The Smartphone Saga Continues
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012So after 3 day I finally did get a phone. I bought a used LG Optimus Black (LG-KU5900). I find out that there is still a ton of previous users info (to the tune of 2200 text messages). Being an Android phone, everyone has it paired with a Google account. Now, the previous owner was signed out so I don’t have any access to is Google stuff, but you can’t remove an account from within the phone without a pin number. Of course no one has this. While I can see the old email address(and mobile number), I get no response from either.
I found out that the phone can be wiped by downloading software from LG, the issue is that it’s all in Korean. While I have learned a reasonable amount of Korean, I don’t feel like trying to translate every single field in a program. I did find an English version. Gave that a shot. Hey, it flashed. Cool. Wait, why is my home button not working? Ugh. Oh look, there is an update available for my phone. Hmm, well this has already flashed an English version of the OS, which could account for the home button issue(although that would be a weird issue to encounter just because of language/regional OS versions) but hey, maybe the update will fix it(I really should know better after the CyanogenMod rolling disaster I had with my HTC G1/Dream). Now the fact that I couldn’t input my carrier’s apn info (what little I could find) , THAT is somewhat easy understand it being an OS difference, but then again why should it have been?
It took just over an hour for the flash to even start. For some reason the program was having a hard time talking to the phone. Finally it finished and oh look, the phone only gets to the carrier logo and then kinda loops there.
Well it was late at night and maybeitneeds a while to run. I’ll leave it overnight.
No change in the morning. Sigh. Time for a trip to the LG Service centre.
I figure they’ll just flash it and I’ll be good to go. Seeing as it’s a used phone, I’m hoping it won’t cost too much for a flash(at least it should be cheaper than a night of drinking nothing but Coke at The Hamilton Strip where flashes are free at least…). The girl at the front tells me it’s free service! So I hand over the phone and they ask me to wait in the customer area( where you can use one of their computers, read a magazine, or grab a half filled dixie-cup coffee for about 10¢).
After about 10mins they call me to talk to the tech. I need to explain this setup.
When you take your product in for service, you are dealing with the manufacturer directly at this point. In this case, I was talking to LG workers and not some retail person who sends your product to another part of the country to get looked after.
Depending on the size of the service centre, you may have to take a number and sit in some comfortable seats or browse the internet on a computer. This LG center is a little smaller than the Samsung one (which is right next door actually) so I just went directly to the receptionist. I handed her my phone and explained, as best I could, that the phone won’t completely start. It was rather obvious when you turn it on and she did then saw the issue.
The technicians all sit in another area that kind of remind me of a bank, but with comfortable seats for each client. So I get callled and the tech explains that they need to replace the main board because of a software bug. Huh? I was expecting something much more simple of a fix. I did find out that it is still free! He said it would take about 30mins. OK so I go back to the customer waiting area. I only get about halfway through writing this blog entry when they call me back. It’s all done and I walk out a happy guy :)
I should remind everyone that this is a used smartphone on an eleven dollar voice-only plan. (My Galaxy Tab has the data only plan).
