Picking up used Nexus - what to look for

[jimijames]

Palm pre owner on Sprint here... I've decided enough is enough with HP's incompetence and it's time to make the jump to Android (especially liking what I see with ICS ). I've decided on the Nexus S and recently picked one up on ebay.

Questions:
1) I want to test the phone as much as possible before I activate it. Are there any particular problems I should look for (e.g. signal reception seems to be an issue, but not sure I can test that without activating)? Anything, if it was your phone, that would cause you not activate it? Any apps/benchmarks you would recommend that would really hammer the hardware and software?

B) Speaking of apps, with webos, I don't believe you have access to the app catalog prior to activation. Will I be able to download Android apps prior to activation?

3) With webOS, I can download a webos doctor and return my pre to stock with a usb cable and a few mouse clicks. I would like to completely wipe and bring the nexus to back to stock - can this be done as easily as the webos doctor or do I have to root (which I will probably eventually do anyway)?

I don't have the phone yet, I'm sure I will have more when it arrives.

 

[Paul627g]

Palm pre owner on Sprint here... I've decided enough is enough with HP's incompetence and it's time to make the jump to Android (especially liking what I see with ICS ). I've decided on the Nexus S and recently picked one up on ebay.

Questions:
1) I want to test the phone as much as possible before I activate it. Are there any particular problems I should look for (e.g. signal reception seems to be an issue, but not sure I can test that without activating)? Anything, if it was your phone, that would cause you not activate it? Any apps/benchmarks you would recommend that would really hammer the hardware and software?

B) Speaking of apps, with webos, I don't believe you have access to the app catalog prior to activation. Will I be able to download Android apps prior to activation?

3) With webOS, I can download a webos doctor and return my pre to stock with a usb cable and a few mouse clicks. I would like to completely wipe and bring the nexus to back to stock - can this be done as easily as the webos doctor or do I have to root (which I will probably eventually do anyway)?

I don't have the phone yet, I'm sure I will have more when it arrives.

Without activation there isn't too much you can do to test it out other than the obvious... Power it up, look at the screen for any irregulaties, cracks, signs of wear... The battery door comes off the back very easily, take a look under there for signs of wear, water damage, obsessive dirt, dust...

You can check the capactive 4 row buttons and hard buttons on the sides just to make sure they are all functioning as expected..

Loading apps onto the device without activation can be done, but its a lot easier when activated...

Returning it to complete stock can be done, its not as simple as WebOS from what I have heard about WebOS but never the less this is a developer device and was made to be flashed/rooted and unrooted, etc...

[APP] One Click Return to stock for nexus s 4g - xda-developers

Thats about it, we will see you once your up and going

 

[enik]

Check the on screen keyboard. On some nexus s phones they "stick" so type a bit on it.

Sent from my HP Touchpad using Tapatalk

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

I got my Nexus off craigslit for pretty cheap and everything looked good except i had some pretty awful signal and wifi issues. As someone mentioned play with keyboard as that leads to freezes and sticks as it did with mine. Its always good to have the insurance, I ended up paying the 100 bucks to have a brand new NS4G shipped out to me overnight and everythings all good now.

 

[klau25]

I got my last week also from someone of craigslist too. I met the guy from the sprint store and make sure everything was ok before paying him. so far I'm loving the phone.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

 

[jimijames]

Got my phone, played with it for a while... everything seemed to be OK, so I took the plunge and activated it. I would say so far, so good. Signal was a major concern based on what I have read, but so far it seems to be on par with my Pre 2. Only things I've noticed so far: the letter "p" seems to be slow to respond... or I'm not hitting it right. Also, sometimes it seems slow to respond to touches and sometimes stutters when scrolling thru lists.

 

[Paul627g]

The stutter could be just the launcher or something lagging the device some where...

You will have to play around a bit and see what you can come up with....

Third party launchers can make a difference.... Launcher Pro, ADW EX, Go Launcher, etc....

 

[jimijames]

The stutter could be just the launcher or something lagging the device some where...

You will have to play around a bit and see what you can come up with....

Third party launchers can make a difference.... Launcher Pro, ADW EX, Go Launcher, etc....

I definitely need to checkout the launchers... I also will be checking out messaging apps. The problem - if you want to call it a "problem" - is that there are too many to choose from

 

[Paul627g]

The problem - if you want to call it a "problem" - is that there are too many to choose from

Welcome to Android ! Thats the beauty of the open source, anyone can create things and as you are finding out there is plenty of options to go around