Don't buy an HTC 10 used, unless you have it fully tested or with warranty

[cytherian]

I started using HTC cellphones since the first Android phone -- the Hero. I then went to an Evo 3D, and then an HTC One M8. The M8 is a terrific phone. So much works really well. But it is aging... and when you see an HTC 10 in person, it's impressive. I don't like buying phones when they first come out, preferring to see what issues come up in the 1st two years. If it looks good, I jump in and get one either refurbished or gently used.

So, I bought an HTC 10. Excellent cosmetic condition. Doesn't look like it was used much. Reviews on this phone are great. As for problems, I had seen some, but it looked like the exception. That is... until I got one. And then I discovered that this is a far more pervasive problem than I realized.

The HTC 10 has battery problems. They crop up after about a year of use. The phone will abruptly shut down when it's down below 40% available charge, and then go into a reboot loop. Mine does it at 20 to 25%. I spent an entire weekend reading up on this problem and putting the phone through various tests and corrective checks. Nothing improved the situation. If it got narrowed down to 10%, I could probably live with it. But 20~25%? No way.

I read up further and discovered that a number of people have run into faster battery drain when upgrading to Oreo. Only some people see an improvement. And if you have battery issues under Nougat, it's only exacerbated under Oreo.

Otherwise, the HTC 10 is a great phone. Bright color saturated screen. Rapid response. The speakers are a bit of a let down (the M8 sounds much better), but redemption is with the headphone jack and nice built-in DAC. Video playback stutters a bit, though. Even with 3rd party players like VLC, I could tell the video has a subtle stutter that isn't present on the M8.

Anyway, I don't know if it's worth trying to track down a warranty covered HTC 10. If I look at the U11 cost, it's not far off from the Pixel 2, and I'd probably prefer to go with that.

 

[GSX1400]

Agreed.

I followed roughly the same upgrade path as you did.

HTC Desire > HTC One X > HTC One M8 > HTC 10

I love HTC phones, but i've also noticed the same issues with battery drain. I actually experienced the boot loop at around 20% remaining on my current HTC 10, but it seems to have gone away and never happened again for many months. Now, I just get terrible battery life and I have to unplug and re-plug the USB-C cable in to try get it saying 'rapid charging' as it mostly complains of 'slow charging'

Shame. Will be my last HTC phone as I don't like their direction.

 

[Geezerb]

You can always have a new battery installed. Cheaper than buying a new phone.

 

[touchthatpad106]

I have been a big HTC fan and had not owned one since the OG HTC M7. That phone I got so much life out for nearly 2 years and my only issue was near the end the camera screen was blurry and did not take as good of pictures. I got the HTC 10 used on eBay for $200 last November, but the first one I got the camera wouldn’t launch after about 4 days of using it. I returned that one and bought from another seller.

That is the one I am currently using and in the past couple of weeks the battery is rapidly draining about 30% every 2-3 hours. I have factory reset it and have not installed anything new. Fast charging more often than not has stopped working as well.

I am thinking about replacing the battery too, but I went to a local kiosk in a mall today and when I asked them the guy said “We don’t do HTC phones. They have problems.” I love HTC and this phone, but this is very annoying.