[jgonzalez2066]

To my knowledge every replacement phone is a refurbished phone. I just received a "new" replacement phone through the insurance and it was jacked from the get go.

I couldn't even get to the profile sign in. It was such a pain but I will say they deliver the phones very fast. Next day

[ilovetrains]

A refurbished phone will vary based upon a number of things, including phone model and where Sprint and manufacturing partner are in the model run.

For example, on certain models Sprint and the manufacturer contract with a third party to do refurbs. Any phones that are returned for technical problems, and even some phones that are simply not sold are sent to the contractor which is supposed to basically go through the software and hardware and make it like new. Since the contractor has to be licensed by the manufacturer, Sprint is often in the dark about much of the process.

on newer phones the manufacturer is the one doing the refurb work. so for the Pre, HTC (the people who actually make the phone) do the work. Refurbs go through the same final testing process, but it is based upon random sampling, and since these phones have more problems to begin with, the error rate is higher. However, as the model run goes on HTC will outsource refurb work to a contractor (who has cheaper labor).

[Happy_Coal8]

I got a refurb phone about a month ago after i cracked my screen on my original... the refurb had alot more oreo to it than my original but other than that I am pretty happy with it, especially since it was replaced for free once my original was cracked.

[SuprHero]

well, my power button doesn't work. I'm getting a 'NEW' one on Wednesday...wish me luck.

[Lonestarsharker]

i got a refurb about a month ago as well. its actually a more solid phone than my original june 09 phone. only problems i found on it were that i can see light all the way around the screen (except for gesture area), and that the usb door didnt close all the way. fixed usb door by shaving off the guides in the inside center of it.

none of these problems bother me, so i consider it a new phone. i expected to see a scratch or dent somewhere on a refurb phone, but its clean.

[matikz]

Referbs are very much a gamble. I went through about 6 referb HTC Moguls trying to get one that didn't have any issues(usually the same keyboard issues I was replacing the original one for). While I kept hearing the claims that all referbs were checked it obviously wasn't the case. So yeah if you're getting a referb be aware you're rolling the dice on it.