The Great Big SPOT Thread

[widebmw]

Also at Cabela's
http://www.cabelas.com/p-0051330518244a.shtml

[BurnieM]

Originally Posted by BC Brian

Just got the new Spot 2
Called the 1-800
guy says there is a freeze on all activations. Have to wait till the new ones are shipped out before ANY can be activated. January....or later.
There will be a spot 1 - spot 2 exchange, so he recommended I go buy a Spot 1, use it till the new ones are availabe, then do an exhange. Said there weren't many details on HOW that was gooing to accomplished yet.

The toll free no. is 1-866-727-7733

I would get the 'exchange deal' in writing.
Nothing official from SPOT about this (and no trade up on old SPOT 1)

[dad2bike]

I got a SPOT 2 under the tree. Already filled out the recall info. I like the size of the spot2. As far as battery life, I figure it is no big deal to put fresh duracells in every trip. I already do it for my GPS.
I'll clearly be waiting patiently. I've seen no posts anywhere about anybody getting anything back from SPOT yet. I sure would like to use my new SPOT.

[rhicks]

I filled out the return form on the 15th. It was supposed to take 5-7 business days for the return box to get here. So far nothing.

Has anyone had the return box arrive and have you seen any replacements? I haven't heard anything from SPOT about the time to get a replacement but do recall earlier in this thread something about early 2010. Just curious what everyone else is seeing.

[Steve Kolenda]

Originally Posted by rhicks

I filled out the return form on the 15th. It was supposed to take 5-7 business days for the return box to get here. So far nothing.

Has anyone had the return box arrive and have you seen any replacements? I haven't heard anything from SPOT about the time to get a replacement but do recall earlier in this thread something about early 2010. Just curious what everyone else is seeing.

I sent my request on the 14th and have not received anything yet. My guess is that when they receive new units they will go to retail first. They already have our money.

[boatworker]

Originally Posted by Steve Kolenda

I sent my request on the 14th and have not received anything yet. My guess is that when they receive new units they will go to retail first. They already have our money.

That would not surprise me. I had a first generation SPOT that I was pretty unhappy with. Actually it was my second one as the first one went back as faulty. Because I have a commercial account with the store where I purchased it they gave me the SPOT 2 at their cost and credited me the hundred bucks I spent on the first one so it was basically a straight trade. Anyhow when I called to swap the remaining 10 months of service over to the new unit I was told that they would have to charge me again and I would receive a refund for the previous subscription in about a month. Haven't seen it yet nor have I received the rebate check on the original purchase back in October.

[BC Brian]

Got a new e-mail from spot Canada.
Now apparently I will NOT be receiving an exchange kit, but will receive an e-mail telling me how to exchange my spot 2. I am supposed to hold on to my spot until then. But.... they did thank e for my patience.

Cut and paste from e-mail:

Dear Canadian SPOT 2 Subscriber
Thank you very much for completing the Voluntary Product Return information. To help serve our Canadian customers better the process for Canadians will be slightly different that noted in the email you recently received after submitting your SPOT 2 information.
In Canada, upon unit availability in early 2010, customers will be emailed instructions outlining how to exchange your existing SPOT 2 unit for a NEW SPOT 2 unit. Please keep your SPOT 2 unit until this time.
You will not be receiving return shipping materials within 5-7 business days as noted in the previous email.
We appreciate your patience in this matter and look forward to continuing to meet your satellite messaging needs.

Regards

The SPOT Team




I guess we will see what happens.....

[LongCliff]

Just got the spot 2 under the tree. Tried to register, but was not allowed to complete the registration process. Filled out the information for the voluntary recall.

I'm not planning on using mine till the spring, so not too much of a hassle. But I was looking forward to playing with it today .

You know - They're calling this a voluntary recall, but it's clearly not voluntary if the customer is unable to register and activate the unit! That makes it a mandatory recall (unless you want to use the spot for a paperweight).

[MarcMuller]

I was thinking about getting one but from what I read here, I think I going to wait even longer.
If their customer service is what you guys have described, I wonder how true and reliable their actual sattelite service is?

MM

[DiabloBlanco]

Originally Posted by MarcMuller

I was thinking about getting one but from what I read here, I think I going to wait even longer.
If their customer service is what you guys have described, I wonder how true and reliable their actual sattelite service is?

MM

Well the satellite service has nothing to do with customer service and I've never had a problem with it. But as I was getting pretty excited to get a genII I think I'll be happy holding onto my GenI that works for the time being

[boatworker]

Originally Posted by LongCliff

Just got the spot 2 under the tree. Tried to register, but was not allowed to complete the registration process. Filled out the information for the voluntary recall.

I'm not planning on using mine till the spring, so not too much of a hassle. But I was looking forward to playing with it today .

You know - They're calling this a voluntary recall, but it's clearly not voluntary if the customer is unable to register and activate the unit! That makes it a mandatory recall (unless you want to use the spot for a paperweight).

So, rather than pull the units from the retail outlets, they are allowing them to be sold knowing that they can't be used. Nice.

[Lucky_Devil]

Originally Posted by boatworker

So, rather than pull the units from the retail outlets, they are allowing them to be sold knowing that they can't be used. Nice.

Yeah... I thought the same thing.

While Christmas shopping at a couple different Best Buys and REI I made a point to check to see if they were still selling SPOTII, and they were still on the shelves at all locations. Lame... poor business strategy IMHO.

[DiabloBlanco]

I apologize for the language but the more I think about it the more f*cked up I find it... the *right thing to do* of course would be to instruct retailers to send the units directly back for repair, but instead they choose to ensnare largely uninformed customers into buying a product they can't use for who knows how long. I truly wish there was a comparable unit on the market, because business practices like these make me want to boycott a product. Spotmaker, this is not directed at you, Spot Inc, this is

[NorWis]

I am a GlobalStar sat phone customer and frequent their site for news on the new LEO satelites they are going to deploy.

The following news story (link) may be of interest:

http://www.globalstar.com/en/news/pr...hp?pressId=579

Todd

[Just_Jake]

I received a Spot II for Christmas. The device is on recall, which prevents me from activating it and testing it myself. I'm looking at some mounting solutions with an emphasis being on water tight, and more secure.

My preference would be to place the Spot in a Pelican 1010 mirco case, which has a clear lid. I could then better mount the pelican case on my bike.

My question is, will the Spot transmit its signal through the clear, plastic lid of the pelican?