Nokia N95 build quality

[UPatel]

Hello All,

After receiving my 2nd N95 from T-mobile i was just wondering whether other people were noticing the following:

On my 1st N95 - when the slider was shut it was solid, no movement

On my 2nd N95 - when the slider is shut, the bottem right hand side can be moved up and down? - well when you push it down with your finger... but when the slider is fully up its pretty much solid?

I also found that im getting better GPS with my 2nd (weaker slider) than my first

Also: does anyone else notice a noise from the camera everytime it focuses? or is this suppose to happen?

anyone noticing the same?

[mikeysyke]

I'm on my second one also, I would say the build quality was definatly better on the first one. With the second one there is definae movement in th slider, both opened and closed, also a distinct 'creeking' sound can be herd when pressing the side of the phone where the memory card is. I had none of these issues with the first hanset I had.

[UPatel]

I kinda regret sending in my 1st N95 .. the slider was rock solid compared to this one.. when i push it down it jus falls down rather than slide and lock! AARRGGHHH

How many times are you allowed to "ask for a exchange"?

Call my picky, but i have to keep this phone for 18months!!! and i dont want the slider to be loose half way down the line!

[mikeysyke]

You can try and ask again, but it seems quite a common thing for people to complain about the slider, I think there is a good chance you will one with a loose slider. I would have thought the over time the slider would loosen up anyway so unless its really bad, (when you say fall and lock, it doesn't sound good) I wouldn't bother changing it. You have a warrenty if it does go belly-up down the line. Quite often especially with mobile phones, there will be problems/issues with early batches of phones. I have had this with many phones I have had (T610 and hissing/the screen alignment issue with the MDA vario 2). It may be wrong to say this but I think it is always best to wait at least a few months after release before purchacing a product. I am just eager and like to get products first.

[WATTHELL]

Exactly same slider problem with my t-mobile plum n95. Slider solid exept for bottom right hand corner, must be about 2mm movement, sounds small but when using the buttons below the screen it does give the phone a "cheap" feel to it.

and just to be a perfectionist, have a look at your speakers, are they sitting centre to the hole in the case. mine are slightly off centre, not really a problem but something that is noticeable.

and finally, slide up your phone, and feel the movement in the plastic shell to the left and right of your keypad. feels like the back could come off.

yes im fussy, holding my k800 in my other hand it really does feel considerably better built.

[UPatel]

Yes there is major space between the slider and the keypad.. with my one, every time i go to push the slider back down it jus seems to fall and lock.. theres some resistance but not as much as my 1st one - signs of a weak slider

1) Im impatient, and wanted the N95 as soon as possible, due to the world of marketing, viral marketing and advertising - damn you and my soft head

2) If a consumer pays X amount of money for a product, WHY DO THEY HAVE TO PUT UP WITH POOR QUALITY!

3) Does the warrrenty cover the slider? im sure it wont cos its "general wear and tear"

[mikeysyke]

Originally Posted by WATTHELL

Exactly same slider problem with my t-mobile plum n95. Slider solid exept for bottom right hand corner, must be about 2mm movement, sounds small but when using the buttons below the screen it does give the phone a "cheap" feel to it.

and just to be a perfectionist, have a look at your speakers, are they sitting centre to the hole in the case. mine are slightly off centre, not really a problem but something that is noticeable.

and finally, slide up your phone, and feel the movement in the plastic shell to the left and right of your keypad. feels like the back could come off.

yes im fussy, holding my k800 in my other hand it really does feel considerably better built.

I agree with everthing you say, My Vario 2 feels alot more quality compared to my N95. I just feel that aside from going through several to find a 'good one' there is no other solution. Feature wise, the phone is fantastic, but build quality wise I have to say that in general its poor.

[UPatel]

Originally Posted by mikeysyke

I agree with everthing you say, My Vario 2 feels alot more quality compared to my N95. I just feel that aside from going through several to find a 'good one' there is no other solution. Feature wise, the phone is fantastic, but build quality wise I have to say that in general its poor.

so are you saying that it might not be worth resending and resending till you find a good one? .. i seriously regret sending back my 1st one.. and it was purely cos the gps was poor.. this one seems to pick up satellites much quicker but the lock takes a little longer.

[JonStatt]

The focus sound on the camera.

My first N95 didn't make a sound..my second does. However, before I sent the first one back I did a full hard format/reset *#7370# and the first one made the focus lock sound as well. Strange huh?

As for the slider. I have seen a few N95s now and when they are in the closed position, there is always a little up and down movement available, but I haven't seen it more on one side than another, its just you can rock the whole screen up and down a touch. Interestingly this same movement is still there when the slide is open upwards, but dead solid when slid downwards.

There is a slight movement of the back plastic shell near the memory card slot. If you look very carefully you will see the sides of the plum shell are not 100% straight....it seems to me they have crammed so much electronics into this thing, that it is actually marginal fitting in the casing!!

[WATTHELL]

Build quality on this phone has just reminded me why i left nokia many years ago. In the older phones the battery cover never ever felt solid, and as for the phones with the clip on covers they were awful.

Just had a couple of different samsungs sliders to play with and they feel a lot more secure, and both are well over a year old.

Maybe you should keep trying for the perfect handset, especially if your on a 18 month contract.

Have to say just how impressed i am with the phone in every other way, features fantastic, gps pickup quite good, battery life not too bad, ill be charging it every night anyway. Not 100% convinced with Maps, clearly disabling the 'always pointing north' option without purchasing the upgrade package is crippling but fingers cross for a better 3rd party sat-nav option.

[UPatel]

I think with Tmobile you have 7 days to return the phone for a new one if your not 100% satisfied with it .. so i might wait till the weekend and see if im still annoyed with the slider.

Im begining to lose the battle of will and thinking "jus leave it" and ignore the slider problems

there has defo been a change from the 1st N95 to the 2nd N95 i've recieved, which is the biggest annoying thing.

as for GPS.. i get satellite status (clear) but it takes a while for them to go black.

[Waynesters]

I`m now on my 2nd Nokia N95, my 3rd one is due here on Friday

lots of movement and wobbling on the right hand side
gives an annoying clicking noise, definately not right!
im with 02 Network, if the next one is the same, im gonna completely lose my rag!
also has terrible audio quality in earpiece when recieving or making calls on it
My N80 was 10 times clearer and more audible
and YES this is when i have FULL SIGNAL on the N95`s :-(

i also have the annoying high pitch whining sound through the earpiece!
a few people have mentioned this is a HARDWARE fault and cannot be resolved with a Firmware Update?

im thinking of going to BBC Watchdog, as i have had just about enough
NOKIA choose to ignore all of my complaints and simply say "we havent heard of that complaint before"
i phoned them yesterday at 75p a minute!!
whose gonna pay for all this? ME!!!

IM DISGUSTED !

Nokia - IF you are reading this, i suggest someone deals with all of our complaints immediately
and not shove us all under the Carpet!

Grrrrrrrrrr

WAYNE HARRIS
OXFORD

[UPatel]

Originally Posted by Waynesters

I`m now on my 2nd Nokia N95, my 3rd one is due here on Friday

lots of movement on the right hand side
gives an annoying clicking noise, definately not right!
im with 02 Network, if the next one is the same, im gonna completely lose my rag!

What did you say to O2 for your 3rd N95??

for my 2nd N95 i told Tmobile that the GPS wasn't working, so they said they'd give me a new one.. now im tempted to return it due to the slider build quality.. should i jus say "im not happy with the slider" give me a new one?

[WATTHELL]

If you bought a £500 laptop and the screen was loose you would get it replaced/repaired no questions asked.

If you bought a £500 sat-nav system and if didnt work properly you would get it replaced.

If you buy a phone thats on some websites at £600, in cash or as part of contract, you SHOULD get it replaced. Your contract entitles you to a phone that does what it says and is built correctly. The phone operators cannot refuse to replace your handset, that is unless they are willing to buy you out of your contract.

So just keep pestering. Especially when i had to pay to get the handset delivered in the first place.

Beware : Check your operator doesnt reset the beginning of your contract to the date your recieve your latest phone, you might find your 18month contract creeps into a 19 or 20 month contract.

[Waynesters]

everytime i phone 02 i have to apologise before i start shouting!!
i have sent them all back with the same 2 complaints, which are CRAPPY slider, and annoying high pitch noise...

im gonna keep sending them back over and over again UNTIL i get one that works!

i have just taken an 18 month contract out, i will check about my contract being extended because of these problems, but if your on 02, you do get a 14 day cooling off period to send the thing back, or get it swapped over..

they are going to get so sick and tired of me, and if i get any "attitutde" from them, maybe the geezer from the mobile phone omnisman can sort it!
(if thats spelt wrong, its coz i dot know how to spell it! ha ha ha)

[WATTHELL]

Close the slider, let the phone keypad lock do its thing, wait for backlight to go out, then place handset up to your ear as if you were going to make a call (keeping slider in closed position).

Hear anything?

That noise doesnt come from any of my other phones, is it a N95 thing or have i got a really buggered up phone.

[bavlondon]

Waynsters all O2 models are probably the same. If you wanted one from a new batch you would have to wait a few weeks until they run out fo current stock and get new stock.

[Waynesters]

i just held the N95 up to my ear with the slider fully extended and WITHOUT making any calls and its still making that high pitch noise when the screen is lit up! what the F*** !!!!!

[mikeysyke]

To be honest plenty of phones make a high pitch noise from the screen, I have had two Windows mobile phones that did that which was very annoying, at least on thought devices though, the screen can be turned off at anytime during the call manually without ending the call.

nokia's are notorious for poor build quality, I remember back in the day where several of their phones hand the disappearing screen issue, and then there was the Nokia 7110, it gives the shudders thinking about it... especially as mobile phones get more complex, it seems that more and more issues especially with firmware occur. I know this thread is about build quality but I think the fact is as we the consumer demand more and more from mobile phones, build quality and reliability will become more and more of an issue because large customer will look to cut costs in places. I do not think its right, and I am not saying we as consumers should settle for this I am just stating fact.

[WATTHELL]

This thread should come with a warning.

Within 30 secs of reading all the above comment you will notice things about your phone that you will grow to hate. I am guilty of such comments and although feel highly ashamed of spoiling your fresh, shiny, feature packed phone, i will probably point out many more.

If you want to keep that "blinded by love" feel for your N95 you really should not read any of this thread. You have been warned.

[Waynesters]

totally agree

im going to give it till the 5th attempt, and then im abandoning the idea of owning this so called "AWESOME" phone... its a friggin joke!

NOKIA? ARE YOU LISTENING ?

[UPatel]

That is so true.. it was only until i read other people's comments that i become more and more depressed after finding the same problems... AARRRGGHHH lol

Its jus such an effort to keep packing and exchanging handsets (tho i do enjoy the smell of fresh phone) .. think i will call them tomorrow for a new handset to be delivered Saturday.

If my first n95 was like my 2nd then i wouldn't have complained, as i wouldn't have noticed any thing different, but this slider has to last me 18months!

[bavlondon]

The only looseness i get is when the phone is closed. I can move the phone front part up by a fraction of a milimeter. I wouldnt notice this unless I was trying to spot it deliberatley.

Overall id say the build is good. Its not as heavy as I would like but i always look after my phone well.

Could i ask where are yours made asia or finland?

Mine is made in finland but ive heard there are many made in asia aswell.

[UPatel]

my first one was made in finland

i dont know bout my second one .. need to check the box at home.

good point - i wouldn't notice these things in general, its only cos im being rather fussy and particular - which i am during the first week of getting anythign new.

has anyone dropped their n95 yet?

[mikeysyke]

Originally Posted by UPatel

my first one was made in finland

i dont know bout my second one .. need to check the box at home.

good point - i wouldn't notice these things in general, its only cos im being rather fussy and particular - which i am during the first week of getting anythign new.

has anyone dropped their n95 yet?

LOL I dropped my first N95, it got a few chips on the outer casing, it was definatly a factor in me deciding to to get it changed for the whining. I wish I had kept the first one now as it felt more solid