I bought a "HTC Sensation XE" off of taobao. The claim was it was a genuine HTC product and was the Hong Kong model.
Let me first start by saying I'm not 100% sure it is a counterfeit. However at the very least it had modified firmware. When I told the seller all of the information I'm about to reveal to you, she seemed a little surprised. Additionally, Chinese people are usually very honest when it comes to counterfeits. If you ask, they will tell them. They will also tell you when the item has been smuggled to avoid taxes. I asked another seller about his Sensation XE he was selling, he told me it was smuggled from Europe then had a custom rom put on it. Other people have flat out told me when their product was counterfeit using the term "China Special Version."
Here are the details:
1) Visual Inspection: Disclaimer: I've never seen a "genuine" Sensation XE, but I used gsmarena for a reference.
I could not find anything at all on the device that would give it away as a counterfeit. I live in china, and am better at picking out counterfeits than most Chinese people. I pay attention to the small details. Sticker placement, words, dates, colors, and everything else looked 100% genuine. Also the box, the beats earphones and bag, packaging all looked genuine. When I began to suspect something was wrong, I weighed the phone. Most Chinese counterfeits weight significantly less than the genuine.
Here are the results:
Genuine as listed on gsmarena: 151g
Actual weight with battery, sd and sim card: 148g
Again weight, pretty much matched up. Absolutely Nothing to give away that the phone might be counterfeit.
I'll upload some pictures later. In the meantime, look here:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=15412245753
Same seller selling the same phone. Phone looks exactly the same as the pictures.
2) Within android:
Total ram: 369MB
Total User Data: 170 MB
Total Internal Storage: 1179MB
RUU: 708 (can't find a real RUU of 708, so not sure about this. Asia uses 707 and 709)
Really strange stuff here.
3) No HBOOT, has UBOOT
Information from UBOOT:
BB Chip : MT6573
MS Board. : konka73_gb
IMEI : Unknown
Modem ver. : Maui.11amd.w11.37.sp.v30. 2012/01/09 17:06
Bar Code:
062401MT0123458328_16291210
Build Time: 2012 06 27 09:37:00 CST
Uboot Ver. : 2010.06
Kernal Ver.
2.6.35.7 ([email protected]) gcc version 4.4.3 (GCC) #178 PREEMPT Wed Jun 27 09:33:07 CST 2012
Android Ver.: 2.3.6
Sw Ver. :ALPS.GB.FDD2.MP.V4.13
Custom Build verno. : 1340760797
MT6573?? Check the link below for fun information.
http://www.tabletroms.com/forums/cell-phones-smart-phones-hacks-roms/3238-mt6573-phones.html
Additionally, this SOC is usually paired with 512RAM/512ROM which would make since considering the phone has 369MB RAM and 170 userdata.
So the result is I'm shipping the phone back tomorrow after work. If you would like any more information from the phone that might help identify whether it is genuine or not, please let me know quickly before I send it back. I already took lots of pictures but I'm too tired to upload tonight. I'll do it tomorrow.
definitely fake/counterfeit
has pretty much the same specs as the phones listed here
http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Android_Phones/Large_Screen_Android_Phones/
RUU 708 is the HTC Asia HK ROM fyi
RUU_Pyramid_hTC_Asia_HK_1.52.708.3_Radio_10.56.9035.00U_10.14.9035.01_M_release_233081_signed is the one I have as a backup on my system.
The problem is how can I tell a fake from counterfeit now? I buy my phones online because it is normally 20% cheaper. I used to be able to tell buy the battery compartment. This phone was unbelievable in the counterfeiting job they did. I am certain that if you placed it next to a genuine one, you could not tell them apart, until you looked at the software side.
This is really bad. I'm still in shock of the quality of this counterfeit. I saw plenty of people reviewing the phone saying it was genuine and wanting to buy another one. If I didn't have so much experience with Android and such, I would've never known. My guess is easily 90+% of the population would be fooled. Hell, I was fooled until I started rooting around in the settings menu.
Also, what should I do about it? Should I tell HTC? Should I report it to Taobao? Would either of them care?
UPDATE:
I do think I've found one small detail: the genuine phone comes with a big sticker on the back with pictorial instructions on how to open it. The counterfeit comes in a small plastic bag with no sticker.
Also, does the black Sensation XE battery cover, on the center metal portion have a vertical grain to it? I think the genuine does and the counterfeit doesn't.
Definitely fake! Had no hboot, but uboot this is also a sign of a fake. The real deal had h boot. Sorry. Yes it can be tricky to spot fakes. Look on you tube and they have a perfect example of a fake HTC sensation 4g. Very subtle clues to it being fake also. It also had uboot. You need to be very cautious now days when buying. I wish you the best!
Sent from my Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2
realsis said:
Definitely fake! Had no hboot, but uboot this is also a sign of a fake. The real deal had h boot. Sorry. Yes it can be tricky to spot fakes. Look on you tube and they have a perfect example of a fake HTC sensation 4g. Very subtle clues to it being fake also. It also had uboot. You need to be very cautious now days when buying. I wish you the best!
Sent from my Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any links? Can't find any fakes on YouTube for the life of me lol
typci said:
The problem is how can I tell a fake from counterfeit now? I buy my phones online because it is normally 20% cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's that much cheaper, it's a fake.
Simple test.
If it sounds to good to be true, then chances are it's a scam!
Please post some pictures with the actual phone and accessories along with the box it came with. Would love to see how they did it.
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=15412245753
Here's the link to where I bought it from. The pictures on it look just like the phone I bought, box and accessories and everything. I've got to resize my picture before I upload them.
Skipjacks said:
If it's that much cheaper, it's a fake.
Simple test.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That works in the USA, but not in China. I'm used to negotating 30-50% off products before I buy them. Not only do you have genuine and counterfeit products, there are smuggled products to avoid import taxes. They call them "water phones." The don't have a factory warranty on them, but the shop that sells them honors the warranty. These can easily be easily 20-30+% off. Then when you buy something they ask if you want a tax ticket, which you may need for tax filling purposes, but also makes the store have to pay taxes on the item sold. If you don't want a tax ticket you can usually get an extra 5-10% off.
Buying things is complicated in China. Just watch the old women buying vegetables at the market. They'll haggle the seller just to save 10cents on a pound of vegetables.
Anyway, I got a friend at the computer store can get a "water" Sensation XE for a good price. I'll find out more tomorrow morning.
Pictures. The pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Also the phone's screen protector is covered in finger prints.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/341/dsc04193d.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/41/dsc04194t.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/99/dsc04197k.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/62/dsc04199w.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/708/dsc04200ed.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/43/dsc04202q.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/11/dsc04203w.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/217/dsc04204x.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/99/dsc04206s.jpg/
So apart from the processor, pretty much all the other spec, including the look, accessories for the phone are near enough identical? I have an XE and dont think I could tell the difference if they were set side by side.
They have basically used all of the same components, for the housing external and then cut a few corners on the internal guts?
gsmyth said:
So apart from the processor, pretty much all the other spec, including the look, accessories for the phone are near enough identical? I have an XE and dont think I could tell the difference if they were set side by side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything was near perfect. I'm still amazed. It didn't hit me that it might be counterfeit until I tried to load up HBOOT and UBOOT came up. When I saw the internal memory and ram, I thought that the software and partitions had been modified, something that is common on imported phones here in China.
I thoroughly do my research about a seller and a phone before I purchase. Unless you know what your looking for, you'd never know you have a counterfeit. It even has a dual core processor. It's such a good counterfeit that the sellers won't even tell you it's fake (I know it sounds strange, but in China's culture it's normal to tell the customer it's a counterfeit or "China Special Edition as they put it.). I'll pick-up my hopefully genuine "water" sensation XE tomorrow and let you know if I notice anything different
gsmyth said:
They have basically used all of the same components, for the housing external and then cut a few corners on the internal guts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This statement is 100% true. If the internal storage was larger, and had a better optimized version of android (ASOP instead of a sense port), it would actually be a decent phone. Not worth $250, but maybe $200.
If you know more inside information you'd agree not call it counterfeit.
Although looks alike, the inside is totally different. And probably cannot find any other china copy phone have the same board design.
The chip, board and the build are some intermediate designs which the client company decide not to use them for a product line.
Then some chinese manufactors find these designs have "residue value" to make a quick release on to the market.
There are some customers think the HTC look and cheap price is very attractive. But have to admit the phone's performance is really limited because of the low-end hardware parameters. Nevertheless the phone is fully functional.
At this point the design of the outfit will put a lot on the development cost. The easy way is to find an existing mod. Companies who provided those existing mod to cast the front and back cover all have sort of bussiness connections with HTC. There are rumors said HTC kept closed eyes on giving away mods of their out-of-date products for the residue value.
Almost all sellers will honestly tell you it is not real HTC phone. Occationally there different hardware versions, the better the hardware, the more expensive it is.
The bussiness on such sort of mobile products is simply accepted.
Just like many other things, it is experimental. I think it is better to call it "experimental phones".
soma900 said:
Just like many other things, it is experimental. I think it is better to call it "experimental phones".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like this. I also like the "China Special Version." As long as the sellers are upfront and honest about it being "experimental phones", I'm OK with that. Unfortunately, I ask the seller of the one bought 3 times if it was genuine HTC hardware. Her exact words (translated to English) "Don't worry. You'll be able to see for yourself it is genuine when it arrives." That's flat out deception, and since she she knew the average person couldn't tell the difference, she used that to her advantage. The Chinese counterfeiting ability is improving greatly.
Got my genuine HTC Sensation XE today. The two differences I found were the power button (just a tiny bit bigger and more firm) and the grain texture on the back metal portion of the phone where the HTC logo is. So if you go to buy a Sensation XE make sure the power button feels firm and it has the vertical grain texture on the back.
How do they compare in benchmarks and camera quality
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda app-developers app
typci said:
Got my genuine HTC Sensation XE today. The two differences I found were the power button (just a tiny bit bigger and more firm) and the grain texture on the back metal portion of the phone where the HTC logo is. So if you go to buy a Sensation XE make sure the power button feels firm and it has the vertical grain texture on the back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the XE myself and just by looking at the pictures you posted, it's definitely a counterfeit. the backplate inner is missing some details that the genuine one have and everything seems to be not aligned properly on the picture without the battery cover. Never thought there will be fake XEs.. but unfortunately nothing is impossible with china's replica power
"Google Android2.3.6"
"HQD 4.3英寸 Amoled 1600万"
"MSM8260，"
I don`t know Chinesse, but from those 3 things that I just copied from the website, I can clearly say it`s fake without buying it. You always have to remember that you need to read everything. I avoided buying few fakes by just reading exactly specificcations
gallardo5 said:
"Google Android2.3.6"
"HQD 4.3英寸 Amoled 1600万"
"MSM8260，"
I don`t know Chinesse, but from those 3 things that I just copied from the website, I can clearly say it`s fake without buying it. You always have to remember that you need to read everything. I avoided buying few fakes by just reading exactly specificcations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm, msm8260 IS the processor original Sensation XE has. Also, it looks like memory is the same too. (remember 4gb is the FULL memory, before you take away system, ram etc). The only difference is the screen. Well, if anyone would like an AMOLED on a senny, they know what to do . Quality of pics is bad, but housing and back cover DO look like originals. Put them both through some benchmarking please. Also pics of the rom would be interesting to see.
Related
I found this on ebay..
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/NEW-GOLD-243...neBatteries&hash=item4aa9178adc#ht_3268wt_772
any one tried it already ? or is there any review? i cant seem to find any on the web!
btw, its make in Japan.
The look of the battery is really nice.
But 2430
Can't say I've tried it but it looks like crap to me, same as most other batteries on eBay. Who cares if their battery is gold or not?
AWBob said:
Can't say I've tried it but it looks like crap to me, same as most other batteries on eBay. Who cares if their battery is gold or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will try anything to make them seem a bit more plausible
MrGarak said:
They will try anything to make them seem a bit more plausible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, looks way better than the ones in the accessories section
This seems totally fake.
Googling will get you a few discussions on this battery, but the following image should confirm all suspicions.
http://img109.imageshack.us/i/20100708029.jpg/
For this one (1930mAh) it is only 750mAh....
well, i think this is fake and i don't think this is made in Japan, but in mainland china
I'm about 400% sure it is a piece of ****. Unless they are selling some amazing new high density cell technology for only ten quid. If so we need to thank them for not seeking to profit from their industry changing discovery.
-----
Sent from my pimped up Desire HD in association with Rcmix HD v3.3.
its not a gold like metal battery, lol. its just a normal battery wrap in gold sticker.
mmmmm, gold stickers also increase the CPU speed. lol
that really funny.....
I never tried, but look at the cell type Li-Ion Polymer IMHO it's somehow realistic. Maybe not as their ads 2430mAh but somewhere between 1230 and that value. Then 20 bucks is worth to try, any one brave enough to try and report?
You can check the seller's recent feedback and see if anyone bought any from them.
I mean there shouldn't be any harm, its just a battery. Its not like buying an adapter charger, in case of wrong voltage which will fry ur phone.
now, I'm no expert (and there is no end of websites run by battery experts), but there is a limitation as to how many mah can fit into a certain space.
That is, the OEM battery size gives a certain output, and you can probably get a bit more in the same form factor.
But not double Simply don't believe the bull**** out there. Whether it's chinese, japanese, gold or silver.
Older teminal designs allowed manufacturers to market physically bigger batteries with a custom cover, of course that is not an option here.
I am quite happy as long as I can get a day out of the phone, charging overnight.
If you want a 11,000 mah battery, look here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Largest-Capacity-In-The-World+1-AMP-Faster-Charging/dp/B004CHMP50/
There you go, your phone will run forever with that baby hooked up to it.
I bought a 5000 mah pack for about 2/3 the price, mainly since I want to be using the gps for tracking (and being tracked) purposes while out in the country on my mountain bike. Works very well, it's not heavy, it's a bit like having another small phone with you
Its quite likely that most manufacturing overstate the specification, which is a common thing really, not just battery, broadband, harddrive, etc. They always claim it has more then what it actually has.
But on the other hand, I wouldn't go so far calling it a fake, since japs does always paint something gold or silver to suggest higher quality stuff. Because when I was a kid living in asia, I buy a lot of radio control cars from japan and their expensive parts like battery, motors, always has something gold or silver attach to it
Has anyone ever got a decent battery from eBay?
I have been looking and I see a lot of 1500 mah ... but then if you read the fine print they say 1500 mah (+/- 200 mah) which admits that it is just another 1300 mah knock off. How can a legitimate battery be + or - 200 mah...
To bad the battery's coming from Japan are crap.
You want battery's from Hongkong, those are way better.
Anyway i bought a replacement/2nd battery wich had 1600mAh.
But after 2 weeks it wasnt as good as the stock battery wich let me use my phone all day and the 1600mAh one didnt.
HanZie82 said:
To bad the battery's coming from Japan are crap.
You want battery's from Hongkong, those are way better.
Anyway i bought a replacement/2nd battery wich had 1600mAh.
But after 2 weeks it wasnt as good as the stock battery wich let me use my phone all day and the 1600mAh one didnt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Precisely. tbh, I understand we'd all like to believe there are miracle solutions to this, but equally we should understand that this miracle is not going to come from an ebay seller
However few dollars a cheap battery costs you, it ain't much use if it's going to fail after a few hours. And the hassle linked with keeping replacement batteries charged is not worth it either. I had a spare OEM battery for my previous phone, and I got fed up of keeping it ready.
3 solutions:
1) strategies to minimise power consumption (loads of suggestions in this sub-forum)
2) keep it topped up during the day if you're at home/office
3) get an external power pack as I mentioned above, 5000mah variants are (were) GBP23 on Amazon.
A few days ago I dropped my Desire S on the floor so now I need to replace the glass. The phone is still working perfectly so I'm not going to pay the full price at HTC (besides that, I got the phone for free in a contest).
So ofcourse I have done some research, and found out that there isn't a lot of information about the Desire S yet. I did stumble upon this (detailed) guide:
youtube.com/watch?v=FaawEVWZvG4
Although I found this guide, my first question is if anyone knows another/even better guide then this one?
My second question is about the actual Digitizer. I found some sellers on ebay, but I find it extremely difficult to determine whether they are good sellers. Does anyone have any experience with sellers on ebay? Are these digitizers of the same quality as the original? I was thinking of the following sellers:
ebay.com/itm/OEM-HTC-DESIRE-S-SAGA-TOUCH-SCREEN-DIGITIZER-TOOLS-NEW-/310335200835?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item48416b5e43#ht_1742wt_1396
cgi.ebay.nl/Touch-Screen-Digitizer-for-HTC-Desire-S-S510e-S-510-e-/280724382222?pt=UK_Mobiles_Accessories_RL&hash=item415c7a220e#ht_1562wt_1139
cgi.ebay.nl/Genuine-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-For-HTC-Desire-S-UK-/110694016547?pt=UK_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item19c5e0a623#ht_2056wt_905
Any additional tips about this replacement are much appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Note: english is not my first language
If ur in the UK try wefixmac.com they have desire s screens
I've had a few iPhone screens off them, top quality and quick delivery. Not sure about fitting tho
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA Premium App
there are quite a few screens on ebay which claim to be genuine. Not sure if they are but at least you can complain through paypal to get your money back if you don't think the item is genuine. I've only bought a digitizer once before for the iphone 3g from ebay. It turned out to be good quality and it's still in good condition apart from a little dust under the screen which might become an issue, but i think this is an issue anyway with the desire s.
Also, that guide looks pretty good and clear. can't find anything others.
The Yorick said:
A few days ago I dropped my Desire S on the floor so now I need to replace the glass. The phone is still working perfectly so I'm not going to pay the full price at HTC (besides that, I got the phone for free in a contest).
So ofcourse I have done some research, and found out that there isn't a lot of information about the Desire S yet. I did stumble upon this (detailed) guide:
youtube.com/watch?v=FaawEVWZvG4
Although I found this guide, my first question is if anyone knows another/even better guide then this one?
My second question is about the actual Digitizer. I found some sellers on ebay, but I find it extremely difficult to determine whether they are good sellers. Does anyone have any experience with sellers on ebay? Are these digitizers of the same quality as the original? I was thinking of the following sellers:
ebay.com/itm/OEM-HTC-DESIRE-S-SAGA-TOUCH-SCREEN-DIGITIZER-TOOLS-NEW-/310335200835?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item48416b5e43#ht_1742wt_1396
cgi.ebay.nl/Touch-Screen-Digitizer-for-HTC-Desire-S-S510e-S-510-e-/280724382222?pt=UK_Mobiles_Accessories_RL&hash=item415c7a220e#ht_1562wt_1139
cgi.ebay.nl/Genuine-Touch-Screen-Digitizer-For-HTC-Desire-S-UK-/110694016547?pt=UK_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item19c5e0a623#ht_2056wt_905
Any additional tips about this replacement are much appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
Note: english is not my first language
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i bought 2 of ebay.. Ath the moment there is a copy (non-original) digitizer on ebay and i do beleive that most of those sold on ebay are copies.. i got 1 from china and 1 from UK. The UK was copy.. The one from Hong-Kong looked like original..
you can understand the non-original as the symbols & the HTC (logo) are how can i say it "less bold" than the original. and the surface of the digitizer is not as smooth to the finger as the original
Nomader0 said:
i bought 2 of ebay.. Ath the moment there is a copy (non-original) digitizer on ebay and i do beleive that most of those sold on ebay are copies.. i got 1 from china and 1 from UK. The UK was copy.. The one from Hong-Kong looked like original..
you can understand the non-original as the symbols & the HTC (logo) are how can i say it "less bold" than the original. and the surface of the digitizer is not as smooth to the finger as the original
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you remember (or can you look up) the one from Hong Kong? This shop looks pretty genuine to me, beacsue they also sell the "Frame Bezelf Housing Case". I find it hard to believe that they also make copies of those, but I might be wrong. They are also the creators of the guide I posted!
stores.ebay.com/kr-net-store
Thanks for all the replies so far!
i got it from here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180681641967
the thing is that this one looked original, but the back of the digitizer (the circuits & the cable ) was a little bit different than original..
The copy which i got from a UK seller looked as a copy (text symbols and touch wise - it even was a fingertips magnet 200% more than original) but looked exactly like the original from behind (even the cable had the same part numbers etc) clearly a great copy job
so you choose original front or original back
There is quite a lot of sites for this, and I was thinking of trading in my HTC Sensation on http://www.moneyforyourphone.com/home/
Do most of these sites not accept phones that have been softmodded for example S-OFF and custom rom added? Will I have to "un-jailbreak" my phone to trade it in on a site like this?
Thanks.
willhub said:
Do most of these sites not accept phones that have been softmodded for example S-OFF and custom rom added? Will I have to "un-jailbreak" my phone to trade it in on a site like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if that would be a problem - certainly Cash Converters seem to list phones which have been 'unlocked'.
It might be worth your while getting a quote from a couple of those sites and then listing your phone on the "to Sell" forum here - you might get more interest in an already unlocked phone here.
Do you think a HTC Sensation would sell quickly here?
I've compared a lot of sites and it's between £115 and £148 for bank transfer or cheque, surely selling it would fetch more.
I just don't know how a slightly scratch on the screen (hard to see a part from bright white screens) and how a missing volume button (just needs new case) would effect the value? I'd probs just wipe it and stick a fresh install or Virtuous Inquisition on it. Don't know if the phone is locked to provider see I'm on Talk Mobile but it seems "unbranded" a part from HTC logo.
If you got the phone from Carphonewarehouse then it should be fully unlocked as they only ever supply unbranded devices.
The slight scratch probably wouldn't be too much of a problem, but I would be tempted to fix the case if I were you.
With that fixed you could probably put it on for about £160 - without it maybe £130.
I assume that the prices you've got are for a good condition one - they won't accept it with a button missing.
Have a look on ebay - then remember the 10% (I think) selling fee and those prices should be about right. Even if you don't sell it here, it may be worth putting the feelers out to see how much interest there is - and it will depend on whether it's the XE or XL and whether you've got the box, accessories etc of course.
It's a standard HTC Sensation (not 4G), it's got box, charger, orig battery, Anker 1900mah battery, 16GB SD Card (class 1).
S-OFF & Virtous Inquisition ICS.
Anywhere I can post an enquiry on this forum to get opinions on how much it may be worth?
Have a look on the "Wanting to Sell" forum.
Since the marketplace is closed, where is anyone finding replacement parts (aside from ripoffbay)? The digitizer in my mom's phone died, no response at all, and the stupid ass design of the phone won't even let you answer a incoming call without moving the ring. To make it worse, while I opened it to check for damage on the inside, I broke the front center button ribbon, and the right hand side front button pcb. The whole setup of supergluing every single part of the lcd is insane ARG.
So I need pretty much the entire upper lcd assembly, and with the market gone, does anyone know where to find one? Or just MT4GS parts in general?
I just tore one down, the LCD and digitizer in it was toast and so was the main part of the board but I should have the cable your talking about at home, I'll post a pic when I get home
Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk 2
chaostic_2k1 said:
Since the marketplace is closed, where is anyone finding replacement parts (aside from ripoffbay)? The digitizer in my mom's phone died, no response at all, and the stupid ass design of the phone won't even let you answer a incoming call without moving the ring. To make it worse, while I opened it to check for damage on the inside, I broke the front center button ribbon, and the right hand side front button pcb. The whole setup of supergluing every single part of the lcd is insane ARG.
So I need pretty much the entire upper lcd assembly, and with the market gone, does anyone know where to find one? Or just MT4GS parts in general?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eBay isn't as bad as people make it out to be...
In fact it's the sellers that are at more of a disadvantage than the buyer. Paypal will almost always side with the buyer, even if they're telling blatant lies. Sold a fully working item to the buyer, and the buyer claimed it did not work. Paypal forced me to give him a refund and accept a return no matter what I said. And when I got the item back, "surprise, surprise" item worked fine.
As long as you do your homework and ask the appropriate questions before buying, you should be fine. Try some parts ebay lots. They have some great deals
-Experienced eBayer
I've had a fair bit of success on eBay with parts for a number of phones. I've replaced a whole frame for a MT3GS, a full back with buttons and battery for a iPhone 3G, a MT4GS speaker, and several digiziters for iPhones (3G / 3GS), MT3GS, MT4G and MT4GS.
I try to use US based shippers for quicker shipping times and better odds on communicating if there is an issue.
No, I know that, i've sold on ebay as well, its A) this phone is frustrating as hell, and B- the thing with private sellers, you get a bit better experience with as-is phones for parts, for a decent price. Like if someone on here had said, oh, I bricked the phone, no physical damage, I can expect to get a working lcd/digitizer/camera/etc. On ebay, it's a gamble on as-is and I've been burnt before on it.
Good part atleast, I found a old razor v3 that i had planned on unlocking almost 2 years ago, charged it and got the unlocking done in a few minutes. A working phone for now, makes replacement or parts a little less urgent.
chaostic_2k1 said:
No, I know that, i've sold on ebay as well, its A) this phone is frustrating as hell, and B- the thing with private sellers, you get a bit better experience with as-is phones for parts, for a decent price. Like if someone on here had said, oh, I bricked the phone, no physical damage, I can expect to get a working lcd/digitizer/camera/etc. On ebay, it's a gamble on as-is and I've been burnt before on it.
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Well I totally understand that sentiment. I've been there as well. The MT3GS I have was an eBay pick that was advertised as a 4G Slide. It was my first HTC phone so I didn't notice the picture didn't match. The price was a STEAL for a 4G Slide but only decent for a 3G Slide. I ended up giving the seller a neutral feedback. Since then I've been a bit anal about calling sellers out when they list a 3G Slide or 4G as a 4G Slide. Most have fixed the listings.
Having said that, I've been on the other side of the coin too. I picked up a 4G for my daughter that supposedly was soft bricked with a bad digitizer and volume buttons. I found that the button issue was just a matter of cleaning everything. From there I was able to reflash the latest stock ROM and the phone was good.
I normally just search google with specific part names that I need. Yes a lot take you to ebay, but that's normally ok, good prices!
I don't really like ebay - been burnt a lot through there. Pretty much only use it for carebears for my lady. Great place for that.
No one suggested checking craigslist for local deals?
If I don't get it through the forums here - that's where i've bought my other phones from and it's worked out well.
I bought my spare parts here
http://www.etradesupply.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=mytouch+4g+slide
Although it's still shipping.
Help for contents and box of "new" S4 Black Edition i9505. Is it new or refurbished?
Hi,
I've just bought online in UK a brand new Samsung S4 Black Edition i9505.
However in the box S/M/L sizes eargels are missing (but earbuds are ok and sealed) and the UK charger is a ETA0U70XBE with only 1A output instead of 2A and it's missing its film wrapping. I also noticed that the small seal was not well applied outside the box so it's not clear if the box was sealed or unsealed. I've also found finger prints on the front sticker/screen protector (but not on the screen) and on the camera lens. The metal-plastic terminal of the usb cable is also a little dirty (but comes with plastic wrapping).
OS installed is already 5.0.1 but I thought that S4 comes with 4.4 preinstalled. Or maybe it is due it was assembled recently? Battery was also completely empty.
And I also found this sticker that seal the outside of the box with strange letters: A, B ,C (see attachment). What do they mean?
I would like to know if someone else has similar experience or maybe they sent me a refurbished/open box?
It probably is a refurbished or returned phone.
The box should contain the phone, the USB charger and USB cable (black), in-ear headphones with replacement buds, a manual and I think that's it.
If the box has been tampered with, then I would worry more about the phone itself than the contents.
I also have a black edition (or so it says on the box).
Mine's got a leather-like back cover and the whole phone is pure dark black. The original model had a brighter black tone and it was spotted.
Hi,
thanks for the answer. The only thing missing are the replacement buds but also rest is suspicious as written above.
The charger for example had no plastic wrapping but most of all it's only a 1 amp model. How many amps has your charger? Which model? An EU model (long and slim) or a UK model (bulkier and short)? See attachments. Mine is a UK model but looks like an S3 charger which is slightly different from S4 charger and has only 1 amp output. Does anyone else got a 1 amp charger with its S4???
Mine's a 2.0 Amp EU model, black. It also had wrapping around it.
Did you get any warranty with the phone?
GDReaper said:
Mine's a 2.0 Amp EU model, black. It also had wrapping around it.
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While mine is a S3/S4-Mini charger at 1.0 Amp with no wrapping...
Did you get any warranty with the phone?
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The seller said it has 2 year UK/European warranty but it had to say this because he's selling them as new. Of course I had the invoice but it's just a piece of paper printed from internet.
I found a new strange thing: as you can see in the first picture there is a EAN code on the sticker. I searched that code on Google and the result was: Samsung S2 (TWO!).
Does the EAN on your box match with Samsung S4 on Google?
I can't check because my box was sealed on 3 sides, and one of those seals had the number on it and it is now torn apart.
But I don't have any reason to believe it would correspond to anything other than an S4.
The phone was bought from one of the biggest electronics store in my country.
GDReaper said:
I can't check because my box was sealed on 3 sides, and one of those seals had the number on it and it is now torn apart.
But I don't have any reason to believe it would correspond to anything other than an S4.
The phone was bought from one of the biggest electronics store in my country.
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I checked some pictures of S4 boxes that I found on Youtube, reviews, Google and all the EAN on them match the ones of a S4! So probably the second seal (the one in the attachment of my first message) is a FAKE seal!!!
I found another strange thing: the protective plastic on the front of the S4 was the colored one of S4 white and black mist (see attachment). But on unboxing video on Youtube the Black Edition always have a transparent one!
Which one did you find?
I think that A,B,C has some mean to it.
A- IMEI remains on the box
B- Seller(Vender) keeps it with them so that non can complain whether or not it was steal product,in short security reason
C- Buyer get it stocked on warranty card/ Billl to claim for warranty.
Now that phone is old, it usually stays as was. Nothing to worry about as long as device is fully functional.
dr.patron99 said:
I think that A,B,C has some mean to it.
A- IMEI remains on the box
B- Seller(Vender) keeps it with them so that non can complain whether or not it was steal product,in short security reason
C- Buyer get it stocked on warranty card/ Billl to claim for warranty.
Now that phone is old, it usually stays as was. Nothing to worry about as long as device is fully functional.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer. But another problem with the seal was that there was printed a EAN of a Samsung S2 (TWO!) instead of one of a S4. So it was clearly a fake seal. And I've never saw in any unboxing photo or video a seal like that for Samsung S4. I also contacted Samsung UK which confirmed me that the phone was not in proper condition. They also checked the serial number of the device and told me that it was invalid! So it was a refurbished unit.
However I sent the phone back to the seller and received a full refund. Last week I bought a new S4 Black Mist from another seller and this one is perfect. New, sealed (seal with a S4 EAN on it) and with all accessories and plastic wrappings. The OS installed is still Android 4 as expected and not already 5. And a 2A charger. It works very well. :good:
How much did you pay? If it was a good price then ignore the fact it's not new. My S4 was second hand, and I specifically chose it for that reason.
skezza said:
How much did you pay? If it was a good price then ignore the fact it's not new. My S4 was second hand, and I specifically chose it for that reason.
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I paid it 267 euro with shipping. Too much for a used one with missing parts and the wrong charger (only 1A instead of 2A). So I sent it back to the seller.
For the one I bought last week I paid 275 euro with shipping but it's new and sealed (with all accessories and a 2A charger which 2 times faster than a 1A one).
Alfhw said:
I paid it 267 euro with shipping. Too much for a used one with missing parts and the wrong charger (only 1A instead of 2A). So I sent it back to the seller.
For the one I bought last week I paid 275 euro with shipping but it's new and sealed (with all accessories and a 2A charger which 2 times faster than a 1A one).
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Oh wow, yes that is a lot for a used one. I paid £120 for mine last February. It's in pretty good condition (only a few marks on the silver bezel, no scratches on the screen) but it came only with a single generic charger, and a crappy USB cable. No headset or anything, but I wasn't overly bothered because the phone itself is where the money goes and £120 for an S4 is a bargain, even today. 267 Euro's is over £205, which is absolutely top money, even for a brand new model, so to be told it was used, I would be sending it back tbh.
skezza said:
Oh wow, yes that is a lot for a used one. I paid £120 for mine last February. It's in pretty good condition (only a few marks on the silver bezel, no scratches on the screen) but it came only with a single generic charger, and a crappy USB cable. No headset or anything, but I wasn't overly bothered because the phone itself is where the money goes and £120 for an S4 is a bargain, even today. 267 Euro's is over £205, which is absolutely top money, even for a brand new model, so to be told it was used, I would be sending it back tbh.
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And most of all the seller was selling it as "new". I even emailed him before buying to be sure and he answered it was new and sealed... And the one he sent me had missing parts and a S3 charger (with only 1A output)!
Anyway 275 euro for the one I bought last week from a different seller is a good price for a really new and sealed S4. It is still a very good mid-range device. I was also considering a Samsung A3-310-2016 which came out in January this year for 240 euro with shipping but the S4 has still better specs and a huge XDA and custom rom support!
Alfhw said:
And most of all the seller was selling it as "new". I even emailed him before buying to be sure and he answered it was new and sealed... And the one he sent me had missing parts and a S3 charger (with only 1A output)!
Anyway 275 euro for the one I bought last week from a different seller is a good price for a really new and sealed S4. It is still a very good mid-range device. I was also considering a Samsung A3-310-2016 which came out in January this year for 240 euro with shipping but the S4 has still better specs and a huge XDA and custom rom support!
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Click to collapse
It's an extremely good mid-range device. The way I like to look at it, is like this:
You can see from my phone history (in my signature), that I go from an i9000 to an LG N4 to a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, which is quite a deviation. The i9000 was a premium device at the time and it felt like one. The N4 was a premium device and it really really felt like one (and still does to this day). The Xiaomi was a great phone, but you could tell it was manufactured for the Indian market. It wasn't that it was cheaply made. I actually think Xiaomi are quite nicely made, it was the fact there was never any commitment to updates. Getting Lollipop was a bit like playing a game of roulette. Are they going to get it? Who knows? Kind of thing..... eventually some devs ported it, but rather than the 100's that work on Samsung and the Nexus devices, there were a few kids in their bedrooms doing it. I simply didn't have time to get stuck into any ROM development at that point in time either. The Xiaomi was let down by the lack of devs, the poor camera and the general unreliability of updates and software fixes etc.
So here's the point I'm making. You can own a brand new Xiaomi, which for the money seems decent and performs okay and stuff and yeah, they're decent enough phones, if you're going for a new model....
OR, you can get yourself a second hand S4, which will blow away the majority of Xiaomi phones because here's the thing. It's not just about specs on paper. The camera destroys the Xiaomi camera's, the screen destroys the majority of Xiaomi screens and the fact there are 100's of devs knocking out great ROM's means this phone will last a lot longer than the Xiaomi ones ever will.
My modus operandi has now changed. I will never buy a new device again. Every 2 years, I will buy a last gen Samsung (or other brand) device when they become cheap and enjoy all the benefits of XDA devs and what not
skezza said:
It's an extremely good mid-range device. The way I like to look at it, is like this:
You can see from my phone history (in my signature), that I go from an i9000 to an LG N4 to a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, which is quite a deviation. The i9000 was a premium device at the time and it felt like one. The N4 was a premium device and it really really felt like one (and still does to this day). The Xiaomi was a great phone, but you could tell it was manufactured for the Indian market. It wasn't that it was cheaply made. I actually think Xiaomi are quite nicely made, it was the fact there was never any commitment to updates. Getting Lollipop was a bit like playing a game of roulette. Are they going to get it? Who knows? Kind of thing..... eventually some devs ported it, but rather than the 100's that work on Samsung and the Nexus devices, there were a few kids in their bedrooms doing it. I simply didn't have time to get stuck into any ROM development at that point in time either. The Xiaomi was let down by the lack of devs, the poor camera and the general unreliability of updates and software fixes etc.
So here's the point I'm making. You can own a brand new Xiaomi, which for the money seems decent and performs okay and stuff and yeah, they're decent enough phones, if you're going for a new model....
OR, you can get yourself a second hand S4, which will blow away the majority of Xiaomi phones because here's the thing. It's not just about specs on paper. The camera destroys the Xiaomi camera's, the screen destroys the majority of Xiaomi screens and the fact there are 100's of devs knocking out great ROM's means this phone will last a lot longer than the Xiaomi ones ever will.
My modus operandi has now changed. I will never buy a new device again. Every 2 years, I will buy a last gen Samsung (or other brand) device when they become cheap and enjoy all the benefits of XDA devs and what not
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Click to collapse
Agree! :good: