Xiaomi Phone Dead after 5 Months - Lesson Learnt on Warranty

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  MS Paint on 22/08/2023 - 20:11

  +5

  It's a well known fact that most products you import will not have a warranty - it's the risk you take with the cheaper prices.

  It shouldn't be a new lesson learned, it should be "well that gamble didn't pay off".

  • 

    thatonethere on 22/08/2023 - 20:28

    especially Ebay sellers - very lucky to even get a response let alone a replacement

    • 

      Animation on 22/08/2023 - 20:48

      The listing said warranty card and eBay store says there's 2 years warranty on the phone.

      I assumed anything wrong within this phone that isn't accidental would be covered. As it was cheap so I was hoping it would last for this temporary period and get another phone. My first Xiaomi lasted 6 years and my previous one 3 years. I hardly used this phone.

      Sadly the replacement may not happen as the seller wants me to make a full price purchase of the phone again and they'll do a partial refund.

      Seems suspicious they can't enable the accept offers function. I don't want to take this risk. eBay isn't great when there's issues.

      • 

        bmerigan on 22/08/2023 - 22:35

        Hell no! Would not be handing over more money.

• 

  Mokr on 22/08/2023 - 20:14

  Yeah but it's like a 200 dollar phone.

  Don't get how people can spend 500 and take that risk.

  • 

    randomusername2017 on 22/08/2023 - 20:31

    warranty card in the box

    Did you read it?¿

    • 

      Animation on 22/08/2023 - 20:58

      Read it but don't have the eye to know the fine details that is problematic. Even now after reading I still don't.

      My opinion warranty is also subject to the company's discretion how they classify the issue and whether it's a valid claim. I've had a few times I bought Australian things and couldn't claim warranty where it was faulty.

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  sumyungguy on 22/08/2023 - 20:57

  You could ask the seller to redeem the warranty in the country of origin? Make sure you raise a dispute with eBay. I've found their customer service is now the same as Amazon - highly satisfactory.

  • 

    Animation on 22/08/2023 - 21:06

    You have better luck than me. For the last 2 years I had more unsatisfactory responses from eBay customer service than resolutions.

    They always start with the same line thanking me for all the years I'll been with them and that I'm valued but it's just words.

    One time the agent ended the chat on me when I wasn't done with the issue. I think I went through 4-5 agents over the days and got the worst outcome which was very different to what the 1st agent told me.

  • 

    Animation on 23/08/2023 - 13:39

    As expected eBay customer service says they can't do anything except to email the seller to respond back to me on warranty claim

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  datafellows on 22/08/2023 - 23:16

  +1

  Did you pay with PayPal? Didn't they offer some kind of protection within 180 days?

  • 

    Animation on 23/08/2023 - 06:48

    +1

    Paid by gift cards

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  c64 on 23/08/2023 - 09:46

  have you tried another charger?

  • 

    Animation on 23/08/2023 - 13:24

    Went to phone repair and they guess it's motherboard issue

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  salem on 23/08/2023 - 12:52

  If the eBay seller is based in Australia, you're covered by Australian Consumer guarantees (well technically anyone selling to people in Australia is covered, but enforcing them on overseas sellers is tricky). These are unwaivable rights that consumers have, that precede warranty concerns.
  https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/buying-products-and-servic…

  For a major failure, you as consumer get to choose whether the seller gives you a refund, a replacement, or a repair.

  Whatever warranties xiaomi may or may not provide here are irrelvant. Those are problems for the seller, not for you.

  You probably shouldn't even have to pay shipping for the replacement.

  • 

    Animation on 23/08/2023 - 13:25

    eBay store says location China but probably shipped in Australia as it came fast

  • 

    Animation on 23/08/2023 - 13:32

    I would love to get advice what ACCC can do as they don't handle individual disputes. A few years ago I lodged one and it didn't change anything

    • 

      salem on 23/08/2023 - 14:10

      You use your local state Fair Trading to enforce the ACCC laws with the seller. Although usually just letting the seller know you know your rights and letting them know you will take it up with Fair Trading if they want to continue to breach Australian Consumer Law (ACL) is enough to get them to come around. Having said that, I'm in the middle of one now with Mobileciti and ACT Fair Trading, so that doesn't always work! I'll let you know how it goes.

      • 

        Animation on 25/08/2023 - 19:57

        I don't think it's possible with eBay seller and no business registration details

• 

  88mph on 02/09/2023 - 21:30

  Sorry to hear about your loss

  My Xiaomi Mi 10 went completely dead in 2 months. Whilst on a jog, died, can't fathom why.

  eBay seller, I have used them before, offered to replace if shipping is covered (both ways) with insurance. Came out to be about half the value of the phone, declined.

  Did some research and took it to the most highly rated shopping centre phone repairer. Turned out motherboard failed, again, cost to replace worth half the phone, just wrote it off. But recovered 50% of what I paid selling the battery and screen as spare parts on eBay, separate listings. Then after a few months, sheer luck, recovered a further 15% by selling the back frame and camera mount as spare parts. So, there's an idea…

  I've been buying custom phones from HK for probably a decade via eBay, first incident, I guess it's a risk worth accepting… Presently on another Xiaomi, same seller, going strong 2+ years on.