topic Need advice on purchase.... in Get Support

Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 20:21:27 GMT

Hi. My G3 has been acting up recently and I think it's on the way out. The dreaded screen flickering issues that many other G3 owners are experiencing.

Anyway, I found another phone on craigslist. But here's the details:

Essential phone (bought from koodo with warranty - owner has email receipt).

Now what are your thoughts on this to prevent the warranty scam (ie. owner sells phone to me, a month later, reports to koodo that phone is stolen/broken, phone get blacklisted, he gets a new phone). He now has my money and a new phone to boot.

I'm guessing that the safest thing to do is meet him at the koodo store and then unlist the device from his account? Is that possible?

Re: Need advice on purchase....

Mana — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:17:43 GMT

@ckl how much are you paying for this phone?

if it's more than a couple of hundred dollars, I would advice you to just buy a new cell phone to save yourself from trouble.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:18:48 GMT

Essential phone is definitely more than a couple of hundred dollars, more like in the $400+ range.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

will13am — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:28:01 GMT

I would avoid Kijiji and Craigslist no matter what. Too many horror stories. I have even read about ones where there was so called "official transfers" made at a kiosk. It doesn't seem to matter for whatever reason. I frequent red flag deals. They have a buy, sell, trade forum that I have trust in. I have many many purchases including a phone without issue.

The essential phone went as low as $360 through Koodo. I am sure that it will come back again at that price or lower as a final clearance. Actually right now, the best deal is the LG G4. RFD has a few on sale right now as low as $160 asking. I think $130-140 is a good price for new.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

srlawren — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:31:51 GMT

@ckl I agree with @will13am and would avoid buying from a stranger. Buy new, or buy from someone you know and trust to avoid such issues.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:37:01 GMT

Okay. thanks for all your replies. I'll keep looking...

Re: Need advice on purchase....

Mana — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:51:28 GMT

You can probably buy xiaomi, huawei or Samsung for cheaper.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

srlawren — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 20:58:39 GMT

@ckl wrote:
Okay. thanks for all your replies. I'll keep looking...

@ckl is there's anything we can do to help with suggestions or narrowing down options, let us know. The usual questions of budget, needs, wants, preferences, usage patterns and such apply, so give us as much info as you can. For example "I can't spend more than $X, but I need a large screen/I need something I can handle easily with one hand, I will use it mostly for calling and texting/I will be running 47 apps at a time/I will be playing lots of intense games, I strongly dislike <brand X>/I quite like <brand Y>, it needs to look fancy/it needs to perform without stutter, you know that type of stuff.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:08:25 GMT

@srlawrenWell, coming from a G3, it has to be a QHD display or close to it. Updated SoC no earlier than 2017. Minimal bezels around screen. Good camera. Most importantly, minimal bloatware. The only phones that I know that fit that criteria are pixel 2, oneplus, and essential. There are a couple Xiaomi phones I saw, but don't really trust that company. I don't want to spend more than $600.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

Mana — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:13:46 GMT

@ckl, if you can afford pixel 2, then I would say go for it.

You will love the google call display feature which is not available in any other android or by any app.

If you can't afford it then xiaomi. The only thing with xiaomi is, if something goes wrong or if the screen breaks then it maybe very difficult to get it fixed here.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

srlawren — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:24:38 GMT

@ckl if QHD is a must, you will have to eliminate OnePlus from your list since the 5T is only 2160 x 1080 (aka FHD+, the 18:9 version of 1080p).

Re: Need advice on purchase....

srlawren — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:30:14 GMT

@ckl wrote:
@srlawrenWell, coming from a G3, it has to be a QHD display or close to it. Updated SoC no earlier than 2017. Minimal bezels around screen. Good camera. Most importantly, minimal bloatware. The only phones that I know that fit that criteria are pixel 2, oneplus, and essential. There are a couple Xiaomi phones I saw, but don't really trust that company. I don't want to spend more than $600.

@ckl would you consider LG G6? It is QHD+ (the 18:9 version of QHD), has minimal bezels, good camera (I'd love the wide angle lense!!), and I believe is in your price range. The sticking point there will be bloat, unfortunately. In that price range, there isn't a ton that's QHD/QHD+, to be honest.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

will13am — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:32:37 GMT

@srlawren wrote:
@ckl wrote:
@srlawrenWell, coming from a G3, it has to be a QHD display or close to it. Updated SoC no earlier than 2017. Minimal bezels around screen. Good camera. Most importantly, minimal bloatware. The only phones that I know that fit that criteria are pixel 2, oneplus, and essential. There are a couple Xiaomi phones I saw, but don't really trust that company. I don't want to spend more than $600.

@ckl would you consider LG G6? It is QHD+ (the 18:9 version of QHD), has minimal bezels, good camera (I'd love the wide angle lense!!), and I believe is in your price range. The sticking point there will be bloat, unfortunately. In that price range, there isn't a ton that's QHD/QHD+, to be honest.

Add also the infamous LG quality. Right now the G4 is a dime a dozen because it is bound to bootloop once the free flowing solder joints let go.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

will13am — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 21:40:27 GMT

@ckl, if you go Xiaomi, I think third party rom is the only choice. All the Chinese roms are a poor imitation of iOS right down to the fake looking app icons. In that case, there is no trust to be concerned about.

Edit: Telus has the essential phone at $460 outright. My spidey senses say Koodo will bring it back at a lower price soon.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:00:33 GMT

@srlawrenI looked at the LG G6 and it looks like a decent phone for the specs, but I'm a little bit mad at LG right now (due to the internal components).

Re: Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:00:10 GMT

I think this is what is happening with my G3. Although it is not boot looping, the screen is flickering when it gets hot (ie. playing games, video, etc). Numerous posts on the internet about this and some have even tried baking it in the oven to get the solder to reflow. However, in the end, it's only a matter of time before the issues come back.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:02:41 GMT

@will13am wrote:

Edit: Telus has the essential phone at $460 outright. My spidey senses say Koodo will bring it back at a lower price soon.

I saw that. However, it is online only - they don't carry stock in their Koodo stores, and when I tried to buy it online, I had to sign up for a plan. There was no option to just buy it.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

srlawren — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:09:04 GMT

@ckl wrote:
@will13am wrote:

Edit: Telus has the essential phone at $460 outright. My spidey senses say Koodo will bring it back at a lower price soon.
I saw that. However, it is online only - they don't carry stock in their Koodo stores, and when I tried to buy it online, I had to sign up for a plan. There was no option to just buy it.

@ckl you could sign up and then cancel as soon as you receive the phone.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

srlawren — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:10:42 GMT

@ckl wrote:
I think this is what is happening with my G3. Although it is not boot looping, the screen is flickering when it gets hot (ie. playing games, video, etc). Numerous posts on the internet about this and some have even tried baking it in the oven to get the solder to reflow. However, in the end, it's only a matter of time before the issues come back.

@ckl How long have you had the G3? I mean, they became availalbe in June of 2014. If you've had it since even the end of 2014, it's done you at least 3 years. I'd say that's a pretty "reasonable" timeframe for any modern electronic device to start develpoing issues.

Re: Need advice on purchase....

ckl — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 23:52:50 GMT

@srlawren wrote:
@ckl you could sign up and then cancel as soon as you receive the phone.

That's certainly an option. It won't be $460 + tax. I would most likely be $460 + $15 + $30 (sim card + cheapest plan). Not sure if they prorate or just charge the entire month. Sim card is non-refundable. Still under my budget so a valid option.

@srlawren wrote:
@ckl How long have you had the G3? I mean, they became availalbe in June of 2014. If you've had it since even the end of 2014, it's done you at least 3 years. I'd say that's a pretty "reasonable" timeframe for any modern electronic device to start develpoing issues.

I think I've had it since mid Dec. 2015. So I would say 2 years. Not that great a lifespan IMHO.