Replacement Nexus One - Refurbished or New?

[jw nyc]

I posted this over at Android Central as well but this site seems to get more traffic so I figure I'll post here as well...

I have a stuck pixel on my Nexus One screen (it stays an aqua blue color) so I called Google support last night. Since they determined it was a hardware issue they got an HTC rep on the line who took over the issue from where we left off (the support from both sides was excellent).

The HTC rep mentioned that they would send me a brand new device and said it was b/c they don't yet have refurbished N1's with at&t's 3g band. They had to put a hold on my CC for the amount of the new phone which they will release once I return the defective one.

My question is, is the rep telling the truth about there not yet being refurbished at&t N1's and once I get the replacement, how can I determine if it is new or refurbished? Thanks.

 

[Rusty]

I think you'd be very hard pressed to tell the difference, a refurb from HTC should be as good as, if not better than a new one (as it will have been checked over within an inch of it's life by a tech).

 

[Talderon]

I think you'd be very hard pressed to tell the difference, a refurb from HTC should be as good as, if not better than a new one (as it will have been checked over within an inch of it's life by a tech).

I agree, you will be hard pressed to tell, and to be honest, does it really matter? Sending refurbished units for warranty replacements is a common practice.

In all honesty, I would be happy to get a working unit that is as good as new, and in this case, new!

 

[jw nyc]

Fair enough but just for my own knowledge, is there a way to tell the difference?

 

[Talderon]

Fair enough but just for my own knowledge, is there a way to tell the difference?

Sometimes, refurbished devices will have some additional stickers on them labeling them as refurbished devices, outside of that, I would have to say that it would be hard, if not impossible, to tell.

 

[SnotF]

I would bet.it would be either new or certified new units.

 

[ArrowSmith]

Do refurbs ever have scratches on them?

 

[Hook]

Do refurbs ever have scratches on them?

"Ever" I don't have enough experience to answer, but I would generally say no, they don't. Minor scratches, if any, are easily treated and removed in the refurb process.

 

[berig]

Many of the times they rip the hardware out of the phone and put it in a new housing, so you very well might not be able to tell. I'm not sure if they use this process, but I know it has been done before.