Beware EBay and Swappa Resellers with S7 Active

[CFoote]

All,

I've noticed a startling trend by the resellers of cell phones for the S7 Active.

The S7 Active has a two-layer screen - the top layer is supposed to be replaceable if it crackes, thereby saving you a expensive repair.

Unfortunately, these scrupulous resellers are removing this second layer, exposing the screen itself, which is much more fragile.

You can tell this in listings by looking to see if the earpiece speaker and buttons look "raised" in the pictures provided. They should be nearly flush if the second layer piece is in place.

For example, Swappa has a seller in NY right now that is selling "mint" S7 Actives, and all of his phones have the second layer of the screen removed. Samsung no longer sells this second layer, so you would have to put down a tempered layer to help protect the screen, and even then there are no guarantees it will provide the proper protection.

Buyer beware, just a FYI.

Chris

 

[cdunbar]

I just bought one of these and I can confirm that the outer screen is removed. I'm returning it now and will update with what the seller has to say. I wish I had your sharp eye and noticed this in the pictures, looking back it is noticeable.

 

[Sowa96]

I bought it 8 days ago. Didn't even notice it. I'm. Just going to buy a tempered glass above it. Too lazy to deal with it now, I'm overall satisfied with the phone.

 

[faronium]

That's good to be aware of, but not really a deal breaker, or wouldn't be for me. I leveraged the tendency of the factory screen protector to scratch to purchase a cheap phone off e-bay. I'd find the one with the worst looking screen with okay looking everything else then when I got the phone, removed the plastic layer and replaced it with glass. That was a year ago and I've been happy ever since.

My point is that those thick plastic protectors would look like crap not long after purchase so you are better without them. The glass is still gorilla, the edges of the screen are raised into a lip to protect it and you can add a sacrificial glass protector yourself. If the price is cheap, I'd buy one.

 

[CFoote]

I think it all comes down to what your expectations are of "like new" or "mint". Personally, I would want the factory second layer that has the proper material for protection. I returned a phone on eBay as it was listed as brand new - literally "new in box". Lots of resellers out there taking advantage.

 

[HEKTakun]

missing layer

Thanks for the heads up. I wouldn't have known any better if I hadn't come across this post. I bought one off ebay from the seller emb-phones which shipped out of Brooklyn, New York. I can also confirm the phone is missing the second layer mentioned in this first post of this forum. I would like you share pics but i guess i haven't hit the 10 post requirement yet :/. I'll come back and figure out a way to post pics some other time.

 

[c0ldburn3r]

Qualitycells on Swappa is selling their Mint condition S7 Actives without the factory protector. I've contacted them about my device, not really hopeful that they will do anything though.

 

[cdunbar]

Returned phone

I just bought one of these and I can confirm that the outer screen is removed. I'm returning it now and will update with what the seller has to say. I wish I had your sharp eye and noticed this in the pictures, looking back it is noticeable.

I returned the phone I received without the outer screen. My concern is it may affect the water-proofing and it is against Swappa rules to sell a modified phone. They should at least admit it and let the buyer make an informed decision. I asked "QualityCells" if they could provide an unmodified phone and they could/would not. They did give me a full refund and paid return shipping. Unfortunately Swappa did not seem interested that one of their sellers is doing this. It wasted a lot of my time.

 

[drakepayton]

Here's an example.

 

[WaynesWhirled]

I can't see this photo. Can you imgur it and attach a link? Thanks!

IGNORE: Checked your actual post and found the One Drive like to the photo. All good.

 

[WaynesWhirled]

Photo not visible.

I can't see this photo. Can you imgur it and attach a link? Thanks!

 

[WaynesWhirled]

Discussion with ebay seller about this issue...

Thanks for bringing this to light; I recently bought an S7 Active from an eBay seller much like emb-phones (in this case syncelectronic), and found that the screen layer had indeed been removed. At least the glass underneath was in perfect condition! I brought this to their attention and they claimed to not realize this as they buy them at auction in quantity; they asked what they can do and I said I wanted them to refund me $11.99 so I can get a tempered glass protector to install in place of the polycarbonate that was removed, and that they change their ad to reflect that this protective layer has been removed.

Other than that, the phone was indeed in the condition described, and I would have put a screen protector on anyway, but I DO wish the ad reflected that actual situation, so we will see what they come back with.

 

[cock0sorus]

I got one also from eBay, i paid $110 for it with NEW screen thats missing the second layer but hey, it works fine, i've added the tempered glass on top and a discrete cover and its a great phone.. Sure u have to be careful about dropping it but isnt that with 99% of phones these days? I tried finding a OEM replacement screen for this phone but no luck and the screen is the phone so if you get a pink line or 'store display model' shadow burn in then the phone is garbage. I really liked my S5 Active, its smaller and screen size is the same as S7 but unfortunately, it stops on 6.0.

To sum this up, its a hit or miss with these, if the seller is honest and the LCD is clean, then you get a great phone for a tenth of its original price. My S7 Active works well so far, i work outside and sweat a lot here in Florida and the phone is exposed to sand and lots of moist sweat and no issues for the past 4 months, even with the 1/2 screen on it.

 

[supertac]

can we see pictures of what you mean?

no ****... look at what I found...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4LUgs5jYkI

I believe when I bought mine, it was in mine shame... but had a layer missing. No worries- tampered glass protector solves the problem.

 

[dzvxo]

Interesting... Just bought an S7 Active on eBay for $60, let's see if it has the layer...

 

[UnableToResetOldProfile]

LCD + Digitizer (Gorilla Glass 4) + Protective Polycarbonate Layer!
Buy a phone with a scratched poly layer, remove it, add a 9H screen protector.
This isn't rocket science.
Geeesh ... Panic and mayhem over a stupid poly layer ..... S8 Active has the same treatment, and Gorilla Glass 5.

https://www.cio.com/article/3079219/hardware/samsungs-new-water-resistant-galaxy-s7-active-survives-severe-crash-tests.html
https://www.slashgear.com/galaxy-s8-active-has-a-plastic-screen-protector-on-top-of-gorilla-glass-25516999/

 

[CFoote]

You don't get it. It isn't "panic" about missing a screen protector, it's misleading the buyer. That is why I posted this months ago.

If a screen layer was originally removed, it was either cracked or scratched beyond belief. To me, that means the phone had a rough life.

If you spend $50 on a S7 active and the layer is missing, I wouldn't care. But if a seller advertises "NEW" (unused) old stock, and that layer is missing, that is a problem. THAT is why I posted this.

Have a great day, UnableToResetOldProfile.

Chris

 

[Arkain2K]

All,

I've noticed a startling trend by the resellers of cell phones for the S7 Active.

The S7 Active has a two-layer screen - the top layer is supposed to be replaceable if it crackes, thereby saving you a expensive repair.

Unfortunately, these scrupulous resellers are removing this second layer, exposing the screen itself, which is much more fragile.

You can tell this in listings by looking to see if the earpiece speaker and buttons look "raised" in the pictures provided. They should be nearly flush if the second layer piece is in place.

For example, Swappa has a seller in NY right now that is selling "mint" S7 Actives, and all of his phones have the second layer of the screen removed. Samsung no longer sells this second layer, so you would have to put down a tempered layer to help protect the screen, and even then there are no guarantees it will provide the proper protection.

Buyer beware, just a FYI.

Chris

Thank you for your insight!

I recently bought a refurbished device that was advertised as having a perfect 10/10 screen, but is clearly missing the outer layer, and the screen is showing random pink line as well that comes and go. Without your post, I would have I never understood how the LCD could have been damaged while the screen doesn't shows any scratches at all. Contacting them now for a replacement now!