My customer support experience

[fxc]

My PinePhone64 stopped connecting to my router wi-fi. After several tests I determined that the problem was the phone. I contacted customer service and they asked me to download and run a test program (app). Not easily done with no Internet connection. But I managed. It took several attempts but finally I got a test that reported RTL8723CS had failed. Nevertheless they asked me to repeat the test several times as I had not tested for all the devices. Not really a problem, but it took some extra time. Then they asked me to remove the motherboard and its many tiny screws to ship it to them for replacement. I was concerned I would damage the board. I objected, telling them that I had bought a complete phone not a motherboard and that I would ship them the whole phone (minus battery). They agreed. Shipping from Sweden to Slovakia was expensive. They received it on 27th. July.

It arrived today 15th. August and it works normally. I would call that good customer support. But downloading your test version from “Historic factory builds” on https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=...Download_9 and running it will speed up the process.

Such tests are best made together with the community in the bridged community chat. We have a vast experience with such issues and can pinpoint issues quite good. Mind that the Pine Store sells most devices with no or a low profit margin and that support is not really paid for. While your experience might be positive, there are other users with less positive experiences so I would always go the way through the community chat first, because that relieves their spare support resources and usually leads to quicker help than playing ping pong with emails.

Regarding your broken WiFi chip, make sure to not power your phone with overvoltage. The WiFi chip is directly connected to the battery and certain combinations (like an external battery charger in combination with third-party batteries) is known to fry it.