Refurbished Verizon Cell Phones

Advantages to Refurbished Cell Phones

What exactly are refurbished cell phones? Well, this is when a used cell phone is returned to the manufacturer, the service provider or a third-party for any given reason. As you may or may not know, when you send certain electronics back for warranty work, they issue you a replacement device almost immediately. This is so that you are not without your phone for extended period of time.

The "new" phone that you receive is "refurbished", while your old handset gets its cell phone repair. When your old phone is ready for use again, it is distributed to other warranty customers as a refurbished phone and the cycle continues.

Refurbished mobile phones are supposed to be restored to "near new" condition, meaning that the company may have updated the handset to the latest firmware version, replaced any broken or worn parts, and repaired any faulty components. They may also include a new cellular phone battery, because the life of a battery deteriorates over time.

There are several advantages to refurbished phones. Among these are:

• More affordable than new
• More reliable than unexamined new phones
• Typically available without contract
• Usually updated with the latest software and firmware

Cellular providers, such as Verizon Wireless, oftentimes offer refurbished phones to customers at a reduced cost. These usually aren't the newest models, so you may have a hard time finding a refurbished Verizon Voyager for a while. Features are typically a little lacking as well.

Refurbished Verizon Cell Phones

There are many sources for refurbished Verizon cell phones. You will find some of these below, but please note that this is not necessarily an endorsement for any of these firms. Please exercise caution when checking out the various cell phone deals, as there may be some restrictions or strings attached.

When looking at refurbished Verizon cell phones, be sure to check the legitimacy of the seller, the condition of the phone, and its feature set. Verizon Wireless operates on a tri-mode network: two digital bands and one analog band. Older phones may not necessarily have all three modes and reception may suffer as a result.

Wireless Galaxy

Although they do not have a section dedicated to refurbished Verizon phones, Wireless Galaxy does have a section dedicated to Verizon cell phones and another section dedicated to refurbished phones. One way to find refurbished Verizon phones is to go to this page and then use your web browser's "find" feature to look for "refurbished." Note that some refurbished phones are called "reconditioned".

Overstock

Overstock.com is an online shopping site that sells a variety of discount items. These products arrive at their store for a number of reasons: overproduced products, cancelled orders, and company-specific issues are just a few. Looking around, you can sometimes find unlocked Verizon phones that happen to be refurbished too.

eBay

Everyone's favorite online auction site is a wonderful source for new and used phones. After getting into the cell phone section, you'll be offered additional navigation on the left sidebar. From here, you can select Verizon from the Carrier pull-down menu and Refurbished from the Condition pull-down menu. As with any purchase on eBay, be wary of the seller and their reputation.

Verizon Wireless

Unfortunately, you will not find any refurbished cell phones available for sale directly on the Verizon Wireless official Web site. Some stores and kiosks may have a limited selection, but even those are hard to come by. This isn't to say that Verizon doesn't sell refurbished handsets, though. They have something called the HopeLine Program, which is a phone recycling program designed to raise money for victims of domestic violence. This includes the sale of refurbished wireless equipment.