LG G4 bootloop issue and atrocious customer service

[Anonymous]

 Hi all, I need some advice on next steps please as i'm at the end of my tether with o2

I got the LG G4 on refresh last march 2016 after my Xperia z1 gave up the ghost and became a brick. It was sat on its charging cradle on Friday night and started with the boot loop issue, took the battery out, tried hard reset etc nothing. Did a webchat who said take it to store.

Saturday morning, went into store, had two options, pay off contract for £210 and have a brick or be without a phone and send it away. I opted for the latter and it arrived there today. I had a text to say it had arrived and one late this evening to say 'The problem with your phone isn't covered by the warranty. But we'll give you a repair quote. Just call the shop'

It was too late to ring as they'd been shut for a couple of hours so I don't know what the issue it, its not been dropped/exposed to water/damaged or anything. It has a hard case and screen protector so in excellent condition.

Having been with o2 for a good few years, i'm really fed up that I've got no working phone (i was offered an alcatel but my phone was my diary, notebook, camera and internet access), that i've now got a very expensive and un usuable brick, i'm paying for data which I won't be using for this period while the phone is out of action as i've resorted to an old 2g htc and when i've been in store or phoned up i've had a lack of interest and a view that its not their problem.

I've sent two complaint emails in (saturday and monday) and not heard a thing. I am furious that this fault was known about in the phone/tech industry before i bought it, if i'd have known i'd have chosen another product.

Sorry for the rant, just at the end of tether with this and o2 and want to get matters sorted.

[gmarkj]

The issue is in most cases the instructions I was given over the phone are correct - they only need the battery in certain situations.
I suppose I should have read the letter before sending it off, but with the poor chap standing there waiting it would have been unfair on him.
Just got to wait and see what they say now!

[Cleoriff]

Lets just hope LG have a spare battery 'hanging around' @gmarkj should they need it. Then if you are very lucky...they may return phone with battery in. A spare for you? Just trying to be positive...:smileywink:

[gmarkj]

You would hope they have one (some), but you never know.
Not too worried if I get an extra back as I got two spares with a docking stand I got from Amazon.
More concerned with the "not repaired the device as it didn't come with a battery" response...

[jonsie]

I'm sure they will fix it for you especially given their incorrect instructions in the first place. If they don't have a battery or sd card lying around it's a poor show

[gmarkj]

Quick update - got worried by the note in the box, so contacted the LG chat team. Yes, really.
Person I spoke to advised it would not be a problem as they would check to replicate the error with batteries that they had there, and if it was down to a faulty battery (unlikely as I have a few as mentioned above) then they would send me a new one.
What I guess is that my issue is the same as others - the fault lies with the motherboard in the phone, and so will need to be replaced. Hopefully as this is a known issue they will have spares to hand to replace it.
Given the issues others have faced with having phones repaired I wonder if the IMEI will also be different when I get the phone back and if it will still be unlocked...

[MI5]

Usually they would reflash the same firmware as originally on the phone so you would need to unlock it again if it was an O2 locked phone from new.
A new motherboard. will indeed also carry a new IMEI number too.

[MI5]

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@gmarkj wrote:
You would hope they have one (some), but you never know.
Not too worried if I get an extra back as I got two spares with a docking stand I got from Amazon.
More concerned with the "not repaired the device as it didn't come with a battery" response...

---

Just noticed this post too, apologies.

Was the issue happening with the genuine LG battery or one of the Amazon ones, or all of them?

[gmarkj]

In post order:
-phone was purchased through CarPhone Warehouse so was unlocked originally. Just hope this is true when it comes back...
-thought as much. would this force a change in My o2 when the SIM card is put in the phone or would I need to contact customer service?
-all of them, which makes me think not a battery issue. Originally ocurred with a non-LG battery, but continued when I swapped with the one the phone was supplied with. IT chap at work says the fault is down to solder on the motherboard in 99.99% of cases, hence my belief not sending the battery back is not an issue (and confirmed with the chat person).

[gmarkj]

FYI, just had a second confirmation from LG that the letter is standard and did not need to send the battery back with the phone.
Phew.

[MI5]

You'll be OK then as it was sim free from the start.
Your MyO2 will update automatically with the new IMEI when you start using the phone again - just remember to inform any insurance providers of the change if a new MB is fitted, if applicable.