I just bought an iPhone off eBay. I plugged it in and it's not charging. What's wrong

[Tnel4455]

I just bought an iPhone off eBay. I plugged it in and it's not charging. It does not have a sim card and it is not on AT&T or anything. I was planning on using it like an iPod. When I plug it in the normal charging screen comes up but it doesn't seem to take any charge. It's been three hours and no charge, just the red bar. Also plugging it in to my computer doesn't do anything, my computer doesn't even see it. Please help! Also I don't think it could be broken, the company guarantees it for 60days

 

[RRmalvado]

Have you tried a different cable?

 

[Tnel4455]

Yes

Yes I have tried a new cable

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Are you seeing the "Connect to iTunes" screen, meaning you have to activate it first?

 

[Tnel4455]

No

The only screen I see is the battery. It won't show anything else

 

[boshii]

The only screen I see is the battery. It won't show anything else

try plugging it into the wall.

 

[Tnel4455]

Same

The same screen shows when it's in the wall

 

[Applejuiced]

Try using a different wire and different plug.
Leave it for an hour or so.
If still nothing it might be defective. Contact the seller and tell him whats up.

 

[kre62]

Try using a different wire and different plug.
Leave it for an hour or so.
If still nothing it might be defective. Contact the seller and tell him whats up.

The battery might be shot, or he might have put an aftermarket battery i. I tried an aftermarket battery and it would not charge. I would suggest buying a new, quality battery and installing it yourself. THe install is pretty easy, there are a decent amount of screws to remove, but nothing crazy. You can find instructions on yahoo.

Stick with an OEM battery, dont be fooled by the cheap 1600mah batteries online.

 

[Honda]

Dude, you probably got a defective one, return it, ask for a full refund, don't let that idiot fool you.

 

[Applejuiced]

The battery might be shot, or he might have put an aftermarket battery i. I tried an aftermarket battery and it would not charge. I would suggest buying a new, quality battery and installing it yourself. THe install is pretty easy, there are a decent amount of screws to remove, but nothing crazy. You can find instructions on yahoo.

Stick with an OEM battery, dont be fooled by the cheap 1600mah batteries online.

Why would he go thru all that if he got a return policy thru the place he got it?

 

[Tnel4455]

I figured out half the problem

The battery is not taking a charge very well. But I finall get the connect to iTunes screeen. However it says I need a sim card, can I just buy one off eBay?

 

[WhatAmI]

The battery is not taking a charge very well. But I finall get the connect to iTunes screeen. However it says I need a sim card, can I just buy one off eBay?

If you know it's one of those pesky AT&T iPhones any AT&T SIM card would do.

If it's imported then you will need to do some heavy digging to activate it... or buy a PhoneBook SIM-card (someone more up date on the @hashim trick will need to verify if this still is a valid route)

 

[Honda]

The battery is not taking a charge very well. But I finall get the connect to iTunes screeen. However it says I need a sim card, can I just buy one off eBay?

Okay, you basically got a defective iPhone and yet, you're still going to keep it? If I were you, I would request a refund asap.

 

[eric1971]

Have you tried rebooting it? A couple of times my 3G would not take a charge until I rebooted it.

 

[Meyvn]

Seriously, just return it. I understand you were probably excited to get your new phone, and sending things back through the mail can be a real pain, but it's clearly not working for you, and you only have a certain amount of time where you *can* get your money back. You may even SAVE money in the long run if you don't need the phone features; iPod Touch is MUCH cheaper, especially aftermarket.