Has Schwab been resolved? [Edited]

retird

Can we get an update on the status of the Schwab Mess?  Also is it safe now to update Quicken to the latest update or will it cause issues with Quicken or Schwab?

Ps56k2

After the dust settled - I updated to R37.37 -
and carefully walked thru the Quicken instructions regarding the Schwab migration....
DE-activate, Re-activate, login into Schwab, authorize, Link, download, etc....

Had some cleanup to handle various transactions...

For me - everything worked out - and is still ok -

I have NOT updated since R37.37 - too many new problems -

and of course - YMMV -

retird

I was hoping to hear from somebody from Quicken.... I'm on R37.62 and all is well.  If it gets fixed we shouldn't need to De-activate, Re-activate and jump thru hoops after updating to the latest Quicken updates......Been almost 3 months now...

Ps56k2

retird said: If it gets fixed we shouldn't need to De-activate, Re-activate and jump thru hoops after updating to the latest Quicken updates......

I'm not sure you understand all the complex changes that were created by Schwab for this migration, and a newer version only "supports" those changes, but can't make them happen...

Basically -
- Schwab changed their interface - so the "old" Schwab basically went away....
- the "new" Schwab was added to Quicken as a totally newly existing financial institution
- as a user - you need to "remove" or "deactivate" from the "old" Schwab
- as a user - you need to "add" the "new" Schwab
- as a user - you need to "link" the "new" Schwab to your "old" Schwab Quicken accounts
- as a user - you need to log into your online Schwab account and "authorize" Quicken for access and downloading

Here is the current entry and the old one that was retired.... notice the number changes & the protocol changes

68824    68824    68824    Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.    https://www.schwab.com/   
866-855-9102    https://www.schwab.com/    ACTIVE
BANKING,CREDIT,ACCOUNTINFO,INVESTMENT,401K&EXP-WEB-CONNECT 

08888    08888    08888    zzz-Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.    https://www.schwab.com/   NA
https://www.schwab.com/    ACTIVE
INVESTMENT&DIRECT  

retird

@Ps56k2, yes I understand... did all you described back in Nov.-Dec. ... went thru the activatete-deactivate-reactivate and lots of hoops to get my Schwab back working again with R37.62 (the last update that mentioned Schwab)... spent hours with Quicken and Schwab... my ZZZ-Charles Schwab &Co was gone in November. My current Schwab account(EWC+) is working fine but will it if I update Quicken to the latest Mondo??

R37.62 says this:
   What's Fixed

• For Schwab customers: Some investment transactions were missing information.
• For Schwab customers: Running Validate and Repair File for files with both an investment and banking account resulted in the banking account sometimes getting deactivated.
• Users with closed or hidden accounts had issues with reauthorization and account deletion.
• A crash was sometimes occurring when One Step Update downloaded bill information.
• Other issues related to crashes and synchronization.

So I await an answer from someone at Quicken ....  the questions I asked that you can't answer on Quicken behalf... 

Chris_QPW

@retird you aren't going to get the answer you want.

Maybe, and that is big maybe, a moderator might respond, but no one can tell you that you will be able to go through the process without any problems.

What's more your statement is "unreasonable", at least from Quicken Inc's point of view.

retird said:

I was hoping to hear from somebody from Quicken.... I'm on R37.62 and all is well.  If it gets fixed we shouldn't need to De-activate, Re-activate and jump thru hoops after updating to the latest Quicken updates......Been almost 3 months now...

You can hope all you want, but they aren't about to develop code/a system to change from one connection type to another that is automated when they consider this a one-time deal, and they have a workaround process for it.  At least not in the near future.

retird

It is not unreasonable to expect a software update to not cause the software to crash as is being seen with the lateat updates. Having used Windows and MS Office Professional for all the years since they were first introduced never did an update crash the software. And it is not unreasonable to ask these questions of Quicken as the CEO told us that they would keep us better informed.  

I did there workaround and it is working so Schwab works for me with R37.62. But what happends if I update to the newest Mondo? Others who have updated report crashing, freezing and etc. 

Your comments @Chris_QPW goes to "developing code" and dah, dah. dah...  That was not my questions and to me is a deflection from the purpose of my questions.

@Chris_QPW does Schwab work for you with the latest Mondo (R38.29) or do you even have Schwab? 

I want to update to the latest Quicken version so I still await an answer from Quicken.

retird

Also can there be a "Community Alert" posted that gets updated regularly about the Schwab Mess like there are with other issues? The Community Alerts about Schwab that are posted haven't been updated since late December.

BK

For what it's worth, I have multiple Schwab accounts under two user IDs and no issues.  It was only late November when they were going thru the Schwab migration where for a week I had no downloads and after that everything has been back to normal.

Coincidence or not, during that migration my data file became corrupted.  Instead of using a backup, I decided to clean things by creating a new data file and imported my data.  All is working well.

P.S. I have stayed on R37.67 since have have seen reported issues with newer releases waiting for the dust to settle in the future.

retird

@BK... same here with R37.62... working fine  but wanting to know if the "dust has cleared" so I can update to the latest Quicken version. 

Chris_QPW

@retird Sorry I misunderstood your request.  I thought you were asking for a one click process that would fix everything.  What's more I was going what Quicken Inc has done in the past, not what I personally consider "reasonable".  There is a definite gap between what the users believe Quicken Inc should do, what they have been doing.  One can only hope that they will change their ways, but I doubt it.

retird

@Chris_QPW
Thanks for the comments.  Yes  one can only hope.... 396 days left on my subscription.... 

BK

I believe I too misunderstood this entire post given the title, along with the "Schwab Mess" and followed by "My current Schwab account (EWC+) is working fine".

If I may suggest it seems like this post is about the integrity of release updates - rightfully so and we all agree.  We know that some releases are problematic and therefore it pays to review the community (as we have) to decide the update criteria for our individual needs.  Since I don't use many of the features such as sync and bill pay etc., I am not experiencing issues that others are suffering from. Personally I update my primary setup perhaps once a quarter at best as long as what I have is working for me (and if I read about any new features that I care about, I test drive it on my VM).  Cheers all.

retird

@BK
THX for the coments. I kinda thought my dicussion was being misunderstood but not a problem....and I guess a mod edited my discussion title from S,....b M...s  which is OK.  Cell phone text are also sometimes not undertood (LOL)....  I usually wait to install updates until it is kinda not being thought to have issues.  Thus I just wanted an update and assurance the latest update would not cause issues.  

retird

I remember updating Quicken in October of 2021 to allow a smooth transition at Schwab.  Found again what we were told to do and this was before the transition of November and before the horrible issues.  Here is a part of the post of October:

Charles Schwab is changing the way you access and download your account information into Quicken.

We have made changes to Quicken to accommodate these Schwab changes. In order to ensure you maintain your Schwab connectivity, please update your version of Quicken to the latest release as soon as possible.

With that said I ask Quicken again in different words "is it safe to update Quicken to R38..29 and is Schwab fixed?"

artg

@retird

Good morning.  For what it's worth...I'm running R38.29 and I'm a Schwab (multiple) account holder.  I do not believe it is "fixed."  I do not believe Quicken has fixed the cash sweep and/or SWGXX issue.  However (and this is a big "however" in my opinion) I believe Quicken has made significant improvements/fixes since (on or about) 18 November 2021.  I do not have total confidence in my Schwab OSU downloads and I scrutinize (and still edit) same.  Basically, what I find that I'm doing now is deleting Buy/Sell SWGXX transactions so my cash balance is correct.  Of course, I also have not had any reinvest long or short term capital gains nor dividends since December so I still have to wait and see.  That was a long answer to your question and I'm sorry...I don't have confidence that it's fixed but I have figured out how to work around the problems.  In other words, it's a new normal.  

retird

THX @artg for your comments.  I too have not had any reinvest long or short term capital gains nor dividends since January (edited to be correct misstyped) so I still have to wait and see also. I'm still holding out that Quicken will answer my simple, yet important questions posed here.. The "new normal" you speak of is not good IMHO.

artg

@retird

Good morning again and this is an excellent dialogue for several reasons.  The first being this is an outstanding opportunity for someone (in authority) from Quicken to step in and give us an update or better yet, answer your question.  Further, you're correct in as much as the "new normal" I speak of is not good.  But I chose my words carefully, the new normal is just that...One Step Updates where I do not have total confidence is what I'm seeing downloaded.  I'm (personally) way past angry, frustrated and upset.  I now spend time and effort doing quality control in terms of the Schwab downloads.  In practical terms, my desktop PC screen is big enough where I can have Quicken on one half and the Schwab website open on the other half.  Before I accept downloaded transactions I'm scrutinizing each one against the history tab in Schwab.  In other words, a new normal.  

retird

@artg, funny I'm past frustrated, upset, spending hours with Quicken and Schwab tech support too.  I to use a split screen the verify my Schwab.  At least we can count on Schwab's website to be correct and current thus far... I'm also awaiting my tax info from Schwab... counting on it still being correct at Schwab... THX for letting me know you are running R38.29.  I'm running an older version and my Dividends and reinvesting came thru in January just fine but what will occur if I update to R38.29?? 

Chris_QPW

I think "new normal" sums it up nicely.  In things like this Quicken Inc (actually mostly Intuit) don't work to 100% fixed.  They work to "low enough complaints" to get by.

This is as much a training exercise for the customers as it is a development of a new system.
And some of that training is what to do, but also what not to do, and most important what to expect.

Each person has to decide what features the want to use based on its attributes, good and bad.  And that includes whether to use Quicken or not, whether to use a given financial institution or not.

If one was to watch only the number of reports of problems, like I'm pretty much doing for the Schwab change over to Express Web Connect + one might think that all the problems have gone away because the reports of problem have gone down to a trickle in comparison to what they were at the start.

But my experience in these tells me that what happened is yes, they fixed a lot of the problems, but there are several remaining, but people have just given up reporting them and do whatever it takes to move on.

artg

@Chris_QPW

Chris, in my opinion you are correct.  They fixed a lot of the problems but most of us have given up reporting anything new.  I think (for what it's worth) that we've given up reporting because the serious users know there's really no alternative.

retird

@Chris_QPW... I will respectfully disagree with the new normal being acceptable... but I understand your allegiance.  Schwab worked before and should work after... if it doesn't then Quicken is less desirable to me... each person will decide I think...

Chris_QPW

@retird I have no allegiance in this. I'm simple stating what I believe based on what I have seen happen in the past.  I can certainly "feel for the box Quicken Inc is in" but that doesn't mean I support what they doing.  Like in all things there are things I think Quicken Inc is doing right, and other things I believe that they are doing really wrong.  But it isn't my company, I don't get to decide how is going to do.

And to me "new normal" has very little to do with what the customers think is acceptable or not.
It controls that person's actions.  To complain or not. To live with it or stop using Quicken or change financial institutions.

But when you are talking about the "whole system", there is no way anything a customer is going to be able to force it back into "Schwab worked before and should work after".

Schwab has made that decision and they aren't going back.  Express Web Connect has always been unreliable that isn't going to change.  Quicken Inc will "do what they can", but they will live with a system that is not as solid as it was in the past.  And that is going to be the "new normal".

retird

@artg... I think you are right that we "serious users" aren't reporting new issues and are aware that there are no "compariable software out there yet".  Even the more that Quicken answer my questions if they have accepted this "new normal".  Tell us.....

artg

@retird

Oh by the way, I as well, am waiting for my tax documents from Schwab.  I bring that up only because they should be available for download (into Turbotax) by this Friday.  I'm not a techie but what happens if the "shinny new" Express Web Connect+ has the same initial reaction with Turbotax as it did with Quicken in mid-November? 

I sure hope we're not in for high adventure this weekend.  Otherwise, I'll be engaging the Turbotax Community.

Please tell me we have nothing to worry about...


 

retird

@artg, Yes my Tax info is due to be available at Schwab Feb. 18.... hopefully it will come thru in proper order in my TurboTax Premier....  In over 23 years never an issue with TurboTax which is owned by Intuit. Only a few minor issues with Quicken when Intuit owned it... 

Chris_QPW

Personally, I think Intuit sold Quicken because they knew it was a sinking ship.

artg

@Chris_QPW

Amazing statement Chris because I was thinking earlier about how I started with Quicken.  I was one of those who was originally an old MS Money user.  Those were the days where it seemed every year Kiplingers or Money magazine would do a "Quicken vs. MS Money" article.  Well, Microsoft made basically the same decision you inferred Intuit made.  For argument's sake, let's assume you're correct.  So, how does this end for those of us who have one and a half decades of personal financial data in Quicken? (Remember, for those of us who came over from MS Money we were afforded the opportunity to upload our data files into Quicken.)   

Chris_QPW

Well, if there is one thing I have learned about people predicting the future is lots of people try to do it, but almost no one gets is right.  So, take what I say with a big grain of salt.

But I think some fundamental statements can sort of lead the way.

1. No matter what Quicken users like to believe, they are a tiny fraction of any given financial institution's customers.  As such do not look to them as the "force of what will happen".  There are much more powerful forces at work here.
2. People talk all the time about how Quicken Windows should be rewritten, but people in the know tell them it is impossible, and it is.  But it is also where Quicken Inc is getting most of their revenue.  Maybe they might be able to expand with Simplifi (but that isn't "Quicken") and maybe Quicken Mac will far better in the future.  But to me this points to a company that will milk Quicken to the bitter end.  So, Quicken isn't going away tomorrow, and may be around for a very long time, but it isn't going "get better".

So, I'm not going to call when or even if Quicken eventually goes away, because like now that will most likely be a slow drawn-out process that will really depend on the individual of when they decide to change or not.

Of, course Quicken Inc could go under all of a sudden, and then it is either "manual" or "something else".  And I would think the most likely "something else" would be answered by "If most people don't use Quicken, then how do they manage their finances?"

Clearly even though Quicken is nice (some of the times), isn't the only answer.

And that where the most powerful force really comes in.  And it is what our financial institutions decide to do.

If "they" (and use that very loosely because they don't work as a unified entity) wanted a solution to this, they would have done it many years ago.  They "like" where they are with their "silos" that make it hard for the customers to leave.  The only time they don't is when they are trying steal customers from their competitors.  So, "aggregation" seems to fit the bill nicely for them.  Some integrating so that they can say that they are doing it, but not working perfectly so that they can suggest that a customer would be better off bring all their finances under the same roof.

And this seems to work for most people.  It isn't ideal, but like the people that get stuck in traffic every working day, they get used to it, and life goes on.

retird

Lots of discussion here that is interesting and forward looking.  

Will Quicken answer my originally posted questions?  And maybe enlighten us on some of the discussion here about the future of Quicken and what we can expect?

Ps56k2

retird said: Will Quicken answer my originally posted questions?  And maybe enlighten us on some of the discussion here about the future of Quicken and what we can expect?

nope - ... you're just chatting with other users -