Nokia Acknowledges Lumia 900 Data Issue, Offers Fix and $100 Credit
by Brian Klug on April 11, 2012 12:11 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- AT&T
- Nokia
- LTE
- windows phone 7
- Mobile
- Lumia
- Lumia 900
In the short time I spent with our Nokia Lumia 900 review unit, I never encountered any loss of data connectivity issues either on AT&T LTE, AT&T HSPA+. Nevertheless, shortly after the Lumia 900 went on sale this Sunday, some users began reporting issues with the device losing data connectivity on both HSPA+ and LTE. Since those early reports began trickling in, Nokia has now acknowledged a memory management issue is at fault and will issue a software update on April 16th.
Users who don't want to wait for the Lumia 900 software update on the 16th (which will be made available through Zune like other Windows Phone updates) can also optionally swap the phone at an AT&T store for an updated device. In addition, Lumia 900 buyers from launch through April 21st will receive a $100 credit on their AT&T statement, effectively making the $99 on-contract device free.
Personally I find the turnaround from device release on April 8th, to acknowledging this data issue on the 11th and providing a patch on the 16th incredibly fast by smartphone ecosystem update standards. Although I didn't encounter any issues with data connectivity on the Lumia 900 we were sampled during the course of preparing our review (and I take pride in usually uncovering these bugs), I did use Nokia's Network Setup application to change APNs back and forth between the supplied LTE-provisioned SIM and my own HSPA+ only SIM, which might have been a factor. Interestingly enough during the pre-NDA cycle some other reviewers encountered data connectivity issues which we were told was the result of a provisioning error. Either way, it's good to see Nokia quickly mitigating these issues with its flagship device.
Source: Nokia Conversations Blog
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dagamer34 - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
The Network Setup app isn't available in the Marketplace for retail customers.Brian Klug - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
Not even through the Nokia Collections tab in the Marketplace app? As far as I know, the units we were sampled were identical to the retail ones, but I suppose anything is possible.-Brian
alphaod - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
The app has been pulled by Nokia and renamed "Persiapan Jaringan" for the time being. Apparently there is a security bug or something related to an interop unlock.bplewis24 - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
"Personally I find the turnaround from device release on April 8th, to acknowledging this data issue on the 11th and providing a patch on the 16th incredibly fast by smartphone ecosystem update standards. "No doubt it is, but I don't think they had much choice. This phone is the trojan horse that will determine whether Windows Phones becomes a serious market share contender with Android/iOS over the next 3 years, or an also-ran.
Brandon
kyuu - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
Regardless of if they had a choice or not, I'm still impressed by how fast they acknowledged the issue and will be issuing an update to resolve it. Then, on top of that, they're going to give a $100 credit?This further solidifies my decision to jump ship from my iPhone 4 to a Windows Phone device later this year when Apollo comes out. Likely to a Nokia device.
a5cent - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
No, this is not that device. That test isn't due until later this year with WP8. For Microsoft this launch is only somewhat important, mainly because it involves Nokia's reentry into the US market, with whom they have forged a strategic partnership.However, Nokia is under huge pressure to raise US consumers awareness. As a result this device is actually more about the accompanying marketing campaign than sales volume. Nokia needs US consumers to get interested in their brand and WP. Of course getting a LOT of phones into the hands of consumers would be a good way to do that (most people buy based on popularity or recommendation), but the current WP lineup doesn't yet cater to every possible market segment. Nokia must make due with what they have.
Nokia is about to start it's attack on the low end market (of which US citizens will notice nothing, as this effort is focused exclusively on emerging markets) and WP8 will allow WP to compete with Android in the spec-sheet wars. At that point WP can cater to all market segments and that is when the real test begins.
Impulses - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
I agee, but people love to prematurely declare winners and losers in every race. The smartphone/tablet race is just beginning imo, despite the fact that a lot of people think it's almost over (only one it's almost over for is RIM imo, and they could still surprise everyone even tho their corporate shake ups aren't a good sign).I'm very surprised by Nokia's response... Who else would offer a $100 credit in addition to the option of just taking the device in for a swap, specially with a fix a week away? Contrast this to Apple's antennagate... And the N900 was already a bargain (by US phone market standards) at $99.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's more WP/iOS and WP/Android cross shopping than there is iOS/Android switching, long term that bodes well for MS and they know it... They've positioned themselves just right.
a5cent - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
Yes. The only point we disagree on is that RIM is only "almost" out of the race. They are still alive, but they have neither the expertise nor the resources to sustain the effort required to compete with the worlds software giants. Nothing they can do will change that. The smartphone business has become a software business, as apposed to the hardware business it once was (in which Nokia and RIM rose to greatness).Google and Microsoft are also failing smartphone companies, but Google's and Microsoft's survival don't depend on succeeding in the smartphone market, at least not in the short term.
With profit margins drug dealers would kill for, Apple is the only successful smartphone company. As you said, Microsoft is in a good position to maneuver themselves into second place. Google doesn't seem to mind blowing tons of cash for no reason (so far they have returns of 550 million on an investment of 20 billion USD), and they are increasingly less well positioned to ever turn a profit on Android.
a5cent - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
please go easy on my orthography and grammar (apposed instead of opposed etc.). Unless English also isn't your native language... then have at it!alphaod - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
I'm curious having purchased my Lumia 900 at no-commitment pricing ($449), how they would handle this credit, if any?