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Replacement (Refurb) Phone Hell

Lucidot

Android Enthusiast
Well, This just sucks. My first Eris had a blown speaker and made it so I could hardly hear it ring if it was in my pocket so I called up the store I bought it at and they had a new (refurb'd) unit shipped FedEx to me. I got it yesterday and wasn't able to do anything with it until very late in the evening. So I got it all activated and did the test call while talking to the rep on the land line. Everything seemed to work. So I put it on charge and went to bed.

This morning I came into work and hadn't used the phone yet. The phone rings and I answer it. I hear a hello on the other end and then nothing. I think well WTF. So I call them back and nothing. I can't even hear it ringing on the other end, just a hum coming from the speaker on the back of the phone. I try this a few more times and say screw it and call them back on my office phone.

In the meantime I do a battery pull and when it comes back up I am able to make a call and was talking for about 30 seconds and it did it again. At this point I am thinking it may be one of the 3 apps I installed on it. Google Voice, Mobile Defense and Zedge Ringtones. So I uninstalled all 3 and did another battery pull. I was able to talk again for about 30 seconds and this time the hum was considerably louder. So I do another battery pull and leave the battery out for quite a while. This time around I got about 10 seconds and I had to put my finger over the speaker because the hum was extremely loud. People 3 offices down heard it plain as day. I called the store and the first question they asked me if I had installed ATK and used it. I almost laughed at first. I told them the phone was junk and I wanted a replacement immediately. They said to bring it in and they would give me a new one.
 
So this would be your 3rd phone with speaker problems? That really sucks. I hope they do give you a brand new one this time. Let us know hoe it turns out.
 
Yep. 3rd one. After speaking to them again, I am over my 30 days by 4 days and they can't exchange it for a new one in the store and no stores have any warranty replacements yet so I have to wait to get another phone.

4 freakin' days.
 
Verizon replacement / refurbed phones are terrible and the Verizon Wireless Quality Control process is a joke. I had an issue with my BB last year and it took three weeks and four BBs before we could get a phone that worked. All the phones I rejected has keyboard issues. When I complained about the QC or lack thereof the Rep tried to tell me how they are rigorous standards. I cut him right off and asked him if he had ever used a blackberry? He had not. I told him that on a Curve all you had to do is run your thumb over the phone and that will tell you if a key is not working. He was surprised.

That whole nightmare caused me to have to reactive my enterprise service with my home office 6 times in three weeks. I was very popular.

tj
 
I just got a replacement from Verizon how do you know if its new or refurb?

There will be a round blue sticker in the battery compartment that has the letters NB and a date below that. The sticker is about the size of a pencil eraser.
 
The Verizon store will take care of you.

You haven't had the REPLACEMENT for 30 days. It's not the same as the one you got originally.

Besides that, it's a manufacturuer's defect anyway. HTC should be covering it if Verizon doesn't.

At the store, they should, unquestionably, be able to give you another one.
 
The Verizon store will take care of you.

You haven't had the REPLACEMENT for 30 days. It's not the same as the one you got originally.

Besides that, it's a manufacturuer's defect anyway. HTC should be covering it if Verizon doesn't.

At the store, they should, unquestionably, be able to give you another one.

They said since it is a replacement that the 30 days does not apply. I am talking to another store (large one) at the moment and asking for a manager to see if they can do anything for me. Sucks that I have been a VZW customer for 15 years or more and have never had an issue.
 
I hear ya on the replacement devices. I went through 6 storm 2's in 6 weeks.
 
How does the warranty replacements on smartphones work on Verizon? Do they still just send you a phone sans battery in a white/brown box? Or does it come with everything in the original packaging?
 
With the blackberry, it just came with the phone in a white box. no battery or anything.
 
Yeah that's the way it was when I worked there. I needed my phone replaced about a week ago due to an issue with dropped calls. I am outside. The thirty days so I figured I wouldn't get a brand new phone so I refused a replacement. No way I'm getting a fru smartphone.
 
Yeah with the blackberry's the issues were all obvious within 3 minutes of using the phone. If they actually bothered to test them it would eliminate a lot of issues. I honestly think when they get a return, they don't even really check it. I'm having a wifi issue with the new eris they gave me instead of another blackberry. I think I'm going to just live with it, because I'm afraid that I will end up getting a more major problem with a replacement phone.
 
You probably did get a new one. The Eris is fairly new so I bet they dont have many refurbs available yet. Good luck!
 
I think I'm on my 4th Eris lol... I lost count. Kept having issues and got like 3 NEW phones, and finally the 4th one had to be mailed to me. I was told it MIGHT be a "Certified Like-New Replacement" phone from Verizon (aka Refurbished)... But that this phone is so new, it would most likely be a brand new phone... I THINK I got a brand new one because usually Verizon puts a sticker that specifically says "Certified Like-New Replacement" right on it... I've had refurbished phones from them before, and they always had a sticker that said that... I MIGHT BE WRONG, just throwing in my 2 cents. Either way, this phone is working a lot better than the other 3 I had haha.
 
haha good deal. I called today and they are sending me another brand new one. Hope it works out for the best for both of us haha.
 
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