I recently got a White BB Pearl and now have it running on my T-Mo account.

I was wondering, can I ever get it replaced if there is a malfunction? The reason I ask is that I didn't buy this phone from T-Mo directly, I got it used off Craigslist

Any idea how to get a replacement? It freezes too much.

hmm... I have not heard of RIM replacing devices. Did you get a warranty from RIM? Normally the retailers do so (Cingy, TMo, etc.) but when you purchase off Ebay or Craig's list... or from your bro-in-law, its caveat emptor.

If it's not a T-Mo device then T-Mo will NOT honor the warranty....

Cingular told me they had no insurance on them. Does someone know different?

Cingular does not offer insurance on BBs...

What do you mean it freezes too much? That sounds like a problem with the operating system and NOT something needing a warranty replacement.

Search the forum for how to wipe the phone and reinstall the OS.

Some good news: some states have laws that prohibit a company from NOT honoring a warranty simply because the original owner sold the phone. So check on the warranty laws in your state, it may be one that says the warranty follows the phone, not the original owner. If your phone is still within the warranty period, it will be covered. This area of the warranty will be under the "transferability" section.

Other than that, as the others said, in some states you are SOL because T-MO, like other carriers, warrant phones you buy from them. When making a claim they look up the phone's serial number to confirm you bought the phone from them. So it all depends how the warranty was written on the phone in the state where it was bought and how the warranty law reads in that state.

As a last resort, if you are a big customer or good customer with a good credit rating, the customer service rep may overlook the above issues and cover the phone on a warranty claim, especially if they can look up the phone's serial number and see that someone bought it from T-MO before you and the phone is still within the warranty period [one year].

I just went through this exact problem tonight. I am on a TMo business account. I bought a used white TMo Pearl from a member here on the forums. Turns out the pearl has a problem with the 850 Mhz band radio. The phone works fine on TMo (1900Mhz) so the seller didn't even know there was a problem. I almost sent it back to the seller because of the problem but someone suggested I try getting TMo to replace it. Called TMo, go through to PDA support, then go through their whole spiel about removing the battery, wiping the device, etc. They researched the IMEI number and found out how old the phone was, what accounts it had been used on, and concluded that it was still under warranty. Apparently, after the phone has been used on too many accounts the warranty is no longer valid even though it's less than a year old. Long story short, I bought a used white pearl and got it replaced under warranty by TMo.

I was talking about the manufacturer's warranty - like when I had a Sidekick a while back, it had came with a 1 year warranty from Sharp.

I'm scared to even call T-mobile because I got it from Craigslist without a box or anything, just the phone, battery, charger, and desktop software disc - what if the phone is stolen or something? There is no way I could've possibly known that but they won't believe me and if it turns out stolen, then my phone might get turned off or be asked to be returned and I would've just lost my money and my phone.

I mean it doesn't look too old to me either (and the white version is recent as well?) - It had no scratches, a screen protector and I did a wipe as soon as I got the phone (it did scrubbing for about a hour too).

Any ideas?

SharifTK, did you read John Clark's post above, and SanFran's and mine?

It is a gamble as to whether they will replace it or not, just as it was your gamble to buy off Craig's List. i don't think anyone on this board is going to give you a definitive answer as to whether RIM will replace it or not. That is the gamble you will have to make, again.

Good luck with it.

Yes I read the posts, thanks to everyone that offered an answer.

I guess I will have to just call T-Mobile and see what they can do for me. Is it possible that they may lock my device in case it wasn't legit? Can they tell me if it is or isnt a stolen device?