Help a n00b out? O_o

[GrandMasterB]

I have a very unique situation, I have had several different Droids over the past couple of years and enjoyed them greatly BUT I sold all my droids and purchased the Verizon iPhone when it came out. I am VERY unhappy with the iPhone and almost desperate to get back to Android.


Now for my question and I am hoping some of you knowledgable contributing members can help me out here. I have pretty much decided on the Thunderbolt ( between the TB and Inc2 ) but of course like everybody else I wasted my upgrade on the iPhone so I am stuck for 2 years unless I want to pay full retail. SO I have been looking on Ebay and bidding on some pretty sweet deals. But then something occured to me after seeing a lot of people exchanging their TB's for reboot issues etc.....


I have been looking at a couple of CPO listings on Ebay and it got me wondering about what MFG Warranty that would come with those devices. I always assumed that when you purchase a "newish" device on Ebay ( I have purchased many ) that is would come with the remainder of the MFG 1 year warranty. However after doing a lot of reading the most I can find is that once the device is activated on another account it voids the manufactures warranty.


This doesnt really thrill me much and I have to be honest its a huge detour-ant considering all the TB replacements going on. SO can anybody (Verizon employees would be great) tell me if you purchase a used, new or CPO Thunderbolt on Ebay is it going to come with any kind of remaining manufactures warranty?

Thank you everybody for your time.

GMB

 

[vzwuser76]

Hey, haven't seen you since the early Incredible days! I just got my Tbolt switched out for a CPO Inc2 (they said it would be a refurb & he ordered me a battery & door but mine came with the door & SIM card). I asked about the warranty and they said it's the same as a subsidized phone.

Basically you get a 12 month warranty for hardware/software, or you can get Asurion for theft, accidental damage, etc. The Asurion plan allows for 2 replacements in a 12 month period. They also offer I think 3 plans, damage/theft, extended warranty (for after the initial 12 month period), and total equipment coverage (a combo of the first 2 plans). I believe they run from $2.99 a month (ext warranty) to $6.99 (total equip. coverage). Each plan carries a $90-100 deductible.

I have insurance through my homeowners insurance otherwise I would've gone with theirs. Hope that helps.

P.S. Didn't read the last paragraph till now. I don't think you can get insurance with Verizon if you don't buy from them. That's how it was when I got a RAZR2 off ebay & had it die a week later. Some have had luck going through SquareTrade or directly to Asurion themselves. Or you could do what I did if your homeowners insurance offers a policy for cell phones.

 

[TxGoat]

I'm not sure if you mentioned what you plan on doing with your old iPhone, but the prices of iPhones are still decent right now, even though the new iPhone is due out in a few months. Why don't you just sell the iPhone on Ebay Click here for current prices and just go to Wirefly.com or Amazon.com and pay full retail for your phone? Yes you'll be paying a little more for buying a phone out of contract, but at least you won't have to worry about warranty questions.

 

[Jakaro]

I know this is a little of topic, but in my area, there is a few people wanting to trade their Thunderbolt for an Iphone, check craigslist.org, may be able to just trade strait up with someone?

 

[GrandMasterB]

I'm not sure if you mentioned what you plan on doing with your old iPhone, but the prices of iPhones are still decent right now, even though the new iPhone is due out in a few months. Why don't you just sell the iPhone on Ebay Click here for current prices and just go to Wirefly.com or Amazon.com and pay full retail for your phone? Yes you'll be paying a little more for buying a phone out of contract, but at least you won't have to worry about warranty questions.

I do plan on selling my iPhone to pay for the new device..... eventually. I have literally waited years for the iPhone so I would like to keep it for a few weeks for comparison reasons before I sell it though. Its MINT condition with a ton of extras and I should be able to get $550ish which would pay for the Thunderbolt. I don't mind paying full retail if that is the only way to get a good warranty against defects.

I know this is a little of topic, but in my area, there is a few people wanting to trade their Thunderbolt for an Iphone, check craigslist.org, may be able to just trade strait up with someone?

There are literally dozens of local want ads of people wanting to trade their Thunderbolts for a Verizon iPhone but the problem in my eyes is that my iPhone is worth $200 more than their Thunderbolt so I am weary. Plus I am extremely picky and I expect the Thunderbolt to be in comparable MINT condition to my iPhone and people just don't take care of their stuff like I do There is also a little voice in my head questioning why everybody wants to trade their Thunderbolts. Are these people having severe problems and just trying to dump their TB's or is the iPhone really that much better? Basically I don't want to get traded somebody else's problem.

 

[TxGoat]

I do plan on selling my iPhone to pay for the new device..... eventually. I have literally waited years for the iPhone so I would like to keep it for a few weeks for comparison reasons before I sell it though. Its MINT condition with a ton of extras and I should be able to get $550ish which would pay for the Thunderbolt. I don't mind paying full retail if that is the only way to get a good warranty against defects.

Just keep in mind, the closer we get to the next iPhone's release date, the more likely you won't get what you want for your iPhone. Typically a carrier will drop the price of the outgoing phone a few weeks or so before the anticipated release of a newer item. You're definitely up against the clock so whatever you decide, make sure you act fast.

 

[cbj5259]

I think the thunderbolt will be great once they get the bugs worked out. The key word is will. I think Verizon rushed this phone out and should have tested it longer. We are paying for that now. I will be patient for a while longer, but I must admit the bugs and the spotty data connections really suck ass. The LTE system is still having growing pains. If I was gonna do it all over again I would have gone with the dinc2, but hindsight is always 20/20. The thunderbolt hardware is great...we just need to get the software up to snuff.

 

[GrandMasterB]

I think the thunderbolt will be great once they get the bugs worked out. The key word is will. I think Verizon rushed this phone out and should have tested it longer. We are paying for that now. I will be patient for a while longer, but I must admit the bugs and the spotty data connections really suck ass. The LTE system is still having growing pains. If I was gonna do it all over again I would have gone with the dinc2, but hindsight is always 20/20. The thunderbolt hardware is great...we just need to get the software up to snuff.

Well, I should mention if I havent already that I live in an area that wont get LTE until 2013 and by then I will probably be 4 devices down the road. So LTE really isn't a consideration at this point when choosing between the Inc2 and Thunderbolt.

Something that is a pretty big consideration for me (especially coming from the iPhone) is freedom to mod. I see that the Thunderbolt already has S-off and permanent root, thats great. However the Incredible2 doesn't have root yet. No big deal because it will come with time right? BUT the IncredibleS came out in February and they still haven't rooted that bad boy. That concerns me when choosing between the two.