8525 death throes

I posted this a couple of places becaues I thought I might get helpful or supportive comments.

I've had my AT&T 8525 since August and it has been a good phone; a bit bulky and I use the keyboard less than I thought I would. I rearely use the direct access to internet but frequently use the wifi, particularly when I'm traveling and in hotel rooms.

The only real drawbacks have been the proprietary connections for the charger and earphones and the fact that I have not found a VPMclient that I don't have to pay for when I need to access university wifi (I'm a professor).

Two weeks ago the phone button began to get squirrely and would not open the phone. I changed the messaging button to access it. Then the screen started to go white (blank) when I switched programs or opened the phone/accessed communications page.

The late last week the screen went white and stayed that way. I rebooted, I did a hard reset, etc and the screen sometimes returned but enede up going white again.

I called AT&T and when they checked me through the steps to replace the phone, the moiture indicator read "VOID". I was told that the warrantee was void because I "water damaged" the phone. They were nice but essentially told me that it was up to the waranttee people to make a decision.

Instead I opted for a new phone (I was eligible) and decided on a Blackberry Titanium Curve 8310 that I got a great deal on. Since it was the weekend, it could not get here yet.

After the phone call I got the bright idea of hitting the phone with the hairdryer and sure enough the screen came back (the phone button still does not work 90% of the time. The screen does flash white occasionally but everything seems to work; although I had to reinstall Mobile Alarm 3 and a couple of other programs.

I called AT&T and they told me that I could just refuse the Blackberry if i wanted to, or just return it in 30 days with no penalty (except the 10 bucks for shipping) that i paid for. They also told me that the moiture indicator in these phones (and some others) have been known to trip if the phone is left in the cold and brought into a warm house opr by keeping it next to your body where perspiration may affect it.

I need a phone and so likely will keep the Blackberry and use the 8525 for wifi access and the computer functions. I frankly don't trust that it will not go white again and a new one (refurbished warrantee model) may have the same problem. The Blackberry has GPS and lacks video, but i could use the former and don't care about the latter.

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From my experiences, swapping out the phone through insurance will definitley get you a refurbished device. Usually it takes some hassel in order to get a new device sent out, but I have had cases where they sent a non-working refurb 3 times before the issue was resolved.