TM506 Problems

[maiki]

Just lately I have started to have some problems with my TM506, purchased through TM (with one year contract) in March 2009. (Da*n! Why do problems always start to occur right after the end of the warranty period?) (Any way to extend the warranty, after it has expired?)

In general i have really liked the TM506. Small, compact, good phone reception, fast 3G internet, which i can tether to from my laptop or PDA, when no Wi-fi is avaialble. (By the way, although i read here at the time about debranding, etc., I never bothered to do it, and all those features worked well with the stock ROM.)

Although my contract is up (and I paid $50 extra to get a one rather than a two year contract) and I can get a new phone with a new contract (including many more smartphone options now, than a year ago), I'm inclined to keep the TM506. (I'm usually a smartphone kind of guy. In fact, I purchased an IPAQ 910 Windows Mobile 6.1 GSM smartphone from Ebay. Although I can use that as a phone on TM, I usually do not. It has 3G, but not on TM. I leave the SIM in the TM506, use that as my phone, and use the IPAQ as a PDA. When I want to do Internet on the IPAQ, if there is no wi-fi available, I tether it through the TM506.) So for now, although I find the Dash 3G tempting (although it doesn't have a touch screen like the IPAQ, which has both a vertical QWERTY keyboard and a touch screen) (and I don't know if I would have to pay more for data monthly with the Dash 3G-currently on $20 Total Internet), for now I am fine keeping with the TM506 as my phone.

Except--some problems lately with phone calls, sometimes. For instance, the screen blacking out during a call. Buttons not working during a call. For instance, I place a call, it starts ringing, I change my mind and want to hang up. I press the red end call button, and nothing happens. Or, during a call, I get a recording that asks me to press one number or the other, to choose a menu. I press the button, but the keystroke input apparently does not go through, or sometimes comes much later.

None of those things happens all the time, but enough to be a problem. Always after a call is placed. No problem with internet, with running apps, etc.

Also more dropped calls lately, although I don't know if that is the phone or the TMo service, here in the LA area.

Does the problem sound like hardware or software related? For instance, if I reset the phone, updated to the latest stock ROM (if it is not there already) (what is the newest one--anyone know?) would that likely solve these problems?

I know how someone will respond to the last question--"try that out and see". Well, I will very likely do that. However, it is a lot of hassle, because I have a lot of apps installed. Although on the memory card, I would have to reinstall them on the system. reconfigure everything, etc. Quite time-consuming. Therefore, if anyone knows how likely a reset would be to help, that would help me decide whether or not to try the reset.

Has anyone reading had similar problems? Were you able to resolve them?

Or--if it is a hardware problem, will t-mo do repair (replacement) on a phone purchased from them more than a year ago? If there is a charge for that, how much? (As I have been a loyal customer for several years, now out of contract, any possibility i could convince them to give me a little warranty extension for free?)

Thanks for your input.

[jet1000]

I don't know if I would have to pay more for data monthly with the Dash 3G-currently on $20 Total Internet

No, the Dash 3G will work fine on the Total Internet plan.

[maiki]

No, the Dash 3G will work fine on the Total Internet plan.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm sure it would work fine, but the question is--will they insist i purchase a more expensive data plan, in order to buy the Dash 3G with a contract renewal?

In any case, I'll probably continue with my TM506, if i can get it working well again, and still use my IPAQ 910 for PDA stuff.

So, back to my main question--looking at my description of the problems i have had lately with the TM506, would they probably be solved by a reset and/or ROM update (if there is one newer than what I have), or is there more likely a problem with the hardware.

If the latter, does anyone know if one can deal with T-Mo at all for repair/replacement shortly after the end of the one year warranty period? If so, how much do they charge for that?

[ngenius]

Have you contacted SonyEricsson about this? I bought a used TM506 off of ebay, and it didn't work. I contacted SE to find out if there was any firmware update or any troubleshooting I could do myself. They checked the serial number, found it was still under factory warranty, had me ship it back to them (cost about $7 fedex, as I recall). They weren't able to fix it so they sent me a NEW phone! Not a refurb!!!! They didn't even care that I wasn't the original owner. They said they warrant their products, not the owner. Excellent service!

BTW, I absolutely love this phone, although I went over to "the dark side" when a friend gave me his old iPhone 2g that I jailbroke and use on T-Mobile. I still use the TM506 occasionally for 3G tethering, which can't be done with an iPhone on T-Mo.

[hexaflexagram]

maiki -

One thing you might look at on the software side: is your TM-506 low on available memory? (Main Menu | Settings | Phone Status)

My TM-506 starts acting flakier than usual when "Phone memory" gets below 3 or 4 MB free. I can usually recover some memory via Advanced | Other | Clear cache in the Internet browser.

Good Luck with it

[brad15]

One thing to check is your port, if it has any dirt or green stuff on it, clean it off with a toothbrush and alcohol with the battery pulled out. You will not believe how something that small can mess with a Sony. my TM506 anytime it gets debris on the charging port acts crazy and i want to chuck it until i take the port and clean it.

[maiki]

I ended up doing a full reset, and that solved the problem.