Over the weekend, T-Mobile experienced a server failure from its data server provider Danger, which is a subsidiary of Microsoft (umm, I'm already suspicious of a company that has a server named Danger!). Servers go down all the time, but T-Mobile has announced that it is unable to recover personal data stored on Sidekicks.
T-Mobile is urging Sidekick customers to keep their devices turned on, keep it connected to a power source, and to not reset it or remove the battery. Unlike BlackBerry owners that can backup their data using RIM's desktop manager or with iTunes for the iPhone, Microsoft didn't have a backup program or export tool for the Sidekick, which means many Sidekick owners are furious with T-Mobile right now.
Did you lose your Sidekick data from this major outage catastrophe?
Killah
Too Faced
Empreinte
umm i gave up my sidekick in like the early years of high school.. i dont think its a legitimate "grown up" phone.. (my apologies if im wrong)
1Personally, I stopped using the Sidekick in probably 2005 due to the fact I was living in an area where I had almost no bars.
That being said....I have many friends who use Sidekick (it's like the goto phone for deaf people), and all of them are furious with Tmobile. I wouldn't be surprised if Tmobile lost a good amount of deaf customers due to the loss of personal data.
2i hadnt even thought of that, starofsorrow! ..i remember on Weeds, Silas and his girlfriend communicated by Sidekick!
i heard that T-Mobile is allowing their SK customers to cancel for free
3Yup! The majority of deaf people use those: Sidekick, Blackberry, iPhone. I've seen some using Palm pre, but one of my friend sis gonna change it in for a Blackberry because he says the vibration isn't strong enough on the Pre to alert him to messages and such.
4caroline unfortunately there is no free-pass to terminate. if anyone is in my situation (sidekick) but hasn't had it for more than a year, it's still the full 200 dollars to terminate a contract, and that is literally the only thing keeping me on Tmobile. I found that the LG Vu through ATT has the almost exact same plan with a similar but better (touch screen!) phone for almost exactly the same price (less bill, before taxes, and cheaper phone)
but no.. no free termination.. unless i missed something?
5here is a LOONNNG copy of what is on the page for all sidekick users that tmobile sends you to for info.
"Sidekick customers, during this service disruption, please DO NOT remove your battery, reset your Sidekick, or allow it to lose power.
Updated: 10/10/2009 12:35 PM PDT
T-MOBILE AND MICROSOFT/DANGER STATUS UPDATE ON SIDEKICK DATA DISRUPTION
Dear valued T-Mobile Sidekick customers:
T-Mobile and the Sidekick data services provider, Danger, a subsidiary of Microsoft, are reaching out to express our apologies regarding the recent Sidekick data service disruption.
We appreciate your patience as Microsoft/Danger continues to work on maintaining platform stability, and restoring all services for our Sidekick customers.
Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger's latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device - such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos - that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger. That said, our teams continue to work around-the-clock in hopes of discovering some way to recover this information. However, the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low. As such, we wanted to share this news with you and offer some tips and suggestions to help you rebuild your personal content. You can find these tips in our Sidekick Contacts FAQ. We encourage you to visit the Forums on a regular basis to access the latest updates as well as FAQs regarding this service disruption.
In addition, we plan to communicate with you on Monday (Oct. 12) the status of the remaining issues caused by the service disruption, including the data recovery efforts and the Download Catalog restoration which we are continuing to resolve. We also will communicate any additional tips or suggestions that may help in restoring your content.
We recognize the magnitude of this inconvenience. Our primary efforts have been focused on restoring our customers' personal content. We also are considering additional measures for those of you who have lost your content to help reinforce how valuable you are as a T-Mobile customer.
We continue to advise customers to NOT reset their device by removing the battery or letting their battery drain completely, as any personal content that currently resides on your device will be lost.
Once again, T-Mobile and Microsoft/Danger regret any and all inconvenience this matter has caused."
6The fact that they are not allowing people to cancel their service, and the only apology they are offering is a free month of data is crap. If I lost all the data on my phone you would have to give me a whole lot more than free data for a month. I know they charge a fortune if you are in breach of contract with them, how is it you are not allowed to charge then the same fortune if they are in breach of contract with you. If I were a T-mobile sidekick user I would be calling an attorney and getting a class action together ASAP.
7This sounds like a huge mess that the company isn't even properly reconciling. I'm glad that I have my trusty iPhone and feel terrible for those who lost all of their data. Hang in there!
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