Broken Treo 650 replacement: Part 1

Bob Russell · 05-09-2006, 06:15 PM

I have a broken Verizon Treo 650, and I've decided to replace it. Well, it's not completely broken, it just can't hotsync very well because something inside the phone has a loose connection by the hotsync connector. It has been a nuisance for a while, and every time I wanted to sync, it was an adventure to make the connection by pushing and pulling just right. Only one of my hotsync cords worked at all, and it always took all that fussing.

Well, I have phone insurance through Verizon, underwritten by Assurian. In fact, it's handled so separately that when I called Verizon Wireless support, they gave me the Assurian phone number, and my phone info (you need a date of purchase and a model number to file a claim).

This was the time to act because of three reasons:
1) I'm getting very annoyed with the bad connection
2) I will probably be getting a Sprint 700p if it comes out soon, has a reasonably priced data plan, and gets decent reviews.
3) I wanted to set up a Palm Desktop at work with a ShadowPlan-only (plus RepliGo) sync to handle my project information and work to-do's which need some more organization to keep up with.

So I called Assurian and they really surprised me. I couldn't understand the words being spoken by the rep very well, but other than that it was a very smooth process. My connector (or even a lost phone) is covered in my several dollars a month insurance fee. Even better, I think it's the same price for a cheap phone or a Treo, so I think I got a decent deal and it really paid off.

What did I have to do? Not much. Tell them the problem and the phone info. The model was in stock, and they are expressing the new or refurbished one overnight so I'm supposed to get it tomorrow at work. It includes a prepaid label for me to send back my phone. The charge was $50 for everything, and they even cover 2 incidents per 12 month period or annual billing period, so I'm not completely out of luck if my phone breaks again.

Despite a recorded message saying if I didn't return my phone promptly I would be charged up to $100, I was told by a rep that they would charge up to the retail price of the phone if I didn't return the bad one. They told me that when I asked if I had the choice of simply paying $100 and keeping the bad phone. Unfortunately, that wasn't a real choice for me. Oh well.

I asked a bunch of questions like:
* Can I keep my old battery? (I'm afraid of getting a stale one that won't hold a charge very well.) Answer: Yes, but be sure to return one. BTW, is there an easy way to compare and pick the best battery without two long battery draining exercises?
* Will it be like new if I get a refurbished one? (Mine is pristine and I don't want one with a scratched screen.) Answer: It should be like new and you shouldn't be able to tell it's been used. If it isn't in that condition, call them back.

I don't remember all my other concerns, but everything sounded fine. I had been wondering if it was in my best interest to pay that much and take my chances on a refurbished one, but it sounds fine. Who knows? I might even get lucky and get a new one!

I'm going to have a full backup with BackupBuddyVFS, and will update the ROM on the phone if necessary before I restore. Hopefully, there won't be any mismatched system files and I won't have to reinstall everything.

So far so good! I'll let you know later in Part 2 how it really goes.

Chaos · 05-10-2006, 02:06 AM

I'd suggest, possibly, doing another backup with another program, just in case. Something like NVBackup may be worthwhile (as I think the Treo 650 uses NVFS), just in case one or the other of the backups doesn't restore properly (for some unusual reason).

KEVinsight · 05-23-2006, 11:27 AM

Im terms of hotsync problems, I've found the cord to typically be the problem, NOT the phone itself. (On two separate Treo 650's in this case).
I've found out the hard way that Treo's are very expensive to replace, so the insurance is worth it. The discounted price of the new phone/contract hide the fact that replacement IS expensive and specific to the network.

05-09-2006, 06:15 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Broken Treo 650 replacement: Part 1 I have a broken Verizon Treo 650, and I've decided to replace it. Well, it's not completely broken, it just can't hotsync very well because something inside the phone has a loose connection by the hotsync connector. It has been a nuisance for a while, and every time I wanted to sync, it was an adventure to make the connection by pushing and pulling just right. Only one of my hotsync cords worked at all, and it always took all that fussing. Well, I have phone insurance through Verizon, underwritten by Assurian. In fact, it's handled so separately that when I called Verizon Wireless support, they gave me the Assurian phone number, and my phone info (you need a date of purchase and a model number to file a claim). This was the time to act because of three reasons: 1) I'm getting very annoyed with the bad connection 2) I will probably be getting a Sprint 700p if it comes out soon, has a reasonably priced data plan, and gets decent reviews. 3) I wanted to set up a Palm Desktop at work with a ShadowPlan-only (plus RepliGo) sync to handle my project information and work to-do's which need some more organization to keep up with. So I called Assurian and they really surprised me. I couldn't understand the words being spoken by the rep very well, but other than that it was a very smooth process. My connector (or even a lost phone) is covered in my several dollars a month insurance fee. Even better, I think it's the same price for a cheap phone or a Treo, so I think I got a decent deal and it really paid off. What did I have to do? Not much. Tell them the problem and the phone info. The model was in stock, and they are expressing the new or refurbished one overnight so I'm supposed to get it tomorrow at work. It includes a prepaid label for me to send back my phone. The charge was $50 for everything, and they even cover 2 incidents per 12 month period or annual billing period, so I'm not completely out of luck if my phone breaks again. Despite a recorded message saying if I didn't return my phone promptly I would be charged up to $100, I was told by a rep that they would charge up to the retail price of the phone if I didn't return the bad one. They told me that when I asked if I had the choice of simply paying $100 and keeping the bad phone. Unfortunately, that wasn't a real choice for me. Oh well. I asked a bunch of questions like: * Can I keep my old battery? (I'm afraid of getting a stale one that won't hold a charge very well.) Answer: Yes, but be sure to return one. BTW, is there an easy way to compare and pick the best battery without two long battery draining exercises? * Will it be like new if I get a refurbished one? (Mine is pristine and I don't want one with a scratched screen.) Answer: It should be like new and you shouldn't be able to tell it's been used. If it isn't in that condition, call them back. I don't remember all my other concerns, but everything sounded fine. I had been wondering if it was in my best interest to pay that much and take my chances on a refurbished one, but it sounds fine. Who knows? I might even get lucky and get a new one! I'm going to have a full backup with BackupBuddyVFS, and will update the ROM on the phone if necessary before I restore. Hopefully, there won't be any mismatched system files and I won't have to reinstall everything. So far so good! I'll let you know later in Part 2 how it really goes.

05-23-2006, 11:27 AM	#3
KEVinsight Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: Zire72; Treo650; Handera	Check the cord Im terms of hotsync problems, I've found the cord to typically be the problem, NOT the phone itself. (On two separate Treo 650's in this case). I've found out the hard way that Treo's are very expensive to replace, so the insurance is worth it. The discounted price of the new phone/contract hide the fact that replacement IS expensive and specific to the network.

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05-10-2006, 02:06 AM	#2
Chaos Evangelist Posts: 418 Karma: 281 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Device: Assorted older devices	I'd suggest, possibly, doing another backup with another program, just in case. Something like NVBackup may be worthwhile (as I think the Treo 650 uses NVFS), just in case one or the other of the backups doesn't restore properly (for some unusual reason).

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