Develop Bugs

Considering buying an M5. Sudden death?, Performance?

I'm considering buying an M5. How likely it is that the phone could fail on me? (ie suffer from sudden death?) The model I'd be getting is the E5606. Is that problem model specific or a generalized problem?
Also, how good is the performance? Has its score and overall performance improved with updates? (Like the 5.1 update). Anyone with gaming experience on it (and emulators).
Would you recommend it? (anyways my other options are C5>C4>M4 (money... sigh) so this is likely my best option)

Dude, keep away from this device and save your money. I bought an X5 Compact and M5, around two months ago. X5C suddenly died after OTA update. Sony told motherboard was died and accepted my refund request for it. now, I'm waiting for the payment. M5 had a back camera focus problem and replaced a day after my purchase.. The new M5 now has front camera ticking sound problem. Sony customer care says it's pretty normal but the local Sony store staff says it's not. They also told me that some customers had got replacement for their phones for the same issue. I have compared my M5 with the demo device at the store. The demo devices does not have the same problem! I'll do whatever I can to return it back to Sony and to get a refund for it. I will never buy a Sony phone again!

I have m5 dual
It's really good ?
Sent from my E5633 using Tapatalk 2

Thank you both, so after reading even more (found another thread kinda similar), and considering Sony's/My Company's service center is actually good/decent (My brother had a problem with an M2 and got it changed in no time, hasn't had any problem yet) I guess I'll go for it this week.

xConjo said:
Thank you both, so after reading even more (found another thread kinda similar), and considering Sony's/My Company's service center is actually good/decent (My brother had a problem with an M2 and got it changed in no time, hasn't had any problem yet) I guess I'll go for it this week.
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Did you buy it?
I had problems with my first m5 and i had to replace it. Anyway, for me it's an excelent device. Nothing to complain about it.

jonathangrag said:
Did you buy it?
I had problems with my first m5 and i had to replace it. Anyway, for me it's an excelent device. Nothing to complain about it.
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Yup. Have it since Wednesday last week (8 days so far) and I have had no problems. It's a white E5606. It really is an excellent device.

Is the bootloop issue active to sway a new customer elsewhere

The G4's price at some spots like Amazon is amazing to pass up. I have done my research on various phones and stay active on everything. With to many phones and variants in existence I can't be an expert on all. I'm still seeing the bootloop issue in forums but LG addressed this like 6 months ago. Are new in box versions of the G4 fixed? Or will these be phones that set in a warehouse for a year and will have the problem. I'm a android enthusiast tweaker. So my next phone has to be a contender with development. The 2 most important things. I recently bought a OnePlus 2 but after a ridiculous amount of negativity regarding hardware/software issues and overall negative real world reviews I sent it back before the 30 days were up. Most of which was recent times sadly. While some people might have a great version OP2 with good luck way to many people were sitting with a $300 brick in another country waiting forever. Sorry to ramble but I've been searching for 2 months now for a great midrange device that can be bought at $300 or less and have development but not have a guaranteed broken feature.

MustangLife03 said:
The G4's price at some spots like Amazon is amazing to pass up. I have done my research on various phones and stay active on everything. With to many phones and variants in existence I can't be an expert on all. I'm still seeing the bootloop issue in forums but LG addressed this like 6 months ago. Are new in box versions of the G4 fixed? Or will these be phones that set in a warehouse for a year and will have the problem. I'm a android enthusiast tweaker. So my next phone has to be a contender with development. The 2 most important things. I recently bought a OnePlus 2 but after a ridiculous amount of negativity regarding hardware/software issues and overall negative real world reviews I sent it back before the 30 days were up. Most of which was recent times sadly. While some people might have a great version OP2 with good luck way to many people were sitting with a $300 brick in another country waiting forever. Sorry to ramble but I've been searching for 2 months now for a great midrange device that can be bought at $300 or less and have development but not have a guaranteed broken feature.
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its unknown if they really fixed problem... they said they did but still people is reporting bootloop issues with newer phones as well.. the amount of people reporting is low... but they say it takes 8-9 months to show up so we need time for this phones to reach that time and see if they all start bootlooping likes the 505's.
be aware that not all g4 can be bootloader unlocked..

MustangLife03 said:
The G4's price at some spots like Amazon is amazing to pass up. I have done my research on various phones and stay active on everything. With to many phones and variants in existence I can't be an expert on all. I'm still seeing the bootloop issue in forums but LG addressed this like 6 months ago. Are new in box versions of the G4 fixed? Or will these be phones that set in a warehouse for a year and will have the problem. I'm a android enthusiast tweaker. So my next phone has to be a contender with development. The 2 most important things. I recently bought a OnePlus 2 but after a ridiculous amount of negativity regarding hardware/software issues and overall negative real world reviews I sent it back before the 30 days were up. Most of which was recent times sadly. While some people might have a great version OP2 with good luck way to many people were sitting with a $300 brick in another country waiting forever. Sorry to ramble but I've been searching for 2 months now for a great midrange device that can be bought at $300 or less and have development but not have a guaranteed broken feature.
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First of all G4 isnt a faster or a better all performer...if u want performance n quality go for LG V10 and for bootloop its for real most phones are refurbished meaning they were bought last year were only used for a week or more just like urs and then were sold so after a couple a months they were shipped to other countries and were sold off.... these G4s werent at all used hence many didnt pass the bootlloop time period for it to get bricked but many will eventually...This bootloop issue is so real i had to buy a used G3 for 130US$ i use my G4 as a second phone my phone hasnt been bootlooped as of yet but it will certainly so i might just turn it off let it sleep

raptorddd said:
its unknown if they really fixed problem... they said they did but still people is reporting bootloop issues with newer phones as well.. the amount of people reporting is low... but they say it takes 8-9 months to show up so we need time for this phones to reach that time and see if they all start bootlooping likes the 505's.
be aware that not all g4 can be bootloader unlocked..
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jinderation said:
First of all G4 isnt a faster or a better all performer...if u want performance n quality go for LG V10 and for bootloop its for real most phones are refurbished meaning they were bought last year were only used for a week or more just like urs and then were sold so after a couple a months they were shipped to other countries and were sold off.... these G4s werent at all used hence many didnt pass the bootlloop time period for it to get bricked but many will eventually...This bootloop issue is so real i had to buy a used G3 for 130US$ i use my G4 as a second phone my phone hasnt been bootlooped as of yet but it will certainly so i might just turn it off let it sleep
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Appreciate the fast responses guys. I didn't know the bootloop was a time developing type issue. Good to know.
"Jinderation" The V10 is a great looking phone but that is a pure flagship device in my eyes as I can't get one cheaper than $500. At that price I have plenty of options. The G4 H810 I can obtain new for $278-$285 so its a big difference vs the V10. My cutoff is $299 before taxes. Since the bootloop is a real issue I guess I'm gonna have to pass. Seeing as you never know if you got that repackaged type used looks new phone. I love everything about this phone especially at that price with the options.
I don't know why but I first came into the mod world in 2008 with the IPhone. Around 2013 to date I've been in the Android world. Development on hardware and software seems to be rushed on everything now a days and something has "that issue" Owning a IPhone I new if there was a real bug a update was gonna come out fast and even the 2011 4S has up to date IOS 5 years later. These android developers need to stop developing 35 versions of a phone every year and make 3 or 4 and the variants and produce them right. Again thanks for the replies guys. I guess I'm back on my search list for that phone.

S5 or carrier model S6 is on ur budget also ..S6 doesnt have any mc slot i also had one sold and bought G4..you can also try buying a repaired G4 directly from LG which already had motherboard replaced the pro is ur device wont get bricked ever or u could check ebay for certain model which were produced in 2015..they also havent reported for bootloop issue... My advice go for Galaxy S5 F model or G3 t mobile lots of mods and custom rom is availabe and also these devices have bootloader unlock and then wait alteast an year for S7 OR its edge version to have its priced down then buy that
Also this is my topic im sharing with u...see the consumer review on 1st page that i have mentioned and yes bootloop is a very serious issue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/g4/general/lawsuit-lg-defective-phones-t3408092/page7

Users from India – do Flipkart sell the real P2a42 version?

Hey, as I consider getting this phone but don't have many reasonable options for purchasing the non-Chinese model from where I'm at, I thought to try ordering the 4gb/32gb one from Flipkart in India and have it sent to me internationally through a forwarding service.
I simply saw some comment on GSMArena from a person claiming he bought it on Flipkart yet received a "made in China" model. I don't know whether the P2a42 is actually manufactured outside of China, so maybe he misunderstood?
I just don't want to go through all this hassle and end up with the same model they sell and readily ship on AliExpress and other Chinese websites. Thanks in advance.

yes,they sell the real p2a42 version.I ordered mine (3gb/32gb) from flipkart and got the p2a42 version.

kus12345 said:
yes,they sell the real p2a42 version.I ordered mine (3gb/32gb) from flipkart and got the p2a42 version.
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Hello, and how can you check in comparison to a P2c72 that had its ROM replaced? Is the model variety written on the phone somewhere?
Also, did you experience any bugs with your phone like some people reported? In addition to the more common reports of audio-video desynchronization and a couple of other issues, I also found a thread on the official Lenovo forum where a bunch of people said parts of their touchscreen stopped responding to touch.
It wasn't sure whether it's software or hardware issue, and I don't think the model versions where declared by the users (no official comment was issued by Lenovo).

TLxda-d said:
Hello, and how can you check in comparison to a P2c72 that had its ROM replaced? Is the model variety written on the phone somewhere?
Also, did you experience any bugs with your phone like some people reported? In addition to the more common reports of audio-video desynchronization and a couple of other issues, I also found a thread on the official Lenovo forum where a bunch of people said parts of their touchscreen stopped responding to touch.
It wasn't sure whether it's software or hardware issue, and I don't think the model versions where declared by the users (no official comment was issued by Lenovo).
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Click to collapse
yes,on the back of the phone below the lenovo logo,it is written model p2a42 .I the moment i recieved my phone my upgraded it to nougat so i dont know about the audio sync issue, but there is a video lag issue in nougat which occurs every 3-5 mins which can be irritating , other than that this phone is very nice and the batter is phenomenal,its will easily last you a day if you are a heavy user and the quick charge can charge from 0 to 100 in 2.3 hrs. its a very good phone but you should try to avoid it if you are going to be watchin a lot of vids.

kus12345 said:
yes,they sell the real p2a42 version.I ordered mine (3gb/32gb) from flipkart and got the p2a42 version.
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kus12345 said:
yes,on the back of the phone below the lenovo logo,it is written model p2a42 .I the moment i recieved my phone my upgraded it to nougat so i dont know about the audio sync issue, but there is a video lag issue in nougat which occurs every 3-5 mins which can be irritating , other than that this phone is very nice and the batter is phenomenal,its will easily last you a day if you are a heavy user and the quick charge can charge from 0 to 100 in 2.3 hrs. its a very good phone but you should try to avoid it if you are going to be watchin a lot of vids.
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What kind of lag, exactly? I read a few say their videos skip frames, but if that happens only once every few minutes it doesn't sound too bad. I also saw people who claim they experience no such bugs, but I think many also used the official ROM, so I wonder why is there a difference. I hope it's not a hardware issue with some of the phones, thus in case it happens with the stock ROM, perhaps a custom one would solve the issue.
Did you check the temperatures it's running at under load? I've seen some that claim it stays in the 30s range while others shown their's reaches ~45°, with one YouTuber strangely getting to 60+ after playing a particular one of the games he had.

TLxda-d said:
What kind of lag, exactly? I read a few say their videos skip frames, but if that happens only once every few minutes it doesn't sound too bad. I also saw people who claim they experience no such bugs, but I think many also used the official ROM, so I wonder why is there a difference. I hope it's not a hardware issue with some of the phones, thus in case it happens with the stock ROM, perhaps a custom one would solve the issue.
Did you check the temperatures it's running at under load? I've seen some that claim it stays in the 30s range while others shown their's reaches ~45°, with one YouTuber strangely getting to 60+ after playing a particular one of the games he had.
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Click to collapse
yea it skips frames ever few minutes, sorry i haven't really noticed the temps but i would say it would reach around 38-41 under max load. and due to quick charge it also goes to 38 while charging.

kus12345 said:
yea it skips frames ever few minutes, sorry i haven't really noticed the temps but i would say it would reach around 38-41 under max load. and due to quick charge it also goes to 38 while charging.
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OK, that doesn't sound too bad. But you checked with a monitoring app like CPU-Z, right?
I actually also saw a bunch of people say their quick charging turns to regular charging moments after beginning to charge. Someone claimed that it happens automatically when the temperatures are getting too hot, so you should AC the room when charging on a hot day. Did you encounter something like that?
(I hope you're OK with all of these questions, I just want to be more certain about the purchase before going through all of this effort to import it from India)

TLxda-d said:
OK, that doesn't sound too bad. But you checked with a monitoring app like CPU-Z, right?
I actually also saw a bunch of people say their quick charging turns to regular charging moments after beginning to charge. Someone claimed that it happens automatically when the temperatures are getting too hot, so you should AC the room when charging on a hot day. Did you encounter something like that?
(I hope you're OK with all of these questions, I just want to be more certain about the purchase before going through all of this effort to import it from India)
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Yea i checked with cpu-z and i never encountered any problems while quick charging , been using this phone for about 3 months and no major bugs or problems so far. Just do as much research you can before purchasing so you dont end up regretting your purchase.

kus12345 said:
Yea i checked with cpu-z and i never encountered any problems while quick charging , been using this phone for about 3 months and no major bugs or problems so far. Just do as much research you can before purchasing so you dont end up regretting your purchase.
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Oh, I'm doing my research. It's just these inconsistent reports about issues from users that make me worry whether there are some manufacturing defects going on with some of the units. At least you told me that your P2a42 unit is working pretty much as intended, and I believe many (if not most) of the bugs came from people who bought a "Global Chinese" unit as sold on Chinese websites, so perhaps it's less likely to happen on the Indian version, but who knows.

kus12345 said:
Yea i checked with cpu-z and i never encountered any problems while quick charging , been using this phone for about 3 months and no major bugs or problems so far. Just do as much research you can before purchasing so you dont end up regretting your purchase.
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By the way, I should ask. The Indian forwarding service I consider using claims that mobile phones in India can't be shipped without having their battery completely discharged first. Thus, they said they will need to unbox the new phone and turn it on until whatever charge it came with runs out (good luck with that...).
That sounds quite strange and not something I'd like to have done to a new item I order, which I expect to receive sealed as it had left the shop. I found several people on a BlackBerry forum say they ordered using this company. They have all received their phones as far as I can tell and they were all told the phones need to be discharged first.
Do you know about this as a resident of India? Shouldn't internally-shipped phones also go through this process then? Do you always received air-mailed gadgets opened and discharged? I found a UPS file explaining lithium ion batteries outside of equipment (so I think it doesn't even apply to mobile phones) should hold no more than 30% charge, not necessarily be drained to 0%. I couldn't find anything about this on any Indian website, though.

Thinking of selling..

Hey all,
I bought this phone thinking it was going to be a sea of development given the "gamer" friendly tags that were constantly thrown about, but development is almost literally non-existent and as such, this is really not the device for me. I would almost happily switch back to my OnePlus 3 at this point, just so I could play around with it, try out different ROMs and enjoy the variety you get from a phone with great support. Right now, I am pretty much bored with the phone. And with such a bad camera on such a premium device, I'm actually a bit annoyed at it's price point too..
Now, I've got a few minor scrapes on the edges from a drop here or there, but the hardware is perfectly functioning. What do you think I should put it up for?
(I'm in UK)

Development should take off once Oreo is released due to treble support (check the treble thread for proof of lineage booting)
However ATM with nougat there's nothing. Tbh this A/B partitioning thing is what causes all these development issues it's why I hate it.

Roxas598 said:
Development should take off once Oreo is released due to treble support (check the treble thread for proof of lineage booting)
However ATM with nougat there's nothing. Tbh this A/B partitioning thing is what causes all these development issues it's why I hate it.
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Click to collapse
The A/B thing doesn't appear to help no.
I'm going to dump this for something older. Maybe sell this for ~£400.
Should give me enough to get a OnePlus 5T or HTC U11 or Xiaomi MI6.

kickassdave said:
The A/B thing doesn't appear to help no.
I'm going to dump this for something older. Maybe sell this for ~£400.
Should give me enough to get a OnePlus 5T or HTC U11 or Xiaomi MI6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might not get £400 for it. I paid £400 for a brand new unsealed one a month or so ago so yours being used will knock a bit off.
Saying that if you can I'd sell it now and hold off on OP6 if you can and if you can't afford the OP6 the 5T should drop a bit online that's if you can wait a bit.
If you can't out of all of those id get the 5T (and then flash lineage OS) I don't trust OP software anymore.

Roxas598 said:
You might not get £400 for it. I paid £400 for a brand new unsealed one a month or so ago so yours being used will knock a bit off.
Saying that if you can I'd sell it now and hold off on OP6 if you can and if you can't afford the OP6 the 5T should drop a bit online that's if you can wait a bit.
If you can't out of all of those id get the 5T (and then flash lineage OS) I don't trust OP software anymore.
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I'll settle happily for ~£350. Already bought a Mi Mix 2. Good dev support, massive big screen, Snap 835. Winner. I'll get my money back on that.

kickassdave said:
I'll settle happily for ~£350. Already bought a Mi Mix 2. Good dev support, massive big screen, Snap 835. Winner. I'll get my money back on that.
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Didn't realise the mi mix had good dev support, how much it cost you?

Roxas598 said:
Didn't realise the mi mix had good dev support, how much it cost you?
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£340 shipping from HK to UK.
Gearbest.com

kickassdave said:
£340 shipping from HK to UK.
Gearbest.com
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Oof be careful you don't get hit with import fee's

Roxas598 said:
Oof be careful you don't get hit with import fee's
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Even if I do, it's never as bad as people make out. Like £20 max.
Bought a Mi5 before from a similar company and it was minimal.

kickassdave said:
Even if I do, it's never as bad as people make out. Like £20 max.
Bought a Mi5 before from a similar company and it was minimal.
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Click to collapse
I got hit with £90 for importing the essential phone so it can be more than you think.

If you want to sell, I'd recommend CEX they offer a decent price for it.
But the person above is correct, you can easily get them around £350 - £400 brand new or brand new condition.
Otherwise try your luck on gumtree, but be safe out there. I've been burned in the past using them.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Give it a little time till the official android 8.1 update comes out
The main reason to why the community has been dry is because project treble has not yet been officially released and since the 8.1 preview, things are looking good.
Be patient a little and we will see.

I can't give it any more time. I'm literally having more fun right now messing around with my old Xiaomi Mi 5!
New phone on it's way and happy to sell this for £300/£350.

kickassdave said:
I can't give it any more time. I'm literally having more fun right now messing around with my old Xiaomi Mi 5!
New phone on it's way and happy to sell this for £300/£350.
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Thats up to you bro. Thats what i would do because you can go back to oneplus anyways. I would wait.

It's a shame as this best phone out, but reading all the issues about hardware fails and bad camera, no wireless charging, no ROMs, etc etc. I'm sticking with my Moto z (and that has similar lack of support!). And believe me I really wanted to ditch and get a Razer, but I just couldn't justify it!
/offtopic tl;dr etc.
??

I was also head over when this phone was announced and released. Am glad I took my time because the lack of development support would have driven me nuts!. Price wise these are definitely falling. There was an offer recently if I remember correctly when mobiles.co were selling the phone on a £30 a month contract with 30gb of data a month! That was cheap but perhaps a reflection of the falling demand and prices.

I just bought a used one! It'll be here probably Wednesday or Thursday.

Think I will be selling mine in a week or so, I can't handle not having even one ROM to play with, can't believe the lack of development I thought this would have had developers all over this to test and enhance this powerful and exciting device. Its a sad day for all razer phone owners. P. S I do respect developers and time and effort they put into creating the roms and mods respect to all

Food for Thought perhaps...
my previous five phones have been Sony I've loved them, my last Sony the xz1 performed abysmally such that I jumped ship for the Razor with its enhanced screen capabilities and superior RAM architecture.
So I just recently purchased the Sony xz2 for my girlfriend which has the 845 processor I believe.
In a nutshell having used the Razor and then playing with this new xz2 I was shocked at how backward that xz2 felt compared to the blistering fast experience that I'm experiencing on our razor.
The xz2 felt sluggish in direct comparison.
Therefore leaving me with a very sweet taste in hanging on to the Razer.
The 835 cpu, 8gb DDR4 RAM with the 120Hz screen.
Honestly no phone out there today reacts and loads quicker then the Razer.
But I hear and do appreciate there are some compromises with the Razer.
But the good far outweigh the bad in my circumstance.

dillalade said:
Food for Thought perhaps...
my previous five phones have been Sony I've loved them, my last Sony the xz1 performed abysmally such that I jumped ship for the Razor with its enhanced screen capabilities and superior RAM architecture.
So I just recently purchased the Sony xz2 for my girlfriend which has the 845 processor I believe.
In a nutshell having used the Razor and then playing with this new xz2 I was shocked at how backward that xz2 felt compared to the blistering fast experience that I'm experiencing on our razor.
The xz2 felt sluggish in direct comparison.
Therefore leaving me with a very sweet taste in hanging on to the Razer.
The 835 cpu, 8gb DDR4 RAM with the 120Hz screen.
Honestly no phone out there today reacts and loads quicker then the Razer.
But I hear and do appreciate there are some compromises with the Razer.
But the good far outweigh the bad in my circumstance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is.... I LOVE the ROM flashing scene. I love tinkering with the OS and getting a feel for different ROMs and their features. Completely baron in here unfortunately and it is for that reason almost entirely that I gave up.
I get bored with phones too quick. Flashing new ROMs always breathes little doses of fresh air back in to them and keeps you interested. Depending on who you are of course.

Xperia refurbishers/"counterfeiters": have they solved the DRM key problem?

I don't know how widely known this is or how many people have this on their radar, but there seems to be a very healthy market out there for "new" or "like-new", once-flagship smartphone models. And it's somehow being successfully filled by operations that, as far as I have been able to deduce, manage to collect used smartphones en-masse (from where? e-waste collectors/recyclers? buying them off of the original manufacturers -- perhaps as discards from their repair departments -- for $cheap$? unclear), they then take out any still-working internals/guts from the units they've collected, fabricate brand-new external casings (of the same material as the original product...so, glass, metals, plastics, etc.) that can almost pass for the genuine article even under close scrutiny, re-package the working electronics (mainboards, etc.) in those new casings, and then even go to the lengths to make counterfeit packaging for these re-manufactured phones that LOOKS like the original manufacturers' retail box for that model, shrink-wrap them, and then (usually) turn around and sell the phone as "new".
These guys are all over eBay and AliExpress (& similar outfits). I was quite stunned when I first ran into this, and realized what was going on. You mean there are enough people that will buy these, and at the prices that they're asking for them, for this to be profitable and worth doing at scale? Amazing.
It's hard to call the entire result "counterfeit" exactly, since there are enough original components in what gets shipped. Honestly, I'm not sure what to call them. But one of the problems is that, as amazing as the work of these refurbishers is, many (most) are being more than a bit deceptive when they go out of their way to re-create the original retail packaging and then list them as "brand new in box / old stock". That's a straight-up lie. (Also, many of them come packaged with very obviously 100% counterfeit accessories, like chargers and earbuds which are made to look like the original OEM accessories *externally*, but which absolutely are not original under-the-hood.)
They don't only deal in Sony phones, but Xperia models do seem to be a big seller for these guys, and I had a couple of Z5 Compact samples pass through my hands a couple of years ago...I got curious and wanted to see for myself what one would actually get if someone were to purchase one of these. My takeaway from this was that it's truly amazing how much attention they pay to certain details on one hand, while they simultaneously cut obvious corners on the other. The back glass wasn't original on either, but it was EASILY the best non-OEM Z5c back glass replica I've ever seen (99.9% of the ones you see listed on eBay -- even the ones that purport to be "original" -- are utter crap). The plastic shell/housing was IMMACULATE and with zero scratches/gouges/markings of any kind, as if they managed to sweet-talk Sony into letting them have the original injection molds...the texture was perfect, the color was 100% spot-on, etc. But the earbuds and charger included in the box were garbage (e.g., the charger was labeled as a genuine Sony QC2.0 model, but the label printing was all smudged up, it got SUPER hot, it felt much lighter and hollower than the genuine article, and I tested it and it NEVER went into Quickcharge mode...counterfeit all the way around), the printed literature that was included didn't look at ALL like what Sony includes in their boxes, the card stock they used for the box itself was thinner, and there are issues with the printing on the box (again: counterfeit).
Anyway, one of the things that struck me was that both of the phones still had their bootloader lock & original contents of the TA partition intact. It got me thinking: hmm, I wonder what the odds of that are?... Not everybody unlocks their bootloaders, of course, but amongst Android users, and perhaps especially among Xperia owners, I get the impression that it's not exactly uncommon. At the same time, preserving one's TA partition -- assuming it's even possible on your specific model -- is knowledge that's obscure enough and fiddly enough to execute on that most people who unlock their Xperia's bootloader probably don't even bother...and not only because of the relative difficulty, but also because they probably don't even realize it's a thing. I'd be shocked if most simply didn't Google "xperia bootloader unlock" and then click the link to the official Sony web page at the top of the results that walks them through how to do it. So if I were a betting man, I'd wager that of all Xperias out there with bootloaders that have been unlocked by their owners, easily the majority of them have permanently lost their DRM keys.
Could it be that these refurbishing shops have somehow found a way to regenerate the contents of the TA partition for the models they remanufacture? It seems hard to believe that they could do this without access to the original Sony root signing keys, but...?
For the longest time, when it came to Xperia flagship models sold by these guys, the Kitakami device family was pretty much where they seemed to have stalled out at, as far as what the newest models were that they were selling. But over the last couple of years, I've seen Tone, Yoshino, and even Tama devices of this caliber now flooding the market. I'm super tempted to pick up, say, an XZ1 Compact that's been refurbished in this way, just to see if it is as good as the Z5c samples I've seen were. But in addition to potentially just providing us with access to tons of cosmetically-flawless stock of XZ1c at somewhat-reasonable prices, I have to wonder if this also provides at least a glimmer of hope that it's *possible* to truly restore all of the software on these models to 100% from-the-factory state (complete with bootloader lock, recomputed DRM keys, etc.). I'd sure love to know where they're finding all of the phones they're rebuilding, what exactly (if anything) the software side of the rebuild process entails, and if they *do* have access to special knowledge or tools, how they acquired them...
If anyone out there has bought one of the reman'd XZ1 Compacts, I'd love to know what your experience has been like.
Here is an interesting Youtube video I found by one of these outfits (perhaps the main one even?), showing them going through a QC checklist on a Z3c post-refurbishment but before being packaged up. It's very interesting...the protective plastic with the incorrect "Xperia Z3 mini" text is very clearly not the same as the original (one of those areas where their attention to detail is less impressive...and interestingly, both of my Z5c samples had the *exact same diagram* on theirs and *also* said "Xperia Z5 mini"), but you can also see a reproduction phone barcode sticker that is laid out to look like what Sony would print and stick on the original retail box.

I think unlocked phones are *very* uncommon.
I've unlocked mine before DRM key backup solution was available. Not really missing those keys TBH.

Indeed incredible that they just seem to recreate the outer casings. It involved making new injection molds and whatnot, although in China that's not that expensive nowadays I think. Especially since many Chinese companies make it their business to produce counterfeit products and probably can do it very efficiently.
As for DRM, I'd be surprised if more than 1% of consumers unlock their bootloader, so I guess it's not that surprising to get them locked from such sources.

Got myself a XZ1c (G8441) from eBay. It was listed as new. The phone itself looks good and seems like new.
It came with UCH20 charger (AC 0061-BR).
Included headphones are MH410c.
Charger and headphones work well, but they have really cheap feel to them. I'm pretty sure they are knockoffs.
Also the user manual is definitely not original Sony manual. Just some generic pictures and text.

I purchased a brand new XZ1c G8441 and everything about it was A1 till my carrier shut down the 2100mhz 3G band and the phone revealed it's true identity as a SO-02K and no longer would make or receive calls. The seller will not respond to my emails so I have no idea as to the history of the phone, but I would be none the wiser, (and totally happy) if the network had not changed. I have been caught with 2 other phones in the same scenario, where they were working and presented as global phone and they all stopped working on the same day.

Which carrier do you have? The conclusion that it's not a legit G8441 feels like an odd one.
Some carriers (I'm looking at you, AT&T) will only do VOLTE on certain phones - even though it supports it.
I've also had very spotty reception in different places, and I'm 99.9% sure I have a G8441. I 100% get LTE on some streets, and on others only 2G.
One of my understandings for a very clear distinction is the existence of NFC on the phone. The SO-02K doesn't have it, nor will it have the stylized N on the back panel. The G8441 will. Mine has it, and I've seen Android recognize it, even though it's not something I normally use. Does yours?
While I suppose it's possible someone took a SO-02K and put it in a G8441 case to resell, the chances of that (and profit, given the work) seem extremely small.
Which might suggest it's carrier issues instead of hardware ones - as does the fact that other phones had similar problems.

Hi, All the things you have questioned are valid questions. My suspicions that the phone is not legitimate was arrived at by multiple components of information. Firstly the fact that the XZ1c no longer works on the Optus network and my XZ1 G8341 still works suggests that the XZ1c does not have the 900mhz band. Secondly the XZ1c is identified as a SO-02K when connected to Sony Xperia companion. Thirdly in the service infounder software the phone identifies as "Docomo=LTECA-user" The XZ1c has the N on the rear cover although I have never been able to get it to work. There is a high likelihood of the XZ1c having a new case as all the phones I have purchased recently that stopped working on calls, all present as new, however, the firmware on the XZ1C is global firmware and the phone presents itself in nearly all ways as a G8441. I had 2 Xperia XZ3s that both had the same firmware, one stopped being able to make calls the other still works. I am 99% sure someone has worked out how to make these phone present as global phones until the hardware restrictions tell the truth.
tonsofquestions said:
While I suppose it's possible someone took a SO-02K and put it in a G8441 case to resell, the chances of that (and profit, given the work) seem extremely small.
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There seems to be a massive amount of "refurbished phones" now on ebay and Aliexpress, that present in every way as new, so it would seem that putting old phones in new cases is the new market that many sellers are jumping on.

Ah, interesting. Yes, if it's presenting to some things as a DO-02K, then that seems possible. Now I'm tempted to check mine. Which is the "service infounder software"? My computer can't run the Xperia Companion.
It's possible the re-casing phones is a thing. I was just surprised people would do it for such an old phone, and that cases would even be findable still. But it's entirely possible I don't know what I'm talking about here.

You get to the service info menu by typing in *#*#7378423#*#* into the keypad on your phone, it will then come up with Service info and Service tests. Service info has a sub menu "software info", The XZ3s that I have where one works one does not, both show in service info the same model and firmware and software. but if I check the IMEI they are 2 different models PM-1150-BV and PM-1155-BV, The 1155 says that NFC is not available in the test whereas the XZ1c has the NFC as testable.

Ah, right. I recall that menu. I've always had trouble getting in to it on my XZ1c. I enter that code, but it rarely pops open, even though other ones like `*#*#4636#*#*` work just fine. I never understood why, and figured it was something with my ROM.

tonsofquestions said:
Ah, right. I recall that menu. I've always had trouble getting in to it on my XZ1c. I enter that code, but it rarely pops open, even though other ones like `*#*#4636#*#*` work just fine. I never understood why, and figured it was something with my ROM.
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Click to collapse
It works on my XZ1c, but it is not instant, and can take 10-15 seconds to appear. The XZ2C despite what some say about it, is a better phone in my opinion. the screen is better, more responsive and the phone is generally faster. I just purchased a couple of Samsung S10e phones as the 3G has taken a nose dive in performance for the phones I have that still work. Can take 20 seconds for a call to initiate after pressing send

I did a little more digging, and it's a ROM thing. My ROM doesn't even have the APK, and it won't install since it's missing some xperia library or other. I'm guessing you're stock, or something built on it. That explains why I haven't been able to open it for ages...

Just received from Ebay a new G8441 model from China (13 days to Spain).
It's a real G8441!! and have a 20 band confirmed with NetMonster and always have a LTE 4G.
I also checked Service info/Software info: GLOBAL-LTE4A-user. PM-1061-BV
I also did a factory reset, and it's still G8441.
My main phone is a XZ1 compact for 5 years, and i decided buy a new one, because eco in calls, and gps sometimes works sometimes not.
The new one is exactly the same phone. The only difference is the display, it's not the same, it's a little bit darker, but who cares.