[mojo pin]

Okay... I'm really getting tired of dealing with all these issues that resulted in having my housing changed. Granted, some of the problems were due to user error but regardless, I'm sick of it. I've blown way too much money on this whole venture (including everything I've had to buy to "fix" the problems). And I haven't even bought a bt headset yet to compensate for not having an earphone jack that works.

So now I'm weighing my options. As far as I can see it, I've got three:

1. Do an insurance claim at Alltel. They have only new Curves in, no refurbs, so I'd get a brand new phone. This option includes me leaving the phone alone and not attempting to change housing again and just being happy with a phone that actually works properly, even though I hate the color. (This would be very hard for me.)

2. Do an insurance claim, get a brand new Curve, and switch the housing again doing it the RIGHT way this time. Which, from the way it sounds, could still cause some problems and I could be right back to where I am now. (Not feeling great about that either.)

3. I've been checking on ebay and have found two sellers with excellent feedback who have new (not refurbs) pink Curves for Alltel for a decent price. I could sell the Curve I have now on ebay, along with the housing changing kit and red and pink housings (with all accessories that came with the phone too) and probably get about what it would cost to get the new one. You figure I'd be paying $100 to do an insurance claim anyway, so it's not a bad deal. This way might actually be cheaper and spares me the opportunity to screw up a new phone by doing a housing change myself. The problem with this one is, I can't sell mine until I have a new one. I don't have any kind of phone I can use as a back-up. So I'd have to come up with the money to buy the new one first. Not to mention the whole issue of insurance. I would get it through SquareTrade which actually sounds like a pretty good deal, except they only cover electrical/mechanical problems and accidental damage. In other words, if I were to ever try to change my housing on it and had problems, I couldn't do a claim. At least if I go through Alltel again, I know I've got that insurance backing me no matter what.

Sorry for such a long, rambling thread... I'm just trying to figure out what I should do and was hoping to get some advice on here. I do love the Curve but I'm really tired of dealing with all the problems and just want to start all over with a different one. What sounds like the best option?

[Fabmaclover]

well for #1 you can always put a skin or a hard cover to deal with the color of the phone.. it seems for me the best for you to avoid problems and better deal

#2, i dont see why it will be a problem again but i am sure you will have to add $ from your pocket

because #3.. we never know on ebay, if already you re trying to avoid problem , ebay can be good or bad it s 50/50 .. so dont push the bad luck

[ibbeach0]

Seems to me you have your heart set on having a red or pink case. That pretty much leaves option #3. Unless you do an insurance claim first then get one off ebay and sell your new one on e-bay. You may end up putting more out to begin with but in the long run be ahead of the game.

[mojo pin]

well for #1 you can always put a skin or a hard cover to deal with the color of the phone.. it seems for me the best for you to avoid problems and better deal

#2, i dont see why it will be a problem again but i am sure you will have to add $ from your pocket

because #3.. we never know on ebay, if already you re trying to avoid problem , ebay can be good or bad it s 50/50 .. so dont push the bad luck

All good points, thank you for your input. For the month and a half that I had my Curve in its original state, I used all kinds of skins and hard cases to try to make it better. It just wasn't doing it for me. This is going to sound ridiculous, but more than minding the color of the actual phone, I despise the black keypad. For some odd reason, it just makes it hard for me to text on it. Since I've changed my housing and my keypad is now silver, I the keys just seem bigger to me or something... I don't know, it's hard to explain.

You're definitely right with never being sure about buying on ebay... That's what makes me nervous. BUT, I would have the SquareTrade insurance which covers ANY electrical/mechanical malfunctions AND accidental damage for 2 years. Plus the seller offers a 15 day return policy. So if there IS anything wrong with it, I can always file a claim or send it back within that 15day period.

I'm really struggling with this. lol Any reasonable, sane person would just do the insurance claim and leave it at that. *sigh*

Seems to me you have your heart set on having a red or pink case. That pretty much leaves option #3. Unless you do an insurance claim first then get one off ebay and sell your new one on e-bay. You may end up putting more out to begin with but in the long run be ahead of the game.

I think that if I just sold the one I have now, with all the extras and accessories, I should make about enough to buy the new one on ebay. I'm sure I wouldn't end up having to pay more than $100, which is what I'd pay for the insurance claim. So I don't think I'd come out too badly. That's not a bad idea you had though... I hate how I make such simple things into complicated matters.

[plunkingtom]

I have had good luck on ebay but maybe I was just lucky.

Beware of new phones or at least make sure the esn is clear...I know some carriers are offering a free bb if you buy one but I do not know if there is a contract attached..

[One2Many]

ive havent had any problems on ebay b4 i'll go for it and skip the headaches.

[XxTRCxX]

Ebay is ok to buy from as long as you read all the feedback.

[CeoStatus0]

I say.. if you have insurance, you might as well make use of it.

As far as the housing situation.. what went so wrong?

[HellKatzX]

Yeah what did you do that screwed it up so bad?

[Blacklatino]

Okay... I'm really getting tired of dealing with all these issues that resulted in having my housing changed. Granted, some of the problems were due to user error but regardless, I'm sick of it. I've blown way too much money on this whole venture (including everything I've had to buy to "fix" the problems). And I haven't even bought a bt headset yet to compensate for not having an earphone jack that works.

So now I'm weighing my options. As far as I can see it, I've got three:

1. Do an insurance claim at Alltel. They have only new Curves in, no refurbs, so I'd get a brand new phone. This option includes me leaving the phone alone and not attempting to change housing again and just being happy with a phone that actually works properly, even though I hate the color. (This would be very hard for me.)

2. Do an insurance claim, get a brand new Curve, and switch the housing again doing it the RIGHT way this time. Which, from the way it sounds, could still cause some problems and I could be right back to where I am now. (Not feeling great about that either.)

3. I've been checking on ebay and have found two sellers with excellent feedback who have new (not refurbs) pink Curves for Alltel for a decent price. I could sell the Curve I have now on ebay, along with the housing changing kit and red and pink housings (with all accessories that came with the phone too) and probably get about what it would cost to get the new one. You figure I'd be paying $100 to do an insurance claim anyway, so it's not a bad deal. This way might actually be cheaper and spares me the opportunity to screw up a new phone by doing a housing change myself. The problem with this one is, I can't sell mine until I have a new one. I don't have any kind of phone I can use as a back-up. So I'd have to come up with the money to buy the new one first. Not to mention the whole issue of insurance. I would get it through SquareTrade which actually sounds like a pretty good deal, except they only cover electrical/mechanical problems and accidental damage. In other words, if I were to ever try to change my housing on it and had problems, I couldn't do a claim. At least if I go through Alltel again, I know I've got that insurance backing me no matter what.

Sorry for such a long, rambling thread... I'm just trying to figure out what I should do and was hoping to get some advice on here. I do love the Curve but I'm really tired of dealing with all the problems and just want to start all over with a different one. What sounds like the best option?

I purchased my first Curve on ebay and worked without any issues. However, ebay is a Buyer beware site. I checked out the seller for any negative comments, his/her overall rating, and the response/resolution regarding issues from past buyers. Also checked to see if the seller had any issues/attitude about answering my questions....and I had a list of them. Hope this helps you.

[mojo pin]

I say.. if you have insurance, you might as well make use of it.

As far as the housing situation.. what went so wrong?

Yeah what did you do that screwed it up so bad?

Where to begin... haha Okay, I was only changing the battery door cover, faceplate, and keypad. Simple enough, right? Well, I had my boyfriend change it out for me because I didn't trust myself to do it. I'd read the tutorial hundreds of times and had it down. (I realize now I should have watched some youtube videos too.) When I told him he didn't need to take the side rails off to get the faceplate off and that that was what the plastic pry tool was for, he tried it very briefly and then said it felt like he was going to break the faceplate if he continued because it wasn't budging. He said he was sure you had to take the rails off. So, trusting him and not wanting to risk breaking the faceplate and figuring I was just misunderstanding the directions, I let him go ahead and take them off.

When he was putting it back together, he broke off a part of one of the side rails, which made the rail not go back on correctly. So a couple days later he had to take it apart and change the rail. Then after that, I noticed that the upper left side of the lens was pulling away from the housing. I spent about $20 in double sided adhesive to fix it, had him open it up again just the other night to fix that, and he wasn't able to. He tried to remove the whole lens but said that since the rest was still very securely fastened, he was afraid he'd mess something up if he kept pulling at it. So now the lens is still sticking up, allowing dust to get in, and I wasted that much money on the adhesive that I can't even use. I just feel like I'm continually blowing money on a phone that's never going to be right again and I don't really have a lot of extra money to spare at this point.

Oh and I forgot to mention that when he initially took the side rails off, I lost the use of my earphone jack. So on top of all the other problems, I'd have to buy a BT headset for audio use if I wanted to use my mp3 player again (which I do).

I'm just tired of messing with it and only creating new problems each time I try to get one of the previously existing ones fixed. I know this all probably makes me sound like an i.d.iot, but really, I felt I had researched everything pretty well. I just made the mistake of having someone who wasn't familiar with the whole process do it for me. I guess everyone's gotta learn somewhere.

I've decided to go the ebay route. I thoroughly checked their feedback which is 99.9% positive (only 1 negative out of almost 1000 sales). I emailed with some questions and received a good reply so I think I'll go through them. Their customers seem to be very pleased. I'll just make sure I do the insurance.

[john.coleman]

Sorry to hear you have had so much trouble. I bought my housings from GSM4WORLD off of eBay, and so far, they both seem to be of identical quality to the original housing (no lens separation, chipping, etc.). I hope that helps.

[berrydew]

Ebay is ok to buy from as long as you read all the feedback.

I agree with you, always check for feedbacks.