Acton_Minuteman

I am considering buying a used Droid Eris off craigslist. Ignoring the issues of a good vs bad ESN (as this info is thoroughly covered on the web). I am most interested in the actual physical phone.

I assume the phone no longer has service. Someone hands you a phone and says this is it, what can you actually do with it.

1) Inspect the physical condition for obvious drops, dings on the edges, etc
2) Inspect the screen for scratches

3) Swap the battery for a charged battery, this is my unknown?

If the person wiped the phone and did a hard reset, then you can observe the phone power on and possibly check the buttons, anything else?

If the person did nothing, but verizon moved there phone number to their new phone, will booting the phone provide me all functionality less phone and 3G. If so then many things might be tested. I have had my Eris for a year and I am not sure exactly what I should look at before handing someone money just because the phone boots.

Any thoughts on how to verify the physical condition of a used Droid Eris phone before purchasing it?

Thanks.

mhotovec

All features other than actual dialing should work (in fact, it should actually be able to call 911, but I wouldn't recommend trying that. I'm sure they'd have a major problem with that type of call).
If you're in a wifi zone you should be able to connect and browse the web, play music, camera - all of that should work. In effect you should have a fully working 'Ipod Touch' in your hands.