[Hands0n]

Today I have spent about 15 minutes on the phone with Dell Support arranging for my Dell Streak to be taken away for repair. The damn thing has been driving me nuts. It constantly reboots, preceded by flashing LEDs. Now some say that this is the wrong radio. But the thing is, it is more likely to be a thermal issue - which is normally a bit of poor quality soldering somewhere on the motherboard. Air gets trapped and as the board heats up it causes an increased electrical resistance. In microelectronics even a tiny bit of resistance is a bad thing.

And so, from cold the Dell Streak will start up and run for a few minutes. Then as it gets used the LEDs will flash and the handset then go into a reboot cycle. The only way to get it back is to let it cool down for a few hours (or pop it in the fridge - suitably protected of course) and try again later. Definitely thermal.

Dell say it will be away for up to 30 days.

Oh well, I've not been using it anyway ... but i want it back working so I can decide whether or not to sell it on.

[Ben]

30 days?! Damn, does it really take that long to look at it and decide to send you a refurb?

Surely they wont try and repair?

[miffed]

Before you sell it ,you really should try DJ_Steve's build ! Honestly it is immeasurably better then the stock Dell rubbish.

I have heard tales of Dell simply sending replacement units , sometimes not even bothering to remember to collect the faulty one !! - the stories I have heard all suggests Dells CS is very quick and hassle free (quite the contrary to what I expected ) So lets hope the 30 days is a WCS !!

[Hands0n]

True to their word, Dell's courier (UPS) arrived today to pick up the Dell Streak for repair/replacement. They left me a tracking slip and it is now off on its way to Budapest, Hungary Very nice.

Very worryingly though, it seems that this entire transaction is at my own risk ...

This document is a receipt only and you are named on the attached label / document exclusively for identification purposes. The contract of carriage is between UPS and its customer. There is no contract between you and UPS. By handing over the goods to UPS, you agree that UPS collects the goods on behalf of its customer and accepts no liability whatsoever to you or anyone other than its customer for any loss or delay of or damage to the goods resulting from negligence or any other cause.

So, basically, unless Dell have effectively taken possession, and therefore liability, for the Streak I am completely out on a limb, on my own should the worst occur.

Of course, you only get to know this after you sit down to read the small print and the device is already miles away.

This would have been much more secure, in my favour, if I'd had the opportunity to pay for secure delivery myself. But that was never a given option!

[Ben]

They're liable to Dell (their customer) for loss/delay/damage, so not to worry :) They're just not liable to you.

[Hands0n]

The Streak is back :D W00t!

Actually, it is a Dell refurbished handset, and squeaky clean it is too. I thought it was brand new until I read through the paperwork. There is not a mark on it.

On powering up the first thing I noticed is a complete lack of O2 branding. This is a pure Dell version of Android. It is Froyo and fully up to date (I checked).

I also think that it is SIM Free. Given the vanilla OS there is no real reason for this to be locked to any network. I currently have a giffgaff SIM installed. But as it is O2 it works fine. Next time I get some time to myself I'll try a Three SIM in it.

Happy days :) I can't believe how much I missed it!

[Ben]

I can't believe you missed it at all! :D

[Hands0n]

I know, its completely crazy, but the Dell Streak had become something of a bit of a friend :) I do so like the format, it is superb as a hybrid without looking and feeling silly.

This refurb is even better than the original - and that was in good nick, mint in fact. But there is something about this one that suggests that it is better put together.

And the really brilliant news is that it is SIM free! I popped a Vodafone SIM in a few minutes ago and it locked on instantly, as if the SIM was completely native to it. This is excellent news, as it makes the handset that much more saleable - should I ever want to. So thats even better, really.