provider is not coming to the party I said that's all I want. So I need a few days mental break from this as it's really stupid. So I'll wait until the public holidays this week.

    • 87percent on 19/09/2022 - 13:32

      Try to port your number to another provider, and then port back

      • JennyBenny on 19/09/2022 - 14:12

        I went to officeworks and purchased a prepaid vodafone sim, activated it. Tested. Same issue.

    • DavidBrookes on 19/09/2022 - 13:58

      Maybe now contact your state consumer affairs department as I think this is more of a case of them stuffing you around now.

      • JennyBenny on 19/09/2022 - 14:13

        I'm hoping to go back go JBHIFI now because it doesn't say it won't work on Vodafone.

  • Costanza on 19/09/2022 - 14:24
    +1

    Sounds like some firmware issue with vodafone network (and possibly recent upgrades to it). I would prove it to JB or Oppo by using a throwaway prepaid vodafone SIM.

    Same sort of problems:-
    https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/9rvjyy6m

    Try 3g only setting or turning off VoLTE.

  • JennyBenny on 19/09/2022 - 16:41

    Yeah it doesn't work on the prepaid sim I tested it earlier today. I can't turn off Volte on Color os 12 as it doesn't show up under the sim at all. It does work under 3g only which is kinda crap!

    Thanks for the link though, I called Vodafone and logged a ticket with the network engineers to take a look.

    • Costanza on 19/09/2022 - 17:22

      Could try dialing * # * #4636# * # * (remove spaces) and look for option to turn off VoLTE (in Phone Information), assuming no option under Settings/Mobile Network/Sim/VoLTE.
      Switching to 3g for voice calls would be a pain and will fail eventually when vodafone turn off 3g.

  • JennyBenny on 20/09/2022 - 15:52

    Vodafone called me back and said it's the phone so there is nothing they can do.
    So next stop is JBHIFI

  • JennyBenny on 23/09/2022 - 12:50

    I went in yesterday and got a refund from a different JBHIFI store.They were quite apologetic of what I had to go through and advised they should've done the refund the first time.

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