Database Users

Buying a Nexus One from Amazon, a few questions

Hello guys, I have pretty much decided to buy a Nexus One since it's the cheapest Android device with decent hardware. However I have a few questions:
1) When it says 'Unlocked', does that mean it'll work anywhere in the world? I don't live in the USA, also I don't care about Edge/3G as I'll be using Wifi most of the time.
2) Can a device come with a locked firmware (i.e Can't be rooted?), or all devices are rootable?
3) What's the difference between those two below. I prefer to buy directly from Amazon and not resellers. First link says it'll be in stock after 1-2 months, second one is available.
- www.amazon.com/Google-Nexus-One-Unlocked-Android--U-S/dp/B00332YPHQ
- www.amazon.com/HTC-Nexus-One-Smartphone-Touchscreen/dp/B0050OV01O

Hi bazzag,
i've bougth my nexus one two weeks ago from amazon.com and, as you, i don't live in the usa.
1)Unlocked means that you can use it with any sim and you are not locked to tmobile, vodafone or similar. I'm using mine in Italy and it works perfectly.
2)No, nexus one are all equal and rootable. (I recommend you to not unlock the bootloader and use the procedure for rooting without unlocking the bootloader posted on the wiki, so you don't lose your warranty ).
3)When i bought mine i had the same doubt I'm not sure but one (HTC Nexus One Unlocked GSM Smartphone with Android OS, 5MP Camera and Touchscreen - No Warranty - Brown
) seems to not have warranty, while the other should have it (Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone with Android--U.S. Warranty).
Hope i helped!

The difference is the second one has no warranty and is used. First one I am not sure whether it is used or new, but you will only be finding new units from third-party sellers (some sellers fulfilled through amazon). I do not believe amazon ever sold these new directly, as they were only available from google and some t-mobile stores.
Most of them are unlocked, but some of the carrier specific models are branded and locked to their networks. It's still possible to root and unlock these, but it might also be worth checking with the seller in an email if this is unlocked&unbranded or a carrier-specific model. There are also 2 versions of the phone, one with 3G on the 850/1900/2100 bands and one with 900/1700/2100. Regardless if you're going to use the data connection or not, if you want to take advantage of the better voice quality 3G brings you can check which bands your carriers of choice use.
The U.S. warranty requires you to send your phone to the states, and you should be aware of some hardware faults-the power button can fail due to a poorly designed connection, and 2 of the phones I and a friend have owned developed symptoms where the phone would go into a rebooting cycle when it got to a certain temperature. I would send an email to the seller you're buying the phone from and asking if the phone is used/refurbished/new and what their return policy is if you get a lemon.
That being said, I'm still using a replacement I got from HTC, and I don't have any idea what phone can replace it in the future. It's definitely one of the best android phones for the price.

Thanks for the replies so far.
Z4buz4, can you tell me which one of the links I posted did you buy? And from which 3rd party reseller? Would really appreciate it.
OJ, you can buy them directly from Amazon (On the right menu, choose Amazon when adding to cart). I doubt that Amazon sells used stuff, so I'm betting it's a new sealed device.
It's good to get more feedback though, shipping it back to the US would cost a fortune, so I need to make sure I'm getting a good one.

I've bougth the first one (the one with us warranty) directly from amazon and of course it was new. Mine is a SLCD one, if you wants to know it

ok all the ones on Amazon are new but they do not have a US warranty on them. Also they are all SLCD they and are for Canada. I bought 4 of them and returned all bc they are all Canada warranty. It is Video Tron in Canada that is what htc America said after i gave them my IEMI #..

Alright, looks like I'll be buying the one without the warranty, since I don't need it anyway. In case it was defective, shipping back to the US would cost me around $70! So yeah I'll be gambling here but I still want to get the phone.
I've got 2 more questions:
- I'll probably get one with SLCD. I know that AMOLED has more vibrant colors, however in reality how much difference are we talking about?
- Which decent and reasonably priced case and screen cover you guys recommend?
Thanks again.

bazzag said:
Alright, looks like I'll be buying the one without the warranty, since I don't need it anyway. In case it was defective, shipping back to the US would cost me around $70! So yeah I'll be gambling here but I still want to get the phone.
I've got 2 more questions:
- I'll probably get one with SLCD. I know that AMOLED has more vibrant colors, however in reality how much difference are we talking about?
- Which decent and reasonably priced case and screen cover you guys recommend?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) My first Nexus was AMOLED which I thought was fine but after I recently purchased a new Nexus with SLCD. I notice the font are much smoother around the edge. I don't really care to much about the dark is darker. I care more about clarity in image and text when websurfing which is why I prefer SLCD.
2) As for case, I went with Seidio Innocase II. I had it the first time around and after I got another Nexus I bought it again. I am not using a screen protector because the case is difficult to slide with just a thin layer of plastic.

FastMhz said:
1) 2) As for case, I went with Seidio Innocase II. I had it the first time around and after I got another Nexus I bought it again. I am not using a screen protector because the case is difficult to slide with just a thin layer of plastic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Second this. Have had this case on my N1 for over a year. Great protection, with hardly any extra bulk. (And I've never felt the need for a screen protector.)

if you want a brand new 100% go to expansys USA

does the one with the US warranty come with a microsd card?
mine just arrived today and I can't find one in the box

bazzag said:
I've got 2 more questions:
- I'll probably get one with SLCD. I know that AMOLED has more vibrant colors, however in reality how much difference are we talking about?
- Which decent and reasonably priced case and screen cover you guys recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IHMO amoled and slcd are both very good. If you want to see the differences between them this is probably the best article you can find (htc desire and nexus one use the same screen):
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/13/spot-the-difference-htc-desires-slcd-versus-amoled/
When i bought myne i also bought a screen cover and a silicone case. I've never use it I think that the best case is the one inside the box: it's a nice neopreme case (you can spot it on youtube if you search nexus one unboxing) with an android on it.
The screen is made of glass and it is scratch resistent (look at this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfqwKa4bT74).
mysaturdayself said:
does the one with the US warranty come with a microsd card?
mine just arrived today and I can't find one in the box
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be in the mobile... Open the cover and see if you can find it

nope.. I thought it should be in the phone too.. but nope
guess have to deal with customer service.. fortunate i bought from Amazon itself. shouldn't be a problem
ps. the slcd is indeed better in text but the amoled is better in color i think. (especially the dark color)

So all the phones off amazon are new?? And has anyone bought the one for 269$?

joshua.justice said:
So all the phones off amazon are new?? And has anyone bought the one for 269$?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did and is new. in a sealed box

joshua.justice said:
So all the phones off amazon are new?? And has anyone bought the one for 269$?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes they are new coming with everything. The price went up on those phones used to be $249

I am very interested in replacing my aging HTC Dream as well and have been looking at the nexus one. I'm on the rogers network in Canada though and apparently not all of them work on the rogers 3G network..? I was just curious if anyone knew if either of the two on amazon will work for me, thanks.
Nevermind, I looked into it more and neither of them look to be the AT&T version.

I was doing the same thing now that I need to switch to ATT
I emailed amazon customer service to ask him check the version of their inventory (through the FCC id)
he said he will email me back in 2-3 business days.

Want to Buy--Is it Fake and other questions

My beloved Galaxy S is dead. The Samsung technician said it's the motherboard. I dread the thought of spending more money on a new phone, especially if it only lasts 2 years. However, there is a guy selling supposedly new Galaxy S phones on Yahoo's local Internet auction. I'm tempted because of the price and because I have an extra battery and a really nice case (not to mention I now have spare parts), but I don't know what I should be aware of. How can a 2-year-old phone still be around when the Galaxy S3 is out? Can this be legitimate leftover inventory? Are there known fakes out there? (A search of Ebay shows a lot of Galaxy S phones in Shenzhen, China, but I don't know if they're fake or not.)
What questions should I ask the seller? I want to know if there is an OEM battery and if it comes in an unopened box. What else should I ascertain?
Thanks.

Ask him to type *#1234# in the phone if the box is opened;
if he says like
Pda I9000....
Phone I9000
CSC I9000
the best way to know if it is fake or not.
if the box is not opened you should decide yourself.Want some picture from seller for the box etc..
I didnt see any fakes of galaxy s.But as you know galaxy s has some variants
I9000
I9000T
I9000B
Or korean version which's name is entirely different and so on
i recommend you to choose international one,I9000.Custom rom support is amazing for it!
GT-I9000 cihazımdan Tapatalk 2 ile gönderildi

LOL, I bought mine in January 2012 at Noel Leeming NZ
The guy said that i9000 stocks are still available in Vietnam

I haven't talked to the seller just yet, but I got a rough translation of some of the questions people have been asking him.
First off, he had 50 for sale, 41 are left. He says they were display models. They are not 100% new, but no one has asked him yet how much use they have had. He offers a 7-day exchange if something is wrong, and a 30-day warranty. It is the i9000 as that was all that was available here. He sells a lot of cell phone-related things and has pretty good feedback. He has some HTC Arias and Heros for sale, too, which may lend some legitimacy to his business.
I'll have to register an account to ask him more questions. If the phones have never been turned on, he may be reluctant to type in that code.
MrAndroid12, how much did you pay for yours?

I bought mine in january of this year to ;p, for €150 (idk how many dollars that is).
But it broke recently while flashing, and i'm experienced with flashin, but i could not fix it D:, so i got the sensation, thats a really good phone to, and if you know where to look, you can get it cheap
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio using xda premium

Should I buy a used note 3?

I am buying a used note 3 off ebay from a seller with 200k feedback. Do you think this is a good idea?
What are the pros and cons of buying it? It is listed as an A or excellent on a scale of A-F.
Since the note 3 itself is less than a year old, would I be able to take advantage of the warranty through samsung or no?
Anything to look for when I received it? If its bad I can just spend like $150 more for a new one off ebay.
EDIT: sorry its a question its my first time here, can mod please move thanks.

This is NOT the q&a forum, but with the note 4 out in sept. The price should be right, or wait and spend some big bucks on new.

I bought used one, seller lived close to me (few kilometers). Got to check the phone before the real deal, no regrets so far.

I have bought from eBay in the past when in didn't have the cash for brand new. The key is just to your research, make sure its the model your after, is it n9005 or n9008? For example. Find out if Knox has been triggered on it etc. And if After all your questions your still not 100% sure then save up and buy new, least that way there is no chance of disappointment. And like #someguyfromhell said, local is always better.

ajgftw said:
I have bought from eBay in the past when in didn't have the cash for brand new. The key is just to your research, make sure its the model your after, is it n9005 or n9008? For example. Find out if Knox has been triggered on it etc. And if After all your questions your still not 100% sure then save up and buy new, least that way there is no chance of disappointment. And like #someguyfromhell said, local is always better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know how I can take advantage of the samsung warranty? Like how can I get it replaced with a samsung refurb or a new one? Any methods?

2nd hand is fine as long as the condition is still good but would advise to do COD so you can check on the spot, especially with so many china made imitations around.

EeeK said:
2nd hand is fine as long as the condition is still good but would advise to do COD so you can check on the spot, especially with so many china made imitations around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I can easily tell if its a fake chinese one.
But would you justify spending 50$ more for a brand new one with an SD card problem, BUT it has warranty so it can most likely be repaired, but I would have to wait 10 days for that.

I'd get the LG G3 (32gb) if I didn't have my Note 3 lol

speedyjay said:
I'd get the LG G3 (32gb) if I didn't have my Note 3 lol
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Click to collapse
I'm actually selling my note 3 to buy a G3 haha

Suspicious outrageously cheap LG G2 seller, legit?

As the title suggests,
Came across a company called cell-plaza on ebay who are based in Hong Kong selling lots of high end phones, all brand new, for what seems to be very cheap prices.
Details:
Description: NEW LG G2 D801 4G LTE Quad-Core 32GB 13MP Android Mobile Phone- Black (Unlocked)
Price: £141.00
Link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281435055233?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Has anyone had any experience with this company, or can you spot anything suspicious about them?
I've already made the purchase, hoping for the best.
I've been stung by clones & knock off's before, but I've never seen an LG G2 clone before.
Thanks.

If you read the negative feedbacks on ebay you foud that probably they sent you a refurbished phone and probably without warranty. But the price made the deal..
_____________________________________Read more write less and be smart

Hope it works out for you, man. The negative feedback is a bit discouraging, especially the one that says something about changing feedback in order to get refund!
But let us know how it works out for you. I'm thinking at worst (based on feedback) you have a 4 in 5 chance of getting a working phone.

Did it arrive?
Hi, did you receive this phone OK? I'm contemplating buying one myself.
Thanks

alot of negative feedback thats not good... before you flash anything search for refurbished thread and make sure oyu know wich model variant you get by looking on the motherboard otherways youll brick your phone if you wish to flash new rom even root i think..

that is the normal price of a SECOND hand G2 in my country.

gunna be selling my vs980 for 150 on ebay =D

siggey said:
If you read the negative feedbacks on ebay you foud that probably they sent you a refurbished phone and probably without warranty. But the price made the deal..
_____________________________________Read more write less and be smart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
98.9% Positive Feedback

leethedon1 said:
Has anyone had any experience with this company, or can you spot anything suspicious about them?
I've already made the purchase, hoping for the best.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, now that I have received my G2 from them, I can share some of my experience. I live in USA and good ATT LTE performance is crucial to me. The company sold the ATT D800 version on ebay as new for about $165 bucks, which I think is a fair price for a previous generation fragship phone sold by a shoddy HK company considering that $200 buys me a brand new ASUS Zenfone 2 or Zenfone 2 Laser here in USA with full warranty and all.
The phone arrived two weeks later in the original cardboard packaging sealed in plastic. The phone case looked brand new, no scratches or any signs of use or abuse. I removed the back cover and looked inside. Inside was the original LG battery produced in 2013 and D800 printed on the case. The printed IMEI number matches what is reported by the software, and corresponds to the ATT D800 model. The phone works fine and has already installed two OTA updates, upgrading KitKat 4.4.2 to Lollipop.
Next, I installed the LTE discovery app to snoop around on which LTE bands my G2 is using. Depending on my location in the neighborhood, the bands were switching between Band 2 and the all-crucial Band 17, which confirms I indeed got the D800 for the ATT LTE network. Finally, I have run Geekbench 3 benchmark app repeatedly and the consistent scores of 900+ and 2500+ (single-core and multi-core) are in line with the benchmarks published in many online reviews of G2.
HOWEVER, the printed manual inside the box, talks about LG-P920 which corresponds to an entirely different LG phone, which does point to some kind of shoddy vendor activity.
Either way, I feel pretty happy having purchased an LG2 that looks like new and works like new for just $165 bucks. For me it's a stopgap phone until the Snapdragon 820 devices arrive. The only thing that disappoints me is having just 32GB of storage. I have a music collection that takes up something like 200GB in lossless format, and even converted to a high bit rate MP3, 32GB is just barely not enough. I wish there was an SD card slot. In retorspect, the SD801-based 64GB Oneplus One that's now sold for only $300 USD may have been a better choice. Also, the LG GUI is ok, but not as nice as the Cyanogen OS on a Oneplus One phone. The LG GUI looks ok, it is something like made by geeks, for other geeks. The poor wallpaper collection and the lack of themes is appalling, but fixable. The phone looks like a keeper to me. I look forward to testing the camera performance and trying Cyanogenmod.

Get yourself a tiny Micro sd card reader by Meenova for 10.00 and a 128GB Samsung Micro SDXC Card (can be found under 40 this week due to cyber Monday Week deals if you google slickdeals.net) and you'll be more than set!
I'm using the Samsung 64GB Pro Micro SDXC Card and its amazing.
Akopps said:
Well, now that I have received my G2 from them, I can share some of my experience. I live in USA and good ATT LTE performance is crucial to me. The company sold the ATT D800 version on ebay as new for about $165 bucks, which I think is a fair price for a previous generation fragship phone sold by a shoddy HK company considering that $200 buys me a brand new ASUS Zenfone 2 or Zenfone 2 Laser here in USA with full warranty and all.
The phone arrived two weeks later in the original cardboard packaging sealed in plastic. The phone case looked brand new, no scratches or any signs of use or abuse. I removed the back cover and looked inside. Inside was the original LG battery produced in 2013 and D800 printed on the case. The printed IMEI number matches what is reported by the software, and corresponds to the ATT D800 model. The phone works fine and has already installed two OTA updates, upgrading KitKat 4.4.2 to Lollipop.
Next, I installed the LTE discovery app to snoop around on which LTE bands my G2 is using. Depending on my location in the neighborhood, the bands were switching between Band 2 and the all-crucial Band 17, which confirms I indeed got the D800 for the ATT LTE network. Finally, I have run Geekbench 3 benchmark app repeatedly and the consistent scores of 900+ and 2500+ (single-core and multi-core) are in line with the benchmarks published in many online reviews of G2.
HOWEVER, the printed manual inside the box, talks about LG-P920 which corresponds to an entirely different LG phone, which does point to some kind of shoddy vendor activity.
Either way, I feel pretty happy having purchased an LG2 that looks like new and works like new for just $165 bucks. For me it's a stopgap phone until the Snapdragon 820 devices arrive. The only thing that disappoints me is having just 32GB of storage. I have a music collection that takes up something like 200GB in lossless format, and even converted to a high bit rate MP3, 32GB is just barely not enough. I wish there was an SD card slot. In retorspect, the SD801-based 64GB Oneplus One that's now sold for only $300 USD may have been a better choice. Also, the LG GUI is ok, but not as nice as the Cyanogen OS on a Oneplus One phone. The LG GUI looks ok, it is something like made by geeks, for other geeks. The poor wallpaper collection and the lack of themes is appalling, but fixable. The phone looks like a keeper to me. I look forward to testing the camera performance and trying Cyanogenmod.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thank you so much for posting this and for following up with your findings.
I have a G3 on order from the same seller and started to worry after reading their negative feedback (also AFTER buying - which I would not normally do!).
I'll also post on here once I receive the LG G3 32gb to confirm that the phone received is the official LG Model or a replica, new or used and whether the phone is working as it should.
Thanks for the SD card suggestion too, I will have a look.

I was just looking at a G3 from them this morning. I'll be curious to hear about your experience.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

The G2 is pretty old now despite the capabilities from it. I feel like the price they are selling it for is reasonable

I just purchased a vs980 from eBay for 89.99 and it is in perfect condition. It is refurbished but works like brand new

syrkles said:
I just purchased a vs980 from eBay for 89.99 and it is in perfect condition. It is refurbished but works like brand new
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
before flashing any rom makes sure you know exact variant or else youll brick phone.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g2/general/warning-to-people-bought-phones-ebay-t2991195

I got the G3 it is legit LG tested everything and its legit. A couple of things though.
Branded T-Mobile who have been EE for nearly 2 years?
Get alerts from T-Mobile saying 156mb update is ready but it just reboots and stays on 4.4.2.
It keeps on turning off and will come on again once I remove and re-insert the battery.
Currently debating whether to send it back for a refund or root to see if it fixes it!

Pryors said:
I got the G3 it is legit LG tested everything and its legit. A couple of things though.
Branded T-Mobile who have been EE for nearly 2 years?
Get alerts from T-Mobile saying 156mb update is ready but it just reboots and stays on 4.4.2.
It keeps on turning off and will come on again once I remove and re-insert the battery.
Currently debating whether to send it back for a refund or root to see if it fixes it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
theres a kdz file for marshmallow to update phone. maybe give that a try..do a search

Don't buy from them, they state 12 month warranty but after 3 months the screen died and they won't honor their warranty.

Buying a G3 from ebay

Has anyone of you here buyed a G3 from ebay , ive seen one for US $151.63 and i dunno if its legit , its a LG G3 D851 selling from Hong Kong

It is always better to buy phone specially LG G3 or G2 from a local dealer instead of online shops. Because if there is any problem in that like as it is refurbished or board is changed then you won't be able to do anything in case of online shopping but writing but reviews.
So buying local can be a bit expensive but good.

dksoni411 said:
It is always better to buy phone specially LG G3 or G2 from a local dealer instead of online shops. Because if there is any problem in that like as it is refurbished or board is changed then you won't be able to do anything in case of online shopping but writing but reviews.
So buying local can be a bit expensive but good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well the seller has good reviews on his profile about this product and offers a 30Day refund
Here is the link (i dunno if i can pos it here so if im in the wrong tell me and il delete it)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-5-LG-G3-D...094528?hash=item419ace6fc0:g:iyoAAOSwzJ5XbkMb
And a brand new one G3 here cost around 300E so yeah better try my luck , and its not like they sell brand new here they are mostly products that others states doesn't not sell or refubished and they transport them in my state to sell

I bought my d855 about 9 months ago from eBay. I paid 180GBP and it was much more expensive then. No problems so far.

thats good to hear btw since you own a G3 i want to ask something , hows the battery life if you do little things like reading ebooks at low brightness , can i go 6H+?

I bought my d851 for 120US$ with 2 days local warranty from a retail shop I don't know where are u buying from g3 is pretty cheap now

EvilMegaDroid said:
well the seller has good reviews on his profile about this product and offers a 30Day refund
Here is the link (i dunno if i can pos it here so if im in the wrong tell me and il delete it)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-5-LG-G3-D...094528?hash=item419ace6fc0:g:iyoAAOSwzJ5XbkMb
And a brand new one G3 here cost around 300E so yeah better try my luck , and its not like they sell brand new here they are mostly products that others states doesn't not sell or refubished and they transport them in my state to sell
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In that case.
Good luck with that.. :good:

EvilMegaDroid said:
Has anyone of you here buyed a G3 from ebay , ive seen one for US $151.63 and i dunno if its legit , its a LG G3 D851 selling from Hong Kong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bought my d850 off eBay for $150 U.S. dollars months ago. Only thing wrong with it was the back cover had a small puncture. So I ordered another back cover without the at&t logo. Looks better and runs great with Validus rom.
Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk