Help I hate refurb phones!

[SoulTerror]

I just got a replacement yesterday for my phone since my old one would not connect to GPS. All was fine, I rooted and installed Radioactive FroYo 1.8.9 (or what ever the newest is) plug my phone in at 11pm, wake up at 8am and my phone wasn't fully charged. I unplugged it and checked my email which only took a minute and it dropped to about 50%. WTF I thought, so I plug it into my laptop and it detected it, then I unplugged it, then I plugged it in again and nothing happened, wiggled the cord around and it would go in and out of being connected to the computer. So this phone has a bad USB or something, which would explain why a couple times last night I heard the single chime coming from my phone. So now I have to reflash my phone and have Sprint order me another phone.

 

[pastafarian]

I don't know if it's Sprint or the mfg that does the refurb, but the last refurb Mogul (HTC) I got was atrocious. I had 6 refurbs to pick through, all had serious flaws. The worst looked like dreck with worn keys, loose slider and scratched case/screen. I chose what I thought was the best of the bunch and it lasted a little more than a week before the connector between the screen and keyboard failed. I joked that Sprints refurb process is a lot like Gamestop. If it turns on, it's refurbished. It's also why I would never recommend anyone buy a used phone off of ebay from a mass seller. They buy and sell the phones that the cell companies reject as refurbs. I hope the next one is better for you!

 

[neutron]

I hear ya. I got a call that my replacement Moment is at the store now. If this one doesn't work and they insist on replacing it with another refurb Moment I will be calling Sprint to see about getting a new phone as a replacement.

 

[vbetts]

The one I got to replace my stolen Moment is terrible. I had to send it back in because it would power off randomly, or wouldn't start up at all when it had a full battery.

 

[SoulTerror]

This seems to have battery issues as well. When they turned my phone back on at the store it was in the green, 2 seconds later it was in the red. Hopefully the new 1 is in tomorrow.

 

[neutron]

Has anyone here been successful in getting a totally different phone if 3 changeouts don't resolve the issue?

 

[SoulTerror]

My wife was offered a Hero, but she don't want it. It all depends who you talk too.

 

[pastafarian]

Has anyone here been successful in getting a totally different phone if 3 changeouts don't resolve the issue?

I did this with the Mogul and ended up with a Touch Pro......which I hated even worse!

Right now, the only Android based phone I could see them offering new as a swap is the sad Intercept. You might still get a Hero, but it will probably be a refurb too. I highly doubt you could convince them to upgrade you to a Evo. I'm sure they would be very happy if you took a Pre, they might even give you 2 or 3.

 

[SoulTerror]

My wife asked for a Pre and they said no. Hero or Moment is all they offered. She still needs to go to the store that forced her into the upgrade and see what they can do for her.

 

[neutron]

Well, it didn't last long. My 2nd moment is doing the same crap the first one was doing. I even reloaded everything manually by going to the market and downloading my apps. The only thing restored were my contacts, and that was done at the store by the Sprint rep.

My phone is the only phone I have to use, and I'm now on my 6th call to customer service as my phone keeps dropping the call while I'm on hold. Adv Tech Support won't exchange it unless it's with another moment, and customer retention said they can only get me one of 5 inferior phones which is unacceptable as I bought my phone because of its features. If I had done something to my phone I'd understand, but since the phone is garbage I would expect Sprint to replace it with something comperable. The LG Rumor is not a comparable phone I'm sorry.... All she could do is get me back to Adv tech support to get to multiple device exchange and explain to them that we need to get a replacement phone that's not a moment.

I just called for the 6th time and the person in customer rentention said he did all he could saying my only option was to pay full retail for a new phone since my upgrade isn't until November. He said at this point he would send me to his supervisor whom I had to leave a message for.

We're still under contract but I'm going to start shopping around for another carrier because I need a working phone. My wife needs a working phone (she has a moment with the same problems). We pay close to $170 a month and are premier customers. We pay way too much a month for these phones to be doing this.

 

[SoulTerror]

Yeah it's terrible how much we get dropped calls when calling them. I never get a dropped call unless I have 1 or less bars. I can call Sprint with full bars and get dropped left and right. I think they do it on purpose.

 

[SteveVHT]

I just got my 3rd Moment from Sprint....
They were fast to get it to me, actually under 12 hrs.
First thing I checked was the sticker where the battery goes.
If it looks like a generic label, it's a refurb.....
I called them immediately and said that they sent me a refurbished phone. They said NO...It's brand new. I argued and argued with them. I had them note it on my account.
I went to the local Sprint store, and the guy immediately pointed out the sticker and said it was a refurb....I said, I know....
So he called Sprint for me.
Needless to say, I walked out of the store with a brand new phone.
It wouldn't have bothered me because I have gotten excellent refurbed phones from ATT when I was with them for next to nothing...
But I have only been with Sprint for 4 months and paid full retail for the phone when I signed up (actually $100 after rebate).
I had the same thing happen to me with a car I bought....
It was a brand new 2000 SS Camaro. I had about 400 miles on the car and a woman blew a red light and basically totaled my car out. There was 7 witnesses on the police report that saw her blow the light. Her insurance wanted to "pay for the repairs". But since the frame wasn't bent, it wasn't considered "totaled".
Needless to say, after a nice letter from my attorney, I had another brand new 2000 SS Camaro.
They always try to cheap out no matter what you are dealing with.

 

[neutron]

It took 13 calls to Sprint (final two were on my wife's phone, and after it dropped the call the 2nd time the lady actually called me back after saying she would, first person to actually do what they said they would). The supervisor I had been talking to in Customer Retention was notified and informed her to tell me he would be talking with his manager tomorrow (today) and would see about getting both my wife and I replacements that would not be more Moments. The lady acknowledged that Sprint is aware of the issues with these phones but won't publicly acknowledge them.

My wife is so fed up with it that she wants to get an LG Lotus Elite to get out of the smartphone area. I need a smartphone. If Sprint refuses to replace the Moment with something comparable that has the features it has we're going to another carrier.

 

[SoulTerror]

Stay away from the Lotus. My wife originally got that phone when we upgraded and she returned it in the 30 days. I don't remember why, but I know she had a lot of problems with it though.

 

[neutron]

Her mom has an original Lotus and hasn't had an issue with it yet, so far.

As I type this my Moment just random rebooted itself.... I HATE THIS &$^@* PHONE!!

 

[Stoney62]

Her mom has an original Lotus and hasn't had an issue with it yet, so far.

As I type this my Moment just random rebooted itself.... I HATE THIS &$^@* PHONE!!

I'm sorry if I've missed it, but have you flashed a ROM to it? If so, what are you running? I use Radioactive Froyo 1.8.7 and haven't had a random reboot in the week since I flashed it. No cdma lockups either. GPS works great. WIFI tether works awesome too.

 

[neutron]

I'm sorry if I've missed it, but have you flashed a ROM to it? If so, what are you running? I use Radioactive Froyo 1.8.7 and haven't had a random reboot in the week since I flashed it. No cdma lockups either. GPS works great. WIFI tether works awesome too.

Both phones are on full stock 2.1 as I didn't want to give Sprint a reason for not fixing this issue.

 

[neutron]

Okay, the supervisor person finally got back in touch with me. He said his supervisor refused to budge on Sprint corporate letting us swap out for something other than a Moment.

He said at this point what he will do is call around to the retail stores around me and will try to find a manager who will agree to swap us out with different phones. He said that usually it's up to the store manager whether they allow this or not.

They won't let us both upgrade out of our phones even with us paying the difference. We are Sprint Premier customers and pay over $170 a month. I asked him if he couldn't find a store manager to allow the swap if Sprint corporate would consider letting us out of our contract with no ETF and he said he would speak with his supervisor if option 1 didn't pan out. What I don't understand is Sprint acknowledges that they know of the issues with the Moment yet they refuse to do anything about it. BTW this supervisor said he was on his second Moment and fortunately found one that so far hasn't giving him problems. He did say he can't do all what he was hoping to do due to the phone's performance.

Our family has a total of 5 members who all have Moments including mine and my wife's phones. ALL of them have the same issues going on. If Sprint won't help us get working phones that do what the Moment is we SUPPOSED to do, then all 5 of us will consider our options at that point. This is the exact opposite of our experience on AT&T's network. We had good phones with the iPhone (am I allowed to say that phone here? ), crappy network though. Sprint is a good network, crappy phone.

 

[SteveVHT]

The Moment is no longer made. They stopped manufacturing them a while ago. They have to replace the phones with the Intercept if they can't send you new ones. Either that or the Epic with a slight upcharge plus you pay more for 4G

 

[neutron]

The Moment is no longer made. They stopped manufacturing them a while ago. They have to replace the phones with the Intercept if they can't send you new ones. Either that or the Epic with a slight upcharge plus you pay more for 4G

Seeing as how the Intercept is an inferior phone (I had a chance to play with one at the store and it just felt cheap compared to the moment), I'll opt for the Epic. I'm still leery on Samsung though.

 

[SteveVHT]

Seeing as how the Intercept is an inferior phone (I had a chance to play with one at the store and it just felt cheap compared to the moment), I'll opt for the Epic. I'm still leery on Samsung though.

I agree....
I'm either going Epic or Evo...Gotta get the Epic in my hands to decide...

 

[neutron]

I'm waiting for one of two things to happen today once the supervisor contacts several Sprint stores:

1 - He can't find one that will allow me to swap the phones for different models, even though I told him I would be glad to pay the difference if it means getting working phones. He said if he doesn't find a store that will allow this he will talk with his supervisor about letting us out of our contract with no ETF penalty.

2 - He finds a store manager and that person agrees to swap them out, but only for the Samsung Intercept. If this option happens it's like polishing a piece of poo.

 

[neutron]

YEAH!! I talked with the supervisor this evening and he told me he has reset our upgrade eligibility and my wife and I can go get 2 new phones at new customer pricing since we've had so many issues with the Moment. He said this was highly unusual of Sprint to do and they did this since it has been an inconvenience to us.

Now I have to decide: Epic 4G (take a chance on Samsung again), or Evo 4G?

 

[SoulTerror]

Wish they would do that for my wife and I.

 

[neutron]

Wish they would do that for my wife and I.

It took a lot of complaining to customer retention after several dropped calls, and threatening to leave and take our cell bill somewhere else, plus I got the supervisor to admit that Sprint does know of the issues plaguing the Moment and that he himself is on his second one now.

I would call Sprint customer service and ask to speak to customer retention, then a supervisor. Good luck!