Hello, I hope you guys can help me. In two days I am buying a USED P800. Obviously I cannot know how good it was treated by the previous owner so I would like to ask, is there anything in particular I have to look for to make sure it is in good conditions (except obviously looking at the screen to see if it scratched or dented)?
Basically what I am asking is if there is anything I need to know to check to make sure I am getting a good deal... For example are there older P800 devices with old OS that cannot be upgraded? Is there a specific firmware version I have to look for as a minimum requirment?
Also, the seller is bringing me the manual and everything that came with the box, so I wanted to ask if the manual of the P800 has a list of items included in the original packaging. If yes you don't need to post it but if there is no such list on the manual of the P800 can you please post the list of items that come with the phone when bought new?
Thank you very much for all the info you can possibly give me!
The manual has a list of what comes with. I bet several people on this forum have an older P800 that was upgraded with no issues (bought mine about 4 months ago). The biggest thing I would glance over is the screen. Make sure you turn on the unit and tap around the screen to verify that every square inch gives you a response. Other then that, I don't think you'll have issues other the the firmware that is loaded on there.. The older firmware was very buggy. R2D has fixed several problems and made some enhancements, but it too still needs work.
I have an Pre release P800 from metrowerks. There is nothing wrong with them and they will upgrade fine (firmware) .
Look for any type of screen damage and any signs of it being dropped.
The only thing missing from the early models was the bundled software. You can download the latest from SE.
Good luck with your phone.
Well here is a list of what to check for:
1: Check if the set is complete (1 P800 duh!!, 3 extra styles, Flip replacement, 16mb Mem. Stick duo, charger, SE P800 pouch and all the manuals and Mem stick duo adaptor.)
2: Check the outer apperance of the P800 to check if it has been dropped, any scratches?, any dents?
3: Chek the screen, see if it has a lot of scratches, even the slightest ones will bother you, trust me, that is why look for even the most smallest of scratches on the screen.
4: play around with the P800 first and fiddle with all of the apps see if opening many many apps will crash the thing, this is due to some earlier P800's having faulty motherboards and will not work that well with many many apps working at once.
5: Check the firmare on the phone (Click on the app launcher, the one with 4 circles on the top hand right and then click view and then system information) get it if it is at least R1D or R1G or higher...
Yeah so there you go, hope that everything will turn out well and you will be able to enjoy you P800 when you get it.
😉 Another thing to look for is the warranty of course...
and also if the previous owner got the screen protector on that would be great too...
[quote="Bigfeat"]The older firmware was very buggy. [/quote]
Not really.
😉 Anyway firmware is nothing to worry about as its always upgradable and its usually FREE OF CHARGE... (If you have the WARRANTY CARD of course...)
The obvious one - it makes a phone call on your SIM card. If it's balcklisted as stolen, the networks (certainly in the UK) will NOT un-bar the phone.
I would actually call a SE center and check to see if your unit was ever registered and under what name. When I send mine for an upgrade the first time they took all the numbers and registered them. Even though the phone may still work it may or may not be able to be upgraded or repaired.
If the phone get's to your hands with no flip install the flip and open and close a few times to make sure it never fell on it.
Also test the Jog dial and the Memory card drive.
Why is the guy selling this phone to you. Does he have another phone?, he doesn't like it?...tell us, it might be suspicious and very telling to know what excuse he has because although there are reasons to preffer other phones, the P800 is still way ahead of any other phone/PDA'a on the market
Wow, thanks for the overwhelming help! For some reason this forum isn't sending me notifications so I didn't realize how many had already answered my post.
Thanks for all the useful info. I will perform all these checks and make sure everything is there...
The guy told me he bought it 3 months ago new and wants to sell it for the following reasons:
- needs cash
- doesn't use the pda features
- wants to buy a Sony-Ericsson t610 as soon as it's out in the States
He seemed honest but you never know that is why I am here asking you guys for help.
I can't wait to get it. I am very excited.
Is there any way to test the screen? I mean is there any diagnostic, test application or something? I certainly cannot tap all the pixels of the screen to see if they work, you know?
Is there any such thing as a free hand design application so I can draw and see if the screen respondes in every part???
Thanks
Yes, the jotter has an option to draw with different colors and stuff. The guy selling it to you can show you how to get to most places we're telling you about.
Since you're at it make sure that the camera works. First turn the phone around and check the lense which will be dirty because SE designed it in such a way that every time you're on the phone you end up placing your finger on it; then make a picture.
By the way, how much is he charging you for it? I mean if it's only a 50$ difference I would get it new from SE at 650$.
Good luck
He's charging me less than that so I am happy with the price...
By the way, can you confirm that it comes with an earpiece too?
😃 Yes it does... as you can see in the photo shown above.
Ok sounds great. Tomorrow we'll see if it's all good. Thanks again for all your invaluable support and help!
I am gathering there is no self-diagnostic software inside, right?
On a different note. I presently use a Visior Handspring with Palm OS software and I need to move my contacts to the P800. I don't care about the rest, but my contacts are enormously important to me and they are a lot...
Is there a tutorial somewhere on how to do this?
Can I RELIABLY beam the entire address book at once or do I have to first sync the Palm with Outlook and then Outlook with P800?
I have read about some bugs involved with this procedure (such as merging of fields, loosing categories)... Are there workarounds for this?
I just can't afford to loose any contacts...
Also I have one other question...
On my PDA I was used to write the numbers like this: 555-5555555 or 1-800-555-5555.
Is this going to make it impossible for me to use them with the P800? Should all dashes be removed? If yes, is there any quick way to do this? I have over 1000 contacts and can't possibly do it by hand!
Thanks for your advice!
I use a MAC so The sync process is nonexistent. I am able to sync my contacts or rather transfer them as V cards and i am able to do it all at once, but I don't know how it will work out for you.
Don't worry about the dashes, the phone will dial them up fine. I would test once to call yourself from your home to see if the caller ID recognizes your phone since your network is probably broadkasting numbers without dashes. In other words it will tell you what number is calling but might not link it to home or Jhon or whatever the name in oyur contacts is.
My phone is being upgraded so i can't test this for you, but the phone will dial numbers with dashes, spaces, parentesis and actually even if you write some text next to the number it will still dial correctly and ignore the nondialable info.
let us know how you like it once you actually have it.
I GOT IT and I LOVE IT.
Of course I still have to transfer all my data, only after that I'll feel "at home"...
Also I have one little problem:
There is a little white dot on the screen, it is not a dead pixel, it is on the glass above the display because i see it moving as I move the phone... I am assuming it is some kind of dirt but I don't know how the hell it got there... How do I get it out?
No idea, but there are some other posts around the forum regarding dust between screens. I wouldn't worry about it, whenever you decide to get an upgrade ask them to celan it.
Oh, and welcome to the P800- club
Thank you! I am very excited to be part of this cool family!
Well if you wanna read my horror story here's my full post: http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12972
I posted full instructions on how I did achieve to migrate my contacts!