The Xperia 1 VII fiasco has Sony's leadership apologizing

Sony’s CFO Lin Tao just did something you don’t see every day in corporate earnings calls. She started by flat-out apologizing. “We apologize for the huge inconvenience to our users,” Tao said, and everyone listening knew exactly what she was talking about.

The Xperia 1 VII has turned into a nightmare for Sony. What started as their big comeback phone – packed with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and that gorgeous 4K display – quickly became a customer service disaster. Users started complaining about phones randomly shutting down, rebooting out of nowhere, or just dying completely. And we’re not talking about a handful of complaints here.

The problems got so bad that Sony had to stop selling the phone globally. Think about that for a second – when’s the last time you saw a major tech company pull their flagship device from shelves worldwide because it kept breaking? I can only recall the whole Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco.

It turns out this wasn’t some software bug they could patch away. Sony discovered the real culprit was a faulty circuit board – a hardware problem that meant no amount of updates could fix these phones. The company confirmed it was a factory error causing random restarts and complete device failures.

Now Sony’s scrambling to clean up the mess. They launched a replacement program where owners can check if their device is affected by looking up their IMEI number. The company is telling people to dial *#06# and cross-reference the number against their database of problematic units.

But here’s the thing – this couldn’t have happened at a worse time for Sony’s phone business. Xperia phones already make up a tiny slice of the smartphone market. The brand has been struggling for years, basically giving up on the US market and losing ground even in Japan where Sony is supposed to be king. Now they’re dealing with recall headlines right when they needed some positive media coverage.

During the earnings call, Tao tried to reassure everyone that smartphones are still important to Sony. “Communication technology is a very important technology that Sony has cultivated for a long time,” he said. “We also want to continue to value our smartphone business.” But those words probably feel pretty hollow to customers whose expensive new phones turned into paperweights.

The recall process itself sounds straightforward enough. Sony initially suggested people try holding the power and volume up buttons for 20 seconds to revive dead phones, but when that didn’t work, they knew they had a real problem on their hands. Now they’re replacing entire devices for anyone with an affected IMEI number.

What makes this whole situation extra painful is that the Xperia 1 VII was supposed to be Sony’s most refined premium phone yet when it launched in May 2025. It had everything on paper – great specs, Sony’s camera expertise, those pro-grade video controls that enthusiasts love. Instead, it became a cautionary tale about quality control.

This recall hits different because Sony built its reputation on reliable, well-engineered products. Xperia fans stuck with the brand specifically because they expected better build quality than mass-market alternatives. When your premium phone randomly dies, that trust evaporates fast.

While Sony hasn’t had such a major disaster with its Xperia smartphones in recent years, there have been other issues with devices. For instance, the Xperia Z2 had quality control problems with some users reporting gaps in the frame. Then there were overheating reports on the Xperia 1 Pro. But again, none of these were as widespread or problematic as this.

Tao’s public apology shows Sony knows how serious this is. But apologies don’t bring back market share or repair damaged reputations.

The Xperia 1 VII was supposed to prove Sony still belonged in the smartphone game. Instead, it might end up being remembered as the phone that broke Sony’s mobile dreams. Adding to that, just a few months ago, reports suggested that Sony would stop producing smartphones in its own factories. So, quality control will need to be one of the biggest priorities for Sony, if it wants to regain trust.

That said, if you aren’t a Sony fan, when was the last time you seriously considered an Xperia smartphone over other mainstream smartphone makers like Samsung, OnePlus, and of course, Apple? If you’re an existing Sony fan, do you think this incident puts a dent in your trust in the brand? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!