930 vs 950 XL vs 1520 - 2nd hand phone - Which one to buy?

[nokialumia1020fan]

Hi All,

I want to own a Lumia before it stops production. My budget is 250 $ . Hence I was looking for 930 or 1520 or 950 XL.
I am getting 930 for 200 $, 950 XL / 1520 for 260 $ ! Reading the forums I am confused.

I find 930 has been reported for heating issues. 950 XL has been reported for tons of issues about performance and OS issues.
Since none of the 2nd hand deals have warranty, I am thinking which one to buy so that it lasts for 1 to 2 more years!

My requirement is a great Lumia camera, good gaming experience, low heat and good battery! Additionally I want to develop and test some Windows apps on one of the phones.

Please advice which one of the 3 phones will be decent investment without warranty, for next 1 - 2 years.

Also please let me know if we can buy Extended warranty for these phones in India from Nokia/Microsoft service center.

 

[Bobvfr]

Bottom line is buying a second hand phone is a lottery.

The 1520 and the 930 are both over two years old, the chances are the batteries are the same (My 1520 was replaced because I didn't want to take the thing apart with it's sealed battery), it has no marks on it, looks brand new and if I fully charged it up I could easily sell it second-hand for a good price, but that wouldn't be very nice would it, but there are some very un-nice people out there.

The 950 and 950 XL are stonking bits of kit, my 950 XL is way better than my 1520 ever was, lots of the issues seemed to be linked to the early OS, but as far as I am concerned I have zero issues and have the best phone I have ever owned.

I am sure if you bought from somewhere like the market place on here you could get a good deal.

In the UK they have just cut the price of both phones on the MS site, maybe if you wait a bit they will do it in the US and other countries as well.

Another option would be the 650, OK it doesn't have Continuum but from what I can see, a good budget phone.

 

[gourav mopidevi]

hmmmmm well i used L930 special edition gold and black one....i would say dont never buy L930 many have mic issues.according to some guy which might be 99% true...HW version 2.0.0.2 and 2.0.0.3 are effected with all sort of problems..mobile gets heat alot as i have metal frame around it you cant even touch it when its hot too hot...flash burns too...

L1520 great mobile with 6inch screen media comsumption vise greater than L950XL i mean browser shows alot of contents than L950XL i think bec of on screen keys....that said if you are going to use for another 1 or 2yrs i would say L950XL which i'm using right now.

L950XL great compare to L930/L1520:
1) continuum enable which i guess if MS invest time their will be new features in future which will make way to L950XL.
2) interms of speed i dont know many reviews proved they are all same sometimes even 1520 or 930 beat L950Xl like startup time/opening some apps...myself i didnt saw must difference interms of speed that said i got latest firmware update then i installed latest redstone 2 build guess what...scrolling in uwp apps and all apps list are now fulid...same goes to launch time of uwp apps,its fast....so as usual user patience must as windows 10 keep on evolving L950XL keep on becoming beast.
3) from price point L1520 or L950XL are same so just go with L950XL.

or try S6,S6 edge.....even S6,S6 edge beat L950XL interms of performance but in multitasking L950XL might win still overall performance time S6/S6edge wins..

 

[Mafiatounes]

I would go with a 950 (XL) as well, i now have a 950 XL myself and used a 930/1520 in the past the 930 has mic issue's and heats up enough to make an omelet. The 1520 was a nice phone for it's time, however it also has hardware issue's like unwanted touches on the screen which is quitte annoying. The 950 XL i did not notice any hw issue's till date i know in the past that OS/FW had issue's however i did not encounter any issue's apart from lockscreen which sometimes takes 3-5 seconds to show up, however that can be solved via a FW update. For the rest the 950 XL is a bomb.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

I would have suggested the 1520 since it has less issues than the 930 - just hope that you get a working unit.

The 950 did have issues before but they have been ironed out

 

[nokialumia1020fan]

@Bobvfr - Thanks for the reply. I know there is a risk in buying seconds or refurbished phones but my budget is very low plus I want a high end Lumia - hence trying resale phone. I am not impressed by 650's specs and camera. Let me see if I can get 950 deal on seconds with warranty.

@ gourav mopidevi - Thanks for the response. I will try for 950. I personally am not a fan of Samsung at all. Sorry, but I dont care about their phones. Also my budget is just 15-16 K max.

@ Mafiatounes - Thanks for the response. Yes, even the 930 which was available for resale, was getting heated up but only while playing games. But I thought heating issues while playing games is normal for all such high powered flagships phones unless they have wide screens to dissipate the heat. Also this phone doesnt have mic issues.

Thanks to all. Since my budget is less and I need high specs Lumia, I will keep checking if I can get my hands on some decent 950 deal.

 

[JRDEMASKUS]

I had a Great experience with the 1520.
Maybe I expected too much from the 950 XL. But, if you need a new device, this should be your choice.

I would be use caution buying a 950 XL for less than $350 US, at this point in time. Probably "reconditioned" or stolen.

If you don't want to replace the battery, just leave it plugged in all the time, a 1520 would be my choice for a spare Home device.

 

[miodrage]

I have used 920, 930, played a bit with 1520, and am a 950XL user currently.
As others have stated, 1520 is almost 3 yrs old, 930 2 yrs, and 950XL is the current Microsoft flagship. As of several days now, I think only the HP's Elite x3 dethrones the 950XL. So my suggestion is definitely 950XL.
It will serve u good, and u get it for a very good price. Now, pay attention to every detail, since it is a second hand phone. Do not be hasty, make a deal with the seller to go somewhere, then test the phone thoroughly, put it to its misery by downloading a big file (e.g. 100 MB), test the GPS, the WiFi (go away from the router also to see the range), open 10's of apps simultaneously to put the CPU, GPU and RAM to work hard. Then, if everything satisfies u, then make the transaction, and buy this awesome phone.
That would be my advice.
And please, check back to tell us ur decision and the results.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

I have used 920, 930, played a bit with 1520, and am a 950XL user currently.
As others have stated, 1520 is almost 3 yrs old, 930 2 yrs, and 950XL is the current Microsoft flagship. As of several days now, I think only the HP's Elite x3 dethrones the 950XL. So my suggestion is definitely 950XL.
It will serve u good, and u get it for a very good price. Now, pay attention to every detail, since it is a second hand phone. Do not be hasty, make a deal with the seller to go somewhere, then test the phone thoroughly, put it to its misery by downloading a big file (e.g. 100 MB), test the GPS, the WiFi (go away from the router also to see the range), open 10's of apps simultaneously to put the CPU, GPU and RAM to work hard. Then, if everything satisfies u, then make the transaction, and buy this awesome phone.
That would be my advice.
And please, check back to tell us ur decision and the results.

check the cameras too as well as mic :smile:

 

[nokialumia1020fan]

@miodrage - Thanks a lot chum. Will definitely take caution. Usually the people who sell less used discounted flagships (in India atleast) are ones who purchase it for discount from US or Singapore. For eg: I found one today which was around 260 $ (without Continuum dock) and around 4 months old which was purchased from Singapore.

My thought was to pick up a cheap 2nd hand Lumia for 1 year and write some Windows Apps and camera. Hence I thought picking a year-old Lumia might be cheap.

Thanks again!

 

[nokialumia1020fan]

Thanks @JRDEMASKUS. Will take caution. For 2 of the sellers I traced their phone number and found that the name they registered matches the name in the AD. Also located their FB accounts and checked if its active.

 

[Ariel Takom]

950XL, go for it.

 

[mikepalma]

640XL is best Lumia. 950XL is garbage, I had four diff ones had to be returned

 

[gourav mopidevi]

@Bobvfr - Thanks for the reply. I know there is a risk in buying seconds or refurbished phones but my budget is very low plus I want a high end Lumia - hence trying resale phone. I am not impressed by 650's specs and camera. Let me see if I can get 950 deal on seconds with warranty.

@ gourav mopidevi - Thanks for the response. I will try for 950. I personally am not a fan of Samsung at all. Sorry, but I dont care about their phones. Also my budget is just 15-16 K max.

@ Mafiatounes - Thanks for the response. Yes, even the 930 which was available for resale, was getting heated up but only while playing games. But I thought heating issues while playing games is normal for all such high powered flagships phones unless they have wide screens to dissipate the heat. Also this phone doesnt have mic issues.

Thanks to all. Since my budget is less and I need high specs Lumia, I will keep checking if I can get my hands on some decent 950 deal.

which state are you from ??? there are so many 950/950xl in used category in olx go through it...i bought myself new L950XL single sim UK model for 23k and display dock for ₹2200 plus amazon basis hdmi cable for ₹500...i heard jio sims(VoLte) are not working on L950XL DS Indian variant ...hope it works on mine going to get one today

 

[nokialumia1020fan]

@gourav mopidevi - I am from Chennai. I did get an offer for 17 K for a 3 month old 950 XL (without continuum dock). The owner says he purchased from Singapore. So there is no local warranty. In Olx / Quickr I could find only 1 deal under 20 K. Rest are too pricey.

Is there anyway I can buy Microsoft Extended warranty for this mobile? Or is it only for Indian IMEI numbers?

 

[gourav mopidevi]

@gourav mopidevi - I am from Chennai. I did get an offer for 17 K for a 3 month old 950 XL (without continuum dock). The owner says he purchased from Singapore. So there is no local warranty. In Olx / Quickr I could find only 1 deal under 20 K. Rest are too pricey.

Is there anyway I can buy Microsoft Extended warranty for this mobile? Or is it only for Indian IMEI numbers?

i would suggest try for single sim L950Xl if possible because now we are going crazy about jio which support volte calls where L950XL DS or single sim support volte but they are not activated default by MS...if we have single sim variant their might be possibility to flash EE rom and get volte support for jio...it's quite good deal...i dont think you require extended warranty as mobile rarely gets fault...that said i dont know about chennai but here hyderabad their are lack of MS service centers we can find ms service center but they dont have spare parts like samsung or apple...so i dont bother about warranty...its youre choice.

open this link and chat with MS customer care
https://t.co/gj1m4U6HT9

 

[LuxuryTouringZone]

640XL is best Lumia. 950XL is garbage, I had four diff ones had to be returned

LOL, I think you just had horrible luck with manufacturer's defect units!

 

[nokialumia1020fan]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the inputs. I bought an AT&T unlocked NL 1520 for 195 $ from a top rated seller called edwinlion on Ebay. Absolutely love the device.

Positives: Great screen, camera, smooth UI, sound / video clarity.
Negatives: Since its an AT&T model, only 16 GB memory (not 32) and no QI wireless charging (as per some articles online. didnt test)

Issues: The phone came with a build - 10.0.10586.494 - version 1511. After 2 days of usgae, (1 hour usage per day, 5 hrs of inactive mode) I find battery issues.

1) After full charge, I downloaded some apps using home wifi, setup the phone, played 2 minutes of videos to check sound and clarity, played couple of songs.
The charge dropped from 90 % to 20 % within an hour! I read that the eariler builds of Windows 10 have this issue.
Please suggest if the latest anniversary update fixes this.

2) While charging, the phone goes till 65 % for almost 1 to 1.5 hours. Then zooms to 100 % in next 5 minutes. Is the issue with battery or OS?

 

[Zulfigar]

You're on Threshold, which is the generation 1 of Windows 10, get the Anniversary Update installed and watch the difference for yourself (though, at first, give it some time to adjust itself, about a day, before the battery gets to normal).

 

[gordonfink]

are stonking bits of kit

I'm not really sure what this means, but I wanted you to know I am going to start using it, often, regardless. That is an awesome phrase.