Database Info

Dust under screen request..

Can someone post a picture of "dust under the screen" I'm a bit confuses on what people mean when they post this problem.
Sent from my MT4G running Gingerbread

Well far as I know as the dust is behind/underneath the touch screen glass. Which does happen trust me sometimes it gets in as in my HD2 I saw dust in rare camera and behind the screen which was not present when I got it but as time went on. DWAI it as its not that serious unless you have OCD or something as it bothers you lol then its another issue.

I had it on my first device, very obnoxious. I take good care of my phone and am constantly wiping the smudges off the screen. It looks like dust ON the screen that just never budges no matter how hard you rub it with a microfiber.
If you take excellent care of your phones it will piss you off to no end. If you always have smudges on your screen and you don't notice then don't worry about it.

I have dust right above my front facing camera
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

SOB just found dust on the display on the top right side, IDK WTF that got in as its only 2days old and I didn't even use much.

HyperNode said:
SOB just found dust on the display on the top right side, IDK WTF that got in as its only 2days old and I didn't even use much.
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That sucks, my first one had that. Not cool.
Time to return it.

Phateless said:
That sucks, my first one had that. Not cool.
Time to return it.
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Hmm, you know - I think I just found a dust speck under my screen too...on the lower center of the screen, there's this little dot that I can't clean away with a cloth. Pretty small, and wouldn't have found it unless I scrutinized the screen. I think I'm going to mention this as well as my inferior screen when I go in for an exchange so it'll hopefully go smoother.

sunsean said:
Hmm, you know - I think I just found a dust speck under my screen too...on the lower center of the screen, there's this little dot that I can't clean away with a cloth. Pretty small, and wouldn't have found it unless I scrutinized the screen. I think I'm going to mention this as well as my inferior screen when I go in for an exchange so it'll hopefully go smoother.
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Couldn't hurt. I even flat out told the rep, "I know I'm being a little nitpicky, but this is your FLAGSHIP DEVICE and I've been with you guys for 6 years. I want it to be right."
They really can't argue with that.

sunsean said:
Hmm, you know - I think I just found a dust speck under my screen too...on the lower center of the screen, there's this little dot that I can't clean away with a cloth. Pretty small, and wouldn't have found it unless I scrutinized the screen. I think I'm going to mention this as well as my inferior screen when I go in for an exchange so it'll hopefully go smoother.
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I just got my replacement because of 10 dust specs under my touchscreen. I referred them to the t-mobile forum and they believed me. My new one has the good screen and the built quality seems to be better. Good Luck with exchanging your phone.

10 dust :O well I can't say about you but this device is 2days old so IDK wtf it got in as I barely even used it.

HyperNode said:
10 dust :O well I can't say about you but this device is 2days old so IDK wtf it got in as I barely even used it.
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I had my MT4G for nearly 2 months....it was the second one. I am almost sure it will happen again. As long as I don't see it it's fine;-)

As I was reading this thread I removed my screen protector and sure enough I have little black spots under my screen and this completely pisses me off. I baby my phones to the point that my girlfriend and I get into heated arguments and to have dust under the screen is unexceptionable. I'd call T-Mobile right this f###ing second if I didn't want to be on hold for over an hour which is something that is down right ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!

I just called in for an exchange. They asked me to pay $9.99 for shipping, and I said that I felt it was unfair for them to charge me if it was not my fault that the phone came like this.
When I asked them to just cancel everything, since I am still under the 30 day remorse period (in CA, that is), they transferred me to the supervisor of the customer loyalty department. I explained the story to her and she waived the shipping fee for standard 3 day shipping.
I then asked her if this will be a new phone, or if it will be refurbished. She told me that it will either "be new, or be like-new," but the package will only have the phone and nothing else; no battery, instruction manual, accessories, etc. Do all T-MO exchanges come like that, or do they just send out refurbished ones?

Sfkn2 said:
I just called in for an exchange. They asked me to pay $9.99 for shipping, and I said that I felt it was unfair for them to charge me if it was not my fault that the phone came like this.
When I asked them to just cancel everything, since I am still under the 30 day remorse period (in CA, that is), they transferred me to the supervisor of the customer loyalty department. I explained the story to her and she waived the shipping fee for standard 3 day shipping.
I then asked her if this will be a new phone, or if it will be refurbished. She told me that it will either "be new, or be like-new," but the package will only have the phone and nothing else; no battery, instruction manual, accessories, etc. Do all T-MO exchanges come like that, or do they just send out refurbished ones?
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In all the time I've been with them (since Voicestream was still around), I've only ever received one phone new in the box. It was the Behold 2 (what a joke of a phone...) and only because it was only 1 week after the release of the phone and as such they didn't have any refurbished phones available yet.
Otherwise, every single phone I've received as a replacement has been in the standard return box with only the phone in a plastic bag with the foam cushioning in the box.

porter66062 said:
In all the time I've been with them (since Voicestream was still around), I've only ever received one phone new in the box. It was the Behold 2 (what a joke of a phone...) and only because it was only 1 week after the release of the phone and as such they didn't have any refurbished phones available yet.
Otherwise, every single phone I've received as a replacement has been in the standard return box with only the phone in a plastic bag with the foam cushioning in the box.
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Click to collapse
Did you receive new or refurbished phones? Is there any way to tell the difference?

Honestly, I couldn't tell between refurbished and new. They don't really tell you, and as far as I know, there isn't a way to tell.
I'm sure that I got refurbished on a few of them, but in a lot of cases the refurbished phones are in better shape and go through more testing than the new phones.

Thank you for the information, Porter.

Galaxy S4 Repair nightmare

So my wife is the proud owner of a Galaxy S4 and I was stoked to have finally convinced her to get rid of her POS iPhone. Unfortunately she had the phone for about a week before our daughter got a hold of it and promptly dropped it on the concrete. Since my wife was not sure if she wanted to keep your iphone or the S4 in the beginning, at that point the phone was neekid (case arrived the day after it was dropped!). Needless the say the screen shattered and there were some groovy dings in the chrome bezel and no we did not have insurance.
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Original Damage.
So I started doing research into different companies that would do the repair. I came across a company in VA called Rockit Repairs (www.rockitrepairs.com). After talking to them on the phone and reviewing their work on FB I felt comfortable with sending my wife's phone there to have it repaired. Needless to say, this was a huge mistake. I will give them credit for standing by their word but so far the only thing they have done is screw me over.
The first problem I had was with return shipping. I paid an extra $20 to have the phone overnighted back to me. It took them three days from when they told me the phone had been shipped before I got an actual tracking number. Obviously they had not shipped it until then. That was a Saturday so I did not receive the phone until that Tuesday. When I called them on it they offered to refund my overnight shipping.
The repair job itself was horrible. First of all there were to scratches on the LCD underneath the front glass. One went about half length of the screen and the other was about 1/3rd the length of the screen. There were over a dozen pry marks in the chrome bezel and there were all sorts of crap between the front glass and the LCD. Some of which was dust and others that were bigger - possibly food crumbs.... IDK. Portions of the touch screen were not as responsive as they should have been. I called them again and I talked to a guy named Jim who said he is the one that did the actual work. Jim apologized and said that he did not see this when he sent it (I don't know how) and to send it back so they could do it right.
All that stuff you see on the screen, yeah that is actually under the front glass.
So I sent it back and they said they had to order a LCD, overnight, from their supplier. The next day I get an updated saying the phone was repaired and shipped and I was even given a tracking number. Again, they couldn't even get the shipping right because they were suppose to overnight it but sent it 3 day priority. How can you trust a company that can't do something as simple as ship a package correctly? Because of their error in shipping, I didn't get the phone back for 4 days (weekend).
The second time we got the phone back it looked much, much better. Everything looked great. I originally though that they must have replaced the entire front assembly this time because the chrome bezel was replaced as well. However, my excitement didn't last long. When I got the phone home, I pulled the battery to look at the serial number to make sure it matched the box. It did but it was obvious that the sticker had been peeled up at some point. Since the phone was working and looked great I just let it go. I assumed that there was a screw under the sticker that they had to remove. I was far from right.
Six days after we got the phone back the LCD started to get lines through it, or it would just not turn on, or it would be all white, or the colors would be reversed. Basically the LCD was shot. At this point I was done with Rockit Repairs. I told them to refund every penny or I would do a chargeback via my credit card company. They did not argue at all. That same day I took the phone to a local repair shop to have them figure out what is going on. Now you may ask why didn't I go to this place originally and that is a valid question. When I talked to them on the phone I didn't really like their attitude. I don't know if I caught the dude on a bad day or what but I didn't get a good vibe from him. Anyway, we started talking about what was going and I asked about the sticker under the battery. This is where it gets fun.
By the end of the day the phone was completely unusable.
The repair tech at the local shop, First Class Cell Phone Repair, told me there was no screw under there and that most likely this other shop had created a Frankenstein phone. That they probably took a parts S4, maybe a water damaged phone or something along these lines, and replaced some of the internals with the parts from my wife's phone and slapped our serial number sticker on this other chassis. I cannot confirm that they did do this but I do know that I never agreed to this and at no point was it ever even discussed with me. The local shop is going to see if they can determine the issue with the phone and they are going to take pictures of everything they see. If they are of the opinion that they Frankensteined my phone, well it won't be a good day for Rockit Repairs.
The odd thing is, this company seemed legit. They have a nice public facebook page with over 2200 likes. Lots of stories about repairs and satisfied customers. Local papers doing write ups about their shop. They seemed for real. But seriously, they have screwed up every step of this process and had lied to me and did some extremely shady things. Maybe their regular customers are idiots? If anyone who reads this needs their phone fixed, don't send it to Rockit Repairs.
Anyone else have any experience with this shop?

So I just got off the phone with Rockit Repairs and they clarified their repair process the 2nd time around. He explained that the part he ordered was the entire chassis and not the LCD (even though in the reply on my ticket said only LCD). I don't know where they ordered the part from but I have found vendors that do sell the chassis for the S4 and it is essentially the front glass, lcd, housing for the logic board and the other internal workings.
They did apologize profusely and stated that they had never had issues like this before but seriously, even if the repair was done right the first time the shipping issues and being lied to about the shipping issues would be enough for me to never do business with them again.

How old is your daughter? $600+ phone without insurance is a very expensive "play toy" regardless of how she got her hands on it. A case wouldn't have made a difference from the looks of the phone. Good luck with your repair process.

scott14719 said:
How old is your daughter? $600+ phone without insurance is a very expensive "play toy" regardless of how she got her hands on it. A case wouldn't have made a difference from the looks of the phone. Good luck with your repair process.
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She is 2 but we don't let her play with out phones. I have an old busted HTC phone that she plays a few games on but not our phones. My wife just left it on table and then walked away. Trust me, she feels pretty stupid about it.

berdo said:
She is 2 but we don't let her play with out phones. I have an old busted HTC phone that she plays a few games on but not our phones. My wife just left it on table and then walked away. Trust me, she feels pretty stupid about it.
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Sorry to hear that. Kids seem to be able to get into everything. I've seen parts (Digitizer and screen) available for around $200 - $250 US and videos on youtube showing how to replace the part(s), but it's something I would rather have someone else do as well.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I wouldn't use Facebook as a source for accurate information on a company reliability since i believe they can pretty much edit every post and delete any that don't agree with what they have to say.
I have insurance myself for my s4 and indeed for my son's iphone 4s. but sadly it still cost about $200 with insurance to replace his iphone when he dropped it into the ocean. Apparently there are other companies not affiliated with the carriers who offer better insurance but I haven't looked into it. I figure It's worth it to have insurance for the first 6 months but after that, the $200 replacement cost isn't worth it. Especially since you can buy a brand new Nexus 4 for $299.

acruxksa said:
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I wouldn't use Facebook as a source for accurate information on a company reliability since i believe they can pretty much edit every post and delete any that don't agree with what they have to say.
I have insurance myself for my s4 and indeed for my son's iphone 4s. but sadly it still cost about $200 with insurance to replace his iphone when he dropped it into the ocean. Apparently there are other companies not affiliated with the carriers who offer better insurance but I haven't looked into it.
You can buy a brand new Nexus 4 for $299, something to think about.
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I agree FB isn't the best place to go. I did google searches and searched for info on XDA but nothing really anywhere that was all that helpful. Really I based my decision off talking to them on the phone. They stated all the things you want to here, like the number of S4 repairs they have done, what their turn around time is, if the stand behind their work, etc.. I know they have multiple employees because I have talked with about 4-5 different people so they are obviously generating enough business to have that many employees. I don't think they are a chop shop, I just think they screwed up and were not honest about it until I pushed them for more info.
The local shop says the ribbon cable was pinched which is causing the LCD to short out. To fix I have to replace the entire LCD screen again. Does anyone have any suggestions for who to send it to? The local AT&T store recommended a place called Digital Doc http://digitaldocrepair.com/. They appear to be a franchise with 6 different locations.

if you broke your screen.the best option is Samsung USA.its under 200 and you still have full warranty.who knows u might get lucky and they repair it free.don't use these stupid small repair shops.they are lookin to rip people off.

I just thought I would throw in my two cents here and suggest you buy the digitizer/lcd/frame as a single assembly on eBay and then do the repair yourself. I've repaired many Samsung phones and I've found that taking the phone apart is very easy but it's really a pain to replace just the digitizer or just the LCD without getting any dust or smudges between them. On top of that you have to make sure the seal is damned near perfect or you'll accumulate dust in there over time. It's better to buy that as a single unit IMHO.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S+IV+Teardown/13947/1
If you search eBay for "Galaxy S4 LCD Frame" a respectable price is in the range of $180 - $200. Be sure to read the description and not rely only on the pictures!

Let me translate for you. You sent your phone to Jim Bob who knows a little about Facebook. Jim Bob also watches Youtube and saw where you can replace the glass on your phone and says to himself "Hey I can do that, and make money doing it. I know how to make a facebook page to advertise". Unfortunately pulling the glass from the LCD is a lot harder than it looks on Youtube. No one showed where those tutorials are using a phone where it was already done once and the second time is much easier since the original adhesive has been removed. So JB screwed it up while doing it in his basement while eating Cheetos. The easy fix was just to buy a new LCD with digitizer that doesn't have your imei number on it. So JB tried to remove your sticker and put it on the new frame but no one told him they use a tamper proof material and adhesive that makes sure it's obvious when it has been removed. And now you have it back.
Unless they specifically told you that certain parts wouldn't be removed, or if removed would only be replaced with OEM parts, I can't see that you have any legit legal grounds to complain, other than poor workmanship.
Sorry for your luck.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I had a busted SIM Card reader on my old Galaxy S2Skyrocket.
I took it to http://www.bobknowsphones.com/ and they quoted me 60 to replace it. Brought it in and left in 15 minutes with a replaced sim card and a functioning phone.
They are local in Atlanta but get great recommendations and I think they have mail in service for those not local.
Good luck on your repairs.

navalynt said:
I just thought I would throw in my two cents here and suggest you buy the digitizer/lcd/frame as a single assembly on eBay and then do the repair yourself. I've repaired many Samsung phones and I've found that taking the phone apart is very easy but it's really a pain to replace just the digitizer or just the LCD without getting any dust or smudges between them. On top of that you have to make sure the seal is damned near perfect or you'll accumulate dust in there over time. It's better to buy that as a single unit IMHO.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S+IV+Teardown/13947/1
If you search eBay for "Galaxy S4 LCD Frame" a respectable price is in the range of $180 - $200. Be sure to read the description and not rely only on the pictures!
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This is actually what I am doing. I purchased a frame assembly from Amazon actually (though the seller is on eBay as well and has a 99.5% rating with other 7200 feedbacks) but I will not be doing the work myself. I will have the local repair shop do the work. I am a Sys Admin by trade and have no problems digging in and doing the work myself but considering the phone is so new I would rather have them do it and have the work warrantied. That way if they screw it up it is on them.

BigMc71 said:
Let me translate for you. You sent your phone to Jim Bob who knows a little about Facebook. Jim Bob also watches Youtube and saw where you can replace the glass on your phone and says to himself "Hey I can do that, and make money doing it. I know how to make a facebook page to advertise". Unfortunately pulling the glass from the LCD is a lot harder than it looks on Youtube. No one showed where those tutorials are using a phone where it was already done once and the second time is much easier since the original adhesive has been removed. So JB screwed it up while doing it in his basement while eating Cheetos. The easy fix was just to buy a new LCD with digitizer that doesn't have your imei number on it. So JB tried to remove your sticker and put it on the new frame but no one told him they use a tamper proof material and adhesive that makes sure it's obvious when it has been removed. And now you have it back.
Unless they specifically told you that certain parts wouldn't be removed, or if removed would only be replaced with OEM parts, I can't see that you have any legit legal grounds to complain, other than poor workmanship.
Sorry for your luck.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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I hear what you are saying but I don't think this is an accurate description of the company I went with. While I am not defending them, they are definitely not some newb in his mom's basement thinking he can do something because he saw it on youtube. The company has two retail locations with about 5-7 employees. They have been in business for over a year and expanded from 400sq ft office to an 1100 sq ft office in a small time frame to deal with all the work they are getting. All of this info I found via a local paper who did a story on them, not from their facebook page. All this information lead me to believe they were actually capable. I do believe that their tech has a video posted on XDA of him removing the front glass on a S4, being one of the firsts to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbJEpe79PDQ
I did my research. More than just facebook. I think they are a capable repair shop but they are not exactly up front about what they are doing and open with their communication when the eff up. Either way I will never use them again.

This is why I went the Samsung route and gave them $200 bucks, flat. They fixed it in under a week and shipped to and from with 2 day shipping. Professional and perfect condition. They replaced what seems the mid-frame, AMOLED, and digitizer. No dust, scratches, or bubbles.
But they upgraded me to MF3 :crying:

pejhod said:
This is why I went the Samsung route and gave them $200 bucks, flat. They fixed it in under a week and shipped to and from with 2 day shipping. Professional and perfect condition. They replaced what seems the mid-frame, AMOLED, and digitizer. No dust, scratches, or bubbles.
But they upgraded me to MF3 :crying:
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You know this sounds stupid, but it never occurred to me to send it to Samsung. Even when I called AT&T to ask them where I should send it to they never suggested Samsung. Now I feel really stupid. It is my wife's phone and she doesn't root/custom rom so she would care less about the firmware. Pretty effing stupid.
How did you set that up, did you just call 1-888-987-HELP or did you go to a samsung retail location?

pejhod said:
This is why I went the Samsung route and gave them $200 bucks, flat. They fixed it in under a week and shipped to and from with 2 day shipping. Professional and perfect condition. They replaced what seems the mid-frame, AMOLED, and digitizer. No dust, scratches, or bubbles.
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berdo said:
You know this sounds stupid, but it never occurred to me to send it to Samsung. Even when I called AT&T to ask them where I should send it to they never suggested Samsung. Now I feel really stupid. It is my wife's phone and she doesn't root/custom rom so she would care less about the firmware. Pretty effing stupid.
How did you set that up, did you just call 1-888-987-HELP or did you go to a samsung retail location?
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@berdo I called Samsung directly and they gave me the number. Unfortunately I don't have it anymore or I would share it with you. I did want to share how great my experience with Sammy was.
My experience is identical to @pejhod 's. Check around for alternative companies to fix, but all were charging in excess of $250. Finally called Samsung (repair facility in Arlington,TX. They sent me a shipping label, said 5-7 days to repair and 2 days to ship back. They replaced the screen and bezel and shipped it back in a day. All for a flat $200. Very professional and very true to their word. I hope I never damage my screen again, but if so, Samsung is the ONLY route I'd go. I was super impressed by the whole experience.

Get a SquareTrade warranty $6 buck a month and $100 deductible

peaster3 said:
@berdo I called Samsung directly and they gave me the number. Unfortunately I don't have it anymore or I would share it with you. I did want to share how great my experience with Sammy was.
My experience is identical to @pejhod 's. Check around for alternative companies to fix, but all were charging in excess of $250. Finally called Samsung (repair facility in Arlington,TX. They sent me a shipping label, said 5-7 days to repair and 2 days to ship back. They replaced the screen and bezel and shipped it back in a day. All for a flat $200. Very professional and very true to their word. I hope I never damage my screen again, but if so, Samsung is the ONLY route I'd go. I was super impressed by the whole experience.
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...I would hope so.....they made the phone lol

Yeah, I never believed in buying insurance floaters of any kind for my cell phones and that may just change after the GS4. Phones just keep getting thinner and easier to crack. This one is the easiest of all phones I've ever owned. Wouldn't be a bad idea, but I didn't have it to start with.
But yeah, Samsung is the quickest, easiest, and most professional. Obviously it hurt to pay the $200, sure wasn't a pleasure handing over my card information, but you gotta do what you gotta do. They even return it is this very cool box that almost has the phone floating between two pieces of paper. Haha. Idk but I thought it was cool. (I guess for $200 they better mail it back in a somewhat decent packaging.)
Mine was sent to Plano, TX.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4

Well after reading about the Samsung experience I am really pissed at myself. Live and learn. I would have gladly paid $200 to have samsung fix the phone. However, in the long run the phone is fixed, looks great, and is working great so far. I guess only time will tell if the replacement part will work. But if there are issues again I will be going directly to Samsung.
In the end, RockIt Repair was true to their word that they stand by their work. While I had every issue under the sun, they acknowledged those issues and took responsibility for them. They refunded the original cost of of the repair and reimbursed me for the cost difference in having to buy a new lcd assembly. So in the end I did not have to pay anything out of pocket to get it fixed. Though after 4 weeks and numerous amounts of hours spent dealing with this does not equal $250, I will take it.
Lesson learned.

My eBay experience (techno.trading.house)

Hi everyone,
I want to share my journey with the Z3, and the experience with buying from eBay, specifically from a seller, techno.trading.house (Steph, Ed). I bought two brand new Z3 (D6603)--a black one for myself, and a white one for my girlfriend. The order was smooth, and the phones came in pretty much brand new (open box though) with their plastic peel-screens on the glass, untouched. After using the two for a few hours, I noticed that my black one had a defective sensor (photo). The seller advertised "hassle-free" exchanges/refunds, so I reported the defect and had the black one exchanged right away.
After a week, the new one came, the same brand new (open box) condition as the previous phones. However, there was a slight manufacturing defect with the USB flap--it closes completely at a slant (photo). I spelled out the issue with the seller, and here was how it went:
SELLER: I'm sorry to hear that! We will certainly replace it for you, I believe that your phone would be damaged underwater if that or any other flap was not closed properly. (I also do strongly suggest to avoid wetting the phone just in case). Please return the phone to...
ME (after 2 days delivered to them): Hi, have you receive the package yet, and have you ship out the new phone?
SELLER: Your return has been received. If you had chosen to receive a replacement, it will be sent within 2 days. If you have opted for a refund, it will be issued within 24 hours minus applicable restocking fee.
ME: Do you have tracking info? Thanks!
SELLER: Our records indicate that we have already sent a replacement. You have reached out to us to let us know that the replacement has the same issue. In order to avoid another occurrence, we recommend that we proceed with a refund for this item. Please let us know if this is okay.
ME: Sorry, I am not sure what you are saying. Are you talking about the previous replacement or the 2nd replacement being shipped out? I am currently waiting for the 2nd replacement. You said "sure" on the second replacement last week.
SELLER: We are talking about the previous replacement. We believe since both- the original phone and the replacement phone- has had the same issue, that a refund might be best. Let us know if this is ok.
ME: That is not correct. First phone had a defective camera. Second one had a manufacturer defect on the flap. You agreed for the second exchange, so I am not sure why you are backing out now? I need the phone as I have been using an old dumb phone for work for a week already.
SELLER: I'm very sorry for the confusion. I just read back through the emails and you are indeed correct. We will have your replacement unit shipped today. Here is your tracking number. Again, I am sorry for the confusion. Have a great day!
ME: Thanks. I just hope the new one does not have any defect--I will be checking it. If it's not shipped out yet, anyway you can inspect these? Thank you.
SELLER: Hello, Not a problem.
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So the 2nd replacement came (third phone), and the phone came in a used/open condition. There were no plastic peel-screens on either side of the glass and the USB wire was laying in there without its plastic wrappers. I knew immediately this was used, so I began close inspection of the phone. I found that the power button had a noticeable dent on one side, as if it was dropped on a table before. At this point, I don't know what to do with the phone. I have summoned the seller to see what they plan to do with this situation.
It appears that the seller recycles their returned phones and try to sell them as new, or whatever it is. I am extremely disappointed with this seller, and I want others to know so they may not fall into the same trap.
I checked the current feedback, and it appears someone had the same situation (photo). Go figure!

To me this sounds like a fair seller and a picky buyer. 832 positive reviews and 6 negative ones in a month is a ratio I would buy at if I wanted to save a hundred bucks by buying without factory warranty.

It could have been an honest mistake. I doubt he purposely gave you an opened one, just work with him to solve the problem. eBay is much harder on sellers than buyers and he would ruin his reputation if he did it on purpose. Looking at his rating I would say it was an honest mistake.
I understand if he wants to refund you, he is just trying to cut his losses. At the same time it was your misfortune to get a bad device/s. Since this phone is known for cosmetic/other issues as its in early production you are better of buying from Sony/carrier making replacement easier.

abhinav.tella said:
It could have been an honest mistake. I doubt he purposely gave you an opened one, just work with him to solve the problem. eBay is much harder on sellers than buyers and he would ruin his reputation if he did it on purpose. Looking at his rating I would say it was an honest mistake.
I understand if he wants to refund you, he is just trying to cut his losses. At the same time it was your misfortune to get a bad device/s. Since this phone is known for cosmetic/other issues as its in early production you are better of buying from Sony/carrier making replacement easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
remember me?
I'm sorry to hear that. It was really a frustrating moment you went through. If I were you I would probably be really angry.
If you want, just buy it from Sony store. I got mine and it's perfect so far (except some cosmetic minor faults).

I bought two phones directly from the same seller. The price was cheaper on their own site vs eBay or Amazon. Both phones are perfect. They came in non sealed boxes. I've got no complaints.

android404 said:
To me this sounds like a fair seller and a picky buyer. 832 positive reviews and 6 negative ones in a month is a ratio I would buy at if I wanted to save a hundred bucks by buying without factory warranty.
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I may be a picky buyer, but who wouldn't be when you receive a defective product, and even worse when you get a used one on your third one. Feedbacks mean jack when you are on the short end. They are only good for initial decision about the seller, hence I trust them like you would too.
abhinav.tella said:
It could have been an honest mistake. I doubt he purposely gave you an opened one, just work with him to solve the problem. eBay is much harder on sellers than buyers and he would ruin his reputation if he did it on purpose. Looking at his rating I would say it was an honest mistake.
I understand if he wants to refund you, he is just trying to cut his losses. At the same time it was your misfortune to get a bad device/s. Since this phone is known for cosmetic/other issues as its in early production you are better of buying from Sony/carrier making replacement easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you are right on the honest mistake.
bluesky2111 said:
remember me?
I'm sorry to hear that. It was really a frustrating moment you went through. If I were you I would probably be really angry.
If you want, just buy it from Sony store. I got mine and it's perfect so far (except some cosmetic minor faults).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I really regret not buying from Sony store, or even T-Mobile here. At this point, I might just say screw it, keep the phone, and move on with my life. Maybe the Z4 will entice me in few months. :good:

I purchased 3 different Z3 D6603 from Techno Trading, Never-MSRP, and Sony Direct all off ebay.
Techno Trading shipping a Central America version of the D6603 (White) to me and it had no seals whatsoever on the box (US Charger). This model would not show LTE indicator until I flashed a generic TFT. Booting with Encryption shows the Pin Entry text in Spanish but quickly changes to English. Seller Feedack: Shipped very quickly but using subpar shipping materials. Shipped from Miami.
Never-MSRP shipped a Central Europe version of the D6603 (Copper) to me and it HAD seals on the box but also included a Sony Screen Protector (Non-US Charger). This model had the LTE indicator from start. Booting with Encryption shows the Pin Entry text in English. Seller Feedback: Shipped same day and was packaged very well. Unfortunately, they are located in Houston so I had to pay tax.
Sony Direct shipped a Generic North American model of the D6603 (Green) to me. This one had seals on the box but didn't include the Screen Protector. LTE shows from start and includes a US Charger. Plastic on the front and back of phone is totally different than the other two. Its hard to describe but the other phones came with a very very thin plastic protector. This model shipped with much thicker protectors on front and back (still meant to be removed because they have tabs on the side). Additionally, the other two phones were inside a cellophane bag but the this model was not in cellophane. Shipped from Sony in Romeoville IL. Shipped within two hours of purchase using FedEx for free. Unfortunately, Sony charges tax everywhere. Packaged well but not great.
My point...
Sony packages models different based on their intended destination. It might not be that you ever got "open box" devices but rather they were intended for an area which Sony (for whatever reason) chose not to use seals.

mwep said:
My point...
Sony packages models different based on their intended destination. It might not be that you ever got "open box" devices but rather they were intended for an area which Sony (for whatever reason) chose not to use seals.
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Click to collapse
That is interesting. Before buying from techno, I bought a white one from tropical_mobile (in which I sold quickly due to being D6653), who stated they were located in Tennessee, but shipped from Singapore. However, the phone was sealed with two white rounded "sealed" stickers on the box. The phone also was sealed in a clear plastic slip and had protective screens on both sides.
This whole Z3 deal has been pretty bad luck for me. Maybe it is not meant to be. But good news--the seller techno.trading.house got back to me, and is willing to refund me $20 for the dented power button, or do another replacement. I'm planning to take the refund, and live with it as I am sick of all the exchanges. Who knows, the replacement might have even weirder issues.

If you spend $500 plus on an item, you the buyer, have every right on this planet to be as picky as you like.
Nobody has to settle for anything less than perfection.
So no, you don't have to accept a defective camera, or flap or indeed a previously returned phone.
As I mentioned before but was lambasted in another thread, Sony may be using premium materials, but they are certainly not using premium construction. Not when some people have to go through six boxes in store to find a unit without light bleed and gaps.
I myself had two exchanges within the first two weeks. My first unit was simply not waterproof and had a leaky flap and my second one didn't charge on the magnetic dock and now I have light bleed but no energy to fight it anymore.
It's almost as bad as an iPhone. All my iPhone friends have had multiple exchanges... Some as many as 5 in a year.
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app

More recent feedbacks to prove my point.

stop accepting being called a picky buyer.... ur paying top dollar for the phone, that said u should receive a product good for the purpose, if the camera doesn't work its not good
if the phone isnt water proof it isnt good
if there is a dent in the design it should state it before being bought. so it's not the buyer nor seller (purposely) its a unlucky sale.

I purchased mine at t-mobile. I paid 100% upfront despite being with t-mobile and they unlock it on the spot. When I registered with Xperia Care (sonymobiles product registration) I entered my IMEI and it has till Oct 2016 on warranty.
However on the 2nd day of owning the device The bottom speaker stopped working and was making a static noise. I went to my t-mo store I purchased it and they swapped it out. I didn't even pay a restocking fee. The manager said as long as I get the same phone and since I bought it back so promptly that he would just swap a new one. This one has been perfect since. Sometimes the convenience of having a store near by is better than having to deal with shipping my phone back and forth!
Alot of people dont want the tmobile Bloatwear but like I said, 32 GB + Local customer support outweight > No bloatwear & 16 Gig with mail in issues. (since i have no sony store near by, id still have to mail in for repairs and exchanges)

Me too, I'm glad I bought it from TMO with an EIP, exchanged mine 3 times on my 4th now, no hassles or fees.

Broken backside on Pixel 3XL

Hey guys.
It started with a Basssound, and then my Pixel 3XL fell off the windowsill....
Today i reached out the repairingcompany from google CTDI in Germany.
I hope the repair will not that expensive. (Hoping for about 200 € without VAT)
Now i'm waiting for the UPS Service who will pick up my phone.

Sorry about your device, was it in a case?

Nope it wasn't.
It was my fault, after all, i should not lay down a phone on a sloping windowsill....

https://www.ubreakifix.com/google-repair/google-pixel-3-xl-repair
Google's recommended vendor says back glass repair is $100 USD (88€)
Screen repair is where the big money is.

A dbrand or slickwraps will cover that up just fine!
Edit: too bad the camera's broken... That's going to add to the $$$.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Oh 100$. I hope the price in europe is that cheap. Let's hope. Today i have still no message from ups.
I don't like covers, because they make phone big an hide the design from the phone itself. But of course i have then to watch for falling phones...
Actually the complete phone is working including the camera. It's just the broken camera glass that make photos look like from an 100$ Phone.
But i don't know if its from the drop or from december update, but there are lacks in the performance which is annoying at the moment. I will see after repairing if the problems are gone.
@MOD Is it possible to delete the strayed c in the title?

Daimonion1980 said:
Oh 100$. I hope the price in europe is that cheap. Let's hope. Today i have still no message from ups.
I don't like covers, because they make phone big an hide the design from the phone itself. But of course i have then to watch for falling phones...
Actually the complete phone is working including the camera. It's just the broken camera glass that make photos look like from an 100$ Phone.
But i don't know if its from the drop or from december update, but there are lacks in the performance which is annoying at the moment. I will see after repairing if the problems are gone.
@MOD Is it possible to delete the strayed c in the title?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For your question about the title just edit the post and go to advanced mode. There you can edit the title.

Daimonion1980 said:
Hey guys.
It's started with a Basssound, and then my Pixel 3XL fell off the windowsill....
Today i reached out the repairingcompany from google CTDI in Germany.
I hope the repair will not that expensive. (Hoping for about 200 € without VAT)
Now i'm waiting for the UPS Service who will pick up my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ouch, those pictures literally made me say: "Ohhh, ouch!!" I'm sorry that happened to you... I am assuming you don't keep a case on it? After seeing lots of people complain about how easy it was to scratch the back up I decided to always keep mine in a case.
I wish you all the best and I hope it's not super expensive to get fixed.
-E

I feel your pain...
Ordered mine on launch day and three days after having it I knocked it out of my hand, it was in a Spigen thin fit case which is really no protection. Completely my fault, I knew better than to hold it when I was doing what I was doing at the time.
Face first on a brick floor. Screen shattered, I'm glad I got the Preferred Care. $99.00 US and they shipped me a brand new one. At least I got to keep all the accessories from the first one and only had to send back the phone itself.

bp328i said:
I feel your pain...
Ordered mine on launch day and three days after having it I knocked it out of my hand, it was in a Spigen thin fit case which is really no protection. Completely my fault, I knew better than to hold it when I was doing what I was doing at the time.
Face first on a brick floor. Screen shattered, I'm glad I got the Preferred Care. $99.00 US and they shipped me a brand new one. At least I got to keep all the accessories from the first one and only had to send back the phone itself.
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Click to collapse
Nice! I always worry about being sent a refurbished device when they claim to send you a new one. I don't know if Google does that or not, but, I know other companies do and it's pretty frustrating. I have major OCD when it comes to new vs. not.
Good Luck!
-E

EricSB said:
Nice! I always worry about being sent a refurbished device when they claim to send you a new one. I don't know if Google does that or not, but, I know other companies do and it's pretty frustrating. I have major OCD when it comes to new vs. not.
Good Luck!
-E
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The replacement was done through Asurion so they might send refurbished ones but I don't really think they had any at the time. I ordered it on launch day and broke it three days after I received it...lol.
I need to mention I haven't broken a phone in 10 years.

bp328i said:
The replacement was done through Asurion so they might send refurbished ones but I don't really think they had any at the time. I ordered it on launch day and broke it three days after I received it...lol.
I need to mention I haven't broken a phone in 10 years.
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Click to collapse
Good point on likely not having refurbished devices. Yeah, I guess it was just your turn after 10 years.
Have you gotten the replacement device yet?
-E

EricSB said:
Good point on likely not having refurbished devices. Yeah, I guess it was just your turn after 10 years.
Have you gotten the replacement device yet?
-E
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah I've had it for a while now. This happened in October.

Late response
I have a case now. And it fits in my reworked brodit auto smarrtphone holder i bought for nexus 6p
The repairing was okay so far. i contacted CTDI in germany which organized a ups pick up and the device was repaired in poland by regenersis. It costs 212,08 € without tax and with tax 260,86 € (23% in poland)
So, i hope it will not broken anymore...

Welp, my Pixel finally had a catastrophic failure

Today about 2 hours after waking up, I unlocked my phone and noticed that a dime size dead-zone at the bottom left of the phone. My phone has been in a case and a glass screen protector since taking it out of the box and I have never (knock on wood) dropped it whatsoever. If I took it out of the case and screen protector you would think it is a brand new phone never used. So now I have this dead zone that will not recover regardless of countless remedies, so I contact Google support as I am a member of Google one because I pay for the 100 gigabyte cloud storage. I sent the representative Hey picture of the dead zone and to my surprise he told me he told me " do not worry about this at all, I will start an RMA for you immediately". I was extremely pleased with how this was handled, an hour after talking with him, my entire screen died. I no longer can use my phone at all. Thank god it will be here in two days!

So you'll only have to slum it with an old device for a day or two, sweet!

Never had a problem with Google RMA process, always the reason I buy direct, piece of mind

In the UK - Google do a great job with their phones too for RMA. They sort you out relatively well
Even if you didnt buy direct

Update:
Got the new device yesterday, apparently they are refurbished and I noticed a nice big strand of white lint in-between the camera glass right on top of the main shooter. Obviously got in there when Google did whatever they do to refurbish phones.
Contacted them and so far they are refusing to swap this one out. I understand it's a little nit picky but I paid $900 for a brand new phone, it had a defect and the replacement now has a defect. That aside, it's absolutely killing my OCD. Could you imagine having to look at that stupid little piece of lint for years to come? If they ultimately stick with not doing an RMA on this I'm either selling and going for a OnePlus 8 pro or possibly even attempting to remove the camera glass square to get that little fu**** out.

1dopewrx05 said:
Update:
Got the new device yesterday, apparently they are refurbished and I noticed a nice big strand of white lint in-between the camera glass right on top of the main shooter. Obviously got in there when Google did whatever they do to refurbish phones.
Contacted them and so far they are refusing to swap this one out. I understand it's a little nit picky but I paid $900 for a brand new phone, it had a defect and the replacement now has a defect. That aside, it's absolutely killing my OCD. Could you imagine having to look at that stupid little piece of lint for years to come? If they ultimately stick with not doing an RMA on this I'm either selling and going for a OnePlus 8 pro or possibly even attempting to remove the camera glass square to get that little fu**** out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: I did buy direct btw, always have and always will.

1dopewrx05 said:
Edit: I did buy direct btw, always have and always will.
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Click to collapse
Just call them back and do a second warranty, let them know your experiencing new problems, or tell them you want to do a buyer's remorse return & they'll do it. I did a buyers remorse after I bought the my pixel 3 xl twice last year, once at 2 months & the other at 4 months, (That's where they give your your money back).. I called them for a day over & over but they did what I wanted. don't let Google tell you what's gonna happen you tell them