Illustration by Dustin Elliott.

By Christopher Elliott
Guest Columnist

Steven Waechter’s Motorola phone freezes up, and so does the replacement it sends him. How can he get the problem fixed?

My Motorola Edge phone is defective. It crashes daily and reboots, sometimes several times.

Motorola’s tech support says I should just factory reset it or run it in safe mode. I have done that. It doesn’t reboot when it’s in safe mode. It works fine after being factory reset, which deletes all apps and content.

I didn’t buy this phone to use without apps. It can run apps and that’s why I bought it.

Motorola has replaced it once, but I’m still having the problem. It’s the type of phone apparently. I asked them to replace it with another model (I have had Motorola before with no problem). They have refused to do anything except make me return the phone for replacement.

Christopher Elliott

I wrote to all of the executive contacts on your site but got no response at all. Motorola clearly wants to keep me busy until the warranty expires.

I bought the phone from Best Buy, but it won’t help me either. I need to either get this replaced with another model that does not have these technical problems or return it for a refund so I can buy something else. Can you help me? — Steven Waechter, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Motorola should have offered you a refund or replaced the phone with a different model, which was still under warranty. So why didn’t it?

Motorola gives you 14 days to return your purchase. If you keep it longer, then the device’s warranty applies, and the manufacturer can repair, replace, or refund it. And of course, it will always try to repair because that’s the least expensive option.

I have to say, I’m baffled by your case. You’re saying that Motorola sent you two non-working phones. Is that possible? Yes. A quick online search for Motorola Edge problems suggests this is a known issue. The phones reportedly freeze up and need to be restarted. This is one reason why conducting careful research before buying a phone is essential. I realize you’ve had a Motorola phone before, but as you note, not all Motorolas are created equally. There are other, more problem-free models.

And how about Best Buy? It also has a 14-day return policy, but in addition, it charges a $45 return fee for “activatable” devices like your phone. That’s not helpful.

So how to avoid this? Careful research and maybe buying through another online retailer. Amazon.com and most sellers on the platform offer returns for items within 30 days of receipt of shipment. During that window, there’s also no restocking fee. One month would have been enough to determine that your Motorola phone was a dud.

You might have appealed your case to an executive at Best Buy. I list the names, numbers, and email addresses of the Best Buy and Motorola customer service executives on my consumer advocacy site. I see you tried the Motorola contacts but no one responded. That’s very unfortunate because they could have prevented this article from being written by simply replying to your message. How hard is that? You say you reached out to Best Buy but its executives brushed you off as well.

I contacted Motorola on your behalf. A representative contacted me and said Motorola had been providing “continuous support” since your purchase.

“We have assigned him a personal technician from our highest level of support as well as an engineer to assist,” he added. “We have also offered to upgrade him to a ThinkPhone unit at his request, which he has accepted.”

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him.