BEWARE! Xperia Z2 sim card reader is very fragile...

[mike_yella]

So, a little over a month ago (on 23.09) I bought a brand new Xperia Z2. Put the SIM-card in, started the phone up, but the card was not recognized. Took the phone back to the store, where they sent it for a repair (note: this was only a couple of hours after I had purchased the phone). A week later they called me, claiming that I had broken one of the pins on the SIM-card reader. The repair cost approx. 350 euros (~280 pounds).

Obviously I refused to pay this, and filed a complaint to the store I bought the phone from. The country I live in (Finland) has quite good consumer protection laws, so I was fairly sure the issue could be worked out. Yet here I am, nearly 2 months later, still without my Xperia Z2.

The store I bought the phone from contacted Sony. It took them over a month to reply, and their answer was the same I've been getting all along. Basically, the repair centre (SCF huolto, a local service, not Sony) had decided that I was at fault for breaking my phone (they decided this without even opening up the phone!). This was Sony's official view on the matter as well. Wonder why it took them over a month to come up with this...

Anyway, as you could imagine, I feel totally ripped off. I just bought a 600€ phone that doesn't work, and to repair it I have to pay more than half of its worth. I strongly suggest that anyone who either inserts or removes the SIM-card from a Z2 should use extreme caution, as apparently the card reader is VERY fragile. I did not use any force at all, nor did the card get stuck in the reader. I read and followed the instructions on how to enter the SIM-card.

I probably won't be repairing the phone, at least not for the price they asked, so now I basically have a 600€ paperweight with a big screen. One and a half months after purchase, I've had the device in my hands for less than 2 hours, and it's still unusable. This was my first and certainly last Sony phone. It's quite a shame, because I've heard many good things about the Xperia phones. I know I'm not the only one who's managed to break the SIM-card reader on their Z2, and I think Sony really should take responsibility for what is clearly a flaw in design instead of blaming the customer.

[dandy63]

Hi, can you remember if anyone in the store tried to reinsert your sim or 'fiddled' around with it ie trying a different sim?

[Xperyan]

Sorry to hear that 

When you bought it does the box comes factory sealed? I wonder if it was previously tested or returned.

MIght be a moot point now, but did you tested the phone at the store?

I took my SIM twice in the past and could not think of a way where you can break the reader (unless you are applying extreme force while putting the SIM in incorrectly) especially with the SIM tray as a guide.

[mike_yella]

The box was sealed, I opened it when I got home... Didn't test the phone at the store, could've saved me a lot of time and money if only I'd done so! I've never broken a SIM-card reader in my life, but this one broke quite easily. I didn't use any excessive force at all, I made sure I put the tray and the card in the right way, etc. Somehow one of the little pins inside the reader snapped off in the process of inserting the card though, or atleast that's what they said at the service center. As far as I know the pin might've already been broken, I certainly didn't mishandle the phone as it was brand new!

And to answer the other question, yes, the guy at the store tried to reinsert the sim card multiple times. I tried it a couple of times at home as well (at first I thought there was dust on the card) but couldn't get it to work.

[biistu]

You should contact kuluttaja-asiamies about the issue. It will probably get your issues striaghtened. As consumers in Finland are "protected" in case of these kinds of issues. The port should not break when entering the card. It is considered as a "normal usage" when entering and removing the card.

[Usmab]

few options for you.

1. well pay for geting the phone back and get it fixed from somewhere. it would be a nominal postage charge to get it back.

option no 2 is go to your city konsument and talk to them with no doubt it covers the consumer rights here in EU. and do update

[Demon1521]

After reading this, i could not ressist and try to reinstall sim card, all works fine ror me. unfortenatly i dont see any reason why it can broke, only if it was tried to be inserted incorrect. But if all correct it inserts and removes normaly.
Anyway, sad story, my suggestion try to get your phone back and repair it in some other service.

[mike_yella]

I'll call a consumer rights advisor tomorrow, but most likely I'll just repair my phone elsewhere. Found a repair shop that can do the repair for 65€. ridiculous that the official Sony service costs more than 5 times as much! Of course this will void the warranty, but I've already had enough of Sony's own "aftercare".

[dandy63]

Hi, just be carefull & get a full guarantee from your 3rd party repairer.....as i'm sure either the front or back screen may have to come off but perhaps not.

Also i would be wary of the Waterproof abilities afterwards......there was a post on the Forum a little while back where a 3rd party repairer caused other damage after changing a screen....but the owner could not prove this 

Good luck & keep us updated :smileysmileywink:

[Usmab]

I have a question here dandy. please tell if it really matters to have warranty? when the seller is not admitting something out of own problem. a person who has already bought equipment  should fix his problem cheaply if the company do not take responsibility. for example normally you do not put your mobile intentionally in water. but you could read in the forum people testing their phone in pool because they were told the phone is waterproof. and then if the water has entered in phone. they do not get warranty claim. they are just told flaps might be not properly closed. the question really is who is at fault people testing device in phone or company claiming it is waterproof?