Is the Lumia 1520 still worth to buy??

[VAMSI KRISHNA 02]

Hello !! Windows Lovers ;-)

Actually, I was looking to buy a newly released Lumia 650, but looking at its specs I felt it was highly over priced here in India at around $200.00 so I started looking around for other high end second hand Lumia phones and I found a couple of Lumia 1520 at around similar price of $200.00. Is it still worth to buy L 1520 after 2 years of its release.
Please help me on this as I'm unable to decide.

Thanks in advance

 

[RumoredNow]

Re: Is Lumia 1520 still worth to buy??

I have had Lumia 1520 since August 2014. It is still a beast, still getting latest software and still highly relevant.

IMHO, it is the best all-around phone Nokia ever built and arguably one of the best phones the world has ever seen.

YMMV :winktongue:

 

[Scienceguy Labs]

Re: Is Lumia 1520 still worth to buy??

Absolutely! It's a very nice phone. I just bought another one about a month ago because I missed the one I sold so much. Great internals and a great camera.

 

[VAMSI KRISHNA 02]

Re: Is Lumia 1520 still worth to buy??

Thanks for your response on this guys. I would really like to know how is the Windows 10 experience on 1520. I heard many saying it became a battery hunger after installing Win 10. How is overall exp for you guys and as I'm going to buy a second hand, some 2 years old, will there be a possibility of battery issues and some other?

 

[RumoredNow]

Re: Is Lumia 1520 still worth to buy??

With a second hand device, battery is always a concern. You just can't KNOW how many charge cycles it has gone through.

However, the phenomenal battery endurance of 1520 should have kept most of them from being charged as many times as most in their age range.

On W10M, my experience has been pretty good with stability, the OS and battery. That Hard Reset after upgrade worries many as they might loose some data. I did it. Seems to make a difference. With no past data history on the phone you won't have anything to loose so upgrade/reset.start clean with no backup. That will give you the best chance at smooth sailing.

 

[emigrating]

Re: Is Lumia 1520 still worth to buy??

Definitely!

The only issue with the 1520 is the phantom taps. Some devices are really bad, others not so much. I've had, I believe three, and the one I still have has been the worst by far but I still think the 1520 is a better device than my current 950XL. So much so that if the 1520 had been available with dual-SIM I'd have "downgraded" from my current phone.

It's as fast, at least in terms of perception. It has a larger battery, larger screen, similarly capable camera, doesn't get as hot as the 950/950XL, costs next to nothing compared to the current flagships and runs Windows 10 just as well as new phones - AND you have the option of sticking around on WP8.1 until W10M is complete, which I'm hoping will happen around the Anniversary Update / RedStone.

As it stands, I wish I hadn't opted for the 950XL (my wife is in a similar boat with her 950 - although she moved up from a 1020, so she does notice the good as well). The battery doesn't last a whole day, even with little usage and while you can quickly top up the battery in the car or whatever you really shouldn't have to. My 1520 never had this problem, no, not even after updating it to Win10M. The software, while much better now than when first released, is still buggy. It doesn't play nice with 5G Wi-Fi networks, again something I never had an issue with on my 1520.

 

[Vasto Horde]

Got a 1520 from Amazon about a month ago for $188. I love this phone.:smile:

 

[shawnmos]

For sure as long as you are lucky enough to get one without the phantom touch issue. Send it back right away if you have the issue. Have it on mine and I want to throw the phone out the window sometimes.

 

[VAMSI KRISHNA 02]

For sure as long as you are lucky enough to get one without the phantom touch issue. Send it back right away if you have the issue. Have it on mine and I want to throw the phone out the window sometimes.

Thanks for your response. Can you please explain what is that phantom issue? I have no idea & does most of the 1520 have that issue?

 

[Steve Thackery]

Vamsi: the phantom touch issue affects only a few 1520s (although you'd think it was a lot because those who are happy don't complain on forums).

It is a hardware fault which makes the phone think the screen is being touched all the time, and causes all sorts of weird behaviour, with stuff dancing all over the screen as the phone tries to keep up with its imaginary user poking and swiping the screen.

Anyway, it is rare, but not unheard of.

Now, as for whether the phone is still worth buying, the answer is a resounding YES. Apart from the most ridiculously expensive flagships from the likes of Apple and Samsung, the 1520 hardware is still highly competitive and for the typical second-hand purchase price is a great bargain. I'm still delighted with mine and getting great service from it.

HOWEVER, there is one thing to warn you about. Make sure you buy it from a reputable seller who will take it back if there is something wrong with it. This is because there seem to be many poor quality spares on the market, and when you buy them there is a good chance they may themselves be faulty. I strongly suspect a load of quality assurance rejects have found their way onto the market. I've bought brand new USB boards with one or more faulty LEDs from new. I've had brand new screens with bright blobs showing. Clearly something isn't right in the spares market.

But don't let this put you off! Just make sure you buy a phone from a reputable supplier with a short guarantee, and make sure you test it thoroughly in the first few days. If all is working well, you will have a great phone at a great price, and won't regret it.

By the way, I'd recommend one of those white charger things that you just place the phone on to charge it. Saves messing with a charging lead and stressing the USB socket.

 

[emigrating]

Vamsi: the phantom touch issue affects only a few 1520s (although you'd think it was a lot because those who are happy don't complain on forums).

It is a hardware fault which makes the phone think the screen is being touched all the time, and causes all sorts of weird behaviour, with stuff dancing all over the screen as the phone tries to keep up with its imaginary user poking and swiping the screen.

Anyway, it is rare, but not unheard of.

Really? It's rare? Do you work for Microsoft or something? This is not rare at all, I've owned three 1520's from entirely different batches (one from Hong Kong, one from the US and another from the UK - all in the space of roughly a year I'd say) not to mention two of these were later replaced by Microsoft for this very issue. All of them have had the phantom touch issue to some extent. Some more than others, but it's happened on all five of the devices. Even people who say they've never experienced this will 99 out of a 100 times say "Oh yeah, _that_ thing" once properly explained to them.

That said, it's still a great phone. In many way so much better than the current "flagships".

 

[VAMSI KRISHNA 02]

Vamsi: the phantom touch issue affects only a few 1520s (although you'd think it was a lot because those who are happy don't complain on forums).

It is a hardware fault which makes the phone think the screen is being touched all the time, and causes all sorts of weird behaviour, with stuff dancing all over the screen as the phone tries to keep up with its imaginary user poking and swiping the screen.

Anyway, it is rare, but not unheard of.

Now, as for whether the phone is still worth buying, the answer is a resounding YES. Apart from the most ridiculously expensive flagships from the likes of Apple and Samsung, the 1520 hardware is still highly competitive and for the typical second-hand purchase price is a great bargain. I'm still delighted with mine and getting great service from it.
.

Thank you for your long detailed post. I'm buying it from a person not any seller so it's a bit risky but I'll try to check it thoroughly.

 

[Steve Thackery]

Even people who say they've never experienced this will 99 out of a 100 times say "Oh yeah, _that_ thing" once properly explained to them.

I guess we'll probably never know the exact figures, as nobody is in a position to do a proper survey.

Anyway, the only complaint I've had with the 1520 touch screen is that it is sometimes over sensitive. That is to say, it sometimes registers a phantom touch as my finger approaches the screen, without actually touching it. HOWEVER, this over-sensitivity is common on many smartphones. My Google phone did it, and there was much chuntering in the forums about it, too. Less commonly (but more often than never) my Galaxy does it.

But that situation where the phone appears to generate phantom touches all on its own, when nobody's hand is anywhere near it, is something neither of my 1520s has suffered from.

As I say, it's probably not worth arguing about just how "rare" it is, because we'll probably never know the exact figures.

The important point is that Vamsi is made aware of it, so can look out for it.

 

[VAMSI KRISHNA 02]

The important point is that Vamsi is made aware of it, so can look out for it.

Exactly!!

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

it simply is the best Windows device to run windows 10(aside from a 930) if you don't want to spend cash on a 950/950 XL.
It is still a beast of a phone, 3 years later because it has great specs, design and a camera that combined together with windows 10 showcases its true power...something Windows phone 8 and 8.1 didn't fully do. It's almost like it was ahead of its time then and it is now in its prime with windows 10.

I brought a 950 but tbh aside from the front facing camera, as nice as the hardware is and I love both, I am a huge fan of the 1520. It's literally the longest lasting phone since I lose interest fast.

I got a red one originally on its launch day Novemebr 2013, then switched to yellow later in 2014....I had a few other windows phone in between then but I recently brought one back in March (marking my 3rd one) in white. I broke it however by it falling out of my pocket.

I am considering either trying to attempt to repair it or returning the 950 and buying a 4th Lumia 1520.

 

[calfee20]

Microsoft's $150 trade in offer got me to thinking about new phones and Win10 mobile. The 950xl is too expensive for me and after using this forum for info I decided on a new 1520 AT&T 32 gb.

Nokia Lumia 1520 32GB Matte Black at T Unlocked Smartphone New | eBay

I could have gone used or refurbished but for an extra $100 I will go new every time. Now I can keep my 925 as a spare and get myself all sync'd up with Win 10. The only problem is the 925 and 1520 have different sim sizes....oh well...........calfee

 

[emigrating]

Anyway, the only complaint I've had with the 1520 touch screen is that it is sometimes over sensitive. That is to say, it sometimes registers a phantom touch as my finger approaches the screen, without actually touching it. HOWEVER, this over-sensitivity is common on many smartphones. My Google phone did it, and there was much chuntering in the forums about it, too. Less commonly (but more often than never) my Galaxy does it.

But that situation where the phone appears to generate phantom touches all on its own, when nobody's hand is anywhere near it, is something neither of my 1520s has suffered from.

Ahh, that makes more sense. To be clear I was talking about the oversensitivity issue and how that has been prevalent on all my 1520's. I will say however that the devices that were more oversensitive also developed the phantom touch problem a little later in life, though that issue is nothing I have found to be a problem whatsoever, simply turn the screen off then on again and it's all good.

The oversensitive issue on the other hand is a real PITA as it makes you click things you never intended, like sending half-written messages or uncropped photos etc. Not to mention clicking [like] on a FB post about a dead relative... I'm also not sure if oversensitivity is the right term to use as it would sometimes register as a tap rather than a swipe or the other way around.

And yes, some other phones do this also, no doubt, even one of my 950XLs display a similar behaviour, but not at all as bad as any of the 1520's. However, that doesn't make it right. I've never seen an iPhone with this problem for example, nor a Lumia 920, 1020, 535 or 640. If I had to guess, I'd say it's something to do with the flex of the digtizer in the larger devices causing it, especially since the 1520's could be "fixed" by opening them up and relieving pressure.

But as you said, the important thing is to be aware of it.

 

[skhwoody2201]

I have owned the 1520 for about three years and found the WM10 experience a bit hit and miss. The phone is superb, the best one i have owned. I have just put mine up for sale on ebay this week and plunged for the 950XL and it is a strong improvement on the 1520, much faster solid with a stronger battery life in my experience. And the benefit of windows phones is, they are cheap for a very powerful handset. The 1520 is by far and exceptional phone with a superb screen, the screen size is the only thing I miss on the 1520 vs the 950xl

 

[Luckman]

I have had my 1520 for a month now & I'm still glad, I bought it over getting a contract on a new 950XL.

 

[Myinspiration09]

Hi there

In two years of experience, I reckon the 1520 is a GREAT phone. It has excellent battery life, lovely display and a great camera.

There was an issue about 6 months ago with the power button, but I sent away and had it fixed for around ?40 (UK Sterling). This has been the only big issue, but it's fine now ,although I was a bit unhappy about it at the time.

Windows 10 runs very well on the phone.

The 2GB of RAM keeps things perky. It also has massive storage, something that was a show-stopping problem with my first Windows phone.

Hope this is useful