SECOND Dead Keyboard on my Treo 650

[pjgeraghty]

I am on hold with Verizon data technical support for the second time in three week. On 8/18, my Treo 650 keyboard stopped working. The center unlock button would not work. I called Verizon, planning to walk into a store to swap out the handset as I have done without a problem many times before with other handsets.

Turns out, you can't do that with a Treo (or any other smartphone). They have to fedex you a new one. This kind of sucks if you're going to, say, Las Vegas the next morning for a daylong conference. Of course, the next-day service is only if you call before noon, PDT. After noon, it takes TWO days. So, since it's 1518 now, I won't get this replaced until Thursday.

So here I am, paying the $45 a month for unlimited data, in addition to the nationwide minutes I pay for, and I get crappier tech support than the schmoe with a $20 a month local plan. This makes a TON of sense.

Has anyone else had this problem with the 650? And has anyone else been successful at convincing store-level Verizonoids to swap out a Treo 650?

[chris]

I feel your pain. Luckily, I haven't had problems with my Cingular Treo 650 - but I can imagine your frustration. Hopefully, the third time will be a charm. I haven't heard of a keyboard issue. Did Verizon tech support offer any insight as to why this keeps happening. I'm guessing they were clueless right?

-Chris

[Kwan]

I dropped my first treo from 1 foot off the floor and the keyboard crapped out on me. Cingular covered it through insurance, but they have since canceled my policy, stating that they shouldnt have covered me in the first place.
I think the keyboard is pretty fragile.

[pjgeraghty]

I dropped my first treo from 1 foot off the floor and the keyboard crapped out on me. Cingular covered it through insurance, but they have since canceled my policy, stating that they shouldnt have covered me in the first place.
I think the keyboard is pretty fragile.

Actually, unless you deliberately flung it to the floor, that's exactly what the phone insurance is supposed to cover. But most of them will allow only one or two replacements in a period of time before you get dropped.

To answer Chris' question, yes, Verizon tech support was clueless. I dislike tech support in general because they always ask the same questions and offer the same solutions, aiming for the lowest common denominator of user. Yes, I did a soft reset; yes, I did a hard reset too. I did both of those before calling; if they worked I wouldn't be on the phone. When I call tech support, it's because something is really wrong.