[Q] About to buy a used Nexus 4.

To be hones, stay away from the N4. Before I bought the N4 I had a Nexus S and was happy with it.
In my opinion there is no "perfect" phone, but the N4 has critical bug: e.g. the N4 will stuck in "deep-sleep"-mode over night if you don't plug in the charger, ALTHOUGH it was fully charged.
I had this bug not only over night. Sometimes it happened when I had this phone in my pocket.
This is DEADLY when you are using the phone as a alarm glock and have exams and I am not the only one with this problem.
I also had other problems like bootloops after random reboots. I tried stock and custom roms and kernels.

I don't know if the N5 has similar problems. If not (I hope so), I would recommend you the N5.

# EDIT: About 2 month ago, I changed the SIM-Card and configured it. After I finished configuring the SIM-Card I put my old back on my N4 -> got stuck in booloop again.

Check for dead spots and ghost touches, its a pretty common on the 2nd edition of of the G4's.
My Nexus 4 is currently facing these problems.

The deep freeze bug isn't that common, nor is it something I've ever had a personal problem with.

One thing to watch out for: as you can see by this board the Nexus is a very customizable device. Make sure you understand what you're getting and if it is truly stock or if the seller installed any custom kernels, patches, etc. Mine for example is running the stock ROM but is rooted w/ custom recovery and has Franco's kernel, an old modem to enable LTE, and the Dalvik optimization patches. The extras aren't apparent at first glance. Asking for an assurance that the phone is truly stock or that seller lists any changes isn't unreasonable. Getting a screen cap of the setup/phone screen might be useful too or at least a look at it if you pick up locally.

For hardware, it's an all glass phone so watch for scratches and cracks. The power button takes abuse so make sure it works properly. Camera is a common complaint so maybe snap a photo of two with it. Finally, you want a clean IMEI so for a Craigslist sale I'd want to see the phone working on a network before I took possession. Ideally seller will have it working, you check it, then they remove their SIM and factory reset it in front of you.

I bought my N4 used off of eBay for under $200 and couldn't be happier. Good luck.

chronostorm said:

I'm about to buy a used Nexus 4 off of craigslist to use in Taiwan and Japan and possibly through T-mobile in the US later this year. It should work for all of those, right?

Anything in particular I should inspect when I meet up with the person? Stuff unique to Nexus 4 maybe, but also stuff in general, since I've never bought a used phone before!

Thanks a bunch guys!

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First, I am going to say I agree with everything @rhavasy said... That being said, my honest opinion for the price of used Nexus 4, you may want to consider the Moto G 16GB GPE (Google Play Edition) for $199, you will also have a warranty and no worries that it has been modified or abused significantly (I once knew a guy that bragged he had overclocked his phone to the point it nearly burned his hand, then he restored it and sold it as "stock")

At first glance it looks inferior to the N4 in most respects, and technically speaking for the most part that is correct, but my son needed a new phone recently and the N5 and other GPE models were way out of his budget at the time, and Moto G was so well reviewed we got one, and it is amazing... it is on par with the N4 in all real world uses, including gaming, plus the battery life is easily double my N4.

If you really are set on a N4, be careful, otherwise, consider the Moto G... Plus the "water resistant" feature of G makes it a pretty amazing phone, check out some of the Moto G water test videos on Youtube from reputable review sites, 30 minutes immersion in water well powered up and no ill effects.

There are many horror stories with used N4s. Because it was a pretty highend phone for a low price at the time many people who bought it didn't take proper care of it so the market is flooded with damaged units with some very nasty scratches. I saw one once, mint condition with its original box and everything yet the screen looked as if someone had taken a fork to it, with a hammer.

Still an excellent phone which should work for you for years:good:

If the guy has the phone insured he can always claim it stolen after he sells it to you and then you'll have a barred phone, a danger with buying any 2nd hand phone privately.

I've had my nexus 4 for 16months and is still perfect, buy the phone and enjoy it

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

I still love my N4. I have had it for about a year, and rooted and installed a LOT of stuff, absolutely NO problems. I don't see anything wrong. You should get it.

I've had my N4 for about 2 years. It's the best phone I've ever had.

yes, nothing wrong with nexus 4.excellent phone.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium