T10 Breakdown!

Well it happened. It was always going to happen. Kreed’s T10's screen flickered and I think I began to have a heart attack. After playing around with it for a few minutes, turning it on and off and then having Kreed use it again, it was pretty clear something wasn't right. Definitely something up with the video connection. Nothing else was wrong, just the screen would freeze up or get blurry every so often. (You can't tell, but its frozen and blurry a little in this picture).

(Blue/Black screen!!)

Unfortunately we did not have a protective case come with Kreed's device and it's possible he set it down too hard. Won't make that mistake again!

(Oh NO!)

However, Dynavox has a great customer service team! I emailed tech support and I received an answer in just a few hours. I filmed a short segment of what was going wrong and sent it to them. First we thought maybe steam from his shower caused the ordeal when I used it in the bathroom for the first time. However the next day we had the same issue and it was decided the video must have a loose connection or something else in the inside.

As a result they sent me a shipping label and the next day I packed it up (we had the forethought to save his original packaging so it was easy to pack up!) and shipped it out.

Probably the best thing out of all of this is that you get the companion app for free with the T10. Which means no interruption in his communication when we packed up his device. We just switched over to the app which is absolutely identical to the software on the T10. This was probably the best news and set my mind at ease. In the past when Kreed smashed the screen of his device, I bought one on eBay with a broken hard drive and then replaced the smashed screen with the second device’s nice screen!!! All because I could not have Kreed be without his voice and wasn't going to risk sending a device away!

We backed up his T10 to the cloud and then restored it on his iPad app and voila! He is communicating just the same, no problem. And any editing I do now until I get the T10 back can be backed up and put on his T10. How awesome is this???!!

So overall very positive experience - aside from the heart attack and realizing how I was chancing fate by not having a case! That was a duh moment! Our kids have autism; and autism and careful just do not go together. I'm shocked actually that Kreed has taken such great care of it!! But the tech support team at Dynavox is incredibly quick to help you and genuinely want to see your child have their voice without interruption. With the free companion app you are essentially getting two devices for the price of one, which I for one think it amazing. If he only had the Compass app, or any app, on his iPad and broke his iPad, and that was he only way he could communicate- I can't even tell you what the loss of communication would have meant to him and how dangerous it would be due to his aggression returning. This is HIS voice. Period. Not to mention, we’d probably have to buy a brand new iPad!

Overall, I had a good experience with Dynavox’s tech support and given Kreed didn’t have to lose out on a voice at all and the pretty quick turn around, I’m pretty happy. It’s not like having an ipad with an app, but having the device from an actual aug comm company where it’s their job to give kids their voice, makes it easier to work with them to fix hardware problems, versus a third party hardware company like Apple or a maker of an Android. Which is why again, I’m a huge proponent for stand alone devices and this is another reason- the software and hardware are Dynavox- so if I have a problem with either I can go to the same place. If I just had the app on the ipad, it’s two issues- one if there is a software issue I can go to the company, but if anything is wrong with the actual device, I’m stuck with whoever the device is from and throwing myself on their mercy and hoping my voice gets heard. So yippee for Dynavox and finally making a tablet!

I will blog again once we have the T10 back and a picture of whatever case we decide to get with it! That thing is like gold! But great job on Dynavox's tech support team. They have always answers my questions on their community support within a day and now I'm pleased with the hardware tech support team as well. 

More to come in a few days when the T10 is safely in our hands and Kreed will probably smile something like this: