Curious ... considering sprint

Whenever I bought a new phone (I've had five phones with them) all I had to
do was call them, give them my name and account number and within 5 minutes
of getting off the phone I'm connected. You don't even have to give them the
ESN, not sure on how they get it but they do get it.

"SinghaLvr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I'm considering switching to sprint.
>
> One question that I can't seem to find an answer to:
> Does Sprint have a web-site that allows me to change phones by entering
the
> new ESN # ? (Verizon has such a thing.)
>
> If not, what's the procedure for doing this on Sprint, and is it fairly
> painless?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

---

› See More: Curious ... considering sprint

There is such a website at http://activate.sprintpcs.com and I used it
several times around 2001-2003, but it says "Make sure your old phone is
not a Sprint PCS Vision Phone", so I don't know it it's much use any
more now that most SPCS phones are PCS Vision.

I've also done an "ESN swap" by talking to a rep at *2 or 888-211-4727,
and it's fairly painless.

SinghaLvr wrote:
> I'm considering switching to sprint.
>
> One question that I can't seem to find an answer to:
> Does Sprint have a web-site that allows me to change phones by entering the
> new ESN # ? (Verizon has such a thing.)
>
> If not, what's the procedure for doing this on Sprint, and is it fairly
> painless?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

--
Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A680

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 06:54:02 -0500, Scooterflex wrote
> (in article <[email protected]>):
>
> >
> > Whenever I bought a new phone (I've had five phones with them) all I had to
> > do was call them, give them my name and account number and within 5 minutes
> > of getting off the phone I'm connected. You don't even have to give them the
> > ESN, not sure on how they get it but they do get it.
>
> I have to assume that you purchased the phones off of them, so they probably
> had the ESN logged somewhere.
>
> My reason for asking is I tend to like to keep a cheepo phone for going to
> the amusement park with the kids, or various other "high risk" activities
> where I don't want to lose my more expensive piece of hardware. The ability
> to switch back and forth is a nice thing.
>
> (It's the one feature of GSM that I wish we had in CDMA ... the SIM card.)
> :-)
>
> Thanks for your response. It's most appreciated.
>
>

I agree about the SIM card thought. There are some things going on in
Asia along these lines, but, frankly, I don't see Sprint ever
implementing it. Sprint does not want the hassle of trying to answer
questions about phones it has not tested and approved.

As for your question, I would recommend you do this the evening before
you intend it. Usually, voice services can switch over very rapidly,
but Sprint does not promise switchover more rapidly then 2 hours.

--
RØß
O/Siris
-+-
A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
+Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792+

SOme phones I bought from Sprint but three of them were from Best Buy, they
didn't inform Sprint of the purchase.

"SinghaLvr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 06:54:02 -0500, Scooterflex wrote
> (in article <[email protected]>):
>
> >
> > Whenever I bought a new phone (I've had five phones with them) all I had
to
> > do was call them, give them my name and account number and within 5
minutes
> > of getting off the phone I'm connected. You don't even have to give them
the
> > ESN, not sure on how they get it but they do get it.
>
> I have to assume that you purchased the phones off of them, so they
probably
> had the ESN logged somewhere.
>
> My reason for asking is I tend to like to keep a cheepo phone for going to
> the amusement park with the kids, or various other "high risk" activities
> where I don't want to lose my more expensive piece of hardware. The
ability
> to switch back and forth is a nice thing.
>
> (It's the one feature of GSM that I wish we had in CDMA ... the SIM card.)
> :-)
>
> Thanks for your response. It's most appreciated.
>

"O/Siris" <rØbjvargas@comcâst.nêt> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
"I agree about the SIM card thought. There are some things going on in
Asia along these lines, but, frankly, I don't see Sprint ever
implementing it. Sprint does not want the hassle of trying to answer
questions about phones it has not tested and approved."

It's certainly a good point, but do they have any evidence that 'SIM card
usage' is a significant problem for any of the carriers that are using GSM
phones (Cingular, T-Mobile, etc.)?

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Good advice. I appreciate it. Thanks.

Hope it helps. You're quite welcome.

>
> FWIW: Asia is absolutely light years ahead of the USA in cell phone
> technology. Every time I travel I get a glimpse into the future.
>

Asia never built out a landline network like we did. So there's not
quite the adoption of wireless like there is elsewhere.

It's a consequence of being a big nation, I suspect. We needed what was
available then. So far as I can determine, while it became important,
it never became quite as ubiquitous in the rest of the world as landline
phones did here.

So I guess that was just a long-winded way to say I agree.


--
RØß
O/Siris
-+-
A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
+Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792+

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> It's certainly a good point, but do they have any evidence that 'SIM card
> usage' is a significant problem for any of the carriers that are using GSM
> phones (Cingular, T-Mobile, etc.)?
>

No, but that's not exactly apples to apples. The GSM standard (if I
understand it correctly) also dictate how the phones interact with the
network. Like, for example, call forwarding. It's a menu function on
the GSM phones I've used. It's a dialing code on Sprint (and, I
believe, all other CDMA carriers). That's not a good illustration of
why CDMA "openness" might be more of a hassle. Just pointing out that
it's different between the two technologies.

Another thought: Sprint give out very little information about how the
data network is laid out, even though people are finding it out to one
degree or another. But keeping a tight rein on available models, that
information stays out of customers' eyesight.
--
RØß
O/Siris
-+-
A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
+Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792+

SinghaLvr wrote:
> I'm considering switching to sprint.
>
> One question that I can't seem to find an answer to:
> Does Sprint have a web-site that allows me to change phones by entering the
> new ESN # ? (Verizon has such a thing.)

Yeah. I liked it when I was with Verizon. Sprint doesn't, but you just call *2
(customer service) and they put the new ESN in the database, walk you through
programming the new number into the phone, and bingo. You're done.

They say the change will take up to 12 hours to take effect - that's the
standard turnaround time they give for payments to credit and major changes to
your account to take effect. My experience is that it usually takes much less time.

One thing: the New For You 18-month instant rebate on phones is based on you
having a phone activated on your account for 18 months. Switch phones for any
reason, and the 18-month counter resets.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"In case anyone was wondering, that big glowing globe above the Victor
Valley is the sun." -Victorville _Daily Press_ on the unusually large
amount of rain the Southland has gotten this winter (January 12th, 2005)

SinghaLvr wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 00:40:44 -0500, Steve Sobol wrote
> (in article <[email protected]>):
>
>
>>One thing: the New For You 18-month instant rebate on phones is based on you
>>having a phone activated on your account for 18 months. Switch phones for any
>
>
>>reason, and the 18-month counter resets.
>
>
> Eeeck .... that kinda sucks ....
> What if your phone broke and you had to replace it?

In fact, that just happened to me. I broke the phone I had for six months,
reset my counter by activating a phone my brother-in-law used to use, and will
reset my counter again when I permanently replace the phone.

> That system should be based on customer loyalty, not on the physical hardware
> that you use. (So long as your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th phones that you toggle
> between weren't subsidized)

Yes.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"In case anyone was wondering, that big glowing globe above the Victor
Valley is the sun." -Victorville _Daily Press_ on the unusually large
amount of rain the Southland has gotten this winter (January 12th, 2005)

No, when you call they get the ESN number through the phone you're dialing
from.Techincally how it is done, I have no idea but they have it once you
call it in. I might have to do with the E911 technology but not sure. I've
never given an ESN to a rep when I activate a new phone.

"SinghaLvr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 19:23:36 -0500, Scooterflex wrote
> (in article <[email protected]>):
>
> > SOme phones I bought from Sprint but three of them were from Best Buy,
they
> > didn't inform Sprint of the purchase.
>
> I assume in such a case that you had to give them the ESN number, correct?
>

"SinghaLvr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 14:03:56 -0500, O/Siris wrote
> (in article <[email protected]>):
>
>>
>> I agree about the SIM card thought. There are some things going on in
>> Asia along these lines, but, frankly, I don't see Sprint ever
>> implementing it. Sprint does not want the hassle of trying to answer
>> questions about phones it has not tested and approved.
>>
>> As for your question, I would recommend you do this the evening before
>> you intend it. Usually, voice services can switch over very rapidly,
>> but Sprint does not promise switchover more rapidly then 2 hours.
>
> Good advice. I appreciate it. Thanks.
>
> FWIW: Asia is absolutely light years ahead of the USA in cell phone
> technology. Every time I travel I get a glimpse into the future.
>
>
Absolutely correct - I just spent 8 months in China and was amazed at how
much better cell tech is there. Standard, cheaper, better reception, more
handsets available...

Scooterflex wrote:
> No, when you call they get the ESN number through the phone you're dialing
> from.Techincally how it is done, I have no idea but they have it once you
> call it in. I might have to do with the E911 technology but not sure. I've
> never given an ESN to a rep when I activate a new phone.

Ahhh... when you activate a new phone bought from Sprint, perhaps not. You will
have to give them the ESN when activating a Sprint phone bought from someone
else, though, because they have no record of the purchase.


A Best Buy phone would still have been purchased through Sprint's system, if
I'm not mistaken. Best Buy is a Sprint authorized retailer.


--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"In case anyone was wondering, that big glowing globe above the Victor
Valley is the sun." -Victorville _Daily Press_ on the unusually large
amount of rain the Southland has gotten this winter (January 12th, 2005)

SinghaLvr wrote:

> I appreciate the feedback.
> I'm trying to decide to switch to sprint or not .... I've got many pros and
> cons now .... Tough call. :-)

Yeah, it is. Verizon stopped working for me about a year ago and I rode out the
contract and then ported to Sprint, since (a) I already have a Sprint account
for my wife's phone, (b) this would allow us to have both phones billed on one
account and (c) I use the PCS to PCS feature to talk to her and a number of
friends and family members who are also on Sprint. Some of Verizon's policies
are more user-friendly than Sprint's corresponding policies. But for me
personally, Sprint is working better than Verizon (their coverage is good, but
they had brokenness in this area that didn't get fixed for close to a year).
It's really a tradeoff and you have to determine what's important to you.

How does Sprint work in your neighborhood? The most important thing, as you
probably know, should be asking which carrier works where you need them to work.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"In case anyone was wondering, that big glowing globe above the Victor
Valley is the sun." -Victorville _Daily Press_ on the unusually large
amount of rain the Southland has gotten this winter (January 12th, 2005)

Steve Sobol <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> SinghaLvr wrote:
>> On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 00:40:44 -0500, Steve Sobol wrote
>> (in article <[email protected]>):
>>
>>
>>>One thing: the New For You 18-month instant rebate on phones is based
>>>on you having a phone activated on your account for 18 months. Switch
>>>phones for any
>>
>>
>>>reason, and the 18-month counter resets.
>>
>>
>> Eeeck .... that kinda sucks ....
>> What if your phone broke and you had to replace it?
>
> In fact, that just happened to me. I broke the phone I had for six
> months, reset my counter by activating a phone my brother-in-law used
> to use, and will reset my counter again when I permanently replace the
> phone.
>
>> That system should be based on customer loyalty, not on the physical
>> hardware that you use. (So long as your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th phones that
>> you toggle between weren't subsidized)
>
> Yes.
>

Are you sure your counter was reset?

Last November, I replaced my phone with one I bought on eBay. I did the
ESN swap online and my counter was NOT reset. I just checked again and
Sprint still says I'm over the 18 month mark and eligible for the rebate.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

(remove SPAMNOT to email me)

"Marty Shapiro" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> Last November, I replaced my phone with one I bought on eBay. I did the
> ESN swap online and my counter was NOT reset. I just checked again and
> Sprint still says I'm over the 18 month mark and eligible for the rebate.

That's good news! Sounds like Sprint has finally come around to
realizing that the 18 month clock should only be reset when Sprint
pays for a rebate.

--
John Richards