Buying Congular phones

I am on the family plan, and we own four phones. Two are Motorola V551 and
two are Samsung X427M. We bought the phones and the plan last June, and we
have already had to replace two phones on the warranty plan (no charge to
us) when they just died for no reason. I'm concerned about what we will do
after the one-year warranty expires this June. If a phone goes bad and
needs to be replaced, can I get a free or cheap phone from Cingular if I
extend my contract with them? I used to always do that on AT&T when I
needed a new phone, but I don't know if Cingular does that as well. If I
buy a phone on my own on eBay or something comparable, can I put it into
service by myself by just switching the SIM card from the bad phone? Does
Cingular even have to know when I buy a new phone?

Also I have seen some posts here about "unlocking" a phone. Is that
something I would need to do, or do I need Cingular to do that for me. Will
they do that if I buy a phone from someone else? If unlocking a phone is as
simple as just asking Cingular to do it, why are the phones locked in the
first place?

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JWB <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am on the family plan, and we own four phones. Two are Motorola V551 and
> two are Samsung X427M. We bought the phones and the plan last June, and we
> have already had to replace two phones on the warranty plan (no charge to
> us) when they just died for no reason. I'm concerned about what we will do

At no cost? When I had a Nokia die at about 11 months, it was cheaper for
me to get a new phone with rebates than to pay the $24 shipping to get the
Nokia replaced under warranty.

> after the one-year warranty expires this June. If a phone goes bad and
> needs to be replaced, can I get a free or cheap phone from Cingular if I
> extend my contract with them? I used to always do that on AT&T when I

That's what I did. My phone was less than one year old, so I assume I
still had some contract remaining.

> Also I have seen some posts here about "unlocking" a phone. Is that
> something I would need to do, or do I need Cingular to do that for me.
> Will they do that if I buy a phone from someone else? If unlocking a
> phone is as simple as just asking Cingular to do it, why are the phones
> locked in the first place?

Cingular is willing to unlock the phone once it is activated with a proper
length contract, because now they have you tied to a contract that will
repay their subsidy. I got my unlock code from Cingular for free.

If your contract on the dead phone has expired, you can get a new phone
with a new contract. Amazon is below zero cost.

You can even participate in a personal trickle down. Buy the new phone
that you want, and put your SIM in it. Give your old phone to the
underling family member whose phone is broken, with the new SIM.
Activate the new SIM to satisfy the purchase contract, and move the desired
number to that SIM.
(I think I said that right ;-)

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Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

"JWB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:q194g.11874$%[email protected]...
>I am on the family plan, and we own four phones. Two are Motorola V551 and
>two are Samsung X427M. We bought the phones and the plan last June, and we
>have already had to replace two phones on the warranty plan (no charge to
>us) when they just died for no reason. I'm concerned about what we will do
>after the one-year warranty expires this June. If a phone goes bad and
>needs to be replaced, can I get a free or cheap phone from Cingular if I
>extend my contract with them? I used to always do that on AT&T when I
>needed a new phone, but I don't know if Cingular does that as well. If I
>buy a phone on my own on eBay or something comparable, can I put it into
>service by myself by just switching the SIM card from the bad phone? Does
>Cingular even have to know when I buy a new phone?
>
> Also I have seen some posts here about "unlocking" a phone. Is that
> something I would need to do, or do I need Cingular to do that for me.
> Will they do that if I buy a phone from someone else? If unlocking a
> phone is as simple as just asking Cingular to do it, why are the phones
> locked in the first place?
>
Full subsidy of phones apply after 11 months of a 1 year or 21 months of a 2
year contract. Early (exception) upgrade requires a 2 year contract and 1
year pricing (add 50 bucks to 2 year price)

If you are hard on phones, or are worried about the end of warranty
period, add Lockline Insurance to the phones (before you have a problem)
3.99 per month with a $50 deductible...even covers lost, stolen, the dog ate
it, fell in the toilet, ran over it with the lawn mower....

Mark