[Q] Need suggest about buying broken SmartPhone - General Questions and Answers

Dear forumers,
I would like to have your suggestion.
I thought to get a phone but as all phones that I want are kinda expensive even from 2nd hand. I thought to buy 2-3 broken phones from ebay and make 1 completely working. of course I'm not the only "smart-ass" but should I try to?
I have experience fixing Nokia's and Motorola's phones.
If in your opinion I should try, which phone would you suggest me? (I thought about HTC HD2 because it can run almost all OSes out there except iOS) Please do not suggest me an iPhone, my sis owns one and I feel there is something missing in this OS (maybe it just me)
so your thoughts?

Well if you have experience in such things, why not if it gives you a good deal.
I would aim for phones where you have to replace the screen, they are usually the most common broken phones.

I would check to see how much the broken phones on eBay are selling for first of all, to see if buying two broken ones would even be cost effective compared to buying one okay one. For example, one broken Incredible on eBay right now is buy it now for around $140, while a working one is buy it now for around $180, so buying two to make one working one at these prices would be a dumb idea. If you can find broken ones for cheaper and you think you can do the fixes I would go for it. Like the above poster, I think that phones with a shattered screen would probably be your best shot.

well I found another option, I found really cheap motorola milestone which is blocked (bad ESN), will it be hard to unblock and prevent any future blocking

Related

[Q] Is this a good deal for me?

Okay, so I bought a sidekick 4g on ebay for $26. Only like a small portion of the touch screen worked. So I bought a touch screen digitizer on ebay for $19 and replaced it for myself.The thing is the buyer didn't list in the description that the IMEI was blocked, which means that I won't be able to register to any networks at all. So basically this was a media player to me. Then I listed it on ebay for $95, thinking nobody would buy it. But it turns out somebody did buy it which shocked me cause who would wanna buy a $96 media player? But, right now I'm kind of hesitant whether I should sell this or not, cause this is the only phone/media player I have, and I really seem to like this phone now, it's decent. I LOVE the keyboard. So my question to you is, Is this a good deal for me? And if there any other phones out there I can get for the price that I sold this phone for? MAybe around 100 bucks?
Eh, for a little more than 100 and some searching, you might be able to get your hands on a decent g2.
I returned a G2 to switch to the SK4G. There is no better phone on the market for me (read: no better keyboard). For a media-player though, I'd think touch-screen would be fine, so just get the fastest Android you can find. Ton's of sub $100 options on eBay.
Ugh. I can't find any good cheap phones. Anyone wanna thrw out any names?
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium

Shift Front Key Sensor - Where Can I buy one?

This: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HTC-EVO-Shi...472?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a20104c60
I need one of these as i ripped the one in my fiance's phone. 25$ is a little pricy, and I almost just thought about buying a phone with a broken screen/digitizer and taking it out of there, but cheapest i can find on that front is $40-60. All the sites i've contacted that sell the digitizers and front housing assemblies do not carry this piece. Is it really that rare?
Any help is appreciated.
It's a bit high, not by much. I've found it for cheaper, but you have to buy more than one unfortunately.
Oh well then. I know I'd seen the digitizers ranging from $22-$45, and then found it on amazon for under $7, so i thought I'd ask around, see if maybe someone knew about a site I didn't.
I'd still do a bit more searching. You never know . You might come across another site that's cheaper. I usually search around for at least a few days before buying. Another approach you may want to try is searching for places that sell parts for the OG EVO 4G. They usually also sell parts for the Shift, and other HTC Devices.
Found it on that store's website for $10 cheaper. Link for anyone else who may need it:
https://www.gounlock.com/details.php?itemId=8015
or found completely by accident, incidently after i've already ordered the other one, for $8.99
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HTC-EVO-SHI...214?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4168a57d46

[Q] Just a bad screen or something more?

It looks like my HTC Evita has passed away from old age, I'm looking to get a G2 (would really like a G3 but it's not out yet) and was looking at this one on ebay. I'm unsure if it's just somethign that can be resolved by getting a new display or if it's a deeper issure. Anyone have any thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-G2-D800-...1189326242?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item46204865a2
PS If anyone is looking to sell a G2, I'm looking to buy
I wouldn't buy it if I were you. But if you think you can replace the screen and has done it before, then go ahead. Otherwise, it's a very risky investment there. I am tempted for the G3 too but I've heard that it'd be at least $850 unlocked so I'll stick to my G2 which I got for $400

Screen smashed - need advice

Hey, guys. So, what happened is my XT925 fell screen straight down on ceramic tiles and the display just shattered. Well, the glass shattered, all right, but the display seems gone, since it no longer lights up at all, not a single bit of it. I have it connected to my monitor via hdmi and it's still up running and I'm keeping it connected to the PC to keep it up and running for not sure what reason. The digitizer is gone, too, it does not respond to touch anywhere.
The reason it just smashed is the freaking horrible case I got for it which didn't even hold on properly on that side, so there was nothing to hold it from smashing to the floor screen-first. Boy do I now regret going for the cheapest possible case, instead of buying a premium for something that would actually provide some protection to the thing.
Thing is, though, I really love this thing. It has been giving me everything I want from a smartphone for the past few months and I really want to get it fixed. The biggest trouble to this goal is that I live in Serbia, so shipping can cost aaa looot.
First thing that cross my mind, naturally, was looking for a new screen. On ebay I found chinese ones for ~$90, and some supposedly OEM ones from the US at ~110, but they included the whole front of the case plus a small toolkit, which is awesome, and I would definitely go for that before the chinese one.
But, then, I thought about something else. Finding a bricked XT926M, the HD MAXX, and making a hybrid of the two. I'd use the case, display and the battery of the MAXX and everything else from my phone. Although I'm not sure if all the sensors and the front camera are working (using keyboard to control Lollipop sucks ), so all the spare parts from the Maxx would be great to have just in case.
Now, problem is I can't find one. Does anyone know where I should look besides ebay? Even there most people are not willing to ship internationally. I can pay via paypal, that's not an issue.
So, in short, my questions are these - can a new whole front of the Razr HD (OEM) be found for less than a 100 bucks? Or where I could find a bricked HD Maxx in a very good condition exterior-wise? Please point me to somewhere, as I'd really love to get the poor thing back together And then get a proper case for it.
(Not sure if I should call on someone personally... @iBolski @Zeljko1234 @[] AL [] @bweN diorD @DorianX ?(sorry guys if you consider this spam))
I would browse through this help forum looking for the few threads where some other members had bricked phones. There was a good hand full if not more. Maybe you can arrange (via pm) to pay them the shipping to send it to you.
I don't think that would violate the rules of Xda, as there phone is basically trash anyway.
Sent from my G3, rockin Illusion
bweN diorD said:
I would browse through this help forum looking for the few threads where some other members had bricked phones. There was a good hand full if not more. Maybe you can arrange (via pm) to pay them the shipping to send it to you.
I don't think that would violate the rules of Xda, as there phone is basically trash anyway.
Sent from my G3, rockin Illusion
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I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. I mean, PM stuff should really be private stuff... I was thinking about adding a "[WTB] A bricked XT926M in good shape" to my signature but that would surely be too much.
Also, are there any other places where I could look besides ebay?
And do you think my idea makes sense?
niksy+ said:
I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. I mean, PM stuff should really be private stuff... I was thinking about adding a "[WTB] A bricked XT926M in good shape" but that would surely be too much.
Also, are there any other places where I could look besides ebay?
And do you think my idea makes sense?
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You can try Swappa, but broken phones of any nature aren't allowed there.
Your idea sounds reasonable, but I'm really no expert in that area.
Sent from my G3, rockin Illusion
There are so many bricked HD's around here... I didn't have a clue. Thought they were unbrickable, at least the unlocked ones. I'll try contacting some of those guys. It's not very cool, trying to get the carcasses of their dead RAZR HD's, but I hope I'll find someone willing to work it out with me.
Also, I must hand it to you, man. You seem to be the most helpful member in this section of the HD forum, it's remarkable. You and DorianX seem to be the locals around here. Huge respect for the two of you!
I'm not really that helpful ?
Poor thing looks as if it were on life support. Turned it off now, no reason to keep it running and I can turn it on again any time, anyway.
Still looking for parts, so... If anyone's got more tips, do share, please!
niksy+ said:
Poor thing looks as if it were on life support. Turned it off now, no reason to keep it running and I can turn it on again any time, anyway.
Still looking for parts, so... If anyone's got more tips, do share, please!
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Unfortunately, I can't really help other than what was suggested. I already traded mine in when I got my new phone (LG G3), so I don't have it anymore.
eBay is your best bet. Just research the seller really well. Stay away from any new sellers. That's not to say all new sellers are bad, but you just never know. Pretty much any sellers with really high ratings are legit (depending on how many people have reviewed them). I usually look for sellers that have been around for years and have over 1k ratings and look to see how many other items they've sold.
Other than that, not sure what else you can do.
iBolski said:
Unfortunately, I can't really help other than what was suggested. I already traded mine in when I got my new phone (LG G3), so I don't have it anymore.
eBay is your best bet. Just research the seller really well. Stay away from any new sellers. That's not to say all new sellers are bad, but you just never know. Pretty much any sellers with really high ratings are legit (depending on how many people have reviewed them). I usually look for sellers that have been around for years and have over 1k ratings and look to see how many other items they've sold.
Other than that, not sure what else you can do.
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Hey, that's still advice, so thanks, mate I'm not a newbie at e-commerce, I've been doing it for years (albeit only locally, within Serbian borders) so I kind of now what to look for... But I was hoping there would be someone on the forums with a XT925/6/M he no longer needs. Oh, well, I'll keep my eyes open for a good deal, thanks guys!
Damn my phone's screen was broken 2 days ago [emoji24] is the second time [emoji35] , I really like that device but I don't want to fix it again I want to try a new one [emoji16] (Sony Xperia Z1 (cuz I found it very attractive and is in my price range)) I'll give the RAZR to my girlfriend and let her pay for the screen [emoji38].
I'll keep an eye in this device section anyway, good luck with your search.
DorianX said:
Damn my phone's screen was broken 2 days ago [emoji24] is the second time [emoji35] , I really like that device but I don't want to fix it again I want to try a new one [emoji16] (Sony Xperia Z1 (cuz I found it very attractive and is in my price range)) I'll give the RAZR to my girlfriend and let her pay for the screen [emoji38].
I'll keep an eye in this device section anyway, good luck with your search.
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Sorry to hear that, mate Last time you broke it, did you buy an OEM new one or one of the cheaper replacements available from China? And, if you ordered the one from China, how good or bad was it? I'm scared that if I order the cheaper one, I might end up with a non-AMOLED-who-knows-how-bad screen covered with non--gorilla glass and with a lousy digitizer... Am I too paranoid?
I bought the "cheaper" one I say cheaper cuz I only pay like $50 for the RAZR on 18 months plan and the China screen it cost $110 free shipping (like 1 year ago) was good I think the same as OEM, I think you are to paranoid [emoji38]

Warning - Fake screens on eBay

Hello fellow Nexus 4 users.
http://imgur.com/a/mDmv2
I replaced my N4 screen after an unfortunate drop with a replacement assembly available on eBay for approx £35 including frame, digitizer and LCD.
The colours of the screen were appalling. See images in the link. There are counterfeit screens circulating.
May our N4s live on forever more!
cookiem0nster said:
Hello fellow Nexus 4 users.
http://imgur.com/a/mDmv2
I replaced my N4 screen after an unfortunate drop with a replacement assembly available on eBay for approx £35 including frame, digitizer and LCD.
The colours of the screen were appalling. See images in the link. There are counterfeit screens circulating.
May our N4s live on forever more!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear that. Today you can get anything fake from ebay.
Though, it wouldn't be bad if you put link to that buyer or item
The seller has dealt with the issue well so far, I'm not sure they knew they were selling a fake screen. I will post further details if I am not compensated/refunded.
Are you certain it's a counterfeit and not a re-sold piece that had actually failed QA/QC?
I don't think it's possible for an authentic screen to be of such poor quality. You could be right - I dont know much about LCD manufacture
Wondering if it is even worth replacing these parts on a phone that's over 2 years old. Not sure about pricing in UK but here in the US you can pick up a mint or refurbished one for close to the price you paid. If I busted my N4 I think I would prob have to move on and get a newer phone although I would miss perhaps the most perfect phone ever made.
I'm actually debating what to do with a N5 I have with a cracked screen sell it as is or try and find a replacement. The problem I'm Runing into is finding a stock LCD that is not cracked and makes sense price wise. If only I had a screen seperator the stupid glass can be had for $5.
kgiri247 said:
Wondering if it is even worth replacing these parts on a phone that's over 2 years old. Not sure about pricing in UK but here in the US you can pick up a mint or refurbished one for close to the price you paid. If I busted my N4 I think I would prob have to move on and get a newer phone although I would miss perhaps the most perfect phone ever made.
I'm actually debating what to do with a N5 I have with a cracked screen sell it as is or try and find a replacement. The problem I'm Runing into is finding a stock LCD that is not cracked and makes sense price wise. If only I had a screen seperator the stupid glass can be had for $5.
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This is the sad truth I've just discovered. I dropped my phone a few months back and now have an unresponsive stripe across my screen...I went looking for a screen replacement to find out I'd only save about $30 as opposed to buying a used mint condition N4. It's not worth the aggravation of doing all that work just to save a couple bucks, IMHO.
Yes I agree. I'm now debating getting a LCD separation machine and try to salvage the digitizer and LCD. Anyone ever attempt such a job?
kgiri247 I know this isn't the place to talk about selling phones but if you do want to sell it I'll more than happily take it off your hands, inbox me if you want to talk numbers! What I do know about separating the LCD and Digitizer is that it's very risky, they're two very delicate pieces of hardware and any mistakes could lead to having an expensive paperweight until you could find a replacement screen for it!
Yeah, it's getting to be a tough decision for a home who has something go wrong on these. I love this phone though as well as the development community for it. I might keep this phone just because the development community is excellent.
However if I had to get a new phone, I saw Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire phone unlocked for $199
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
as far i can see on your images, your screen is original and coming from LG, how many months do you have it? do you have any other synthom than yellowish colours??
Have you double a check for how many fingers you can press? The N4 is 10 right, but some of the really cheap screens only support 5. You'll know very quickly whether it's fake or not.
bought a replacement screen for the n4 and the screen is horrible. has 2 dead pixels and the viewing angles are the worst ive ever seen on a cellphone.
gaboempyrean said:
bought a replacement screen for the n4 and the screen is horrible. has 2 dead pixels and the viewing angles are the worst ive ever seen on a cellphone.
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If it's too good to be true, it usually is I'm afraid. The most expensive parts of a mobile phone are usually the screen and the battery, seeing as both are advanced pieces of technology. Processors, RAM, motherboards etc are cheap in reality, that's why you can buy a pretty powerful Android TV stick for cheap. No battery, no screen.
Nexus 4's are cheap nowadays, smash a screen, it probably isn't worth buying another screen unless you can be guaranteed of OEM'ness. It isn't all that hard to replace a digitizer though, so if your LCD panel is good, it might be worth giving it a try.
Where would you be able to buy a genuine part then?
Is this something you should bite the bullet and send to LG for repair to atleast be guaranteed a genuine part?
Edit
Sorry for bumping an old thread.
I just had mine replaced by LG for a defective ribbon cable which left the touch screen complete unresponsive. I went this route due to all the complaints about bad screens. $160 later, my N4 looks and works great! Pretty expensive though.
I had ordered a replacement from a seller within the US on eBay. I can't seem to find the sale anymore, but it was the real deal.
I had purchased a Nexus 4 and it came with a crappy replacement display, so I ordered a new one and did the swap myself.
It looks like a whole new phone.
Thanks for the info guys!
I'm from the UK like op and I was considering getting the replacement screen myself from ebay but I don't know if the seller replaced the part he gave to op and if it was genuine because they do have some good fakes on ebay.
I might just bite the bullet and do it myself I don't know the price for repair here Reeves360 but I'm sure it'll be similar to what you paid.
These phone manufacturers still charging extortionate prices on a nearly 3 year old phone.
I've long wondered about the legitimacy of the replacement screen I got off eBay. I bought from a seller that had sold a ton of them and had excellent feedback. But the screen always seemed like it was dim (had to crank it all the way up to be as bright as my other devices at 2/3-3/4 max brightness, plus the color is very cool/bluish. But it was always responsive and never had any ghost touches.
However, a couple days ago, it has started to freak out. Occasionally, after touching it, the bottom half or so flashes black. Somtimes it's one flash, sometimes it's a few flashes. It still responds perfectly while doing this, but it's obviously not normal. I disassembled it, gave the connectors a whack of Deoxit and ProGold, and reassembled it, but the glitching still remains, so it's not the connector. I need to try flashing something different (or maybe just dirty flashing LS again) to see if it's ROM or kernel related. I made some changes to Hellscore settings and I finally figured out why my battery life was so atrocious the last few months (it somehow got set minimum 2 cores online), so it's possible I screwed something else up.
If the problem is that it's a fake screen, I doubt the seller was aware.
It was the kernel (settings). Not sure what caused it, but I reflashed the kernel, reinstalled HK manager, and the screen hasn't glitched out since.

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