[eddy4iu]

Came in a brown box with SIM card inserted + battery cover. Clear plastic protectors over top and bottom of front and over camera lens/flash on back BUT NOT ON SCREEN - screen covered with fingerprints. The Verizon rep told me on Christmas Eve that I would receive a new phone - no refurbs available yet. Could the fingerprints be from testing or did I get a refurb? Any thoughts?

Also, do I have to send a battery cover and SIM card back with the original phone?
Thanks!

[ylomnstr]

I got mine the same way, minus the fingerprints. From what people are saying, Verizon "says" that there are no refurbs yet, and that they did this to just speed up shipping on replacements. Sure seems fishy to me though.

[gameson]

how do you get that number on your post subject? I didn't see it in the sticker on the back of the phone after taking the battery out, or the box that came with it...

[eddy4iu]

that make me suspicious.

[cray1000]

i think by now there are refurbs out there. people have been returning them for over a month now, i doubt it takes more than a week or two to end up back at rim, be tested/fixed and sent back out to you.

plus there were probably hundreds of units from before the official launch they had break and they refurbed them.

my bet is that you have a refurb. but imo, who cares, as long as its good and works the way you want. thats most important to me.

[pmas]

eddy, it's new. There are no refurbs yet as of 3 days ago. The fingerprints are nothing to worry about. They handled it, thats all.

[brothamoveson]

Yeah the phone is fine even if it was a refurb. You have to send back everthing they sent you meaning keep your battery and memory. Anything less and you may be charged full retail price.

[eddy4iu]

inside the phone under the battery. The Mfg. date was on the label on the outside of the cardboard wraparound that the phone came in.

[dirtyjersey]

i heard that they were manually flashing the phones to the .75 software prior to shipping them. Perhaps thats why there are fingerprints on the device.

[gameson]

inside the phone under the battery. The Mfg. date was on the label on the outside of the cardboard wraparound that the phone came in.

Oh, no wonder I can't find the mfg date under the battery. But I can see where it was manufactured, Canada... I still can't see the mfg date. can you post a pic of where it's located?

Thanks.

[rockstar323]

I spoke with a friend at Verizon. They work in the dept that does all the replacements. They told me that they didnt have any refurbs yet but they were shipping out used ones that were returned. The BB's get checked out to make sure everything is working, wiped and shipped out in brown boxes.

[TheFarmer]

Hmm........

[czm2000]

Most likely a refurb, from what I was told. I have a refurb coming and they said it would be in a plain brown box. I've had refurbs before and they were the same way. This will be my 4th Storm. The last three were not refurbs and they came in the original packaging, full materials, and the whole nine yards. The rep was very clear that they have refurbs now and that was the quickest way to get one. But I haven't had a lot of luck with new ones, so what's it gonna hurt to try a "pre-enjoyed" one. Like my rep said, people returned them for A LOT of reasons, most commonly because they just couldn't adjust to the phone itself. There's a good chance a lot of them were just fine and besides, they're well aware of the "click issue" and supposedly aren't shipping any out with that problem. Makes sense, cause if they did, the darn things just going to get sent back again. So I figure I might have a better chance given it's been looked over and possibly even fixed. I'm a litle torqued though cause this replacement clicks UNBELEIVABLE! It's just the mic that is shot. But all in all, like cray1000 said, who cares if it's a refurb as long as it works. Besides with how new this thing is, it wouldn't have been used for very long. Oh yeah, and one last thing, if the mic's good on this one, and the screen is crap, I might just have to perform a little surgery, yeah I'd go there, and yeah it's worth the risk Really sick of exchanging

[czm2000]

I spoke with a friend at Verizon. They work in the dept that does all the replacements. They told me that they didnt have any refurbs yet but they were shipping out used ones that were returned. The BB's get checked out to make sure everything is working, wiped and shipped out in brown boxes.

So much on my theory of it being fixed when I get it

Well, we'll see when it comes tomorrow.

[Ratbert90]

The basics are this:

New: full box or brown box with no memory card or battery, but a battery cover.

Refurbished: White box, says CLNR on it, and doesn't come with a memory card, battery OR battery cover.


Good deal?

[ab81]

Came in a brown box with SIM card inserted + battery cover. Clear plastic protectors over top and bottom of front and over camera lens/flash on back BUT NOT ON SCREEN - screen covered with fingerprints. The Verizon rep told me on Christmas Eve that I would receive a new phone - no refurbs available yet. Could the fingerprints be from testing or did I get a refurb? Any thoughts?

Also, do I have to send a battery cover and SIM card back with the original phone?
Thanks!

it's definitely new. think about it - no way something that was assembled on 12/17 would get into circulation, bought, returned, re-imaged, cleaned, re-packaged, and shipped back out to you in 10 days.

don't sweat it. it's new. and you should be glad it's the 21009 build!

and yes, you should send back the battery cover and SIM card. send back the same items they sent you.

[eddy4iu]

it reads like this: Supplier: RIM - 12172008 and it is the third line (over a bar code). You said your box had no label?

[Terrigno]

i heard that they were manually flashing the phones to the .75 software prior to shipping them. Perhaps thats why there are fingerprints on the device.

I definatly agree with this 100%. Not to worry my friend

[gnr-met]

When I got my 2nd replacement I hit the call log by mistake and I saw that someone had made a call on my Storm on 11/11 and it had lasted for 8 seconds. I also got to see the number. Yet my phone seemed new and I got it from BB in a sealed box...

[alengman]

I just got my second replacement. I have the same scenerio. The Verizon rep told me that it was going to be brand new becuase they didnt have any more refubs. The First replacement I got came in a brown box with a sim card and battery cover. It also had a bunch of finger prints on it too. The screen did not click well so I call them up and they sent me a second one. This one came the same way minus the fingers prints. This one is the new build from mexico and so far it has been perfect. Not sure if refurb or not but it works so Im keeping it.

[gameson]

it reads like this: Supplier: RIM - 12172008 and it is the third line (over a bar code). You said your box had no label?

Mine says 19502. As far as the box, it says 041208 (definitely not 12 April, so it must be 4 December). but it's not on the third line. it's the first line above the word "HANDHELD MADE IN CANADA 1"

[steelcityk9cop]

The brown boxes are refurbs.... they come with a Verizon pamphlet that says it's a "Certified Like New" phone. You didn't pay for a refurb when you bought your origional Storm... don't settle for one now!

[markn455]

I got mine the same way, minus the fingerprints. From what people are saying, Verizon "says" that there are no refurbs yet, and that they did this to just speed up shipping on replacements. Sure seems fishy to me though.

Hate to bring bad news, but if you order a replacement, you will likely get a refurb. There are refurbs, I received one on Tuesday before Christmas. They actually "promised" that I would not get a refurb. Even worse, it was one of the first ones that the top and bottom of the screen does not click without extra pressure.

I called support back and explained that I was not happy about receiving a refurb and on top of that, one that the screen click problem was not corrected. They promised a NEW one and sent out priority overnight. The replacement was received, it was a new one made in Mexico.. Works great! Backlight on the screen seems to be whiter, overall, looks much better than my first one or the refurbed replacement unit.

Too bad that I had the problems I had but I am one happy camper now!

Mark
Ball Ground, GA

[jayharper08]

Well I ordered my replacement today. The one I have now is alright except for the fact that reboots about 12 times a day. The new one hs to be better than that right?

[changal]

The brown boxes are refurbs.... they come with a Verizon pamphlet that says it's a "Certified Like New" phone. You didn't pay for a refurb when you bought your origional Storm... don't settle for one now!

not necessarily true. there are field replacement units (fru) which are brand new units sent out in a plain brown box. these are phones that were set aside specifically for customer replacements. i got one fru 3 days after initial release and a second one 2 weeks later - no chance these are refurbs and neither had a "certified like new" insert.