Help finding used cell phone.

[Regie]

DH apparently decided to wash his phone. Then of course he had to turn it on to see if it worked. Well I have dried it but did not bring a charger with to work to test it. I do not have high hopes it will work, so someone will need a different phone. Can anyone recommend a place to buy a cheap used phone that works with verizon. I am not up for an upgrade till Nov and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a another phone.

[bean29]

DH bought one off of craigslist about a year and a half ago. He met the person at the sprint store to have it activated to make sure it was not stolen.

DD has purchased used/reconditioned phones off the Sprint website.

If your kid is not eligible for a new phone yet, but someone else on your plan is, you can buy the phone under your name, and then transfer it to the other phone line. You would then have to wait to Nov to get a new phone for yourself (edited to clarify). DD switches her phone back and forth all the time if it is not a new phone to your plan they do not charge an activation fee.

[quotequeen]

Do you know somebody who might have an old one they don't need? I gave SIL my last phone when she lost or broke hers around the time I was planning to get another one anyway. I think a lot of people just have them sitting around and would be happy to have it go to somebody who needs it.

[Chocolate Lover]

My DH jumped in a pool with his in his pocket because a bee was flying nearby. He's a huge baby about bees. He used some old POS phone I had laying around until I found one on Craig's list for him. Using the POS phone, which was at least 5 years old and very basic, reminded him to be extra careful. He still is using the CL phone and hasn't gotten his upgrade yet.

Ours use sim cards so as long as the battery is charged all you had to do was put in the card and you were good to go.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oh and I second asking if anyone has one laying around. I'd used up all my freebies from family on DS who did the pool thing twice. Took him 2 years to not have an old phone.

[swamp]

i also drowned my phone. I got a free phone if i agreed to extend my contract another 2 years. I didn't plan on switching carriers.

[8 Bit WWBG]

I second craigslist, and I think having the person meet you at the Verizon store is an excellent way to avoid potential scams.

I've been considering buying a CL phone just because I don't necessarily want to renew my contract. I don't want my unlimited data yanked, and I think it is a crock of crap that Verizon has implemented an "upgrade fee". I'm off contract in July. I have also just gotten into rooting phones, so having a few from CL to play with could be a good thing.

[alabamagal]

Friends or family the best source. I had a friend who used to get some used on Amazon. There are other resell sites that guarantee that the phones are not stolen.

My DS had an LG flip phone a couple years ago that went through the full wash cycle TWICE and still worked. The front screen was a little wonky, but the phone worked. A few other washed phones didn't fare so well. Ever since that phone, I have been a little more inclined to get LG phones.

[michelyn8]

Jun 5, 2012 11:44:19 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

I second craigslist, and I think having the person meet you at the Verizon store is an excellent way to avoid potential scams.

I've been considering buying a CL phone just because I don't necessarily want to renew my contract. I don't want my unlimited data yanked, and I think it is a crock of crap that Verizon has implemented an "upgrade fee". I'm off contract in July. I have also just gotten into rooting phones, so having a few from CL to play with could be a good thing.

I'm glad I read this. I've been toying with the idea of using my "free" upgrade to get a phone with fewer features and get rid of my smart phone (and downgrade my plan a bit). I just looked up the fee and $30 seems a bit much to me. Why not just decrease how much of a discount they're giving on the phones?

[roselia]

Buy a cheap cell phone and remember to keep the contact list safe in case the cell phone gets lost or damaged. The expensive the phone, the more problems you shall face.

[bean29]

Jun 5, 2012 11:44:19 GMT -5 8 Bit WWBG said:

I second craigslist, and I think having the person meet you at the Verizon store is an excellent way to avoid potential scams.

I've been considering buying a CL phone just because I don't necessarily want to renew my contract. I don't want my unlimited data yanked, and I think it is a crock of crap that Verizon has implemented an "upgrade fee". I'm off contract in July. I have also just gotten into rooting phones, so having a few from CL to play with could be a good thing.

a used phone won't avoid the fee on sprint I don't know if it will work for you. We could not even transfer a grandfathered phone from one user to another within our plan.

[Peace77]

You can dry it out.
Take the battery cover off the phone and the battery out of the phone.
Put uncooked rice in a sandwich sized Tupperware container, then put the phone in on top of the rice.
Add more rice so the phone is covered top and bottom. Put the box in a warm place like a sunny windowsill.
Wait 48 hours.

I did this with my husband's phone after it was dropped in water and it worked.

[Peace77]

Now I see that you say you dried it. Did you give it time to dry out?

If so, you can try asking on Freecycle or buy a used one on EBay.
I bought one on EBay for about $20 when mine died.

[Regie]

We have a vacuum desiccator at work so I put it in that for a few hours. Now waiting to go home and give it a try. I don't hold out much hope tho. I put an ad in our work classifieds and will look on ebay. Thanks all.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 5, 2012 13:54:50 GMT -5 Peace77 said:

You can dry it out.
Take the battery cover off the phone and the battery out of the phone.
Put uncooked rice in a sandwich sized Tupperware container, then put the phone in on top of the rice.
Add more rice so the phone is covered top and bottom. Put the box in a warm place like a sunny windowsill.
Wait 48 hours.

I did this with my husband's phone after it was dropped in water and it worked.

TD did this with his phone when he jumped in the pool with the phone in his pocket. I seem to think that after it was in rice for a couple days (after spending the day in direct sunlight while taken apart), it took another 2-3 days for his phone to actually work.

Services did not come back immediately. I think that he could first get the phone on. Then he could get a signal.....and it took another day before he could actually use it.

[zibazinski]

I have an old one. It's VERY basic but it's free to you. PM me if you want it.

[Regie]

Thanks all, did get the old one working. And thanks zib for the offer.

[zibazinski]

welcome