07-22-2002, 08:51 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Toshiba Pocket PC Support
I called Toshiba support for the first time today, and I was reasonably impressed with them. It wasn't love at first site, however, because they have a few serious glitches with their support system. First off, when you go to their web site and dial the 1-800 tech support number, there is no option for Pocket PCs. Laptops, desktops, no mobile devices of any kind. Good example there of ignoring your own products. I spoke to the operator, waited for a few minutes while she looked up the number, then called it (800-949-7993). Six minutes on hold isn't too bad (that's why we have speaker phones), and the technician I spoke with was very nice, but I was a little surprised at what he told me. I told him about the power button not always turning the unit off, and the flickering at the bottom of my screen. He said they had not heard of either issue, which I find odd. And like most technicians, the second thing they recommend (after a soft reset) is a hard reset.
Not wanting to prolong this any further, I did a hard reset and the problems were still there. He said I should send it in, and explained that they'd send me a Fedex box and I would ship it back to them. No cross shipping option, which I always find a little frustrating because it means Joe Consumer will be without his Pocket PC for a few days. Everything was going smoothly until I gave him my address and he realized I was calling from Canada - then everything fell apart. They apparently can't ship Fedex boxes to Canada, so he took my phone number and said he would call me back - he had no clue how to offer warranty service to a Canadian who has a Toshiba product. Not exactly great planning! Hopefully he'll have a solution when he calls me back - it's not like FedEx doesn't ship to Canada!
What have your experiences with Toshiba tech support been like? Good, bad, ugly?
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07-22-2002, 08:55 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,768
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Canada
It seems like I remember that Canada has it's own Toshiba support organization and even it's own website. I remember that because with my old Tecra (notebook) I could always find patches on the Toshiba Canada site weeks before they appears on the US corp site. Here is the e740 page on the Toshiba Canada website:
http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.gr...22&product=533 and this the Toshiba Canada support site: http://209.167.114.38/support/
__________________
Jonathan (JonnoB)
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
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07-22-2002, 09:17 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 47
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What puzzles me the most, Jason, is that you say you were "reasonably impressed" with how everything went. I'm trying to find a single thing in your story that went well at all.
- tech support doesn't list your device, or even its category
- tech agent hasn't heard of your issue
- tech agent's first recommendation is wiping everything to see if that solves the problem
- no cross-shipping available
- tech agent's brain explodes when you tell him you're calling from Canada
- tech agent has no idea how to solve that problem and has to call you back
As a former tech support agent for a very big name computer company, I have first-hand experience with how poorly tech support agents are trained these days. It's a disaster.
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07-22-2002, 09:42 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 204
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I received quick response from the email support, but so what, I don't like this answer!!!
Hi 24va,
We have been seeing many issues with customers using the Sandisk SD cards. There seem to be some compatibility issues with our devices and that brand of storage card. The only "certified" cards for the e310 are the Toshiba brand cards, however there are other brands that may also work.
My recommendation would be to avoid the sandisk cards, if this is not an option, you could also try reformating the card using the free storage tools utiltiy availabe from microsoft at www.pocketpc.com. Use of this or other 3rd party utilities would be unsupported by Toshiba however.
Best Regards,
Steve for Toshiba PDA Support.
-----Original Message-----
From: 24va
Sent: Jul 22, 2002 1:15:27 PM
Subject: Toshiba PDA Support Request from 24va
Customer Name: 24va
Customer Email:
PDA Model: e310
Problem Category: Other
The data backup does not work on my e310, I've seen this same issue on some forumns. Do you have a fix for this.
trying to back up to a 128k sandisk SD card.
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07-22-2002, 09:52 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 21
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I think these are a few more good reasons why "I'm a grownup not a complainer" apathy just isn't a viable option for Pocket PC's. This is particularly true as one company in Asia makes many PocketPCs and components for different companies so different PPC models don't necessarily escape the same problems. Who's the real competitor? Sony Clie with the "A" satisfaction rating in PC Mag? But there's that whole PPC/vs Palm religion problem.... oops.
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07-22-2002, 10:07 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 255
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by 24va
We have been seeing many issues with customers using the Sandisk SD cards. There seem to be some compatibility issues with our devices and that brand of storage card. The only "certified" cards for the e310 are the Toshiba brand cards, however there are other brands that may also work.
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This may be part of a larger issue with Sandisk SD cards. I have a Casio E-200. It, too, is incompatible with Sandisk SD cards. It works fine with any brand of MMC card, but is incompatible with Sandisk SD cards. I ended up returning two Sandisk SD cards and finally buying a Toshiba SD card that works fine in the E-200. Me, I'm staying away from Sandisk SD cards. :cry:
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07-22-2002, 10:15 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 113
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Re: Toshiba Pocket PC Support
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
I told him about the power button not always turning the unit off, and the flickering at the bottom of my screen.
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I can confirm having problems with the power button on my e740. Haven't experienced flickering yet. Then there's that ActiveSync issue... :roll:
Yet wireless makes it all worth it. :wink:
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07-22-2002, 10:34 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 12
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Jason, if you would've looked a little harder on Toshiba's contact page, you would've seen the number for PDA support. I had to call it about a week ago. On the contact page it says:
"For toll-free technical support for Toshiba PDA products, please call (800) 949-7993."
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07-22-2002, 10:42 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Xaximus
What puzzles me the most, Jason, is that you say you were "reasonably impressed" with how everything went. I'm trying to find a single thing in your story that went well at all.
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Well, the tech support guy was really nice to me. ;-) If they call me back with bad news, then this will turn into an ugly situation, but for right now I'm "on hold" with my feelings over it.
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07-22-2002, 10:45 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Captain Obvious
Jason, if you would've looked a little harder on Toshiba's contact page, you would've seen the number for PDA support. I had to call it about a week ago.
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I stand corrected. Could they have made that page any harder to read though? :roll:
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