T-Mobile has offered their REVVL line of devices since the first one launched back in August of 2017. The phones (and a tablet once) are T-Mobile branded through and through, and are manufactured by various companies (most recently TCL).
The REVVL 7 Pro, first announced alongside it’s smaller brother the REVVL 7 back in May of this year, features a 6.78″ Full HD+ screen and a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 CPU.
Unfortunately, it appears something serious has happened with the devices, because according to multiple sources the company has instructed all stores to return their stocks of the device.
As seen in the memo below an confirmed separately from other employees, T-Mobile has ordered all stock of the REVVL 7 Pro 5G to be returned to the warehouse. Note that the memo below is specifically from a Metro by T-Mobile TPR, but we are told the same instructions were sent to all stores, including corporate.
The note says that the recall is necessary to “to maintain [their] high-quality standards”. No further details are given about the reasons for recalling the devices, only that all devices including demo units are to be returned beginning today, August 7th. Stores have a week to complete the returns.
Interestingly, the instructions say to mark the devices as a customer remorse return. Though this might seem suspicious at first glance, it’s likely due to the fact that there may not be another option in the system that’s relevant to the real return reason.
It’s not clear why the devices are being returned, however a few employees have reported that the devices’ phone app (the one used to make calls) is constantly crashing on many devices. One said they were able to resolve the issue a week ago (before the recall) by installing the alternative Google Phone app instead.
The phone is completely removed from the T-Mobile website, with only the base REVVL 7 still remaining. Metro by T-Mobile’s website shows the device, but it’s marked as “currently unavailable online”. The standard REVVL 7 is also showing unavailable on Metro, for some reason, but is in stock at T-Mobile.
One thing is concerning, though. If the devices do have a flaw, one so integral to the device that it can’t be fixed via software updates, the company should surely be informing customers who have purchased the device too. If customers are impacted by a hardware flaw, they deserve to know.
That being said, we can’t say for sure what the issue is. It’s possible, though in our opinion unlikely, there is some other non-critical reason for the recall, such as licensing issues or some legal problem. Only time will tell.
The internal memo notes that the company is working to resume stock of the device as soon as possible, so whatever the issue is, the company plans to resolve it.
For now, if you own the REVVL 7 Pro 5G, you may want to keep an eye out for bugs. If you have any, or think you may be impacted by some kind of hardware defect, be sure to reach out to T-Mobile or visit a store to get the issue taken care of.
