Dangers of buying used and jailbroken?

[safetyguy62]

I'm ready to jump ship from webOS and join the dark side, but still have way too long on my contract, and really can't justify paying full retail. Even if HPalm can get their stuff in order, I just don't see the support being there. They've made empty promises for too long.

I tried searching and found a little on this forum on buying a used iphone but just want to know what to look for.

1. Clean ESN
2. Fair price
3. Good condition (obviously)

What if the phone is advertised as jailbroken? It looks like most of those I'm finding on Craigslist are. I know it can be set back to factory firmware, but is there anything that I should be cautious about buying a jailbroken phone?

Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[Alli]

Make sure you look for a Verizon iPhone. For you, it won't matter if it's jailbroken or not. The big draw for GSM owners is that jailbroken frequently means unlocked - or unlockable. Since there is no unlock on CDMA it's a moot point, and you can jailbreak yourself right now - if you want.

I'd be surprised if you can find a VZW iPhone for any cheaper than buying new.

 

[dmt316]

a clean esn is the most important thing. i almost got hosed a few weeks back. i always meet at a verizon store and have someone from there check it

 

[soulfetcher13]

Just like dmt said, for your protection and the sellers, meet a a verizon store. If they agree to it, should be on the up and up, if they are hesitant or unwilling they are probably trying to, as the cool people say pull and okie doke on you as it were.

 

[safetyguy62]

Thanks for the help. I understand the precautions to take in buying a used phone, I was more interested in what I should look for buying a jailbroken phone. Since I'm still not exactly sure what jailbreaking does to the phone, I was merely wondering if buying one that is already JB'd is an issue or if I should only seek out those that aren't. I know what JB does to the capabilities of the phone but not sure what damage it could do to the internals if they screwed it up, or if jailbreaking the phone exposes it to possible damage at all.

 

[dmt316]

For the CDMA iPhone you should not have any worries. You can always restore the phone at home and re-jailbreak it. That should eliminate anyway of someone gaining access to your phone via jailbreak.

 

[Ipheuria]

Jailbroken or not doesn't matter it is a matter of software it does nothing to the hardware of the phone. Anyone you buy from should easily be able to restore the phone to factory settings before handing it over to you but it might require a commitment on your part since if you change your mind they would be out of a JB setup.