Risking a Refurb?

[HikenGruven]

I'm going on close to 11 months with my Gnex now as I originally purchased it towards the end of December 2011. My first nexus rebooted every 10 minutes (literally) and I got it replaced in January. This one I haven't had the drops in mic issues or massive data outages, but getting a signal is tricky. Over the weekend while my wife drove, I spent some time playing with her iPhone 4S. Why? Because mine didn't get a signal. Her iPhone had full bars of 3G, while mine barely had one. Yeah I know you should look at DBMs, but that is a pain to do on the iPhone. These limits in signal don't necessary happen just anytime, but in certain areas it's just like driving through a hole, yet her phone is unfazed. The newest radios don't make much of a difference, other than visually giving me more bars. That's about it. I've spent some time on the phone with Verizon about this and we've all heard it. They basically refuse to admit there is any problem with this phone, but they have offered me refurbs to be fair. Having spent a fair amount of time on these forums, refurbs don't necessarily solve the problem and some might have worse problems. Does the GNex still have reception issues that just won't be fixed? Should I risk it and get a refurb and just tolerate what I have? My warranty is close to expiring and I'm debating whether or not I want to go through the trouble. Stock and locked by the way.

 

[macpro88]

Refurbs should not be shunned, they often times a BETTER device than a brand new one, because that refurb has been checked and by human hands, where as not every production unit is. I have always had good luck with refurbs. Don't let refurb or certified like new scare you. You're going to get a great device back that has NO cosmetic damage and you'll never be able to tell its a refurb.

 

[TisMyDroid]

Refurbs should not be shunned, they often times a BETTER device than a brand new one, because that refurb has been checked and by human hands, where as not every production unit is. I have always had good luck with refurbs. Don't let refurb or certified like new scare you. You're going to get a great device back that has NO cosmetic damage and you'll never be able to tell its a refurb.

I agree. I have not had any problems with a refurb. It will also have a 90 day warranty on it or the remaining year warranty, whichever comes later.

 

[HikenGruven]

Thanks for the responses. So the other question then is are people finding that the GNex just isn't getting a signal in some areas that Verizon traditionally doesn't have problems with. For example, multiple areas over a 100 mile radius that the iPhone 4S get's full signal strength, while the GNEx barely get's a bar (if that)? I can pose screenshots of both phones if people like. I plan on showing those to Big Red as well.

 

[macpro88]

Samsung devices, including the Galaxy Nexus, for whatever reasons seem to have a weaker radio, so yes, most people do notice small drops in reception in what should be a normal area. I noticed this as well when I had my GNex.

 

[TisMyDroid]

In addition to what macpro said, it it's possible that the signal strength is not that different. One phone's status bar indicator can report differently than another phone's status bar indicator but actually have the same signal strength. Ie. the gnex could be showing only 2 bars on the status bar but really have a -83dBm signal while the iPhone could show 4 bars and really only have -97dBm... Actually a weaker signal. I'm not sure how to check the actual signal strength on an iPhone but you can check the gnex signal strength in the data/mobile network system settings.

 

[xDMONEYx]

I've gotten a few refurbs in my day, of different phones and electronics in general. I have never had any issues, and speaking specifically about the GNex, the refurb I recently got is better than the brand new one I bought in February. The screen doesn't have yellow banding like my first one did, and it has less defective black spots in the screen as well. I don't generally have too bad of signal issues compared to my brother's Rezound. There will be places that he gets 4g and I don't, but that doesn't bother me as long as I have some type of service. Especially since even a few inches of distance can be the difference between 4g and 3g service, it seems.

If you are on the fence about a refurb, it is understandable. But you should definitely see an improvement over the one you have. Like others have said, refurbs are examined by human hands and repaired accordingly, it's essentially a brand new phone.

 

[HikenGruven]

Here is list of three different screenshots. I guess I'll take it back to Verizon and see what they say. I can tell you that my phone couldn't even load mobile freindly web pages at this time, while the iPhone could. I don't know why, but the third screenshot won't load. Trust me when I say, the signal was the same as the other two Nexus screenshots.

 

[Crankintopwater69]

Here is list of three different screenshots. I guess I'll take it back to Verizon and see what they say. I can tell you that my phone couldn't even load mobile freindly web pages at this time, while the iPhone could. I don't know why, but the third screenshot won't load. Trust me when I say, the signal was the same as the other two Nexus screenshots.

Call the 1-800 and talk to a tech,he/she may exchange Nexus for S3.God Bless:biggrin:

 

[HikenGruven]

Call the 1-800 and talk to a tech,he/she may exchange Nexus for S3.God Bless:biggrin:

I called and they would only offer me a refurb. I took it and the interesting thing is that this one is a different model # that the tech person claimed has a fixed antenna. My old Nexus was i5i5. The one sent to me is i5i5v. Not really any improvement though. I guess it is just a fact of life with this phone. Would the S3 really be better? I just assumed it would have another bad Samsung antenna radio issues.

 

[dezymond]

The radios in the S3 are significantly better than the ones in the Nexus. For the week I had an S3 I noticed the difference too. However, this was before the JB radios were released, but I think hardware wise they use better/stronger radios in the S3.

 

[HikenGruven]

Even if I talked them into giving me one, that locked boot loader would be beyond frustrating. Signal issues aside, it's way to easy to tinker with the GNex.

 

[dezymond]

There is an unlocked bootloader available for the sg3 last time I heard.

 

[Domestic violence]

my GNex would drop the data signal so frequently, VZW offered me the SGS3 or the Razr Maxx. i chose the Maxx based solely on battery life... and they also let me pick up a 32gb SD card after the Maxx was delivered and the Nexus didnt have one.

at the time, i was leery of another Samsung device AND i wouldve had to buy a battery/cover, which i didnt want to do since they were CLNR's