Buying a used Rezound - what to look out for?

[DroidBoardr]

So I already know the Rezound is an awesome phone. I used to own one, and have thus passed it on to my wife since i purchased the S3. My sister is upgrading from her original Motorola droid to the Rezound. She doesn't want to give up her unlimited data, so she is going to purchase one from probably craigslist maybe ebay. My questions is what kinds of things should i tell her to watch out for when purchasing a used phone.
I told her to look out for rooted phones, but if she gets conned into one that has been rooted will she have any trouble getting back to stock?
Are there any other issues to be aware of? My Rezound was on an older leaked version of ICS and I never updated it since I never noticed any problems, and i heard of battery issues with the latest version of ICS.
As far as I know the Rezound was only released on Verizon so i don't think carrier compatibility should be an issue. Correct?
Lastly will upgrading from a non-4G plan to a 4G plan cause her to loose unlimited data?
Thanks.

 

[TWC42]

Take a look at Swappa, a site dedicated to buying and selling high quality used android phones. Prices are a bit higher than on Craigslist, but sellers are verified. Look for a Rezound that has not been rooted or otherwise messed with. Also, consider the HTC Droid Incredible 4G, essentially a Rezound in a smaller package with better battery life. Upgrading to 4G with a non-subsidized phone will NOT cause one to lose unlimited.

 

[LoudRam]

As far as I know the Rezound was only released on Verizon so i don't think carrier compatibility should be an issue. Correct?
Lastly will upgrading from a non-4G plan to a 4G plan cause her to loose unlimited data?
Thanks.

On your first point, you're correct. The Rezound was only available on Verizon.

On your second point, what upgrade? There is no upgrade to 4g. Data is data. If you go from a 3g phone to a 4g phone your data plan shouldn't change unless you're signing a new contract. In your sisters case all she has to do is tell Verizon to have her new phone assigned to her account and activated. However this is best done in person at a corp store. Her plan shouldn't change at all since she is buying a phone outright and off contract.

I agree with TWC, swappa is the way to go and like he said look for a locked and stock Rezound so she will get all future upgrades.

 

[acejavelin]

I will add a vote for Swappa... personally never bought there, but I now a few people who have gotten various phones on that site and all them were as described and in the condition expected. I hate to say good condition, because one person I know bought a phone that was known to be damaged and with a broken screen just for developing something, but everything about the posting was correct and the price was right.

 

[HowardZ]

I think you need to watch out for phones which have been reported stolen. I think if verizon thinks the esn is reported stolen then it will not function on Verizon's network.

 

[jntdroid]

Swappa requires the ESN to be clean - however if the phone is tied to a contract and that contract ends up in collections or something like that, the ESN can still go bad. That's highly unlikely, but just FYI.

This actually happened to me. I bought a Dinc2, used it for a couple of months, then sold it on Swappa. When I put it up, the ESN was clean. But by the time the guy that bought it from me received it, the original account the phone was tied to hadn't paid his bill in some crazy amount of time. We fought with Verizon, and they could even see I had used it for a period, but it was a no go. I even offered to pay the original owner's balance, if it was a case of some small bill that was just ignored. But it was by no means small...

All that to say, the best you can do is check for water damage, check the ESN, and check your gut. If you have a bad feeling about the person you're buying from, trust that feeling.

 

[DroidBoardr]

How do you check the ESN? I have never heard of that.

 

[jntdroid]

How do you check the ESN? I have never heard of that.

It's also known as an IMEI #. Every Verizon phone has one - typically under the battery or on the original box. You can check it online, or just call Verizon, tell them you want to check an ESN, and they'll double check it for you as well. Here are a couple of links:

http://www.checkesnfree.com/

[URL]http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/estore/certifieddevice/cd[/URL]

 

[DroidBoardr]

Thanks everyone for the info and suggestions.

As an aside, how are you enjoying the RazrM jntdroid? My brother just picked one up also. He's digging it, but was disappointed about the camera's picture quality. He's also coming from an original Motorola Droid so everything is an improvement for him, but hew was hoping for a camera closer to what the Rezound had. He has another week to decide if he will keep it. What are your thoughts on the device?

 

[acejavelin]

I could be wrong here, but I don't think ESNs are relevant for 4G phones anymore... isn't it all SIM based? If the SIM is bad can't you just get a new one?

 

[DroidBoardr]

I could be wrong here, but I don't think ESNs are relevant for 4G phones anymore... isn't it all SIM based? If the SIM is bad can't you just get a new one?

That wound be valuable information. I know that the Rezound does use a SIM, but i know nothing about ESN's. That would ease a lot of pressure if it isn't a problem.

 

[deathtrip]

Hello,

My name is Shane and I'm the owner of CheckESNFree.com

When it comes to LTE/4G Devices and Verizon, you usually don't have to check the status of the IMEI or the MEID. The MEID is the IMEI minus the last number.

Last I knew, Verizon was not blacklisting their 4G/LTE devices that were stolen/lost/etc. So the device should still work with an active SIM card... however, they always have the right to kill the SIM, or blacklist the device's IMEI from use on the network, just like AT&T and T-Mobile are now doing.

Also, it has come to our attention recently that Verizon is NOT marrying the IMEI and it's matching MEID in the system, so an IMEI may come back bad, but it's MEID may come back clean. So if the IMEI you are checking comes back as bad, or says to call Verizon, you may still be able to use the device, unless Verizon starts to blacklist them.

-Shane

 

[cybertec69]

So I already know the Rezound is an awesome phone. I used to own one, and have thus passed it on to my wife since i purchased the S3. My sister is upgrading from her original Motorola droid to the Rezound. She doesn't want to give up her unlimited data, so she is going to purchase one from probably craigslist maybe ebay. My questions is what kinds of things should i tell her to watch out for when purchasing a used phone.
I told her to look out for rooted phones, but if she gets conned into one that has been rooted will she have any trouble getting back to stock?
Are there any other issues to be aware of? My Rezound was on an older leaked version of ICS and I never updated it since I never noticed any problems, and i heard of battery issues with the latest version of ICS.
As far as I know the Rezound was only released on Verizon so i don't think carrier compatibility should be an issue. Correct?
Lastly will upgrading from a non-4G plan to a 4G plan cause her to loose unlimited data?
Thanks.

Going from 3G to 4G makes no difference to Verizon or any other carrier, it's considered a data plan, her/his plan will NOT change, as long as she/he buys the phone outright and just adds to his/her existing plan "phone number". and eBay is a good place to buy a smartphone, eBay gives you money back protection from scamers, but the majority of people are legit, be weary of foreign sellers, especially China.

 

[DroidBoardr]

I appreciate the shared knowledge. Best forums on the net. Tried a Harley forum a few weeks ago. I still haven't received a single response. The android community rocks.