Conundrum with broken Sony Xperia Z2 phone

[Cheesekraft]

Bought a new Sony Xperia Z2 several months ago. Plastic flap broke off right away, but it performed well otherwise. It got brushed off the bed and the screen was absolutely destroyed. Took it to the repair shop and they said it would take about 3 days to call me back with a quote and they expected it to cost ~7,000 THB which I thought was outrageous for a screen. Anyways, after a few weeks of calling the center daily, they have finally told me now that it will cost 9,450 baht to fix the screen. I am pretty disappointed with this and I am just wondering how to best recover the loss.

I am considering just buying an Asus zenfone 5 or Xiaomi Mi3 (6k/9k) and selling the broken Xperia Z2 if it is possible, for whatever I can get. Would it be better to repair the phone and resale it? I don't really want to deal with it, the customer service has been atrocious and the phone quality was very disappointing, especially at that price range.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Edited February 4, 2015 by Cheesekraft

[RichCor]

Where do you live?

What was damaged? Just the digitizer (touch glass), or do they need to replace the LCD/backlight display?

Have you talked to any of the local mobile repair shops to see what they want for an OEM or 3rd-party digitizer (glass)?

Usually a digitizer on a NON-Sony mobile will run 1000 - 2000 baht (+ labor to swap). Sony, of course is Sony, and Sony Auth Repair is Sony x Sony.

[Cheesekraft]

live in Chiang Mai. The screen was damaged and the touch screen didn't work, I am assuming they needed to fix everything but they didn't speak English at the Sony service center. The local shops said they would not be able to fix it.

[casualbiker]

Just get a new phone. Asus Zenfone 5 is a great phone for the money!

[build6]

I've had negative experiences with Sony warranty/support in Thailand also (this is inconsistent across countries, Sony Singapore seems ok).

If you bought the Z2 new then you're not actually trying to save money - is there any reason you must remain on Android? Because I use both and frankly speaking, except for the things Apple doesn't want to deal with (waterproofing (which you don't care about anyway since you lived with the broken flap?), dual-SIM), iPhones really are supported better. My AppleCare warranty even covers accidental damage (there's a "handling fee" but it's nothing compared to a screen replacement).

[Cheesekraft]

I've had negative experiences with Sony warranty/support in Thailand also (this is inconsistent across countries, Sony Singapore seems ok).

If you bought the Z2 new then you're not actually trying to save money - is there any reason you must remain on Android? Because I use both and frankly speaking, except for the things Apple doesn't want to deal with (waterproofing (which you don't care about anyway since you lived with the broken flap?), dual-SIM), iPhones really are supported better. My AppleCare warranty even covers accidental damage (there's a "handling fee" but it's nothing compared to a screen replacement).

too expensive really. I have been looking at laptops lately as well, and Apple was extremely impressive (hardware, wise) for laptops, but I would look first at the Xiaomi phones over apple.

[muratremix]

Brand new Z2 (Import) costs 12k - 13k baht in Thailand.

Why bother spending 9450 baht ?!?!

[build6]

too expensive really. I have been looking at laptops lately as well, and Apple was extremely impressive (hardware, wise) for laptops, but I would look first at the Xiaomi phones over apple.

Generally how Apple operates (as it appears to me) is that "they only do things they're interested in", as opposed to how a lot of other businesses seem to operate in a "there's an empty market segment here - let's fill it". So for Mac laptops there's stuff they simply aren't interested in (whether it's "boring" to their engineers, or can't make any profit for their bean counters), like the ultra-low-end machines, as opposed to companies like HP (a model on sale for every conceivable price point, basically).

If you're thinking of buying a Mac laptop, you need to look at this:

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac

It'll give you information about how old the particular model is (and so some indication of how likely there'll be a new model released soon), it's going to really hurt if you put your money down and then the next week they announce a refresh.

iPhones... it's really not cheap (I felt the pain when I paid for the iPhone 6). But I've lately been dealing with various problems with my Android phones (inability to properly restore contact details from backup, for example... all sorts of small niggling problems that add up). If Apple would make waterproof or dual-SIM phones I wouldn't bother with anything else.

Xiaomi is good value for money but I don't think their "business model" will last long term (which is not to say that it'll affect you insofar as you need a phone now). They're cheap basically because they're skirting countries with strong IP law protection (hence no US presence), though even so they got sued in India.

I think approximately $100-200 of the cost of an iPhone goes to licensing alone; if Xiaomi was paying that they wouldn't seem so cheap anymore. Same reason why Xiaomi can undercut other Chinese manufacturers - Huawei, Lenovo etc. can't quite do what Xiaomi is doing because they want to operate in the US, Europe etc. My Chinese friends are telling me about various other new brands in China that are gaining traction ("Meizu"?), my guess is Xiaomi is trying to gain enough scale to survive before they start having to pay the piper...

[Cheesekraft]

sony repair center just called me back from a new number and apparently they are closed today (couldn't call the center or return the call afterwards). The cheap plastic flap on the side that was broken due to sonys faulty manufacturing needs to be paid for, the short slide that destroyed the phone broke the screen, the two waterproof layers underneath, and the touch sensor, and apparently it also broke the headphone / sound system somehow which I was not aware of. Anyone have any idea how much I could get for selling the broken phone? If it really is 12k for a new one, it may still be worth repairing as it would save more than 3000 baht with no difference in the phone apparently (warranty doesnt do anything anyways).

[Cheesekraft]

Brand new Z2 (Import) costs 12k - 13k baht in Thailand.

Why bother spending 9450 baht ?!?!

was trying to find a similar deal, where do you see this? I am seeing 16K+

[build6]

sony repair center just called me back from a new number and apparently they are closed today (couldn't call the center or return the call afterwards). The cheap plastic flap on the side that was broken due to sonys faulty manufacturing needs to be paid for, the short slide that destroyed the phone broke the screen, the two waterproof layers underneath, and the touch sensor, and apparently it also broke the headphone / sound system somehow which I was not aware of. Anyone have any idea how much I could get for selling the broken phone? If it really is 12k for a new one, it may still be worth repairing as it would save more than 3000 baht with no difference in the phone apparently (warranty doesnt do anything anyways).

Not to depress you further, but my experience with Sony Thailand is that if you choose not to go ahead with the repair, they'll not release your phone back to you unless you also pay a "diagnostic fee", even if your phone is under the warranty period (I argued that notwithstanding their decision that they would not repair it "under warranty", there shouldn't be a diagnostic fee since it was within the warranty period, but I think they're so desperate for money customer retention isn't important to them).

My phone had a removable battery which was useful (I have more than one Sony phone, alas) so I paid it in the end, since the battery was worth more than the fee (what I'd wasted so far was an economic sunk cost so it made sense).

Edited February 7, 2015 by build6

[whitemouse]

Never never never go to Sony Center with broken screen issues. If you like to keep your Z2, then you buy the new screen online, Ebay amongst other places, here is one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-LCD-Display-ouch-Screen-Digitizer-For-Sony-XPERIA-Z2-L50w-D6502-D6503-/261490730104?pt=UK_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item3ce20fe478

Many seller in HK stock the Sony screens, so shipping is not too long. Once you have the new LCD, you can have it replaced at MBK for around 400 baht, the back cover replacement is 200 baht, both while you wait.

[Cheesekraft]

Never never never go to Sony Center with broken screen issues. If you like to keep your Z2, then you buy the new screen online, Ebay amongst other places, here is one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-LCD-Display-ouch-Screen-Digitizer-For-Sony-XPERIA-Z2-L50w-D6502-D6503-/261490730104?pt=UK_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item3ce20fe478

Many seller in HK stock the Sony screens, so shipping is not too long. Once you have the new LCD, you can have it replaced at MBK for around 400 baht, the back cover replacement is 200 baht, both while you wait.

interesting idea, i may just do this; but they did tell me multiple parts were broken; the screen, the audio, the touch digitizer i am supposing. If it was just the screen that would absolutely be what I would do! I will look into this thank you very much for alerting me to this option.

[Shurup]

My wife paid the same price for her Note 3 display at one of those small mobile shops as the screen itself costs on ebay.

Check a few more shops as the one you went into possibly didn't have the displays or didn't know how to work on Sony phone.

[Cheesekraft]

My wife paid the same price for her Note 3 display at one of those small mobile shops as the screen itself costs on ebay.

Check a few more shops as the one you went into possibly didn't have the displays or didn't know how to work on Sony phone.

it is a special type of screen that they don't have; we checked all the shops in central airport and KSK with no luck. One guy in KSK said he would be able to fix it for 8000 baht and 3 months but that wasn't a great deal.