I ran into the same issue when i called Dell Support.  My Service Tag wasnt coming up as Venue Pro and when i tried to use it on the Dell website i had the same problem.  I too was transferred 5 times and then got disconnected.  I finally found Dell Mobility and it is still new to them, but at least they helped and at least they knew what the product was.

@j.Hawke

Can you elaborate more on the 16gb/8gb differences you experienced and how your replacement phone is working out. My friend and I also bought a 16/8 combo and my 16gb model keeps freezing (about 5-6 times a day). It froze within minutes of turning it on before any apps were installed. I am not sure what to do (either return the 16 in favor of the 8, or order a replacement for the 16 which would invalidate my possible return). Has the 8gb version frozen at all? Have you recieved your replacement phone already and if so, how is it working? Sorry for all the questions- I am just trying to make the best decision possible.

Thanks

Sergio

no, we have not received them yet.

the 8gb version never froze up but it had a badly seated sliding mechanism.

16gb crashes every time with wifi turned on withing few minutes. otherwise worked flawlessly.

i'll post an update once we do.

I am sorry for your trouble, Hawke.

I am also in the replacement process and I hope it will not as bad as yours.

By the way, do you happen to know how to transfer the data from the old phone to the replaced one? I put a lot of stuff on my current DVP and do not want to go through that again. Also how to reinstall all the apps I have purchased.

It is fortunate that my experience with the replacement process is more pleasant than yours. I also suffered from the long waiting time, transferring between departments. However, once I got to the Mobility dept, they agree to send me replacement right away. It was already shipped and expected to arrive on the 24th.

My current phone works ok. The only major issue in my case is the camera button does not work at all.

all of your contacts will move with your live account.

you'll just need to reinstall those apps/ you wont have to pay for them again, just click "buy" and it'll tell you that you've already purchased it. but i think if you bought it through the zune software, it'll resync. i can't confirm at the moment.

if you subscribe to zune pass, you will have to call MS to switch out your phone in your Account. (given you already have 3 devices including your phone and you dont want to wait 30 days to swap out your device.)

pictures and music should be synced with zune software... but i had synced all my data and pictures with sky drive... so so far, i've been able to just move to new windows phones without any trouble. my windows phone experience started with at&t.

btw... i find it ironic that even though i had ordered the phone and the otter case at the same time at the beginning of the month, the case came 2 full weeks later.... 1 day after the accident with the screen...

(this post was deleted because i mentioned the first name of the supervisor i dealt with along with his dell employee id, and i posted my service tag?? Dell may not want to identify exact causes and/or drill down find the people responsible for their horrible service. Anyway, here's a re-post with [Edits])

Few things happened since my last post. And as of this afternoon, both replacement units were still “in production.” Even though they were supposed to have it shipped to me in 2 days! (Called on the 13 th , replacement orders placed on the 14 th ).

I dropped my 8 GB phone outside on the 17th from about two feet... and the whole front glass shattered & hundreds of thin cracks appeared. I called back dell mobility immediately to find out what should i do about it. They took my information and said a rep from "out of warranty" department will get in touch with me in few days. Someone did call me yesterday and left me a message saying she was calling in regards to my dell Streak.

They left me a phone number and a 7 digit extension number [Edit]. So called them back, but was told that she was with another customer and that they were closing soon, so she'll call me back today. Instead of waiting, i called her back this morning. The "out of warranty" department rep (i don’t remember her name) did not know what a venue pro was. She said she had notes saying the replacement was for my dell Streak. After spelling out the Venue Pro for her, she told me that she has no info about that and i have to call dell Mobility. So i called back dell mobility at [Edit] and got a rep by pressing option 3. The rep told me that since the phone's screen am now broken, it is now out of warranty and that they will not be able to fix the original problem. I have to take it up with the "out of warranty" department. I was pretty upset with his answer, so i asked how can i return all my purchases (i also bought cases for the venue) and to cancel the original replacements. I wanted to just keep the broken 8 GB phone as a paperweight and call it a loss. However, he informed me that i won't be able to do any of that yet because i need to receive the replacement phones first and then send them back. Once i did that, then i could initiate a return for the original 16 GB phone. I was running late for school and already had wasted 25 minutes, so i said I’d call back later.

I called back at 2:30pm... the rep named  [Edit] answered. I was tired of explaining the same thing over and over again, so i asked to speak to a supervisor right away.  [Edit] was very professional and asked me what it was in regards to and if she could help me in any way. I was very tired and beaten by then, so I said, sure. I told her that I’ll explain to her everything so that she can convey that to her supervisor before taking my call. I told her that both of my dell venue pros were defective since day one (since the 6th or 7th..) I told her that both phones had replacement unit requests on the 13th. I had an accident with the 8 GB version where the screen cracked on the 17th. I was calling to see if (A) dell can overlook the cracked screen when it was returned, due to previous hardware malfunction. Or (B) i could agree to pay for the damage on the screen if they can reduce the fees due to previous hardware malfunction, since they charge a set fee no matter what the issues are. (C) Cancel my replacement orders and process a return for my 16 GB version and the case for it. And all I’d keep is just the broken 8 GB version. After reviewing my orders and listening to me, she put me on hold and came back with an answer from her supervisor; she can start on my phone return on my 16 GB only. I was a bit thrown back; i asked if i could speak to her supervisor directly. She put me on the phone with Jeremy. (Employee number  [Edit]. When I asked him for his last name or last initial, he got very defensive and said he couldn't give me either. I asked him why not, since he was a supervisor? He said, that doesn't matter!  [Edit] asked me how he could help me. I asked him if  [Edit] had filled him in. He told me that he can't make any exceptions. The 8 GB screen is broken and I have to call out of warranty dept.

i informed him that i have already talked to someone from there. And they had no idea what a venue pro was. He told me if that's the case then i didn't speak to the right department. I told him about the extension that was left for me. To that he informed me that was impossible since they do not use extensions and i couldn't have called that department. I was almost in tears by then... i reminded him that that main number for dell mobility asks for an extension number when you first dial it. He told me that no, it doesn't!

Trying to control my cool... i dialed my voicemail from a speakerphone... and played back the message that was left for me. Where the agent left a message for me for my Streak. To that he said, well... Streak or Venue, it’s processed the same way. I asked him if he knew how much it would cost... he said no but a streak costs around $250.

I asked him if could talk to them about lowering the price... he said no, because the departments have no direct contact.

I asked him about how I can be certain that the warranty dept will know the Venue. He said that he'll update the info for them. So, I asked him to cancel everything. He told me that the replacements were already canceled. I told him that I could still see them in my order status as "in production."  [Edit] told me that doesn't matter but both replacements were canceled. I then had him process my return for my case and the 16 GB. i asked him about my T-Mobile contract obligation... he told me that once they receive the return in 7-10 days, I’ll have to call both T-Mobile and dell to cancel my contract on the 16gb... and the broken 8gb, he said i could either, "toss it away or pay to get it fixed." the rest is up to T-Mobile.

Before leaving the line I confirmed with Jeremy that both of my replacement orders were canceled, Returns for my Case and 16 GB was initiated, and I won't have any issues with T-Mobile since the return process started before the 30 day period. I also asked him to forward my info again to the out of warrant dept for the 8 GB. I got off the phone at 3:30pm.

Around 4:15pm, I checked my dell account and saw that only one of my replacement orders were canceled. The other one still said in production. So, I called back dell mobility. I was connected with [Edit] at 4:25. I gave her my dispatch number  [Edit] and explained to her about my issue and that Jeremy was supposed to cancel both replacement orders but i only see one being canceled. She put me on hold and came back a little later and told me that she just canceled the other order as well. And that was at 4:40pm. Once i got off the phone, i checked my order status again, and now both replacement orders say "canceled."

I wonder if  [Edit] ever forwarded my info to the warranty dept. (he never canceled my 2nd order and was too cocky to know his own departments phone lines. He was very impatient with me with hurried & authoritative voice. His customer service skills were seriously lacking). I wonder how much will it cost to repair the screen. Will they fix the original fault with the sliding mechanism? Is it worth it? I now have a new 2 line T-Mobile contract. One broken dell phone. And money and time wasted. I wonder if I can at least get a subsidized phone from T-Mobile on the line that was attached to the 16 GB.

Thanks Dell! I’ve bought a lot of stuff from Dell in the past. Will I ever in the future? “No!”

ordered a Venue Pro last year in decemner. Said it would be delayed and I had to authorize the delay. ( i could either do one time or for future delays as well).

I opted to authorize future delays as well as I really wanted the phone. 3 delays later they again ask for authorization for delay in production. ( i again authorize it) but now they just cancel the order on me with no explaination.

I think it is better if you just re-order it. I ordered it on Jan 15th and received it on Jan 18th.

Has anyone here received a refund on their returned phone(s) yet?