Help! Ebay purchased RAZR V3 not working

[boody13]

Hello all,

Well, I took the change on eBay and bought a RAZR v3. (GSM) They said it was new, unlocked, etc. It came in a re-packaged box with everything individually wrapped...seems liver from overseas (China or UK?) The manual was older or generic looking and had a UK and 2006 copyright on the back. The phone was charged and when it came on it showed a July 2004 date (could it be that old, even if 'new'?)

My major concern, if I keep this phone, is what occured after I placed in my prior LG's SIM card (service still with AT&T/Cingular). It appears to have loaded most, but not all of the of my address book/#s. However, I try to click on a friend's number and the call does not go through...it's like a dropped call whichever I try. A family member called earlier and got through but then the call was dropped. This shouldn't happen given the location I was in.

Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to change something in the settings for this to work? Or did I just get taken for a ride by someone that advertised a new phone, but re-packaged used or old parts from overseas?

Thanks

[Jay2TheRescue]

while it can be reset if you have a computer and the right software, what is the reading of the lifetime call timer? If you recently purchased the "new" phone it should be pretty close to zero. It sounds like you got an overseas refurb. They took an old phone, put it in a new housing and repackaged it. Try contacting the seller. They may be able to exchange it for you or give you your money back. If not, then you can contact PayPal or your credit card company to get the charges reversed.

-Jay

[boody13]

Is it easy to find the 'lifetime call timer' you had referred to (in settings somewhere)? The phone is still at home today...I'll check it in a couple hours.

Thanks....here's teh email trail below that answered some questions I had. with ebay seller. Let me know what you think.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Sometimes your address book numbers saved in your phone, not simcard.
So it is possible you may not see all the numbers.

2. You might have to change the settings to make the phone dial 1 before calling. It may be set to some other number. Go to setting and change the call settings.

3. These phones are unlocked using special software. Sometimes information get synced from previous phones. The v3 version of Razr have not been changed in past couple of years. So manual could be from 2006 but still same as 2008 model. I am not saying this is a 2008 phone, but its totally new and never used, only opened by us to unlock it.

Please let us know if you need any more help and will try our best to help you.

Sincerely,

The Cellphone Nerd Team

----- Original Message -----
Ok....charged it last night to test it this morning. Put in old SIM card from prior phone and it seemed to load the address book, although I don't think every phone # from my old address book is listed in the RAZR now.
Did some get lost?

More importantly, any number from the address book that I try to dial, the call does not go through. Is there a set-up issue? Does something else need to occur for the calls to work?

Lastly, understand about re-packaging, etc. Just curious if we have the most up-to-date phone guide, as the back of the book seems to indicate UK and 2006. Also, phone was turned on and original date says July of 2004.
Is this a 5-year old phone (even if 'new' and never used)?

Thanks...please reply to above cc as well.


-----Original Message-----
>From: sales@cellphonenerd.com
>Sent: Nov 20, 2008 11:35 AM
>
>
>Hello and thank you for your purchase,
>
>Our phones are all brand new and unused!
>_
>Furthermore, our phones come in from various global sources and so our
>technicians must inspect, test and occasionally reconfigure them to save
>time and grief on behalf of our customers.
>
>As we say in our description, we repackage these items. Thats why
>sometimes it may get little stained. But we stand 100% by our products.
>You can start to use the phone and if you dont like it or have any
>complain, please let us know and we will take care of it.
>
>Thank you.
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>The Cellphone Nerd Team

[boody13]

Anyone else? See email thread pasted from eBay's seller's site. Thanks so much

[Tony E!]

Just to be sure, check your "network settings" sometimes these phones are set to a different frequency band by default, i've purchase quite a few unlocked Razrs and i could say most of them were set this way, make sure your network settings are set to include the 850 mHz band.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Go to the recent calls list, then hit the menu key (center top key). I think its listed as call times, select that then select lifetime. I can check in more detail tonight when I get home. I don't have a Motorola with me today.

-Jay

[boody13]

Well, the call life was not an issue ( 6 minutes...all mine). But I couldn't get the phone to make or receive calls with my old SIM card in it. Called AT&T(Cingular) and they took IMEI # and 'registered' phone but still it was going right to voicemail. The customer service rep thought maybe the SIM chip could be bad, so she gave me a 'freebee' on the account and I went to a store the next day to get the new AT&T SIM (and get rid of my old CIngular SIM after transferring phone book to AT&T SIM.)

At the store, the rep transferred my phonebook to a new AT&T SIM and inserted it and once it was turned on, it got the same 'emergency only' text in upper left corner of screen. Basically, could be used for emergencies but no incoming/outgoing calls. He took out the battery, put it back and voila...it worked and I could get and receive calls.

OF course, I leave the store and charge it that night. NExt morning (Sat), it's back to 'emergency only' mode. Called AT&T - rep tried everything on his end and he doubts new SIM is 'burned' already. (Network setting was on automatic...I asked rep if it mattered if it was 850/1800 or automatic. Tried both..didnt' work. He said to keep it on automatic.)
He thinks it's getting in the network (can make emergency calls); but it's a hardware issue likely, since I was able to take new AT&T SIM and place it in my other similar LG and I could see the phone book and make/receive calls.

So CHIP was fine....did I got a 'hot' phone that was tampered with from overseas? Sounds like a new to return it and shop around again?

Thanks

[FrenchPhoneLover]

I have bought 3 phones from that ebay seller, they have a website cellphonenerd.com , I had one problem with a Motorola k1, had similar network issues. But they resolved the problem right away, I returned the item for an exchange and got another phone right away. They are very helpfull and they always answer emails. Good store to buy from.

[fonboy]

Your phone needs to go back to the vendor! Chances are the phone is a refurb from China ...but don't be too quick to blame the nerds! As a distributor, we pay more to buy REAL NEW RAZR's from Motorola suppliers. Think about this. North America generates about 30,000 RAZR returns/trade-ins per month. Do you see those around? NOPE! They are shipped to Chine where they are made "new" again and resold. Most RAZR's that are reboxed are refurbs!