Database Users

If your replacement phone comes without battery/sdcard/back cover... it's a REFURB

My original phone was broken (when I bought it). When they sent me a new one, it came in a cardboard box, no battery, no sdcard, no battery cover.
Called in to make sure it's new... "well to tell you the truth sir, it's reconditioned like-new.... no we can't replace it, because the phone that you sent to us was used, so we had to send you a used one.... I'm sorry sir, theres nothing we can do."
buyer beware...

thats usually how it works, especially with a phone in such high demand

except that Verizon policy states that if you're within your 30 period, you can replace your phone with a BRAND NEW one
I've decided that if customer support won't send me a new one, there's nothing stopping me from just going around them. Since I'm still within 30 days, I'm going to simply return my phone for a refund of my purchase price, and order a new one.

DroidXChat said:
except that Verizon policy states that if you're within your 30 period, you can replace your phone with a BRAND NEW one
I've decided that if customer support won't send me a new one, there's nothing stopping me from just going around them. Since I'm still within 30 days, I'm going to simply return my phone for a refund of my purchase price, and order a new one.
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that would work but what will you do when you hit the 31st day and you have problems then you will have to take the refurb.

That is not necessarily true. O had to have my droid 1 replaced 3 times 2 of the 3 were brand new phone in return boxes according to the verizon rep I spoke to.
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tmmedic20 said:
That is not necessarily true. O had to have my droid 1 replaced 3 times 2 of the 3 were brand new phone in return boxes according to the verizon rep I spoke to.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
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i can always trust a verizon rep just like i trust a used car sales man

pima said:
that would work but what will you do when you hit the 31st day and you have problems then you will have to take the refurb.
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or I can get a phone that has no problems.... just because you say "what will you do when" doesn't mean its something that's going to happen

My point is that when you send your xbox 360 in for repair they either repair it or send you a refurb and i bet you plug it in and play it. This is the same with phones so why is it a big deal if it works?
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pima said:
My point is that when you send your xbox 360 in for repair they either repair it or send you a refurb and i bet you plug it in and play it. This is the same with phones so why is it a big deal if it works?
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I would agree after 30 days. But before it you should get a new replacement device not a like new device.

I'd just tell them that the phone they sent you was BROKEN so since you paid for a NEW phone you want a new phone.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

TBH sometimes if you describe the loophole you described to the person you're talking to, they will help you out.
I've literally told customer service reps for various things I've owned that I can simply do that, and they usually oblige.

Very true; i started having issues with my droid and customer service informed me that i would have to put up money for the replacement device. After they received the failed device they would credit my account.
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There are two type of replacements for the x only within 30 days. First would be a wfg which would come with charger etc. and would be back ordered. The second would be only the phone and for a doa which you had they are new searching the esn shows no other activation s. This one is only for the x atm.
I'm a vzw tech btw and have no reason to lie

I went round and round about this with them. You are getting new ones in the little white boxes without the battery (for now)

I'm not sure it's "refurb" providers send phones without the bact etc to help avoid people calling in pretending their phone broke and then selling one and keeping the other. I know you aren't doing that, but I'm sure that plays a part it why they do it like that.

xmunk said:
There are two type of replacements for the x only within 30 days. First would be a wfg which would come with charger etc. and would be back ordered. The second would be only the phone and for a doa which you had they are new searching the esn shows no other activation s. This one is only for the x atm.
I'm a vzw tech btw and have no reason to lie
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yeah there are usually no refurbs around when a phone first comes out. so they set aside news ones to send out in the refurb cardboard box. saves them money of all the accessories w/ shipping, u keeping them, etc.\
i bet the phone is new.

How can I tell if a vibrant is refurbished?

I had to get my vibrant replaced (which is another awful, long story) and my new Vibrant is arriving soon. I have a feeling it's going to be refurbished. How can I tell?

jamesey10 said:
I had to get my vibrant replaced (which is another awful, long story) and my new Vibrant is arriving soon. I have a feeling it's going to be refurbished. How can I tell?
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Its going to be refurbished

Probably a refurb. Have you been reading the forums? Plenty of people getting swaps for no reason..
Sent from my SGH-T959

Aren't sellers normally required to identify a refurb? Look for a sticker when you open up the back.

The box
usually they come in a different non printed box. And, the yare supposed to disclose if the unit is refrub look inside behind the battery... etc
Also look at the terms of your replacement insurance in the contract. It usually will have some disclosure LIKE: we will replace with like kind new or equal.... or something like that That is contract-eeze for Refrub

They all come in a white box. That doesn't mean it's a refurbished phone or not. The stickers are usually slightly different too.

jamesey10 said:
I had to get my vibrant replaced (which is another awful, long story) and my new Vibrant is arriving soon. I have a feeling it's going to be refurbished. How can I tell?
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it will be a refurb unless you are within your 14days.

jamesey10 said:
I had to get my vibrant replaced (which is another awful, long story) and my new Vibrant is arriving soon. I have a feeling it's going to be refurbished. How can I tell?
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A buddy of mine is also waiting on a replacement phone. They told him it was on back order and would not be able to give him a ship date. Did they tell you the same thing?

cubanito1967 said:
A buddy of mine is also waiting on a replacement phone. They told him it was on back order and would not be able to give him a ship date. Did they tell you the same thing?
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yeah. i ordered a replacement on oct 12. The latest info i have from tmobile is that it will arrive on oct 25

why wouldn't it be a refurb?
refurbs have a bad rap

mr2t32 said:
it will be a refurb unless you are within your 14days.
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Thats not totally true. This phone is constantly backordered so they have no choice but to send out new phones in those situations. Maybe its diff fot tmobile.
If anything happened and I wanted a new phone i'd just report it lost and get one from asurion. I got two mew ones in a row from them.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

refurbs are fun! if you replace your phone alot, on the 3rd time, you are eligible for a different phone. my HD2 was borked as bawls. got it replaced with refurbs, which still didn't fix anything, and now I have my shiny new vibrant having phone insurance is great
EDIT: i had my vibrant replaced already and it was a refurb, but still works just fine

i have a replacement, and i dont care if its refurb. or not. fact is it works better then 1st one i had, and as long as its a samoled screen and all specs work what difference does it make? besides once its rooted with one click lag fix the phone is blazingly fast

I got my replaced and now its still perfect after 1 month.

Getting a refurb is bad for factory warranty purposes. That is why lots of people don't like them. Manufacturers track manufacture dates by IMEI, so you can't lie to them. Buying a phone now and getting a refurb from July is bad.
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Refurbished evo

I have a battery charging usb dock problem so Sprint order me a refurbished evo but I would like to keep mine is that possible
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No, you'll have 14 days to send in your old one or be charged full price.

Ok so I have no choice so I have to take a used refurbished phone that's messed up
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When I was an Apple iPhone guy, I had a refurbished phone and it was better than a new phone. What makes you think the refurbished Evo will be "messed up"? In my experience refurbs get a better QA than new phones.

me refurb has been solid and not even screen is lifted at all

I gotten refurbished phones and everytime something is wrong usually the usb charging port Im scared of getting the new hardware and doing the root again and mess up the phone I have had my evo since launch day
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chazglenn3 said:
When I was an Apple iPhone guy, I had a refurbished phone and it was better than a new phone. What makes you think the refurbished Evo will be "messed up"? In my experience refurbs get a better QA than new phones.
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not always, i received like 2 BB as a replacements till i call Asurion and complaint about how bad are both phones, then the rep apologize with me about this problems and the i received a brand new BB, that was mi own experience

I had a Hero replaced, they sent me a f**ked up one. Amazingly, I was pissed (who would have thought???). I told them to give me a new phone. They did without hesitation.

So how can I make them give me a new one instead of a refurbished one
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ttieder said:
So how can I make them give me a new one instead of a refurbished one
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You can't. You warranty states after 30 days from purchase, they will replace defects with a refurbished phone. There is nothing you can do about it. If your refurb has problems, take it back to sprint and they should give you another one.

ttieder said:
So how can I make them give me a new one instead of a refurbished one
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Stop fretting about the refurbished phone. I have gotten many refurbished phones from the Sprint store and they've always looked brand new. If you get the refurb and there is a problem with it then let them know when you get it and they'll take care of you.

derekwilkinson said:
I had a Hero replaced, they sent me a f**ked up one. Amazingly, I was pissed (who would have thought???). I told them to give me a new phone. They did without hesitation.
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how can u tell the difference between a refurbished and new phone? do they send a refurbished phone without the temporary screen protector and no box etc? I need to get my evo replaced also, and I'd prefer getting a new phone since I am paying monthly for insurance, I feel its my right to get a new un-refurbished) phone if I want a new phone, even if i have to play phone-tag and send the refurbished phone they send me, back to them. I just would like to know how to tell if they are sending me a new one or refurbished. tia.

Refurbished ones usually don't come in a box like the new ones Idk about the evo cause I didn't get it yet but I agree with you if I'm paying insurance they should give a new one not a used one that didn't work right before
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doubledrake20 said:
how can u tell the difference between a refurbished and new phone? do they send a refurbished phone without the temporary screen protector and no box etc? I need to get my evo replaced also, and I'd prefer getting a new phone since I am paying monthly for insurance, I feel its my right to get a new un-refurbished) phone if I want a new phone, even if i have to play phone-tag and send the refurbished phone they send me, back to them. I just would like to know how to tell if they are sending me a new one or refurbished. tia.
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I just received a refurb last friday for my launch day EVO and it was not in full working order. The Home button would not illuminate and the menu light was faded. I was pissed. I'm receiving my 2nd refurb today and if its messed up I'll be requesting a new one. Most of the time in the past my refurbs have been on point. Only once did I receive 2 bad BB and demanded a new one and they sent me one.
As for as receiving the package DD, the EVO refurb came in a small general Sprint box that looks like one they send all refurbs in. All replacements either via Sprint or Ausrion will be refurbs. Remember if you are inside your 1 year warrenty which all EVO owners are Sprint will replace it, unless of course you smashed or lost it.
BTW my refurb was a HW 0003. Same as my launch day one. I'm really curious if the 0004 version has a better screen like some say.

Interesting. My launch day Evo is HW 002. I have had the screen replaced due to dust under the glass in the upper left corner, and the camera lens cover replaced because I cracked it. Otherwise, the phone works great!

verks said:
Remember if you are inside your 1 year warrenty which all EVO owners are Sprint will replace it, unless of course you smashed or lost it.
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As of Oct. 23rd, this is no longer true.

entropism said:
As of Oct. 23rd, this is no longer true.
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If they bought it before that date, it is true.
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They try to replace with a refurbished phone
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how can u tell the difference between a refurbished and new phone?
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If its a refurb, it will have a date sticker under the battery, and if you hit ##786#, The Refurbished Status will have a data under it. If its new, it will say Not available.
do they send a refurbished phone without the temporary screen protector and no box etc?
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it will have a small rectangular box and have the temp screen protector.
and I'd prefer getting a new phone since I am paying monthly for insurance, I feel its my right to get a new un-refurbished) phone if I want a new phone,
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No. The phone you have now is NOT new, its used, therefore you wont get a new one back. You have 30 days to replace your phone with a new one, after that its considered used. And no, its not your "right" to get a new phone. If you get in a car accident, your car insurance company doesnt give you a new car. They fix the one you have with reproduction (refurbished) parts.
I just would like to know how to tell if they are sending me a new one or refurbished.
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There is no way to tell until you get the phone.

Just got my refurbished evo hardware 003 the screen is different from 002 but it has serious screen separation and light leakage volume buttons are loose and so is kickstand is loose
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TEP say I have to wait for replacement

I accidently dropped my EVO last week and cracked the screen really bad. I have insurance and called Assurion to make a claim. That was last Thursday. They say I have to wait for a replacement until next Thursday. They say they are out of EVO's right now. Has anyone had the same problem? My phone is unuseable right now and I can't believe I have to wait this long.

It took me right at a week to get mine also. They are on back order all over.

Call them and tell them you want a new one, maybe they can ship those faster than refurbs.

sitlet said:
Call them and tell them you want a new one, maybe they can ship those faster than refurbs.
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Mine was new

Well if I get a new one I won't mind the wait then.

I got a new one from them about 2 weeks ago and it was shipped next day. I was really surprised because they are always backordered it seems.

Filed a claim about two weeks ago and had the phone a brand new EVO the next morning. I thought they were all refurbished?

Took about a week to get mine when my screen got cracked. It was brand new retail version in box. So it was worth the wait, glad I got a new one.

Well I just got an email from Asurion and now they tell me i won't have a replacement phone until sometime between next Monday and Thursday. I'm not very happy as I can't use mine now.

Damn the saucily I broke my first evo too I had it since launch, they told me it was going to take sometime to get it but I got it next day(brand new too) I wish sprint will let you borrow a phone until you get the replacement for business owners and such, I have a company phone too so I didn't mind much
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jgalan14 said:
Damn the saucily I broke my first evo too I had it since launch, they told me it was going to take sometime to get it but I got it next day(brand new too) I wish sprint will let you borrow a phone until you get the replacement for business owners and such, I have a company phone too so I didn't mind much
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
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Stores usually do if you ask and if they have any loaners to loan.
My brother's Epic's screen failed on him and he said he "needed a phone" [he doesn't NEED, but you know how it is] and they loaned him some flip phone.

mattykinsx said:
Stores usually do if you ask and if they have any loaners to loan.
My brother's Epic's screen failed on him and he said he "needed a phone" [he doesn't NEED, but you know how it is] and they loaned him some flip phone.
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Really I ask them and they said no ,
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jgalan14 said:
Really I ask them and they said no ,
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Couple questions:
Is the store a corporate store?
Do you have other repair-capable stores in your area?

Urggh, at least you guys had the foresight to sign up for the insurance in the first place. The motherboard on my Evo apparently went bad, so I had to send it to HTC's repair division. I sent it today via 2 day shipping, but it's still a week without my precious phone. I can only hope they don't scratch it up, because it's in flawless condition.
You don't know what you've got until it's gone, I guess.

Mecha2142 said:
Urggh, at least you guys had the foresight to sign up for the insurance in the first place. The motherboard on my Evo apparently went bad, so I had to send it to HTC's repair division. I sent it today via 2 day shipping, but it's still a week without my precious phone. I can only hope they don't scratch it up, because it's in flawless condition.
You don't know what you've got until it's gone, I guess.
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Yeah it may suck but the $7 / month is well worth it.

They made me fill out an affadavit and fax it to them along with my ID. My cousin dropped his 2 week old Evo Shift in the sink. This is the first time I have ever had to file an insurance claim.
I probably won't get the replacement until monday. My cousin is out of a phone for a week. I thought insurance was quicker and less of a hassle.
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gqstatus0685 said:
They made me fill out an affadavit and fax it to them along with my ID. My cousin dropped his 2 week old Evo Shift in the sink. This is the first time I have ever had to file an insurance claim.
I probably won't get the replacement until monday. My cousin is out of a phone for a week. I thought insurance was quicker and less of a hassle.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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It generally is.
They told my brother it could be a week or more due to "backorder" and the next day he received a phone call saying his replacement was in.

I may be wrong but TEP doesn't issue refurbished phones they are always new. Only Sprint issues refurbs.

zone23 said:
I may be wrong but TEP doesn't issue refurbished phones they are always new. Only Sprint issues refurbs.
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You are wrong, both companies issue refurbs unless there are no refurbs left and a new one is sent.

gqstatus0685 said:
They made me fill out an affadavit and fax it to them along with my ID. My cousin dropped his 2 week old Evo Shift in the sink. This is the first time I have ever had to file an insurance claim.
I probably won't get the replacement until monday. My cousin is out of a phone for a week. I thought insurance was quicker and less of a hassle.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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They require this from every customer at some point within the first 3 replacements.

[Q] Warranty Device Swap?

Has anyone been able to sucessfully swapped the bad screen phone for a good one with HTC?
I am asking because I have a bad screen one and I would like to do it.
Thank you in advance for the reply.

i seen a poll here the other day about this. some one posted up the percentages for getting a good screen back from HTC and T-mobile. both were pretty high. i got mine first MT4G march 11th with a good screen from radioshack.
shouldnt cost anything since your going through warranty so shouldnt hurt to atleast go ahead and try.

I swapped my wife's. Told them people couldn't hear me. They called me to see how clear it was.. I put a wad of toilet paper over the mic to muffle my voice. They next day aired me a new one. Was sweet.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

Shouldn't be an issue to get a new screen/phone. It was a pretty popular issue that they were aware of.

Thank you all for your responses. I will definitely give it a shot today. How much difference can you notice from the bad and the good screen?

Had 2 with good screens sent to me

Lol!
camalus said:
I swapped my wife's. Told them people couldn't hear me. They called me to see how clear it was.. I put a wad of toilet paper over the mic to muffle my voice. They next day aired me a new one. Was sweet.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
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Just sent one directly to HTC (bought second hand) a week ago. It's already on the way back. I've complained about the screen visibility from the sides and in bright daylight, and attached a note with one of the screen comparison pics found on the net. I'll see what screen I get in a few days.

I spoke to T-mobile this weekend after I traded my G2 for what turned out to be a MT4G with a bad screen. Since I had insurance, they put the order through for me immediately, but unfortunately it hasn't shipped out yet. Won't get it till next week at this rate...

My original MT4G had a good screen, but a bad power button. The replacement I got at the store was another unit with a good screen, and the power button was different, so the guys at the store pulled a bunch of them out and tested them all. They all had good screens.
I think the likelihood of getting bad screens has gone down with the newer shipments. They all also seem to be made in China, while some of the older ones were made in Taiwan.

I called HTC and they said to send it in for "repair". That means that I could be without a phone for like 10 or more days. That sucks. Why cant they just replace it and thats it?
Anyway, I havent taken it to T-Mobile becuase I bought mine from Craigslist (new). So I am not sure what they would say. If they ask me for prove of purchase or something like that, I am out of luck.
Any suggestions?

camalus said:
I swapped my wife's. Told them people couldn't hear me. They called me to see how clear it was.. I put a wad of toilet paper over the mic to muffle my voice. They next day aired me a new one. Was sweet.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
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haha, i love the way you think!
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marcos.lennis said:
I called HTC and they said to send it in for "repair". That means that I could be without a phone for like 10 or more days. That sucks. Why cant they just replace it and thats it?
Anyway, I havent taken it to T-Mobile becuase I bought mine from Craigslist (new). So I am not sure what they would say. If they ask me for prove of purchase or something like that, I am out of luck.
Any suggestions?
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add insurance to your account, and then say you dropped it and now the screen doesn't look right. don't say it came like that, because then they will tell you it's a warranty issue and not an insurance issue.
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marcos.lennis said:
I called HTC and they said to send it in for "repair". That means that I could be without a phone for like 10 or more days. That sucks. Why cant they just replace it and thats it?
Anyway, I havent taken it to T-Mobile becuase I bought mine from Craigslist (new). So I am not sure what they would say. If they ask me for prove of purchase or something like that, I am out of luck.
Any suggestions?
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Call tmobile and make sure they have your ime #. Hang up then call back in a few days with the complaint. They are not going to ask you where u bought it, and if they do lie and say it was at a store

just wanted to add my 2 cents real quick...
for anyone that doesn't know when you swap your phone they send you a refurbished one to fulfill your warranty requirements.
normally refurbished phones sell for a 1/3 of the price as it was brand new so its pretty much like swapping out your $500 phone for a $150 phone...
just something to think about