Apple
Why I’m getting an iPhone 11 Pro instead of the Pixel 4
22 defective phones later, I’ve had enough.
Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.
Hi, I’m Joe and the Hardware Editor here at KnowTechie. If there’s anything that anyone can say about me definitively, it’s that I’m a Google stan. I’ve had every Google handset (except the Pixel 3a) since the Nexus 5X. I’ve got a house full of Google Home devices, and pretty much all my data lives in Google’s cloud.
That all ends this week. Why? Because of abysmal customer support from Google’s mobile carrier, Google Fi.
Google, I’m breaking up with you and it’s not me, it’s definitely Oh So You
See, a while back I wrote about the string of horrible RMA experiences with my Google handsets. The end of that chain was handset Number 18, for my two-week-old Pixel 3 XL. For no apparent reason other than using the Pixel Stand to wirelessly charge the handset, it started boot looping.
I’m writing this while I have in my possession device number 22. Yes, twenty fucking two. Handset Number 19 was fine for a while, then it started getting the Pixel 3 XL focusing issue, where the image stabilizing feature goes haywire and stops focusing. Handset Number 20 and 21 both started rebooting multiple times a day, often while using the camera or Gmail, rendering them useless as a daily driver.
Image: Joe Rice-Jones/KnowTechie
The cherry on the shit sundae was the latest handset, Number 22. That was delivered with actual physical damage on the handset. See that black mark under the G logo above? That’s not the protective cover, that’s actually on the “Clearly White” housing. Says something about the supposed “comprehensive process to ensure a high standard of quality” that Google’s support keeps parroting back to me every time I raise the issue of their handset refurbisher obviously having issues.
Currently, I’ve been waiting for over two weeks for the “specialist team” to okay a refund for my Pixel 3 XL after 4 faulty RMA replacements in a row. That’s bad enough, but in five days, the $950 hold on my credit card for Handset number 22 turns into a charge. What’s my recourse after that, when I’m charged for something I can’t even use? Time to talk to my credit card company about a chargeback I guess, as I’ve technically paid for goods that I have not received.
So, I’ve had it with you Google. I’m buying an iPhone 11 Pro. Maybe I’ll get the Vatican’s new eRosary, and use it to pray for my refund…
What do you think? Are 22 replacements enough to switch over the dark side that is Apple? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- Apparently, the Google Stadia wireless controller will actually need a wire for most devices
- Uhhh, China’s helicopter prototype looks exactly like a flying saucer
- A nasty Samsung Galaxy S10 bug lets anyone with a fingerprint unlock it
- Skydio’s drone-in-a-box solution makes its new Skydio 2 drone fully autonomous
Follow us on Flipboard, Google News, or Apple News
