New Note 4 on boot up it shows "custom"

[Sooks]

So I just got a brand new Note 4, and when this one booted up there is an unlocked logo and "custom" directly under it..... I am assuming this either means custom kernel or unlocked bootloader? Why would that be on a brand new phone from Verizon?

 

[B. Diddy]

Probably because they're selling you a returned phone that they didn't bother vetting. Bring it back and ask for a truly new phone. This time, open the box and start setting it up in the store, in case there are any more problems.

 

[Rukbat]

If they give you a hard time, remind them that it's illegal in all states, to sell a used phone - even if it's only been used for 2 minutes - as new, and that the FTC has put companies larger than Verizon out of business for it. (They find 2 more cases (and they'll have hundreds of people buying Note 4s from Verizon if they have to), prosecute under RICO, and ask for all gross income for the past 7 years as the fine. There's no company in the world that can survive that. [It's usually knocked down to 3 years, but that still puts almost any company out of business.]) Once a complaint like yours gets to corporate (and you can send the CEO a copy of the complaint you file with the FTC) an order something like a "give this man a brand new Note 4 that you checked personally" order goes to the district manager. And the FTC gets notified who got fired for causing a used phone to be put back into new stock. (I got investigated for that twice when I had my stores. The "contracts" were copies in each case, and it was just possible to make out where the "used" was whited out on the original. And it was plainly there on my copy. It's scary to lose a little store for a mistake. Losing your golden parachute with Verizon? [Which is more than my stores brought in - gross - in a year.] They'll fire everyone, raze the store and open one across town if they have to. The FTC takes it that seriously.)

 

[Sooks]

will do thanks. Weird thing is I am a every day Verizon shopper and have been working with my same store rep for our business for 8 years now... they don't even open the phones, they pull them from the counter sealed and i bring them back to the office, assign it in our business portal then give it to our employee.. so i guess it is weird that I unboxed it and it was like that.

 

[B. Diddy]

It's probably not that local store's fault--maybe someone more central at Verizon was repackaging used phones and distributing them to stores.:-\