RIM/BB support for non-carriers phones- it doesn't exist!!!

Not sure if this is a dead horse i'm beating- Admins can take the right action if so.

Been using a 8900 for the past 5 months and love the unit, hands down. RIM has a great concept and market with their BB smartphones, and i think most of us on the forum will agree that BBs are just great all-rounders.

BUT if there is one thing I find the RIM falls flat on their face and does absolutely CRAP job is post-sales support for phones that are non-carrier purchased.
Being as the 8900 is not available in my country, i had one purchased in the UK, to use here in Sri Lanka.

I had an unfortunate event of breaking the LCD on my phone (my fault, so no issue there)- but i wanted to do the repair through an authorized BB service centre or vendor so as not to invalidate the so-called warranty.

The (largest) local carrier here that sells BB's refuses to service BB's not purchased from them. My next option was to see what could be done in the next largest commercial centre for the region- Singapore.

1. the RIM website has NO indicator of how to contact the so-called BB Customer Support/service Center in Singapore
RIM Opens Regional Blackberry Customer Support Center in Singapore :: News :: www.hardwarezone.com.sg
There is no address, no number and NO EMAIL contact. If anyone in the forum can find a number for ANY asian service center, please let me know!

2. A call to Singtel, one of the Singapore carriers who sell BB's resulted in them saying that they don't do repairs in Singapore- they send the phones to Taiwan. I find it very hard to believe that they are incapable of doing any kind of repairs in Singapore!

Question to RIM (perhaps rhetorical)- for a company that prides themselves on being the most practical logical product for the smartphone market, why is it that there is little or no direct support for users of their products???

I know that most of the experts here take the risk and work on their phones without watching the warranty invalidation...is this the option for any user who doesn't have a carrier-purchased phone????

Cheers

just search the net, buy an LCD and do it yourself. people were posting a link in the 8900 forums for a company selling 8900 LCD's and they are based in England.

i dont think anyone here really needs RIM support since we can all pretty much take care of ourselves diagnosing and fixing stuff with all of the tools and experience we have here.

Thanks mate- yes i agree, the easiest way would be to just purchase the replacement part and DIY. Thats works fine for us techheads, but what about the average user?
I'm pretty sure most of us don't bother with the technical know-how (or we buy from a carrier so that aftersales is a non-issue).
But what happens to those who are travelling internationally- what do we do if our phone fails (short of having to buy another phone!) while not in our home country?

i'm making the point of aftersales competency and the relevance of a warranty. Whats the point if the warranty is not honoured?!

Its just very, very disappointing to find that RIM, for all the pristine efficiency of their products, do no extend the same philosophy in support of their hardware.

My last resort will be to buy the part and install it myself- thereby invalidating what will be, at that point, a useless 'warranty'.

So let me see if I have this straight.

You expect a manufacturer to provide support for a device that they don't sell in your country, that you purchased in another country?

No manufacturer is going to do that.

Mate, if that's the case...why bother selling a unit with a international warranty?

So even if i'm willing to PAY for repairs done to my phone, i'm 'not worthy' simply because i bought the unit in another country? Granted, its rare that a BB fails, but I wonder what happens to those who travel...from what you're saying, RIM shouldn't bother to support such people.
Doesn't sound right to me, especially given the kind of market they primarily cater to- business users.

If you have to travel to another country for extended work/business/whatever and your phone fails on you...and there is no way to find out if you can get it fixed until you return to your country of origin...whats the point??

Sorry mate, you're wrong- be it Nokia or even Samsung- they have proper agents in most countries whom support their products- at a cost...but they still provide the service.

I don't expect RIM to have an agent here in my country- but i would expect a REGIONAL office that can (at least) be contacted so i can get guidance on what to do.
If it means talking to someone @ RIM who will tell me to bugger off because i bought the phone in another country and it can't be fixed, so be it. But at least provide an email/phone number/address so i can find out!

No such thing as an "international" warranty, there's the stock manufacturers warranty that covers replacement in case of a manufacturers defect. That's the best they can do without having a service center with a thousand people dedicated to fixing all the world's BlackBerrys.

When I buy something in China and break it here I know I am pretty much hosed when it comes to getting warranty work done on it. I have a chance if I am in the country though.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Cheers- No argument on the warranty and what it covers.
BUT if i want to preserve the warranty while doing a repair...there is not easy way to find out where i can go...

Litmus test- have a look at the blackberry website support section.
Compare that to Nokia. With Nokia I was able to, within 3 clicks, find a care center in Singapore with a number, address etc.
The BB site will only give support if you pay for it first. You spend a lot of time hunting around the site before you come to this conclusion.

I don't need someone to tell me what i already know is wrong with the phone- I only need to find out where i can go to get it fixed...not an unreasonable request.

Yes, one can argue that i should have only bought a phone that is supported in my country...but what then does an international traveler do should there be a problem with their phone, short of twiddling their thumbs and waiting till they get back to their original country?

Stop getting complicated. Shop for parts anywhere through cnn.cn and have it delovered. If your country doesn't have help or support, then you're SOL. Everywhere in the world people have the internet. Buy an LCD from cnn.cn and watch their videos on how to replace your LCD. Just be sure to check the LCD version as they are different by region.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

As this is not a warranty issue you're outta luck period. Around here if this happens you either fix it yourself or pay a 3rd party to do it.

And RIm does not keep track of every little shop that services BlackBerrys so you have to do the leg work yourself to find one.

Maybe it's different in other places, perhaps there are RIM repair depots but I have never heard of them.

So as everyone has been saying, it's time for a DIY adventure. I posted in the 8900 forum how to properly protect the sensitive electronics while taking it apart. I should see if I can get it stickied somewhere.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

BlackBerry Center to Open in Indonesia After Licenses Halted - Bloomberg.com

BlackBerry Center to Open in Indonesia After Licenses Halted

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Research in Motion Ltd. said it’s opening a service center for BlackBerry handsets in Indonesia after the world’s fourth-most-populous country halted issuing licenses last month for new models of the device.

“RIM is in the process of arranging for a RIM-authorized repair facility to be opened in Indonesia in the near term,” the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry said today in an e-mailed statement. “RIM remains very excited about the future of the smartphone market in Indonesia and will continue working” with the government to address regulatory requirements, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Informatics temporarily halted licenses for sales of new BlackBerry models last month pending the opening of a local branch office with after-sales service.

...

Headline news a couple months back.

Reed- thanks for the useful link- didn't pick that one up when i was searching.