1. KarlyT's Avatar
    Okay... so my 8830's trackball had gone wacky and I called Verizon... no problem, they would replace it under warranty.

    In the meantime, I used a soft toothbrush and cleaned the trackball...started working fine, still is.

    Verizon store rep tried to convince me to keep the new one when it arrived. I said I would think about it. Went to pick it up today... a store rep had already opened the box (wasn't supposed to, but glad she did).

    Where is my new 8830???? Right here? OHHHHHHHHH.... You mean the REFURBISHED 8830 that I'm looking at????????

    Fair warning. If you have your phone replaced under warranty, you will apparently receive a REFURBISHED unit (no box, no battery, no 'nuttin', sticker clearly scraped off inside back and replaced with another).

    I plan to send back the refurbished one. At least I know the BB that I've already got. This may be why so many people still have problems with their BB's after they've been replaced.

    Am I being unreasonable?
    04-03-08 03:37 PM
  2. sunkast's Avatar
    This is very common with all carriers.
    04-03-08 03:48 PM
  3. Garz's Avatar
    They only give you a new if it's within 30 days of the original purchase.
    04-03-08 03:51 PM
  4. Solachica's Avatar
    I got my BB replaced and it wasn't refurbished.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    04-03-08 04:14 PM
  5. Garz's Avatar
    I got my BB replaced and it wasn't refurbished.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

    That may be with the carrier where your from but not normal here in the US. They have given new ones if the model was discontinued or out of refurbished ones.
    04-03-08 04:17 PM
  6. Jared DiPane's Avatar
    the refurbs have the same warranty, so if you have a problem with it, then you get another one, no big deal.
    04-03-08 04:59 PM
  7. BlackBerry.est08's Avatar
    I don't see what the big deal is. When I got mine, it looked brand new. the plastic film was on the screen as well as the micro SD plate at the back, you wouldn't have known it was a refurb. The refurb is probably in way better condition as your original so don't see your problem and if the refurb works, isn't that all that matters?
    04-03-08 06:37 PM
  8. uncheels23's Avatar
    ya i don't think its a big deal
    04-03-08 06:53 PM
  9. JRSCCivic98's Avatar
    I don't like the idea of getting a refurb either, but believe me that the refurbs are like OEM new. The refurbs come directly from RIM and are returned to factory new status. However, I do agree that they really should be replaced with NEW ones. After it's out of warranty, they should start replacing them with refurbs.

    The ones you have to watch out for are the ones replaced by the insurance company. I've had a client replace one through T-Mobile insurance company and that thing looked like it was made in China.

    BTW, as a wakeup call.... even laptops/PCs replaced under warranty completely from places like Dell, IBM, Acer are factory refurbs.
    Last edited by JRSCCivic98; 04-03-08 at 07:17 PM.
    04-03-08 07:13 PM
  10. KarlyT's Avatar
    Thanks for the input on refurbs!

    Mine is working fine, and I'd rather not go through the hassle of changing everything over. There doesn't seem to be a good enough reason.
    04-03-08 07:29 PM
  11. princessalannah2's Avatar
    I wo;rk for VZW and SOMETIMES they are refurbished. Not always. The manufacter deems them "like new" and uses them as warranty replacements after the 30 days. If you have problems with your "refurbished" model, you still have your original 1 yr warranty.
    04-03-08 08:27 PM
  12. CellGeek#CB's Avatar
    That is a Verizon ripoff and one of the reasons that I have Sprint. I also have Sprint because they don't cripple the phone like Verizon.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    04-04-08 02:46 AM
  13. Sammythebarber's Avatar
    the refurbs have the same warranty, so if you have a problem with it, then you get another one, no big deal.
    Some of the aftermarket programs you purchase cannot be used on a new phone. I had my BB for 3 days. Right after I purchased (I think) Pocketday for about $35 the trackball went. Took it back to Verizon and they replaced it. But as far as my $35 for the program...SOL
    04-04-08 06:10 AM
  14. Jay588's Avatar
    mine is a refurb, and so far so good. If you put a brand new and my refurb beside eachother I couldn't tell the difference really. nice catch
    04-04-08 07:47 AM
  15. bmtbandit's Avatar
    That is a Verizon ripoff and one of the reasons that I have Sprint. I also have Sprint because they don't cripple the phone like Verizon.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Sprint does the same thing. Oh and I have Verizon cause their service actual works.
    04-04-08 08:15 AM
  16. JazzeeJEF's Avatar
    Almost always the case with any replaced phone
    04-04-08 08:59 AM
  17. JRSCCivic98's Avatar
    I wo;rk for VZW and SOMETIMES they are refurbished. Not always. The manufacter deems them "like new" and uses them as warranty replacements after the 30 days. If you have problems with your "refurbished" model, you still have your original 1 yr warranty.
    Ain't no "sometimes". It's ALWAYS. Get it right. Amazing how even the employees don't know. What do you think happens to all the phones people turn in with problems? You think VZW gives them a military funeral and sends them into outer space for the long journey? No, they go back to the manufacturer to fix and then get returned and used as refurb replacements when others turn their bad phones in with problems. Why do you think the insurance on the phones shipped is only a max of $100? Because they aren't worth anything more? I don't think you work high enough in your organization to know a lot of these things.... err, "the truth".
    04-04-08 09:07 AM
  18. Brother_Jebadiah's Avatar
    Ain't no "sometimes". It's ALWAYS. Get it right. Amazing how even the employees don't know. What do you think happens to all the phones people turn in with problems? You think VZW gives them a military funeral and sends them into outer space for the long journey? No, they go back to the manufacturer to fix and then get returned and used as refurb replacements when others turn their bad phones in with problems. Why do you think the insurance on the phones shipped is only a max of $100? Because they aren't worth anything more? I don't think you work high enough in your organization to know a lot of these things.... err, "the truth".

    Wow, that was mean and pointless.
    04-04-08 11:47 AM
  19. Care56's Avatar
    my pearl stopped charging so instead of fixing it they gave me a refurbished phone. Like you i think it is wrong, I paid for the extended warrenty. they said all carriers do this. so far no problems but i think it is wrong.
    04-04-08 12:15 PM
  20. JRSCCivic98's Avatar
    Wow, that was mean and pointless.
    Wasn't meant to be mean and certainly not pointless. Fact of the matter is what he/she posted was incorrect. I guess depending on how you read things, the truth can seem hurtful sometimes, but it is the truth. Sorry if you misread the tone. Directness/truthfulness is by no means mean, unless you are too sensative to deal with being wrong on occasion. Perhaps I should change my name to Dr. Gregory House...
    04-04-08 03:13 PM
  21. BlackBerry.est08's Avatar
    I could understand why people would get the impression that just because you buy an extended warranty, that you would automatically get a NEW phone. All the extended warranty means is that you will be covered for any costs (buying a new phone) and does NOT mean getting a new phone. Instead of you having to buy or getting your phone repaired and paying for it, your carrier will handle that. This is what was explained to me when I got my warranty, I would get me a refurbished phone straight from RIM if something were to happen to my phone. If you were told otherwise, then you were lied to. This is the same for most electronics. For example, if you go to Best Buy or wherever and you buy an iPod with the extended warranty, if something happens to your iPod, they will ship it out and get it repaired and you pay nothing, you DON'T get a new iPod. I could understand if it was under 30 days, but after that, getting a refurb seems reasonable.
    04-04-08 03:30 PM
  22. KarlyT's Avatar
    mine is a refurb, and so far so good. If you put a brand new and my refurb beside each other I couldn't tell the difference really. nice catch
    I remember reading somewhere that small refurbished electronics usually get new housings. That's would sure make a phone look new.

    To JRSCCivic98 that said: "...used as refurb replacements when others turn their bad phones in with problems. Why do you think the insurance on the phones shipped is only a max of $100?"

    I can vouch for that. The FedEx return label says: "Declared Value- $100." Must be a ton of profit on these phones.
    04-04-08 03:31 PM
  23. Sammythebarber's Avatar
    In the old days you could opt simply to have your phone repaired. I don't know whether that is still possible.
    04-04-08 04:11 PM
  24. KarlyT's Avatar
    Every time I make up my mind to seal the box on the "new" refurbished under-warranty replacement and ship it back to Verizon, the trackball inconsistently starts going a little crazy again... won't scroll down or won't scroll up... won't move at all.... then it's okay again (whether or not I do resets).
    INPUT NEEDED!
    If any of you had to make the choice between cleaning the trackball yourself and voiding the warranty (should it be ever be found out by Verizon), or keeping the refurb and restoring programs, etc. (kind of starting from scratch), what would you do?
    I'm really torn- and yes, I'm aware that this is ultimately no big deal- I'm just attached to my current BB!
    04-05-08 11:17 AM
  25. JRSCCivic98's Avatar
    Karly, I have replaced mine a couple of times for various problems. Take a close look at the new one and test if fully. If it looks prestine and functions just like a new one, then it's really no different then a new one. In the end it's mostly in your mind anyway. I agree with you on pricipal that the replacements should be "new", but in reality, unless the replacement has some kind of quirk that you don't like and it's in perfect condition, who cares? Honestly, I'm typing this on a replacement laptop that was refurbished by the factory. The new one I had bought had nothing but problems and went in for repairs 4 times before I raised the bar and asked for a complete replacement. While it was refurbished, it was prestine and had it not been for the sticker on the bottom stating refurbished, I would have thought it was new-in-box. It's been over 2 years and not a peep out of it. Better then the new one I had bought.

    In the end, if there's something wrong with the replacement they will send you another one while you're within your 1 year warranty. Also, 3 replacements of the same unit and the 4th will be new-in-box if you make them aware of problems you've had with refurbs.... if any. That's how it works.

    If you're really scared to take a chance on a cheap thing as a phone let me bring up another scarry subject. Did you know that if a car is damaged during shipping enough that it does not have to be totaled that it will just be repaired and still sold "as new". That's right, there are no laws that state the manufacturer have to tell you if there was fixed damage on a new car during shipping. How about that one? If you don't believe me on this, do a search for a recent shipment of BMW M3 and 135i cars that were damaged with a container ship tipped. While some were totaled, a good bit of the cars were fixed and then sent out to dealers with no details as to the fixes of the damage. The cars will be sold as new with no disclosure of the fixes at all. Don't you just love big business?
    04-05-08 11:38 AM
60 123
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD