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Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

discuss.grapheneos.org

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Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#61

Post by pmw »

I had a similar experience with eBay. The problem is that “unlocked“ typically refers to being able to use it on a different carrier—not related to the bootloader.

So I bought an “unlocked” Pixel that had a locked bootloader. Returned it. Felt bad because the seller correctly classified it.

Ultimately I found an eBay seller (thegizmotrader) that explicitly lists the bootloader as unlockable.

When buying secondhand, I suggest looking for Pixels not associated with any particular carrier (as are sold by Google online store), and especially not Verizon.

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#62

Post by [deleted] »

zozbot234 wrote: post #53
lnx01 wrote: post #36

In the context of an online marketplace "Unlocked" means "Not carrier locked". This has _nothing_ to do with the bootloader.

If it's not a carrier locked device, what would be the reason for it not to be OEM unlockable once connected to the Internet? This is not about the device being logged into an existing user account, that would trigger FRP which is something different.

[deleted]

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#63

Post by NewJazz »

laweijfmvo wrote: post #3

Swappa became a no-go for me when they started making exceptions to their rules for commercial sellers, justifying it by saying they were inherently more reliable. For example, using stock photos for multiple devices instead of the device you actually receive. All of three of these phones, based on the seller names, were those reliable sellers.

Do you any alternative marketplace? My last few ohones were from swappa, only good experiences so far.

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#64

Post by kajman »

troyvit wrote: post #28
beej71 wrote: post #24

I was just about to buy something from them, but maybe not now. I want a used pixel--where is the best marketplace for that?

I've gotten used pixels off of ebay more than once and never had a problem. I feel like if it was that simple swappa.com wouldn't exist though. Maybe I've been lucky?

I think eBay's larger volume makes it easier to find a seller that will go through the "infeasible" trouble of sorting OEM-unlocked devices. I very recently switched to Graphene and nearly purchased from a listing that had similar "may or may not be OEM locked" language before finding one that promised it was unlocked.

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#65

Post by kajman »

deeplowdock wrote: post #6

I wonder why almost no one in these GrapheneOS praise topic mentions that you won't be able to pay with your phone, and often even bank apps refuse to install on it - it was a deal breaker for me personally, and now I'm back under Google umbrella :<

You've got a lot of people contesting the "often" part but I'll also add that there's a project tracking banking apps that do work: https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compa...

My tiny local credit union app isn't on there, but it worked fine. I miss wallet a bit and it's a shame that there are important apps which still refuse to act reasonably, but I don't think it's really that bad.

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#66

Post by jerlam »

wildzzz wrote: post #52
OsrsNeedsf2P wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. But Swappa confirmed it meant bootloader unlock

I wonder if the person you talked to actually knew what they were talking about. Swappa explains what an unlocked device means in their FAQ and a bootloader is not mentioned. https://swappa.com/faq/answer/unlocked-device

That's sad, because one of Swappa's main selling points (and the reason they got popular) is that they started out as a marketplace for Android phones, and should specifically know about rooted / bootloader unlocked / etc. phones. Enthusiast stuff.

Their About page says:

> The inspiration for Swappa sparked when Ben had trouble finding a good source for test devices for Android development projects.

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#67

Post by DANmode »

compass_copium wrote: post #40
uyzstvqs wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine a supermarket telling you "sorry, it's not feasible to check the expiration dates on all of our products".

I feel like supermarkets more or less do tell you this--I get expired crap all the time if I don't check myself.

Where are you located, generally?

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#68

Post by DANmode »

deeplowdock wrote: post #6

I wonder why almost no one in these GrapheneOS praise topic mentions that you won't be able to pay with your phone, and often even bank apps refuse to install on it - it was a deal breaker for me personally, and now I'm back under Google umbrella :<

Get a case that holds your credit card, good grief lol

Re: Swappa.com for GrapheneOS compatible devices – Stay Away

#69

Post by TwoNineFive »

I got scammed on Swappa about six months ago. I was buying a used Google Pixel tablet in "mint" condition. It was really used and terribly scratched up.

Swappa staff were unhelpful and only after I opened a dispute with Paypal did I get my money back.

I don't blame Swappa for a random dodgy seller, but this was an "Enterprise" seller, whom is still selling on Swappa today!

See this reddit review, which isn't mine, but is almost exactly what I dealt with.

https://reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1d8emzf/suckered_on_swap...

Reading OP's post, I can't help but wonder if they bought a Verizon Pixel. This is a very very well-known gotcha. Verizon locks their bootloaders and you can't bootloader-unlock Verizon Pixels, even after they are carrier-unlocked.

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