Can I vent here about AT&T's "refurbished" Tilts?!

[trjons]

90 day warranty and 110 days after I buy it the keyboard starts to have letters that aren't working the first time I press them.

I know I have to replace it (myself), but I'm pissed off at AT&T for selling me a lemon!!!!

[JimmyMcGee]

First of all a "lemon" is "A vehicle, usually new, that has a large number of defects."

The Tilt is not a Vehicle. Nor can it be considered "new" is its refurbished. Also, one defect after warranty does not mean its a lemon.

And when you buy a refurbed anything, you assume the risk that it will break faster then a new. Hence why its so much cheaper.

Is it frustrating? Yes, it is no fun in the end. But such is that risk of Refurbed Items.

[trjons]

Ok, so not technically a lemon.

But I thought the real tradeoff in a refurb was taking something that had previously had a problem and was therefore scrutinized again and thus less likely to have another problem immediately?

[markgamber]

You take a gamble when you buy a refurb. Chances are fairly good you'll get something that was returned because it was "too much", too expensive, confusing for the user or something along those lines where the unit itself is fine. But you're rolling the dice by paying considerably less than full price and you may well end up with something that has a serious problem. The manufacturer generally turns it on and makes sure it looks ok but nothing more. They're not going to test the wifi, the keyboard, camera, etc, before stuffing it back in a box with all the rest of the crap that the phone ships with and sends it out the door. And when you consider that HTC doesn't care all that much about their brand new stuff, you're really rolling the dice with an HTC refurb.

[adoute]

If the keys work the second time you press them, a new keyboard may not 'fix' anything.

Searching the forum for keyboard issues will yield a lot of results. I know I've read quite a few threads about keyboard lag and missing letters while typing. Most seem to center on T9 and other auto-complete or auto-correct settings. You may find that you don't need a new keyboard after all - some software tweaks may solve your problem.

I bought a refurb Tilt, knowing it was a gamble. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems yet...

[khaytsus]

I got two junk Tilt's from AT&T before I got a good one. If the third one had also been garbage I would have probably been in serious trouble for what I would have done to one of their stores.

What really annoyed me MOST about it was when I got the second defective one I told them "LOOK, I've 'owned' this phone for 3 weeks and have yet to use it because you keep sending me CRAP!" and they said "Okay, look, tell us where you live and we'll get you to the nearest corporate store and swap it out tonight."

Of course I arrive at the store and they won't touch refurbs. At all. No question.

I got back on the phone in the parking lot and yelled at a few supervisors until they overnighted my new Tilt and took another $50 off of the $50 that it had apparently dropped in the last week, down to a total of $100 for it. Luckily the third one has been fine.

First two had serious keyboard problems.. One the keyboard had a big 'bump' in it and the keys around the right softkey would not work and the softkey was pressed by the screen all the time. The other one the screen freaked out whenever I opened it.

[trjons]

Okay, I reverted to an older rom and it is definitely a keyboard issue. It only affects the b, v, and space bar.

The question is whether I just need the replacement keyboard for $29 or much more...and can a noob replace it without totally effing it up.

[killerbeans]

Honestly I can say that I have a refurb, had it for about 6 months now, and haven't had problem one with it. Could have just been a fluke thing perhaps?