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When I moved to another country from Japan, I couldn't carry over my account (which is associated with my e-mail). Their customer support simply doesn't exist

by tagrun 12y ago

When I moved to another country from Japan, I couldn't carry over my account (which is associated with my e-mail). Their customer support simply doesn't exist (yes, seriously), so I had to kiss goodbye to that account. It looks cute (although I'm not sure it matches the taste of people from non-Asian cultures, and I don't think western people will be eager to buy or even use the stickers etc.), and everyone in Japan is using it. Given all these, it's going to be a tough for them to get into the market. (and oh, the name is terrible in google search)

wodenokoto 12y ago
Yeah, account management in Line is crazy. Log in on a different phone and EVERYTHING on the other phone gets deleted. For most people I know in Japan, loosing your phone means getting a new Line account. People at softbank/docomo/AU should be able to help you migrate, though they might only help you migrate if your new phone is on contract with them.
- unsignedint 12y ago
  Actually, if an user has assigned themselves an user name as oppposed to relying solely on phone number, they should be able to port over account. But despite number of articles (and some official docs) urging users to do so it sounds like a lot of people simply don't care. Though, it could be more straight forward, though.
  - capsule_toy 12y ago
    I wouldn't rely on this. My LINE was set to a prepaid number that I had let expire on purpose. I thought I would be fine because I also had a username set. When someone else registered my number, I lost about 90% of my contacts. The only contacts I had left were ones that I was actively in conversation with. I believe this was actually a bug, but there isn't much recourse if it happens to you.
    - unsignedint 12y ago
      Ah, I see... I know when they've started expanding outside of Japan, they've actually dropped requirements to have a phone number associated with the account, and allowed Facebook account and E-mail address in lieu. Although, the requirement has been in place for Japanese users for a while -- I think it's now universally the same.
a_bonobo 12y ago
>It looks cute (although I'm not sure it matches the taste of people from non-Asian cultures, and I don't think western people will be eager to buy or even use the stickers etc.), and everyone in Japan is using it. Given all these, it's going to be a tough for them to get into the market. I am married to a Japanese woman, we communicate mostly using LINE. There are Western stickers now, too - for example, if you "follow" the Family Guy LINE account you get a set of Family Guy stickers. There's also a Marvel sticker set, a Dr. Who set and many more "merchandising" sets, I think that should work. Of course, no merchandising opportunity is lost to the Star Wars people: https://store.line.me/stickershop/product/2005/en https://store.line.me/stickershop/product/2005/en

by tagrun 12y ago

wodenokoto 12y ago

Yeah, account management in Line is crazy. Log in on a different phone and EVERYTHING on the other phone gets deleted. For most people I know in Japan, loosing your phone means getting a new Line account. People at softbank/docomo/AU should be able to help you migrate, though they might only help you migrate if your new phone is on contract with them.

unsignedint 12y ago
Actually, if an user has assigned themselves an user name as oppposed to relying solely on phone number, they should be able to port over account. But despite number of articles (and some official docs) urging users to do so it sounds like a lot of people simply don't care. Though, it could be more straight forward, though.
- capsule_toy 12y ago
  I wouldn't rely on this. My LINE was set to a prepaid number that I had let expire on purpose. I thought I would be fine because I also had a username set. When someone else registered my number, I lost about 90% of my contacts. The only contacts I had left were ones that I was actively in conversation with. I believe this was actually a bug, but there isn't much recourse if it happens to you.
  - unsignedint 12y ago
    Ah, I see... I know when they've started expanding outside of Japan, they've actually dropped requirements to have a phone number associated with the account, and allowed Facebook account and E-mail address in lieu. Although, the requirement has been in place for Japanese users for a while -- I think it's now universally the same.

a_bonobo 12y ago

>It looks cute (although I'm not sure it matches the taste of people from non-Asian cultures, and I don't think western people will be eager to buy or even use the stickers etc.), and everyone in Japan is using it. Given all these, it's going to be a tough for them to get into the market. I am married to a Japanese woman, we communicate mostly using LINE. There are Western stickers now, too - for example, if you "follow" the Family Guy LINE account you get a set of Family Guy stickers. There's also a Marvel sticker set, a Dr. Who set and many more "merchandising" sets, I think that should work. Of course, no merchandising opportunity is lost to the Star Wars people: https://store.line.me/stickershop/product/2005/en https://store.line.me/stickershop/product/2005/en