If you’re a huge fan of a certain OEM, you probably appreciate being part of a community program where you can give input directly to them and you are able to get exclusive invites to events and programs as well. Some brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Realme have programs like this but one of the first that was established was HTC’s Elevate community program. Unfortunately, the Taiwanese company has decided to discontinue the program as users trying to log in have sadly discovered.
HTC Elevate was one of the earliest private members-only communities established by an OEM. You couldn’t apply for it off the bat as it followed a strict invite-only system. Members were required to log in at least once a month to weed out those who weren’t really active fans or users. They were able to directly give feedback to various HTC products and in return, they got the chance to win freebies and to attend exclusive events.
According to XDA Developers, some users were saying that they were having problems logging in to the Elevate platform since last week. They were getting a 502 error initially but eventually the forms were back online after a few days. But now, when you visit the website, you’ll be greeted with this notice: ““Hello — This program is no longer active. Please email ElevateSupport@htc.com for any support needs for HTC products.”
#HTCelevate is officially gone. ? This was like Schrödinger's cat: by calling attention to the fact that I couldn’t log in, it gained the attention of someone who made the decision to finally shut it down. It seems weirdly appropriate for the creator to cause its demise. ? ? pic.twitter.com/5liBoUs3Sa
— Jason Dunn (@jasondunn) January 9, 2020
There is no official statement from HTC as to why they would close down their program. The only possible and plausible explanation would be that they are not prioritizing a community program anymore since they are not receiving feedback from the users. Given the not-so-good performance of HTC products in the market, this is not really surprising but those who have been loyal fans will be disappointed.
Let’s wait for official word from HTC but even if they do not give an explanation, we should accept that Elevate is shut down. The question on some people’s mind though is if this is an indication that HTC is really in trouble.
