How Good/Bad are the "Certified Like New" phones?

[NCTurner]

I'm curious how good, or bad, the "certified like new" phones are. Long story, but I had one, when my first DX crashed only a few days after having it. The "like new" phone had sporadic issues as well as the having loose plug-ins. I demanded (and got) a NEW replacement, which worked flawlessly until 2.2, and now I am having significant problems again. VZW said they would ship a new replacement phone since my NEW phone was only 3 weeks old when 2.2 hit. I found out yesterday it is yet another "certified like new" ("CLN") phone. I did not have good luck with the prior one.

So, if you have experience with a CLN phone, what is your experience? Good? Bad? ANY glitches with it?

I'm also wondering if I should wait on the fix that Motorola "says" is coming...but who knows when that will be???

 

[Sketchr]

I suppose it depends on how badly it was abused before you received it. And, I'm not so sure they do any kind of "refurbishing" before sending it out again. Verizon may be ignoring some complaints. OTOH, if you received a phone that is CLN because a customer simply changed their mind, the CLN phone could be in perfect condition.

I demanded a new phone when mine (new) had severe problems with freezing. They wanted to send out CLN and insisted that was how they were handling the DroidX because of backorder. I told them I paid for brand new(it was only a week old) and I would only settle for new phone as a replacement. I was (and still am) a brand new customer and told them I would just be sending the phone back and canceling account if I did not receive a brand new one. Hardly cost effective for them so they agreed.

But if your purchase is more than 30 days old (their worry free guarantee) then you're screwed. You'll receive a CLN.

 

[bbuck002]

so far from what i've learned (i had to get a replacement outside 30 days due to my screen sh***ing the bed), the X's they are sending out are brand new phones, even though they come as CLN. if you are wondering whether its new or used, call or go to verizon store and have them look up the serial number to see if it was registered to someone else before you received it. they are typically coming back as unregistered meaning new...just gotta use your old battery and battery door. i guess they save on packaging and accessories cause you should have all that stuff in good condition from your original...
i didn't want a CLN device, told them that certified LIKE new does not mean NEW...but they said there were no boxed devices anywhere withing 50 miles of buffalo, ny and that new orders were on a two week backorder. I got mine the next day when i was expecting 3 or 4 days to deliver since i went in late afternoon on a thursday before a holiday weekend.

as for your problems after the upgrade, i posted a thread with links to doing a clean factory reset to not carry over data and saved items from 2.1 which seem to be causing a lot of people problems if you didn't factory reset before upgrading. check it out...it helped my phone out a bunch, and many people seem to agree.

 

[AshG]

The four CLN BB Tours I went through (bad trackball, bad trackball, constant reboots, broken charging port) are what led me to jump on a new phone a year early. I am not a fan of the CLN service.

 

[klinc]

My Droid X I purchased last week was a refurb. There were no scratches or anything on the outside to make it look like it was pre-owned. The plugs on the side might have shown a little wear from being plugged in, but it was hard to tell.

Software wise I have not had any issues to speak of really. I recieved it a few hours after the 2.2 update was released and the first thing out of the box was updated to that. Had an issue getting stuck on the motorola screen after the update. I pulled the battery and started again and havent had an issue since.

I am happy with my refurb purchase. Hell, I have a Kodak digital camera I bought 5-6 years ago as a refurb. That is still going strong too.

 

[NCTurner]

so far from what i've learned (i had to get a replacement outside 30 days due to my screen sh***ing the bed), the X's they are sending out are brand new phones, even though they come as CLN. if you are wondering whether its new or used, call or go to verizon store and have them look up the serial number to see if it was registered to someone else before you received it. they are typically coming back as unregistered meaning new...just gotta use your old battery and battery door. i guess they save on packaging and accessories cause you should have all that stuff in good condition from your original...
i didn't want a CLN device, told them that certified LIKE new does not mean NEW...but they said there were no boxed devices anywhere withing 50 miles of buffalo, ny and that new orders were on a two week backorder. I got mine the next day when i was expecting 3 or 4 days to deliver since i went in late afternoon on a thursday before a holiday weekend.

as for your problems after the upgrade, i posted a thread with links to doing a clean factory reset to not carry over data and saved items from 2.1 which seem to be causing a lot of people problems if you didn't factory reset before upgrading. check it out...it helped my phone out a bunch, and many people seem to agree.

First, thanks to all those that have responded so far.

BBuck - I have read that thread numerous times, and followed it. I did 2 resets as well, but still the problems exist. Music not playing, video recorder not working, pandora, getting stuck at M logo on bootup, disappearing pictures, etc. These issues are persisting. Since I am 59 days out from my purchase date, VZW says no new phone. I am not happy with that still, as my NEW phone was working perfectly fine until THEIR update screwed it up. I may just play with the CLN phone and see if it works or is problematic also.

 

[NateinAA]

I've had my CLN/CPO/Refurb DX for about three weeks and it runs great. Still had a number of the factory protectors on the outside, so I don't think it was heavily used (if at all) by the original owner. I have the occasional connection problem with wifi but from what I can tell that's more of a "just how things are" matter than because of the phone's previous life. 2.2 was a big improvement and overall I'm very satisfied with the phone.

-Nate

 

[mchung53]

I'm curious how good, or bad, the "certified like new" phones are. Long story, but I had one, when my first DX crashed only a few days after having it. The "like new" phone had sporadic issues as well as the having loose plug-ins. I demanded (and got) a NEW replacement, which worked flawlessly until 2.2, and now I am having significant problems again. VZW said they would ship a new replacement phone since my NEW phone was only 3 weeks old when 2.2 hit. I found out yesterday it is yet another "certified like new" ("CLN") phone. I did not have good luck with the prior one.

So, if you have experience with a CLN phone, what is your experience? Good? Bad? ANY glitches with it?

I'm also wondering if I should wait on the fix that Motorola "says" is coming...but who knows when that will be???

I received a CLN on Monday and I'm pretty happy with it...All of the buttons feel sturdy and snappy...There are absolutely no scratches or signs of wear and the phone itself is running smoothly. This is a back up for my regular DX so I havent used it for a full day yet.

 

[Steven58]

I sent my incredible back and I'm sure they sold it as certified. Lemme tell you, it was in amAzing shape.

 

[in2uition]

I received my refurb unit and there were no blemishes. In fact, I like it better than the original Droid X I purchased.

 

[Daisy 53]

Ive had a few CLN phones from Verizon, I had one good one a 3 bad ones. Its a real crap shoot on what youre going to get. All of them looked very good, but one of my droids had the slider so loose it almost wouldnt stay closed!
Then one good one I got is awesome and has been with me for a month. Too bad it isnt an X...
Daisy

 

[Vihzel]

I had one for my Incredible and also one for my Droid X. Both came as flawless phones. If there are any issues, Verizon will exchange it for you at no charge.

 

[danlaw777]

I have had TWO......and BOTH have been better then my first....
i needed a replacement as my original dx camera shutter closed and wouldnt reopen....i was sent a replacement and the new 1 was wonderful, no scratches, everything worked...it was PERFECT!!!!.....till i dropped THAT 1 on its face and it shattered (see 1 of my other posts for the pic) the 1 i was sent thru insurance was even better!!!! battery life, look, feel, EVERYTHING......

now im hoping that i can keep this 1 as it is nice and smooth!!

 

[rexboe]

I got a CLN this week and it is perfect. I would not be afraid of the CLN phones.