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Help Is the Triumph a lemon? (brand new, won't charge, buzzes loudly on vibrate)

beepbot

Newbie
Mar 16, 2011
25
2
Seeking feedback from other Motorola Triumph (MT) owners on whether this model is a lemon.

Bought MT at Best Buy. Within two weeks, it wouldn't take a charge. Brought it back to the store and exchanged it today. Brought new MT home, already having major problems:

Phone won't charge: Just like the old one. I fiddle with the jack, but it only works about a third of the time. Tried several chargers, all work with another phone, MT does not charge reliably with any of them. Plug it in, usually nothing happens.

Buzzing noise on vibrate: The new MT makes an obnoxious buzzing sound when it vibrates. Previous MT did not. It's very loud, you can hear it from across the room, which rather defeats the purpose of the "vibrate" setting.

L-o-o-o-n-n-n-g GPS lock times: It regularly takes 3-5 minutes (sometimes more) to get a GPS lock for the Navigator. Carrier is Virgin Mobile, which uses Sprint towers. Having this problem in locations where my old LG Optimus V would get a lock, using the same network, in a matter of seconds.

Have you experienced these issues? Any other issues? Any info you can share about the Motorola Triumph? I'm trying to decide whether to stick with the Triumph or to look for something else. Any relevant input appreciated. Thanks for your help.
 
Where did you buy the phone? I got mine at Target, and have had it for about two weeks. The only two issues I've noticed are the screen flickering on unlock, the GPS issues (which from what I understand are software based, and hopefully will see an update soon), and the occasional 3G signal drop for no reason (airplane mode cycle fixes this pretty easily). From what I've read, the phones from Target and RadioShack are experiencing as many issues. You may just be having repeated bad luck.
 
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We are all dealing with the GPS lock time issue, at least the time to first fix (TTFF). Hopefully we'll get a SW push that will significantly improve performance there. There are people out there modding their phones and reporting great / super-fast lock times, so... there is much hope.

However, the vibrate motor should just cause the device to vibrate, not buzz. That won't be fixable via software.

And with there being difficulty charging the phone, look, that's only likely to get worse. That won't be fixable via software either.

You need to get a replacement. Don't think twice about it.
 
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Too many defective units for it not to be a lemon I also had major issues with the motorola Triumph after 29 days of wanting to slam it against the wall I returned it to Bestbuy for a full refound the deal breaker was the weak signal and having to do a hard reset daily i'm back to ma Dell streak mini it to has issues but much better than that p o s Triumph wish Motorola would fix this phone I would repurchase it 4sure.:mad::mad:
 
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I am now on my FIFTH defective unit. All have had something seriously wrong with them.


  • The first one would not charge at all.
  • The second one made a loud buzzing noise on vibrate.
  • The third one would only charge when the phone was turned OFF.
  • The fourth one apparently had a software problem that made it do what looked like the Android version of the Blue Screen of Death.
  • The fifth one has multiple problems: It makes a clicking noise on vibrate (I know this is a problem, because a few of the other Triumph units did not make this noise). Also, the back button stopped working (when I press it, usually nothing happens). Also, sometimes I get the red "empty battery" screen and it refuses to turn on, even when the battery is full.

In addition, all of them have had this problem where, during a call, the screen will turn itself on and off whenever I move the phone, sometimes requiring unlock. This is incredibly exasperating when trying to press numbers on the keypad (to navigate a menu) during a call.

And, as appears to be the case with every Triumph out there, the first GPS lock time is extremely long, several minutes.

AND it only has Android 2.2.2 (Froyo).

I paid $300 for this piece of doo-doo! I want anyone who is considering buying a Triumph to be prepared for this nonsense.

If you're curious about where these lemons are coming from: I live in the northeast United States, my carrier is Virgin Mobile, and I bought my phone at Best Buy.

I am considering going back to my old LG Optimus V, which was significantly less powerful, with a smaller screen, and crappier features, but which never gave me any trouble.

I am looking for another phone, seeking suggestions for the best-available Android phones on any prepaid carrier. I'm considering the higher-end Boost Mobile Androids. Know of any comparable options? Thanks very much.
 
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b_randon14.

Would you remove the battery cover and post the date you find on the back of the cover itself. (Mine is 28APR11)

Would you go into Menu | Settings | About Phone and also post
a). Android Version (mine is 2.2.2)
b). Baseband Version (mine is PR5)
c). Kernel Version (mine is Apps_2.6.32.9-perf)
d). Software Version (mine is 1010_2_038).

Thank you.
 
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