Who Has A Warranty Replacement Thunderbolt

[AndroidXTC]

An employee of mine was having the reboot issue with her phone. So I called Verizon for her earlier today to see if we could get it fixed but was told it needed to be replaced. So they are sending her a "Like New" or so they say phone or it could be a new service phone. How can you tell if its a refurb anyone know? Are they marked or branded somehow?

 

[Eclipse2K]

An employee of mine was having the reboot issue with her phone. So I called Verizon for her earlier today to see if we could get it fixed but was told it needed to be replaced. So they are sending her a "Like New" or so they say phone or it could be a new service phone. How can you tell if its a refurb anyone know? Are they marked or branded somehow?

The phone will be as good as brand new anyways. A Certified Like New Replacement is no different than a brand new device. The only time they send new phones is in the earlier stages when they don't have any replacements to my knowledge.

 

[richardpandy]

Im on my 3rd "Certified Brand New" and they usually look brand new. It was weird because the last one that I got had a yellow sticky note pad on it that said "alien files detected" and I have no clue why it was included with the phone.

 

[Chrisy]

I got a CLN BlackBerry Tour back in the day and it looked brand new. It last until I sold the phone, I was satisfied with it.

Let us know how her replacement phone does. Hopefully it is reboot free. I may have to go that route if an update doesn't fix the issue.

 

[AndroidXTC]

So there is no way to tell if its new or refurbished?

 

[mclarryjr]

There is something marked on the box letting you know its a refurbished and not new but for the life of me I can't remember what it is.

 

[Mike_is_Mike]

So there is no way to tell if its new or refurbished?

If you are buying a TB for the first time, it is new. If you are having a TB replaced, it is refurbished.

 

[AndroidXTC]

If you are buying a TB for the first time, it is new. If you are having a TB replaced, it is refurbished.

Not always, Some brown box replacements are new I just called Verizon and here is how to tell. Take the battery door off and if one of the screws has a black sticker over it that says VOID on it its new. If it has a green or other color sticker on it its a refurbished phone. Only the factory installs that black sticker and if the phone was opened the factory seal is destroyed.

 

[hal1]

'm not sure I understand the whole thing about being bothered by a refurbished phone (or anything for that matter)

Your phone is in used condition after you've had it for a few weeks anyways

AND NOTE, most experts agree that anything refurbished is usually less problematic than new, since these things have actually been tested after being restored to near new condition.

Also, how long after initial purchase would one expect to receive a new device for replacement? I try not to spend to much energy on things that don't matter in a few months.

 

[mannw1977]

I'm about to get my TB replaced and hope the reboots stop. I don't think they will tho. They better not give me any crap about the kickstand scuffs.

 

[Gravytrain]

I'm about to get my TB replaced and hope the reboots stop. I don't think they will tho. They better not give me any crap about the kickstand scuffs.

Why would they?

 

[nerdydesi]

Why would they?

The reason is that Verizon recently made changes to their warranty replacement program, all of them negative. : (

For instance, you used to have 10 days to return your defective device to them, now its 5 days. If there is any damage to the phone such as a scratch on the screen, you may be charged full price for the phone, overnight shipping used to be free, now its about $12, the free shipping now defaults to 5 days. If you have TEC (total equipment coverage), overnight shipping is still free.

I hope at least from these changes, their refurbished phones sent out for warranty replacement are of better quality. I work at VZW tech support and hear horror stories of these units. For instance, a customer told me she had her Droid Incredible replaced because the volume buttons weren't functional and the unit she got were missing those buttons altogether! I guess the warehouse thought if the buttons were missing, there is no way to break them again, LOL.

 

[Gravytrain]

The reason is that Verizon recently made changes to their warranty replacement program, all of them negative. : (

For instance, you used to have 10 days to return your defective device to them, now its 5 days. If there is any damage to the phone such as a scratch on the screen, you may be charged full price for the phone, overnight shipping used to be free, now its about $12, the free shipping now defaults to 5 days. If you have TEC (total equipment coverage), overnight shipping is still free.

I hope at least from these changes, their refurbished phones sent out for warranty replacement are of better quality. I work at VZW tech support and hear horror stories of these units. For instance, a customer told me she had her Droid Incredible replaced because the volume buttons weren't functional and the unit she got were missing those buttons altogether! I guess the warehouse thought if the buttons were missing, there is no way to break them again, LOL.

They cant expect everyone to keep their phone is new condition for a whole year... Minor scratches are going to happen.

 

[Eclipse2K]

They cant expect everyone to keep their phone is new condition for a whole year... Minor scratches are going to happen.

The new program may sound strict but it's really no different than before. Sure, the shipping charges changed but I have TEC so it's not a big issue for me. As for the damage, if it's normal wear and tear, such as surface scratches on the screen, flakey kickstand, etc, it's going to be replaced without an issue. The reason Verizon is making the guidelines appear stricter is so that those who abuse it with drops and such will not be able to get away with it.

 

[Mortiel]

The reason is that Verizon recently made changes to their warranty replacement program, all of them negative. : (

For instance, you used to have 10 days to return your defective device to them, now its 5 days. If there is any damage to the phone such as a scratch on the screen, you may be charged full price for the phone, overnight shipping used to be free, now its about $12, the free shipping now defaults to 5 days. If you have TEC (total equipment coverage), overnight shipping is still free.

I hope at least from these changes, their refurbished phones sent out for warranty replacement are of better quality. I work at VZW tech support and hear horror stories of these units. For instance, a customer told me she had her Droid Incredible replaced because the volume buttons weren't functional and the unit she got were missing those buttons altogether! I guess the warehouse thought if the buttons were missing, there is no way to break them again, LOL.

There are a few rays of sunshine to the bad here: Firstly, the shipping prices changed because Verizon is no longer using Fedex as their standard warranty shipment source. It is now USPS. This allows for us to deliver to a P.O. Box, it also means you are not required to sign for it and you can simply toss the return in your mail box. That is IF you get it USPS. If you had the free overnight shipping through Fedex, it still is returned via Fedex.

Furthermore, to dispel the misinformation here, the damaged device fee is NOT the full retaill of the device. That is the non-return fee. The damaged device fee is $99 for feature phones and $299 for smartphones. What constitutes a damaged device is if it has incurred "excessive" wear and tear. In other words, you run it over with a truck or drop it in your swimming pool. Small scuffs, scratches, and dings do not matter.

So, to outline it nice and pretty:

-Get the defective device back in the mail within 5 days or you can get charged full retail
-If it has excessive damage, you can be charged $99 for feature phones, $299 for smartphones
-New shipping via USPS is slower, but allows more flexible shipping/
-Free overnight shipping is included with the Extended Warranty (EW) or Total Equipment Coverage (TEC)
-Free shipping is ***NOT*** included with standard Wireless Phone Protection (WPP) from Asurion for warranty replacements
-Asurion offers free overnight shipping on both WPP and TEC coverage for an insurance replacement.
-Certain businesses have free overnight shipping for warranty replacements in their agreement with VZW

Each warranty replacement is *supposed* to get a 100 point inspection prior to its release. About 1 out of 1,000 brand new devices get checked for quality. As a result of that difference, brand new devices have about triple the failure rate of warranty replacements. Yes, there are some bad warranty replacements sent out, but those are a rather rare occurrence.

Nerdydesi, I am sure you hear horror stories... we all have. However you have to remember working in Tech Support, no one calls you to tell you that their device is working correctly. Of the millions of warranty replacements that get sent out, only a very small percentage end up failing. I do sometimes have a suspicion, however, that some people as a little rough on their device and THAT is why is every replacement we send them has the same issue. No, you do not need to punch the touch screen to make it register your finger, contrary to caveman beliefs!

 

[AndroidXTC]

They still ship FedEx I have a replacement Thunderbolt coming to my office tomorrow for one of my employees I have the FedEx tracking number.and yes a signature is required thats why its coming to the office.

 

[Mortiel]

They still ship FedEx I have a replacement Thunderbolt coming to my office tomorrow for one of my employees I have the FedEx tracking number.and yes a signature is required thats why its coming to the office.

If its Fedex, then you had free overnight shipping I assume? Otherwise the 5 day is USPS.

 

[willymakit]

There are a few rays of sunshine to the bad here: Firstly, the shipping prices changed because Verizon is no longer using Fedex as their standard warranty shipment source. It is now USPS. This allows for us to deliver to a P.O. Box, it also means you are not required to sign for it and you can simply toss the return in your mail box. That is IF you get it USPS. If you had the free overnight shipping through Fedex, it still is returned via Fedex.

Furthermore, to dispel the misinformation here, the damaged device fee is NOT the full retaill of the device. That is the non-return fee. The damaged device fee is $99 for feature phones and $299 for smartphones. What constitutes a damaged device is if it has incurred "excessive" wear and tear. In other words, you run it over with a truck or drop it in your swimming pool. Small scuffs, scratches, and dings do not matter.

So, to outline it nice and pretty:

-Get the defective device back in the mail within 5 days or you can get charged full retail
-If it has excessive damage, you can be charged $99 for feature phones, $299 for smartphones
-New shipping via USPS is slower, but allows more flexible shipping/
-Free overnight shipping is included with the Extended Warranty (EW) or Total Equipment Coverage (TEC)
-Free shipping is ***NOT*** included with standard Wireless Phone Protection (WPP) from Asurion for warranty replacements
-Asurion offers free overnight shipping on both WPP and TEC coverage for an insurance replacement.
-Certain businesses have free overnight shipping for warranty replacements in their agreement with VZW

Each warranty replacement is *supposed* to get a 100 point inspection prior to its release. About 1 out of 1,000 brand new devices get checked for quality. As a result of that difference, brand new devices have about triple the failure rate of warranty replacements. Yes, there are some bad warranty replacements sent out, but those are a rather rare occurrence.

Nerdydesi, I am sure you hear horror stories... we all have. However you have to remember working in Tech Support, no one calls you to tell you that their device is working correctly. Of the millions of warranty replacements that get sent out, only a very small percentage end up failing. I do sometimes have a suspicion, however, that some people as a little rough on their device and THAT is why is every replacement we send them has the same issue. No, you do not need to punch the touch screen to make it register your finger, contrary to caveman beliefs!

Thank you for your input on these matters, I find it very helpful.

 

[Mortiel]

Thank you for your input on these matters, I find it very helpful.

You are welcome... I am happy to give whatever help I can!

 

[sonicbuffalo]

I just received my newly refurbed Thunderbolt. It has the green sticker, and also has a white sticker with a date under the battery. The phone works better than the new one I had. The voice recognition actually recognized my commands. The only reason I got the newly refurbed phone is because of random reboots after installing the latest update. I had 3 or 4 reboots, and as Verizon or HTC didn't have a fix for that, I figured they owed me a phone while under warranty. Like, I said, so far the new phone is working perfectly. I know it took a week or so before I started to get reboots on my first phone so the jury's still out on this one.