Hello,
I bought a refurbished Note 9 and it looks brand spanking new. I am pleased with the purchase but I want to know more about this device. I have a Note 4 that I love because it meets my 4 major phone needs: my stylus codependency, replaceable battery, expandable memory, and 3.5mm jack. I always go through all of the settings to make sure nothing unnecessary is running down the battery. I am generally easy on phones but I have dropped my Note 4 fairly often with no visible damage.
So I upgraded to the refurbished Note 9.
First, is this curved screen beauty going to break the first time I drop it? I plan to install a tempered glass screen protector as well as a protective case.
I downloaded, installed, and ran vndnguyen's "Phone INFO" on the Note 9. I have some issues:
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Refurbished. I have gotten my past phones from craigslist but I wanted the 90 day warranty that came with this Note 9 because it was expensive (by my standards). Under "Refurbishment Check", Phone INFO says "Congratulations! Your Phone is ORIGINAL". I'm confused. Is the motherboard original? What does this mean?
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Battery. This is my main concern with a refurbished Note 9 and its irreplaceable battery. The battery was 36% when it arrived and it charged to 88% pretty fast and then slower to 97%. Phone INFO says "battery discharge cycles: 0". Huh?
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The rest of the "Usage History" items -- headset connect counter, charger connect counter, and s pen detach counter -- Phone INFO says "<root required>". This tells me nothing about the phone. You?
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"Manufacturing Date" is "2018.09.25". And "Knox Warranty Void" says "0x0". What does this tell me?
Is it possible that the battery actually has 0 discharge cycles? What does "root required" mean?
I want to be reasonably sure I made a good investment that is likely to last 2 years.
Thoughts?
I will attempt to answer some of your questions.
"battery discharge cycles: 0" It is common to have a new battery installed as part of the refurbishment process. One thing to keep in mind, this stat can be manipulated. This is, however, not a concern if you purchased from a reputable vendor.
"Knox Warranty Void" says "0x0". This is a good thing. Knox at 0x0 means the Knox fuse has not been tripped which mean the device most likely has never been tampered with at the software level.
"Is it possible that the battery actually has 0 discharge cycles?" This seems correct with a new battery installed.
"What does "root required" mean?" A rooted device will grant its user higher privilege access. On Samsung devices, rooting will permanently trip the Knox fuse and will void factory warranty in some regions.
I basically also have a Note4 and I have to say that I used to like it, but as time went on I started to absolutely hate it. The performance was bad, the camera was at times unusable, the battery (replaceable but not cheap in my country) is so bad my phone lasts around 2hrs screen on time, the back cover breaks easily, I replaced it twice and I had both of them broken in a matter of a few weeks/months. Also it overheats a lot to the point it's uncomfortable to hold (Exynos variant). So yeah, I plan to get the Note9 but I am really really really sad that it doesn't have the newest OneUI... Also here getting a refurb Note9 is super hard, and would be expensive.
Videos
The finger print sensor on my note 9 is all scratched and de-laminating making biometrics hardly usable. I think the OS is becoming a bit too outdated since I can't download and use some apps like Zelle anymore, though, I'm not sure if that is truly the fault of the OS and lack of updates.
I love my note 9 and I refused to do a trade in for a laughable $50 discount on my S24 Ultra because this phone is still kicking and, aside from those two issues, is perfect. It's going to be so bizarre having a fresh new phone after my 9 has been with me through the past 5 and a half years!!
I wish I had found all the neat features this phone has to offer and had found the following this phone has years ago but I only found all this while looking into replacements..
If y'all had to (or have had to) switch phones in the past, what would (or did) you get?
Hi! I just received an insurance claim Note 9 from Asurion. Naturally, I was expecting a refurb rather than a new device, and when I saw the phone come without factory packaging I was pretty sure it was a refurb.
However, I've tried several "refurbishment checker" methods, such as checking apps like Phone INFO SAM, Phone Doctor, and seeing if the IMEI has ever been registered before via Find My Device, and they're all reporting that the phone is original. Samsung, Verizon, and Asurion all gave me the run-around about checking if the IMEI has been registered before or not, though the Asurion rep did mention that even if the replacement is brand new it rarely comes in factory new packaging. The phone appears to be in perfect condition (no blemishes anywhere, came with factory-like plastic on the sides, buttons feel very new and clicky).
Is there any way to tell for sure on these modern devices where you can't tell the reconditioned status via the dialer RTN menu? Thanks.
I received brand new as a replacement in the past. It comes in sealed box just like one you buy in the store.
It's been a while since I had received a refurbished phone (an S8+). On that phone, it said "refurbished" on the phone... It was inscribed on the glass.
Perhaps the Note9 would be similar?
Just want to get a sense of wether it's worth it to grab a brand new one or not
Not that there's anything wrong with buying refurb if you get a good deal but me personally rather brand new. Piece of mind.
Definitely try Swappa if you're in the US and can't afford a new one.Bought mine a month or so after the device released for ~200$ off.I'm sure the prices will be much lower there now.
E: I should say that I've also sold on Swappa and they expect accuracy in terms of quality and honesty.
I'm sick of trying to find an alternative in my price range, I'm just buying another one (refurbished, excellent) from amazon, fuck it.
TLDR, I'm too artistic and cannot handle change
came here for support / advice using this device in the 2024's and beyond. does not having 5g support really matter. i don't browse much unless i am on Wifi anyway.
reasons why i keep using the Note9.
old fashioned 1/8" audio jack
SD card option
stylus
small ish fits in hand easier
waterproof / etc.
it was literally only 100$
5G won't be a hard requirement until your carrier shuts down 4G/LTE which should not be happening for quite some time anywhere in the world.
Since you have the North American model, you're stuck with Android 10 being the latest OS, so at some point in the future, you may find some apps that start requiring Android 11 as a minimum and therefore won't work on the phone.
And of course, security updates are long gone but shouldn't be a big deal if you don't keep highly sensitive stuff on the phone. Besides, when was the last time you've heard of anyone around you who had their identity/personal information stolen due to an out-of-date OS on their phone (clicking on shady links/attachments doesn't count as that can be done on any device connected to the internet)?
Also, if you haven't already done so before, it's nice to play with the FM radio on the North American models which don't come with the app installed.
I’m thinking about getting another one mine died a slow and painful death about 2 years old and I still miss it…
It has been always my dream phone but I got never chance to get it. Now my grandma needs a new phone since her cheap LG lowrange broke and I was thinking about getting it her. She kinda likes the S pen and the features and I found refurbished one in perfect state for 250€. I really like the sleek design with S pen and 3d touch unlock looks also neat. Also, I finally have the opportunity to experience Note 9 after years.
Worth it or nah?
If all checks out OK and I can activate it with my carrier, then does that mean the phone is fine? Just hoping the phone lasts for years! Decided to go with a used deal for the savings. Anyone have good experience with buying used phones?
If its activated, then its not blacklisted, so you're good to go. If its refurbed, I hope you have some warranty on it. If after a week it functions and no hardware issues and all buttons work and no cracks anywhere, enjoy your new note 9. If no crazy battery issues, that's a bonus, and it charges as expected.
Technically you're good but if the seller reports it stolen or didn't pay his/her bill then it will get blacklisted. Amazon has good sellers though so I wouldn't worry to much.
Let me just say...
I fucking love my note 9.
God it's such an amazing phone. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Firstly, I did buy this phone off eBay. It was refurbished, so my expectations were low. I bought it for $359.99 and it had free shipping so there wasn't any other costs except for buying the actual phone. It took about 10 days to get it and believe me I couldn't wait to get it.
Anyway, I got the phone in a generic white box with an off brand cable and box. I bought the phone in the condition of "good". The seller described the condition of "good" being - may show signs of heavy use, scratches, etc. Which worried me a little but for the price I really couldn't argue but I digress. I get the phone and it looks practically brand new. Like there really wasn't any scuffs or scrapes. The screen wasn't cracked or showing any signs of damage. I booted it up and installed all the major updates/apps/etc. Anyway, I found that the s pen would not connect with my note 9 (D:). So I contacted the seller and let them know of the issue. Anyway besides the s pen problem it worked FLAWLESSLY. Like holy shit (Can I cuss on this subreddit? Too late.) Like, god it was better than I was expecting. The curves look good, the screen looks amazing, the OS is crisp, and just god everything about this phone was all I hoped for and more! The s pen was a bummer but I'll get to that in a second. So after installing everything and personalizing the phone it ran beautifully. Needless to say, though I was disappointed with the s pen issue I was still happy with my purchase.
So the s pen. I tried everything, resetting the cache, the phone, couldn't reset the s pen because the phone wouldn't register it being inserted until the phone was reset but it still wouldn't connect. I thought damn I'm going to have to get a new s pen. However, I still used the phone and didn't plan on returning it. I went to sleep and plugged in my phone. I wake up the next morning and just for shits and giggles I took the s pen out... What do you know it works now (if anyone knows why this happened feel free to tell me). Anyway, it now is connected with my note 9 and charges. Which is so nice.
So if there is anyone on this subreddit debating on buying a new samsung note 9/or off eBay hahaha. It is worth it! There can be some potential issues with buying refurbished but for what I paid it was so worth it.
(Just for reference, I came from buying motorola smart phones. Which isn't bad but the difference between their "new phones" and Samsung's 2018 flagship phone is just absolutely night and day.
I would give this phone a solid 10/10. The eBay experience eh (7-8/10) could have been better but hey it works.
TL/DR: Bought refurbished phone off eBay, s pen didn't work, then it did. I love my new phone!
The super capacitor in the pen fully discharged and needed to be inside the phone overnight to spark it into charging. Enjoy the phone.
Oooo can you send picture of box, anything special on it or literally a white box? Lol
Btw try all interactive checks to see if sensors work and check if phone is original and Knox is tripped or not. Finally eject SIM tray and check for water damage sticker conditions.
Good luck
The note 8 is a finally nearing it's end... And she wants that rear fingerprint sensor... So looking for note 9
Thanks in advance
I recently bought an "open box" note 9 512gb model SM-N960U, but I'm suspecting it may be more used than "open box". First I noticed that unlike my S9+ and Note 8 this phone did not contain any of the information usually found on the back of most Samsung phones like IMEI and model no. Another thing I noticed was that the S Pen was suspiciously lighter than the one on my Note 8 and the phone takes a while to recognize it. Is this phone really open box? Are there other ways of verifying if the device has been used more than the seller mentioned?
Looking to upgrade from my pixel 2 to a note 9, just wondering where I can get the best deal from? I saw some cheap ones on ebay but it looked fishy. What's a legit way I can buy it for a good price?
How worried should I be that I'm not getting updates anymore for the Note 9? I got the battery replaced, phone still hums along just fine. Should I upgrade to the S25 Ultra? Thnx for the feedback peeps.
Update: Been running the S25U noe for a few months, the battery and 120hz refresh rate and new cpu is amazing. Leaps and bounds technically better than the Note9 (still is awesome though 🥲)
My Note 9 has served me very well but it's starting to do weird things and require reboots etc. Slow charging, glitches, etc. I think it's time.
Money's tight...
What's the next logical choice? I don't care about gimmicks but a great camera is at the top of the list.
Cheers and thanks for any ideas👍
Edit: Thanks so much everyone, for all your recs. I went with a new Note 20 ultra. Pen, cam, SD card, $360 all in👍 Works for me.
Money's tight - get the best FLAGSHIP your money can buy.
If you were using the Note 9 until now I guess yo don't care about updates so the Note 20 Ultra is a good choice
One on the best cameras, has all the fancy flagship features, has the S-Pen, has expendable memory and cheap.
Why are we recommending ultras? He said money is tight. Imo the best investment right now is a base S24. 95% of the phone an ultra is and 7 years of updates, excellent investment. If you live in the US you can get good trade in for it too.