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Tell HN: Nokia G22 Beware

13 points by 2ton_jeff ↗ HN
So I bought a Nokia G22 to replace my old Galaxy, and it has not gone well. I did enjoy hearing the Nokia chime for the first time in nearly 2 decades though, haha.

Deal breaker first and foremost: Nokia/HMD Global Oy has apparently decided not to license any MicroSD storage filesystem, and declares ext4 as a non-portable filesystem and rejects it too. This means that the ONLY filesystem format it will deal with on a MicroSD is FAT32. So my 256GB space shows up correctly as "250GB" but I can't for example store my Signal backup on it because it is >4GB. The device itself's camera is readily capable of storing files larger than 4GB but you can't store that on your own MicroSD either.

Second thing that nearly was a deal-breaker: For reasons unknown, Signal doesn't end up correctly whitelisted for the Android deviceidle feature regardless of all UI-based battery settings/disabling/etc. This means Signal notifications arrive every 10 minutes, and for most people I know including non-technical family, this is unacceptable. The fix requires developer tools and adb: adb shell dumpsys deviceidle disable It is interesting that "org.thoughtcrime.securesms" is indeed in the whitelist, it just doesn't work.

So since this phone was only just released here in Australia, I reached out to their AU support and asked for a refund due to the fact that their MicroSD is basically useless to me. This was their reply: Hi Jeff,

  Thank you for your email and for bringing this to our attention.

  We shall pass on your comments to our product design team.

  Unfortunately as the Nokia G22 is not faulty and works as designed we cannot issue a replacement or refund.
 
  Kind regards,

  Nokia Care Team Australia

12 comments

[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 38.6 ms ] thread
pestatije
Did you ask for refund/replacement in the shop where you bought it?
2ton_jeff
Bought it online directly from Nokia, though it came from their partner Ingram Micro.
Enderboi
First, tell Nokia you intend to contact the ACCC about this refund, as the device isn't "fit for purpose" if it can't store files greater than 4GB.

If they don't instantly change their tone (as many vendors do once you mention certain four-letter agencies like ACCC or ACMA...), then lodge a complaint with the ACCC.

Ingram in this case are just acting as a warehouse/drop-shipper, same as they do for Microsoft and various other OEMs.

... although our (Australias) Data Retention and 'Lawful Access' legislation is crap, at least the Consumer Guidelines still generally favour the public! :)

Nextgrid
I wonder what's the legislation when it comes to conflicts where a vendor sells a defective product and then denies it is faulty. Is there something like a small claims court in your jurisdiction where you can "sue" for the cost of the phone?
hammyhavoc
I bought a Nokia a couple years ago, was in the Android One program and meant to receive security patches for at least three years, it got to about month two before it stopped for a year. Completely shambolic. Never again.

Bought a Pixel. It gets updates. It hasn't failed yet. It's fine.

jarym
Sounds like Nokia by name, not by reputation. They used to build coherent phones before iPhones decimated them.
2ton_jeff
One of the things that actually sold me aside from the repairability thing and all was their wikipedia page[0] where it says that "HMD is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and is largely run by former Nokia executives."

I was rather hoping that it'd be more like the Nokia we all remember from pre-iPhones. Guess not.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMD_Global?useskin=vector

wkat4242
It's basically an attempt to capitalize on the goodwill of the old Nokia. Headline products are nostalgia-fuelled feature phone remakes. Their Android lineup is indeed very meh.

Pretty similar to the "new" Atari.

NoZebra120vClip
My first ever cell phone was a Nokia, in 1997. It was a "non-functional flip" (just a plastic cover over the mouthpiece) that the sales lady pointed out, as if that would discourage me? Anyway, it had a great LCD, good UI, solid construction, replaceable battery. About two weeks after purchase, I managed to smoosh it in the car door and destroy the display.

So then it was in repair for the rest of eternity, and in return they gave me, as a loaner, a Motorola Brick. It tended to hang up at the slightest provocation. I was living in a shelter and didn't really appreciate the shoddy service. I've never regretted breaking a good device more than that.

ActorNightly
I feel like all non mainstream phones are not a safe bet anymore.

I bought a Unihertz Titan Pocket last year, was super excited because it was a tiny form factor and a real keyboard.

- Google Messages did not work. Had to use Verizon Messenger app.

- Wifi randomly drops out.

No solutions anywhere to be found. Went back to Pixel.

jpmoral
Just to add to the anecdotes in this thread I'm pretty happy with my Nokia 5.4 purchased more than two years ago, battery still great and still getting security updates.

But yes, that sucks and seems like a major problem according to this primer from the ACCC:

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/problem-with-a-product-or-...

Mentioning the ACCC may prompt them to resolve the matter but note that the ACCC doesn't resolve individual disputes. They use the reports to inform their work. You may need to go to your state Fair Trading commission or small claims tribunal.